Gail Smith, age 86, tall ship sailor, seaman, fisherman, dory man, master gardener, water dowser, poet, local historian and forever vigilant activist, passed away quietly Monday morning, Nov. 25, in his cabin‚s rocking chair near the wood stove with his dog and kittens by his feet and favorite books at his elbow.
Gail was born Feb. 8, 1916, in Seattle, the second son of Helen Squires and George Lockwood Smith. In 1918, the Smiths moved to a small farm on what is now Selfors Lane, above Hidden Cove Road in Port Madison. He and his brother had a joyful childhood paddling logs and rowboats around the bay he liked to call “T’Chookwap,” for its Suquamish name.
Gail’s mother died when he was 10. Two years before his Bainbridge HS class of 1936 graduated, he left school during Depression years to go to sea on the 5-masted, lumber schooner, VIGILANT, making four round trips to Oahu. After a career on coastal steamships and his own fishing boats, CHIEF SEATTLE and CHIEF JOSEPH, Smith settled into a West Port Madison subsistence farm.
Though he had to leave school, he never left learning. He was a prolific reader and checked more books out of the Bainbridge Library than most. Just before he died, he was reading Eye of the Albatross, a natural history of giant seabirds; Whale‚s Journey, about the relationship between humans and humpback whales; The Race, telling of the first non-stop sailboat race around the world; Vanished Worlds, photographic portraits of Middle Eastern tribes; and Salt of the Sea, Capt. Ed Shield‚s account of the Pacific Coast Cod Fishery.
Smith also taught. His friends learned how to garden; make cider, vinegar, dill pickles and baked beans; smoke fish, bacon and hams; raise chickens, catch fish, care for boats, seek justice, and live life in tune with nature.
Gail is featured in “Last of the NW Lumber Schooners” which highlights his VIGILANT years, and “Gift of a Dory,” films by Lois Shelton / Foxglove Productions. The latter shares the history, restoration and re-launching of his 1945 cod fishing dory, a gift to Peter Kushner and the next generation. Smith was interviewed extensively by marine historian Capt. Harold Huycke of Edmonds. In the PBS documentary, “Visible Targets,” Smith recalled the day his neighbors of Japanese ancestry were uprooted during WW II; and in other short B. Is. Historical Society films, he tells stories of his hand sewn sea bag, ship‚s hammock and splicing tools. Artifacts and films may be viewed at the museum. His life story was recorded by Phoebe Smith in “Glimpses of Bainbridge.”
Gail was mentor and inspiration for Vegetable Gardening in the PNW by Jill Severn, his neighbor. His prolific garden, smokehouse and cider press kept many larders full. His root cellar overflowed with potatoes (he loved Snowflake and Finn), apples, and squash readily shared. No finer cider vinegar was ever made than “Ma” Smith’s. It made the finest dill pickles– 26 gallons in his best year! Fires in the stove that warmed his cabin were started with his Stradivarius cedar kindling. Bundled up for holiday gifts, they were too beautiful to burn. He preferred outdoor plumbing, and during the Watergate era, Martha Mitchell’s portrait hung on his outhouse wall– a place of honor. Nixon was less fortunate.
Long before “Adopt a Road, Beach or Park”, Gail assumed stewardship of West Port Madison Nature Preserve, annually clearing trails and removing ivy from ancient firs, whose life histories he would readily recite. Ever vigilant, Gail was an outspoken champion of libertarian causes and defender of public rights. More than once, he rallied the troops to prevent attempts to take over parts of the neighborhood park and its stream by “advantageous land swaps.” Stanley Komedal, Kitsap Planning Commissioner and Gail were lifetime defenders and stewards of road ends and historic public waterfront accesses.
When asked about adversaries, he‚d smile and say, “I out-lived all my enemies.” He converted a few, too. In 1986, he received an “Outstanding Citizen Award” on his 70th birthday. The Association of Bainbridge Communities gave him recognition in 1999 and this year featured him in Joel Sackett‚s book “In Praise of Island Stewards.”
Gail respected all life. Hens in his chicken house died of old age. He was on a first name basis with local jays, crows and squirrels. Upon the death of one of his many dogs, poet Smith wrote:
“Oh, God, my master,
Should I gain the grace
To meet thee face to face
When life is ended,
Oh, grant that a little red dog
That once pretended
That I was God,
Will meet me face to face.”
Gail was preceded in death by a brother, Gerald Smith in 1958; and is survived by a niece, Deanna Hodson of Bothell, a nephew, Wayne Smith of Port Townsend, many grand and great-grand-nieces and nephews, and an enormous extended family.
A memorial wake and potluck will be held 3 PM, Sunday, Jan. 5 at Island Center Hall. For information, call 842-4164. A friend suggested, “We should make his birthday an annual day to clean Island forests and beaches and to swamp out trails and road ends.”
