Summers on Siletz Bay

Jeannette and Doris, at the shore

In my early childhood my best memories are of when Grandpa Head bought two lots of Cutler City on the Siletz Bay {ed note: Cutler City was eventually incorporated into Lincoln City}. Dad and my Uncle Bill and Harold built two cabins, one named the Bear's Den. We spent several weeks each summer there, three or more families at a time. Usually the men came down on weekends {ed note: Seaside had a weekly Friday evening train route commonly called the “Daddy Train”} and Grandma and Mom and her sisters stayed.

 My cousins and I would swim and play on the beach and went clamming at low tide. We older ones took big buckets and filled them to the brim. Grandma would spend all day grinding and canning for chowder and then pound the biggest and fry them for a dinner served with fresh baked bread and homemade applesauce and green salad, sometimes with dandelion greens.

Down the street a man had a group of row boats for rent. One trip we went down there and he had named them Jeanne, Doris, Bob, Betty and Patty (all painted on the side) after those of us who usually were at the beach at the same time. We were also allowed to use them at no charge. Sometimes we fished for flounder on Drift Creek. When Dad came down he went to Boiler Bay and stayed until evening when a fisherman always came close to shore to clean his salmon and Dad would go out on the rocks and toss him a silver dollar and he would toss Dad a large salmon, enough for two dinners and some salmon sandwiches.