More Memories of Oregon

I couldn't resist but to post these old pics of our life in Oregon. What a wonderful place for my kids to grow up. Time spent with their Uncle Jack and Aunt Mildred was priceless. They took them fishing and my kids had a wonderful time with them.

The first picture is of Steve & Karen. They look to be about 10 and 12 yrs. old. I believe this picture was taken from the little house boat that Mildred & Jack lived in on Sauvie's Island in the Columbia River. If I remember correctly it is approximately 6 miles across and is near or included in the city of Portland, Oregon.

The second picture is Jack & Steve on Sauvie's Island. The Columbia River and Washington State is in the background. Look at that big Chinook Salmon that Steve caught. Don't you know he was one proud kid! See the fishing pole in the upper right corner with a big bell hanging on it? The end of the pole is anchored in the sand and the bell rings when a fish takes a bite. People would be lined up and down the bank of the river with their poles in this position. Look out when someone caught a fish because the whole beach went in fast motion! Everyone would jump out of their little plastic tents and run to their poles and reel them in so their lines would not entangle with the one with the salmon on it. After this, every fisherman would gather at the bank to help with the catch. As soon as the person with the fish on his line got his salmon close to the shore, someone would net it for him, another person would hit the poor fish in the head, someone would weigh it, and then someone else would bury it in the sand! It was quite a scene INDEED!!! Sometimes, the person catching the salmon would hardly get to see it before he dug it up at the end of the day!! Of course, as you see here, Steve even got to hold his fish for a picture (it may have been at the end of the day, who knows?). He was one proud young man. I think his fish weighed 26 or 28 pounds.

The third picture is of Mildred, Steve, and Mom (Hazel). Looks like they had quite a haul! To this day both of my children love to fish, unlike their mother. I never liked to bait the hook or take the fish off. Also, I never understood how someone could sit there all day long and wait for a fish that may or may not show up! Guess I never got the hang of it. I loved walking down the beach and taking nature hikes in the woods while they were fishing. Of course, their Dad was a adamant fisherman as was Uncle Jack & Aunt Mildred, so they learned to love fishing.

Here's a map of Sauvie's Island and a link I found that tells the story of the island. It is quite a historical place: http://www.sauvieisland.org/see.html