Chatham 300

Chatham is turning 300 this year and there are 300 days of celebrating to be had.

Last night I had the chance to feel like a superstar because I have a story and 3 photos in this book....

And at the launch for the book last night, people wanted MY autograph. Yes, mine. It was crazy.

The book is a fantastic culmination of stories from long ago, poems, photographs and an indepth schedule of all the events that will take place this year.

This is my story:

When your Dad is a fisherman, it is natural to be very comfortable on boats. The Chatham Fish Pier becomes your playground when you are young.  The fishermen all know who you are, you scamper around nets and totes and often hop on your Dad's boat while he is unloading. You have sat in the Captain's chair since you were old enough to walk and have wondered what it would be like to go out on a fishing trip. Sometimes your Dad is out overnight, sometimes he leaves after breakfast and sometimes it only takes him 4 hours to get his limit. You adjust to enjoying the time when you see your Dad and to not dwell on the times that he is out at sea. As you get older, you wonder what it would be like to be on the water fishing next to your Dad.

K was ready to go fishing with her Dad this year for a serious paid work experience. He took her to Cape Fish the day before and outfitted her with Grundens, water proof gloves and pink fishing boots. He picked her up at 5 am; 5 hours before she usually got up on sleepy summer mornings. She put on her jeans and a t-shirt and was out the door with breakfast in her hand. I found her 4 hours later at the Fish Pier with a hose, cleaning out totes and joking with the guys. Her fiery red hair was half out of her ponytail, but she could not have looked more beautiful or comfortable. 

A tourist came up to her and asked about what type of fish they had caught that day and she told him, “monk fish and skates” with a big smile on her face. She then proceeded to answer a lot more questions while sounding like she had been on the sea her whole life. Even if she had not exactly been on the sea her whole life, she certainly was well versed in fishing talk from years of listening to her Dad and his friends. For her, that first day of fishing was not about how much she got paid, but for saying that she was a fisherman just like her Dad. 

Come join in the celebration of this fabulous town!

Chatham 300

Chatham is celebrating it's 300th birthday next year. This has resulted in much fan fare and celebrations and historical research around town. I was asked to write a small blurb on something having to do with the fishing community for a book that will be published for the event. Here it is.....

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. 

Sundays in My City

K went on her first official fishing trip with her dad today. She got up at 4:30 am and was laying on the couch by 11 am after catching skate fish and monk fish. She saw the sunrise and a bunch of whales. These are pictures of the boat coming past a beach and then at the Fish Pier. If you click on the pictures and make them bigger, you can see her waving. Don't you love the pink boots?!

Happy Sunday!