be generous, yet she would not tolerate any backtalk from them. She also did not allow patrons to get out of control. In one story, two legislators, J. D. Bagley and M. S. Griswold, got into a fist fight argument in her hotel. She stepped in and embraced Mr. Griswold, lifted him two feet off the ground, and held him tight until he lost his breath and any further will to fight. With increasing wealth, Rebecca Howard now required people to address her as "Mrs. Howard". Governor William Pickering made the mistake of addressing her as "Aunty". She fixed a stern gaze at him and informed him that, to the best of her knowledge, she was not a sister of either his father or mother. After seven years of running the Pacific Hotel and Restaurant, Mrs. Howard had become wealthy and decided to retire. She built a house north of town, and her husband became a farmer. While retired, Mrs. Howard continued to build her wealth. In 1870 it was shown that there were 221 taxpayers listed on the Census in the Washington Territory. All were white men, except Rebecca Howard, whose wealth exceeded $50,000 in property. In 1870, Mrs. Howard returned to her former business endeavors. She opened a boarding house and then reopened the Pacific Hotel and Restaurant under her proprietorship. In 1880, she hosted President Rutherford B. Hayes, and his wife Lucy at the hotel. Civic contributions A number of accounts indicate that Rebecca Howard supported the orphaned daughter of her former master and owner back east. This generosity was also given to various institutions and community projects in Olympia. Mrs. Howard joined St. John's Episcopal Church, which exhibits the openness of the community and church in that time. Mrs. Howard was a faithful communicant and liberal supporter of St John's. The following story was told about her: Upon one of his visits Bishop Benjamin Morris brought Mrs. Morris and two of his sisters-in-law to the service. Mrs. Morris and her sisters took a pew which happened to be the one always occupied by Mrs. Howard. A few minutes later Mrs. Howard came in, dressed in all her finery and found her pew occupied by strangers. She took a place a few pews away and then turned and stared at Mrs. Morris and her sisters until they, embarrassed, moved into another pew. Mrs. Howard then triumphantly marched