Orleans, MA

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Interviewee Sort descending Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
David Slack Cape Cod Shellfish Industry Interviews

David Slack is a shellfisher on Cape Cod, a region known for its robust shellfishing industry. His career trajectory took a significant turn when he transitioned from a conventional desk job to the more hands-on and physically demanding practice of shellfishing. This change not only reflects a personal choice but also underscores a broader narrative of individuals seeking livelihoods connected to their community and environment.

Sandy MacFarlane Orleans, MA Coastal Resource Specialists
Frances Johnson Tales of Cape Cod

Mrs. Frances Johnson, born in 1890, was a Cape Cod native with roots in Brewster. Her father, David Eldridge, hailed from Brewster, and her mother was Fanny Foster. Growing up in a large family of nine children, Frances spent her childhood in Boston but cherished summers on the Cape. In the 1920s, she made the permanent move to the Cape.  Her early responsibilities on the family farm included milking and making ice cream.

Betty Richards Orleans, MA The William Brewster Nickerson Cape Cod History Archives
John Bonnell Tales of Cape Cod

Born in 1892, Bonnell describes his experiences living on Cape Cod  including bullraking, digging clams, and tautog fishing; transportation to the Cape by train, early automobiles and motorcycles; early electric lights and kerosene lanterns; dentistry on the Cape in the early 20th century; Billingsgate Island; rum runners, and being the captain of a charter fishing boat.

Betty Richards Orleans, MA The William Brewster Nickerson Cape Cod History Archives
Sarah May Taylor Tales of Cape Cod

On September 12, 1977, Sarah May Taylor was interviewed at her home on Barley Neck Road in East Orleans, Massachusetts, for Tales of Cape Cod. Taylor, born in Eastham, Massachusetts, on March 22, 1890, recounts her life on Cape Cod, focusing on her family's farming traditions, her father's work in the Coast Guard, and her own experiences in domestic and farm labor. Taylor discusses her family's farming practices, including vegetable cultivation and dairy production, highlighting the labor-intensive nature of early 20th-century agricultural life.

Unknown Orleans, MA The William Brewster Nickerson Cape Cod History Archives