Herbert Graham, Bertha Veeder Hill, & Peggy Clark Kelley
Oral History Collection - Fishing and Fisheries
This collections contains recordings of interviews with Woods Hole residents and visiting scientists, as part of the Woods Hole Historical Museum’s Oral History Collection. For more information, visit: woodsholemuseum.org.
The main topic is the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries in Woods Hole. The first speaker is Peggy Clark Kelley. She speaks of her grandfather Edward Linton who came to Woods Hole with Director Spencer Baird in 1882 when Linton was a student at Yale. She discusses why Woods Hole was chosen for the site of the Fisheries lab, the interaction with local businessmen. Peggy's memories of her childhood include trips on collecting boats (specimens for MBL). Dr. Graham became Director in 1951. He reviews the founding of the three Woods Hole scientific institutions (Marine Biological Laboratory-MBL, the Fisheries and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution-WHOI. The Fisheries and MBL were originally summer labs. The Fisheries became a year-round lab in 1947. The Victorian Fisheries buildings were demolished in 1957-58; a new lab opened in 1960 and a new Aquarium in 1961. The main function of the Fisheries in his time was with the problems of commercial fisheries as well as environmental concerns. Mrs. Hill came from a seafaring family, originating on Cuttyhunk. Her father was a captain for the Fisheries' boat PHALAROPE and her uncle John Veeder was a captain for the MBL collecting boat CAYADETTA. Discussion of the early Fisheries buildings and boat basins, residence hall and social life.
This is not an Interview but a "Conversation", a public talk and discussion with more than one person and audience participation. The other main participants are Bertha Veeder Hill and Peggy Clark Kelley. Dr. Graham was the past director of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries in Woods Hole. Mrs. Hill's father was Captain Robert Veeder who worked for the Fisheries in Woods Hole. Mrs. Kelley's grandfather was Dr. Linton of the Fisheries.
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