“GIG HARBOR IN THE 1920’S”

The original charcoal measures over 7 feet and hangs permanently in the entry lobby of the Inn at Gig Harbor, Washington.

This historic landscape was created through the courtesy of the Gig Harbor-Peninsula Historical Society who provided me with a portion of a photograph shot in the early 1920’s. Although I took some artistic liberties in the details, the original photograph is well represented.

The four Skansie brother, Peter, Anton, Mitchell and Joseph, were Yugoslavian fishermen. They began building salmon seiners in 1912. To build their fleet of fishing boats, the brothers built ways: inclined tracks upon which boats could be slid in and out of the water.

As more and more fishermen made use of the Skansie ways, the bothers created Skansie Boat Building Company, pictured here. Mitchell came up with an idea to build ferries and soon after, the Skansie brothers built and operated the area’s first ferries. The company became known as the Washington Navigation Company, now run by the State.