JEANIE BREALL
Jeanie “Jelly Bean” Breall [Article taken from Portland Downtowner November 13, 1989] “It all began the summer my folks took my sister [Roberta] and me to Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival. I was five. We stayed at a motel with a large swimming pool and a swimming instructor. When my sister went to class, I stayed back and sold hot dogs a the concession stand next to the motel. My entrepreneurship surfaced again when I was in the fourth –grade in grammar school I began a potato hasher in the school cafeteria and I got my lunches free. On my 16th birthday, I applied at Meir & Frank for a job and was a hosiery saleswoman on Saturdays and holidays. My family and mother’s friends bought so many pairs of hose form me. I was promoted to button girl on the fifth floor. I then became a floater, selling in every department.
I took an aptitude test in high school which said I should be a mechanic I figured I’d stick to business. At 17, I had a salesman’s sample shop in my parent’s party room At 18, I entered Portland State University, majoring in Business Administration. At the same time, I opened a small clothing store in 1964 called, “Jeanie’s Last Straw,” a block away from campus. I then decided to try my hand at domesticity, but the urge to be my own person intervened and on November 23, 1968, I opened the “Jelly Bean”.
For the first few years, it was a dress shop called “JELLY BEAN Clothing”, located at 862 SW 10thand then she transferred all her time to a successful card shop and moved to 721 SW 10th in 1990.
And from here, on the corner of 10th and Yamhill, after 21 years, I still call the Jelly Bean my home.”
Jeannie sold the Jelly Bean and moved to La Jolla to spend time with her parents Frank and Anette Breal. When they both passed, Jeannie moved to Seaside, Oregon.
Jeannie passed on June 1, 2024.
Left is an ad in Flash magazine January 1981. Right is a tote bag from the Jelly Bean.
Below are photos from Jeanie’s home in Beaverton.
ABOVE LEFT: Postcard when Jeanie had the Jelly Bean clothing store.ABOVE LEFT PHOTO: L-R Sanford Director, Walter W Cole/Darcelle and Jeanie. Below are photos of Jeanie completing at the Foxy Lady contest in 1975 at Darcelle XV Showplace. Sanford Director, her cousin [in drag sitting on stage left] started Foxy Lady in companion with Mr. Hunky. Here is Jeanie on stage at Darcelle XV.
Photos from Foxy Lady scrapbook - 1975; along with Jeanie’s application to be part of the Foxy Lady competition.
