Weathering the tide of the last sardine cannery

http://www.bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=145656&zoneid=500

On the packing floor of the Stinson sardine cannery, where the smell of fish is strong and the constant whir of conveyor belts requires ear plugs, Lela Anderson is home.

Her feet firm on the cement floor, her silver hair tucked neatly beneath a translucent net and her hands gloved and ready, Anderson knows her routine like the local fishermen know the waters.

Small pieces of herring come fast down an endless conveyor, but Anderson is always faster. Rarely looking down, she deftly stuffs the wedges into oval cans, sending them down the line while simultaneously reaching for the next empty can, a fluid motion perfected over thousands of days.

This has been Anderson’s life for five decades.

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my great grand father finished his working days as a night watchman in a sardine factory in eastport.
he had his own fishing boat in his younger days. my grandmother married his son they both worked
in the sardine factory at a young age. she was one of the young girls pictured on a mural at the state museum at one time.
at one time many mainers along the coast depended on the sardine industry to supplement their income.
Its sad to see our fishing heritage wanning, it is such a great and noble past we are losing!