Emily Mueller

Mary Brown was interviewed on June 11, 2018 by Anjuli Grantham at the Bristol Bay Historical Society’s museum in Naknek, Alaska. In this interview, Mary talks about her experience working in various Alaska canneries starting in 1976, and most specifically about working at the <NN> Cannery at South Naknek, Alaska. She talks about the different types of jobs she did, including on the slime line, in the Egg House, in the office and the laundry, different types of workers and how they got along with each other, and segregation among the work force. She describes the cannery, including the mess hall, the bunkhouses, and the hospital. She also discusses the system of mail delivery, work hours, the local fishermen, the economics of the fishery and fish prices, and the shift in ownership from Alaska Packers Association (APA) to Trident Seafoods.

Oscar Penaranda was interviewed on August 11, 2018 by Anjuli Grantham in San Francisco, California. Due to unforseen circumstances, this interview was conducted in a busy hotel lobby, so there is significant background noise. We have tried to reduce this noise by using audio editing software, but with limited success. Nevertheless, we have chosen to include this interview in the <NN> Cannery History Project Jukebox, because we believe it is important that Oscar's stories are heard. They provide insight into the Filipino cannery experience, a little known aspect of Alaska history, and touch on issues of labor, race, and the history of work.

In this interview, Oscar talks about his experience working at the <NN> Cannery in South Naknek, Alaska and what it was like for Filipino and Filipino-American workers. He discusses getting the job, his impressions of Alaska, the different types of work performed, and the relationship between Filipino, Alaska Native and caucasian employees and between the employees and the cannery administration and the union. He also talks about segregation of the mess halls and bunkhouses, and how the men played gambling games as a form of entertainment.

Shirley and Carvel Zimin, Jr.were interviewed on December 10, 2018 by LaRece Egli at their daughter's home in Anchorage, Alaska. Their grandsons, Sam and Liam Stewert were also present during the interview, along with a brief appearance by their son-in-law, Sam Stewert, Sr. In this interview, Carvel and Shirley discuss their connections to the Alaska Packers Association <NN> Cannery in South Naknek, Alaska. Carvel discusses his long family ties to the company, and his most recent job as winter watchman, and Shirley talks about working at the cannery laundry, living in Naknek, and memories of playing around the buildings as a child. They both discuss the important role the cannery has played in the community. Sam Stewert shares his memory of the cannery, regarding radio communication and people setting up radio antennas from the outdoor clotheslines.

At the end of the interview, Carvel and Shirley look at historic photographs from the Alaska Packers Association collection from the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraies Heritage Resources, Western Washington University that LaRece has on her laptop computer. This instigates discussion of specific buildings and activities at the cannery.

Brad Angasan was interviewed on November 27, 2018 by Katie Ringsmuth at the Alaska Peninsula Corporation headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska. In this first part of a two part interview, Brad talks about his family's cultural and historical connections to the region and to the <NN> Cannery, and the long-term impacts from the 1919 Spanish Flu pandemic. He shares his childhood memories of the facility, including the smells associated with specific buildings, as well as his own connections to the cannery when he worked there on the spring/fall crew and beach gang.

Bob Metivier was interviewed on August 8, 2018 by Anjuli Grantham at his home in Birch Bay, Washington. Bob's wife, Sylvia, also participated in the interview, where she periodically chimed in from the background. The original recording had some audio problems, so it has been manipulated to try to reduce the background noise and improve the overall sound quality. In this interview, Bob talks about working for the Alaska Packers Association in Blaine and Semiahmoo, Washington and in South Naknek Alaska. He discusses his job as a shipwright, where he built and repaired boats, and his work as a carpenter foreman, beach gang boss, and outdoor foreman. Bob shares many interesting details about how the boats were built, maintained, repaired, painted and named, and how the cannery facility and buildings were cared for. Part of this interview also focused on Sylvia's experiences working for Alaska Packers Association, and although it is all one recording, this has been included in this project as a separate interview.

Harvey Henry was interviewed on August 9, 2018 by Anjuli Grantham at his home in Deming, Washington. Harvey's wife, Janet, also participated in the interview, where she periodically chimed in from the background. A fan running in the room where the interview took place created a disruptive background noise on the recording. The original recording has been manipulated to try to reduce this noise and improve the overall sound quality. In this interview, Harvey talks about working in canneries in Alaska as a seamer man, a filler man, and a machinist. He describes the process of making cans, filling the cans, cooking the salmon, and palletizing the finished cans, with specific emphasis on the different types of machinery used, and talks about the important role of the machinist in keeping the whole operation running smoothly and efficiently. He also discusses the different types of foreman in the cannery, the influence of the union on the working conditions, and the general living and working conditions in South Naknek. Finally, Harvey shares his experience of seeing a ghost in the cannery. Part of this interview focused on Janet's experiences working in the cannery at South Naknek, and although it is all one recording, this has been included in this project as a separate interview.