If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 409

Boxes of canned salmon

Both of the postcards shared this week are from Lantern Press Vintage Photographs.  The card above has the identification number of #1527 and has a vintage photograph of salmon boxes being loaded for shipment.  The card below is numbered #4136 and has a picture of some of the seiner fleet fishing boats that were used to catch the salmon.  Both postcards were purchased in Ketchikan and are scenes from that area.

Seiner Fleet Fishing Boats, Ketchikan, Alaska

The Alaska Packers' Association (APA) was the largest packer of canned salmon in Alaska.  It was based in San Francisco, founded in 1891 and sold in 1982.  In 1891 the Alaskan salmon industry was just beginning but already producing more canned salmon than they could sell.  The association was founded to organize and sell the surplus canned salmon and manage the salmon production more efficiently.  There were 31 canneries across Alaska in 1892.  The original APA is perhaps best remembered for operating one of the last fleets of tall sailing ships.  Part of the reason for using the sailing ships instead of steam was to economize.  The ships were part of The Star Fleet with each ship having Star in its name, such as Star of Bengal, Star of France, Star of Russia, Star of Alaska, etc.  By 1930 most of the sailing ships had been replaced by steam or diesel powered ships like the ones shown on the second card.

Canned salmon was the largest industry in Alaska from about 1900 through 1980 with some fluctuation due to the number of fish each year.  During that time canned salmon produced over 80% of Alaska's tax revenues.  

Many of our ancestors in the extended family worked in some capacity in or for the canneries of Alaska during the early 1900s up through the 1930s.  My Dad worked on fish traps and was hired to fend off salmon poachers.  This was at times a very dangerous job as the poachers were almost always armed and serious about stealing the fish.  He had some harrowing stories to tell about his time on the traps.  Walt Lorig, his dad Edd, and several others in the family worked in the canneries or on the fishing boats. 

Today the Seattle based trade organization "At-Sea Processors Association" uses the APA moniker.  The newer APA represents 7 companies and operates 19 vessels in the Alaska pollock and West Coast whiting fisheries.  The current APA has no connection to the earlier Alaska Packers’ Association even though it uses the same identifying initials.

For more information, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Packers’_Association