"The past actually happened but history is only what someone wrote down." A. Whitney Brown.

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San Juan Archipelago, Washington State, United States
A society formed in 2009 for the purpose of collecting, preserving, celebrating, and disseminating the maritime history of the San Juan Islands and northern Puget Sound area. Check this log for tales from out-of-print publications as well as from members and friends. There are circa 750, often long entries, on a broad range of maritime topics; there are search aids at the bottom of the log. Please ask for permission to use any photo posted on this site. Thank you.

04 July 2019

❖ PEGLEG BILL, LONG-TIMER OF FIDALGO ISLAND


PEGLEG BILL
photo dated 1972
Anacortes, WA.
from the archives of the
Saltwater People Historical Society©
AP Wirephoto.
"Pegleg Bill, a one-legged Glaucous-winged seagull whose home for more than 25 years has been the old pilings of an Anacortes, wood products company drives off a young competitor. 
      In 1947, a millworker rescued the bird when a bullet had left one leg smashed and dangling. A coworker, Clyde LeMaister, packs an extra sandwich daily for Pegleg Bill, who flies to unknown breeding rocks every April and returns each September to his 5-acre kingdom. When LeMaister retires next year, the bird no doubt will be on hand to screech a farewell."

~Clyde Bernard LeMaister (1908-2005) born on Lopez Island, lived to be 97 years, probably long surpassing the years of his bud, Pegleg Bill.
      Clyde, who served in Germany in the US Army 1944-1946, was one of the original shareholders in Anacortes Veneer. He worked as a tugboat operator until retirement in 1973 and was a member of the Samish Indian Nation. He was  buried on Guemes Island.

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