Chad Cunningham
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.
On September 29, 2012, Madeleine Hall-Arber interviewed Chad Cunningham as part of the Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project. Chad discusses his move to New Bedford from Virginia. From the first time Chad saw the fishing boats of New Bedford, he knew he wanted to be on them. Through hard work, determination, and a few connections, Chad got his start in the fishing industry, initially as a cook, before becoming an engineer. He has been fishing ever since. He chronicles the different boats he’s worked on, changes in the industry, the impact of regulations, and his family. Though he acknowledges the lifestyle has its challenges, he says it’s in his nature to be on a boat and on the water, and he couldn’t imagine working anywhere else.
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