The Rise And Decline Of The Olympia Oyster 



to the time of his death, which occurred in 1956, he was 

 an active member of the Olympia Oyster Growers As- 

 sociation. At the "Golden Anniversary Banquet" as 

 previously stated, he acted as toastmaster. 



Before we go into the activities of these men, both as 

 individuals and as members and officials of the Olympia 

 Oyster Growers Association, let us take a look at this 

 little animal which lured them on with captivating inter- 

 est. Much has been written about the lure of gold and the 

 tremendous sacrifices of men in quest of it; also the hard- 

 ships of the fishermen of the early days, the seal hunters 

 and the explorers. What was there about this little shell 

 fish, hidden away in the remote waters of Puget Sound, 

 that caused these men to dedicate their lives to its de- 

 velopment and distribution? 



Oysters from time immemorial, have been considered 

 a delicacy. In the days of the far reaching Roman Empire, 

 history records that swift runners traveled in relays 

 carrying fresh oysters from Britania to the tables of Ro- 

 man emperors. Nero gave magnificent banquets at 

 which he ate oysters and "fiddled" as on the night of the 

 burning of Rome. He called them "delicious". But Nero 

 lived about two thousand years too soon to know the real 

 meaning of that word when applied to oysters. If Olym- 

 pia Oysters had been available he would have made them 

 famous for all time; he would have proposed a toast 

 something like this: 



"Olympia, the home of the Gods, Olympia Oysters, 

 food of the Gods." 



The Olympia Oyster pioneers who discovered this 

 delicacy did not have a background in history to adver- 



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