HAPPY NEW YEAR from N. Blakely Island

 

North Shore 
Blakely Island,
San Juan Archipelago, WA.

Photo courtesy of L. A. Douglas
14 Jan 2024. 

A Christmas Surprise for Tib –– From "Jello" Island and Lew Dodd

The Tib and Lew Dodd cabin 
Yellow Island, 
San Juan Archipelago, WA.
Ca. 1948.
Courtesy of their family.

"Tib" Van Order Dodd (1895-1989)
and Lew Dodd (1892-1960)
Yellow Island residents
Photo courtesy of their family.
Click image to enlarge.

A letter written by the former co-owner of Yellow Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA.

"Jello Island"
(is what one Swede calls it)
Deer Harbor, WA.
December 1957

"Dear –––––––––––,

Well, the Islands are about rolled up in mothballs until Springtime, I guess, and from all appearances anyway–for there are extremely few boats to be seen nowadays; the Channels are deserted except for the mailboat and the ferry.
        It is not really broad light in the morning until 7:30 and the sun (if any -and wherever seen) goes down behind the black San Juan Island hills at 4:15 PM. The whole Archipelago is slumbering and quiet in its usual winter hibernation so far as any comparison with June to October.
        For the first time since last July, accompanying Jack Tusler in his boat, we went to Deer Harbor, most of whose sparse population isn't very much in evidence; for, those who can afford it have folded their summer tents, so to speak, and have migrated to the South––the road from Kirk's to the store, black in the gloomy wet and little traveled, and at Norton's dock a single troller leaning wearily against the float as if utterly tired out from the summer's fishing, the essence of ennui!
        Blue smoke issues straight up from a few chimneys, and the forlorn old red cannery seems to stare vacantly upon the scene, which more than at any other time of year, resembles a small Port that once was and may never be again; deserted, forlorn, useless, abandoned; hopeless! Hard by, across the inlet, at the bridge, a forlorn sawmill no longer sings a tune, drift logs beachcombed, and red rust is King over all its metal machinery. The attitude which the whole hamlet has seemed to have acquired is one of extreme lassitude, and, perpetual waiting in a permeating forlorn hope that--well--"Something might occur someday; maybe." The place somehow manages to convey a very bleak empty and depressing picture as it sits on its sidehill, soggy, sodden, clammy, and damp--with its feet in the cold December sea. --Deer Harbor in winter! "The deserted village!"
        We are always glad to return to our Island from such a brooding atmosphere, for upon clearing the vicinity the forlornness and the lifelessness leave one as if awakening from an unrealistic dream.
        Back on our own Island, we are happy to pull the skiff up into its snug boathouse, shoulder the provisions, and climb the path to the bright, warm cabin where for so long as we have lived here we have been happy and content.
        There is never a dull or uninteresting day at our Island home and no two days are alike: for there is always something, yesterday Tib and I watched two otters hauled out on our East end. It was a sight seldom seen by even those who do live in the country, and we may never see such an interesting performance as they went through with no idea in their heads that two human beings were observing through binoculars every move they made.
        One reason that prompted me to drop you a line is because I wanted to (which is an excellent one, in my opinion!) Another reason is that I need Lloyd's advice:
        Recently I saw an "ad" in December National Geographic of Zenith's new Transistor Transoceanic radio (8 bands) etc. price advertised as $250. Lloyd, what do you think of this radio and do you deal with them?
        We are out here beyond television until they produce some kind of a battery set maybe––and even then if the programs don't get any better we wouldn't be interested. But, radio, a good one, yes, for it would give us worldwide contact everywhere, internationally––everywhere there are broadcasters. Ship to shore, aircraft, etc. How do these transistors stack up with the tube radios in performance? Do you think this new Zenith is a good buy at that price and could you buy one of them at any sort of a discount if you do not handle them?
        I've been toying with this zenith idea to surprise Tib for Christmas. (I'm 65 now and may not last too long.) I can manage to pay for something that should give us whatever is to be had in worldwide radio for some time to come. But before I make any move at all I'd like your candid opinion about this machine. Just what your knowledge and experience can tell me. I will certainly appreciate it.
        Tonight 8:00 PM we're having a hard westerly (about 40 mph) and the sea is noisy but the solid little cabin doesn't have a vibration in it, the kettle sings on the stove, the lamp is bright, and it a sweet, sweet home on an island in the San Juans far from the milling crowds and traffic, the fumes, and burning gasoline and the roar of trucks and trailers.
        Our sojourn in Bellingham this summer, after so many years away from the modern clatter and clutter taught us both to appreciate and love even more our peace and quiet, sweet air, unchlorinated water, clear running tides; and natural surroundings, the seabirds calling and soaring in the clear, clean sky! We are so thankful and grateful for it all. It is a good life.
        Our best wishes to you for a happy holiday season and we hope your year ahead will be a successful and contented one filled with whatever is GOOD and with whatever you most prefer."

Signed, Lew and Tib.

Another SPHS post of Yellow Island Dodd's can be seen HERE

Another SPHS post of Lew's sail on Gracie S around Vancouver Island, B.C.,                         can be seen HERE

And a post under the History section on the home page, for the 8,500 mile 

passage crewing the R.B. Brown schooner Ranger from Milwaukee, WI.  to Orcas Island in 1939, 

click HERE.

"BIG STUFF" coming through the Islands 7 August 2023

 OCEAN GUARDIAN working in the San Juan Islands.

Photographs courtesy of  Lance Douglas from Blakely Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA. The top photo has Rosario Resort, Eastsound, Orcas Island in the background. Click an image to enlarge.

The offshore work vessel can be seen at https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/9272060

CRUISING THE ARCHIPELAGO --- Crane Island Coast

 

COASTAL PERCH
Crane Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA.

Photograph courtesy of Lance A. Douglas
For Saltwater People Historical Society
July 2023.

THE WATERFALL WIPE-OUT AT THATCHER BAY, BLAKELY ISLAND (UPDATED)

Blakely Island,
San Juan Archipelago, WA.
Click image to enlarge.
Please see below for one recall update
of the Spencer Lake dam by 
Blakely Islander, L.A. Douglas. 

 

BLAKELY ISLAND DAM BREAKS

DESTROYS MANY LANDMARKS

By Baylis Harris, Owner,

Blakely Island Marina, Blakely Island,

San Juan Archipelago, Washington

January 1965

"Sometime before daylight in the morning of January 30, 1965, the dam and spillway on well-known Spencer Lake on Blakely Island, gave way from the force of heavy overflow of melting snow and several days of unusually heavy rain.

        The situation was reported to Blakely Marina, by the mail boat crew on arrival at about 7:20 a.m. The marina also serves as the Post Office for Blakely Island. When subsequently investigated by islanders, the destruction created is beyond description. The break created a ravine estimated at an increase of ca. 75 feet deeper than the former run-off stream bed. Both Thatcher Bay and Eastsound were muddy for miles in all directions. Hundreds of trees and litter covered an area of approximately 30 square miles, consisting of various trees, the old Thatcher Mill site, which was completely demolished, and fruit trees, and their products floated everywhere throughout the Eastsound area, Peavine, and Obstruction Passes.

The broken dam on Spencer Lake,
Blakely Island, San Juan County, WA.
as noted in the photograph,
 courtesy of L.A. Douglas,
an eyewitness to the scene on this day.
Blakely Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA.
Click the image to enlarge.

Overflow and destruction
from Spencer Lake dam break.
1965
courtesy of eyewitness L.A. Douglas,
Blakely Island, San Juan County, WA.

         Spencer Lake covered an area of approximately 60 acres and was quite deep. Therefore, literally millions of gallons of water were lost along with many of the historical landmarks of the Island.
        As late as 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon, the force of water down this newly created ravine, cut to bare rock, and the cascading waterfall into Thatcher Bay was an awesome sight. Mr. Maurice Rodenberger who was making the early morning ferry trip to Anacortes reported on his arrival and even later by the crew of the Sidney bound ferry via radio.
        From a recreational standpoint, the loss of Spencer Lake will be quite a substantial loss to the Blakely Island Development. Fortunately, the main water supply for domestic use is taken from Horseshoe Lake."

Above text by Baylis Harris. Published by the Friday Harbor Journal, 1965.

THE SPENCER LAKE DAM

By Lance Douglas

(eye-witness testimony below) 

Blakely Island.

Submitted to the 

Saltwater People Historical Society 

May 2023. 

 

"Back around the turn of the 20th century, the people starting the mill at Thatcher Bay built a dam on Spencer Lake to raise it about 15-20 feet to provide more year-round water to operate the mill. The lake as seen nearby the orchard and dam was not there; the lake started out around the corner by the rock cliff. The dam added millions of gallons of water. A 12-inch steel "penstock" was installed down the steep hill to run a generator to power the mill. A penstock is a pipe that delivers water to a hydroelectric generator. The mill folks were certainly entrepreneurs back in the day and they tapped into the penstock with a 2-inch pipe that ran out the length of the pier. Filtered fresh water was then sold to the steamer boats that served the islands from Seattle, Anacortes, and Bellingham. Remnants of the twisted old penstock were still visible at the base of the gorge into the present century. 

        In the winter of 1965, an overflow culvert plugged up and water flowed over the dam and it washed out in a rush of force that could be heard on other islands. All of the mill buildings that were abandoned in the 1940s were destroyed and washed out to sea. The road to Armitage Bay washed out and left the south end of the island isolated for a year or so. A couple of archived photographs show the washed-out area in the mid-1960s and a small access dock to control a culvert valve under the dam during construction.

        After the new earthen dam was built,  the lake filled in one winter from the huge watershed including Horseshoe Lake which flows into Spencer Lake. During the mill operation days, the lakes were referred to as the "upper" and "lower" lakes.

        Around 1980, a brilliant engineer in the north-end community could not stand to see all of the kinetic energy in the form of water flowing out to sea not being harnessed, so he commissioned a generator system to be built. It was located at the bottom of the gorge where the post office once stood and the dam was beefed up and a new 12" PVC penstock was installed down the road to power it. Up into the 21st century, the penstock delivers about one million gallons of water daily to the 50 kW generator but only runs seasonally. The generator system was gifted to Seattle Pacific University who had been gifted many acres of land where they built a marine biology lab on the island with a full-time caretaker."

Below: 

History of the earliest days of Thatcher Mill Company written by 
Nancy McCoy. Article sponsored by Lopez Island Historical Museum; published by the Islands' Weekly, 2000.

Click image to enlarge.
From the archives of the 
Saltwater People Historical Society.