“Back in the Day” — Boys from Dorothy Elliott’s Camp Sherwood Forest were pleased with their catch at Loomis Lake.

OYSTERVILLE — The Pacific County History Forum will meet on Wednesday, March 6 to continue their survey of the early development and progress of the major industries of the area.

“Fishers with any sort of fishing experience — whether it’s recreational fishing at Black Lake, commercial or sports fishing out of Ilwaco, or old-timers who remember stories about the fish traps in Chinook,” are all invited to share their experiences, says spokesperson Sydney Stevens.

Already on the list of March forum participants are Irene and Kent Martin of Skamokawa who worked for 40 years as gillnetters on the Columbia and Dick Wallace, who was a kid during the years of the big salmon derbies. Bill Garvin, great-grandson of P.J. McGowan, will tell a bit about early fishing operations on the river and about the development of McGowan, “a company town,” and Michael Lemeshko has put together “a two-minute overview with pictures of Ilwaco’s early fish wars and docks. Pat Schenk will talk a bit about the sport fishing business with which he and his family have been connected for half a century.

“In addition, we hope many of the regular forum attendees will be sharing fish stories of their own — perhaps tales of surf-fishing out on the ocean or fishing from bank or boat on Willapa Bay, or perhaps some information about all the fishing-related businesses — the canneries and the boat repairers and sellers of fishing equipment,” says Stevens. “Fishing in this area is definitely one of the industries that unites our communities. Hearing from those who know the backstories is a great way to get a sense of our history and how the industry is evolving.”

The History Forum is free to the public and all are invited to attend. Forums meet the first Wednesday of each month, September through May, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., at the Oysterville Schoolhouse.