Jane Petrich
West Side Stories
These oral histories chart the personal stories of individuals with a longtime connection to the west side of Kodiak Island, defined for the scope of this project as the area buffeted by the Shelikof Strait that stretches from Kupreanof Strait south to the village of Karluk. The project endeavored to create historical primary source material for a region that lacks substantive documentation and engage west side individuals in the creation of that material.
Jane Petrich was interviewed by Anjuli Grantham on August 1, 2015, in Farside, Larsen Bay, Alaska, as part of the Kodiak Historical Society’s West Side Stories project. Jane was born in Seattle and grew up around boat building and fishing, spending her college summers working in canneries in Bristol Bay. She moved to Kodiak to work at Larsen Bay Cannery in 1971 and recalls the party atmosphere of the time. After teaching for a number of years, she and her husband bought their first setnet fishing permit in 1978. She describes the challenges of learning to fish without prior experience and of raising young children in the area. She talks about more actively participating in the management process with Fish and Game and getting a grant for ice machines for setnetters in Larsen Bay. She also reflects on how the relationship between cannery and village is less personal than it once was, explains the lifestyle and family orientation of choosing setnetting over seining, and recalls her experiences fishing with her children and extended family.
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