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Good Bye and Good Riddance: The State Puts the Skagit and Kalama on eBay

It is officially the end of an era at Washington State Ferries: the last of the passenger only fleet has been put up for sale on eBay.      The Skagit and Kalama's finest hour wasn't even spent on Puget Sound.  After the massive San Francisco earthquake in '89, the ferries, idled here due to no money to run them were sent down to the Bay to ferry passengers across until repairs to the bridges could be made.      Back on Puget Sound, residents on Rich Passage began to complain about...you guessed it...beach erosion.       The unattractive little boats (which always reminded me of the rubber tip of a pointer stick) were generally loathed by commuters.  They were uncomfortable, bobbing around like corks (which they were actually designed to do) and were blazing hot in the summer and freezing in the winter.  The earned the nickname of the "tuna boats" and the "Kalamity" and "Skankit."      Their final assignment was on the Vashon-Seattle run, where they ran until King County could get up and running.      Farewell, Skagit and Kalama.  We wonder what your ultimate fate may be...

Postcard of  the Month

And the Answer for  February is... the Tacoma!

For a vessel that was on the run as long as it was, postcards of the first Olympic are fairly rare critters.  In this postcard, the fact that it is the Olympic isn't even mentioned.  The Princess Kathleen gets the mention--but then it is likely that the postcard was put out by CPR and they wouldn't be likely to mention the competition from Puget Sound Navigation anyway.

Most people got this one fairly quick, although many of the folks that emailed didn't realize there was in fact a third ferry named Tacoma--in this case a largely, ungainly looking railroad ferry that ran on the Columbia River between Goble, Oregon and Kalama Washington, transferring train cars across the river.      The service was discontinued in 1916 (presumably due to a bridge being built.) The second Tacoma pictured here here was built in 1913, and the last Tacoma built in 1997 is in service between Seattle and Winslow.

Google Earth Place Of the Month: Ettington Park Hotel

For the March  "Horror Movie Actual Setting" theme...we've got the Ettington Park Hotel, located Ettington is a village in Warwickshire, England. It is located eight kilometres south-east of Stratford upon Avon.  The manor house, which can trace its origins back to the Domesday Book, is now the Ettington Park Hotel owned by Hand Picked Hotels, and was featured in the 1963 film The Haunting. (The good version, not that horrible 1999 remake which upon view makes one wonder if they actually read the book or not.)     Director Rober Wise (whose career also includes such films as The Sound of Music and West Side Story) wanted to remain true to Shirley Jackson's New England setting, but difficulties with the budget from MGM forced him to make the film in England where, at the time, it was cheaper to do so.  In order to make the film  look as American as possible, signs were changed and actress Julie Harris drove a car with right-hand steering and on the wrong side of the road on a closed down freeway.  Actor Valentine Dyall worked very hard to perfect his New England accent (and did it very convincingly) turning in a very memorable performance as Mr Dudley.  Complimenting him was Roaslie Crutchly as Mrs. Dudley (who also perfected the accent)  who delivers the lines "No lives any nearer than town.  No one will come any closer than that.  In the night.  In the dark." then gives perhaps one of the most chilling smiles in screen history.      To make the house look largert and more menacing than it was (although looking at the color photo at left he didn't really have to do all that much) Wise used a lens  that distored the view of the house and shot with  infrared film to bring out the striation in the rock, blacken the sky and whiten the clouds and deepen the shadows..  More often than not, the views of Hill House are shown either look up and back at the structure, often at a very odd angle or from the "house's perspective" looking down between the gables and towers.      The end result was and instant classic, a film that is extremely effective...particularly since you never see a thing.      And the real house?  Not surprisingly it is alleged to actually be haunted, and was investigated for the first time ever in the fall of 2009.

Ferry Photo for March

Arriving in the mailbox this month was this photo of the Centennial Queen,a) Shasta c) River Queen. courtesy of Bill Cotter.  The photo dates from 1959 and shows the ferry when she operated for a very short time along the Columbia River.  Not long after she was converted into the shoreside restaurant "River Queen" where she would remain in operation well into the 1990's.      The  plight of the old Shasta has been well documented on this site.  Since leaving Portland, the years have not been kind to the vessel and she's in a rapid state of decay.  I fully expect the next thing we will hear of her will be that she has sunk at her mooring at Goble, Oregon.      It is a pity no one made a go of either the San Mateo or Shasta. Both were fine, unique boats that deserved preservation.  Built in 1922, they were the last of the old style boats to sail San Francisco Bay, and represented a long gone era of elegant travel.

Mystery Ferry for March: *Has cousins all up and down the West Coast *Has changed appearance over the years, but is known for reliabilty over a career spanning 47 years Good luck!                                      EMAIL

Fleet Updates For those keeping up on the ferries missing from the WSF Fleet currently...(Be aware this is updated monthly and may not reflect the current state of affairs.)

Rhododendron: Annual Inspection; standby for Pierce County EVERGREEN STATE CLASS: Evergreen State: SJI interisland; Klahowya:  Vashon-Southworth-Fauntleroy Tillikum: Southworth-Vashon-Fauntleroy Hiyu: Standby SUPER CLASS Hyak:Anacortes-San Juan Islands/Annual Inspection/Anacortes-San Juan Islands Yakima:Out mid-month for annual repairs. Back for summer schedule. Kaleetan: Anacortes-San Juan Islands Elwha: Annual Inspection; drydock until mid-April JUMBO CLASS Spokane: Kingston-Edmonds Walla Walla: Seattle-Bremerton ISSAQUAH CLASS Issaquah: Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth-Dockside repairs mid month Kittitas: Clinton-Mukilteo Kitsap: Seattle-Bremerton/Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth Cathlamet: Clinton-Mukilteo Chelan: Anacortes/San Juan Islands/Anacortes-Sidney. Sealth: Point Defiance-Tahlequah JUMBO MARK II  CLASS Tacoma: Seattle- WInslow Wenatchee: Seattle-Winslow Puyallup : Edmonds-Kingston MONOHULLS Skagit and Kalama: For Sale ON LOAN Steilacoom II-Port Towsend-Keystone. UNDER CONSTRUCTION Chetzemoka

Matt Masuoka captures the early spring arriving on the University of Washington campus with this cherry tree in full bloom in February.

The Carrier Princess,  railroad car carrier leaves Nanaimo.  Photo courtesy of Mike Bonkowski .

The Day Room Archives... August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 HOME

The Chippewa leaves Seattle in a rare color photo.  Fondly remembered by all who sailed on her, the Chippewa has been gone from Puget Sound for over forty years.  Author's collection.

Have a photo you'd like to submit for the "Photo of the Month?"  Email me your  ferryboat or scenic photos, past or present from Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska or British Columbia and I'll post it on the site!