Sequim’s Heritage House celebrates centennial

SEQUIM — In downtown Sequim sits a home that many visitors have called “perfect,” an “oasis” and a “secret garden.”

The Sequim Heritage House, a name coined by owner Winnie Greenaway-Palm, is a Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO No. 871749) at 312 N. Second Ave. She’s been renting the home for seven-plus years and opened it up for tours to celebrate its 100th anniversary on Nov. 9 for family members, friends and longtime visitors.

“If only these walls could talk,” Greenaway-Palm said. “There have been such wonderful stories here.

“It’s a house that welcomes people.”

She and her late husband Walt Greenaway purchased the 1924 Dutch Colonial home in 1998 from Donna and Wayman “Toad” Rettig, who had owned it for 10 years.

Greenaway and her current husband, Don Palm, are the fifth family to have owned the home.

Angus Hay, the second owner of the Sequim Press newspaper, built the home with his wife Vesta for $10,000 from 1922-24. It features five bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms.

Angus died in 1931 and Vesta continued the paper’s ownership off and on through 1949.

Gordon Hay, Angus and Vesta’s son, came by one time many years ago, Greenaway-Palm said, and reminisced about bringing rocks back to the house from the Dungeness River to build the home’s fireplace near the kitchen.

Through her research, Greenaway-Palm said the Boettchers family purchased the home in 1949, followed by Mike and Jean Nielsen in 1984 and the Rettigs in 1989.

Prayer and purchase

Greenaway-Palm told open house visitors that, 26 years ago, she heard a suggestion from God during a walk that she should look into buying the home.

“I never wanted it, never even thought about it, and I had never even seen it because it had this hedge around it,” she said.

“I thought, ‘That’s nice,’ but do I hear what I’m really hearing?”

She told her prayer group about it, and then they started praying and walking by the home, too.

“I was concerned (the owners) thought we were stalking them,” Greenaway-Palm said.

The next week, she felt a nudge to go to the front door and knock, but with no answer, she turned to leave. She was greeted by Donna Rettig once she reached the picket fence.

Greenaway-Palm asked Rettig if she’d consider selling, and that led to an hour-long conversation with Rettig asking many personal questions.

Greenaway-Palm tried to politely leave, but she later realized she was being questioned to see how good of a fit she’d be for the home.

Rettig told her husband, a World War II veteran, about Greenaway-Palm’s credentials and background, and they agreed she would be a great owner. Rettig said to Greenaway-Palm that she, too, similarly asked the Nielsens about its for-sale status.

The day Greenaway-Palm signed for the home also was her birthday, she said.

She and Walter Greenaway had invested most of their money into the home, she said, but friends and neighbors were supportive, bringing them many things, such as furnishings.

“We even had a woman who brought a crystal bowl,” Greenaway-Palm said. “(The woman) said, ‘I think this belongs in this house.’”

Support

Walter Greenaway is known for opening and serving as the first Chief Criminal Defense lawyer and administrator for the Clallam and Jefferson Public Defense office. He also was a U.S. Federal Magistrate for the Olympic National Park and three regional military bases.

Walter’s son, Roberts Greenaway of Eatonville, said the look and feel of the house remains “marvelous” after so many years, and he fondly remembers visits to help with repairs or for vacation.

Despite Walter’s death, Roberts said he could still visualize his father sitting in certain rooms like many years ago.

“This was meant to be,” he said of Greenaway-Palm purchasing the house 26 years ago.

“It’s about being the right fit … and Winnie was the right person.”

Deb Arney of Olympia was one of the many guests who visited for the open house, and she even stayed the night of the event.

She first rented Sequim Heritage House with college friends in July 2023 after she experienced a house fire a month prior.

“Winnie rescued me,” Arney said.

She was able to stay in the Sequim house for four months with Greenaway-Palm’s help, working with Arney’s insurance company to make it work as repairs were made to her Olympia-area home.

“(Sequim Heritage House) is a cause to celebrate,” Arney said.

Hundreds of people

As a retired private practice counselor, Greenaway-Palm and her current husband live on Bell Hill while continuing to oversee rentals of Sequim Heritage House.

“Hundreds of people have enjoyed the house from as far away as Australia and as close as Sequim,” she said.

The home sleeps 12 in its five themed bedrooms, including a nautical room.

There’s an outside gazebo, summertime garden, large kitchen space and plenty of amenities. A cottage house recently was added, and she’s looking for a long-term single renter for the guest cottage, she said.

“I just want to share the joy of this house with others,” Greenaway-Palm said.

She and many helpers have done a lot of updating to the home while trying to keep things period-appropriate, such as older light fixtures with updated wiring.

Greenaway-Palm said she’s grateful owners didn’t cover up the bones of the home, such as its hardwood floors, or remove its archway entry.

Her favorite spot, and many others’ favorite, is the kitchen.

When living there, Greenaway-Palm liked to turn on the stove by the window, drink a warm beverage and watch the sunrise.

“The yard is wonderful in the summer too,” she said.

For more information on Sequim Heritage house, visit https://t.vrbo.io/rbfVi3nBxOb or email Greenaway-Palm at winniegreenaway@yahoo.com.

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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.