The Sally J, on display in front of the museum, is getting a fresh coat of paint – and the project has attracted lots of attention. People love this boat, and an amazing number of Lopezians have dropped by to share their own fishing stories.

The Sally J was built for Bastian P. Jevick on the Duwamish River in Seattle in 1930, and was named for Jevick’s youngest sister. Jevick fished for salmon off the Iceberg Point Boundary Monument for more than 50 years. He set his net and was often the high boat of the Lopez fishing fleet – catching the most salmon of the fleet. Jevick sold his fishing license to the State Gear Reduction Program July 1, 1982. The boat was sold to James Bergdahl in 1983 and the gillnet gear was removed. The Sally J was used off Stuart Island in an experimental nori seaweed farming venture. She returned to Lopez Island in November 1996.