CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Beneath a northwest stormy sky, Cathy offers us a poem with questions about what the stars might know about us.

In 1955 when I first fished with Severin on a troller and watched the Addington salmon trap during August, the corporations owned the salmon traps and and the seiners caught what was left over in the inside waters and fished the ocean where traps wouldn’t last in the swells and storms.  

With Alaska statehood in 1959, the traps, were banned and the corporations competed for the most successful seining skippers to fish for them in the effort to keep the canneries profitable.  The salmon traps had depleted the fish runs and the seiners competed for the salmon still returning to Southeast Alaska and to rivers further down the West Coast. 

The west coast of the Alaska islands bordering the Pacific Ocean not only had pink salmon returning to Southeast Alaska streams but sockeye and chinook salmon migrating to rivers down the west coat of Canada and Washington.  

These were exciting times in the fishing industry 

Riding on a ferry often gives us the feeling of leaving where we’ve been and going somewhere different and separated from what disappears in the ferry’s wake. Cathy’s “Crossing Over” is a companion piece to Lorelie’s Whidbey Island visit post. While Lorelie is visiting another’s home, the poet is returning home. Tim

We are delighted to publish Cathy’s poem, “The Fabric of our Lives”. The poem offers insights into how our lives develop through our relationships to others.

After four seasons working on a fish tender brailing salmon from traps and seiners, I was ready for a change.  I wanted to go fishing!  Knowing which skippers caught the most fish. I rented an apartment from a “Highliner” in Ballard and asked for a “chance” every month when I paid the rent.

When Walt’s experienced sixteen year skiffman  decided to skipper his own seiner, Walt hired me. I had a lot to learn.

After an updating of the Grimm’s tale, CINDERELLA,  Dave returns to the NESTER with another updated story from the past, THE THREE LITTLE. PIGS.  The story, familiar to all of us. continues today to be an often told tale. Originally an English fairy tale, the story first appeared in print in the 1840’s.  The story, however, dates much further back than the 19th century.  

Cathy’s poetry is a continuing presence in the NESTER blog. We are pleased to offer another of her poems that explores her life and its relationship to nature.