Mary L. Dinon has written and self-published The Winter Watchman’s Daughter: Memoirs of Life on the Nushagak River. This book tells the story of her grandmother, Ella Nielsen, who grew up along the Nushagak River as the daughter of a cannery winter watchman and later as the wife of the watchman at three historic Nushagak salmon canneries. The book includes historical photographs of Dillingham and the surrounding area, taken by Mary’s father, Lars Degn Nelson.
This is a compelling story about salmon canneries, commercial fishing, and resilient ancestors who survived to bear us.
