Today, is the birth date of my father, Henry Laverne (Vern) Harrington. Reportedly, he was born on August 13, 1912 in Silver Creek, Nebraska and passed away in Montrose, Colorado on September 9, 1990. Only recently, in my research of our family history, I discovered that he was actually born on August 12, 1912 but given that we always celebrated his birthday on August 13th, we will give him that day in remembrance. As a child growing up, each August 13th we would fish Silver Salmon together, then have a picture taken of the birthday catch. In those days we always considered his birthday as the peak of the Silver Salmon run on Anchor River. Dad was a ruthless salmon fisherman, once hooked, no salmon ever stood a chance of escaping unless he did it in less than thirty seconds, but we spent many hours together on the Anchor River fishing and hunting moose at the headwaters of the river. This day and age, we complain about how crowded our fisheries have become due to the many visitors that arrive in Alaska each summer to experience a wilderness adventure. These complaints are not new, I remember as a "kid" we would drive out to the Anchor River from our home in the "Little Hamlet By The Sea" on the Old Sterling Highway, as there was no "New" Sterling Highway. The Silver King Lodge was across the road from where the Anchor Angler is today, the lodge had several small, slab wood sided guest cabins next to the Beach Road with a very small campground. As we topped the hill, where our home is located now, Dad would shift into neutral and turn out the headlights. The downhill momentum provided enough speed for us to coast past the cabins and campground. Dad would always make the same comment when accomplishing this task in the dark, "don't want to wake up any of them damm tourists". Evidently it worked, because there was never more than three other fishermen on the river and they would be local friends. On any given day there may have been three visitors from LA on the river.
Last year, the "Clans" held the 1st Annual Vern Harrington Memorial Silver Salmon Tournament. Papa Bear of the Bear Clan won the tournament with a very small Silver Salmon and was awarded a box full of Golden Tokens to equal the weight of the fish. The only other fish entered into the tournament was by the Alpha Male of the Wolf Clan, typical of the Wolf the only salmon he could steal was a spawned out Humpy that he found laying on the bank. The wiser members of the other Clans chose not to fish due to the river conditions.
This year, as the Grand Poopa it is my honor to announce the winner of the 2nd Annual Tournament in honor of dad. The results are as follows:
1st Place: Grand Poopa, Head of the Eagle Clan, Silver Salmon weighing 11.4 Pounds
2nd Place: Papa Bear of the Bear Clan, Silver Salmon weighing 10.1 pounds
Tied for Last Place: Moose Clan, Buffalo Clan, Wolf Clan, Raven Clan, Woodpecker Clan, and the High Priest or whichever title you prefer.
Special Prize: Most Silver Salmon landed, a choice of Free Trip to Mexico or Hawaii and the deserving winner is the Grand Poopa, Exalted Leader of the Clans after landing seven Silver Salmon and releasing five.
It was a great tournament, a lot of fun and it is hope that all of you enjoyed a morning on the Anchor River. The Eagle Clan will look forward to the honors bestowed upon them at the next meeting of the Clans.