Alberta Laktonen was interviewed by Anjuli Grantham on October 29, 2015, in Kodiak, Alaska, as part of the Kodiak Historical Society’s West Side Stories project. Born in 1930 in Karluk, Alaska, Alberta grew up in a large family in Larsen Bay, where her Norwegian father was a set net fisherman, cannery worker, mail carrier, and carpenter. Alberta recounts childhood memories of subsistence gardening, household chores, educational opportunities, community life, and the local cannery’s role in the village.

Interview topics include how participant became involved in fishing, social ties, North Pacific crab fishing methods, changes to North Pacific crab fishery over time, ties to place, and reasons for influx of Newport (Oregon) residents in Alaska fishing.

Interviews with former or current commercial fishermen in/around Newport, Oregon and Kodiak, Alaska exploring their involvement in Alaska fishing during the 1960s through 1980s. Interviews conducted between 7/10 - 9/10. Funding provided by NOAA Preserve America Initiative, part of Preserve America and by NOAA/NMFS.

Dan Earle was interviewed by Anjuli Grantham on August 1, 2015, at Bird Rock, Uyak Bay, Kodiak, Alaska, as part of the Kodiak Historical Society’s West Side Stories project. Dan Earle was born in 1946 in Baltimore, Maryland, and moved to Alaska in 1969. ​He reflects on the allure of living in an unspoiled nature in the wake of the back-to-land movement of the time, and details his early work experiences, including being a winter watchman, and working in the local canneries, New England Fish Company, and Wakefields.

Geneneiva (Deedie) Pearson was interviewed by Anjuli Grantham on June 12, 18, and 26, 2015, in Kodiak, Alaska as part of the Kodiak Historical Society’s West Side Stories project. Deedie Pearson came to Kodiak in 1941 at the age of seven, when her father’s job with the Territory of Alaska brought the family to the area. (Her father was Alfred Owen, who represented Uganik Bay in the 1st Alaska State Legislature, 1959-60, as well as other political offices before and after statehood).

Pam and David Pingree were interviewed by Anjuli Grantham in Quartz Creek Lodge, Alaska, on June 20, 2015, as part of the Kodiak Historical Society’s West Side Stories project. Pam was born in Kodiak in 1959. Her father was a mechanic and had come to Kodiak through his service in the Navy. She describes the appeal of the area as a wild west, and a hard-working, drinking man’s town. David was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and came to Alaska in 1980 as part of the US Coast Guard.

Richard Lather was interviewed by Anjuli Grantham in  Shark Cove, Uganik Bay, Kodiak, Alaska, on  June 19 and 20, 2015, as part of the Kodiak Historical Society’s West Side Stories project. Richard was born in Chicago in 1945 and came to Alaska in 1959 with his family when his father got a job teaching in Ketchikan. Richard spent summers working in fishing and, after high school in 1964, joined the Coast Guard, where he worked for twenty years, stationed in Homer, Alaska, and locations on the mainland before returning to Kodiak in 1977.

Roy Madsen was interviewed by Anjuli Grantham in Kodiak, Alaska, on June 11, 2015 as part of the Kodiak Historical Society’s West Side Stories project. Roy was born in 1923 in Alaska in the village of Kanatak on the Shelikof (now abandoned), where his Danish father ran a general store for the oil industry. He describes how his father established the Mush Bay bear camp on the west side of the island in 1929, as well as the other residents and canneries in operation then.

Virginia Abston was born Virginia Johnson in Karluk, Alaska, to Tom and Annie Johnson. Her father was from Sweden, and her mother was a Norell, also of Swedish descent. Virginia grew up at Park’s Cannery, where her parents worked, and she had to leave for school since there was no school in the area. She spent her childhood in various places for schooling, including Bainbridge Island and Homer. Virginia married and had children, and she later went to college when her son started kindergarten.