Anita Best
The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project
This project documents the history and culture of the commercial fishing industry and other port trades. The project began in 2004 in conjunction with the Working Waterfront Festival, an annual, educational celebration of commercial fishing culture which takes place in New Bedford, MA. Interviewees have included a wide range of individuals connected to the commercial fishing industry and/or other aspects of the port through work or familial ties. While the majority of interviewees are from the port of New Bedford, the project has also documented numerous individuals from other ports around the country. Folklorist and Festival Director Laura Orleans and Community Scholar and Associate Director Kirsten Bendiksen are project leaders. The original recordings reside at the National Council for the Traditional Arts in Maryland with listening copies housed at the Festival's New Bedford office.
Janice Gadaire Fleuriel
On September 21, 2007, Millie Rahn interviewed Anita Best as part of The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project. Anita Best grew up in a family deeply connected to the fishing trade. Her father and brothers were fishermen and she discusses the seasonal aspects of fishing, lumbering during Christmas time, and the family-oriented nature of fishing. Anita's family had strong traditions of storytelling, and she recalls watching her father and uncles repair nets, sing songs, and share stories. Anita describes the shift in gender roles in the fishing industry that happened in the late 70s, marked by Vicky Silk’s suit for unemployment. Even though the 70s was a noticeable shift from the past, Anita discusses the ways in which women were always involved in the fishing industry. She describes her love of music and her work with folk-rock band Figgy Duff, where they performed traditional Newfoundland songs with rock elements. When thinking about the traditional canon, Anita notes that it often portrays romantic and soft versions of women, or doesn’t include them at all. She gravitates toward songs about women working and hopes to see more recognition of their contributions. Anita ends by sharing more details about the roles women currently, and historically, had within Newfoundland’s fishing industry.
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