The Life of a Fisherman

Being a twin, Alan (Al) Abramson grew up with just his one brother and his parents in Canada. They lived just 67 miles from the Canada/U.S. border, and even today he retains his Canadian citizenship. Al's brother Jan and father did not share the same strong mechanical skills as Al, so his mother was constantly having him do all the "fixing" needed around the home. Not only repairing appliances, Al also created and built numerous "projects" in his youth, including a hot rod that he raced. After high school, Al attended junior college. Al met his wife Michelle when she was attending college in Bellingham, Wash., but it was not until 10 years later that they "reunited" and married. Michelle had left for Germany to teach for five years and had plans to marry. When that did not work out, Al caught wind of it and wrote her a letter. They decided to meet up in Boston where Michelle was coming back to get her Master's degree at Boston University. One month after reuniting, they married! Right from the beginning Al took Michelle commercial fishing in Alaska during the summers that she had off from teaching. Their first trip together, they caught a total of five fish all summer! Eventually moving to Portland, they continued to commercial fish each summer in Alaska. After a decade of marriage, they welcomed their son Gunner into their family. He also went with them to Alaska each summer to fish. In 1989, they decided to leave Portland and move to a more rural area. Corbett seemed to be the best spot for them as they loved the rural living with the "Home Depot" just miles away! After purchasing their home, they immediately went to work on remodeling it. With Al doing much of the work himself, they lived in their basement for three winters while extensive work was done, including a brand new kitchen. Al says he loves the quiet peacefulness of his home as well as the well lit and spacious living room that holds all of their momentos from their days of fishing in Alaska. Being the Grange Master for three years, both he and Michelle have put in numerous volunteer hours to make the grange a stronger presence in our modern times. Al is currently the secretary for the Helping Hands food program at the grange. He says the folks in Corbett are some of the best- kind, helpful and friendly.