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North Shore Commercial Fishing oral history interviews

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: S2207

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

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.

Related Materials:

NEMHC Archival Collections S2318 Cook County Historical Society oral History recordings

NEMHC Archival Collections S2457 Isle Royale Commercial Fishing oral history project

NEMHC Archival Collections S4574 Robert E. and Edgar Johns oral history transcripts

NEMHC Archival Collections S4573 Knife River Commercial Fishing slides

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.

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

Contact:
Kathryn A. Martin Library
University of Minnesota Duluth
416 Library Drive
Duluth MN 55812-3001
(218) 726-8526