In his memoir, Fifteen Seasons, author Terry Evers dedicates the book to his father, “who took an enormous leap of faith that swept us away from the ordinary and opened the floodgates to the unimaginable.”
And so the adventure begins, when Bruce Evers, a textbook salesman in Salem, Oregon, buys a commercial dory boat and takes his 13-year-old son, Terry, out on the Pacific Ocean for a summer salmon fishing season. It’s the first of 15 seasons, when they learn that it takes more than a boat and fishing gear to become successful fishermen.
Terry Evers will recall those memories when he speaks at the Cannon Beach Library at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. The visit is sponsored by the library’s NW Authors Series Committee.
This is a free, hybrid event; attend in person at the library or watch online via the library’s website, cannonbeachlibrary.org.
When his dad invited Terry to fish with him the summer prior to Terry’s high school freshman year in 1977, the boy jumped at the chance.
“Little did I know that it would open the door to otherworldly adventures and forge a unique relationship with my father that would run deeper than I ever imagined,” Evers writes.
That initial trip launched them into experiences involving harrowing Pacific Coast storms, battles with giant king salmon and challenging fish runs that kept them either constantly working when the catch was great or bored when the catch dwindled.
Throughout their 15 dory seasons on the central Oregon coast, they met a variety of fishermen and developed a love of the fishing culture from 1977 to 1992.
Fifteen Seasons was featured in several newspapers, publications, and podcasts. Stories about the book appeared National Fisherman Magazine, Pacific Fishing Magazine, the Outdoor GPS television show, Oregon Coast Magazine, and the Partners of Commercial Fishermen podcast.
Evers has spent the past 33 years in education; he is a STEM teacher (science, technology, engineering, math) for elementary students.
With his dory long gone, Evers now explores Oregon and Washington rivers, lakes and bays in his Pygmy kayak.
He and his wife, D’Ann, live in Keizer, Oregon. They have two grown daughters and two granddaughters.
