Robert Hicks is a fifty-two year old Plant Manager of Crystal Ice in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  He has been working at Crystal Ice since 1989, starting as a laborer and working his way up to Plant Manager. In this interview he describes his family history in the business, his early days at Crystal Ice, changes in the plant over the years, types of ice the plant makes, icing the fishing boats, other projects of Crystal Ice, and his favorite and least favorite parts of the job.

In this interview Richard Gallagher, an electrical engineer at Chris Electronics in New Bedford, MA, shares his work history, discusses various electrical components of boats, details his daily work, and explains the relationships with customers, fishermen, and between co-workers at Chris Electronics.

Paul Lemieux is 60 years old, a third-generation French-Canadian who grew up in the New Bedford area and attended the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational High School [Voc] where he learned welding. He started his own business, Blue Fleet Welding Services, in 1984 and has been working on the New Bedford waterfront in this capacity for 33 years.

In this interview, Paul Anthony gives a rich description of the fuel delivery industry on the New Bedford waterfront. He discusses the process of fueling a fishing boat, how payment works, fluctuations in fuel pricing, and the relationships between dockworkers.

This oral history was produced in 2017 as part of the Workers on the Waterfront Oral History Project conducted by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center with funding from an Archie Green Fellowship provided by the Library of Congress.

Michael Smith is the 58-year-old owner of North Eastern Trawl in New Bedford, MA.  His company specializes in wire rope splicing.  In this interview, he describes his job, how he became a wire rope splicer, and experiences he’s had over the past thirty-eight years as a wire rope splicer.  He speaks about his company notably as a family business and how he enjoys his work. 

Luckas Smith, a 24-year-old male, has grown up around the fishing industry. He grew up in New Bedford, went to New Bedford Vocational School and recently graduated from Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He has worked as a wire splicer for his family’s business, Northeast Trawl, since he was about fifteen years old.  He explains the technique of splicing, the various tools, equipment, and the winch truck used for splicing.  Lastly, he discusses his view of the waterfront community and his pride in his role in the seafood industry.

In this interview, Karen Joseph describes her experiences growing up in her family’s business, the RA Mitchell Company, on the New Bedford waterfront. She discusses her experience being a female in a leadership role in a male-dominated industry, as well as the positives and negatives of working in a family business. Finally, she discusses her hopes for the future of the fishing industry.

John Pelicas describes in detail his work and life as a marine mechanic at R.A. Mitchell, where he has worked for 31 years. An immigrant from Portugal, he comes from a fishing family and has always been a part of the community on the waterfront. He discusses dangers if the job, fishing regulations, various engine fabrications, his deep commitment to the job, difficulties with computerized engines and what he sees as a bright future for the fishing industry.

John Miranda describes family life in Portugal, his immigration to America in 1980 and his training in engineering in both Portugal and the U.S. He discusses working for R.A. Mitchell for three decades, engineering changes in the fishing industry over the last 3 decades and his hopes for the future of fishing in general.

This oral history was produced in 2017 as part of the Workers on the Waterfront Oral History Project conducted by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center with funding from an Archie Green Fellowship provided by the Library of Congress.

Jeff Cook is one of the owners of New Bedford Welding Supply in New Bedford, MA. He studied welding in high school and college and has worked for his family run business from a young age, starting with painting the gas cylinders and working his way up to customer sales.  He discusses the role of New Bedford Welding Supply in the fishing industry, the changes in welding equipment over the years, the role of his family members in the family business, and the positive and negative aspects of his job.