Herrold Fish and Oyster

My great grandfather, Roy Herrold, first bought into the Tokeland Oyster Co. here on Willapa Bay in 1920's. Before that, he and his father ran fish traps but when the traps were sanded up due to the installation of the A jetty they decided to get into the oyster business instead. Later, in the 1930's Roy and two partners started the Ilwaco Oyster Co. They started by farming the last of the Eastern Oysters and then began farming Pacific Oyster seed imported from Japan.

My grandfather, Harlan Herrold, worked with his dad in the oysters but during WWII went to work at a shipyard in Oakland, CA. with the intent of making enough money to come home and take over his father's place in the business. While he was in California he got word that his father had sold the business.

After the war ended Harlan came back and started Herrold Fish and Oyster Co. He inherited the one remaining oyster bed his father had kept, a 30 acre piece that we still farm today. He refurbished an old dredge the "Tokeland" which was built in 1905 by a local boat builder and began farming once again. The Tokeland is still in use at the farm and is the oldest working wood boat on the bay and possibly the entire west coast.

Harlan and his wife Sylvia had three sons; Roy, Harlan Jr. and John. The Herrold brothers Roy and John now farm 800 acres in Willapa Bay just as they learned to do from their father. They, along with their children and grandchildren enjoy carrying on the family tradition of raising amazing shellfish. 

In 2013, we began shucking our own product here at our location in Chetlo Harbor. The word Chetlo means oyster in the Chinook Indian jargon and as my family are descendants of the Chinook tribe it seemed like a fitting name for our products.