Pine Island update

I have recently received a new addition to my Pine Island stories. Upon reviewing them, I find my early stories were published in the Mariner Newspaper and not as a blog. Consequently, many of my friends and followers have not read these.

I have had to rely on my memory to pass on to you my youthful adventures on a little island near my home in Seaview. I had no photos at the time of the writings, so I sketched what I remembered. Now, thanks to the Bonney family, formerly of Seaview, I have Pine Island post cards sent to the Bonneys from some of the folks that vacationed and hunted ducks on Pine Island, c. early to mid 1930s. "The Good Old Days."

The first Pine Island stories appeared in the Marshfield Mariner "Around Town" column by Kezia

"Mud fights and cookouts on Pine Island''
On the east side of Pine Island was a wooden walkway out to a leg of Broad Creek. At the edge of the creek were a dock, a ladder to a lower landing, and a diving board. The walkways and dock were built mostly from driftwood lumber scavenged from the marsh. The camps also were built from mostly salvaged lumber.

Approaching Pine Island & looking east. Note the wheelbarrow full of firewood at this end of the catwalk.
L. is the North camp. Sketch done in 2013.

Although I don't remember this as seen, if you look at my sketch below, the middle camp appears to have a second floor or balcony.

Looking west. My sketch as I remembered the camps.

Duck hunters of Pine Island. They are standing on the deck of the North camp & before the porch was added.

The first camp in the front line, the porch is on the east end. Note the lady at the water pump.

At low tide, I would have mud fights with the kids staying on the island. The older kids would grind the mud into us! Every inch was covered in black, slimy mud. Sometimes we would wait until the tide came in enough to wash off. Other times we would lay near the water pump while another pumped. It took a lot of pumping to clean up, and the water became colder the longer it was pumped. The pumped water on the island was salty and discolored, used only for washing.

At mid-to-high tide, we would dive or jump from the board or off the railing. Full high tide would cover the dock and walkway, but only ankle deep. It was a challenge to ride my bike out to the dock, and a bigger challenge to ride back through the water.

Looking west from the dock. North camp on the R. "Sunnyside" must be the center camp.
The camp fire was next to the catwalk. The dock was the access to Broad Creek.

A dory was tied on the south side of the dock. The two men and two older boys would row out through Broad Creek to the clam flats at low tide, dig clams, then go fishing in the river. They would return as the tide came in, going with the tides. There were plenty of flounder, mackerel, cod and haddock in the mouth of the North and South Rivers.

The men would clean the fish on the dock. I was invited twice for a cookout. This would be the fish fry. I would help with the cooking fire in a stone circle. Plenty of kindling could be found above the high tide line and firewood was delivered  to the campers, by wheelbarrow!

"Mom" on the R. was Agnes Bonney. Julia & husband were the camp owners.

There was a steel cook plate across half of the fireplace. The men filleted the flounder; the women rolled them in cornmeal, and three of us kids kept the fire going. On went the flounder, mackerel and hot dogs. Mmmm, was that flounder good! I would have no part of mackerel! The haddock and cod were saved for fish chowder.

Notice the nice flounder he has.

The North camp. This is the only camp I was in. We would play checkers by a Coleman lamp at night on the porch.

The above photos are copies of post cards of Pine Island, and are compliments of the
Lawrence "Larry" Bonney family, formerly of Seaview.

"There's no place like camp.
I wish I could stay forever!"
- Unknown

Below is the original blog published in the Mariner from Jan.13 to March 3 2010.
http://seaviewmarshfield.blogspot.com/2010/06/pine-island.html