AND THE SEA GAVE UP THE DEAD

Wednesday, 28 December 2011 22:10

“AND THE SEA GAVE UP THE DEAD” Revelation, 20:13
Shoalewater Bay
Long Beach, Oysterville, WA—Tokeland, WA
Click Here For Oysterville Info
Click Here For Tokeland Info

I have always been fascinated by the history or rather the partial history a person can find on headstones in the older parts of cemeteries. This last summer I explored the old cemetery at Oysterville and found many examples of this sort of history. Oysterville was founded in 1854 and the earliest burial date I found was 1864, however it is said that the Shoalwater Indians used the nearby area for their burials long before the arrival of the white man.

There were two graves, that I kept going back to view and ponder, laid side by side in eternal rest, as they say. The identical stones were covered by the kind of moss that grows on old untouched headstones. One was inscribed “Our Friend—Julius Mac—Drowned in Shoalwater Bay—Jan 1, 1873—aged, 45 yrs”. The other was inscribed “Our Father—Carl A Tanger—Drowned in Shoalwater Bay—Jan 1, 1873—aged, 44 yrs”.

Now, my question is, what were these men doing out in open water on January 1st, or were they going along the shore when disaster overtook them? Terrible storms come in from the Pacific Ocean during the winter, but they must have been well aware of this. Had they been across the bay to Tokeland, looking for work or maybe going home to Oyster Bay after working across the bay? Did they lose their way in the winter fog and paddle in the wrong direction? Perhaps they were responding to an emergency among their neighbors when everything went wrong for them?

Where were Tanger and Mac from? Had they been friends before they moved to Oyster Bay? Did Julius Mac have a family somewhere waiting to join him? How many children were made fatherless by the death of Tanger and Mac? What happened to these children during the following years? Had the family had a good Christmas before disaster was to change their lives forever or were the men coming home for a late Christmas celebration?

Standing beside the graves, beneath the whispering pines on a warm sunny day, I pondered, who were these men, what lives did they live, what was the cause of their disaster, what was their struggle to try and survive the deadly hold of the freezing waters. I ponder these and other questions about the two men and the world they knew.

Like many small, nearly forgotten towns, history walks beside us and whispers faint memories that we cannot quite hear clearly.

To find more things to do be sure to check out the Annual Events Sections of Belva’s List.

Belva & The Bearded One