The Tourist III
Kuzzin Kris called last night with the happy news that she is 99% definite about moving to the beach come August or September. Actually, she sounded 100% sure about it, but I don’t want to jinx things by saying so. Our conversation was one of plotting and planning and, as always when we talk, laughing.
The biggest giggle came from her report of a conversation with her younger brother Bruce. He lives in Northern California but visits up here as often as a busy retirement and second career as an artist will allow. “He asked me how long the ferry takes to get here these days,” Kris said.
The Tourist II
Talk about senior moments! As those sorts of flashback go, it was a great one. A leap backward in time of almost fifty years! Back to the time that Bruce and his sisters were coming for summer vacations at the Red House here in Oysterville. Back to the days before the bridge.
The ferry is one of the most iconic memories we elders have of coming to the beach. Those in their fifties probably remember the M.R. Chessman that went into service in 1947 or the Kitsap that began the run in 1962. We older travelers remember the Tourist II that was run by Captain Fritz Elving from 1924 until WWII, or perhaps the Tourist III, added a few years after the II to take care of increasing ferry traffic. In the summers both the Tourist III and Tourist II were used and, even so, at the busiest times cars at the end of the line might have to wait for the next ferry.
The Tourist
Kris and Bruce’s mom, Virginia Williams Jones used to tell about the very first car ferry, the Tourist I, begun by Captain Fritz in 1921. It held fifteen cars and by its second summer transported 6500 vehicles and 25,000 people across the river. I’m not sure if that was one way or two.
I think the opening of the bridge in 1966 and the end of the ferry era marked the biggest single change to life on the Peninsula, some of it good but not all. I love it that Bruce had a second or two to think that Kris would be moving to that idyllic locale – the beach as it was in the days of the ferry. Hold that thought, Bruce! It’s a ‘senior moment’ to cherish.
I remember so well all of my experiences riding the ferry to Astoria when I was a child and teenager. It would really rock and roll at times and sometimes would get stuck on a sand bar. When I was in high school it was such a fun thing to go with my friends to Astoria and shop for school clothes with our hard earned oyster working money. There was even a lunch counter aboard the ferry and I remember everyone buying some sort of snack. As I remember it was about a 20 minute ride from Megler to Astoria. Such fun!