Neal Cooksey

Neal Cooksey Image
Location of Interview
Collection Name

The Saltwater South: Charleston

Description

Here are the stories of men and women who make their living working on the waters of the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Interviewer
Date of Interview
09-12-2014
Transcribers

Shelley Chance

Transcript
Biographical Sketch

Neal Cooksey grew up on James Island in Charleston, South Carolina. As a teenager, he started scalloping in Charleston Harbor and Savannah, Georgia. When he saw his first paycheck, he decided to stick with it. In the mid-1970s, he took off for shrimping the Texas Gulf Coast and Key West, Florida. Along with his crew of Bubba Jameson and Calvin Chavis, Neal shrimps on the Haley Marie & Sons, named after his three children. The boat always returns to the docks of Crosby’s Fish & Shrimp co-owned by his wife, Joanie. Crosby’s sells all the varieties of shrimp Neal and his crew catch: brown, white, pink, and tiger.


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