Ms. Panteleakos talks about recreational fishing.

Orrin Fuller, born on January 6, 1911, in Centerville, Massachusetts, was a Cape Cod native with deep roots tracing back to the Mayflower. Growing up on a farm in Martinsville, Orrin experienced a childhood filled with chores, farm animals, and the challenges of New England winters. His family, including his grandfather, who worked in the same house Orrin would later run, played essential roles in the local community. Orrin's early education took place in a small schoolhouse with strict discipline. He remembered his first teacher, Miss Murdock, and the wooden toys of his childhood.

Oscar Harold Bunting was born on August 12, 1931, in Bishop, Maryland. He was raised in Wisconsin and served four years in the Navy, after which he worked at the Straight Wharf Garage before working as a scalloper in 1952. He began scalloping in Nantucket, Massachusetts and continued in this profession for over five decades. Bunting's experience included independent commercial scalloping, primarily around Nantucket, Tuckernuck, and Muskeget. Bunting's father, a former Coast Guard member, also scalloped until his mysterious disappearance at sea.

Mr. Nickerson was born in Eastham in 1896.  His father was a selectman of Eastham and he has 10-11 generations of Cape relatives.  His grandmother was a Mayflower descendent.  He recalls working in cranberry bogs as a teenager and describes the use of cedar swamps to create and develop cranberries.  He describes the development and care of a cranberry bog.  He remembers riding on school barges (horse drawn wagons) to get to elementary school.  There would be straw on the wagon floor to keep your feet warm in the winter.  Mr.

Pablo Sam immigrated to New Bedford, MA from Guatemala in 2004 and works at Bergie’s Seafood Inc. He started as a fish cutter and over the last couple of years has become a machine operator and a mechanic for 50 percent of the machines at his location. Pablo enjoys his work and plans on becoming a more efficient mechanic for the company.

Dr. Pamela Heinselman was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1970 and moved to Maryland before her first birthday.  She came back to Missouri to study at St. Louis University, earning an undergraduate and master of science degree in meteorology there.  She went on to the University of Illinois to pursue a PhD in Atmospheric Sciences, but left after a semester to work for the University of Oklahoma Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies.  Her work there focused on the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler which was being implemented throughout the U.S.

Pantaleón Tono Tono, an experienced welder, originally from Guatemala, as part of the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center (NBFHC) oral history project "Casting a Wider Net.” Pantaleón was born in Aguilix in the village of Chujuyub, municipality of Santa Cruz del Quiché, Quiché department, Guatemala. Pantaleón recounts his difficult life path, from a childhood marked by poverty and limited education.

In 2007, Pat and Barbara Woodbury were shellfish growers in the town of Wellfleet, who are deeply embedded in the shellfishing industry of Cape Cod. As shellfish growers, they have dedicated themselves to the cultivation and harvesting of shellfish, a practice that not only supports their livelihood but also contributes significantly to the local economy and cultural fabric of the region.

Ms. Hubright's father was a fisherman. She tells about life at home and a story from her father's encounter with a Russian submarine during the war.

Patricia Galdamez is from El Salvador and is the team leader of the frozen fish line at a large fish processing plant in New Bedford. She enjoys her job and working with the various fresh and frozen fish products.  

This oral history was produced in 2017 as part of the Workers on the Waterfront Oral History Project conducted by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center with funding from an Archie Green Fellowship provided by the Library of Congress.