Betsy Pye
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.
Azure Dee Westwood
On September 23, 2007, Julie Olson interviewed Betsy Pye as part of the Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project. Betsy shares personal anecdotes from her childhood in New Bedford and her perceptions of the waterfront as an outsider. She describes meeting her husband when she was 19, and chronicles his family’s history, his work as a boat engineer, and her involvement with the local fishing community after their marriage. Deb Schrader, and her involvement in advocating for the fishing industry, served as a role model for Betsy. In the interview, Betsy says of Deb, “But she has no fear, it seems to me, of standing up and saying what she thinks about just about anything. I admire that in anyone, but I especially admire that in a woman because the odds are sort of stacked against you that you’re going to be heard.” Becoming involved with advocacy work, Betsy participated in meetings and rallies in support of groundfishing. She details the challenges and joys of being a fisherman’s wife, and her involvement in the community, like her work with the New Bedford Oceanarium and Shore Support. Reflecting on the future of New Bedford, Betsy remarks that, “New Bedford is a city that has always gone to sea, one way or another,” highlighting the potential for research and advancement beyond today’s industries.
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