Friday, January 4th, 1924

Canned: Shine Man Says Hundreds of Tons of Fine Fruit Now Going to Waste

W.R. Hicks, of Shine, known as one of the most consistent boosters of that favored part of Jefferson County, declared that the Tarboo peninsula from Shine south seems to be a particularly favored spot for the huckleberry, the bushes producing far more abundantly than in the section to the northward. The berries are also superior, and a failure is seldom noted there. Thousands of tons of the berries go to waste every year, in the opinion of Mr. Hicks, and efforts to can the berries might lead to a highly profitable industry.

Mr. Hicks stated that engineers are now running the lines for a logging railway which is to be utilized in removing the timber from the Tarboo Peninsula, with operations to start as soon as the camps and equipment can be made ready.

Within a comparatively short time practically the entire peninsula will be denuded of its timber, making the area a vast huckleberry patch, capable of producing many times the present yield. Much of the land of the peninsula is steep hillside, offering conditions particularly favorable for the bushes. In the opinion of Mr. Hicks, a golden opportunity awaits the man or concern which exploits the field.

37 Years Ago

Wednesday, December 31st, 1986

Survived Ice Age

Originally bylined Bob Boardman: When Spring Valley (golf course) opened at the turn of the century, a couple of acres near the clubhouse were left undeveloped. And so the last vestige of an ancient prairie survived a hundred years disguised as a “rough” and thought of as little more than a bad place to lose your golf ball.

Now the management of the course is changing hands. The new proprietors want to improve the facilities and the (Washington) Native Plant Society is concerned about the fate of the prairie.

Tom Jay is a member of the local chapter of the Plant Society. “Now that we know just how rare and important that site is, we think it’s crucial that it be protected in very clear terms in the lease to the new managers of Spring Valley,” Jay says.

“You know, this is a town that prides itself on its ability to protect its heritage,” he continues. “We usually think of that heritage in a time scale measured in hundreds of years. Here we have a cultural and biological link that goes all the way back to our glacial past. That small section of prairie may be the oldest living thing in Jefferson County. We owe it to our grandchildren to protect it.”

Note: Once again, the lease for the Port Townsend Golf Park, a.k.a. Spring Valley Golf Course, has changed hands. As of January 1st, 2024, Friends of Port Townsend Golf Park will take on management of the 58-acre City Park. One of the guiding principles outlined in the new lease is “Environmental Stewardship,” which includes the intention to “identify and expand native (plant) and prairie planting areas.”

Excerpts and ads from historic issues of The Leader were transcribed from archives in the Collection of the Jefferson County Historical Society. JCHS accession #’s 1924 Leader, 1999.36.105 and 1986 Leader, #1999.36.286 were used for today’s column.