Columbia canneries topic of museum talk

Author Irene Martin will present “Canneries and Communities on the Columbia River” at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Clark County Historical Museum, 1511 Main St.

Martin will discuss the history of the salmon canning industry on the Columbia River, issues of immigration and the fishing and canning process, and how they affected the surrounding communities.

Martin will sign copies of her book, “Flight of the Bumble Bee: The Columbia River Packers Association & a Century in the Pursuit of Fish.” It will be for sale that night.

Born in England, raised in Canada and a 40-year resident of the United States, Martin has specialized in Columbia River fisheries history and regional history in her writing career.

She won the Governor’s Heritage Award in 2000 for her work documenting the cultures of the Lower Columbia. The Skamokawa resident also has fished commercially with her husband.

Doors open at 5 p.m. for the monthly “Museum After Hours” event and close at 9 p.m.

Clark County Historical Society members, military veterans and active-duty military families with ID get in free. Regular admission fees apply for others: $4 adults, $3 seniors/students, $2 children, $10 families.