George Lightfoot

George Washington Lightfoot (born 1889 in Denver, Colorado – died 1941 in Mercer Island, Washington[1]) was a Mercer Island business owner known campaigning for more than 12 years to build what was then known as the Lake Washington Floating Bridge[2] connecting the island to Seattle across Lake Washington. George Lightfoot, commonly known as "Speed", and his brother, Ewart Gladstone Lightfoot, commonly known as "Hap", ran Lightfoot Enterprises on Mercer Island from 1914 through the early 1980s. Lightfoot Enterprises included the first grocery store, post office, gas station, dance/movie hall and bakery on Mercer Island. George Lightfoot was also a very good vaudeville musician who performed under the stage name "The Jolly Hobo Globetrotter" along with his sister, Eva, known as "The Mandolin Banjo Fiend".

George Lightfoot circa 1935

References
  1. "Obituaries; G. W. Lightfoot Taken By Death" (PDF), The Seattle Times, April 18, 1941
  2. "Lake Washington Floating Bridge is dedicated on July 2, 1940." Washington State Department of Transportation. http://www.historylink.org/File/682
  • Gellatly, Judy (1989), Mercer Island Heritage, Mercer Island Historical Society
  • Hilliard, N. (2008). Mercer Island Old and New - Redux.


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