POULSBO — A celebration of Glenn Haskin’s 90th birthday is scheduled for June 7, 1-4 p.m., at the First Lutheran Church of Poulsbo, 18920 4th Ave. Light refreshments will be provided; the family asks “no gifts, please.”
“My Dad is a lifelong resident of Poulsbo,” said his daughter, Sue Haskin. “I think at this point, he is the oldest living Poulsbo fireman. He is also one of the oldest living Masons within the Warren G. Harding Lodge.”
Glenn Haskin graduated from what is now North Kitsap High School in 1943 and joined the Army. He was trained as a pilot to fly a P-51. After the war, he returned to Poulsbo.
Growing up, his parents owned Len’s Cafe on Main Street and, like many business owners of the time, the family lived above the restaurant. He played with other children of downtown business owners, such as Pat Young, Dale Anderson, Lorrain and Lorretta Torgeson, Dixie Hallet, and his sister, Lorraine Haskin.
The restaurant was also the Bremerton Transit Bus Company depot, so Glenn was kept busy before and after school. He kept the wood stove filled, sold bus tickets and helped around the cafe.
When World War II started, the government built homes at what is now Poulsbo Place for military personnel and ran a boat for workers from Poulsbo to Keyport.
“Len’s Cafe had 52 employees at that time, making it the largest employer in town,” Sue Haskin said. “The restaurant had four cooks and one person was hired to do nothing other than make sack lunches. On a typical day, Len’s Cafe put out over 500 lunches to go. A sack lunch included two sandwiches, fruit and a baked good. The restaurant was open almost 24 hours a day and customers consumed 20 pounds of coffee a day. Coffee was 5 cents a cup and refills were free.”
After the war, Glenn married Aubynn Ann Knudson, daughter of George and Ida Knudson, owners of Knudson Motors and Ford garage on Main Street. “My dad worked in the Ford garage, later worked for Fred Hill Materials, owned S&W Construction, and retired from the county,” Sue Haskin said.
His wife passed away in 1968. He later married Isabelle Burdyshaw. “He and Isabelle have traveled extensively and [have] enjoyed a wonderful life together in Poulsbo,” Sue Haskin said.
