Fisher Poets Share Tall Tales, Drink for Good Cause

AUTHOR BILL CARTER TO SPEAK AT CLEMENTE'S RESTAURANT DURING ASTORIA’S ANNUAL FISHER POETS GATHERINGSustainable Salmon Activist Reads from His Acclaimed Memoir, Shines Spotlight on the Proposed Pebble Mine

Astoria, Ore. (Jan. 26, 2011) – For fourteen years, salty sea dogs have descended upon the tiny town of Astoria, Oregon for the annual Fisher Poets Gathering, set in a town most commonly known as the backdrop for Steven Spielberg’s film, “The Goonies”.

The Fisher Poets Gathering is an Astoria tradition, bringing men and women tied to the fishing industry together in celebration of the lifestyle and its people. Participants and visitors come from faraway places including Bristol Bay, Alaska, Nova Scotia, Canada and even Tampa Bay, Florida for their chance to celebrate the world’s oldest profession through poetry, stories and sea shanties.

This year, the author and award-winning director of “Miss Sarajevo”, Bill Carter will appear as an honored guest at Clemente’s Restaurant to read from his acclaimed memoir Red Summer, which describes his four seasons spent as a commercial fisherman in Alaska's Bristol Bay.

The evening will shine the spotlight on a proposed mining development of national concern – Pebble Mine.

If built, Pebble Mine will become one of the largest open-pit mines in the world. Its location, near the spawning grounds for two major rivers, and possible impact on both the food supply and 11,000 jobs, is causing major concern and uniting fishermen, conservationists, jewelers, grocery stores and various other groups in opposition.

“I’m not against mining at all,” says Carter. “There are just some places that make more sense to build mines than others. Because of the potentially negative impact on Bristol Bay’s sustainable $120 million per year fishing industry, Pebble Mine makes absolutely no sense.”

The Clemente's event occurs in Astoria, Oregon on Friday, February 25th from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Clemente’s Restaurant (1198 Commercial Street). Owner Lisa Clement, hailing from a fourth generation Astoria salmon fishing family, has created two themed cocktails, with proceeds benefiting Trout Unlimited’s efforts to fight Pebble Mine. For more information about Trout Unlimited visit: www.savebristolbay.org

Also speaking is Steve Schoonmaker from Kasilof, Alaska - an Alaskan fisherman, dynamite poet and articulate opponent of the mine.

Specialty Cocktails.
Red Summer: Dry Fly Washington Dry Gin, Clemente's Oregon Bing cherry liqueur, St. Germaine, splash of tonic served on the rocks, cherry garnish - $10

Madame X: Dry Fly Washington Wheat Vodka, fresh lime juice, dry vermouth, fresh thyme and rosemary, cucumber garnish - $10

To interview Bill Carter or to learn more information about Red Summer, please contact Michael Phillips at: michael@watershedcom.com
** Dry Fly Distilling is a craft distillery in Spokane, Washington making craft-distilled vodka, gin and whiskey using only locally grown grains and botanicals. Their still is a Christian Carl pot still with multiple rectification columns. It has a 450-liter capacity and an annual output of approximately 3,500 cases of 12/750 mL bottles.

Antero Ice Fishing - Jan 19, 2011

I'm pretty sure I can't hotspot ice fishing at Antero - so I will actually mention the name of the stillwater I fished this time.

Darren and I decided to try our hand at ice fishing. We left D's house around 5am and headed for Antero. The ride was pretty uneventful for me, but Darren got pretty excited about breakfast pizza at the store in Fairplay, so we had to stop. After waiting 10 minutes for the pizza we left and were at Antero a little after 7am.

The weather really wasn't that bad, some slight wind, but it wasn't that cold - maybe 30 degrees. We (over) dressed, grabbed the sled, loaded it up and started hiking out onto the water from just east of the North Boat Ramp. We walked out a couple hundred yards and started drilling holes. My new ice auger worked surprisingly well - slicing through the ice like butter. The ice was approximately 12 inches thick and was about 60 percent covered by a small layer of snow.



We set up shop and got our gear in the water and were treated to a nice sunrise.



We rigged two rods each - one with flies and the other with mealworms. Since we were both ice fishing rookies, we wanted to try as many things as possible. Darren actaully tipped some tube jigs with the wax worms and I tipped a pigsticker hook with mealworms. Something was bound to work. And it did - within a few minutes Darren had a couple hits, both times yanking the hooks out of the fishes mouths.



It wasn't long before Darren was hooked up again, dropping his flies down the hole after switching to an all mealworm rig he had a fish slam his flies and it was fish on. About 1 second later his other rod, only a couple of feet away, went under as well - he had a double! He quickly landed the first fish - a nice 16 inch rainbow, and then I handed him his second rod - and he landed a sweet dark colored 18 inch cuttbow that had a sweet gash under it's throat.





I'd love to tell you that we were hooking fish all day, but we really weren't. We literally went an hour between fish. I did manage to hook a fish around 11 or so - a dink 15 inch rainbow. I caught it on my daughters pink Rainbow Shakespeare rod - and I'm proud of it.



This is a pic of Darren enjoying one of my nice cold beers - I only had 6, we split them and they were gone by 11am. Note to self, bring more beer.



Darren and I traded fish the rest of the day - but again, one every hour. I landed a fish around 1:30 - a 16 inch dink rainbow again, then at about 2:30 I had another slightly larger rainbow right up to the hole but he popped off before I could get him on the ice. Darren hooked a nice rainbow as well.

You can see the bad weather creeping in from the west, it looked like that all day. Then eventually it hit us, but only for about an hour or so, then it blew over.





We decided to pack up our gear and head home around 3pm. After a stop at Subway, and some bad weather starting at Conifer, we were home by about 5:45. The weather was actually nice and dry all the way until Conifer, then it all of a sudden got really ugly - white out conditions and blowing snow. Kind of a crappy ride home.

Thanks again for going with me today D - it was a good time and a great learning experience.

Introducing Petter Gustavson

Seems like the only way to get noticed in fly fishing or fly tying these days is to be an old, grizzled veteran, who only fishes dry flies and writes books about it - or you need to be one of those Xtreme Fly Fishermen who go to Mongolia to catch teimen, have long dirty hair, a beard and film it all for the big screen to help pay for your fly fishing "habit". Being a young clean guy, living on the other side of the world, and enjoying fishing in your home country will hardly get you noticed.

That is of course unless you tie some beautiful flies, take some amazing photographs and live in Norway! Meet Petter Gustavson, who happens to be all of those and a great fisherman to boot - and yes, I dare any of you to point out Norway on a map. You may have recognized some of Petter's work from the Fly Tying Forum, where he has been posting his ties for a while. He has given me the opportunity to take a peek into his life and let you all share in his story as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Petter, thanks for answering a few questions about yourself, I appreciate you taking the time sharing your fly tying, photography and fly fishing passion/obsessions with us.

So you are in Norway - where the hell is that? Us Americans can barely pick out Europe on a map - but we can tell you where New Zealand, Christmas Island and Kamchatka are - how big is Norway?
You should know about Norway, there was a Norwegian who discovered America – Leif Erickson is believed to have discovered America around 960 AD, and there are remains of Viking settlements in America dated to this period. Norway is situated up north in Europe, and is facing the Atlantic to the west and Sweden on the east. It shares border with Sweden, Finland and Russia. Norway is a small country about the size of the State of New Mexico and is one of the most sparsely populated countries in Europe with only 4.8 million inhabitants. The Norwegian capital Oslo is on the same longitude as Anchorage, but the gulf stream makes the climate to be pretty warm. The summers are hot and the winters are cold, making the fly fishing season relatively short stretching from May to October.

Are you a fly fisherman? What do you fish for?
I am absolutely a fly fisherman, fly fishing is my passion and I do it as much as I can. I mainly fish for Trout with dry flies to match the hatch. There is something special about a rising trout fooled by a self made imitation. When not pursuing trout with my dry fly I also fish for the trout’s cousin the Arctic Char. The Arctic Char is a beautiful fish that also like to rise for dry flies. Fishing for Grayling is also great in Norway as well.



A new trend in Norway is fly fishing in the sea for Halibut. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks awesome to fight a 100lbs halibut on a fly rod.

Are there trout in Norway? Are there any fish species in Norway not in the US?
There are absolutely trout in Norway; we have Lake Trout, Sea Trout, Brown Trout, and Brook Trout. The Brown trout is the most popular one. I don’t believe we have species not found in the US.

Where is the coolest place you have ever been and fished?
The coolest place I have ever fished is in the Northern part of Norway – it is a place almost like the surface of the moon with almost no vegetation, and the area we fished looked untouched. Not a trace of other people being there. There where lakes and rivers everywhere and the average brown trout where 2lbs!





What type of gear do you use? Typical gear in the US is a 5wt, 9 ft rod - is it similar?
My gear is usually a 5wt 9ft rod. This set up and a 4wt is the typical trout gear here in Norway as well. Guess it’s the global idea of a Trout rod.



Who is your favorite fishing partner? Or would you rather fish alone?
I really enjoy fishing with friends and alone, both have their good sides. My favorite fishing partner is one who is as passionate and eager to be out in the wild fishing for rising trout. My main man is a guy who drops everything in his hands when I say that the mayflies are hatching in the home pool, or will go on a three week expedition away from the civilization just to catch untouched, wild brown trout.

Any pets? Take them fishing with you?
Well, I don’t have any pets yet, as I am living in Oslo in a small apartment. I will defiantly get a dog when I move out of the city. I’m a real dog person and enjoy the company of dogs.

Being from the Rocky Mountain region we are spoiled with amazing scenery, mountains, canyons, bald eagles, elk, bears and sometimes lots of people - can you explain what your favorite fishing spot looks like?
My favorite fishing spot is probably just like the Rocky Mountains, but there are rarely people around in the fishing season. There are as many lakes and small rivers in this area as there are stars on the sky, and the fish have probably never seen an artificial fly. In the summer the sun never goes down and you can fish as much as you can handle without getting interrupted by the sun going down. The nature up north in Norway is amazing and the wildlife is amazing.





Have you ever fished in the United States? How does it compare to Norway?
I have yet to fish in the US, and I’m planning to go as soon as my wallet approves. I have always had a dream to go fishing in the United States, and there are numerous places I would like to go! I’d like to fish the Henry’s Fork in Idaho and of course Blackfoot and Gallatin in Montana. I think I’ll need a month or more if I get the opportunity to fish in the United States. I’d have to finish it off with a grand slam at the Florida Key’s – that question really got me dreaming!

Do you use size 22 midges in Norway?
Well sometimes, but I personally don’t fish flies sized 20 or smaller.

Obviously you are a great fly tier, but what else do you like to do in your free time?
As you might know, the winters are long in Norway, so fly tying is a big part of the fly fishing passion of mine. I have a big passion for basketball, and beer as well. Quite a mix. Actually American lagers are my favorite beers.

How long have you been tying?
I’ve been tying since I was 10, so I have been fly tying for about 18 years now. The reason why I’m tying is to use them to fish with. It’s like a hobby within the hobby if you understand what I mean.





Do you sell your flies? Do you do demos? Are you sponsored by any fly shops?
I don’t sell my flies, but my fly fishing pals usually get loads as I tend to tie more than I can use. I’m not sponsored by any fly shops. Norway is a small country and there are not that many fly shops around. I would love to be sponsored and do demos ;)

I’ve sold some flies, but I don’t appreciate fly tying if it’s a task. I never plan what to tie until I’m at my fly tying bench.

Do you or have you ever worked for a fly shop or gear manufacturer?
I have never worked for anyone in the fly fishing industry, I would love to get a job within the industry, but there are few opportunities to get in the industry here in Norway as the people are holding on to their jobs. And I really understand why!

Ok, so you don’t tie commercially, you don’t work at a fly shop, so what do you do for a real job?
Right now I don’t have a real job to be honest. I’ve just graduated from a University in England, and I’m applying jobs at the moment (lots of time to do some fly tying). In my spare time I volunteer working on a cultivation project in my home river, helping the trout population to reproduce.

What is your favorite rod, reel, fly line? and why?
My favorite rod is a Loop Yellow Line 9’3 ft #5. The reason why I really enjoy this rod is that it’s not for people in a hurry, it’s a rod that you can enjoy with every cast and it presents even the smallest dry fly in a delicate matter. The reel that is usually on that rod is an old Loop Original Dry Fly (now called a Danielsson) - it’s a simple but lovely reel. It’s my favorite reel because I always wanted one when I was a young kid looking in the shops.

The fly line I’m using is a Guideline Highwater. It’s a great line for nice presentation, and it’s perfect for my rod and reel combo!





What is the most time you have ever taken to tie one fly?
To be honest I’m not sure, maybe when I first tried to tie the Mohican Mayfly by Oliver Edwards. I spent about an hour tying the first one. But after I got a hang of it, I found out that it’s not as hard to tie, you just need to take your time and be thorough.

Is there a pattern you can't tie? Something you just can't get it to look right, or just won't try because you know you won't be able to do it?
This is kind of embarrassing, but I just can’t get the Lafontaine's Sparkle Pupae Emerger. I just can’t get the antron to look right, so I don’t tie that fly and it’s a shame because I know it’s a killer fly for those caddis hatches!!

Mohican Mayfly

What is your favorite fly tying hook, material, hackle?
My favorite fly tying hook is the Tiemco 102y. I love the light black finish and the wide gape. It hooks trout perfectly almost every time.

My favorite hackle is a Whiting hackle, and the color is coachman brown. Love that color.

My favorite materials at the moment are snowshoe, CDC and deer hair. I like to tie my flies with a mix of natural ingredients and modern synthetics.



Do you use any material different than its intended use? Like maybe computer foam for wings, or something crazy?
Well, it’s not my idea but a Norwegian fly tier named Staffan Linström who came up with a material called VAG. It’s the pollen filter for Volkwagen Passats 90 model. I used as a caddis wing, and it floats all day and looks pretty realistic.

Dark Olive Dun

Your house is burning down, you have 5 seconds to save something,....save the dog, the cat or your fly tying stuff?
Definitely not the cat, and I don’t have a dog so it has to be my fly tying stuff. If I had a dog I would go for the dog. I could always get new fly tying stuff.

Caddis Trio

Weirdest material used in a fly? And don't say belly button lint - that isn't so weird!
Not that I know of, but those danish people are crazy. Check out www.pussyflies.com. That’s weird!! (yikes Petter, this is a kids show! j/k, but that is pretty damn weird!!)

VAG Caddis

Obviously you are quite a talented fly tier - your flies are all over the internet - but your photography is stunning - great close-ups of well tied flies, great lighting and contrast with deep colors. What do you love more, tying the fly or photographing it?
Thanks! I will definitely say fly tying. The photo’s are just so I can share my passion with other fly fishermen/women.

Organza Ribbon Caddis

Do you have an online gallery we can link to? Is it in development?
I have a web page coming up soon, but I’m not sure when it will be ready. The site is www.arcticflyfish.com.

Caddis

Your photography is amazing - do you take photos of more than flies?
Well, I usually take photos of nature and fishing stuff, but I’m all about fishing and tying. Photography is just an extra thing to it all.

Streaking Caddis

Any tips for us fly photographers who can't seem to figure out how to take a decent pic?
There’s one thing that is really important and that is light, you can never get to much light. And don’t use yellow light, white bright light is the best you can add to photos! I use a lot of tin foil to remove as much shadow as possible.

Caddis Pupae

Explain your camera set up for photographing flies?
Well, a lot of people don’t believe me when I say this. But I only use a mounted Olympus compact camera that I bought several years ago. Its macro settings are fairly good, and as I mentioned before, light is very important.

Biot Mayfly Emergers

Do you share tips with other fly photographers?
No, not really, there are many, many photographers better than me!

Vulgata

What other fly tiers inspire you? Who do you look to for ideas?
Well one of my biggest inspirations is Oliver Edwards, he has created lots of fantastic looking, fishable flies that I love. There is also lot’s of great Norwegian fly tiers that has inspired me over the years. Pål Krogvold, Staffan Lindström, Terje Refsahl (aka DryFlyPurist), Rune Stokkebekk, Andre Brun to mention some of the great fly tyers.

PG CDC & Foam

What fly fishing forums/boards do you frequent?
I’m usually on Norwegian fly tying forums, and one of the greatest is www.fluefiskesiden.no. It’s great, and a lot of inspiration and information on fly tying and fishing. I also frequent flytyingforum.com. A lot of great ties on this forum, and a lot of great American fly tiers who have given me a lot of inspiration!

Claret Dun

Family? Kids? Wife?
No kids or wife, but I have a girlfriend. She’s not really into fly fishing, but she understands my needs and is really patient when it comes to me fishing 24/7.

Big Caddis

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If you'd like to reach Petter, you can check out his site at www.arcticflyfish.com, or you can contact him on www.FlyTyingForum.com under the name PetterG.

All photos were taken by Petter Gustavson.

Thank you again Petter, I hope that I have somehow showcased your work (to my 6 readers - hi Mom!) to a larger fly tying/fishing audience here in the US. If you are ever in the US, look us up so we can take you to a beautiful place in the rockies and have one of those American Lager's!

Thick Wing Caddis - FOTD

Just saw this Thick Wing Caddis from PetterG as well on Fly Tying Forums. The wing looks very similar to Hooper Juan's foam in his Golden Foam Stone. The photography on these flies is amazing as well - great detail. I also like the use of CDC, I wish I could get my CDC to look this good - and it matches color perfectly with the wings.

Thanks again PetterG - we love your flies!

Caddis Pupae - FOTD

Some more amazing flies by Petter Gustavson - this is the caddis pupae as seen on the Fly Tying Forums. The detail on this fly is amazing - looks very similar to a pattern Chad Gauerke ties. Looks like the perfect Arkansas River fly to me!

Thsi is the second (of 3) Fly of the Day patterns that Petter has. I think I will need to get him to do a little interview for the blog.

Biot Mayfly Emerger - FOTD

PetterG has some nice biot mayfly emergers posted over on the Fly Tying Forums. Great detail on these flies and great photos!

FryingPan and Crystal River - Dec 28-29, 2010

Tuesday, December 27, 2010
Fish On!

Cabo, very interested in the fishes.

Maylon with a nice Rainbow.

Fatty McFatterson.

A nice Bow, I think that's D.

This was a beautiful Cutthroat, not big but beautiful colors.

Holy crap was it cold! And I'm complaining and Darren was there over an hour before I even showed up!! D got there around 5:15am, and I showed at 6:30am. He was the first car at the Toilet Bowl, I was the third. Sad part was car #2 was right in front of me - so D had the Bowl all to himself for over an hour. The bank in Carbondale said 12 degrees, I'm sure it was much colder in the canyon.

I got out and chatted with D for a few minutes and then went back to the truck for a nap. Seriously, who the hell fishes that early in the AM in the pitch black? Not me. Cabo and I slept until 7:30, by then it was light and we were ready to fish. D was holding his spot on the Bowl and hooking a lot of fish, most were dinks, with the occassional pig.

The pics above are in no particular order - I was too lazy to order them.

I fished for a while and was skunked. Then I saw a huge pig feeding a bit further down and tried for him. After snapping off 6x and more flies I decided I needed to warm up again. The dog was freezing too and my left foot was a block of ice - my boot was too tight. I napped a little in the car - warming up the dog and my foot. Then around 9:30 we hit the Bowl again. This time we got into fish - I hooked about 8 and landed 5 or so - all were small but fiesty. Darren did hook and land a pig - see above - and that was a great fish. After about 11:20, I lost my rig and called it a day. D was going to stay a few more hours. I hope he did well - he'll have to post his update.

It was a fun day, although cold as hell. I hate the cold weather when you try and fish in it. I spent an hour at the Glenwwod Hot Springs to warm up!!

Wednesday, December 28, 2010
I did manage to get out for a couple hours and fish the Crystal River right here on Avalanche Creek Road next to Avalanche Ranch (where we are staying). The Crystal is known to be blown out after any kind of rain or snow melt, but in December it is very very low. If I had to guess I would say it was flowing around 400 or 500 cfs. The river is relatively narrow - about 20 feet across in most sections, but it gets wider in some areas. The river is heavily silted - lots of the soft stuff around the edges that you sink into. It reminds me a bit of the Ark - off colored too.

With no real time to explore I just hit up a spot I scoped out the past couple of days, a nice stepped up water fall area that dumped into a nice deep riffle stretch. The weather was blowing snow, 20 mph winds and probably about 25 degrees. It was cold, but not nearly as cold as the Pan the day before.



On my first cast I had a take, lost it, on my 4th cast I caught this little guy.



It was a 13 inch whitie - kind of a weird golden color. Never seen one so golden. Maybe I misidentified it, but I don't think so. He took a zebra balck midge size 20.

I went about 20 minutes without hooking up - working faster water and then I finally hooked and landed a small (10 inch) rainbow. He was pretty colorless, but still nice to see something besides a whitie.



I moved down again to a little hole that had a swift section along a rock. I saw a good sized fish come up and nudge my indicator. He looked about 16 inches and I thought it was a brown. I hooked him a few casts later, but he got off. I moved on, fishing down river to some beautiful holes, but no fish to be found. It was almost 4pm - time to head back to the cabin. SO I walked back up to the hole with the big fish in it - I tied on an electric yellow hot wire stone and drifted it through the pool. On my 4th cast I had the bastard on.

I landed this beauty - a 15 inch whitie - and again, he was a golden color.





That is probably the last time I will get out on this trip. I need to hang with the family more. I'm glad I got out during nap time - even though it was cold and snowy.

Tomorrow I have to drive up to Glenwood Springs to the tOyota dealer because Jen's truck won't go into 4X4 - we got the tires replaced last weekend and for the first time tried to throw it into 4X4 and it won't work. Hopefully it is an easy fix. I hope to go to SUnlight Mtn snowboarding tomorrow. We'll see if we make it.

Paul's Choice

"We sold the store."

That was the brief FB message I had gotten from my old boss tonight. Not much to it, hell I knew it would happen some day, so I shouldn't have been surprised by it. But I was, actually I am heart broken, I feel like a part of me is lost forever, a part of my childhood I will never get to visit again. The truth is, it has been over 12 years since I have been back to Keene, NH and it never really effected me, until now.

I don't think any of my readers know that I'm originally from New England - born in Medford, MA (a suburb of Boston) in 1973 I moved to Keene, New Hampshire when I was 7 years old and in the 2nd grade. We lived in an old house on Taylor Street behind the junior high school. When I say old, I mean that it was built around 1860. So even when I moved there in 1980 it was already 120 years old. We lived in that house, next to an ancient cemetery, until 1987 when we moved to Tanglewood Estates, a trailer park in North Keene, just off Court Street. Being a bit of a baseball card fanatic, I needed a job to make cash - that hobby would soon turn to beer and girls. I found my way to one of the few local stores in the area - a new butcher/market in the neighborhood called Paul's Choice.

Paul's was new to this part of town, but it was easy to tell that it would be a success. People in New England are old fashion, love quality, and are extremely loyal. Paul's was a collection of misfits who had tried their hands at prior butcher shops, restaurants, grocery stores and other blue-collar, hands dirty type jobs, only to screw them up and be out of a job. Paul and Ronda Stewart brought the expertise and they surrounded themselves with some of the most loyal delinquents around. I say delinquents because these guys (and a couple of ladies throughout the years) were no angels. However, to a 15 year old kid (and freshman in high school) they were every bit role models.

I don't remember the exact date I rolled into the shop and asked for an application. Having made pizzas since I was 11 years old, mowed lawns, raked leaves and other odd jobs hardly qualified me to work at a butcher shop. But Ronda, after meeting my mom, gave me a chance. Little did we know that it would be quite a ride.

I worked about 24 hours a week during school and nearly 40 hours a week on summer breaks. Being from a divorced home I spent every other weekend with my father in central Massachusetts. Paul's was always accommodating. I worked there my entire high school career, learned to drive, learned about girls, sex, weed, Jack Daniels, condoms, pain killers, money, golf balling, and how to be a man. That was a lot of learning for a HS kid.

The store consisted of some strange characters, each of which shaped and changed my life a little. Randy was the tall, rail thin, Toyota Supra driving, aspiring butcher who would marry and divorce the boss' daughter. He was a natural at cutting meat and customer service, he'd been the successor to the thrown since the day he started - and he knew it. He was 6 years older than me, he could drink a case of beer a night and out run the cops after it. He was no stranger to the law, and was a bit of a hot head. I looked up to him like an older brother and he taught me more than I will ever admit. He was dedicated to the store and to me, he knew I looked up to him.

Alan was the serial killer of the bunch, at least he looked like he was. Until you met his wife and little girls - who made him seem a lot more human. Alan had a full beard, crazy laugh, jittery eyes, always twirling a knife in his hands, quiet, observant, crazy, calming. Sure he was quiet, at least until 7pm when we closed, and then he would loosen up - music blaring, singing. I never knew if he liked me or not, but I knew he respected how hard I worked and I never took advantage of him. Alan was always family, but he was that older brother you never had anything in common with because he was much older than you.

Paul was the owner, and although our relationship was always on a boss/employee level I knew he cared about me, and was proud of me. He was more like the Uncle of mine that gives you the job as a favor, but ends up keeping you because he's proud of you.

Ronda was the talkative co-owner married to Paul. She could make, bake or cook anything. She was very creative, very organized, and you couldn't argue with her. But she was spot on and rarely wrong. She was also very short and I remember she had to stand on a crate to reach the counters or the benches in the back. She wasn't really a mom type, she was way too young, but she was the only woman voice in the whole store and you respected it.

There were several other cutters, counter help and checkers that I remember, but no one else was constant. We were the core group for the first 4 years I was there. I worked there through high school and returned every Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years weeks while on breaks from college - Northeastern University in Boston, MA. I would go home to visit mom, give her a kiss and off I would go to Paul's. We would work crazy hours - sometimes 36 to 48 hours straight getting roasts and turkeys and shrimp orders ready for the holidays. We'd sleep in the back room on crates and boxes, trying to get in a few hours sleep from 4 to 7 am before we'd have to go back at it to meet the holiday rush. I'd work until 7pm on XMas or New Year's Eve and go home exhausted. My mom would just shake her head, feed me, tell me to go to bed and wake me up early. My fingers were cut and sore, my bones ached from the cold in the coolers and I constantly smelled like meat - even after two hot showers and 10 hours of sleep. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the best times of my life. Paul and Ronda had me back every year from 1991 to 1995 - I'd work a week and then disappear, spend the holiday with the family, then back to Boston.

The Stories
I wouldn't do Paul's justice if I didn't talk about the crazy times/memories I had there as well.
- In my first year I remember cleaning the slicer when I slid my hand under the blade (it was off) and sliced my middle finger knuckle on my right hand all the way to the bone. Alan saw the whole thing and saw the look on my face and grabbed me. He told me not to look at it, run it under water and he would bandage it up. He asked me 5 times if I was going to pass out - I did not. However, that cut took almost 4 months to heal - I never went to the doctor and had to lance the thing open 2 times to clean out the puss from infection. I still have the scar to this day.

- Our first year we got frozen uncooked shrimp with the shell on it. We would defrost 12 lb boxes of these things in trays of hot water, cook them up in pots, then peel and de-vein them. Luckily we didn't get a whole lot of orders that first year, maybe a ten thousand pounds or so, but then you realize how many boxes of shrimp that was and the work that went into it and how many pounds of shrimp you peeled and it brings back nightmares. We would peel all night long, do contests, have split fingers, shells under your finger nails, cuts like no ones business. I will never peel an uncut shrimp again. I like them pre-cooked and pre-cleaned now!

- I remember being friends with the kid who worked at the convenience store next door and him leaving out beer and wine coolers (come on - they were for the girls!) in the snow bank out back. Made for some fun weekends.

- I remember golf balling down the Ashuelot River that ran next to the Bretwood golf course behind the store. Taking Randy's canoe, a cooler, a case of beer and goggles and paddling and swimming the entire 6 miles of river in search of golf balls. We'd fill that cooler with balls and empty it of beers on that entire trip. We'd sell the golf balls back to the golf course and barely break even on our beer fund. We'd brave hail storms, beavers and snakes - all for a few golf balls.

- I remember frozen hands, stomping in the card board dumpster, power washing coolers, brine barrels full of corned beef, making thousands of pounds of sausage and hamburger, trying Jack Daniels for the first time, talking about girls, and having so much fun. I remember paychecks and bonuses, I remember my mom always getting a huge discount, and being treated like a queen there.

- I remember the one time I was sent home from work - the only non-sick day I ever had at Paul's. I had a huge Jack Daniels bender the night before, had stumbled into the house and passed out in front of mom and dad. My mom ended up hosing me off in the shower to wake me up - it was that bad. The next day I had to be at work - and my mom made me go. I got there and was green and ill. I was sent home with a stern warning never to do that again. I didn't. I was ashamed of myself for letting my boss down.

- I remember DUIs (not mine), I remember pregnancies (not mine), I remember marriages (not mine), I remember fights (not mine), I remember pinkies (not mine) and I remember being shielded from a lot more. I was lucky to be the shielded one.

In my 4+ full time years there I was a straight A student in HS, I played baseball and some football and had a girlfriend my senior year. I was shielded from a lot of the stuff because I think they (my Paul's family) wanted to not get me caught up in the things that would keep a guy in Keene, NH. They wanted more for me and they didn't want any distractions. They actually pushed me out of Keene, and for that I thank them. The work ethic I learned at Paul's would be the foundation for the rest of my life. All my life I have kept the same energy and loyalty since the day I set foot in there. Paul helped me save money for college and taught me what a wage meant and how to earn it. I owe a lot to Paul's Choice.

So, on this day that I find out the "store is sold" I am saddened. Not because my friends are moving from the working world to retirement, they greatly deserve it, but rather because a piece of my childhood is lost - and is unrecoverable. Every story has a "The End", and this one is no different, I just never thought I would read the last page. Page 1 started in 1987, followed by a great story, and it will end this holiday season 2010 - so many stories, so many pages, so many lives touched. It was a great ride, and I hope retirement is the happily ever after.

Best wishes Paul and Ronda, enjoy retirement and we hope to see you out here in Colorado soon!