❖ WHALE OFF WHIDBEY ISLAND ❖

"Little-piked" whale, 
Off Double Bluff, Whidby Island, Washington State.
Original photo from the S. P. H. S. , dated 5 July 1954.

"Puget Sound summers not only lure thousands of tourists––now they've convinced a whale this is the place to spend the summer.
      The whale is a full grown little-piked whale. The "little" is misleading. This whale weighs four to five tons.
      For the past four summers the visitor has appeared off the shore of Double Bluff, on the west side of Whidby Island. And the whale is there again this summer [1954].
      Spinning fishermen and Game Department men have had the huge mammal for a fishing partner regularly off Double Bluff, one of the state's top spinning grounds.
      The whale is the smallest species of the baleen whales of the Pacific Coast, maturing at about 27 to 30-ft.
      The first Puget Sound specimen on record was found on the north shore of Admiralty Inlet, a few miles north of Double Bluff, in 1872. It was 27-ft long.
      Little-piked whales reportedly were captured by Indians off Cape Flattery and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
      A young female specimen was captured in a salmon trap off Whidby Island in 1928. It was brought to Seattle, where it was frozen. It still is on exhibit at the Port of Seattle's Frozen Fish Exhibit at the Spokane Street cold-storage warehouse. It is 13-ft long and weighed about 1,400 pounds.
      Two specimens were found in fresh-water tributaries of Puget Sound. In 1929 McAllister Creek Estuary in the Nisqually Valley gave up one, and another swam up the Snohomish River for more than ten miles before it was killed in 1938.
      A whale of this type was found in 1945 on the beach of Waadah Island, Neah Bay, WA. It was thought that this whale fell victim to antisubmarine devices during WW II.
      The little-piked whale feasts on candlefish and does not disturb salmon. It is hunted commercially by Norwegian whalers.
      Many persons have confused the little-piked whale with the  blackfish, or killer whale. The blackfish measures only about 15-ft."
Above text as reported in The Seattle Times, 5 July 1954.

Species map from the IUCN Red List website.

This whale, now more commonly known in the PNW as the Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) has innumerable common names. It is found in all oceans. No known estimate of total global population but estimates from parts of the range in the N. Hemisphere show it is well above threshold for the threatened category. For more information on the habitat see the IUCN Red List here

   

Double Bluff beach at the State Park ,
South Whidbey's best public beach.
24,000+ ft stretch of beach on the SW shore,
Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet).

❖ MARINE SUPPLY AND HARDWARE ❖ Rags to Riches in Heritage and History

Words by Bonnie Graham McDade for the former Washington State Ferries publication Enetai, 14 January 1983.

Marine Supply and Hardware,
Commercial Street, Anacortes, WA.
Web photo by Elizabeth K posted in 2012.
Mural art by Bill Mitchell.

"Steve Demopoulos, has taken the heritage his Greek grandfather built and is revitalizing one of the most intriguing 'discoverable' historic businesses in the Pacific Northwest.
      If you could stand behind the ancient cash register––it doesn't even ring up sales tax––your feet would settle into the furrows made by thousands of impressions on the equally ancient, oiled oak floors where clerks have helped customers pay for their wares during the past [100] plus years at Marine Supply and Hardware in Anacortes.
Making our way in the late morning fog still held heavy to the ground by the wintery idiosyncracies of a coastal fishing town, the wide sidewalk leading toward the Anacortes marinas at the north end of Commercial Street are stirring, low, whistles booming through the seemingly softened air. The historic old rambling building hugs the earth as it undulates over the expanse of its entire city block resting place. Resplendent in a new coat of burnt orange paint and yellow trim, following the same intricate detailing put there many years ago by its charismatic owner Mike Demopoulos, the grande dame of the Washington fishing fleets northern reaches, is taking on yet another spurt of renewed energy.
When Mike Demopoulos made his way from Greece to the furthest reaches of the then US--Anacortes, Washington--Marine Hardware was not even a glint in his eye. It grew, however, from the glint that became the Anacortes Junk Co, named apparently after a courageous and energetic Mike, dubbed by the locals 'Junky Mike.' Picking up all sorts of flotsam and jetsam in and around Anacortes (he even used to take the horse and cart all the way along Reservation and Snee-Oosh roads into LaConner and back, picking up any kind of junk he though somebody would want). His junk company grew and grew.
And his philosophy still lives on.
Grandson Steve Demopoulos, new owner of the shop, remembers his cantankerous and tough grandfather telling him, 'It's only junk, until someone needs it."
And who can scoff at that reasoning. The modern-day garage sale speaks to it with ever-recurring frequency.
It was Mike Demopoulos who opened his junk company near the Anacortes waterfront and became the friend and benefactor of most the northern coast fishing fleet. If Anacortes is nothing else, it is indeed a fishing capital of this particular PNW and its colorful fishing fleet, still very much in existence today, was the mainstay of that economy at the turn of the century.
It was Mike Demopoulos, born in the tiny Greek town of Bralos––about 70-miles north of Athens––who immigrated to the US at age 17. He spoke no English, and when a policeman in Portland, OR, heard him speak, he steered the young Mike to a Greek restaurant where he started his new life.
'All Greeks work in a restaurant sometime in their lives,' laughed Steve.
Mike worked his way up the coast to British Columbia doing almost any kind of job there was available. When he settled in Anacortes, he was experienced, spoke English some, and ready to take on the world.
Starting with what most see as a pile of scrap, Mike Demopoulos bought and sold his way to a minor fortune. Some people say he owned almost all of Anacortes before he died--summer of 1980.
And by the looks of the insides of Marine Supply and Hardware, he bought and sold just about everything else, too.
A trip through the store is an antique buff's dream, a do-it-yourselfers haven, and a walk back through history that will tickle even the most hardened of souls.
In a building that grew like topsy, with add-ons, and more add-ons, where the floors sag in places, the lights hang from single cords, and winds blow through the cracks in the walls, there is very little you can't find.
Today, Steve is organizing what is there. And what is there is worth a whole day of just digging through.
It's a literal museum of 'good stuff'. Mike was a past master at buying surplus––especially government surplus, just about the best you could get. And much of that surplus is still there. Like lots and lots of old wooden nail kegs, barrels, and barrels of different sized and same sized washers, nuts and bolts. Wandering back through the gerrymandered warehouse, there are old seamen’s lamps hanging on the wall, blocks of every size and description.
'You're looking at my granddad', says Steve, a bit wistfully, a bit proud, and with a lot of that Greek fortitude, obviously passed to him through the generations.
From the five-gallon cans of Knickerbocker Pure Penn-Perafin Motor Oil (where the can itself is probably worth as much today as the oil inside in sheer nostalgic value) through miles of the 'the best ropes in town,' to the Home-Laughlin heavy-duty china, it's really a truism what the sign says--'ask for it, we've got it."
     A link to Marine Supply and Hardware, Anacortes, WA., can be seen here

❖ ROCHE HARBOR RESORT ❖

✍ Book Review

The Building of Roche Harbor Resort by the Tarte Family: Neil Tarte in his own words.
Narration by Neil A. Tarte (1927-2014) to Mitzi Johnson. 

Roche Harbor Resort, San Juan Island, WA.
Large photo dated 1956.
Originals from the archives of the S. P. H. S.©

"Mitzi Johnson, a long-time resident of Friday Harbor, captures Neil Tarte's words and tone in this delightful book of the history of Roche Harbor Resort during the years that the Tarte family owned it (1956-1989).
      Mitzi had promised Neil's devoted wife, Margaret, who died in 2007, that she would help Neil write his memoir. The first edition was published in 2010. Their recorded conversations are so carefully transcribed that you sense Neil himself, is explaining this story to you.
      Reuben and Clara Tarte, Neil's parents, came to the San Juan Islands in their yacht, CLAREU II, in the 1930s to find that there was no safe place to tie up a yacht––except to pilings. About 20 years later, when they purchased the 4,000 acres and 12 miles of coastline from the McMillin family, they could envision a boater's marina. None existed anywhere.
      All that was left were several buildings from the Roche Harbor Lime and Cement Co (earlier, a Hudson's Bay outpost), workers' cottages, and the McMillin home, along with a crumbling Hotel de Haro.

Hotel de Haro, Roche Harbor Resort
Winter 1958-59
A beauty parlor, snack bar, and gift shop 

were installed in the old Hotel. 
Salmon barbecues with 

Indian dance programs were staged for tourists.
Houses for miners' families were filled with motorists.

Original, dated photo from the 

Saltwater People Historical Society©

      It took all the muscle the family had with Reuben, Clara, and Neil, at the helm, to build this magnificent resort. Neil's family and close friends all played a part in turning this 'jewel in the rough' into a location where people would want to come and stay.
      With determination, as they needed things, they would find a way to get them. They were able to restore the crumbling Hotel de Haro into 20 guest rooms (including President Theodore Roosevelt's room). 

Colors Ceremony, 
a tradition begun by Reuben Tarte (1927-2014)
It is performed at dusk every night during the summer,
and familiar to all Roche Harbor regulars.
Photo by Gordon Keith.
From the archives of the S. P. H. S.©

They developed the McMillin family home into a restaurant and bar and added an outside deck and gazebo. They obtained a liquor license, turned Roche Harbor into a major port of entry for US Customs, and also added a 4,000-ft airstrip.

British blockhouse, June 1960

A favorite boating and beachcombing area 

for guests and off duty employees
in Garrison Bay,
a short trip south from Roche Harbor. 

Stopping at the most famous landmark, 

were four young Roche Harbor employees, 

Gwen Bergh, Betsy Neighbor, 

Bill Brilliant, and Kelvin Vogel.  

The blockhouse dates from ca.1860.
Original, dated, photo from the archives of the S. P. H. S.©

       Readers will be reminded of long-standing San Juan Island family names. John Wayne would bring his yacht into Roche Harbor in the 1970s, and 'the Duke' would welcome flotillas of visitors. Neil Bay, named after Neil, has been the picturesque neighborhood for dozens of families all these years. The Roche Harbor gardens, designed by Neil's mother, Clara Tarte, delight thousands of visitors annually; many weddings are booked there.
       Today, one takes for granted this beautiful location, but the blood, sweat, and tears that went into creating it are worth reading.
      You'll feel like Neil is just telling you what happened."

Review courtesy of writer Suzy Mygatt Wakefield, April 2012.
Tarte, Neil. The Building of Roche Harbor Resort by the Tarte Family. Illumina Publishing 2010.
The Building of Resort book search 

The four photographs with captions in this post are from the archives of the Saltwater People Historical Society©.
      
     

❖ MUSEUM SHIP, THE FALLS OF CLYDE ❖

Porcelain plate depicting the FALLS OF CLYDE
New accession donated to S. P. H. S. by Islander Skip Bold.
Artwork by Mark Myers.

Text from the reverse of artwork:"Only a few dozen four-masted full-rigged ships such as FALLS OF CLYDE were ever launched. Those aristocrats of the sea commanded respect and admiration at sea and in port. Captain Fred Klebingat, who served as chief mate in the CLYDE in 1916-1918, recalls meeting her at sea in 1910:
      'There was no need to hoist the ship's number; those on board her knew that we would never mistake the ship and that we knew as well as they did that there was no other vessel like the FALLS OF CLYDE. And so she sped on, her cotton canvas gleaming white in the morning sun. In another hour she was but a speak on the southwest horizon.'
      Built at Port Glasgow in 1878, the CLYDE, named after a series of falls on the River Clyde,  followed three sea careers. She was first an iron Indiaman, calling at such ports as Calcutta, Rangoon, and Karachi. In these years she also stopped in New Zealand, with such cargoes as 'plate and colored cotton, counterpanes, clocks, and watches.' Twenty years later she became passenger ship of the Matson Line, making regular runs to Hawaii. Finally, as sailing ship oil tanker, she operated from Southern California to the Islands for the Associated Oil Co. In 1922 the CLYDE was cut down to a barge and towed to Alaska. There she served for 33 years as a floating oil and gasoline depot. In 1959 FALLS OF CLYDE was towed to Seattle and put up for sale. 

FALLS OF CLYDE

Former Sailing Ship, Arriving Seattle from Alaska.

23 January 1959, owner William W. Mitchell, Jr.
Original photo from the archives of the S. P. H. S.©

Ship lovers on the Pacific Coast and Hawaii rallied to save her from scrapping or scuttling, and citizens of the Hawaiian Islands raised $25,000 in five weeks time to buy the old ship. She was towed to Honolulu in October 1963 to begin a new career as a museum ship."

      The Seattle Times,1963: "The CLYDE was towed to Honolulu from Kennydale, on Lake Washington, Seattle. The only other sailing ship in the US still available for restoration at that time was the WAWONA, moored on Lake Union. Most of the other sailing ships which would have been naturals for restoration in Seattle were purchased by San Francisco. 
      Publicity was given the ship's impending fate, especially by Capt. A. F. Raynaud, Seattle marine surveyor, and one-time sailing-ship skipper credited with renewing the interest of Hawaii residents in the vessel.
      The interest was not hard to arouse. The ship, originally under the British flag, was put under the Hawaiian flag by Capt. William Matson in 1898 and sailed as a Hawaiian ship until Hawaii became a US territory."
      This post honors the new accession, a porcelain plate of the four-master, donated by Skip Bold who inherited it from an uncle. Also, thanks go to Capt. Jack Russell of Sternwheeler Charters of Seattle for several news clippings about the history of the FALLS OF CLYDE.

More history of the life of this ship can be seen  here .

The Falls of Clyde has a Facebook page if you'd like to go there to see an update on her health and welfare and plans for summer of 2018!

❖ Mysterious Cypress Island ❖ with June Burn in 1946.

CYPRESS ISLAND, San Juan Archipelago

Original photo from the archives of the S. P. H. S.©

Day 44 of One Hundred Days in the San Juan Islands, one in a series of newspaper columns June Burn wrote under contract with The Seattle Post Intelligencer in 1946.

"Cypress Island has always been a place of mystery to me. I had heard that legend of the young princess who was thrown off Eagle Cliff at the north end because she consorted with the enemy. I had read Vancouver's account of entering Strawberry Bay and finding anchorage in a 'fine, sandy bottom' on the west side of the island, which, ' producing an abundance of upright cypress obtained the name Cypress Island.'
It was off Cypress that one of Vancouver's vessels, the CHATHAM, lost her anchor (would any shred of its iron be there yet?) off the rocky east side of the island.
Cypress, too, is the only one of the islands where the rhododendrons grow,  or used to grow, in rich abundance, it's dark fir-ed peaks all a-flower in May.

Native Rhododendron macrophyllum,
The state flower of Washington.
Do they still grow on Cypress Island??

But, 5,500 acres big, covering eight and one-half miles, Cypress has, ever since I've known it, been uninhabited. Yet it is near the mainland. It has two fairly good harbors, one very good one, several shallow bays and nice beaches, some lowland, and a great abundance of timber.
Perhaps it's story is another one of the sad stories of Puget Sound. Perhaps they logged it to hideous ugliness a generation ago so that it has been all this time getting back its fine coast of timber. Or, perhaps it lacks water or easy access.
Whatever the reason, people haven't lived on Cypress much or long.  I imagine it has a grand smuggling history––if smuggling can be as grand an adventure as old romantic tales have cracked it up to be. Since fish traps were outlawed in WA [1934], there has been a great deal of reefnetting off Cypress.
We hadn't meant to go ashore on Cypress, but to pass the high massive beast well to the south, on our way to Guemes. But, of course, the wind and the tide took us in tow, as always, and the first thing we knew we were practically on the boulder strewn south beach of the huge, silent island. It was getting on towards night, too. Take a look at the chart and see where the best harbor is––it'll have to be on the eastern shore, we can't get around to Strawberry Bay in this tide.
AND THAT is how we discovered for the first time that fine harbor called Deep Water Bay with the inner bay called Secret Harbor. Ha! There would be nobody at all there, not even the reefnet fishermen. We'd have this night world all to ourselves and get a little writing done before going on next morning.
We rounded the domed peak which is the southwest portion of Cypress, blew right on around into the mouth of Deep Water Bay and––why, there's a cluster of little white cabins on a low level valley between two immense wooded hills. Is this Switzerland? This is unlike anything we've seen in the islands.
Our white jib and red mainsail take us scooting on in to the dock. There is a man there. He waves. As we draw alongside we see that it is Mr. Shaw whom we used to know in Bellingham. He is running this tiny village of cabins, hasn't much trouble talking us into one of them for the night, hospitable and that he is, and Mrs. Shaw also.
This spot on Cypress seems to have been homesteaded 50 odd years ago by Joe and Mike Cadboy, relatives of the Shaws. They built a log barn back up in the valley and left a pair of harnesses in it 40 years ago which are still there, intact, except one bridle which Mr. Shaw took. I don't know whether that is a comment on the disappearance of horses, on the honesty of people around here, or on the isolation of Cypress Island!
See you tomorrow. June."

✪ Two years after June's essay is posted the below newspaper article comes to the surface: 

A party of twenty two attended a picnic at Cypress Island, Rhododendron Day, 14 May. The launch DAWN, on which the party went, brought home a large load of beautiful flowers, and all brought plants for transplanting." 
San Juan Islander, 20 May 1910.