For some reason I have been feeling nostalgic about ferry boats recently. To feed this nostalgia I started with The Evergreen Fleet: a Pictorial History of Washington State Ferries, by Harre Demoro. Part of the state highway system, they connect the mainland to the San Juan Islands and to Vancouver Island, Canada. Over the years there have been rumblings of a series of bridges between the San Juan islands, but fortunately, this has not happened, with the exception of the Hood Canal floating bridge, and when pontoons on that collapsed (1979), who came to the rescue? (More on this in Safe Passage, listed below). Wonderful black and white photos. Be sure to check out some of the cars on the ferries!

Take another look at the history of the ferry system with Safe Passage: the Birth of Washington State Ferries, a HistoryLink book by Alan J. Stein. This was written in commemoration of the 50th anniversary and includes some great archival photographs not seen elsewhere. This too, is where you can see the collapsed Hood Canal Bridge. :-)

Nautical Highways: Ferries of the San Juan Islands, by Robert E. Demar and Robin Atkins is less history and more poetry, if you will. Three simple lines describe each photo. It took me a few pages to get into the 'feel' of this (I went back and started over), but when I did it was most enjoyable. I love the nun on page 48!

And, finally, a return to what may be my favorite book on ferry boats: Ferryboats: a Legend on Puget Sound, by M.S. Kline and G.A. Bayless. It is a very comprehensive history (books and papers were found in a room where shelves had been built in front of shelves in front of shelves ... !!) and full of archival photos. A female captain recently made the news, but there was another ... as far back as the 1920's ... one Berte H. Olson. An amazing book.

There are more books on ferry boats in the September 9, 2014 post.

Reading Hermit With Dog