Apples and Oranges

 

Dredge in Front of Oysterville, c. 1950s

Dredge in Front of Oysterville, c. 1950s

Despite the title of today’s blog, I really want to talk about oysters, not fruit – well maybe ‘fruits de mer’ on a fancy French menu. I am continuously amazed at how sparse my knowledge is of the Willapa Bay oyster industry, especially considering that its main headquarters is right outside my front yard.

Every day we watch oyster dredges ply the waters of the bay and most times we have not a clue as to who they belong to or what they are doing. In fact, they are so much a part of our landscape (or is it seascape?) that we don’t always pay attention. It is often a visitor who calls our attention to activity out there and usually there are accompanying questions. “Like how many oysters are grown out there, anyway?”

Charles Fitzpatrick Postcard, 1941

Charles Fitzpatrick Postcard, 1941

I always feel I should have ready answers but I’m never sure of my ground (or oyster beds, you might say.) Some years ago, I was told that one out of every three oysters purchased in restaurants across the United States comes from Willapa Bay. I don’t know if that is still true. I tried to look it up online and found that the annual production of oysters in our bay is 1,500 metric tons shucked. Whoo! That sounds like a bunch.

"Willapa Bay Oysters"

“Willapa Bay Oysters”

But, I have no basis for comparing it with the one-out-of-three figure that I remember. That’s where the apples and oranges come in. Nor can I compare 1,500 metric tons with the 80,000 gallons produced back in 1941 – or at least that was the claim made on a wonderful old Charles Fitzpatrick postcard I ran across recently. That card also claims that 7,650 cases of canned oysters and 5,845 cases of smoked oysters were produced that year. Maybe it’s a matter of comparing apples, oranges and raisins.

My “answer” to oyster questions these days usually involves a recommendation to buy or at least to watch Keith Cox’s oyster documentary, “Willapa Bay Oysters.” The five-disc set will answer just about any oyster question possible. And no apples or oranges (or raisins) involved!

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