Bristol Bay Summer
Page 20
When his mom finally got him to stand still, they gazed in silence at the delicate feathers. They smiled at the cocky turn of the bird’s head and admired its powerful-looking beak. Only the rings around the beak, where a small branch had once grown, gave it away as the lump of driftwood Captain had given Zoey back in Naknek.
Eliot placed the carving on his pillow. “It’s Midnight, right Zoey? Midnight can live here with us now. Kraak, kraak!”
“Just for you, Eliot,” said Zoey. “And I’ll tell you a secret that it took me a while to figure out. Sometimes you lose the thing you want the most, but sometimes it comes back to you in a different way. If you just give it a chance.”
The phone rang and Zoey charged up the stairs to answer it.
“Bethany! Yes, I’m home. The movies? Tonight? Let me ask Mom and Patrick.”
Glossary
Alaska Peninsula Highway: The sixteen-mile road that connects King Salmon and Naknek.
Beluga whale: Easy to identify because of their small size, white color, and blunt foreheads, beluga whales are also known as sea canaries because of the whistles and bell-like sounds they emit for communication. In 2008, the National Marine Fishery Service listed the belugas in Cook Inlet, near Anchorage, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Belugas are plentiful in Bristol Bay.
Bentwood box: A cedar box made by Northwest Coast Indians from a single piece of wood that is steamed and bent to form its box shape. No nails are used in the process. It is often decorated with carvings and paintings.
Brailer: A large canvas or net bag with a draw cable at the top. Used to move fish from nets to travel totes or from boat to boat during their journey to the fish processing plant.
Bush Alaska: A term used by locals to describe the most rural parts of Alaska, which are not connected to North America’s road network. Transportation in and around these areas is either by plane, snowmachine, boat, or dogsled.
Cable-spool table: Big wooden spools about three feet high and ranging up to six or more feet across that hold long lengths of communication or electrical wire needed for large construction projects. Once empty, the spools are often used by budget-conscious Alaskans for dining or patio tables.
Driftnet: A type of commercial fishing net launched and tended from the thirty-two-foot aluminum boats used in Bristol Bay. A driftnet can extend more than twice the distance of a football field. In the water, the net hangs from a string of floats and is weighted at the bottom with a lead line. When stored on board the boat, the driftnet is wound around a large aluminum cylinder or drum.
Escapement: The term used by Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists for the number of fish with a given set of genetic characteristics that must be allowed to reach a spawning ground before commercial fishing is allowed.
Fireweed: One of the best-known Alaska wildflowers because of its bright magenta and pink-colored blooms on top of long stalks. In midsummer fireweed grows in large patches in open meadows and fields throughout the more temperate areas of Alaska. When the flowers begin to go to seed in the fall, it’s a sign that winter is only a few weeks away.
Fish and Game: Alaskans use this shorthand expression to refer to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages commercial and sport fishing in Alaska waters within three miles of shore. Fish and Game also manages Alaska’s wild game. The federal government is responsible for fisheries that operate beyond three miles from shore. The Fish and Game website, www.adfg.alaska.gov, is a wealth of information.
Halfmoon Bay: A small portion of the larger Kvichak Bay located at the head of the much larger Bristol Bay. Both the Kvichak and Naknek Rivers flow into Bristol Bay near Halfmoon Bay, making it an important area for hundreds of thousands of migrating shorebirds and, of course, all varieties of salmon.
Highliner: A very successful commercial fisherman.
Ikura: A Japanese word for the eggs from the female salmon, called roe in English. Ikura is a delicacy often used in sushi.
Japanese typhoon: A type of violent sea storm that originates in the Pacific Ocean and can produce winds of more than 100 miles per hour. Japanese typhoons are characterized by high waves, strong winds, and heavy rain.
Kvichak River: The Alaska Native word Kvichak means “from or up to Great Water.” It refers to Lake Iliamna, the headwaters of the river and the largest lake in Alaska. The Kvichak/Iliamna water system is renowned for great fishing, including the largest rainbow trout in the world and huge sockeye salmon runs.
Lead line (also, leadline): As it refers to part of a fishing net, the lead line is a long rope with small weights attached a foot or so apart and strung along the bottom of the net to hold it open as it floats in the water. In modern lead lines, the weights are sometimes encased in the rope itself.
Lower 48: An Alaskan term for the contiguous United States, meaning all the states except Alaska and Hawaii. Not to be confused with the “continental United States.” Alaska is, in fact, on the same continent (North America) as the Lower 48 states.
Merrill Field: Anchorage’s first airport. Now used mainly by small planes, Merrill Field was nevertheless the fifteenth busiest airport in the United States in 1984. It is located on the east end of Fifth Avenue near downtown Anchorage. Nearly 1,000 aircraft are based there.
Naknek River: A thirty-five-mile-long river that flows from Naknek Lake into Kvichak Bay. The town of King Salmon is at the head of the river, Naknek lies on the north shore, and South Naknek on the south shore at its mouth. Naknek Lake lies in the western-most part of the Katmai National Park and Preserve, famous for its volcanoes and large bears.
Retort: A huge pressure cooker used in large-scale fish-processing operations.
Setnet: A type of commercial fishing net that is fixed at or near the shore by an anchor or stake called a deadman. Used predominantly in Bristol Bay where the salmon often swim in very shallow water.
Skiff: A small, open boat powered by an outboard motor. In Alaska, skiffs are typically between sixteen and twenty-two feet long and nearly always made of aluminum. They are capable of carrying from four up to six or seven people and their gear.
Sockeye salmon: A species of Pacific salmon also known as reds or bluebacks, found in the North Pacific Ocean. The fry, or young, spend the first years of their lives in freshwater lakes. Then they migrate to the ocean where they stay for up to another three to four years before returning to their birthplace where they will die once they have spawned and the whole cycle begins again. When spawning, they change color from a sparkling silver with a bluish back, to bright red. They also develop a hump on their backs and a large snout. The average size of sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska, is six to seven pounds. Bristol Bay is home to the largest commercial sockeye salmon fishery in the world, averaging approximately thirty million fish a year.
Southeast: A term used by locals to describe the southern panhandle of Alaska. Most of the area lies in the Tongass National Forest, the earth’s largest remaining temperate rain forest.
Subsistence: A lifestyle that relies on local hunting, fishing, and trapping to provide food and other necessities. Subsistence activities are common throughout Alaska, particularly in the more remote areas.
Tender: A vessel fitted with machinery to load fish from fishing boats and transport them to a processor. Tenders anchor in heavily fished areas so nearby fishermen can sell their catch without having to travel all the way to an onshore processing plant.
Tote: A sturdy container used to hold and transport salmon and other seafood.
VHF radio: A combined transmitter and receiver-style radio used in Alaska and elsewhere by boats and small planes. VHF radios transmit and receive along a line-of-sight path and are capable of receiving marine weather reports and other information. Before the days of mobile phones, fishermen and others in remote areas made phone calls on their VHF radios by contacting a marine operator. The VHF radio is still a necessity in many rural areas where cell-phone service is unreliable.
Neopre
ne waders: Chest-high, one-piece neoprene overalls with feet attached. Fishermen typically wear another pair of rubber boots over the feet to give them better traction and avoid punctures. Commonly used for sportfishing and, especially in Bristol Bay, for setnetting.
Winch: A mechanical device with a rotating drum used to pull in or let out rope or cable, often used on a setnet. Winches can be as simple as a spool attached to a hand crank, or they can be motorized and capable of moving thousands of pounds. The drum used on a Bristol Bay gillnetter to retrieve and store the driftnet functions like a large winch.
Acknowledgments
My deep appreciation and gratitude to the following people:
My dear husband, the English major, Scott Miller, who cooked and sang for me and read, and reread the manuscript in all its fragmented iterations, offering invaluable ideas and suggestions.
My sisters, the Cheering Squad; Barbara, Linda, and Mimi for their immeasurable support.
My children: Heidi Liorah Wichser, for being the inspiration for Zoey, and for helping me see the world a little differently through her art. My oldest son Zachary, the inspiration for Eliot, who is still sweet and good-humored, and now an elementary physical education teacher, outdoorsman extraordinaire and, as always, a great support to me. Also, to my youngest, Spencer, and stepdaughter, Megan. Thanks for cheering me on!
Naknek residents Izetta Chambers, Violet Willson, and Trefon Angasan, who generously provided local knowledge and expertise.
Peggy Cowan, Superintendent of the North Slope Borough School District, and former Superintendent of the Juneau School District, and members of the Juneau School Board of 2009, Andi Story, Phyllis Carlson, Mark Choate, JoAnn Bell-Graves, and Margot Waring, who granted me a sabbatical and year’s leave to complete the MFA program at the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts (NILA), without which, none of this would have ever happened.
Wayne Ude, Director of NILA, and all the other talented professors and fellow students there, especially my mentors Carmen Bernier Grand, who believed in me from the beginning and who, along with Bonny Becker, offered insightful criticism and suggestions.
Kristi Buerger, who took the time to carefully read the manuscript and offer her knowledgeable suggestions as a seasoned, former Bristol Bay setnetter.
Sue Aspelund, former Deputy Director of Commercial Fisheries for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and longtime setnetter in Bristol Bay, for her astute recommendations and suggestions.
Michelle McCann, my editor, for her support, enthusiasm, and careful critiques. She made all the difference!
Doug Pfeiffer and the talented staff at Graphic Arts Books for believing in Bristol Bay Summer and providing top-notch professional support.
Finally, this book would not have been possible without Dan Beishline, the Alaska Bush pilot who first introduced me and my two children to Bristol Bay more than thirty years ago (and who erected the tent that was later demolished by the Japanese typhoon).
Bristol Bay Summer Discussion Questions
1. From whose point of view is Bristol Bay Summer written?
2. In writing, we talk about an author’s voice. How does your previous answer about point of view affect the voice of the story?
3. Each main character—Zoey, Thomas, Alice (Zoey’s mom), Patrick, and Eliot—has a problem at the beginning of Bristol Bay Summer. Discuss what those problems are and if you think by the end of the book those characters have changed. For example, what is your opinion about Zoey’s situation at the start of the story? Do you think her anger is justified? Or, do you think she should just “get over it”? What is she like at the end of the book?
4. Where do you think Lhasa’s name came from? Any ideas why she was named that? Does it tell you something about Zoey’s mom?
5. What do you suppose the “real Alaska” is as opposed to the “other” Alaska? Do you agree? Disagree?
6. A major theme of Bristol Bay Summer is family and what it means to Zoey. In the beginning of the book, Zoey wanted a normal family. What is a “normal” family? Over the course of the book, we see different families: Rose’s, Thomas’s, Patrick’s, and of course Zoey’s. What does Zoey eventually learn about the true meaning of family? What does family mean to you?
7. What do you think killed Midnight? If you were writing the book, would you have let Midnight die? Why?
8. What do you think Zoey wishes for when she blows out her birthday candles?
9. How does art help Zoey? Do you have some kind of similar outlet? How does it help you?
10. What is the point of the crises that happen in the book, for example when the engine quits in midair or the Japanese typhoon ruins their campsite? Was there any kind of foreshadowing in the story that warned you these things might happen?
11. What does Zoey find out when she calls her dad? Why is this important for Zoey’s journey toward healing? What do you think of Zoey’s dad? Does he make you mad or not? Why?
12. What do you think Zoey means at the end of the book when she tells Eliot “Sometimes you lose the thing you want the most, but sometimes it comes back to you in a different way. If you just give it a chance.”
13. Do you think Patrick was acting irresponsibly by bringing Alice, Zoey, and Eliot to Bristol Bay with him? Think about the same question but substitute Alice’s (Zoey’s mom) name for Patrick.
14. Do you think Thomas will visit Zoey in Anchorage in the future? If so, how do you think that will go? Do you think Zoey will go back to Bristol Bay the next summer? Explain why.
15. See what you can find out about the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay. How might it affect the fishermen like Zoey and the Gambles?
*For a complete Study Guide, please go to the author’s website: annieboochever.com.