Betty Wetter hosts Tush at the Clock-Out Lounge the last Thursday of the month. Credit: STEPHEN ANUNSON

Betty Wetter hosts Tush at the Clock-Out Lounge the last Thursday of the month.

Betty Wetter hosts Tush at the Clock-Out Lounge the last Thursday of the month. STEPHEN ANUNSON

Betty Wetter seems like she has always existed. She’s an old soul, a neighborhood character, a vision of glamour in a vintage dress.

She’s usually in command of the room, because she’s typically hosting whatever party it is. And she’s hard to miss, because she’s everywhere—from the trivia night she hosts on Queen Anne to the bingo night she hosts on Capitol Hill to the game show she hosts in Ballard to the drag variety show she hosts on Beacon Hill.

Despite appearances, she’s not immortal, she doesn’t exist everywhere at once, and she hasn’t been here long. She’s the creation of a 32-year-old from North Carolina named Scotty Cayton, who moved to Seattle in his late 20s and only started doing drag five years ago.

Christopher Frizzelle was The Stranger's print editor, and first joined the staff in 2003. He was the editor-in-chief from 2007 to 2016, and edited the story by Eli Sanders that won a 2012 Pulitzer...