Irvin Wineland - July 1938

Noyes Island Via Ketchikan Alaska

July 26, (1938?)

Dearest Bro and All:

Well I sent you a card from Ketchikan some time ago but I didn’t hear from you. I cam up here to Ketchikan along in April and looked around for work so I finally decided to buy a boat a fishing boat there that was the quickest way to get a job – so I bought a 40 ft by 10 ft beam Trolling boat it has a 100 gal cooking water tank and 2 banks – stove cupboards and storage space and a 30 hourse power Palmer marine engine and a large hold back aft to store things or to pack fish when using Ice we made 2 trips this spring and carried 2 ton of ice each trip and packed one salmon in to market but we had bee out here on the west coast among the numerous islands the past mo and have sold each day that we fish. The old man who I but the boat he is a old boat builder and he built it in Seattle he hs shown me me how to handle it and I have been doing all the fishing and practically all the work, he wants to sleep and take it easy so the work has been up on me, some days we ran as high as $28 and we bare have some $25 days but he won’t put in the hours, we get up at 3 am and sometimes quit 10 or 12 oclock am but if 2 fellows would work together and put in the hours they could make some real money here in the summer & Fall especially as prices are double than in the spring and summer.

It has rained and blew here now for over a week and it makes it darn hard to handle 24 to 32 lbs of lead on each line we have 4 poles and a gurdie or reel run from the engine to handle the lines and boy how these big King Salmon do fight, you have to put them in and knock him in the head and goff him and throw him aboard a the boat keeps going all the time and some weigh up to 40 to 45 lbs dresed, we or I have to clean each too.

I sure wish you were here with me Archie – Maby I’ll fish out of Seattle up at Cope Flattery as to mil and swift True next spring & summer so I think I’ll move the family up to Seattle and I’d like to have you to work with me. Will make some real money Archie then in the fall we could come up to Alaska only 5 or 6 days run with the boat and fish here in Sept & Oct and I think we could make a years wages in 5 or 6 mo.

Pearl is coming up here on her vacation the 20 of Aug she leaves Seattle and then reaches Ketchikan Aug 22 and will stay till Sept 31. She wants to see the boat and have a good rest – she nees it too, that’s darn hard work on the nerves where she works.

They trap a lot here in the winter lots of wolves, wolverines, mink, other, fox martin, beaver, one fellow who is a hand troller here said he made 500 last winter on martin, he got #35 a piece you could do fine here, Archie.

The only transportation one has here is by boat or airplane  My boat is named Jewel. I am going to rebuild the Gallry or Kitchen part I Seattle this winter I am going to make a couple more banks and better cabinet space and fix it a bit different.

Now write me and tell e all the news and if you, Mable & Shirley have been all OK. Write me at Ketchikan, as I have my mail sent out by some packing boats.

Your loving Bro, Irvin