Fish and Cottonwood Trees

Table of Contents Toggle Fish and Cottonwood Trees I remember the smell of fish and cottonwood trees, Cotton whirling over the dirt in the hot, lazy breeze – Hard boot soles and creaking steel cart wheels, suits, Rattling doors half dust, half glass, heat shimmering off polished iron and black, pungent creosote… And grasshoppers among the daisies Striving through the scrabbled parched, and cinder-covered bed.  Down past the green doors, weathered deck and busy stairs, the iron rails bringing precious promise… Craning necks and straining ears listen for the steel wheels, whistle, the rumbling wonder of brand-new diesels, distant… Wondering, waiting, anxious for a familiar glimpse of weathered skin and smiling eyes, Who from some 3000 miles east have come to breath our country air again, The summer scents of dust and hay, of fish and cottonwood trees.

The Pennsylvania Railroad was established in 1846, and ran until 1968, into the new age of powerful diesel locomotives. This model is available from our friends, fellow train aficionados and hobbyists at Trains and Toy Soldiers. Click to find out more about this beautiful and nostalgic model.

When I was a boy, the age of steam powered locomotives was ending as the powerful, new diesel locomotives began to haul bigger loads farther, faster and safer than their coal or wood-fired counterparts.  The station in New Hazelton, BC, was just above the Bulkley River, only a few miles from where it met the mighty Skeena Fiver.  Forever in the warm days of late spring, summer and early fall, the faint smell of fish from the abundance of the rivers hung on the air, while the sweetly pungent and spicy aroma of the vast numbers of cottonwood trees along the rivers filled the air, especially on warmer days.

At certain times of the year, the ground would be covered with the cotton from the cottonwood trees, and it would whirl and swirl across the dusty ground with the slightest puff from the warm, late summer breezes.

It was just at this time that my grandparents would be most likely to take their holidays, after their busy summer customers had gone home.  It was amazing, wonderful and so exciting for a little boy to walk the raised deck of the platform at the old station, peering into the distance, waiting for the slightest hint of an approaching passenger train.  Then, once it arrived, the ground beneath us in constant vibration from the great diesels pulling it, the wait for the first glimpse of those dear folks stepping off the train was almost unbearable!

© David H. (Dave) Cottrell