Oral History of
Maine Fishermen Planned

An oral history project to record the comments and observations of older generations of Maine fishermen is being produced by a student at Sumner High School in Sullivan, Maine. The goal is to record the remembrances of past generations of fishermen for the benefit of present and future generations, said Jasper Sheehan, the student developing the project.

Sheehan, is currently finishing a naval oral history project with veterans who worked at the Navy Base in Winter Harbor, Maine. In that project he interviewed former employees about their work at the now closed naval base, their role there, and how it all affected the community. The next phase of this project is archiving the information collected.

The Maine fishermen oral history project is being supported by the National Park Service at Acadia National Park and The Schoodic Institute, (a non-profit organization that supports science, educational research and outreach).

Asked what he likes most about working on oral history projects Sheehan said, “I love being in the position of the historian. It’s like being a grandson to the people who are telling their stories. In some cases they may be disconnected from their own families and their families may not get to hear the stories being passed down. It is an honored position for me to be in.”

Sheehan was trained for this project at The Maine Folklife Center. The project is a continuation of the series of “SALT” books which were published in the 1970’s. These books chronicled the traditional ways of life on the Maine coast, including fishing, drying fish, making lobster traps, boat building, preserving food, etc.

Sheehan will be publicizing the project with the hope parties interested in talking with him will contact him (jasper@schoodicinstitute.org). He will prepare a list of questions he will mail to the people who express an interest in the project. The list he said is only a guideline. People who are interviewed will be able to improvise topics as well as the direction of the conversation. Photographs by the fishermen, of the fishermen and video are optional. Meeting places for the interview is flexible.

There will be one interview per interviewee. Typically an interview lasts about one hour. However, “if people are willing to talk longer I am willing. If they want it to be shorter that’s fine too”, said Sheehan. He hopes to do at least 10 interviews. The interviews will be transcribed and archived. Interviewee’s will be asked to sign a release form that will allow the information to be made public.

The information will be online through the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) and possibly in a display or exhibit at SERC. The SERC facility is located in Winter Harbor and is managed by supporting entities the National Park Service at Acadia National Park and the Schoodic Institute.

The interviews will be conducted through the 2013 school year. Sheehan hopes to complete the project by next spring-2014.