sardine industry – Voices of Ancestors

Does anyone know where this is? I assume it’s a sardine factory in Lubec, Maine.

This photo was in my grandmother’s photos. Her name was Lizzie Keegan Rier. She was born in 1892 in Trescott and died in 1985 in Lubec at age 92. She worked in the sardine industry in Lubec from the 1920s to 1980s. Perhaps this photo was taken in the early 1900s judging by the clothing? I can’t see anyone who resembles her. Does anyone know what factory this is or anyone in the photo?

In my grandmother’s younger years, I was told by my Uncle Barney that she worked at the Union Sardine company owned by the McCurdys and her Uncle Thomas Keegan.

Lubec’s Smoked Herring History

This article is an excerpt from the book 200 Hundred Years of Lubec History, 1776 – 1976 by Ryerson and Johnson, published by the Lubec Historical Society. It is a great reference book to learn more about my family history and can be found at the Lubec Memorial Library.

A Short History of the Sardine Industry in Lubec, Maine.

A Story about My Dad’s Home Town.

A Short History of the Sardine Industry in Lubec, Maine.

My grandmother, Elizabeth Keegan Rier, worked in the sardine industry in Lubec most of her life beginning in the early 1900s into the 1970s. According to my Uncle Barney, she left school in Trescott at age 13 and went to work in the Lubec sardine “camps.” She, and many other women from Lubec, have fond memories of their work in the sardine factory. Grammy Rier always said, it was work, but yet, a very social event for the women and a friendly competition every day.

The following is an excerpt from the book 200 Hundred Years of Lubec History, 1776 – 1976 by Ryerson and Johnson, published by the Lubec Historical Society. It is a great reference book to learn more about my family history and can be found at the Lubec Memorial Library.

The last page of this history “Yesterdays Sardine Factory – Today” was written by my Uncle Barney who established a Sardine Museum in Lubec after he retired, which he opened when he felt like it, but mostly he collected and worked on antiques and old machinery.

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