Richard "Bud" Lather
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.
Richard Lather was interviewed by Anjuli Grantham in Shark Cove, Uganik Bay, Kodiak, Alaska, on June 19 and 20, 2015, as part of the Kodiak Historical Society’s West Side Stories project. Richard was born in Chicago in 1945 and came to Alaska in 1959 with his family when his father got a job teaching in Ketchikan. Richard spent summers working in fishing and, after high school in 1964, joined the Coast Guard, where he worked for twenty years, stationed in Homer, Alaska, and locations on the mainland before returning to Kodiak in 1977. He describes the patrols they did in the Bering Sea, other aspects of his Coast Guard career, and his transition to fishing and setnetting as a living. He recalls living and working with his family, their relationships with the different canneries, and changes to gear and equipment. He also touches on important events in the area, such as the Nickerson murders and the changes that ensued in the community, the Chugach cannery closure, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, and technological improvements.
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