Monica Lemieux
Florida's Forgotten Coast
Florida's Forgotten Coast oral history collection includes twenty-one interviews documenting the seafood industry in Franklin County, FL, with an emphasis on Apalachicola, plus two interviews relating to tupelo honey. Original Collection Housed at Archives & Special Collections at the University of Mississippi and online at www.southernfoodways.com.
Shelley Chance
Monica Lemieux comes from a family of fishermen. Her grandfather, her father, and her brothers all earned their living on the bay. Her father, Bill Martina, is believed to have commissioned one of the first shrimp boats in the area. He named it the Irish Town after a neighborhood in Apalachicola, and the boat still hauls shrimp today. Monica's brother, Kevin, is its captain. Monica did not work in the seafood industry until she was an adult. She went to college and got a job outside of the industry. But when the company she worked for closed, she, too, looked to the bay for work. She and her husband, Leslie Lemieux, oystered together for a few years. In the 1980s Monica was an officer with the Franklin County Seafood Workers Association. She participated in a seafood workers strike, which resulted in self-imposed licensing and a per-bag surcharge on oysters. To this day, the resulting funds enable the replanting of the bay's oyster beds each season. And yet, the unpredictability of the industry led the Lemieuxs to find stable jobs on land. Today, Leslie works at the post office, and Monica is vice president of the Apalachicola State Bank.
Scope and Content Note
This interview, conducted on January 11, 2006, features Monica Lemieux, a former officer of the Franklin County Seafood Workers' Association in Apalachicola, FL. Monica provides valuable insights into the seafood industry in Apalachicola, drawing from her personal experiences and family connections to the industry. The interview touches on a range of topics, including the decline in oyster houses, changes in oyster shucking practices, the role of the Seafood Workers Association in oyster bed replenishment, the challenges faced by the industry, and the importance of preserving working waterfront areas. Monica also discusses the physical toll of oyster shucking, the introduction of mechanical shuckers, and the impact of Atlanta's water usage on the Apalachicola Bay. This interview provides a comprehensive overview of the history, challenges, and evolving nature of the seafood industry in Franklin County, Florida.
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