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The whole story starts with two sisters who were born and
raised
in Homer, Alaska. That's Calamity Jane on the Left and Wild Annie
herself on the right with the rifle. It was in the 40's whern
Jane and Ann's father, Charles Abbott, came to Homer. He and
Phyllis homesteaded Cohen Island in 1957 and staked a few
small pieces on other local islands. Two of these pieces
were given to Jane and Ann as an inheritance after his
untimely death in 1964.
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In 1984 Ann married Pat Daigle from Fort Kent,
Maine. It was the following year that they settled a rugged
island in Little Tutka Bay and began commercial salmon setnetting in
partners
with Jane.
Here Pat and Ann are pictured in the Sojourner with their 3rd
born young'un Aspen Rose.
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Jane started setnet fishing at the age of 16 on
Kalgin Island in upper Cook Inlet. She married Tim
Wilkes of Bozeman, Montana in 1987, and built a cabin on Jane's small
piece of an island in the Herring Islands at the
mouth of Little Tutka Bay. Here Tim and Jane are pictured on the
island called Isthmus Island with their two sons Logan and Bridger in
2003.
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Simeon and Benjamin Daigle started fishing with their Dad from the time
they were 3 years old. These two fine young men have now grown
into responsible
adolescents and are capable of running the gear on their
own. The Wilkes wisely timed their offspring for
service just about the time that the first wave of Daigle children will
be ready for their own endeavors, securing another set of crew for the
family fishing operation.
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Logan and Bridger Wilkes pictured here fishing
off Nubble Point, aren't
quite
ready for operating the throttle. They are mostly suited for
making sure their folks remember the snacks and of course like all
fisherkids, spotting gilled salmon with a resounding "FISH!" The
Daigles also have a second set of young fish spotters coming online.
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Aspen Rose Daigle is 8 years old
and her sister Autumn Grace is 3. These two add a little
lace to the fishing experience but they
have been trained to yell "FISH!" as robustly as all the others.
Without a
doubt these two are learning to work as hard as any in this environment
that often requires a bit of extra effort.
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One of the biggest
motivators in all if this is that we are able to work together with our
children and teach them responsibility and a good work ethic.
Each one contributes their part to accomplish the work that is at hand
and in the process many life skills are taught and acquired. This
environment lends itself well to learning to conquer life's
difficulties with confidence.
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