Edith Leithauser - pioneering Sisters retailer

"Must have been about 1944, I was in another part of our store when I heard my two young children, Frank and Joanne, giggling wildly with a customer in one of the aisles," Edith Leithauser said.

"Thinking they were bothering the customer I apologized to the pleasant-looking man as he approached the cash register."

Smiling, the man said, "They're not bothering me at all. I was talking with them in my Daffy Duck voice and they thought it was hilarious!"

The man was Mel Blanc, the well-known voice actor behind the animated characters of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, and many others.

Meeting Blanc is just one of many stories that Edith Leithauser - 89 and a resident of Sisters since 1941 - relates about the early days of owning and operating a retail store in Sisters.

Born in 1919 in Boring, Oregon, Edith was the second of four daughters born to Floyd and Viola Lake. Boring had only an elementary/middle school so all four girls attended and graduated from Sandy High School.

The depression affected many families in the area but the Lakes fared better than most.

"My father was a postal carrier in the area so he had consistent employment throughout those years," Edith recalled.

Steady employment, however, couldn't prevent her mother's debilitating illness. Even after all these years, Edith still gets emotional when she remembers her mother's pain.

"My mother was bedridden with peritonitis so I had to step in and take care of my sisters, getting them ready for school, putting the cow in the pasture, and preparing meals. I learned about responsibility at a very early age," she said.

Edith's mother eventually had surgery in a Portland hospital with a full recovery and lived to be 95 years old.

Following graduation from Sandy High, Edith Lake attended Behnke-Walker Business College in Portland. Her stay at the college was short-lived as she caught the eye of another student, a young man raised in Sisters by the name of Pete Leithauser.

Pete and Edith married in 1938 and soon after made their first move to Sisters. This initial move didn't work out and they departed, only to return again in 1941. With one child in tow (Frank, born in 1940), the Leithauser's began the process of buying Pete's father's grocery store, Leithauser's Grocery, which was located at the present site of Sisters Bakery on Cascade Avenue.

"We lived in the back of the store in a large room. It had everything we needed and it was convenient because we worked all the time, all my kids too!" recalled Edith.

As the '40s rolled into the '50s and the Leithauser family grew to five children, Pete simply expanded the store to accommodate both an expanding product line and his growing family.The store name changed as well, from Leithauser's Grocery to Leithauser's Supermarket.

"Seems like we were always expanding, moving stock, bringing in new items to meet the needs of people at the time. I listened very carefully to what folks wanted because there wasn't anywhere else locally to get certain items," said Edith.

There were three food retailers in Sisters at the time. Residents were generally very loyal and "traded" with one retailer.

"I was always very friendly to my customers and as a result we had a loyal following. I even made a point of remembering tourist0s' names - folks who only came in once a year," recalled Edith.

Leithauser's Supermarket operated from the early 1920s to 1977. After operating the store for 36 years, Pete and Edith sold the store to Art Tennell, who moved it to its present location in the Three Winds Shopping Center, now Ray's Food Place.

Edith and Pete moved into a new home they built on 40 acres just outside the city limits north of town in 1977.

Early promoters and volunteers with the Sisters Rodeo, Edith fondly recalls cutting out pieces of oil cloth to use as numbers for the contestants in the 1942 rodeo which took place in the field just north of the present site of Conklin's Guest House.

"A few of us did everything, from making numbers to operating the chutes, seems like everyone in town got involved in some way," remembers Edith.

In recognition of their heritage with the Sisters Rodeo, both Pete and Edith were honored by being named Rodeo Parade Grand Marshals, Pete in 1986, Edith in 2005.

Recalling the experience, Edith said, "They treated me so well! A beautiful jacket with my name on it, wonderful seats at the rodeo, and being parade marshal. It was so nice!"

Sadly, Pete did not live long enough to see his wife receive her honor. He passed away in 1990. At 89, Edith still enjoys all that life has to offer. She's active in her church, attends senior events in the community, and enjoys Model A Fords, a passion she shares with her family.

Be sure to watch for Edith Leithauser's bright smile and shining eyes in next summer's rodeo parade - she'll be riding in a Model A Ford, waving to everyone, just like she does every year.