Rockland, ME

Interviewee Collection Sort descending Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Howie Edwards Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Interview with Howie Edwards, who was born in Rockland, Maine. In this oral history interview, he describes changes in the community of Rockland as well as the canning industry.

Cameron Thompson Rockland, ME University of Maine
Roger Freeman Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Interview with Rockland lobsterman Roger Freeman, born April 22,1949 in Rockland, ME. At the time of the interview, Mr. Freeman was still living in Rockland. The interview contains information about Mr. Freeman's career fishing for lobsters. He describes his entry into the lobster industry in 1973 and the changes that he witnessed in gear, species fluctuations, prices and regulations.

Cameron Thompson Rockland, ME University of Maine
William Kirk Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

William Kirk, born in 1947, is a lifelong resident of Rockland, Maine. He is the first member of his family to work in the fishing industry, having entered the lobstering fishery independently in 1967 to supplement his income from working at a clothing factory in town. Despite the significant increase in the cost of bait and other operating costs over the years, Kirk continues to actively lobster, selling his lobsters locally throughout his career. He has two sons, one of whom works with him in the lobstering business while the other works for a fishing company.

Cameron Thompson Rockland, ME University of Maine
Richard A. Whitman Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Richard A. Whitman is a seasoned fisherman with deep roots in Rockland, Maine, where he has spent his entire life of 48 years. Born into a family with Italian and Sicilian heritage, Whitman's connection to the sea and fishing is a product of both his lineage and his environment. From a young age, he was drawn to the waters that have long provided sustenance and livelihood to the people of Rockland. Over the years, Whitman has gained extensive experience in various sectors of the fishing industry, mastering techniques for catching herring, salmon, scallop, lobster, and shrimp.

Cameron Thompson Rockland, ME University of Maine
Allison Wilson Assessing Vulnerability and Resilience in Maine Fishing Communities

Allison Wilson Jr. was born in 1931, in Rockland. He has lived in Port Clyde, Maine, for almost eighty-one years, with twenty-four of those years spent in his current residence at 98 Horse Point Road. Wilson comes from a family with roots in Nova Scotia, with his ancestors having migrated to Port Clyde, where they built a log cabin before returning to Nova Scotia, and then coming back the following year. He estimates that he is the sixth or seventh generation of his family in the area.

Cameron Thompson Rockland, ME University of Maine
Shey Conover Voices from the Working Waterfront Oral History Project

Biographical Note:
Shey Conover is the Chief Operating Officer at the Island Institute in Rockland, Maine. She was born on March 5, 1980.

Julia Beaty Rockland, ME National Working Waterfront Network, National Sea Grant Law Center, NOAA Office of Coastal Management, Maine Sea Grant College Program, NOAA Preserve America Initiative
Bobby Ingalls Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Bobby Ingalls, a lobsterman from Bucks Harbor, ME, speaks about the lobster and scallop fishing in his area and tells humorous stories about some of the trouble his fishermen friends and family have been in. Focusing on the changes in his community, Ingalls describes the impacts of come-from-aways, fishing in the 70s, and the competitive side of offshore fishing.

Natalie Springuel, Teagan White Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Leif Albertson Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Leif Albertson is an IT project manager residing in Phippsburg, Maine. His family has a deep-rooted history in commercial fishing in Maine, which influenced his decision to relocate his family to Maine. Albertson is an avid recreational fisherman and owns a fishing boat, which was a gift from his father. He is involved in recreational lobster fishing and holds a commercial license for tuna fishing. Albertson's family members, including cousins, are involved in lobster and shrimp fishing.

Matt Frassica, Kaitlyn Clark Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Brenda Thomas Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Brenda Thomas, a former schooner boat captain from Rockland, ME, sails traditionally on national historic landmark schooners such as the S/V Isaac Evans. Thomas, as someone who has spent two decades on the water, speaks about her spectrum of positive and negative experiences of fishermen interacting with the boating communities.

Natalie Springuel Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute
Marcia Beal Brazer Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum 2018

Marcia Beal Brazer, from Ogunquit, ME, shares a personal story about her husband Norman Brazer, a lobsterman, who got tangled in a lobster buoy rope and fell overboard while fishing near Boon Island, ME. N. Brazer was lucky that he was carrying a knife and was able to untangle himself; however, when he surfaced, he could not find his boat. Luckily, another lobsterman, Mark Sewell, noticed N. Brazer’s body floating and took him to the hospital. After three rounds of CPR, N. Brazer finally responded. He is still a lobsterman. M.

Matt Frassica, Corina Gribble Rockland, ME Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, The Island Institute