On Nov. 4, 1943, Harriette Bowen celebrated her marriage to Joseph Frisino with a kiss on the steps of her mother's home.
The Army sent 2nd Lt. Frisino to Seattle in March of '43 to work in the Alaska Communications System, only to find no quarters available. Seven young soldiers landed at an old Victorian home high on a hill in Leschi that belonged to the formidable Mrs. Bauer Bowen Knox.
The unsuspecting soldiers were informed Seattle's "Fort Knox" would provide rooms until they were deployed overseas. But Joe and his accomplices found much more.
Upon entering, Joe made it up only four steps when he saw Harriette above on the landing. Was it love at first sight, or the possibility of domestic charm as she dragged a vacuum behind her?
Harriette, upon seeing Joe, stormed off to find her mother. Did the seven soldiers mounting the stairs with luggage mean she, a graduate of Garfield High School in 1940, was going to have to give up her room and share her mother's bedroom? War created strange bedfellows.
When all were tucked neatly into rooms, Mrs. Knox, dubbed "The Colonel," and Harriette interviewed the fine, young soldiers. A party was organized, and select young ladies were invited.
Of the six available bachelors that night, four couples set forth by "The Colonel" were eventually joined in wedded bliss.
But war waits for no man or woman. Joe's Signal Corps was sent to Alaska that June, and in late October, Joe got orders to report to Oakland, Calif. Frisino swept through Seattle to marry Harriette.
To compound matters, the Italian priest was reluctant to perform the vows on such short notice. Frisino had to promise to return for Italian lessons to sway the devout priest.
Vows were exchanged, and the happy couple dined at Maison Blanc with family and friends before their journey south.
Joe returned from the war and settled into his job with Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the home Harriette bought for them in Madrona on Newport Way. In fact, the telegraph message Joe received in Burma said, "You have no money, but a house and a healthy mother-in-law."
As the family grew, so did the homes, and the Frisinos traversed to Washington Park and then Madison Park.
And now, 63 years later, Joe and Harriette still live in Madison Park. Joe still fits into his Army uniform. "Fort Knox," the Leschi home, is still in the family. And most importantly, the Frisino children and their spouses, grandchildren and great-grandchildren say, Thank you, Mom and Dad.
We wish you many more sweet kisses and years together.
Congratulations on your 63rd wedding anniversary!
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