Milford chronicle., 1919-11-28
LETTERSFROM MISS STIDHAM
Avalon Nov q 1919.
Catalina Island

Avalon. Nov Il 1919.
Catalina Island
Well Colonel
Ws came as far as tie land would
let ns and then jumped on 50 here
we are IN The blue Pacific Dad has
had tile fishing bee I'm his bonnet ever
since SIC left Milford. He even brought
an his fishing tackle along and ID IS
NOT at am what they use here But be
fore 1 20 anv farther with the fishing,
do let me tell YOU about where l am
writing High up on a clin' almost
oyerhanging the water. overlooking
two cOves that are as blue as the water
we sec around the house on Mondays.
santa Catalina Island is about 80
miles from Los Angeles. and about
% miles long and / mile wide in the
narrowest and miles wide in the wid-
est spot. containing about $4,000 acres.
II is a beautiful sight, approaching IN
a boat. Looks like just a mass oi
mountains springing up in the midst
of the ocean. The two highest peaks
are from 1000 to 5000 feet. The town
of Avalon is on the cite OF the old In
dian village. which is the outlet OF a
pretty canyon. and on crescent
shaped bay. II has a permanent pop
ulation OF about 500. However, during
the summer season the little place is
full of tents. one section being a reg
ular tent city. II has been owned Tor
a long time by some fasteners
nings-(ask our efficient electric light
superintendent il they are any OF his
relatives). However Il has recently
been sold to William Wrigley, Jr., the
multi-millionaire OF chewing gum
r. me. and they are expecting great
improvements
They have one magnificent hotel
the ST. Catherine. above which ! am
now sitting. No Sir ! am not guest.
II isn't nice place for poor country
gals" pocketbook for more than a
few minutes az a time.
Nov. 9Th.
In my description OF this beautiful
island / failed TO put down the most
enlarged upon fact Il is noted the
world over for its fine fishing. The
so ro 100 pound tuna is caught here
In great numbers. Even the Albacor
smaller species OF the tuna. is sport
enough for the average fisherman, TO
saw nothing OF the yeliowtail which is
found in abundance Sword hsh-
whales. and most anything
Now Colonel. you know that sounds
mighty pretty Well early one morn
ing al 7.3O Dad Atkins. Major Allison
and Yours Truly started out with tine
best captain and fishing OUTFIT on the
island "The Dragon is dandy
launch and fitted up. as Major A. SAYS.
FISHING de Ink Tn the stern OF the
boat are two comfortable chairs ana
i'm The middle of each front seat is
socket to rest the end of the rod
even "a brass foot rail, if YOU please
Old Cap John tied a little smelt OF
TINY mackerel on the hooks, hands
vou the rod and the wait begins. These
reels have very much more line than
we are used to. They run anywhere
from 600 to 800 feet long. and when
YOU get a bite, you let Mr. Tuna. Al
bacor, or sword fish run until he tires
himself out. / guess maybe they will
| can't say, for we fished from 7.30 till
1890. covered 80 miles and did not
catch a thing-Only me. / caught
well, / caught a bad cold. No stree.
didn't even get a nibble. But you see
it was an off week No fish have been
caught, not even the yellowtail, moth
ing more than the little smelt to use
for bait. We were little disappoint-
ed However, it was a beautiful day
and we enjoyed the ride, only 1t was
little expensive. paying $3.50 for
little motor boat ride. We even had
hook out for a shark. Now wouldn't
that have been fun? There is a NOV
ing picture company here who have
offered $50 for one TO use in sub
marine picture. so every time boat
goes out fishing out goes a shark hook
and line. MOI None to date.
We loafed around here until Friday
and Dad was disgusted. He said If he
/ Mr. Sipple, Sr., and the rest of his old
fishing friends were of Lewes beach
or most anywhere on our bay they
would have had better luck than we
had So we left, and, oh, how some, or
most all. of the passengers on the
steamer Cabrilla wished they had stay
ed of peaceful Catalina It was the
toughest trip the boat has made since
February. But then, we all wanted
all the sensations we can get for our
money. and believe me, we got our
moneys worth. If you were lying
uOWM iduu lNt Qtthns uGl LlAnf NauAA
benches and floors were all full OF
PROSTATE fOrms) all you could see was
sky; next roll all you could see was
water. Ough!
Now I am not going to say any more
cause you might guess I was helping
feed the fishes too. Poor Mate; her
bed reeled and rocked all night and
all next day. But we all lived through
( it-Only there are two places you
needn't mention to Mate when she gets
home, they are Catalina and Missouri
I So you see, we aren't missing a thing
All we need is Atkins house out
here on a lot somewhere, or any spot
and you could get a young fortune
for t. Either to sell, rent, as q whole
or by the room. Conditions are some
thing terrible. I would like 70 print
I In every Eastern paper, Stay at home
If you have one. for tourists are pour
ing into Los Angeles by the hundreds
daily. and scarcely a place to stay
It's almost impossible TO get a hunga-
low, apartment, fiat or rooms. They
have jumped almost double in price
in the last month. and still going up
After four days hunt we finally gOl
half Of George Atkins tan old George
town boy home But they, too, have
the selling bee IN their bonnet. so We
have got 10 move. We don't know
where we're going. but we. too, will
soon be on the way.