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Touring Through Time highlights farming, fishing

The Surry Historical Society opened the Old Town Hall’s doors Saturday, July 27, to participate in “Touring through Time,” an annual event featuring local historical society museums. Showcased inside were historic farming, fishing, and lumbering tools, but the real treasure lay just outside – an authentic smelt tent from 1940. Surry was once a hub for smelt fishing, with some lucky fishermen catching up to 100 pounds of smelt per tide. These smelts were considered a staple in local stores and were even shipped to Massachussetts and New York. Surry Historical Society president John Curtis said, “Smelt fishing has gone away but we continue to fish everyday here. We are participating in this event because we know the past is never really over. We help [the community] see what used to be.”