Donald Spooner
The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project
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.
Donald Spooner is a former Navy man who has worked in a variety of jobs before finding his place in the fishing industry, where he specialized in making "doors" for trawlers. Born and raised in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Spooner has lived in the same house all his life. His parents were originally from Boston, but his mother was from New Bedford. After his parents divorced when he was just six months old, he was raised by his great aunt in Hope Beach, a section of Fairhaven. Spooner's connection with the fishing industry began in his youth. As a Boy Scout, he used to visit Guilmette's machine shop on Main Street in Fairhaven, where he learned to use different tools and eventually started working. After high school, he joined the Navy in 1950 and served for four years. During his time in the Navy, he was stationed on a destroyer in Key West, where he worked on the development of new acoustic torpedoes. After his service, Spooner returned to Fairhaven and continued his work in the fishing industry. He has fond memories of his childhood in Fairhaven, where some people in his neighborhood were involved in quahogging or lobstering. Despite the changes in the industry and the challenges it has faced, Spooner remains connected to his roots and the community he grew up in.
Scope and Content Note
The interview is with Donald Spooner, a former Navy man who worked in the fishing industry making "doors" for trawlers. He discusses his experience working in a machine shop that produced wooden doors for draggers, as well as his time in the Navy and other jobs in construction. He also mentions the transition from wooden to steel vessels in the fishing industry, his involvement in making radar equipment for fishing boats, and the importance of exploring neighborhoods and speaking with locals during his time in the Navy.
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