[00:00:05] Saundra Magnussen Martin: This is an interview for the National Nordic Museum and the Ballard Historical Society. My name is Saundra Magnussen Martin, and with me today is

[00:00:19] Marjorie Graf: Marjorie Graf.

[00:00:20] Saundra Magnussen Martin: The date is April 29th, 2026, and we are interviewing Nancy Linvog Ferkingstad. So Nancy, could you start out by telling us a little bit about yourself?

[00:00:35] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, I grew up in Ballard and was born in Ballard, Swedish Hospital. The Swedish Hospital downtown, Swedish Hospital in Ballard wasn't there at that point in time. Um, to parents who were both of Norwegian heritage. My mother was born in Norway. My father was born here, but his parents both immigrated from Norway.

[00:00:59] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And what were their names?

[00:01:01] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, my father's parents were John Linvog and he married Olga Oland, and so it was John and Olga Linvog. Um, my mother's parents were Martin and Oliana Soto, and they came from Norway in about 1929, I think it was.

[00:01:26] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Do you know why they came?

[00:01:28] Nancy Ferkingstad: Because things in Norway were hard. It was difficult to make a living. My father's, um, parents came over separately. They met here. Um, John met Olga here in Seattle. John was one of 10 children and his father was a fisherman in Norway and he was, went down with his boat and so left his mother with 10 boys to raise and they had a little plot of land, um, because they were like sort of like tenant farmers for the, for the Linvog family farm. And, um, she did her best to, you know, to take care of them but one by one, they ended up coming to America. Eventually they all ended up in America, but about half of them and my grandmother came over for a while too. But, um, my great-grandmother, I mean, and went back to Norway. Um, so there were, I think four or five brothers that stayed here and the others went back to Norway.

[00:02:38] Marjorie Graf: Which part of Norway was there?

[00:02:39] Nancy Ferkingstad: They were from a little island called Tustna, which is now part of Christiansen on the, on the west coast of Norway. And my, and my mother's, my mother's parents came over in 1929. Um, he was a farmer. He had a plot of land. He was the oldest son, so the oldest back then, the oldest inherited the farm. So he did have the farm, but he had also 10 children at that time, and he, he, you know, it was very difficult to, to make a living. So he came to America, I think twice before he brought the family over and he worked in the, uh, timber industry. He worked coming down trees in the forest. It was, I call him a lumberjack or whatever. And, um, the, um, um. It's mine.

[00:03:43] Nancy Ferkingstad: Should I turn it off?

[00:03:44] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah.

[00:03:47] Nancy Ferkingstad: Okay. My mother's family, um, my mother, my... Was saying my grandfather came over and worked here in the timber industry. Um, went back, ca- with earnings to help support his family. He came over again, and the second time he came over, he bought a farm out in Kent.

[00:04:08] Marjorie Graf: Mm-hmm.

[00:04:08] Nancy Ferkingstad: And so then he went back, and he brought his whole family. So it's, um, kind of interesting to think, to imagine my poor grandmother with 10 children, I think the oldest was 15, and the youngest was probably a baby, um, traveling all that way on a steamship. They all were seasick. Um, they, it could not have been fun. But they all ended up in Kent on the farm, and where my grandfather, he still, I think, continued to work in the timber industry some. But he had cows, and cows and berries and fruit trees and chickens, and they were able to make a... You know, they weren't poor, but they weren't rich either. And that was right at the time of the Depression.

[00:04:58] Marjorie Graf: Mm-hmm.

[00:04:58] Nancy Ferkingstad: But my mother said that they never really felt like they missed out on anything, 'cause they always had each other, and they had s- stuff from the farm. They had food. They were, they were comfortable.

[00:05:10] Marjorie Graf: Mm-hmm.

[00:05:12] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So your, um, father's side of the family, when they, uh, came over here, did he become a fisherman, John?

[00:05:19] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes. Yes. Um, I don't know what he had done in Norway before coming. I'm assuming he fished in Norway also, because that's what most of the... They, they either worked, he and his brothers either worked in fishing or in, um, shipyards. And so he came to Ballard. Um, I think the o- the first one that came over was Albert, and he was in the Merchant Marines, I think, but somehow or other ended up staying in Seattle. And I think they would send money back to bring the brothers, you know, one by one over. And they would stay, when they first came, they would stay with other Norwegians from the area in their homes or in boarding homes here, where they... lots of times, I think they knew the people that they were with when they were, um, when they first got here.

[00:06:17] Saundra Magnussen Martin: It's probably a close-knit community.

[00:06:20] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah. I think, well, Ballard definitely was.

[00:06:23] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So how did your, um, parents meet? Do you know?

[00:06:30] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, I think they probably met at dances. Um, it was like the, um... I'm trying to think. It wasn't the Sons of Norway, but it w- was, um, I know the name of the place, but I can't think of it. Any- anyway, there, there was a place where all the Norwegians would go, and they would do their dancing. And so once a week they would go dancing, and that was the one way of meeting fellow Norwegians. Plus they also had the opportunity to, um, kind of keep their culture going. 'Cause they did the, they did all the Scandinavian dances. You know, the Hambo, the Schottische, and um, all these other, all these other things. So it was fun. That was their big social, social thing. Yeah.

[00:07:21] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So did your father then, he was, uh, in, in with his father in the fishing industry?

[00:07:28] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes.

[00:07:29] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Did, did he have a boat? The, uh-

[00:07:31] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes, he initially-

[00:07:33] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Grandfather ...

[00:07:33] Nancy Ferkingstad: yes. He, my grandfather, well, initially fo- fished with his brothers on a boat called The Albatross. And, um, I don't know the exact timeline, but he eventually bought a boat on his own called The Platinum, and my father fished with him on The Platinum. And, um, then later my f- he and my father bought the St. John II, which was a larger halibut boat, and that's what my father ended up ... After my grandfather died, my father took over running that. Well, he was running it, I think, even before my grandfather died. But, um, that's where he fished until he got sick and wasn't able to fish any longer, and sold the boat, so.

[00:08:22] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And I assume they went up to Alaska to fish?

[00:08:25] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes. Yeah. Yes. They fished halibut most of the time, and it was in, in Alaska. They, um, Petersburg was sort of the, the main spot where they would stop all the time, 'cause they had relatives. I mean, it was a big Norwegian community there also, so they got ... They were quite often delivering fish in Petersburg. But they would fish all the way up into the Bering Sea at times, and come back with stories about the rough seas and, and it was pretty dangerous. But at the time when I was a kid, I didn't really think about that.

[00:09:03] Marjorie Graf: Was he gone a lot?

[00:09:05] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, yes. They would start fishing, I don't know, um, January, February, February, March. And then he'd be gone pretty much all summer. They would usually come home in the early spring, and then they would go tuna fishing later. Or sometimes they went, um, my dad work- used the boat as a tender for the salmon fishing industry.

[00:09:34] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So now what do you mean by a tender?

[00:09:37] Nancy Ferkingstad: A tender is a boat that is hired by the fish companies to, the, the, the individual fishing boats unload their catch to the tender, and then the tender takes it into the, to the factory or to the warehouse or whatever you want to call it.

[00:09:54] Marjorie Graf: So is that where they get paid then?

[00:10:03] Nancy Ferkingstad: If, if- Um. Hmm. Who, the tenders or the f- or the- Yeah ... or the fishing?

[00:10:07] Marjorie Graf: Or their fishing.

[00:10:09] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, I think they settle up with the companies later. Oh, okay. Um, it was, uh, 'cause I know that was one of the things that Pacific Fisherman, I think, did- Mm-hmm ... was they kept the books and made the settlements for the fishermen that, um, th- they sort of took care of the bookkeeping for them.

[00:10:28] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm. So what was life like when your dad was home?

[00:10:35] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, I mean, it was fine. It was just a normal childhood. I mean, it's, I'm sure it was probably most difficult for my mother because she, while they were gone, she was the one who had to take care of everything, you know, paying the bills, and it, of course, she always took care of the household and the yard anyway. But, um, but, you know, all the bill paying and that kind of stuff. And then when my father came home, um, I don't know how that impacted their roles, but it didn't seem to... Things just seemed to just go on the way they were before. So it was just nice to have Daddy home again. Of course. Of course. We never got to go on summer vacations because he was usually gone in the summertime.

[00:11:21] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Did you ever go out on the boat?

[00:11:23] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes, we did occasionally go out on the boat. Um, and that was great fun. Um, we were able to, you know, we, we'd take a day trip, and we'd go out, the whole family, and sometimes cousins and other people, and just sort of have a picnic. And sometimes we met other boats. I, I remember, um, one time specifically where we met up with the St. John, with, uh, Lorelei Second, which was owned by Elmer Martens, and he was a good friend of my dad's from Petersburg. And, um, they, we would tie up with them at, I think we went to Port Townsend that time, and had... It was just fun. And we thought it was great. We could throw, I, we had little fishing lines that our dad would let us throw a- over the, over the side of the boat, and quite often we got, um, bullhe- what we call bullheads or skates. I think my brothe- I remember my brother got a skate once, and it was exciting 'cause it was big.

[00:12:25] Saundra Magnussen Martin: That must have been quite a trip to come back from Alaska on the boat. Do you have any idea how long that took? Um- So he brought the boat back every year

[00:12:35] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes, he brought, brought the boat back every, every winter. Um, it was probably three or four days.

[00:12:42] Marjorie Graf: Oh, that's all?

[00:12:44] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah.

[00:12:46] Marjorie Graf: So how many siblings do you have?

[00:12:48] Nancy Ferkingstad: I have two brothers.

[00:12:51] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And did they go into the fishing with your dad?

[00:12:55] Nancy Ferkingstad: They did not go into fishing with my dad. One became a veterinarian, the other one's a, was a dentist. But they did go out on the boat a couple of times with my dad, um, on, on trips in the summertime when they were out of school. Um, so they had a taste of it and what it was like. But they decided that they didn't wanna follow in his footsteps, so, so that was... I, uh, maybe a disappointment for my dad, I don't know. But

[00:13:26] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So k- uh, since both of your parents were, uh, of Norwegian heritage, what kinds of, um, customs did you practice in your family that may have come from, uh, your grandparents in Norway?

[00:13:42] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, well, m- Christmas was probably the most, most way we carried on traditions, in that we would, we would always go out to Kent on Christmas Eve to my, um, mother's parents. And they had lutefisk and lefse and, you know, cookies, krumkake, and all the, all the cookies. And we would, we would get... There were, you know, there were 10, actually there were two children that were born after they got, so there was a total of 12 children in her family. So in their little farmhouse when we'd get together on Christmas Eve, it was always pretty crowded. But I had lots of cousins. So it was always fun. Oh, that's fun. It was always fun, 'cause I had lots of cousins. Um, so that was the primary thing.

[00:14:28] Nancy Ferkingstad: And then of course there was activities around the church. Um, my grandparents in Kent belonged to Zion Lutheran Church, and my, and my grandparents and us when we were growing up, to Ballard First Lutheran Church. So, um, it was, um, that was another thing. I, I know Ballard First Lutheran Church at that time s- did still on Christmas have a Norwegian, um, um... I don't know if it was Christmas Day or Christmas Eve or, but a, a Norwegian, um, service. I think it was just that one time a year. But, but the pastors were all Norwegian. Pastor Hovig and...

[00:15:13] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And did your mom teach you how to make those, uh, Norwegian cookies?

[00:15:18] Nancy Ferkingstad: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. She did not... Well, she made potato lefse, which was not like the... There's two kinds of lefse.

[00:15:26] Marjorie Graf: Mm-hmm.

[00:15:26] Nancy Ferkingstad: There's the potato lefse, which is what you used, was not the sweet kind.

[00:15:30] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:15:30] Nancy Ferkingstad: It's what you used to roll up your lutefisk in.

[00:15:33] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:15:33] Nancy Ferkingstad: And then, um- My other, m- my father's mother made the Hardanger lefse, which was the sweeter kind that you use with the sugar and cinnamon, and I much preferred that. And I made it a few times, but, um, it was so much easier just to buy it from the box.

[00:15:56] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And what about the, uh, 17th of May? Was there a celebration in Seattle at that time, or...?

[00:16:04] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, you know, I'm sure it was, but I don't really remember going to the 17th of May parades.

[00:16:11] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:16:11] Nancy Ferkingstad: My parents were members of the Sons of Norway, and so we would go down to Norway Hall, and for, for different occasions and different things going on there. Um, and there was... And I belonged when I was in, oh, I don't know, junior high school, first part of high school, there was a Norwegian children's choir that was led by, oh, her last name was Svenson, and now I can't think of her first name. Um, but anyway, so there were probably eight or nine of us that learned Norwegian songs. We had no idea what we were singing, but- But we, but we, we, we could pronounce the words, but what they meant we didn't really know. But we sang, and, um, I... Trying to think who we performed for. It was probably more s- most stuff at the, at the, um, Norway Hall, Norway Center.

[00:17:14] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So other than, um, the, the church and Sons of Norway, were your parents involved in any other, um, organizations?

[00:17:27] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, my, um, mother was part of the Halibut Fishermen's Wives Association when that started, and that was, that was in 19... I don't know. I forgot the year. 1956, '57. Um, Fern Molvig was the, was the woman who was pretty much the s- the person who started that or was the, the impetus behind it, and, um, it was 1955. And she was working with the, um, um, Deep Sea Fishermen's Union to... They, what the wives wanted to do was create a group that would help promote the sale and the use of halibut. Prices were down, and they were essentially the marketing arm of the Deep Sea Fishermen's Union.

[00:18:25] Nancy Ferkingstad: And, um, so they had several... They m- produced a cookbook that was sold nationally, and they would have d- different, um- Um, they would go on local TV programs that, that, you know, KING 5 had their own little cooking shows, and F- Channel 4 did also. And so they would go on, on those and show how to c- how to cook these meals. And, um, and that's one of the reasons why they sponsored the Apprentice for the SeaFair parade and celebration, was because they wanted the Halibut Fisherman's name out there to, um, to, um, help promote the sale and the, and the use of halibut.

[00:19:12] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Good for the women.

[00:19:13] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes, yes.

[00:19:14] Marjorie Graf: So when you look back on your childhood, what was it like, do you think, for your mom to be the wife of a fisherman?

[00:19:22] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, you know, I, I think she had a pretty good life. I mean, she seemed to know how to manage the household fine, and we were all, we all were healthy and had what we needed. And she had another... She had two sisters who were also both, um, wives of- Mm ... fishermen that lived in Ballard, and so we did a lot of things together. So I think they were very supportive of one another. And, um, we would do things together. Um, the one, one sister had a summer place on Lake Goodwin, and I know we spent a lot of time going up there and spending time with them. Um, and, um, we all lived fairly close together, so.

[00:20:13] Marjorie Graf: They had to support each other then.

[00:20:15] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah, yeah.

[00:20:15] Marjorie Graf: That's right.

[00:20:15] Nancy Ferkingstad: They were able to support each other.

[00:20:17] Marjorie Graf: Yeah.

[00:20:17] Nancy Ferkingstad: Plus, our whole neighborhood was pretty much... When I think about it, there were... Well, there were lots of kids back then in the Ballard neighborhoods, and there were one, two, three, four. There were at least four houses on our street where the fathers were fishermen and gone all summer. So, you know, we had those kids to play with also. They were all, all around. And, um, the mothers would get together and do things. We sometimes had picnics together. And so I... You know, it was a very much a s- a supportive network, and they helped each others out when-

[00:21:00] Marjorie Graf: Mm

[00:21:00] Nancy Ferkingstad: they needed it. I remember my mother did not drive initially, and I, I was probably, I don't know, seven, eight or so before she learned how to drive. So I wonder how she managed before she drove. But I, you know, I really don't remember. But there were always grocery stores nearby that we could go to, so we probably did a lot of walking.

[00:21:32] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So tell us about your, uh, reign as the- ... Halibut queen for SeaFair.

[00:21:40] Nancy Ferkingstad: Well, at the time I thought it was really, really exciting, you know. Now looking back on it, it's sort of like, oh, you know, this is sort of a stereo pic- You know, this is i- it's not in fashion anymore to have princesses and, um, and queens of this and that, so. But back then it was, it was, you know, pretty exciting. And, um, I was crowned in the spring of my senior year in high school, and then that summer then I participated in all the SeaFair events, all the parades, and the- Mm ... different SeaFair Ball, and all these other things that went, that were happening. And it was-

[00:22:26] Marjorie Graf: Sounds like fun

[00:22:26] Nancy Ferkingstad: It was fun. It was exciting. I got to meet lots of other young women from, you know, around the city. Um, some of which, some of whom I was kind of surprised were sort of, um, old hats at being... I mean, they'd been through the pageant thing before, and it was sort of like something that they did, which I didn't even cross my mind at that time as being a thing. But, um, but it, but it was fun.

[00:22:54] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So I'm not too familiar with how, um, how these, they are chosen for SeaFair, but did you have... Is it like Miss America where you have a talent or, or you have to-

[00:23:07] Nancy Ferkingstad: Not-

[00:23:07] Saundra Magnussen Martin: ... give a speech or-

[00:23:08] Nancy Ferkingstad: Not at that point in time ...

[00:23:09] Saundra Magnussen Martin: nothing. Yeah.

[00:23:11] Nancy Ferkingstad: No. No. I, um, as far as the Halibut Wives go, I think there were three of us that were vying for the position, and they must have just had some kind of a vote. We didn't have to do any kind of a s- a speech or anything. Um, we met with them all at, at different points in times.

[00:23:31] Nancy Ferkingstad: And, um, and then as far as SeaFair goes, it was just our participation in the, in the events. And there were, there were judges who were just people who were associated with different, the different events who, you know, they didn't label, we weren't, they weren't labeled as judges at all, but they were involved. And, um, I, I remember, um, one of them coming up and talking to me and, and saying, "Well, you know, if you were, if you were Miss SeaFair, you know, um, how would you, you know, would you enjoy that? How would you think about it?" And I says, "Well, I'm planning on going to school next year." And she says, "Well, you know, if you're elected SeaFair Queen, you probably won't be able to do that." And I was, "Oh." I thought, "Oh, well, I'm not so sure that that's what I want to do then." I didn't say that to her, but, um, anyway.

[00:24:32] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So they have enough activities throughout the year that a, a young woman would not be able to go to school?

[00:24:40] Nancy Ferkingstad: Apparent- apparently, yes. That's interesting. 'Cause, because the Seafair Queen essentially was the city's, um, representative.

[00:24:48] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:24:48] Nancy Ferkingstad: So, so when they had dignitaries that would come to town, the Seafair Queen would quite often be part of the, part of the, um, festivities, or when they had, um, delegations that went to city, to different towns for different things, sometimes the Seafair Queen would go along with for that. So, um, it was considered, um, a fairly much of a full-time thing.

[00:25:18] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:25:18] Nancy Ferkingstad: I mean, not full-time, but enough- Yeah ... that it would interfere with you being able to do your studies.

[00:25:24] Saundra Magnussen Martin: What year was this that you were, uh, the halibut queen?

[00:25:27] Nancy Ferkingstad: 1961.

[00:25:29] Saundra Magnussen Martin: '61?

[00:25:30] Nancy Ferkingstad: Uh-huh.

[00:25:30] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Okay. So can you tell us a little bit about your high school experiences? What kinds of things were you involved with?

[00:25:39] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um-

[00:25:39] Saundra Magnussen Martin: At s- at school or- Oh,

[00:25:42] Nancy Ferkingstad: I was involved- clubs ... I was involved with everything. I was I w- I was I guess what you'd call a high achiever. I wan- I wanted to do everything and, you know, and be the best at everything. Um, I was in Honor Society. I was in a singing group called Triple Trio for a while. Um, I, I was a, a good student, so I was... I took the advanced classes.

[00:26:11] Nancy Ferkingstad: They didn't have as many advanced classes back then as they did now, but I was, um, I was kind of competing with probably many of the boys in my class because there were not that many girls who took the advanced classes, like especially in math. And, um, so... And I was a, you know, I was a straight A student, and at that point, they had what they called the top 10 graduates, and I was, I was in that group, and I felt pretty lucky to be able to, to do that.

[00:26:51] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Did you go through confirmation at the First Ballard-

[00:26:55] Nancy Ferkingstad: Oh, b- oh, yes

[00:26:55] Saundra Magnussen Martin: ... First Lutheran, uh, Ballard

[00:26:56] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah. We had a big confirmation class at that time.

[00:26:59] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:26:59] Nancy Ferkingstad: I, I... We must have had at least 60 kids that were in our confirmation class. It was really pretty big. It was grueling.

[00:27:12] Saundra Magnussen Martin: I remember.

[00:27:16] Marjorie Graf: Me too.

[00:27:17] Nancy Ferkingstad: Ah.

[00:27:18] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So where did you go to college?

[00:27:20] Nancy Ferkingstad: I went to the University of Washington.

[00:27:23] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:27:23] Nancy Ferkingstad: And graduated in nursing.

[00:27:25] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Oh.

[00:27:26] Nancy Ferkingstad: So I was, I was a registered nurse.

[00:27:29] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And where did you work?

[00:27:31] Nancy Ferkingstad: I've worked at lots of different places. My first job was at Children's Hospital, and then I was married, got married and had children, so I didn't work for a while. And then I worked at... after they were in school, I worked at a little hospital. We moved to West Seattle for a while, so I worked at West Seattle Hospital and Standering Hospital, which was an osteopathic hospital in Burien. And, um, eventually got a job at what was then Group Health, which is now Kaiser, so that's where I worked for my, the last parts of my career.

[00:28:11] Saundra Magnussen Martin: What's your husband's name?

[00:28:13] Nancy Ferkingstad: My husband's name is Donald Norman Ferkingstad, and his father was born in Norway. And his mother was born here in this country, and she was of Austrian descent, so.

[00:28:27] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Did you meet at Ballard High School or in college?

[00:28:30] Nancy Ferkingstad: No, no. He grew up in West Seattle, which is how I ended up in, how our family ended up in West Seattle for a while. And, um, his father bought, his family bought a house on our street, um, from another fisherman. His father was a fisherman also. And, um, he was out of high school then. I was a senior, and he was out of high school, and so we met just in the neighborhood. So I married the boy down the street.

[00:29:05] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Not quite next door.

[00:29:07] Nancy Ferkingstad: Not quite next door. And we hadn't grown up together.

[00:29:11] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So, and w- is your husband a fisherman, or was your husband a fisherman?

[00:29:15] Nancy Ferkingstad: He wa- he was a fisherman in his early years. He went out fishing with... His dad was a salmon fisherman, and he would go out... I mean, he started going out with his boat when he w- on his boat when he was, like, eight years old. I mean, he just really loved fishing and, um, and fished pretty much every summer until, I don't know, it was after we were married. And the fishing industry was sort of really up and down, and he really felt like, well, it was probably my decision, too, that we needed a more stable income. So he gave fishing up, and he ended up working in computers, which at that, at that time, the computer industry was just starting. I mean, it was nothing like it is now. And, um, so he ended up being a systems analyst at, at Boeing and worked at several different companies, but retired from Boeing, so.

[00:30:16] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Did you as a family have a boat just for pleasure once he left the fishing industry?

[00:30:23] Nancy Ferkingstad: No, no. My, my father, I mean, my husband never could- See the enjoyment in getting out there with a single rod and pulling up a fish one by one when he was used to pulling them up by the net-full. So he, he just never was, you know, got, got into fishing. We had, um, we have a place on a lake now, and he's very much into our rowboat and love, loves to row the boat. But, um, no. No, we didn't do boating for pleasure really.

[00:30:57] Saundra Magnussen Martin: How many children do you have?

[00:30:59] Nancy Ferkingstad: Two.

[00:30:59] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And their names?

[00:31:01] Nancy Ferkingstad: Julie and Mark, and they both live in Ballard. So when they... We, we, we lived in West Seattle while they were growing up, and, um, my... After, well, my son got married. When my mo- mother died, um, my son bought my mom's house, so, so they moved back to Ball- so he and his wife were living in Ballard. And then my daughter, when she graduated from high school and was working, she wanted to buy a house, and she found a house in Ballard, so she moved to Ballard.

[00:31:39] Nancy Ferkingstad: So there we were in our big house in West Seattle, and everybody else, and, and, you know, my siblings and, you know, my, my husband's siblings were all in Ballard. So we decided that we wanted to move. We were gonna sell our house anyway 'cause the li- yard was just too much to... We didn't need it anymore. So, um, so we moved back to Ballard, and we actually bought a house on the same street as my mother's house. So I live, like, two houses away from my son, and my daughter's just about three blocks away, so it's, it's really been nice. I did ask my son and his wife their permission- Mm-hmm ... before we bought a house so close to them just because.

[00:32:24] Nancy Ferkingstad: But, um, they had two little... They had one little girl and another one on the way at the time. And, you know, I think all they were thinking about, "Oh, babysitters." Yeah. And it, it really worked out, has worked out really very well. Mm-hmm. And now that we're getting older and our son is still two houses away from us, it's, you know, every- everybody's there to help everybody out, so it's worked out good.

[00:32:48] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Well, and what a wonderful bond you probably have with your grandchildren because you were so close-

[00:32:53] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah ...

[00:32:54] Saundra Magnussen Martin: geographically.

[00:32:54] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes.

[00:32:55] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah.

[00:32:55] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes.

[00:32:55] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah.

[00:32:56] Nancy Ferkingstad: But now geographically, they are both on the... One's in Chicago, and one's in New York.

[00:33:00] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:33:00] Nancy Ferkingstad: So maybe they'll make it back to Ballard again. I don't know.

[00:33:06] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So when you moved back to Ballard, you had been gone for quite a while.

[00:33:09] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Did you... I mean-

[00:33:10] Nancy Ferkingstad: We had ...

[00:33:10] Saundra Magnussen Martin: not that you didn't visit and everything, but, uh, did you notice quite a few changes in the community?

[00:33:16] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, oh, well, definitely, but we'd been noticing the changes all along. And, um, but it was kind of like coming back home again. I, it, I didn't, it- There really wasn't that much of a transition. I felt very good about being back in Ballard. But we had made lots of friends in West Seattle, too. But, um, one by one they were moving, and as the, as our kids weren't as involved in things anymore, th- some of those friendships were not as strong as they were when the kids were growing up. And, um, it made sense to come back to Ballard, and I'm glad we did.

[00:33:53] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Are you and your husband members of the Sons of Norway?

[00:33:57] Nancy Ferkingstad: No, we are not. We've thought about it, but we are not.

[00:34:01] Saundra Magnussen Martin: What kind of activities do you enjoy?

[00:34:05] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, well, as, as we get older it seems like most of our activities are involved in just maintaining the status quo. Keeping the house up, the yard, and the... And, and we do have a, a summer cabin on a lake, and we very much enjoy that. So we're glad that we have that to go to. That's our, sort of our, our happy place.

[00:34:29] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So I'm curious, since you were in nursing, how did you end up involved with Pacific Fisherman?

[00:34:37] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, my father was one of the... And my grandfather were original shareholders at Pacific Fisherman. So my growing up, my, my... I remember my dad, the boat would be docked down at Pacific Fisherman quite often. And, and he would come home for lunch, or sometimes we would bring lunch down to him on the boat and have, have lunch with him on the boat. Um, and he also, um, in the wintertime drove an oil truck for Ballard Oil, which was, um, right next to PacFish. So he s- seems like in the wintertime the boat was either tied up at PacFish or at Ballard Oil, um, where it was easy for Dad to work on it and check on it.

[00:35:30] Nancy Ferkingstad: And, um, and, um, a lot of the fishermen worked as oil truck drivers in the winter because it gave them another source of income, and health insurance, because they were part of the Teamsters union, so they had good health insurance. Which wasn't so important when we were little, but as things got more, as insurance became more common, it was good, a good thing for them to have. So, so they got that. So, so the... My dad, we, I knew of, of Pacific Fisherman from an early age.

[00:36:10] Nancy Ferkingstad: And we would also, um, this is something that you could never do anymore, but when Dad would leave to go fishing in the springtime, we would get on the boat- And, and go on the boat for that little short ride to the Ballard Locks. And when we got to the Locks, and they would tie up, we would get off the boat. Well, that, they put an end to that because it was just too dangerous to have people getting on and off the vessels at the Locks. So, um, but I remember that being really exciting. We got to go for a little bit of a boat ride.

[00:36:47] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:36:47] Nancy Ferkingstad: And say goodbye to Dad.

[00:36:49] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:36:49] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, then, um, let me see. As my father then was also on the board, and he was president of Pacific Fisherman Board of Directors, at least for one term, and I think he served maybe two terms on the board. They're three-year, three-year terms, so I think he was on there twice. And at that time, they used to have a big, um... The annual meeting was really a big social event.

[00:37:25] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah.

[00:37:26] Nancy Ferkingstad: So they could bring families and, um, other people with them, and they had the big luncheon. And quite often it was at the Windjammer, which is no longer there either. And, um, so I remember going once or twice with him to the, to the annual meetings. And then, um, when my parents died, my siblings and I got their shares, you know, so we are now stockholders. And so we continued, um, sometimes going to the annual meetings, but getting, you know, the information and the dividends, which was always nice. Um, but being involved that way.

[00:38:09] Nancy Ferkingstad: And then, um, Warren Aakervik who was owner of Ballard Oil, later he, he inherited from his father, um, graduated from high school with me. So that... One day my husband and I were down walking, this was after I'd retired, um, we were walking down along the waterfront there, and we stopped in to say hello to Warren. And he, I don't know, somehow or other we got on the subject of Pacific Fisherman, and I, you know, and they were always looking for people who were, would be interested in running on the board. And I just mentioned that, "Oh, you know, they're, I, I would be interested in doing that." And, um, the fact that I wasn't a fisherman, I guess didn't make a difference. Um, there were very few women that they'd had on the board, and I think that was the time when they really kind of felt like they needed some females representatives on the board.

[00:39:12] Nancy Ferkingstad: But there was Gladys, Gladys Logan was one of the women who was on the board when I was, was, um, elected to- the board and, and she'd been on there. Her father had been a fisherman also, so, so she was, she was on the board at that time. And it, I don't know, just seemed to work out timing-wise just fine.

[00:39:34] Saundra Magnussen Martin: What, what year was this?

[00:39:36] Nancy Ferkingstad: I graduated, I mean, I retired in 2000, so it must have been 2000, 2001, something like that. So anyway, I served three terms on the board, and I was vice president or president several years. So it wa- it was interesting just because I certainly got to know a lot more about the shipyard and the, and the challenges they were up against and, um, the services that they provided to the fishermen, and it was, it was very interesting. I, I enjoyed it.

[00:40:18] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So what kind of services did, do they provide for the fishermen?

[00:40:22] Nancy Ferkingstad: Well, uh, primarily at this point in time, it's, um, repairs to their fishing, to the fishing fleet. Um, the boats need maintenance, and they were, they were always there for, for the boats. Um, they also, um, more now are reliant on other types of ships also. They have some private boats, and they have the, they have tugboats. They have, um, the, um, some of the small cruise boats like the Uncruise, Uncruise cruise ship. They had the Safari cruise ship for a while. Um, so they, so they do maintenance and repair for, for a, a lot of those boats.

[00:41:09] Nancy Ferkingstad: And, but they like, I think they like to, um, the... I think they're proudest of the work that they do for the, for the fishing fleet. Sure. And, and they've really maintained their, um, connection with the Norwegian community also through representation with the Norwegian Commercial Club and their association with the museum and, uh, sponsoring different events, um, like the Maritime Academy, they do some work with them and, um... so, so that's-

[00:41:49] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So can, can you tell us anything about the Maritime Academy?

[00:41:54] Nancy Ferkingstad: You know, I don't really know-

[00:41:56] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Okay ...

[00:41:56] Nancy Ferkingstad: that much about it. But the purpose of it is to get young blood involved in the maritime industries because so many of the fishermen and the ferry workers and the tugboat workers are, and, um, and, uh, oth- other sh- um, merchant ships- their, their workforce is aging out and they need new blood, and a lot of these jobs are skilled, are skilled jobs, and people, they need training for them. So the earlier they can get people, you know, interested in those positions, um, there is a definite demand for them. And so it's, it's a good, it's a good way to get young people interested and get them started on a path towards, towards careers in, in shipyards or in the maritime industry as a whole.

[00:43:01] Saundra Magnussen Martin: I think they, I think they offer classes at Ballard High School.

[00:43:06] Nancy Ferkingstad: I think there is some c- there is some connection.

[00:43:08] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Some, yes.

[00:43:09] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah. There is-

[00:43:09] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Affiliation,

[00:43:10] Nancy Ferkingstad: yeah ... there is a, an affiliation there.

[00:43:14] Saundra Magnussen Martin: What kind of other things did you do as a boards member?

[00:43:18] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, primarily, um, you know, we had meetings once every, usually about every two months, and it just had to do with, um, advising the general manager, who was Doug Dixon at that time, um, on, on how the shipyard is run. I mean, he pretty much, I mean, ran it on his own, but we had input on, um, new ventures he w- like to try or, um, a- accounts receivable that weren't always paid. Um, you know, those kinds of things as to how hard we wanted to, you know, which directions we wanted to take. We had p- applied for some government grants. Did we wanna do that? Did we not wanna do that? Um, um, so there were all kinds of... th- those kinds of things.

[00:44:13] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:44:13] Marjorie Graf: Is there any emphasis on the history of PacFish? Who started it,

[00:44:19] Nancy Ferkingstad: um- Um, well, Doug Botthole, Doug, Doug, and, um, Doug Dixon and... can't think of his co-writer, wrote a book on the history of Pacific Fisherman. Mm. And, um, it came out a couple years ago, and I'm sure they have it here at the museum.

[00:44:36] Marjorie Graf: Yeah.

[00:44:36] Nancy Ferkingstad: And, um, it initially was a shipyard that, um, where, uh, I don't know if it was called Ballard Boatworks or whatever, but it was a small boatyard. And then eventually, um, I think during the war, they built some a- actual ships that were used-

[00:44:57] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm

[00:44:57] Nancy Ferkingstad: ... in the war. Um, and they actually built, uh, um... One of those ships was converted to Jacques Cousteau's The Calypso.

[00:45:06] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm.

[00:45:07] Nancy Ferkingstad: So that was built by Paci- at the Pacific Fisherman Shipyard, but I think it was before it was actually called Pacific Fisherman. But it was in the, um, I think it was in the '40s when a group of Norwegian fishermen decided to buy it and make it a cooperative, um, um, a place for, to support the, the fishermen, the fishing fleet.

[00:45:36] Marjorie Graf: Interesting. Do you know when it originally started?

[00:45:40] Nancy Ferkingstad: Uh...

[00:45:40] Marjorie Graf: It was really, really early.

[00:45:42] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah, I do not have that information with me. Mm. I could get it for you, but I don't have it with me off the top of my head.

[00:45:51] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So how did that work with applying shares? Um, was there a, a certain number of shares that you needed to invest in in order to get services from PacFish, or...?

[00:46:08] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, initially it was these group of, the group of, uh, fishermen that came together to d- to create the corporation. They each were, they each had one share. And, um, and I think initially the work was just for the fishermen that were shareholders.

[00:46:34] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm.

[00:46:34] Nancy Ferkingstad: But eventually they, they let non-shareholders also get work done, but shareholders got a discount. And, um- Um, they did away with that after a while. Um, and I don't know, but now I... Now you're allowed to have more shares, I think up to, up to, shoot, I, I don't even wanna say it. Maybe four shares, but each for each individual, but nobody's allowed to have more than that. But, but, um, different family members can have, have more. But the sharehold- the shares are pretty much confined to... It's a, it's not publicly traded.

[00:47:19] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:47:20] Nancy Ferkingstad: So if you, if you have a share and you want to sell it, it goes out essentially to other shareholders if they w- are interested in buying more shares, or they can buy shares for their family members.

[00:47:33] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And then can the share, the shares be passed down in a family?

[00:47:37] Nancy Ferkingstad: Oh, definitely.

[00:47:38] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And what if, what if it got to the point where nobody in the family wanted the shares? I can't imagine, but-

[00:47:43] Nancy Ferkingstad: Then they can, then they can sell the shares.

[00:47:45] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Okay.

[00:47:45] Nancy Ferkingstad: I mean, and there are, I mean, there are s- shares that are for sale all the time.

[00:47:49] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Oh.

[00:47:50] Nancy Ferkingstad: So with opportunities for people-

[00:47:53] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm

[00:47:53] Nancy Ferkingstad: ... to buy. So it's, I mean, it's, it's been a good investment, but I, I invest in it, in it not just because they usually give an, a fairly decent dividend, but because it's important to me that the shipyard keep going and keep representing the Norwegian fisherman community. It's just, um, an im- an important part of, of Ballard and the history, and, and that, that's why I'm an investor.

[00:48:29] Saundra Magnussen Martin: That's beaut-.

[00:48:30] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:48:32] Saundra Magnussen Martin: So by the time you got involved in the early 2000s, um, did you feel any,

[00:48:43] Saundra Magnussen Martin: um, objection to, to a woman being involved in the, on the board?

[00:48:50] Nancy Ferkingstad: No. No. I, I didn't. Um, but I, I just did, I did feel somewhat at a disadvantage because I wasn't a fisherman, so I-

[00:49:00] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm ...

[00:49:00] Nancy Ferkingstad: wasn't as knowledgeable about the things the shipyard did as, as some of the fishermen.

[00:49:08] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:49:09] Nancy Ferkingstad: But I think I brought in some value as, in organization skills and, and that, you know, the other kinds of things that, that are important in running a corporation.

[00:49:25] Nancy Ferkingstad: One, one thing that I've never seen any, in any, um, information about, that I've been reading about the history of PacFish and the fishing industry in Ballard that I wanted to, to kind of highlight was at one point there was a, um, dispute on the- About the, um, boundary, the fishering boundary between the United States and Canada. And, um, my father was actually, the boat was seized because he crossed into what Canada was claiming was their fishing rights. And, um, there were, like, four or five boats that were a part of this, and we w- they were asked to do this by the government. And, um, it was sort of a test case to test the Canadians', um, will to, to challenge... they were, they were challenging this boundary because I think it had to do with not the halibut fishing, but with the tuna fishing. 'Cause the tun- the tuna f- tuna, um, fish went wherever they wanted. They didn't care whose, whose waters they were. They went where they, where the food was, and the fishermen were used to following the schools of the fish.

[00:50:53] Nancy Ferkingstad: And, um, but Canada said, "No, nobody can fish within this limit." So there were four or five boats that challenged that, and they were all seized by the Canadian government and, um, taken into port. I don't know if it was Port Rupert or where. I've, I've got the article here. I'll share with you if you'd like it.

[00:51:18] Nancy Ferkingstad: And, um, they had to put up some kind of a bond. So I remember, that was one time I remember my mother being called by my dad and saying, "Okay, you have to go down to the federal gov- You, you have to go to the bank and get this so, so much money, and then you have to go down to the..." Um, it was some federal office where they had to post, post the bond. And the government had, um, assured them that these funds would all be returned to them, that they would be made whole. But they want, you know, they wanted, they enc- were encouraging these fishermen to do this. Um, 'cause I, my dad didn't, I don't think he'd ever had as much as a traffic ticket, so, So that was kind of a, kind of a big deal.

[00:52:05] Nancy Ferkingstad: It was kinda scary, and my mom really didn't know what to do. But there, there was some representative from the fishing's, fishing department that sort of walked the, the wives through what, what they needed to do to-

[00:52:17] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Wow ...

[00:52:17] Nancy Ferkingstad: um, to get this taken care of.

[00:52:21] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Do you, uh, remember about what time, uh, what year that was? That's so interesting.

[00:52:29] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, 1979

[00:52:38] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And do you feel that your father was aware that this was gonna happen, or that there was a possibility this would happen?

[00:52:44] Nancy Ferkingstad: N- no, they, they knew ahead of time.

[00:52:46] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Uh-huh.

[00:52:46] Nancy Ferkingstad: That otherwise they probably would not have, um, have, um... Yeah, I, I-

[00:52:56] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Oh, we'll make a copy of this ...

[00:52:57] Nancy Ferkingstad: so I have, I have a copy.

[00:52:58] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah.

[00:52:59] Nancy Ferkingstad: If you can, wanna make copies of this.

[00:53:00] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Seven boats were involved.

[00:53:00] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And how long did they hold them?

[00:53:04] Nancy Ferkingstad: I don't... It says there in the article. It was a few, a few days.

[00:53:11] Marjorie Graf: Till they got their money.

[00:53:12] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah, probably until they got their money. And then they released them. But it was, it was kind of funny because I was visiting, um... My brother had a friend who was living in Switzerland at the time, and visiting with this friend, um, years later he says, "And I was in Switzerland and I heard that John Linvog had been arrested in Canada." And, and so this was a big thing. It made international news. So it was just, um-

[00:53:45] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Wow

[00:53:45] Nancy Ferkingstad: ... sort of funny. But it's, it's something I've never seen referenced in any of the other- Yeah ... um, books or things that I've read-

[00:53:53] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah ...

[00:53:53] Nancy Ferkingstad: about the fishing industry.

[00:53:53] Saundra Magnussen Martin: No, this is great. We'll take a photocopy of this and... Um, so, um, what was the resolution of all this? Did, did they get, then, then ga- get permission to fish in Canadian waters or no?

[00:54:07] Nancy Ferkingstad: Now you're asking me more. I, I... They did come to some kind of a settle- an agreement between Canada and the US, and I'm not sure exactly what the resolution was.

[00:54:18] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Oh,

[00:54:19] Saundra Magnussen Martin: okay. Well that's... Maybe it tells

[00:54:21] Nancy Ferkingstad: I, I'm sure.

[00:54:22] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Very interesting story.

[00:54:22] Nancy Ferkingstad: I'm sure. I'm sure it tells eventually.

[00:54:25] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah. But... well, your dad was a little bit of a rebel.

[00:54:31] Nancy Ferkingstad: Which is not how I picture my dad. My dad was this easygoing, um, every- guy that everybody liked and had f- had enjoyed working with and, um, anyway.

[00:54:46] Marjorie Graf: But he had principles.

[00:54:48] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah. Oh, of course he had principles.

[00:54:50] Marjorie Graf: Yeah.

[00:54:50] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yes.

[00:54:50] Nancy Ferkingstad: He had principles. Trying to think what else. Um, y- you know, growing up as a, as a, as a fisherman's daughter, um, I never really, never really thought about the dangers that they went to until after I was grown and had kids of my own and read stories about the boats coming back withou- you know- Mm-hmm ... with the, the cabins being washed off and the masts broken down and people lost at sea and- You know, I never really worried about that as a kid. Dad was gone. He was gonna come home, you know, everything was always fine. Um, but now looking back on it, I think, you know, it really was, there was a lot of danger involved-

[00:55:47] Marjorie Graf: Stressful for your mother ...

[00:55:47] Nancy Ferkingstad: And I'm sure it was very stressful- Yeah ... for my mother.

[00:55:50] Marjorie Graf: But she didn't spread it to you kids.

[00:55:52] Nancy Ferkingstad: No, no. And Dad never talked about the horrors of being out on the open sea when he came back either. But he had been at sea since he was a young kid with his, with his dad, and it was just something that he lived with and-

[00:56:09] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm ...

[00:56:10] Nancy Ferkingstad: and I think he was a pretty good seaman because he always was able to get the boat back home again. Um, there was one time I know that they were involved in a big storm, and they had to kind of limp their way into, um, port and, um, but they made it home with makeshift gear, so.

[00:56:33] Saundra Magnussen Martin: We're so used to, um, constant communication now.

[00:56:37] Nancy Ferkingstad: Right.

[00:56:38] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Was, was your father able to communicate with your mother when he was out fishing-

[00:56:45] Nancy Ferkingstad: They- ...

[00:56:45] Saundra Magnussen Martin: for these long periods of time?

[00:56:46] Nancy Ferkingstad: They had what they called a ship-to-shore radio.

[00:56:49] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:56:50] Nancy Ferkingstad: That would... didn't always work, but I don't know, but we would get calls occasionally, and I remember as a kid it was very interesting 'cause you always had to say, "Over," when you were done. You would talk, and then you'd say, "Over," and that would be a clue that the other person had to t- had to r- had time to reply.

[00:57:10] Saundra Magnussen Martin: That must have been really special when your dad called.

[00:57:12] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes, it was. It, it definitely was. But no, it's not nothing like now when they've got satellite radios and cell phones. Well, probably s- probably all satellite out there now-

[00:57:25] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah

[00:57:25] Nancy Ferkingstad: Because there wouldn't be cell phone service. But still, they're in constant communication.

[00:57:34] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Well, was there anything else that you wanted to share with us? Do you have any questions?

[00:57:40] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, no, I guess that's about it. I- Okay.

[00:57:44] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Well, this has been very interesting.

[00:57:46] Marjorie Graf: Mm-hmm.

[00:57:46] Saundra Magnussen Martin: We really appreciate you coming in and sharing your story with us today.

[00:57:50] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah. And like I say, I've got, I've got pictures. I've got other things. If there's, you know, if there are things that you would like that would add to the value-

[00:58:00] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm ...

[00:58:00] Nancy Ferkingstad: of whatever the exhibit is-

[00:58:02] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm ...

[00:58:02] Nancy Ferkingstad: um, I've got pictures. We have a model of my dad's boat, and the- Oh, cool ... and, and the boat, it hi- the St. John II is still fishing.

[00:58:12] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[00:58:12] Nancy Ferkingstad: It's now owned by the, um, shoot. I, I had their name on the top of my head, and it just left me. Um, anyway, but it is still actively fishing and- And, um, um, so we get to see it every once in a while when it's, when it's, um-

[00:58:34] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Oh, that's fun ...

[00:58:35] Nancy Ferkingstad: Berthed down here. Yeah.

[00:58:37] Marjorie Graf: Yeah. Does it get berthed around Chinook's?

[00:58:40] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes.

[00:58:41] Marjorie Graf: Mm-hmm. I'll look for it.

[00:58:43] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah.

[00:58:44] Marjorie Graf: Thanks.

[00:58:44] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah. Ray Olson, the, the Ray Olson family.

[00:58:47] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Oh, I see.

[00:58:48] Nancy Ferkingstad: Ray is, Ray is no longer with us, but his, his family has the boat.

[00:58:51] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah.

[00:58:52] Nancy Ferkingstad: And they have a- they have actually made it into a... They fish, um, halibut and cod and other things up in Alaska, but they've also made it into a, um, business in- called, um, You Are What You Eat. It's, they have a little, uh, like a food truck that goes to farmers markets up in Snohomish County, and I think in, uh, um, Whatcom County also.

[00:59:22] Marjorie Graf: Mm.

[00:59:22] Nancy Ferkingstad: Where, um, they sell fish from the, from their truck, fresh from, fish from, frozen fish from the boat they sell at these, at the farmers markets, so.

[00:59:35] Marjorie Graf: That's great.

[00:59:35] Nancy Ferkingstad: So I've ran into Laurie, I think is one of the daughters or granddaughters, um, selling at these, at the Stanwood farmers market. And it's interesting to talk to her.

[00:59:48] Marjorie Graf: So when you were, um, a kid in, in, uh, in, in your home, and did the fish that you'd eat, were they fish that your father brought home? Do you like fish?

[00:59:59] Nancy Ferkingstad: Oh, I love fish. Good. When I, when I was a kid, I wasn't so sure I was. I mean, it wasn't that big a deal, but, but we always had fish. I mean, they could bring fish off the boat, and even when my dad wasn't fishing, if somebody else came in, they would, you know, they'd bring us fish, you know?

[01:00:15] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[01:00:15] Nancy Ferkingstad: So we would share the fish amongst the neighbors, you know-

[01:00:19] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah

[01:00:19] Nancy Ferkingstad: ... the fish, whoever. You know, there was always salmon or tuna or, or halibut, cod fish, black cod. You know, I mean, we had an endless supply. We never bought fish.

[01:00:30] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm.

[01:00:31] Nancy Ferkingstad: So it was really kind of a shock when you had to go to the store finally, and buy your fish, because it's so expensive now.

[01:00:40] Marjorie Graf: Yeah.

[01:00:40] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah. Have you, uh, and your husband traveled to Norway?

[01:00:45] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yes, we have. Yeah, we went. We've been three times to visit relatives-

[01:00:53] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm

[01:00:53] Nancy Ferkingstad: and see where, see where our, our parents and grandparents-

[01:00:57] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah ...

[01:00:57] Nancy Ferkingstad: Grew up. So it, it was, been very nice.

[01:01:00] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah.

[01:01:00] Nancy Ferkingstad: And everybody there is so welcoming and so glad to see relatives. And, uh-

[01:01:05] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah ...

[01:01:06] Nancy Ferkingstad: Some of them have then come o- since come over and visited us.

[01:01:09] Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.

[01:01:10] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And did your grandparents ever have the opportunity to go back?

[01:01:16] Nancy Ferkingstad: My grandfather never wanted to go back.

[01:01:19] Marjorie Graf: Mm.

[01:01:19] Nancy Ferkingstad: My father never wanted to go back. Um- Um, my grandmother went back. She had a sister still living there, and she went back to visit her sister with her, and she took my aunt, her daughter, with her. Um, so she went back there once. Um, but that was back when flying was just new.

[01:01:47] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah. I mean,

[01:01:49] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah

[01:01:49] Nancy Ferkingstad: ... it was, it was, it wasn't like it is now.

[01:01:52] Marjorie Graf: Yeah.

[01:01:53] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And probably very expensive.

[01:01:55] Nancy Ferkingstad: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Probably, probably was.

[01:01:57] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah.

[01:01:58] Nancy Ferkingstad: Probably was. But we've been, like I said, we've been back there three times, and we've pretty much visited all, most of Norway now. There are a few areas we've... But I still keep in touch with... I don't have any... All my father's cousins are, I think there's only one that's still living, but most of them are, are, are gone.

[01:02:22] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[01:02:23] Nancy Ferkingstad: But, um, I have lots of s- second cousins and third cousins.

[01:02:26] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah.

[01:02:27] Nancy Ferkingstad: And some of which I've kept in touch with.

[01:02:30] Marjorie Graf: Mm-hmm. Well, that's great.

[01:02:32] Nancy Ferkingstad: It's kind of nice to keep those ties.

[01:02:34] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Yeah.

[01:02:36] Nancy Ferkingstad: And I've taken, and our children have been also. Oh. And grandchildren.

[01:02:39] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Wonderful.

[01:02:40] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah.

[01:02:44] Marjorie Graf: Thank you very much for sharing your story.

[01:02:45] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Well, unless you have anything else-

[01:02:47] Nancy Ferkingstad: Oh, you're welcome ...

[01:02:47] Saundra Magnussen Martin: you'd want to add, I think we're, we're, uh, we've accomplished our mission.

[01:02:55] Nancy Ferkingstad: Okay. Okay. Let me-

[01:02:55] Saundra Magnussen Martin: I really appreciate you sharing your story. This has been so interesting.

[01:02:59] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah.

[01:03:00] Saundra Magnussen Martin: And we will make some-

[01:03:00] Nancy Ferkingstad: I, I don't know if you want...

[01:03:01] Nancy Ferkingstad: Yeah

[01:03:01] Saundra Magnussen Martin: ... photo copies of some of these items.

[01:03:03] Nancy Ferkingstad: This is, this is the, uh, an article about the halibut fishermen's wives.

[01:03:07] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Oh, yeah.

[01:03:07] Nancy Ferkingstad: That, it's in a book called, that was written by, um, the Deep Sea Fishermen's Union.

[01:03:14] Saundra Magnussen Martin: Mm-hmm.

[01:03:15] Nancy Ferkingstad: Um, called, um, One Hook at a Time, which you, you may have in-

[01:03:21] Marjorie Graf: I think I've heard of it. I think I have.

[01:03:22] Nancy Ferkingstad: Which you may have in your, um, collection also.

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