Working people who have been lost at sea have been memorialized in oral histories, written stories and sagas, epic poetry and song for centuries. In Westport, a Fishermen’s Monument sits at the end of Neddie Rose Drive. Commissioned in 1959, the monument has not been refurbished since the early 1970s. Recently, the Westport Fishermen’s Monument Committee embarked on a successful fundraising campaign and efforts to renovate the monument are now underway.
According to one of the driving forces behind the effort, Jodee Orton, the Committee has been actively pursuing funds for the past six years.
“In 2020 we lost Cole Rutzer and Dylan Furford in Alaska, they were members of the Westport community. Nicole Caldwell, Dylan’s mother, and I created the Cole and Dylan Memorial Fund in hopes to put a bench down here. We exceeded that goal,” Orton said. “We were able to purchase a wrestling mat for the Ocosta School District with our logo on it, we supported the South Beach little league, and then we also have a big heart in the monument here. The Cole and Dylan Monument came to an end and the Westport Fishermen’s Monument Committee formed. We took some leftover money and donated it to the Westport Fishermen’s Monument Fund. It’s been a long time coming.”
Through a $30,000 grant from the Neddie Rose Foundation, $7,000 from the Fishermen’s Monument Fund, $17,000 from the Port of Grays Harbor, $5,000 from WEfish, $30,000 from the city of Westport and additional monies from a GoFundMe campaign, and donations from England Marine and South Bend Products and other local businesses, Beau Finley of Custom Creations LLC is now working on rejuvenating the grounds around the monument. The total cost for the project is nearly $94,000.
Orton says it’s important to honor those lost at sea in a permanent way.
“Remembrance, to remember them, this is such an important place to so many people. It’s a place we come to mourn the ones we’ve lost, it’s about remembering them,” Orton said.
“WEfish was started by Molly Bold a long time ago and she had looked into upgrades. They wanted to move the monument to a more public space,” said Jennifer Custer, vice president of the WEfish board. “As she reached out to families on the monument, they were not in favor of that at all. They want to keep it right where it is. If you look around the country, ours is a very small fishermen’s monument. Ours is very simple. We really wanted a local artist to do it. The pieces fell into place to give us someone local, which is really important because he knows the history.”
Michael Sigurdson travels from Seattle to Westport to pay tribute to his late father, who died helping rescue six U.S. Coast Guardsmen and is immortalized on the monument. He gets choked up telling the story and describing the importance of the memorial and his family’s continued involvement with it.
“I was 5 years old when he died, it was 67 years ago, and this place is a real special place for me. I’m 72 years old and I still feel so strong about this,” Sigurdson said. “It’s something that’s been with me all of my life, my sister’s too, she was 2 and a half. At least I have memories, my sister is upset because she only has pictures of him holding her, but she doesn’t have the actual memories. All my life this has been a place of solace and remembrance, it’s a huge part of community. Without the community, this wouldn’t have happened. Community came together and helped our family and supported our family. I just thought I’ll do whatever I can to keep this thing going. Three years ago we got contacted by this wonderful organization. My sister came up with the idea of (making) Christmas wreaths. We get the community involved.”
Each Memorial Day, the Fishermen’s Monument is the centerpiece of the annual Westport Blessing of the Fleet, a community tradition honoring maritime heritage. The first ceremony took place at the monument in 1961. The renovation project is expected to be completed well before the end of the year.
