MF 168 “Crab-Picking Project/ Blossom Kravitz

Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History: MF 168 Crab-Picking Project/ Blossom Kravitz

Number of accessions: 29
Dates when interviews were conducted: 2012
Time period covered: 20th century
Principal interviewers: Blossom Kravitz
Finding aides: transcripts
Access restrictions: none
Description: Interviews about crab-picking in Maine.

NA3846 Sally Bassett, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, November 26, 2011, in Bassett’s kitchen, Addison, Maine. Associate Professor Lisa Neuman oversaw the research project. Text: 23 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3846_cd2526_01, mfc_na3846_cd2526_02 41 minutes. Photos: P13891 and P13892.

NA3855 Alberta Dunham, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, February 24, 2012, at the Island Nursing Home, Deer Isle, Maine. Dunham, who is 77, was born in Stonington, Maine, is a resident of the Island Nursing Home in Deer Isle, Maine, and is married to Elmer Dunham, talks about picking crabs for 35 years; bought the crabs from Stonington co-op and from local fishermen; her parents taught her to pick; preferred hard shell crabs because they picked out better; picked 13 pounds of crab meat per day; made good money; picked crab all day after her children went to school; special recipes. Text: 4 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3855_audio001 11 minutes.

NA3856 Elmer “Bill” Dunham, Jr., interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, February 24, 2012, at the Island Nursing Home, Deer Island, Maine. Dunham, who is 73 years old, talks about being born in Stonington, Maine, working off and on as a crab picker for 15 or 20 years; marriage to Alberta Dunham (also a resident in the nursing home), how his mother taught him to pick crabs when he was young; how he obtained crabs to pick; how much they cost; what season they were available; cooking techniques; regulations; picking techniques; special tools; license numbers; hard shell crabs vs. shedders; quantity picked per day; state inspections; daughter also picked crabs. Text: 10 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3856_audio001 28 minutes.

NA3857 Addie Mae Gove, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, February 24, 2012, at the Island Nursing Home, Deer Isle, Maine. Gove, who is 75 and lives at the Island Nursing Home on Deer Isle, Maine, talks about being a crab picker for 35-40 years; selling crab meat to Jerry Pool in Brooklin; husband was a lobsterman and caught the crabs; teaching herself how to pick; special techniques and special tools; sea crabs better than sand crabs; “peaky toes”; hard shell are better to pick than soft shell; bought her own crabs and her own tools and sold the crab meat to Pool or Doug Hardy; picked 15-20 pounds a day; activity during an average day picking crab; getting bitten; pranks; her sister-in-law Lorice Hardy was a fast picker; worked baiting pockets for lobstermen; accident; special crab recipes; inspections; worked in sardine plant; overfishing of herring, cod, haddock, flounder, lobster; drying salted cod. Text: 18 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3857_audio001 49 minutes.

NA3858 Mary Heanseler, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, February 24, 2012, at the Island Nursing Home, Deer Isle, Maine. Text: 13 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3858_audio001 22 minutes.

NA3859 Evelyn Ernestine Kent, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, February 24, 2012, at the Island Nursing Home, Deer Isle, Maine. Text: 9 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3859_audio001 22 minutes.

NA3860 Angela Murphy, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, May 02, 2012, at Murphy’s Home, Little Deer Isle, Maine. Also visited July 26, 2012 and took photographs. Text: 17 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3860_audio001, mfc_na3860_audio002 29 minutes. Photos: P13756 – P13784.

NA3868 Albert Carver, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, November 05, 2012, at A. C. Inc., Beals, Maine. Text: 3 pp. partial transcript/summary. Recording: mfc_na3868_audio001 56 minutes.

NA3870 Annette Candage, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, October 01, 2012, Candage’s store, the Sleigh Bell Shop, Blue Hill, Maine. Text: 4 pp. partial transcription. Recording: mfc_na3870_audio001 33 minutes.

NA3871 Carl Wilson, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, September 27, 2012, at the Department of Marine Resources, Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Text: 4 pp. partial transcript/summary. Recording: mfc_na3871_audio001 31 minutes.

NA3872 Carla Marie Gunther and Holly Rae Eaton, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, October 02, 2012, at the Penobscot East Resource Center (PERC), Stonington, Maine. Text: 4 pp. partial transcript/summary. Recording: mfc_na3872_audio001 36 minutes.

NA3873 Cheryl Ann Robinson, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, October 16, 2012, at her Picking-House, Little Deer Isle, Maine. Text: 3 pp. partial transcript/summary. Recording: mfc_na3873_audio001 21 minutes.

NA3874 Eliot Coleman, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, September 13, 2012, at his farm in Harborside, Maine. Text: 9 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3874_audio001 30 minutes.

NA3875 John Morris, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, October 18, 2012, at her Picking-House, Little Deer Isle, Maine. Text: 5 pp. partial transcript/summary. Recording: mfc_na3875_audio001 72 minutes.

NA3876 Joseph Fessenden, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, November 18, 2012, at the Department of Marine Resources, Augusta Branch, Maine. Text: 5 pp. partial transcript. Recording: mfc_na3876_audio001 86 minutes.

NA3877 Tina Gray, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, September 27, 2012, in her Picking House, Little Deer Isle, Maine. Text: 3 pp. partial transcript. Recording: mfc_na3877_audio001 27 minutes.

NA3878 Paul Venno, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, September 30, 2012, at his family’s campground in Cape Rosier, Maine. Text: 3 pp. partial transcript/summary. Recording: mfc_na3878_audio001 46 minutes.

NA3879 Raymond Alley and Terilyn Alley, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, October 6, 2012, at their house, Jonesport, Maine. Text: 6 pp. partial transcript/summary. Recording: mfc_na3879_audio001 47 minutes.

NA3880 Sandra L. Oliver, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, September 29, 2012. Text: 3 pp. partial transcript. Recording: mfc_na3880_audio001 34 minutes.

NA3881 Sandra White, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, October 17, 2012, at her house, Brooklin, Maine. Text: 3 pp. partial transcript. Recording: mfc_na3881_audio001 29 minutes.

NA3882 Tiffany Eaton, interviewed by October 11, 2012, at her mother Tina Gray’s picking house, Little Deer Isle, Maine. Text: 3 pp. partial transcript. Recording: mfc_na3882_audio001, mfc_na3882_audio002 15 minutes.

NA3883 Despe Lebel, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, May 17, 2012, at Veronica’s Picking Facility, Little Deer Isle, Maine. Text: 16 pp. transcription and 2 pp. field notes. Recording: mfc_na3883_audio001 32 minutes. Photos: P13780 – P13789.

NA3884 Elliot Batson, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, July 19, 2012, on the grounds of Sunrise Composting, Addison, Maine. Text: 16 pp. transcript, 26 pp. copies of photos, 1 pp. field notes. Recording: mfc_na3884_audio001 37 minutes. Photo: P13835 – P13884.

NA3885 Gerald Poole, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, August 23, 2012, at his house, in Brooklin, Maine. Text: 11 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3885_audio001 21 minutes.

NA3886 Joshua Bassett, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, May 28, 2012, at Joshua’s House, Jonesport, Maine. Text: 9 pp. transcript, 1 pp. field notes. Recording: mfc_na3886_audio001 17 minutes.

NA3887 Patricia “Pat” Emerton and Lyndon Emerton, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, May 23, 2012, at their Picking House, the Happy Crab, Blue Hill, Maine. text: 4 pp. partial transcript, 1 pp. field notes. Recording: mfc_na3887_audio001, mfc_na3887_audio002 68 minutes.

NA3888 Rita Mary Tierny, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, 2012, at Rits’s House, Brooklin, Maine. Text: 3 pp. partial transcript. Recording: mfc_na3888_audio001 51 minutes.

NA3889 Terence Odell, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, May 30, 2012, at Blossom’s House, Brooklin, Maine.Text: 9 pp. transcript, 1 pp. field notes. Recording: mfc_na3889_audio001 20 minutes.

NA3890 Veronica Dodge, interviewed by Blossom Kravitz, May 15, 2012, Veronica’s Picking Facility, Little Deer Isle, Maine. Text: 25 pp. transcript, 19 pp. photos with descriptions, 2 pp. field notes. Recording: mfc_na3890_audio001, mfc_na3890_audio002 54 minutes. Photos: P13790 – P13834.