❖ 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.