North Shore Commercial Fishing oral history interviews
Scope and Contents
The interviews in this project document the history of commercial fishing on Lake Superior's North Shore. The ten participants, interviewed by Barbara Sommer, were individuals who themselves, or whose families, engaged in commercial fishing.
Topics of the interviews included fishing industry finance, women in the industry, fishing equipment, boat building, weather's effect on Great Lakes fishing, clothing, health care, the Great Depression, children, and the history of individual fishing businesses.
The collection contains audiorecordings of the interviews, transcripts, and a subject guide to the transcripts. There is also a brief biographical statement for each participant.
These interviews have been digitized and are available, with the transcripts, from Minnesota Reflections. North Shore Commercial Fishing Oral History Project interviews
Participants, Home Locations, and Interview Dates:
Aleck Christiansen, Two Harbors, Minnesota, June 22, 1977
Ingeborg Holte, Grand Marais, Minnesota, July 6, 1977
Edwin C. “Steve” Johnson, Duluth, Minnesota, June 22, 1977
Milford Johnson Jr., Two Harbors, Minnesota, July 14, 1977
Conrad Lorntson, Two Harbors, Minnesota, June 29, 1977
Hjalmer Louis Mattson, Duluth, Minnesota, July 11, 1977
Roy Bernard Oberg, Grand Portage, Minnesota, July 30, 1977
Ragnvald Sve, Two Harbors, Minnesota, July 15, 1977
George Torgersen, Knife River, Minnesota, June 27, 1977
Chris Tormondsen, Tofte, Minnesota, July 29, 1977
Dates
- 1977
Creator
- North Shore Commercial Fishing Oral History Project (Organization)
- Christiansen, Aleck, 1891 December 25-1979 April 16 (Person)
- Holte, Ingeborg, 1901 October 14-1990 June 3 (Person)
- Johnson, Edwin C. "Steve", 1899 November 1-1979 February 23 (Person)
- Johnson, Milford, Jr. (Person)
- Lorntson, Conrad, 1896 June 16-1984 August 22 (Person)
- Mattson, Hjalmer Louis, 1911 December 24-1998 December 21 (Person)
- Oberg, Roy Bernard, 1911 September 13-1995 October 3 (Person)
- Sommer, Barbara (Person)
- Sve, Ragnvald and Ragnhild, 1902-1989, 1908-2000 (Person)
- Torgersen, George Thorvald, 1915 May 20-1995 March 25 (Person)
- Tormondsen, Chris, 1888 February 21-1984 July 25 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use in the Kathryn A. Martin Library, Archives and Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
The North Shore Commercial Fishing Oral History Project, undertaken in 1977, intended to capture first-hand knowledge of commercial fishing. Narrators were individuals who themselves, or whose families, engaged in commercial fishing on Lake Superior’s North Shore from Knife River and Two Harbors in Lake county to Schroeder and Tofte in Cook county as well as Isle Royale, Michigan an island off the north shore of Lake Superior. The interviewer/project director was historian Barbara W. Sommer.
Extent
30.00 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Contains interviews with ten participants, documenting the history of commercial fishing on Lake Superior's North Shore. The interviewees are individuals who themselves, or whose families, engaged in commercial fishing in this region. The interviewer is Barbara Sommer.
Physical Location
This collection is located at the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives. For more information about this collection or to make an appointment, contact us at libarchives@d.umn.edu or 218-726-8526.
General
This collection is part of the Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections, which are housed in the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives at the Kathryn A. Martin Library.
- Audio Recordings Subject Source: Local sources
- Audiocassettes Subject Source: Local sources
- Audiotapes Subject Source: Local sources
- Commercial fishing industry Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Cook County (Minn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Cook County (Minn.)--History Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Duluth (Minn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Duluth (Minn.)--History Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Fishing industry Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Grand Marais (Minn.) Subject Source: Lcnaf
- Lake County (Minn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Lake County (Minn.)--History Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Lake Superior Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- North Shore (Lake Superior) Subject Source: Local sources
- Oral history Subject Source: Local sources
- Oral history interviews Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Tofte (Minn.) Subject Source: Local sources
- Transcriptions Subject Source: Local sources
- Two Harbors (Minn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Guide to the North Shore Commercial Fishing oral history interviews
- Author
- Finding Aid Authors: Staff.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Collecting Area Details
Contact The University of Minnesota Duluth Archives and Special Collections Collecting Area
Kathryn A. Martin Library
University of Minnesota Duluth
416 Library Drive
Duluth MN 55812-3001
(218) 726-8526
libarchives@d.umn.edu
