Along Willapa Bay
FAR LEFT:
Wooden
artwork,
seen outside
the historic
Tokeland
Hotel.
A road trip full of history
BY DAVID CAMPICHE
Jim Tweedie, a friend, was a pastor for
many decades and has recently retired. A
good storyteller, I wish I had caught a few
of his sermons. I suppose I have indirectly a
time or two.
With a surgery coming up soon, Jim sug-
gested a short drive toward Westport, a
day’s journey around the north side of Wil-
lapa Bay in Washington. We thought about
exploring Tokeland and beyond, maybe
Washaway Beach.
Jim and I are united by poetry. Together
we once published a book of poems and
photographs called “Sidekicks.” Maybe that
title says it all. Jim writes, plays his own
music and has self-published more than a
dozen books and written as many musical
scores.
A few years ago, Jim took a photo of a
tribal canoe journey, one he later wished to
donate. The talented Tony Johnson, chair-
man of the Chinook Indian Nation, had
carved a long, elegant cedar canoe, a mas-
terwork. We then detoured to Bay Center,
a quiet backwater east of Willapa Bay that
was once a community center for the Chi-
nook. There, Jim gifted the canoe photo and
we later took a few more pictures of the
harbor.
The sun was in full regalia and we
quickly passed an hour exploring. The bay
was alive in all its glory. There is a work-
man’s cafe that specializes in oysters. We
passed by this morning, pushing north,
already missing the sublime, briny taste of
the fresh Willapa Bay oysters.
We drove through South Bend and Ray-
mond and turned west on state Route
105. On an inspiration, we stopped by the
Camenzind farm and visited with an old
friend, Eleanor. Memories flooded though
my mind, of coffee with Joe, of his big,
warm heart and farmer’s wisdom that gener-
ally carried the day. At the end of that visit,
a brace of fat mallards swung from my belt.
Wind storms often bled over the Willapa
like a page from a novel. Here I recall the
best of times with my brother and father.
Tokeland is such a picturesque setting, a
named after Chief Toke. Today the weather
and the vista toward Leadbetter Point on
the north end of the Long Beach Penin-
sula was nothing short of magical. Cumulus
clouds rolled across the sky, seabirds flew
by and a fair northwest wind shuffled the
tide and sky.
We visited with Johnson’s daughter,
Mary Raven, at the Shoalwater Bay Tribal
LEFT: Boats
sit at a
marina near
Westport in
Washington.
Photos by
David Campiche
Community Library and Heritage Museum.
She is sharp woman with her ancestors’ dark
eyes, rich with stories about her people, the
resourceful Chinook, master traders, sailors
and fishermen of the coast.
We stopped for lunch at the Tokeland
Hotel, a historic legacy from the end of the
19th century. I love this place, and a lunch
of eggs benedict with crab pleased me to no
end. Fresh Dungeness crab always carries
the day. Jim’s fish sandwich brought a wide
smile to his face.
We asked for a tour of the old building
and were pleased to see the tasteful rooms.
Owning and operating the Shelburne Inn in
Seaview for 42 years exerted a particular
bias for the Victorian era. I would certainly
advocate an overnight adventure to this his-
toric hotel. I was charmed. We left with a
bag of homemade cookies and munched all
the way to Westport.
We stopped at Washaway Beach and dis-
covered that indeed, true to its name, the
beach was washing away at an alarming
rate. Jim is more skeptical than I about the
effects of climate change, but one couldn’t
ignore the reality of rising seawater. West-
port is a favorite destination for both com-
mercial and weekend salmon fishermen.
Like the fishing havens at Ilwaco and Asto-
ria, the waterscape is also photographer’s
mecca. Here, a few brave boys dove from
the docks into the cold spring water, frolick-
ing like seals until pressed to retreat.
On a mostly windless day, the fleet rested
peacefully on the still waters. These boats,
skippers and crews certainly know the real-
ity of winter storms blistering the Pacific.
Decades ago, my son Dustin fished these
waters, and further north in the Bering Sea,
transforming him into a tough and resolute
seaman. I napped on the return trip, but the
flood of memories continued to dance in my
head.
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Headliner: Monica Nevi
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Feature Act: Adam Pasi
An absolute fixture on the Oregon
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audiences everywhere.
Host: Drew Wilson-McGrath
Downtown Astoria’s historic Liberty Theatre was made for music, dance,
theatre, readings, film, comedy, children’s programs – and you!
1203 Commercial Street | Astoria, OR 97103 | 503.325.5922 | www.libertyastoria.org
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022 // 13