Mark and Sheila Beardsley
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.
Mark and Sheila Beardsley were interviewed by Anjuli Grantham in Larsen Bay, Alaska, on June 13, 2015 as part of the Kodiak Historical Society’s West Side Stories project. Mark and Sheila were born in Hood River, Oregon. Mark’s uncle owned a cannery in Kodiak, he has been visiting the area since 1974 and started fishing in 1980 in Uyak Bay when he was around 11. Sheila worked in the cannery as a teenager and college student, and has been fishing with Mark since they bought a permit together 21 years ago. They describe learning how to setnet from locals and growing up in the area during the summers. They also recount how fishing has changed during the 80s, including changes to equipment and gear as well as to practices that improved the quality of fish.
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