View of sawmill dock & buildings. Large stacks of lumber waiting to be off-loaded onto scows. Possibly loading piling for fish traps along the Gustavus, Alaska shore. See boat loading. Click for more.....

Local historian,  Jim Mackovjak, has extensively studied the early fisheries and related history  involving the entire region including Icy Passage, Icy Strait, and Glacier Bay. In close study of this Kane Mill photograph he believes the photo captured the activity taking place on the docks in early June considering the snow on the mountains.

In addition he offers the following......"They seem to be loading piling which are likely for pile traps such as were along the Gustavus shore and elsewhere. Trap owners pulled the piles after the salmon season, stored them over the winter (usually on a beach to protect them from teredos), and drove them again before the next season. Sawmill Bay was where floating traps were stored. Pile traps used a lot of lumber, and the material on the dock may have also been for traps. The pile trap at Pt. Gustavus, which was owned by Pacific American Fisheries when the photo was taken, was 2350 feet long."

What are "teredos"? We wondered too. Jim Mackovjak sent this definition from his old logging book: TEREDO, a voracious marine wood borer of the family "Teredinidae". Often thought to be a worm but actually a bivalve mollusk. May reach a length of 24 inches and have a diameter of 3/4 inch. In southeast Alaska, teredos have been known to completely ruin logs stored in salt water in four to five months. Well, there you have it. Not a pretty picture to be sure. Be careful where you store things!

Old-timers in the Parker family (Les & Glen) also reported that during storms and rough seas, the fish traps in the greater Icy Passage region would break apart and logs could be found floating and escaping with the currents. They were paid a sum of retrieval money to capture and return the logs to Excursion Inlet. It was a great plan because the locals would "keep an eye out", the Inlet would get their logs back, and the local residents could pocket a bit of cash for their trouble. It was reported that they were paid a dime for each foot of the length of log retrieved. They could also run up a tally of their earnings in "credits" that could be used toward purchases at the Excursion Inlet General Store.

View of sawmill dock & buildings. Large stacks of lumber waiting to be off-loaded onto scows. Possibly loading piling for fish traps along the Gustavus, Alaska shore. See boat loading. Click for more.....

Local historian,  Jim Mackovjak, has extensively studied the early fisheries and related history  involving the entire region including Icy Passage, Icy Strait, and Glacier Bay. In close study of this Kane Mill photograph he believes the photo captured the activity taking place on the docks in early June considering the snow on the mountains.

In addition he offers the following......"They seem to be loading piling which are likely for pile traps such as were along the Gustavus shore and elsewhere. Trap owners pulled the piles after the salmon season, stored them over the winter (usually on a beach to protect them from teredos), and drove them again before the next season. Sawmill Bay was where floating traps were stored. Pile traps used a lot of lumber, and the material on the dock may have also been for traps. The pile trap at Pt. Gustavus, which was owned by Pacific American Fisheries when the photo was taken, was 2350 feet long."

What are "teredos"? We wondered too. Jim Mackovjak sent this definition from his old logging book: TEREDO, a voracious marine wood borer of the family "Teredinidae". Often thought to be a worm but actually a bivalve mollusk. May reach a length of 24 inches and have a diameter of 3/4 inch. In southeast Alaska, teredos have been known to completely ruin logs stored in salt water in four to five months. Well, there you have it. Not a pretty picture to be sure. Be careful where you store things!

Old-timers in the Parker family (Les & Glen) also reported that during storms and rough seas, the fish traps in the greater Icy Passage region would break apart and logs could be found floating and escaping with the currents. They were paid a sum of retrieval money to capture and return the logs to Excursion Inlet. It was a great plan because the locals would "keep an eye out", the Inlet would get their logs back, and the local residents could pocket a bit of cash for their trouble. It was reported that they were paid a dime for each foot of the length of log retrieved. They could also run up a tally of their earnings in "credits" that could be used toward purchases at the Excursion Inlet General Store.