Adrian Coulby was born in 1933, and spent most of his life in Newburg. His father, Edgar Coulby, owned and operated the Potomac Fishing Oyster Company, an oyster house at Rock Point. As a young boy, Adrian spent a significant amount of time at the oyster house, where he developed a fondness for the bustling environment filled with crab pickers, oyster shuckers, and fishermen. Although his memories of this time are somewhat vague, he recalls helping with tasks such as cleaning the oyster house and interacting with the workers.

Professor Alan Collins is a distinguished academic in the field of Agricultural and Resource Economics at West Virginia University. Collins spent his formative years in the Western United States, primarily in Phoenix, Arizona, where his father worked for the Bureau of Land Management. His early exposure to natural resource management led him to pursue a degree in Natural Resource Economics from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Furthering his academic journey, he obtained his master's and doctoral degrees from Utah State University and Oregon State University, respectively.

William Bryant, also known as Bill, was born on June 20, 1937, in a small crossroads town called Amlin, Ohio, near Plain City in the northwest part of greater Columbus. His father held various jobs, including milkman, railroader, and a captain in the Columbus police department's corrections division. His mother worked at Woolworths and raised six children, five boys and one girl, with William being the second boy. Despite dropping out of high school in his senior year, Bryant joined the Navy at seventeen and later earned a GED.

Captain Arthur C. “Bill” Johnson (1927-2016) piloted international ships through the Chesapeake waters. He easily named the lighthouses he passed regularly along the Potomac River. Johnson spoke with great respect for the pilots of the passenger steamers with whom he exchanged light and whistle signals passing in narrow stretches of water. He outlined the terminology of steamships and spoke with high regard for the statuesque passenger boats around which local economies were based.

Charles J. "Chuck" Harney (1922-2004). At the time of the interview he had been retired to Lancaster County fifteen years. He said he had videotaped over 150 interviews with local people on boats, in homes and shops, in fields and marshes throughout the region.

Charles R. Winstead, Age 88 (1915-2008). Captain Winstead spent most of his working life aboard a menhaden (type of fish) fishing boat. A powerful and articulate seaman, Winstead elucidates the inner workings of a steam-powered fishing vessel, including singing an example of the chanteys he led as a crew member to draw in the nets. Winstead, the first African-American in the region to acquire a pilot and captain’s license, rode passenger steamboats on several occasions during his younger days.

Clarence Benjamin "Buck" Rowe (1921-2005). Interviewed by Carrie & Michael Kline with Dianne Jordan for the Steamboat Era Museum; 11/3/03. At the time of the interview Mr. Rowe was keeping a store at Bena in the Guinea community of lower Gloucester County. The store was established by his father in 1920, at the height of the steamboat era. His vivid memories brought to life details of nearby wharves where he went twice weekly as a young boy with a wagon and team to pick up deliveries for the store. 

Donald W. Stobbs was born on June 21, 1921, in St. Clairsville, Ohio, to Matthew and Lena (Sunderman) Stobbs. He served as a US Navy Pilot during World War II, stationed in the Aleutian Islands. After the war, Donald became a farmer until his retirement. He was a charter life member of the Colerain VFW Post 8848 and a member of Colerain Presbyterian Church, the Colerain Farm Bureau, and the Colerain Senior Citizens Center. Donald was also a charter member and founder of the Colerain Volunteer Fire Company.

Donald Mattingly, also known as "Duck," was born on May 4, 1944. He was raised in the seventh district, in a place he refers to as his home place. His father, Joseph Olin Mattingly, was one of the biggest seafood dealers in St. Mary’s County. Donald grew up in a community where oyster shucking was a common occupation, with many people, mostly people of color, working in the shuck houses. He recalls his father going as far as Piney Point to pick up shuckers to bring down to shuck oysters.

Edwin Veola Hutt (1918-2009)

By the age of fourteen, Hutt was running the family cannery, helping out on the farm and boxing eggs in the post office located in his father’s general store. Hutt donated to the Museum several cannery tokens that were used in place of cash to pay his workers through the World War Two era.