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A TRIP TO THE “NEW” ALBION…..

When I was a lot younger, PUC’S ALBION FIELD STATION was a very different place - still very much the old lumber mill’s residential area for single mill-hands. Check back later and I’ll post some photos from that era…..

In the late ‘70s, Ervil Clark’s energy and vision drove a modernization that produced a less picturesque, but more functional and less upkeep-intensive field station. 30 years later, that version of Albion needed work, and Gilbert (Gibby) Muth, with others, stepped up. Gail and I have helped on occasion, as free-will offerings and volunteer labor provided the means for an amazing transformation.

As we arrived, we noticed much that hasn’t changed since we taught here in the ‘80s and ‘90s…the post office/hardware store and the market in Albion proper, for instance…
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and Albion village’s main street on the way to the station hasn’t changed a lot, either….
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I love this place….notice the headlands beyond the houses - here, you’re always in touch with the created beauties we generally take for granted. There’s work being done in Albion - note the remodel and upgrade going on just to the right…. Gail’s favorite house is still here…although the old sign “No Horses Allowed in Yard” has been removed….
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As we start down the hill toward the field station, the view to the left is much the same….
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although the flats are considerably less busy than at times in the past. The river bluffs of Albion village show signs of new construction
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Caca’s House has lost part of its structure, but Laura would still recognize it
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The entrance pillars still stand, although they need some work
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Our first view of the camp reveals changes - no more duck enclosure, additions to the bathhouse and cabins - but is very familiar….
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I really love this place, and my heart lifts a bit as we approach the crossroads…
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where we can see Lonicera up on the hill and grab a quick glance at the field station proper….(nice new street light!)
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before turning east to visit the “service area”..
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The “caretaker’s cabin” that houses both the fulltime staff members, is on the left, and to the right we can see the newest bay on the garage, with workers still busily applying the cedar siding.

The “cabin” is considerably upgraded, and is truly an attractive and commodious residence for those who live here year-round….
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Across the way, the garage complex has been expanded at both ends, giving much-needed space for vehicles, tools, storage, and workspace.
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Since in the old garage, the vehicle had to be parked in the bay, it made access to storage along the walls quite difficult…..especially as the station’s season expanded to year-round and the amount of equipment increased radically….
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Since the storage area has been packed….
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the workshop ended up so full of stuff that actually working became increasingly difficult. (And yes, a major focus on organization and neatness would make a big difference, but how many people in real life are capable of that, along with their regular [and demanding] job?].....
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I don’t know what the new spaces will be used for, but if the vehicle is parked here
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then extra racks can be placed in the bays of the old garages to hold the landscaping equipment, paint, boat accessories, etc. and etc. Hopefully the workshop will then be free for actual work….

Here’s the electrical conduit that Gail and I put in on Thursday morning….this carries the cable out of this building where the power pole feeds the panel
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and then over to the new bay on the garage/workshop. The trench was in place - we cut and glued up the conduit, laid it and then replaced the dirt.
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There’s one other piece of new construction at this end of campus—it’s the chicken coop and run!! Lovely organic eggs for the cafeteria!
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Back at the “Y” where the road gets to the bottom of the hill, this is the view down main street toward the river
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First thing on the right is the new greenhouse - it’s approximately where the ancient men’s restroom was, which was followed by that mess of a woodshed/storage building - doesn’t the greenhouse look great? That bridge to the other side was built during one of our summers at the station when I was teaching at PUC, and so was the staircase made of old auto tires that gets you up to Lonicera - it’s got to be a bit more than 20 years old, now!!
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On the other side of Main Street is the cafeteria, with the (in)famous, or maybe notorious, Albion bell. It rang for meals, for meetings, and most memorable of all, for (very) early morning trips to the tidepools….
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It’s pretty much unchanged since the late ‘70s and is likely the next candidate for an updating…. Inside will also look familiar, although all the couches are gone, now that meetings are held down in the remodeled laboratories.
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Out the windows, we used to have the completely enclosed duckpond - although the enclosure never seemed to keep the raccoons and weasels out for very long….somehow their need for food was more insistent than our need for wood ducks to watch!
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The kitchen is also virtually unchanged in its basic structure and equipment….
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even the hard-working dishwashing station - anyone who was at Albion in the old days will remember this!
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As we leave the cafeteria, in the flowerbed to the west of the entrance is the “Albion shrine” that memorializes those whose vision and hard work were essential to the Field Station’s existence, maintenance, and protection. There are some more names that belong here, now….and Gilbert J. Muth is foremost among them.
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The cabin we stayed in was Macoma (the mud clam, as the original was sinking gradually into the soft soil near the drainage ditch against the hill), but the other dorm cabins are similar. Check PUC’S ALBION GALLERY to see the housekeeping cabins - very nice! If you look at the roof shingles on the photo below, you can see the addition that houses the bathrooms at this end….and faintly at the other end, too.
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Here, you can see how these dorm cabins are made - one front and one rear room on this side, and the same on the other side.
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Here you can see the current outside door, the door to the bathroom on the right, and then the “inside” door is what used to be the exterior door before the bathroom was added.
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Our room was a bit of a mess - but there’s always the gallery! Double bed, bunk bed, desk….these are nice rooms
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The bath is basic, but VERY convenient….
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...particularly when we “old folks” have to get up in the middle of the night. Imagine a rainy night on the coast, and about 2:00 a.m. having to go here….
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From outside Macoma, we look to the river - that’s the new storage unit where the salt-water aquariums used to reside….
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while from a little farther down you can see the gateposts that used to mark the edge of PUC’s property. There was a strip between the campus and the river that we had an easement across, but did not own. I suspect that we got title to it when we bought the land next door, since it was always verboten to store the boats out there in the past.
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From here, you can also see the foundations of the old lowlevel highway bridge that was used before WWII - we’ve anchored the far end of the floating dock to the near one since the station opened. Every year when I was in school, the Biology Club would come over for a weekend in the fall to remove the dock, and again in the spring to put it back in place. That will soon be over.

As we turn left and look to the north, we get a view of the neighboring property that the college recently acquired….the derelict buildings have been removed, and the new (and permanent) dock will be installed over there.
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Turning back toward the campus, we see the laboratory building - it has been completely renovated and updated…..
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with a lovely deck off the north side beside the creek
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Walking around to the south side,
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we can see the windows of the library (left) and the office (right). A little farther and here’s the front door
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The Sierra Redwood that used to be in the planter finally succumbed, but the anchor brought to the station in the summer of 1968 (I think) from Casper Bay is still there.

Once we head inside, there’s a wet bar (new) and the renovated display of coiled gastropod shells prepared by yours truly in the summer of 1967 (old)....plus a lot of other displays as well. They look just WONDERFUL! Whoever did the cleaning, updating, and relabeling is to be congratulated!
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Down the south hall above is the library, which is a wonderful bright and cheery place almost all year long…
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and on the way back toward the classrooms is the storage closet - this was originally a darkroom, and yes, it looks a bit of a mess, but come back in a few months when the shelving is completed and we have the boathouse for the lifejackets, etc. It will be much better.
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Entering the west classroom, we see the access to the deck and the new floors and lighting
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along with the fireplace, view of the river, whiteboard covering an entire wall, and the fans to keep the air moving when several dozen bodies are inhabiting the space…..
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The two classrooms can be combined
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and the east classroom is where the computer bank is located (did I mention that wireless internet is available anywhere on campus?), plus the biggest flatscreen for both TV and recorded video.
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Exiting the lab, we can look up Main Street from the river and view the entire campus….
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So many memories…..coming here with Papa in the late ‘50s, college trips and summer session in the ‘60s, teaching in the ‘80s and ‘90s…... It’s only fitting to end with a shot of the coast where we had our collecting areas….
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In the foreground, over the bluff and down, is what we called Albion Bluffs, and across the way (now under water, but exposed on the summer’s low tides) is Salmon Point…..good times, great memories.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/25 at 08:33 AM

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