I was almost ready to turn around and head back, my father had several minutes ago. Hidden in the trees ahead I spot a dark shape… Another structure?
It may not yet have collapsed, but the inevitable is not far away. The front porch looks decidedly chancy, I avoid it as I slip carefully through the front door. A one room cabin with a small storage closet. The floor is covered with milled lumber that looks to have been salvaged from another structure. Various other bits of refuse and castoffs lie about, a crab pot, a gas can, no surprise.
The newspapers all bear dates from 1919, during the heyday of the cannery here in Funter Bay. There are samples from the Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, and several other classic newspapers of the early 20th century. I find articles on various subjects, instead of reading I simply take a photo or two.
One of the most striking images is a fashion plate from a Woman’s Home Companion of April 1919. A very stylish design that catches my attention, a design that foretells the popular fashions of the roaring 20’s, a major shift in fashion that was leading to more modern designs. Exploring the ruins of an abandoned cannery this is not what I expected to find.