Peter Colson
The Last Sardine Cannery - Prospect Harbor, Maine
Through the middle of the 20th century there were as many as 75 canneries up and down the coast of Maine, providing employment and an abundant food source for Maine and the nation. That included feeding American troops through World War I and World War II. At the sound of the factory whistle, cannery workers came and packed fish, staying on the job until an entire boatload of fish was processed. By the 1970's the canneries we declining, and the last sardine cannery in the U.S., at Prospect Harbor, ME closed in April of 2010. Between 2011 and 2013, Keith Ludden interviewed over a dozen cannery workers who worked in the industry. These interviews can also be found on Oral History & Folklife Research's website - oralhistoryandfolklife.org.
Keith Ludden
Willard Colson and his son Peter both worked for the Stinson Sardine cannery in Prospect Harbor, Maine.
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