By Gene Woodwick
The beachers and sound pounders are happy WDFW shellfish manager Dan Ayres okayed clamming and so he has been placed on their list of good guys.
Of course, the hunters are happy tromping through the woods open to them or have headed across the mountains with more lands open for hunting and wives are deliriously free to have the home place to themselves and the kids. And the rest of the beachers are out looking for non-pay lands on which to hunt mushrooms.
Yes siree — Bob, Thanksgiving is almost here.
NOT-SO-WILD TURKEY SHOOT
Some of the hunters are old enough to remember when the turkey dinner was provided by the Hoquiam specialty hunt near the old Blagen Mill. The elite of Hoquiam in particular, along with established beachers, got their Thanksgiving turkey by shooting the heads off the birds that had been captured and confined to a wooden box that was placed in the mud.
When the turkey stuck its head over the box — Blam! Tthe traditional dinner was assured. Needless to say, Grays Harbor sported no wild turkeys in those days.
FIRST BEACH BERRY BOGS
The North Beach has a history tied to another Thanksgiving meal tradition — cranberries. Anthony Chabot, of Oakland, Calif., purchased 2,000 acres in our neck of the woods in the late 1800s. He sent his nephew, Robert Chabot, to look over the land and see what could be added to his many business ventures. It was that nephew who developed the first cranberry bogs on the North Beach.
In his explorations of the beach area he learned of the vast wild cranberry bogs near present day Hogan’s Corner that were an annual, traditional food gathering area of the many local tribes.
Robert Chabot imported bales of commercial varieties of the berries from the eastern U.S. and developed 30 acres of bogs.
He threw his own money around like there was no tomorrow, putting in drainage ditches, tarred plank walks, storehouses and other structures. The bogs produced as many as 2,700 barrels in a year.
Chabot hired Chinese laborers who later worked for subsequent owners. When they left, the Chabot bogs declined and returned to weeds for many years, but were later restored and produced cranberries for Ocean Spray.
WILD MUSHROOMS
Some folks will be having wild mushrooms for their meals, even though mushroom season is nearly over. Nostalgically, it has been nice to see the mushroom buyers’ signs up at the old Burgess Motel in North Hoquiam.
Out in the woods, the chanterelles are few and far between, but there is still time to find matsutakes lurking under the moss. Locally, many call it the “pine mushroom.” Regardless of what it is called, its delicate and firm texture makes this pungent mushroom the most delicious of them all.
BULL ELK BUGLING
Up around Lake Quinault in early morning and evening, the elk are bugling and looking for another bull elk to get into a head shaking, antler rattling sparring match to win over their lady love. This is merely a wrestling match, not war, although it is a pretty darned exciting thing to watch.
Driving a car slowly down the road in elk territory, one must roll the window down to hear that high pitched, girly squeal. By stopping the car, the bull’s grunting and clucking sounds also can be heard. Some days it is off-set by the high-pitched sound of an eagle flying overhead. Now doesn’t that beat anything on a cell phone?
DRIFT CARD BEACHCOMBING
Out on the beach, earlier storm action is providing treasures for beachcombers. One thing they can look out for are yellow drift cards attached to plywood. Four thousand of the cards were released in the lower Fraser River and in Burrard Inlet in B.C. Some also were released this fall in the San Juans.
The drifters help researchers map where an oil spill might go. As the Davidson current flushes the cards out to sea and high tides wash them out of driftwood piles, it would be a neat find for the combers. Finders are asked to report the date and the location where found.
All in all, at the end of November, we can find a lot to be grateful for during this season of Thanksgiving.
