Kirsten Bendiksen

Interviewee Collection Sort descending Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Armando Estudante The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Armando Estudante is a male fisherman and entrepreneur of Portuguese descent. Born in Portugal, he immigrated to the United States in 1978 at the age of 50s, initially visiting his parents in Philadelphia. However, during a trip to New Bedford to explore the whaling museum, he discovered the city's vibrant fishing community and decided to settle there permanently. Armando had prior experience in the fishing industry in Portugal, having worked on merchant vessels and factory trawlers. In Portugal, he was in charge of a fleet of boats for a fishing company.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Bob Mitchell The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Bob Mitchell has deep connections to the fishing industry. He was born and raised in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and comes from a family of Fairhaven natives. After completing his service in the Navy, his father, who was also a fisherman, started a business called R.A. Mitchell Company in 1954, specializing in marine engines and engine repairs for the fishing industry. Bob Mitchell joined the family business in 1961 after completing high school. He further pursued his education in England, attending the Lister Engine Factory School for a year and a half.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Edward “Eddie” Fortes The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Edward "Eddie" Fortes, a former fish cutter, worked on the New Bedford waterfront for 35 years. Eddie's father was a sword fisherman and his family owned three fishing boats. His taught Carlos Rafael how to cut fish and was once the fastest fish cutter in the city.  Eddie has two daughters, one is a school teacher in the New Bedford High School system and is also a gymnastics teacher for the city of New Bedford, while the other is a veterinarian in New Jersey who used to be a New England Patriots cheerleader.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Karen and Jennifer Mitchell The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Jennifer Mitchell, also known as Jennifer Demalo, is part of the Mitchell family business. She grew up in New Bedford and attended Bishop Stang High School before graduating from Emmanuel College. Initially working as a business manager at a preschool in Boston, Jennifer joined the family business after her father asked her to work with him. She has been involved in bookkeeping and similar administrative tasks. Jennifer has been with the business for around eight years and is married with two children.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Roland Gailitis The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Roland Gailitis was born in Raga, Latvia, in 1936. At the age of three, the Russians occupied Latvia, and Roland and his family lived under their rule for a year. Then, during World War II, the Germans took over Latvia until November 1944. In order to escape the turbulent situation in Latvia, Roland's family embarked on a perilous journey to Sweden in an 18-foot whaling boat with 18 people, including children. They lived in Sweden for 3.5 years until the Russians demanded the return of Latvians to their own country.

Janice Gadaire Fleuriel New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Kaare Ness The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Kaare Ness, a Norwegian immigrant, was born in Norway and moved to the United States in 1955. He initially settled in New Bedford/Fairhaven area and lived there for thirteen years. In 1968, Ness relocated to Alaska and then moved to Seattle in 1969. He owned a seafood processing and distributing company in Seattle, focusing on scallops and later transitioning to the king crab fishery. Ness had a family history in fishing, with his father and uncle having connections to the industry. He built boats for king crab fishing and continued in that line of work until his retirement.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Gunnar and Johan Gundersen The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Gunnar Gundersen and Johan Gundersen are a father and son duo who were interviewed on September 23rd, 2005. Gunnar Gundersen, the father, is the owner of Scandia Propellers and Supplies, a business located in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Gunnar and his wife immigrated to New Bedford, Massachusetts from Norway in 1951. Gunnar had worked in the shipyard, Noratlantic Diesel, for ten years before purchasing Thompson Propellers and changing its name to Scandia Propeller Service and Suppliers in 1961.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Howard Nickerson The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Howard Nickerson, a former fisherman and union organizer, was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on September 14, 1912. Nickerson grew up in Wareham and graduated from a vocational school. Despite his father's work in the electric light company, Nickerson pursued a career in the fishery industry. During the Great Depression, when jobs were scarce, he found work as an usher at the State Theatre in New Bedford. Eventually, he transitioned to working in the engine room of fishing vessels, primarily engaged in sea scalloping.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Ray Houtman The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Ray Houtman, born on June 6, 1955, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is a longshoreman with a rich family history in the industry. His grandparents, originally from Cape Verde, immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. On his father's side, Houtman's great-grandfather hailed from the West Indies. Growing up in a predominantly Cape Verdean community, Houtman's family has been involved in longshoremen work for several generations. Houtman's father was a longshoreman for over 40 years, and Houtman himself has been working as a longshoreman for about 32 years.

Janice Gadaire Fleuriel New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival
Marty Olsen The Working Waterfront Festival Community Documentation Project

Marty Olsen is a retired fisherman. He was born in New Jersey and later moved to Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Marty joined the Army and started fishing in 1961, primarily out of New Bedford and briefly in Boston. Olsen's children did not follow in his footsteps, with his son becoming an electrician and his daughters marrying shore people.

Millie Rahn New Bedford, MA Working Waterfront Festival