The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

101 - 110 of 125

Page 11 of 13

  • Collection DOI:
    Principal Investigator:
    Laura Orleans, Kirsten Bendiksen
  • The Working Waterfront Festival Community  Documentation Project is an ongoing oral history project documenting the history and culture of the commercial fishing industry and other port trades. The project was begun in 2004 in conjunction with the Working Waterfront Festival, an annual, education 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/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.

Interviewee Sort descending Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Reidar Bendiksen and Jim Dwyer The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Reidar Bendiksen is a Norwegian fisherman who has been in the fishing industry since 1963. After 25 years of fishing, he transitioned into the fishing gear business, where he continues to work up to the present. James M. Dwyer Jr., also known as Jim Dwyer, has been involved in the fishing industry for the last forty-seven years. For the past twenty-two years, he has served as the Secretary, Treasurer, and Business Agent for the Local 1749, ILA, also known as the Lumpers Union.

Unknown New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Renee Rusco The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Renee Rusco is a commercial fisherman and cook originally from Mississippi. Born and raised in the Mississippi delta, Rusco left her home at the age of eighteen to seek adventure and see the world . She spent a significant amount of time in Houston, Texas before moving to the Pacific Northwest, specifically Portland, Oregon, Vancouver, Washington, and eventually settling in Astoria, Oregon where she lives on a fishing boat. Rusco has fished from Alaska down the Pacific Coast and has earned respect in her field by always pulling her weight.

Madeleine Hall-Arber Woods Hole, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Richard and Ray Canastra The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Richard and Raymond Canastra are American brothers who co-founded the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction in New Bedford, Massachusetts. They are known for their involvement in the commercial fishing industry, particularly in the scallop trade. The Canastra brothers were born and raised in New Bedford, a city with a rich history in the fishing industry. In 1994, they established the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction, which quickly became one of the largest seafood auctions on the East Coast of the United States.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Richard MacLeod The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Richard MacLeod is a retired fisherman who was born in Boston and later moved to Nova Scotia. In 1936, at the age of thirteen, he made his first voyage on a fishing trip on a three-masted sailing schooner called the A.W. Chism. In 1939, he moved to Gloucester and fished there for many years before moving to New Bedford in 1952. He fished out of New Bedford on various boats, including the Adventurer and Smylin. He later became the captain of the Mystic Light and eventually retired in 1983. After retirement, he started knitting lobster pot heads.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Richard McKnight The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Richard McKnight is a seasoned fisherman with a twenty-year career in the King Mackerel fishery in South Florida and Louisiana. Born in Lake Worth, Florida, he now resides in Sebastian, Florida. Despite coming from a non-fishing family, McKnight developed a passion for fishing from a young age. He initially worked in construction after high school but always dreamed of a life at sea. He bought his first boat at the age of twenty-one and, despite initial struggles, he eventually found success in the fishing industry.

Markham Starr New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Richard Pasquill The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Richard Pasquill is a successful seafood restaurant owner and manager based in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. Born in Fairhaven, Pasquill comes from a Canadian (Newfoundland) background. His family has a long history in the fishing industry, with his father being a well-known figure in the New Bedford fishing community.

Janice Gadaire Fleuriel New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Robert Britto The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Robert Britto, a male boat owner and former fisherman, had a deep connection to the fishing industry, having spent 21 years at sea in various roles, including deckhand, cook, engineer, mate, captain, and owner. He initially got involved in fishing through his father-in-law, who was a fisherman. Britto started his scalloping career on his father-in-law's boat and went on to work on larger vessels before becoming the captain of the fishing vessel Rianda. Later, he purchased the Poseidon with John Isaacson and eventually built and owned the fishing vessel Hustler.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Roland Gailitis The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Roland Gailitis was born in Raga, Latvia, in 1936. At the age of three, the Russians occupied Latvia, and Roland and his family lived under their rule for a year. Then, during World War II, the Germans took over Latvia until November 1944. In order to escape the turbulent situation in Latvia, Roland's family embarked on a perilous journey to Sweden in an 18-foot whaling boat with 18 people, including children. They lived in Sweden for 3.5 years until the Russians demanded the return of Latvians to their own country.

Janice Gadaire Fleuriel New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Rosemarie Denn The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Rosemarie Denn is a female co-owner of a fishing supply business, Cape Fisherman's Supply, located in Chatham, Massachusetts. She was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has a European American ethnic background. Her connection to the fishing industry began with her grandfather, who hailed from a fishing village in Newfoundland. As a child, she spent her summers in Rhode Island, engaging in beach activities and quahoging. She moved to Chatham to be with her husband, who worked at the Chatham Fish Pier.

Janice Gadaire Fleuriel New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Sarah Broadwell The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Sarah Broadwell is a female fisherwoman from Montauk, Long Island. She is of European American ethnicity. Broadwell was born in Denville, New Jersey, and spent her childhood visiting her grandparents in Sag Harbor, Long Island. She has been working in Montauk for five to six years and has built a close-knit community with fellow fishermen, who she considers as her family. Despite being small in stature, Broadwell is known for her hard work and dedication to her profession. She has a strong sense of respect and boundaries, and is not afraid to assert herself when necessary.

Janice Gadaire Fleuriel New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival