Like many small towns in the Pacific Northwest, Anacortes was all about timber and fish. With fishing came canning, and millions of fish left town in a tin can. There were quite a few brand names, more than I would have thought. Anacortes uses vintage cannery labels on its trash and recycling cans. This is apparently unique enough to rate a mention in Roadside America. If you haven’t visited that website or downloaded their app, you should. It’s a great resource for American road trips.
Before we take a look at the cans, a word about “Anacortes.” Back in the day, when the British and Spanish were plying the waters of the Salish Sea, it was the Golden Age of Naming Things. Lowly swabbies are immortalized by magnificent Islands, sounds, and mountains. So, too, was the wife of an early Fidalgo Island settler, whose maiden name was Anna Curtis.
Also, a disclaimer: the lead photo on this post obviously has nothing to do with cans. It’s my neighbor’s boathouse on Bainbridge Island. I’m not sure I’d like to stand in it for fear of collapse, but I like looking at it.
