Natural Resources

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  Scrimshaw Panbone Port Scene

  Description

  The absence of much pinpricking in this elaborate panbone picture indicates a highly skilled scrimshaw artist who was able to sketch the fantastic port scene freehand. The presence of palm trees indicates a warm climate, dominated by naval warships in a fortified harbor with its own lighthouse. Military camps dominate the land, and a smaller factory or mill town on the bottom of the scene is defended by a partial stockade.

  The artist has left no clues for the specific location of this beautifully detailed landscape, although the palm trees suggest somewhere in the vicinity of the equator.

  date made

  19th century

  1800s

  ID Number

  DL.374479

  catalog number

  374479

  accession number

  136263

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Knife

  Description

  A knife was an essential tool on a whaleboat, where the quick cutting of a tangled line snagged on a man’s ankle or on an object in the boat could mean the difference between life or death.

  Date made

  1880s

  ID Number

  TR.103026

  catalog number

  103026

  accession number

  12328

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Sperm Whale Tooth Watch Stand

  Description

  Scrimshaw known to have been made specifically for men is comparatively rare. This unfinished tooth was hollowed out at the back to carry a gentleman’s pocket watch inside, perhaps set on a wardrobe, a bureau or a dressing table overnight.

  Patriotic imagery was very popular on American scrimshaw. At the top is a large eagle in flight clutching arrows and an olive branch; the hole for the watch is framed by a simple scalloped line. The space at the bottom was probably reserved for the owner’s initials or possibly a date, and the two holes were likely drilled for ivory buttons. The piece was unfinished when it was donated in 1875 by J. H. Clark of Newport, R.I.

  date made

  19th century

  Associated Date

  collected

  ID Number

  DL.024905

  catalog number

  024905

  accession number

  4331

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Factory Processor’s Bump Hat

  Description

  The factory inside a large trawler like the Alaska Ocean is filled with equipment for filleting, processing, freezing, and packing enormous quantities of fish. Workers are trained in safety procedures and also wear protective headgear and earplugs as they work. While not required to wear certified safety helmets like the fishermen on the weather deck, they wear bump hats molded from high-density polyethylene for protection from minor bumps and bruises.

  This yellow bump hat was worn by Thelma McFarland, a fish processor, who was working her third season aboard the Alaska Ocean in 2007. She wore it over a disposable hairnet, which covered and held her hair in place, a requirement for maintaining sanitary conditions in the factory. There are typically four factory shifts, and the bump hats are color-coded according to each shift—blue for A, yellow for B, green for C, and orange for D shift. The color-coding allows managers to quickly assess the number of workers that will be needed on extra kicker shifts. The lead managers in each area wear red bump hats.

  date made

  2007

  Associated Date

  2007

  used

  McFarland, Thelma

  maker

  Bullard

  ID Number

  2007.0178.13

  catalog number

  2007.0178.13

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Factory Processor’s Boots

  Description

  These non-slip, waterproof boots were worn by Thelma McFarland, a fish processor working aboard the Alaska Ocean factory trawler in the summer of 2007. Manufactured in the USA, these “Xtratuf” boots are made of neoprene, a synthetic rubber.

  Processors work 12-hour shifts and, if the factory is busy, they may work an additional 3 hours, called a kicker shift. For most of this time, the workers are on their feet, standing at processing tables or conveyor belts, or walking from one station to another on grated walkways. These walkways, like the areas around the equipment where processors stand to work, are raised above the floor, allowing the water used in factory operations to run beneath the workers’ feet. Despite being elevated above any water flow, it is still essential for workers to wear non-slip, waterproof boots to keep their feet warm and dry.

  These boots are identical to those worn by deck hands. Most of the specialized clothing worn by workers and crew aboard the Alaska Ocean is provided by the company. Boots, however, are purchased by individuals, and are available in the on-board store. Felt insoles for the boots are available in the laundry and are washed frequently by laundry staff.

  date made

  2007

  used

  2007

  used

  McFarland, Thelma

  maker

  Norcross Safety Products, L. L. C.

  ID Number

  2007.0178.17

  catalog number

  2007.0178.17

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Factory Processor’s Rain Pants

  Description

  Fish processors aboard trawlers like the Alaska Ocean wear waterproof pants over their coveralls and other clothing to protect themselves from the water and fish slime that are constant companions in the factory. This pair is dark blue, the same as those worn by deck hands. These pants are small and were worn by processor Thelma McFarland in the summer 2007 season.

  date made

  2007

  used

  2007

  used

  McFarland, Thelma

  maker

  Helly Hansen

  ID Number

  2007.0178.21

  catalog number

  2007.0178.21

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Fisherman’s Boots

  Description

  Deck hands working aboard most commercial fishing vessels require protective clothing from head to toe. Non-slip, waterproof footwear is essential, and on the Alaska Ocean factory trawler, the deck hands, as well as the people who work in the factory, wear “Xtratuf” boots. Manufactured in the United States, these neoprene boots are made for “severe fishing, farm, and work conditions.” This pair was worn by a deck hand aboard the Alaska Ocean in summer of 2007.

  date made

  2007

  2006-2007

  Associated Date

  2007

  maker

  Norcross Safety Products, L. L. C.

  ID Number

  2007.0178.01

  accession number

  2007.0178

  catalog number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Fanny Pack

  Description

  Machinery noise on the fish deck can be deafening, and voices can get lost, no matter how loud. To make sure a message gets communicated and received, the deckhands carry radio microphones, and the fanny pack is the preferred way of keeping the instrument at hand but protected from water, dirt, and slime.

  This black nylon fanny pack was worn by a deckhand working aboard the catcher-processor Alaska Ocean in the summer of 2007. He used the radio, along with a microphone clipped to his life vest for communicating with the wheelhouse and other deckhands.

  The Alaska Ocean is a 376-foot-long vessel in the Seattle-based catcher-processor fleet. Workers catch, process, package, and freeze groundfish—mostly pollock and Pacific whiting—in the Bering Sea and in the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.

  date made

  ca 2007

  maker

  REI

  ID Number

  2007.0178.04

  catalog number

  2007.0178.04

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Fisherman’s Sweatshirt

  Description

  This heavyweight, extra-large hooded sweatshirt was worn by one of the deck hands working aboard the Alaska Ocean catcher-processer in 2007. It features the logo of the Alaska Ship Supply store in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, a major commercial fishing port at the end of the Aleutian Chain. Although the Alaska Ocean’s home port is now Seattle (it was formerly Anacortes, Washington), Dutch Harbor serves as the vessel’s home base during the months it operates in the Bering Sea.

  The 125-person crew of the Alaska Ocean is at sea for several weeks at a time, and they look forward to reaching Dutch Harbor where they unload the frozen fish products and resupply the ship. The captain and crew can take care of personal business while in port as well, and stores like Alaska Ship Supply cater to their needs by selling clothing, supplies, marine hardware, groceries, postage, and other items.

  The Alaska Ocean is a 376-foot-long vessel in the Seattle-based catcher-processor fleet. Workers catch, process, package, and freeze groundfish—mostly pollock and Pacific whiting—in the Bering Sea and in the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. The vessel can harvest about 325 metric tons of fish per day and can freeze over 250,000 pounds of fish product daily.

  date made

  ca 2007

  maker

  Alaska Ship Supply

  ID Number

  2007.0178.06

  catalog number

  2007.0178.06

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Fisherman’s Work Gloves

  Description

  Deckhands who work aboard factory trawlers in the Bering Sea and North Pacific are exposed to extremely cold, wet, and sometimes dangerous conditions. They wear protective gear such as hard hats, boots, and waterproof clothing, including heavy-duty vinyl work gloves.

  These gloves, worn by a fisherman on the catcher-processor Alaska Ocean in 2007, are personalized with a phrase chosen by their owner, a common practice employed for identifying one’s own gear at a moment’s notice. The words “FISH ON ROCK,” appearing on both gloves, were this man's personal choice, their exact meaning known only to him.

  While the sleeves of these gloves are long for tucking in the sleeves of other garments, the deck hands often fold the glove sleeves to fit around their wrists when working in relatively warm, dry conditions.

  The Alaska Ocean is a 376-foot-long vessel in the Seattle-based catcher-processor fleet. Workers catch, process, package, and freeze groundfish—mostly pollock and Pacific whiting—in the Bering Sea and in the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.

  date made

  ca 2007

  maker

  Showa Co.

  ID Number

  2007.0178.07

  catalog number

  2007.0178.07

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Fisherman’s Life Vest

  Description

  The process of setting and hauling in the huge nets aboard factory trawlers can be dangerous, and safety measures are followed to minimize the risk of injury or loss of life. When working on the fish deck, the deckhands wear personal flotation devices, or PFDs, over their clothing.

  This vest is Type III, U.S. Coast Guard approved PFD, and is appropriate for calm waters, or where the chance for a quick rescue is high. It was worn in such conditions by a deckhand working aboard the catcher-processor Alaska Ocean in the North Pacific about 50 miles west of Seattle in June 2007.

  Made of bright orange nylon, the vest has the required reflective panels and a battery-operated light to aid would-be rescuers. While the life vest would provide its wearer flotation, it would not protect a person overboard in cold or rough waters for long. The vessel carries immersion suits for everyone aboard and conducts regular safety drills at which people from all areas of the ship practice putting on the suits quickly.

  The Alaska Ocean itself is a 376-foot-long vessel in the Seattle-based catcher-processor fleet. Workers catch, process, package, and freeze groundfish—mostly pollock and Pacific whiting—in the Bering Sea and in the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.

  date made

  ca 2007

  maker

  Stearns

  ID Number

  2007.0178.08

  catalog number

  2007.0178.08

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Foul Weather Jacket

  maker

  Guy Cotten

  ID Number

  2007.0178.09

  catalog number

  2007.0178.09

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Rain Pants

  maker

  Dutch Harbor Gear

  ID Number

  2007.0178.10

  catalog number

  2007.0178.10

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Protective Sleeves

  Description

  These vinyl sleeves are worn from the wrist to just above the elbow by people working in the factory aboard the trawler Alaska Ocean. Worn tucked into work gloves, the sleeves help keep a worker’s forearms dry. The company supplies such sleeves, which are cleaned frequently and reused. An estimated 200 pairs of sleeves were stocked aboard the Alaska Ocean during the 2007 season. The Alaska Ocean operates in the North Pacific and the Bering Sea.

  date made

  2007

  Associated Date

  2007

  maker

  Grundens

  ID Number

  2007.0178.15

  catalog number

  2007.0178.15

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Factory Processor’s Apron

  Description

  This vinyl bib apron was worn by fish processor Thelma McFarland over her coveralls and rain pants during her work shifts aboard the factory trawler Alaska Ocean in the summer of 2007. Processors like McFarland stand at long tables or conveyor belts and encounter considerable water and fish parts as they work. Processors typically wear aprons of one sort of another for protection.

  Although the on-board laundry crew takes care of cleaning workers’ coveralls, rain pants, gloves, and plastic sleeves, each worker is responsible for cleaning his or her apron. McFarland, who is about 5 feet tall, adjusted her apron to suit her small frame by cutting off the lower portion. She also personalized it by writing her name in permanent marker across the bib.

  date made

  2007

  used

  2007

  used

  McFarland, Thelma

  ID Number

  2007.0178.18

  catalog number

  2007.0178.18

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Block Pan for Freezing Fish

  Description

  This shallow, metal pan was used for freezing processed fish aboard the factory trawler Alaska Ocean. Operating in the North Pacific and the Bering Sea, the Alaska Ocean is one vessel in the fleet that catches and processes pollock, hake, and whiting.

  In the factory the fish are gutted and filleted by German-made filleting machines, which can be calibrated to remove the bones and skin according to a customer’s preference. Onboard engineers adjust the angles of the knives within a quarter of a millimeter to provide a product with a small amount of fat, or no fat at all, depending on the customer’s specifications.

  After the initial filleting, workers in the factory load pans like this with fish fillets, fish roe, or minced fish. A conveyor belt carries the filled pans to other workers who load them into plate freezers. After about two hours, when the freezing is complete, the pans are unloaded from the freezer, and the blocks of frozen fish are removed and packed for shipment. The packed blocks of product are stacked in the ship’s large freezer hold until they can be offloaded ashore.

  The Alaska Ocean carries two sizes of pans, a block pan like this and a slightly larger size for surimi, a type of fish paste used in making imitation crabmeat. The vessel carries a total of 2800 pans, 1400 of each size. The factory has 16 plate freezers aboard, 8 for single pans and 8 for doubles. A single-pan plate freezer can hold 102 surimi pans and 119 block pans at a time.

  The wax lining in this pan facilitates removing the frozen product. This one is marked “M” for mince, a ground fish product used in making fish sticks and fish fingers.

  date made

  2000-2005

  Associated Date

  2007

  ID Number

  2007.0178.29

  catalog number

  2007.0178.29

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Whalebone Thimble Eye

  Description

  This rope-strapped thimble carved from whalebone would have had a light rope through the eye for rigging, perhaps on a whaleboat.

  These miniature items also served as children’s toys or curiosities back home. Toys in the form of miniature working ship parts were easy and quick for sailors to carve, and they did not require much skill to make. They also served as potent reminders of where and what the men were doing during their long absences from their friends and families.

  date made

  1800s

  ID Number

  AG.025801

  catalog number

  025801

  accession number

  2009.0182

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Dory Water Jug, 1883

  Description

  This glazed, earthenware jug held drinking water for the use of fishermen working out of small dory boats. The jug, which holds one gallon of liquid and has a cork stopper, was used by cod fishermen from Gloucester, Massachusetts, before the early 1880s.

  Small, flat-bottomed dories were not used in the American commercial cod fishery until after 1850, when trawl-line fishing expanded. Dories were ideal for the purpose: they could be nested together on the deck of the larger, fishing schooner until needed. On the water, they were light and easy to handle, as well as stable. When fishing long trawl lines, fishermen would leave the relative comforts of the schooners to work in pairs as dorymates. Because they were away from the schooners for many hours, the fishermen carried provisions and gear in the dories, including water, food, oars, a mast and sail, anchors, buoys and markers, several trawl tubs, pen boards for holding the fish, several scoops and bailers, fog horns, a compass, and more.

  A paper label indicates the jug was displayed at the 1883 International Fisheries Exhibition in London. The United States’ portion of the display was organized by the U.S. Fish Commission and included a wealth of gear, models, photographs, fishery products, and everyday objects used by American fishermen. The international exhibition was on view between May 12 and November 1, during which a daily average of 18,545 people toured the buildings and grounds. When the exhibition closed, the collections that represented the United States were sent to the Smithsonian Institution and a catalog was published: Descriptive Catalogues of the Collections Sent from the United States to the International Fisheries Exhibition, London, 1883, Constituting A Report Upon the American Section. Prepared under the direction of G. Brown Goode, U.S. Commissioner, and a staff of associates. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1884.

  ID Number

  AG.057819

  catalog number

  57819

  accession number

  11907

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Scrimshaw Whale Bone Food Chopper

  Description

  Simply carved and without any engraving, this food chopper, or mincer, was made in two pieces from a sperm whale’s jawbone. Its blunted, curved blade was used to chop soft foods such as bread dough, fruits, sausage, and animal fats. This example was donated by former Secretary of the Institution Spencer F. Baird (1823–1887) to the Smithsonian, where it became one of the earliest objects in the maritime collections.

  date made

  1800s

  purchased

  1876-11-30

  ID Number

  AG.024909

  catalog number

  24909

  accession number

  2009.0157

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Fisherman’s Hard Hat

  Description

  The weather deck on a factory trawler like the Alaska Ocean can be a dangerous place, especially when the huge net is being launched or hauled aboard. While mechanical winches do the heavy lifting, deck hands have to be present during such operations to attach or change cables, to secure or launch the trawl doors, to open the cod end of the net into the fish bins in the hold, and to accomplish a range of other tasks accurately and efficiently. To protect themselves while working on the deck, fishermen wear hard hats, earplugs, and other gear.

  This hard hat was worn by Alaska Ocean deck hand Matt Prebezac in 2007. Like other fishermen aboard, he customized the standard white hard hat so there would be no confusion over which hat to grab when the call came to report to the deck. Using a black permanent marker, he wrote the words “Rock Star” on the back of the hat. This ensured it wouldn’t be mistaken for his buddy Ben Boyok’s hat, which was adorned with the profile of a hawkeye, the team mascot of the University of Iowa, in Ben’s home state. Throughout the 2007 season, the Rock Star and the Iowa hawkeye, with four other deck hands, a lead fisherman, and a deck officer, worked 12-hour shifts in two teams.

  date made

  2007

  Associated Date

  2007

  used

  Prebezac, Matt

  maker

  Bullard

  ID Number

  2007.0178.02

  catalog number

  2007.0178.02

  accession number

  2007.0178

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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