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<\/p>\nWhen you get to a certain age, money doesn\u2019t mean much.<\/p>\n
Having lots of things doesn\u2019t mean much.
\nWhat means much is family, friends, and a happy home.<\/p>\n
So, when developers offered Edith Macefield a million dollars to move so they could demolish her home and build more places that sell stuff and offer stuff she flat out said, \u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n
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SOURCE:BOST WIKI \u2013 YOUTUBE<\/p>\n
Macefield wanted to stay in her 100-year-old Ballard, Washington home.
\nSome people called the move \u201cpunk rock\u201d or \u201crebellious\u201d or even a big middle finger in the face of capitalism and its pursuit of growth in order to increase profits.<\/p>\n
It is unknown if Macefield saw it that way, but she did live her life the way she saw fit regardless of what anyone else had to say about it.<\/p>\n
BostWiki reports that she told her mother she was going to college at the age of 16 and secretly joined the army which brought her to England.
\nShe then got kicked out of the army after they learned she was underage. She stayed in England and ended up taking in war orphans and even toured with the Royal Army\u2019s marching band.<\/p>\n
She also convinced some of her friends that she was working as a spy.<\/p>\n
Macefield later moved to Ballard, Seattle in 1952.
\nAfter Macefield refused to sell her home in 2007, she and the developers were in a stalemate.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
SOURCE:BOST WIKI \u2013 YOUTUBE<\/p>\n
So, she kept her house, and the developers built a massive office and retail complex around it. They bought up all of 46th street except for Macefield\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
The big grey-blocked buildings are a far cry from the rural neighborhood by the lake the neighborhood used to be when Ballard moved in.
\nThough Disney Pixar says the story for the movie \u201cUp\u201d wasn\u2019t directly inspired by the Macefield house, they reportedly attached balloons to the house to promote the movie. Macefield and her home ended up becoming a local symbol for anti-development and the \u201cfiercely independent spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2013, they even named the Macefield Music Festival after her in honor of \u201cholding onto things that are important to you.<\/p>\n
After Macefield died, she left the home to construction superintendent Barry Martin after they befriended each other.
\nHe sold the property in 2009, but it went into foreclosure and was put on the auction block where it didn\u2019t get any bids.<\/p>\n
The house was scheduled to be demolished and there were several attempts by the community to save the home and keep it as a landmark.<\/p>\n
Many tying balloons to the house\u2019s fence.
\n\u201cThere are always people rolling by here. They\u2019re very emotionally attached to it,\u201d Steven Raymond told Fox 13 Seattle. \u201cI think it speaks volumes about how fast the city is changing and how people love to hold on to a little bit of magic.\u201d<\/p>\n