Bradley House bids adieu to community

To The Eagle:

As of December 15, 2012, the Bradley House Inn closed its door for business. We have had 11 years of being an innkeeper and we greatly appreciate all the support from our community.

Our dream was to offer something that the town so desperately needed at the time. I remember after buying the Bradley House, we were sitting in the Riverview eating dinner. Six people (a couple and a party of four) were looking for lodging. There was none, so we offered our house for free. After all, we had four empty rooms. Four of those same people have returned every year.

We wanted to close two years ago when the hotel first opened but we soon realized that the hotel would not make it. Sadly, unless we closed, the hotel could not make it. When we heard that the Cochrans and Prestegards had bought the hotel, we were one of the first to congratulate them on the day they closed escrow. At that time we asked them what their plans were. We were excited to hear that Stephanie was going to put 100 percent into the running of the hotel. We then told them our plans. We are so pleased to see the hotel slowly coming back to life. And we are pleased that we can now move on to another venture. Though we are not sure what that is right now, time will tell.

We wanted to thank a few people who were the first to welcome us to Cathlamet and share its history, especially about the Bradley House.

Larry and Pat Reese were the first people to welcome us. They came to the house and invited us to our first Skamokawa Follies.

Because of Jim and Carol Mast we were included at some absolutely amazing events at the marina with all the yacht clubs. Many a crab feast as Carol is an amazing cook. Great stories of Jim as a boy and how he used to deliver groceries to Mrs. Bradley.

Jim Wilson, who taught me how raccoons are hunted in Cathlamet. Giggles...

Pam Hanson, our neighbor. Did you know she is a renaissance woman? She replaced the stained glass windows on the second floor. The originals were moved to Seaview. She took a picture of the original and scaled it down to pieces. They are gorgeous! There is nothing she can’t do. She is an artist in her own right.

To our guests who have been so loyal and returned every year. We have collected 23 guest books (people write reviews of their stay) with over 3,000 entries.

We are so privileged to live in such a warm and friendly community. Remember to shop and dine locally. Main Street is Cathlamet, and without Main Street and its businesses there is no Cathlamet.

Until we meet again, thank you.

Dennis and Audi Belcher

The Bradley House, Cathlamet