On September 23, 2005, Millie Rahn interviewed Bob Mitchell as part of the Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project. Bob was born and raised in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, into a family of Fairhaven natives. He shares pieces of his family’s history, his father’s founding of R.A. Mitchell Company in 1954, and his pursuit of further education in England at the Lister Engine Factory School. Returning to the United States in 1962, Bob resumed his role in the family business. Over the years, R.A.  Mitchell Company became one of the main suppliers of auxiliary engines to the fishing fleet in New Bedford. As the company expanded, Bob and his team engaged in marketing efforts, attending trade shows across the country and collaborating with shipyards and naval architects involved in boat design.  They supplied engines not only to the local fishing industry but also to international markets, including Africa, South America, and the Caribbean.  Bob briefly mentions Hurricane Katrina, which happened three weeks before this recording, and Hurricane Rita, which was ongoing at the time of recording. He notes some of the demographic differences he’s noticed since the 60s, when they are joined by Kaare Ness, who immigrated to New Bedford from Norway in the 1960s. Bob ends with an expression of optimism about the resilience of fishermen and his hopes for compromise between the government regulations and the fishing industry.