Conrad Michael Anderson (1/6/1865-4/7/1952)

Conrad Michael Anderson (1/6/1865-4/7/1952)

Conrad M. Anderson is known as one of this community’s earliest boat builders working first, as so many men did for Skansie Ship Building Company before opening his own firm in 1920.  This blog will just attempt to add to his story.

Fish boat "Oceania" under construction at Skansie Shipyard.  18 men on and in front of it:Gorge Dorotich, Conrad Anderson with pipe; John Jensich, etc (Harbor History Museum Bfsh-53.jpeg)

He was born in Folda, Nordland, Norway to Anders Michael Anderson and Anne Sophie Bondesdatter: Folda, or fjord is about 75 miles (120 km) north of the Arctic Circle. The Folda extends two branches inland: the Nordfolda, 25 miles (40 km) long, and the Sørfolda, 18 miles (29 km) in length. Each is dotted with small fishing villages; herring is the main catch. 

*(Encyclopaedia Britannica) 

The major industries are related to fisheries and boat building so one can easily assume that Conrad had experience in either one or both these industries by the time he arrived in the United States at age 20 in 1885.  Two years later, he had moved to Tacoma, Washington where he met Bernthine Sophie Pederson. They were married March 13, 1890 and moved to Purdy in Pierce County, Washington by 1900 according to the US Census for that year.  They had six children:  Annie, Chester Bertrum, Ingeborg Marie, Arthur Bennet, Ernest Christin, and Carl S.  Unfortunately Bernthine died on April 16, 1915 and Conrad was left with the younger children.  He had moved to Gig Harbor by 1920 when he left Skansie Ship Building Co. and opened his own boat building business.

Conrad had purchased some choice property at the foot of Stinson Avenue and Harborview Drive.  The property has deep water access which made construction of larger boats possible and he and his sons built both fishing boats and general purpose boats. 

(iPhone picture of circa 1920 Conrad Anderson Shipyard taken from internet)

And, on December 19, 1924, Conrad opens his own boat building business at this location according to the Peninsula Gateway.  All in all, it is believed he built 15 larger fishing boats including trollers and seiners.  Some of the boats were 1920 - Leif II (Karl Hansen); 1920 - Wisconsin (Peter Milos and Tony Lovrovich); 1923 -Equator (Frank Ivanovich), 1925 - Sharon …, 1926 - Venus (Paul Puratich, Andrew Gilich, Mike Katich), and 1927 - Gertrude S. (could this be the 70’ fishing boat they built for Sebastian and Stewart Fish Co.in the Peninsula Gateway 1/28/1927?). 

Art Glein rebuilt covered netshed after fire destroyed Conrad Anderson Shipyard buildings (Harbor History Museum BSL-085-GH.jpeg)

Lee Makovich wrote an article in The Peninsula Gateway December 3, 2003 issue titled “The Leif II was Conrad Anderson’s first”.  This was in ’The Past Alive” column Lee used to write.  

“The Leif II was the first of famed Conrad Anderson’s masterpiece creations.  The 52’ seine style vessel was launched from Anderson’s shipyard in the spring of 1920.  Powered by a 45 h.p. Enterprise gas engine, the trim vessel was built for Karl Hansen.  Records indicate that the Leif II was engaged in both halibut and salmon purse seine fisheries in the early years of her existence. It should be mentioned that Conrad Anderson was one of the early foremen at the Gig Harbor based Skansie Shipyard.  But when he left the Skansie facility to start his own shipyard, Anderson had a great many ideas of his own—which he intended to take advantage of in this challenging new business venture.  … But he also had a somewhat different concept for the design of the vessels he intended to build on his own.  … Anderson was not satisfied with some of the basic designs of the Skansie-built vessels he helped to construct. …He worked long and hard to try and put on paper, contemporary concepts that danced in about in his brilliant and innovative mind.  He soon transferred those modern ideas to designs on paper, and then to the construction of his masterpiece vessels. …The differences from the Skansie-built vessels were subtle to be sure, but Anderson believed that the hulls which he designed allowed the boats to slip through the water with much greater ease.  And there were many who absolutely agreed with that assessment.

In 1927, Conrad sold some of his property on the southwest side of Harborview Drive to Bert Uddenberg who then built a garage and service station.  Today you would find the Gig Harbor Yacht Club, Speedy Glass and Gig Harbor Marina’s Consignment shop. 

Bernthine died in 1915, and in 1924, Conrad married Sarah Grace Smith and they continued to live in Gig Harbor.  Unfortunately Sarah died June 3, 1943.  

Conrad’s first born son, Chester moved to the Pasadena area of Southern California in 1927.  He worked as a carpenter on odd jobs with his last job that I found was as a rigger on a dam project.  His wife, Maude Elizabeth Carroll died in 1957 while they were living in Alameda, CA, and it was there too that Chester died in 1965.

Ingeborg Marie married Odin Julian Jensen in February 1920 and they moved to Ketchiakn, AK where Odin worked as a building contractor.  Odin died in 1971, and Ingeborg died in 1974.

Arthur married Nellie McKenzie in 1923 and Arthur took employment in Wrangell, AK in 1930 as a ship builder.  Five years later they moved back to Seattle.

Ernest married Mary H. Mills in 1925. They too moved to Wrangell AK in 1930 (perhaps with Arthur and Nellie).  Ernest was also a ship builder where he worked until 1948.  He died in 1964; his wife Mary lived until 1999.

Carl, the youngest, moved to Ketchikan AK in 1928 and two years later, moved to Wrangell, AK.  Yes, his occupation was also as a ship builder.  1940 found him living in Petersburg, AK and then, in 1944, he moved back to the mainland and settled in Everett where he owned Fisherman’s Boat Shop.  In 1959 he sold the business to Dick Eitel who then added steel work operations to the boat work.

One document describing Conrad ’s boat building operations in Gig Harbor states that when he retired in 1937, his sons took over the boatyard here and ran it as a repair shop.  However, the sons were scattered:  Chester in California; Arthur in Seattle; Ernest in Wrangell; and Carl in Everett.  The document goes on to say they had assumed control and were running it when it caught fire and burned to the ground in 1940s.  The fire occurred when the community’s fire brigade was entirely volunteers.  The first fire protection district did not become a reality until January 6, 1945 when Pierce County Fire District #5 was established.  Neither the Northwest Room, Tacoma Public Library, nor I could find any articles regarding the fire, its causes or the actual date.      

Conrad died age 87 after a brief illness, although it was rumored he was found at home alone where he died of a heart attack.  (TNT 4/11/1952 p29)  Rev. Mary J. Turner officiated at his services and he was buried in the Burley Cemetery .  According to the Peninsula Gateway 4/18/1952 obituary, he had learned his trade as shipbuilder and designer in Norway before leaving there in 1885, and arriving in the Puget Sound area in 1890. 

  

Another document that caught my attention was a photocopy of page 57, Alaska Fisherman’s Journal, October 1985 titled “A Rose Full of Room”.  Although the article is not about Conrad himself, it is very interesting because it is about his son, Arthur’s grandson, Bill Gardner.  Bill Gardener is the son of Helen Thompson Anderson and John K. Gardner who were married September 22, 1950.  The Gardner Boat Repair business located in Ballard is a fifth generation operation.  It is interesting because of the relationship to Conrad Anderson and the ship building and repair business he started.

Gardner was first a seiner, halibut fisherman and a gill netter before he started working on boats, rather than in them.  His grandfather was an experienced boatbuilder as were his great uncles.  One of them, Carl owned Fisherman’s Boat Shop in Everett.  His entry into boat work was easy and in 1976 he opened his shop working as a shipwright.  At the time of this article he was subcontracting all his woodwork to his uncle Glenn, his mother’s brother, and to his uncle Carl, Carl Sr.’s son.  

Notes:

• Peninsula Gateway - various inc. obituary 4/18/1952; The Past Alive 12/3/2003
• Tacoma News Tribune - 4/11/1952 obituary
• ancestry.com
• Alaska Fisherman’s Journal, October 1985
• Tacoma Public Library, Northwest Room
• Eddon Boat Yard
• Encyclopaedia Britannica - Folda, Norway

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