I am blessed to live in a town where fishing has been one of the mainstays of the local ecomony. I feel very lucky to call the fishermen my friends. Fishermen have increasingly taken a backseat to the tourists and multi-million dollar homes in Chatham. However, the Chatham Fish Pier is the one place all those tourists love to visit in the summer.
The fishermen and their families have taken some hard hits from the government in the past 12 or so years. The restrictions have been so confining that many of the men have found other jobs, have been forced to sell their boats and their homes. Many of the men started fishing with their Dads when they were little. Many of the fishermen now, do not want their children following in their footsteps.
My favorite thing about the fishing community is how loyal they are to each other. No matter how much they jockey their positions out on the sea to get the best and biggest catch, they are one family in a time of need. I have seen men gather at the Pier when a fellow fisherman’s boat sank. I have seen them come together to prepare for a hurricane or large storm. The most touching times are when a fisherman or child of a fisherman is battling a life threatening disease. The families rally, donations come in and the community comes together as one to help. I have been blessed to see this happen over and over again.
My daughter(14) went fishing one day this summer with her dad. He bought her pink fishing boots and new Grundens. He picked her up at 4:30 in the morning and by the time I saw her at 11 AM, she was laughing, joking with the crew and rinsing out fishing totes. A highlight of her day was bantering on the radio with the men who had watched her grow up. These men (and women) are the salt of the earth and I am so proud to be considered one of the family.
8 comments:
Love it! Always wonderful to live in a small town and see how everyone supports each other. You are right, K had a huge smile on her face after her day of fishing and was answering tourists questions like a pro. Yea for our fishermen! Nana
We love visiting Chatham and admire the the men and women of the fishing community for all that they are and do. My family feels lucky to have been on the receiving end of there kindness as well. Yours too, Sue!
I'll get there one of these days!!!! :)
The first time we went to Chatham was the summer after my parents brought us to disneyworld. I have vivid, vivid memmories of being in Chatham. From going to a fishing pier (sp that doesn't look right) and watching the fisherman bring in their catch from the day or days, to going to the Chatham lighthouse when it was low tide and finding so many sand dollars!, to eating ice cream in our car and watching the Chatham A's.
DisneyWorld? I remember .......... and that's not to say I am not thankful for both trips I mean I remember rides and the hotel room etc, but Chatham has more memories for some reason. There was this house and I can't remember where in Chatham is was but it was near main street" And at this house an older gentelman would always be in the window working on wooden ships. My parents and I just talked about that the other day.
booksandcandy:
Totally love hearing your memories of Chatham. I know exactly what house you are talking about. That man has since died and the house has been bought and renovated by the CC Hook Fishermen Association and is their new office. :)
Thanks for the update ! Was/Is there a bookstore called Castles and Kings or no Cabbages and Kings something like that. I bought or my mom and dad bought me plenty of books there one summer when our cottage didn't have a t.v.
Cabbages and Kings was the hot bookstore for a long time in Chatham. They retired about 5 years ago. There is a fantastic newer book store called Where the Sidewalk Ends. I think you better plan a trip back to Chatham :)
I was telling my husband I really miss Chatham. We will be in Falmouth for Thanksgiving weekend. Fri-maybe Mon but at least Sunday, it looks like only about an hour or so drive? If not maybe I will have to wait until the summer and camp near Chatham.
I just talked to my mom and she said tell her she liked the Episcopal church thrift store and the place near the rotary where you coulld buy cranberry class
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