Anglers hope ice machine revives fleet.

Byline: Winston Ross The Register-Guard

FLORENCE - There are only a couple of commercial fishermen left in the City of Rhododendrons, a few stalwart boat owners determined enough to ride out the era with nowhere to buy ice and no full-time buyer.

Stubborn old coots such as Bud Saulsgiver are sticking it out, which means paying $200 in diesel fuel costs to drive seven hours round trip to Newport or Charleston to pick up ice for a fishing trip.

About 35 to 40 anglers have moved on, a dangerous trend for Florence's floundering identity as a fishing town.

Tourists look for fresh catch on the Old Town docks and find nothing most days. Sailboats fill the slips.

"There were people who came to this port from Idaho to buy fish," said Mark Lull, president of the Siuslaw Fisherman's Association. "They don't come anymore."

But this town is $50,000 away from a new chapter in that sad story.

After four years of fundraising and negotiations with port officials, the nonprofit association has overhauled its once-decrepit ice machine, which fell into disrepair after the last fish buyer left Florence in 2003.

Thanks to donations that ranged from $1 to $100,000, the group came up with enough cash - more than $225,000 - to completely refurbish the ice machine, and once the fishermen raise enough to furnish electricity to the contraption, there may again be a viable fleet in Old Town.

"We have commitments from 60 boats," Saulsgiver said, "not to come and stay but to get ice here. We'll have 25 to 30 boats here full time."

In past years, members of the fleet have felt unwelcome by the Port of Siuslaw, said Saulsgiver, a newly elected port board member.

Fishermen have complained, for example, that port authorities would refuse dock space to traveling boats even if there were slips available. While the port's attitudes have changed, it'll take time to reverse the perception "that they're not going to be run off like rabid dogs," he said.

Another change that should make Florence a more attractive port is that the fishermen's association will own the ice machine and use its profits to maintain it.

And the group will work with multiple buyers instead of allowing one to have a monopoly, said Lull.

"The reason we lost the ice house is because buyers don't want to spend the money on infrastructure," Lull said. "Now buyers will come in, load their trucks and leave."

A fishing industry revival will benefit the region, Saulsgiver said.

More jobs on the waterfront means more spending power in town, and the group is hoping to draw a cannery and smokehouse to Old Town once the fleet gets on its feet again.

"This is not just for fishermen," Lull added. "It's for the entire community."

What's still needed is $50,000 to buy equipment and install a new utility pole to provide enough power to the machine, which needs 460 volts to produce the 22 tons of ice it's capable of holding at once.

The association is looking for urban renewal money and other grants to come up with the cash.

ICE MACHINE OPEN HOUSE

Siuslaw Fisherman's Association will showcase machine, raise money to pay for electrical hookups

When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday

Where: Florence Marine Construction, just east of North Fork bridge on south side of Highway 126

More information: Contact Mark Lull at [phone] or Karylyn von Moren at [phone]