Editor,
This year marks 70 years of the Fremont House in Mariposa, and as I think about that milestone, so many memories come flooding back.
In 1972, the year I graduated from Mariposa County High School, I started working full-time with my dad. Before that, I worked part-time at the store. I can still remember pricing Levi’s at $4.98 a pair!
Over all those years, I had the privilege of waiting on hundreds and hundreds of people from Mariposa and the surrounding communities. I cherish those memories more than I can say. I often think about all the people I met along the way, and sometimes I wish I could bring them all back just for a little while.
I also think about my dad, who opened the Fremont House in 1956 with the $2,500 he had saved while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Seventy years later, I know he would be incredibly proud to see his granddaughter, Elise Bevington, here and ready to carry on what he started.
After more than 50 years, I am learning how to step away and hand the reins of the store to my daughter, Elise. She has been with the store faithfully for more than four years, and I have to say, I am so excited about what lies ahead.
The most important thing to me is that she loves it. That’s all I needed to hear from her.
I know Elise will be wonderful for the Fremont House and for the people of Mariposa. I wish I could be around for another
50 years to watch her carry it forward, but I know that’s not reality. What I do know is that the store is in very good hands.
And last but certainly not least, I want to recognize Kathleen Leavitt, owner of Mariposa Shipping. Kathleen was here with us for more than 20 years and helped bring us through both good times and some very difficult times. I will always appreciate her friendship, her loyalty and everything she has done for the store and our family. I will never forget it.
I hope everyone will welcome Elise and support her as she takes the Fremont House into its next chapter. I’m pretty sure, from the looks of it, she’s going to outperform what I did!
So, from her dad: Elise, take it to 100 years!
Mike Radanovich
Mariposa
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