GLENN LEACH

Rose Bowl, Blueberries, Daffodils, and Silent Snap Counts?

The last time this home came on the market was in 1947, so when I say that this "For Sale" offering is truly a rare and special event, I don't think I'm over-exaggerating the unique opportunity that sits here before you.

The home and surrounding land is known to local residents as "The Bond Blueberry Farm", and this home has a wonderful place in the history of the Puyallup Valley and beyond.

Chuck Bond was a star for the University of Washington football team - one of many such UW stars to come from Puyallup High School over the years. Chuck was Captain of the Huskies team that faced the University of Pittsburgh in the 1937 Rose Bowl. Chuck was a defensive tackle but as good as he was, he and his teammates were unable to stop the Panther's "Dream Backfield" of Bobby LaRue, Frank Patrick, Bill Daddio, and Marshall Goldberg who rolled up 254 yards and two rushing touchdowns enroute to a 21-0 victory.

One thing that was interesting about that Husky's team was the way they won a key victory over powerhouse USC to secure that Rose Bowl birth. USC's homefield advantage featured rowdy fans with megaphones and a HUGE marching band that would play as loud as possible while opponents had the ball, making communication and play-calling very difficult (Sound familiar Seattle Seahawks fans?).

So the Huskies came up with a unique system of silent hand signals to call plays - much like many of today's NFL teams use. Years later, when asked about the "new" system of silent snap counts that teams were putting in to combat the noise levels at the Kingdome, Chuck responded, "We used them in 1936 to help us beat USC. You'd think that now, 50 years later, the pros might have perfected that particular tactic." After graduation, he was drafted and played 22 games as an Offensive Tackle for the NFL Washington Redskins.

Chuck returned to Puyallup, married his sweetheart Francis, and in 1947 they purchased this home and started their blueberry farm. (Oh, and their son, Chuck Jr. later played for two UW Rose Bowl Teams in 1961 & 1964 - also playing Tackle. They were the first Father/Son Rose Bowl players in UW history.)

Chuck and Francis worked hard raising and selling their blueberries together, but they also loved to play hard too. They were avid tennis players and formed a formidable doubles team. The family joke was that Chuck would use his long arms to cover most of the court but he made Francis do all the running to get to the tough shots.

In 1971, the Bonds built the Puyallup Valley Tennis Club on a section of their property. They hosted tournaments and some of the local high schools would use the courts for matches and try-outs over the years. After Francis passed away, Chuck met Mary in 1979 who also loved to play tennis and she became Chuck's new double's partner and second wife. The Puyallup Valley Tennis Club later became the location for Puget Sound Gymnastics - which is still using the facility today.

Since first writing this article, I have had numerous people tell me how much the Bond Blueberry Business meant to them when growing up in the Valley. Years of Puyallup school children relied on the summer berry picking income to pay for back to school clothes and special mad money. How many romances started because school boys could afford to take their sweetie to the downtown Liberty Theater, using the picking money for tickets and popcorn?

Chuck and Francis (and Mary) were active supporters of Puyallup, including our famous Daffodil Festival. They were an important part of Puyallup history, and their beautiful brick farm home with the amazing interior woodwork, lots of square footage, lush acreage nestled into a wooded hill (the perfect combination of "secluded" and "close in") is an important example of local historical architecture.

Don't miss your chance to own this home! Make an offer today. Last offered For Sale in 1947 - If history holds true, the next time you'll get an opportunity to own this home, if you miss out this time, should be around 2,071.

(Please contact me for your financing needs. I'd love to help you write the next chapter of this home's history!)

10 Things I Learned from the "10 Things I Hate About You" House

2814 N. Junett St, Tacoma, WA Built in 1905

(Quick background: The above home was used in the 1999 movie "10 Things I Hate About You", which starred Heath Ledger who recently passed away. The movie's plot was a modern day adaptation of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". In 1991, 8 years before the movie was filmed here, I was working as a painter's apprentice and was assigned the task of stripping this old 4600 square foot home to prepare it for painting. The current 15+ layers of paint was in serious disrepair - cracking, peeling, so the idea was to take it all off. Chemical strippers were no match for the job and had the potential for damaging the beautiful wood craftsmanship underneath. The only solution was a hair-dryer sized heat gun and a couple of hand-held hook scrapers. 3+ months, working all by myself - heat, heat, heat, scrape, scrape, scrape. Below are 10 things I learned, and since the movie was based on Shakespeare - it's only appropriate that I use Shakespeare quotes. Enjoy.)

To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first: Staring at 3 stories of 4600 sf home and the little heat gun in my hand, the task was impossible. All I could do was start in. I picked a spot, heated the first 2 square inches, and scraped it off. Then the next 2 inches. The hill would be climbed. What hill do you need to climb to improve your business? Can you do 2 inches of it today?

Nothing can come of nothing: There was no question that this was going to be a lot of work. It wasn't fun or exciting. It was tedious and boring, not to mention potentially dangerous knowing many of those layers of old paint were likely filled with lead, and at times I'd be working high above the ground at odd angles. But this old beauty was not going to restore itself - it was going to take hard work, persistence, and patience. Is there a skill that, if you knew how to do it, would make you better at what you do? Could hard work, persistence, and patience get you there?

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: It didn't take long for me to figure out that the scraped-off paint didn't just float away into nothingness. Not only did I have to scrape it off the house, I had to get rid of it too. If I didn't take the time to put down drop cloths to catch the chips and blobs, it would take me 4 times as long to pick the little pieces out of the dirt and off the plants and surfaces below. Do you make more work for yourself because you don't plan ahead and think projects through before you start?

Though this be madness, there be method in it: My little heat gun had a simple thumb-activated on/off switch. It was simple to flip it on and off with little effort. Too simple, in fact. You see, when the gun was off, I wasn't heating up any more 2 inch sections of paint to scrape. "Off" meant no progress. If it was too easy to turn off, it was too easy to not work. So, before I'd start working, I had to wrap masking tape around the handle to keep the switch in the On position. It didn't need to be held on, but if it was too easy to turn off, I would. Making it inconvenient to turn off kept me on task and literally doubled my progress each day. It was my way of making "On" automatic. Are there things that you can do to "automate" your day? I love the book, "The Automatic Millionaire" by David Bach, where he teaches his readers to automate their finances with direct deposit and pre-set savings schemes, etc. I help my borrowers understand this idea as best I can now too! And I've automated many of my business practices with great results.

Cowards die many times before their deaths: The house photo here doesn't show it, but there is third story on this house, and it all had to be scraped. With two 40' ladders fully extended and a 20' long, 12" wide plank stretched between ‘em - that was my work surface. It was a long way down to an agonizing and painful death. It was scary - and there was no one around to hear me scream (I hope OSHA's not reading) and no way to harness myself on. I could barely function up there at first and every little wobble and creaking noise made me wet. And then? It was absolutely no big deal. I was prancing back and forth on that little plank like I was walking down the sidewalk. I finally realized that if that same plank was on the ground, I wasn't going to fall off it there, and it was no difference being 30 feet in the air. Perspective can overcome fear. Is fear holding you back? Maybe you're afraid of public speaking - something that could help your business? Well, can you talk one-on-one to a friend? Public speaking is nothing more than talking one-on-one to a room full of friends. It's just perspective.

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind: The owners bought this home a few years before they hired us to work on it, and it really didn't look like much. It was big and had a great view, but it hadn't been well maintained. But they saw an opportunity to go back to basics (strip all that old, ruined paint away and start from bare wood) and restore the original beauty. How's your business? Are there things you're doing now and holding on to that aren't working anymore? Is there a way to strip all that away and go back to basics?

How poor are they that have not patience: This was a huge job for these homeowners to undertake. Not only the paint job, but there were several other areas of the home that needed restoring, and they took it all on one project at a time. And little by little, they transformed the home into a classic beauty. They did it right, took their time, and the results are breathtaking. Not to mention that their home has increased in value about 500% since they bought it.

This above all - to thine ownself be true: There were so many places on the home that were out of view where I could have "cheated" and not done a careful a job. Nobody would have known - until years later when the chances of paint failure could have occurred. But I couldn't do that. That job was over 15 years ago and I still drive by occasionally to see the home. And each time, there is a special pride in knowing that I did that, I gave it my all, and I have no regrets. I treat my mortgage clients the same way. I give them the best service I can and many times forfeit my own earnings without them even knowing, because they've trusted me to do the job right for them and I don't want to let them down.

A hose, a hose! My kingdom for a hose! Yes, I know that is supposed to be "horse", but hose fits better. I had completed 3 sides of the home and was 90% done with the fourth side - which is the one showing in the photo. Way up at the top of this side, as I was heating and scraping away, smoke started coming out of a knot hole. My gun had sparked something under the siding 35 feet off the ground! Oh my gosh! I needed water! See in the photo that rolled up garden hose? Guess what wasn't there that day? No hose. Run around the house - no hose anywhere. Nobody home. Running around the neighborhood from house to house - I need a hose. I found one two doors down, borrowed it, hooked it up - up the ladder and got it to stop smoking. It was a real lesson in safety and caution - having a contingency plan - using common sense in planning. Of course I should have made sure I had a hose available. The only thing amazing was that I got though most of the job before I needed one. Whew!

Parting is such sweet sorrow! I was amazed at how emotional I was when I finished that job. I had bonded with the home and left knowing that I had absolutely given it my best effort. It was a real lesson - sometimes jobs come to an end. The current real estate market is forcing many players to leave. I don't plan on leaving any time soon, but I do know that when the day comes when I must - I want to leave with that same feeling of pride and sorrow that I felt that day when I put away my heat gun and scraper. Every day I work, and every client I work with, deserves my very best.

I leave you with a final Shakespeare quote (spoken by Robin Williams playing Teddy Roosevelt in "Night at the Museum"):

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness,

and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."

All I wanted was some testimonials for some websites I'm (finally) building. I had no idea my request would end up generating so much business. Can you do something similar to generate business too?

Here's what I sent on Good Friday on an email blast to my client list:

Mountain Bars, Boo Boo's, and Easter Memories...

On this beautiful, sunny Good Friday Eve, I'm taking a short mental break from the tumultuous world of finance and mortgages to share an Easter memory. Two food fetishes that I inherited from my Father are Cheddar Cheese and Brown & Haley Mountain Bars, and as Easter approaches, Mountain Bars call out to me (Side Thought: I wonder if they've ever considered making Cheddar Cheese Mountain Bars? Wow!!!).

I love the Brown & Haley legacy: Two guys meet in a Tacoma church in 1908 - one makes candy, one sells things - and they decide to start a new candy business. As World War I fills Ft. Lewis with 1,000's of GI's preparing to ship out, wagon loads of Brown & Haley "Mt. Tacoma Bars" find an enthusiastic audience, launching the company which now sells its products in 63 countries.

As a kid, a not-widely known annual event occurred at the Brown & Haley factory in downtown Tacoma: The Easter Clearance Sale. My Dad knew about it, and like a kid waiting for Christmas, he'd begin to get giddy in anticipation as the event drew nearer. On the chosen day, he'd load us 4 kids in the red Ford Fairlane station wagon and we'd head on down.

Dad handed each of us a $5.00 bill and filed us toward the secret side-door entrance. We'd grab a big cardboard box as we entered the gloomy, cold clearance room, and there before us were tables, shelves, and bins overflowing with left-over Halloween and Christmas candies, "Boo Boo's", and "Mis-dips".

With Dad's fiver and a pocket full of my own spare change, it wouldn't take long to fill that cardboard box with enough candy to supply my own army. Talk about the proverbial "kid in a candy store". What could be better? A week off from school & time with my hero-Dad sharing a passion for cheap indulgences with me.

It's still fun to head down to the factory and buy Boo Boo's in the pink Almond Roca can-shaped outlet store, which has replaced the annual clearance event. You'll find slightly-smashed mints and caramels, bags of broken or imperfect Almond Roca's, and Mountain Bars with filling hanging out the sides. I especially love the containers of Mountain Bars where the filling has missed entirely - blobs of empty nutty chocolate mountains, so sad and pathetic that it seems like they almost need me. Yummm...

Let me share some with you. I need your help. Reply back to me with stories of how I've helped you: Has my mortgage service been good? Do you enjoy my writings? Have you learned anything helpful?

Please, please tell me about it. Any of the replies that I can add to my endorsements book (nice things people say about me) will earn a special Brown & Haley treat. Better stories earn better treats too! Seems silly, self-indulgent, and a bit weird, but I really have a need for these stories for something I'm working on. So if I've helped you, entertained you, or taught you anything, please tell me your story. You don't even have to be a client - just willing to share. No pressure except Free Chocolate!

The testimonial responses I received were amazing. So many heartfelt words of thanks and praise. "You were a Godsend...", "You saved our home...", "We couldn't have done this without you..." just started pouring in. Then "Joe" calls and says, "I'm not a good writer, so would you just re-do my loan instead?" You bet. And then the referrals started coming in.

Since Good Friday, I have 7 loans already in processing that I can tie directly to this one email blast. I have other future loans coming too. All because I shared a childhood memory, a piece of myself, and a few pieces of chocolate. It's hard to ask for help sometimes, but if you're truly trying to take care of your clients, they'll be there for you when you need them. And sometimes, you just need to let them know you need them.