Shelton-Mason County Journal - Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886

This two-part story is from a memoir written by Jim Howell in the late 1990s. Jim was born in Hoquiam in 1929 and lived with his parents and two sisters at Simpson Logging Company's Camp 3 in the Skokomish Valley from 1934 to 1946.

"Growing up in Simpson's Camp 3 in the 1930s and 1940s was a unique experience. Our houses were close to each other, but our backyard was trees for miles and miles, with small lakes and streams, hills and canyons, abounding with wildlife.

The Skokomish River, down a steep canyon nearby, was home to steelhead trout. The smaller streams had mostly rainbow trout. A...