Vera Eide (1903 - 1997)
Owner, Eide's store, 1946-1988

Vera Eide in her store	Scale from Eide's Store
	The Key To Rosedale This key, electing Mrs. Eide Honorary Mayor of Rosedale, was given to her by the residents of Rosedale on her 75th birthday.

The road to Rosedale starts in downtown Gig Harbor and goes directly to the little store with the gas pumps. From the day John and Vera Eide opened the store in 1946, it has been the hub and the business district of the community.

Many people called her "Eide" ­ just plain "Eide" without the "Mrs." Persons new to the community continued the custom and were embarrassed to learn "Eide" wasn't her first name. Eide had sharp eyes and a sharp voice that scared children and terrified salesmen, until they found her out. Her brusque demeanor concealed a caring individual who looked after the whole neighborhood. Delivery people came to her for directions. She knew where everyone lived and the best way to get there.

Eide knew everything about everybody. She knew the senior citizens and those who were too ill to come to the store. They phoned in their orders and Eide personally delivered the groceries to their homes. She loved kids and kept a box of penny candy ready for them.

She hated daylight savings time and refused to change her clock. Tiring of customers commenting on the discrepancy between their time (daylight savings) and her time (standard) she posted a large sign on the clock saying, "EIDE'S TIME." The sign is still there.

Eide ran the store on her own after her husband died in 1970. In 1988, at the age of 85, Mrs. Eide sold her store and retired.

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