Business Owner's Generosity Was The Spice Of Life For Woman, 80

'Tis the season for good news about folks and businesses that know how to do things right. A couple of weeks ago I asked readers to help me out with stories like these below . . .

Ruth G. McDonald of Bothell reported in with a whale of a tale about Wiley Mullins, founder of Uncle Wiley's Inc., a Fairfield, Conn., company that specializes in Southern-style seasonings and spices.

McDonald subscribes to Southern Living, a magazine that does for the South what Sunset does for the West. In November's Southern Living, McDonald found "a very tempting sweet potato cake recipe" that called for Mullins' seasonings.

She couldn't locate any local stores that sell Uncle Wiley's seasonings, so she phoned the company's 800 line. But she learned the company only sold the seasoning she wanted in case lots.

Since McDonald wanted to make the cake to serve at Thanksgiving to celebrate her son Pete's 50th birthday, she continued searching.

She phoned friends and relatives in Florida, Chicago and Nashville, hoping they could locate the spices and mail them to her, but to no avail. She didn't know then that Uncle Wiley's is on the Worldwide Web.

At one point, McDonald was given a direct number to call Uncle Wiley's business office in Connecticut.

The following morning Wiley Mullins, the founder and owner, called her. Via Federal Express, he sent free spices for the cake and samples of his other products.

And Mullins followed up with another call to be sure the items had arrived safely. On the second call, he and McDonald talked about history in Memphis, where she spent some time in the 1930s, and about Haleyville, Ala., where she had cousins.

As a teenager, McDonald had heard W.C. Handy, an American composer who became known as the father of the blues, play in a theater on Beale Street in Memphis.

"She was interesting, and we had the best time talking," Mullins said.

So how often does "Uncle Wiley" himself answer the phone and get this involved with fans?

"You'd be surprised how often this happens," Mullins said.

Not being an Internet user at the time, McDonald had no way of knowing she could have ordered Mullins' products off his Web site, www.unclewileys.com

The sweet potato cake recipe is there, too.

Now, McDonald has received even more of Uncle Wiley's seasonings through the mail from diligent family shoppers in other cities.

She can use them to celebrate her 80th birthday on New Year's Eve. "And," she added, "I need to get computer literate." She's already e-mailed her thanks to Mullins on a friend's computer.

Maryanne Borders recalled the kindness of a hair stylist five years ago. "I was having chemotherapy for breast cancer and was just starting to lose my hair, which at that time was almost waist length. One morning, in frustration before work, I gathered my hair into a ponytail and chopped it off in the back. As I wanted to be presentable, at least for work, I stopped by Supercuts (1550 E. Olive Way, Seattle) on my way to work, to at least have it trimmed more neatly.

"It was, of course, obvious to the hair cutter that I was having more than normal hair loss. Though I still had a presentable head of hair, we talked about the chemotherapy, etc., and he was so wonderfully sympathetic and kind and didn't even charge me for the cut, which looked wonderful . . .

"Every time I pass by that salon on Capitol Hill I think of that man's sensitivity and kindness and wish that I had known his name to have thanked him!"

The shop's assistant manager, Sarah Morello, could not pinpoint the employee described, but we say take a bow all around!

Jerry M. Brinkman wrote to commend Ken Gast at the Better Hearing Center, 8401 Greenwood Ave. N., Seattle.

Gast is "one of the most ethical, caring, good-hearted and compassionate people my mom and I have ever met. He takes time and care to help people with hearing problems and is not in it for the money. He really wants to help people and he does. He took extra time to help my mom with her hearing needs and I've seen him do it with others. It may come from him knowing what others feel as he wears a hearing aid, but I feel it's deeper. He really cares about people."

Cees Albright had a rave for REI in Redmond. About 18 months ago, Albright bought a pair of Polartec pants from the store, and recently the elastic in the waist became twisted, so she tried to repair it.

"All I succeeded in doing was ripping the waistband from the pants. On Dec. 3, I took this sorry item to the Redmond REI and asked if they would be able to repair them. The staff member - a great guy whose name I don't remember - told me it was very sweet of me to try to fix them but it was their problem, not mine, and took me by the elbow to locate a replacement pair. The same type no longer was available but I was free to replace them with a different pair. I am sure there was nothing they could do with my old, ripped-up pants. I was overwhelmed and it reinforced my opinion that REI is a great place to shop!"

An REI spokesman confirms the store's policy is that items are 100 percent guaranteed. No wonder REI, founded in 1938, has about 6 million members, 1.6 million of whom were active shoppers in the past year.

Sadly, an illness brought Valerie Park to live with her parents in the Northwest. But en route here from Detroit, where she was attending law school, something nice happened.

Park says it took several trips to move back here in the fall of 1998. Her plans were made hastily so she barely got to the Detroit/Wayne County Airport and parked in the short-term high-rent area.

"I knew my parking bill would be sky high."

The night she returned to Detroit, she'd forgotten where she'd parked. So she called the security officers expecting to be scolded for wasting their time.

"But, rather, a man arrived in a car in a few minutes, and was pleasant and polite as he drove me around the structure until I found my car. I told him the circumstances of my trip. When we arrived at my car, he asked for my parking stub. He took it to his car, and a minute later returned with another one. It was issued earlier that day. He said, `This should save you some money.' I thanked him effusively. The parking bill cost three dollars, when it would have cost $250. I think of that a lot and I'm a little embarrassed that I haven't passed on that kindness yet. I hope to do so this Christmas season."

More good news in this column on Sunday.

Shelby Gilje's Troubleshooter column appears Wednesday and Sunday in the Scene section of The Times. Write to Times Troubleshooter, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111. Phone, 206-464-2262, fax 206-382-8873, or e-mail address, troubleshooter@seattletimes.co.