Salem Chapter Northwest Steelheaders Newsletter for March 2022
Memorial Service for Dave Hopfer
On Friday, February 25th, a memorial service was held for our longtime member Dave Hopfer at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Salem. Several Salem Chapter members were able to attend and pay their respects to our former Special Projects Coordinator.
After the service, we learned that Dave’s wife, Judy, and her family had generously donated some of Dave’s fishing gear to our club as well as a photo album and large collection of videos recorded and produced by Dave. The video collection contains over 134 DVDs and plans are in the works to catalog them for future use in our fundraising efforts and as historical reference information. During his many years with our Salem Chapter, Dave contributed countless hours of his time and videography skills to record our guest speaker programs and many club events and volunteer activities. It seems very appropriate now that his gift to our club will live on by providing a valuable source of information and visual history for our members. Below is a sampling of club photos from Dave’s old album which date from 1986.
“Learn the River Trip” Attended by Salem Steelheaders
On Saturday, March 5th, four members of our Salem Chapter joined with the North Santiam River Guides Association for their first “Learn the River Trip” of the 2022 Season. The trip included a total of eight drift boats with sixteen participants drifting from Greens Bridge on the North Santiam to the Interstate 5 Rest Area Boat Ramp on the main stem of the Santiam River. Those in attendance from our club were Rod Ratzlaff, Arne Dahl, Bob Johnston, and Mike Ferris. We experienced good weather with pleasant water conditions and sharpened our navigation skills on the new river channel recently formed by the North Santiam between Greens Bridge and the confluence with the South Santiam River. We learned a lot about the new channel and were pleased to see that most of the large obstacles and hazards formerly present on that stretch had been cleared by high-water events which took place earlier this Winter. A good time was had by all, and a well-earned lunch break provided a unique opportunity to socialize and practice our “log sitting” skills.
Negotiating some shallow waters and practicing the art of “log sitting” during the lunch break
Membership Meeting on March 15th
Plans for our next membership meeting on March 15 will include Amanda Boyles and Karen Hans from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as our featured guest speakers. Amanda is an Angler Education Coordinator and Karen is a STEP (Salmon Trout Enhancement Program) Biologist for the ODFW.
Invitation from our Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors regularly welcomes all Salem Chapter members to attend the Board of Directors meetings held on the first Wednesday of every month at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Salem at 6:30 PM. If you’re interested, please mark your calendar and plan to attend. The next meeting will be held on April 6th.
Reminder Notice for 2022 Membership Dues
If you have not yet paid your annual membership dues for 2022, attached is a Membership Form for your convenience. The completed form and your dues payment can be returned to: Linda Chezem – Treasurer, 663 Rockwood St. SE, Salem, OR. 97306
Submitted by
Mike Ferris
Salem Chapter Secretary