One family, one corner, and one very persistent guest.
Phantom Fluff is the third business to operate at 412 Chase Street. The first was a family. The second was a boarding house. The third is us, and we have no plans to be the fourth.
The woman the building belongs to.
Mildred Jean Pemberton was born in the upstairs bedroom of 412 Chase in 1893 and died in the same room in 1967, at ninety-three. Between those two events she raised four children, outlived two husbands, ran a twelve-room boarding house through the Depression and two wars, and, by every account on file at the Athens-Clarke County Library, never once raised her voice.
She had three rules for her boarders: no smoking upstairs, no profanity at the table, and laundry day was Wednesday. The first two are no longer enforced.
"A house is only as kept as its linens. Wash what is yours."
— Mildred, in a 1962 church newsletter
How a boarding house became a laundromat.
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1911
The house is built
Commissioned by Edwin and Mildred Pemberton shortly after their marriage. A Queen Anne–style wood frame with a wraparound porch. The original porch columns are still visible behind the dryer bank.
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1931
Becomes a boarding house
Widowed for the second time, Mildred converts the upstairs into six rent-by-the-month rooms and hangs a hand-painted sign in the window. Weekly rate: $4.50, bedding included.
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1967
Mildred passes away
In her own bed, upstairs, at ninety-three. Her will left the building to her grandson Calvin with one written instruction: "Keep it useful. Do not sell it to a bank."
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1968
Phantom Fluff opens
Calvin Pemberton installs twelve Maytag washers where the parlor used to be. The first customer is Bobby Travers, a UGA student, paying eleven cents a load. The name on the awning reads "Pemberton Washeteria." The nickname "Phantom Fluff" comes later, after an incident with a basket of towels that folded themselves overnight. The nickname sticks. In 1984 it's made official.
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1994
First documented sighting
A student named Priya K. writes a letter to the Red & Black describing a "kind-looking older woman in a housecoat" who told her which dryer was running hottest. There was no such employee on shift.
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2011
Tamra takes over
Tamra Pemberton-Ruiz, Mildred's great-granddaughter, inherits the business from her father. She repaints the interior, installs the card kiosk, keeps the chair by the back window, and writes "Hi, Gran" on the chalkboard every morning.
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Today
Still here
Twenty-two washers, ten dryers, one ghost, and a commitment to being open when nowhere else is. We'll leave the light on. The light was going to stay on anyway.
Reports kept by the front counter.
Tamra keeps a spiral notebook near the register. Customers write things in it. Here are a few recent entries, unedited.
- Feb 14, 2026 Dropped off basket, paid $5, went to get coffee at Jittery Joe's. Came back, towels folded in thirds, corners lined up perfect. My husband can't even do that. — L.M.
- Feb 22, 2026 Machine 7 ran cold again, got my load done in 38 min instead of 42, not complaining. — Anonymous
- Mar 03, 2026 I swear the radio changed stations at 2:14am. Went from country to big band. Stayed on big band the rest of the night. Was not mad about it. — Trev
- Mar 11, 2026 Left a note asking for help with a pile of baby onesies. Came back to them folded AND sorted by size. Started crying in my car. Thank you, Mildred. — Keisha B.
- Mar 28, 2026 Dropped a quarter, it rolled behind machine 14. Heard a little "tsk" sound. Quarter was on the counter when I checked out. — D.
- Apr 09, 2026 No paranormal activity tonight. Just wanted to say the folding tables are a really good height. Thanks. — Marcus
Come in. Ask for Tamra.
She's here Monday through Friday, nine to five, and she loves telling the story of the time Mildred reorganized the detergent shelf during a power outage in 2019.
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