Pickering Passage Pt. II
Part I described the early 20th-century ferry system that transported passengers to Harstine Island from a landing just north of Island Home. The original ferry, called Island Belle, was replaced by a larger vessel called Hartstine I in the 1920s. In 1945 Harstine II, the third and final ferry, began carrying passengers across Pickering Passage. OYC members, including Gary Gronley, remember taking this ferry, which was operated by Mason County. In 1969 the ferry was replaced by a bridge, dedicated in a ceremony on June 22. Visible from Island Home, the bridge represents the end of an era for Pickering Passage. The OYC established Island Home as its outstation two years later.
The black & white photos below show the ferry in the 1960s. Island Home is visible in the aerial photo of Pickering Passage from the 1970s. Photos courtesy Mason County Historical Society and the author.