Pendleton Island and Sardine Fishing 100 years ago

Eastward across Passamaquoddy Bay laid an island which was also part of Canada. It snuggled next to Deer Island , a larger and longer island which borders the southeastern side of Passamaquoddy Bay. We anchored offshore this island, Pendleton Island, and went ashore to see what we could see. (Just like the proverbial bear....a main theme in my life to this day) Mom and Dad found the salt water pool which warms up as the tide seeps in over the warm rocks. With a Bay of Fundy tide fall of 29 feet, this does not take too long. We were too early for any measurable water so the four of us kids left Mom & Dad to wait it out while we hiked around the hills and found a plethora of wild blueberries. Every pocket and bag was filled as well as our mouths, continually. We were intrepid explorers as well as pickers. Our poking around finally brought us back to the salt water pond in which we found Mom & Dad skinny dipping in luxury. Pam had the presence of mind to document this event with her Brownie camera, and it is a mainstay of laughs in the Harris book, our large family photo album started by Nana. My favorite quote about life on Pendleton for children was this from Hazel Pendleton, " Living on Pendleton's Island made the children very self-reliant. They could entertain themselves, learned to be useful around the place and to take care of themselves on land and water. They learned early to handle a dinghy and understand the tides and the best route to follow across the passage to suit the time of tide. None of them ever learned to swim. " The Harris kids were much like this but we all could swim like fish.

Historically, Pendleton Island was occupied by the what else, Pendleton family at the turn of the 19th to 20th century. A good perspective is documented in “Life on Pendleton” by Hazel Pendleton. The following brief description of sardine fishing in the early days is recollected after reading hazel’s account:

To get an idea of the area from Pendleton Island to Lubec,ME see NOAA chart 13398 or the Google map * displaying from South to North, Lubec and Eastport, ME, to Pendleton Island, New Brunswick. Historically, the sardine fishery occurred by American law from April 15 to December 1st but Hazel’s grandfather said that the first sardines came into Passamaquoddy Bay on or about April 15th anyway. In the early 1900’s, the population of Eastport reached 10,000 in sardine season. There were many sardine factories and one can company, American Can, which supplied the stock to the canneries. Entire families migrated from Deer Island to Eastport for the season. The Petit Manaan gang went to Lubec instead. The canneries gave each family a one room cabin next to the harbor with an outhouse which hung over the water. All the amenities like stoves and bedding were brought from home. Everyone over 10 worked all day and sometimes into the night until the job was done. Kids younger than 10 gathered wood on the beach and tended the little kids and babies. When the season was over, everyone packed their things and went home to Deer Island or Pendleton and the kids started school again. The money earned in the sardine plants would have to last till next April.

The sardine boats were not too big. The sardines were trapped in weirs and then scooped into open tenders or later were seined by larger boats. These boats had no wheelhouse, just a wheel and sometimes a crate on its end for a seat. In rough weather the skipper often had to tie himself in. The fish were carried in hogsheads and sold anywhere from $3.00 to $10.00 per barrel depending on the quality.

Later on the seiners filled their holds with larger amounts of sardines. One particular Eastport character was Captain Guilford Mitchell who was the boss of several factories and boats. He had ample lungpower and could holler down the channel “how many hogsheads?” to which the approaching skipper would hold up his fingers. Captain Mitchell would then direct him to the particular cannery he wanted him to go.
The seiners all hired a “scooper” who donned hip boots and oilskins. He worked in the hold, netting the sardines into barrels. These were hoisted out of the hold up into the pickling shed. He was paid by the skipper and seemed to have the glory job.
Many of the skippers were Canadians from Deer Island and Pettit Manaan but the boats were registered in America. No one cared much because the islanders went back and forth from the mainland to the islands with impunity.

One area to be avoided on a big tide was a whirlpool known as Old Sow. Almost everyone in the area had a near escape from the clutches of this dangerous phenomenon.
Dad avoided it but we were hoping to glimpse the vortex in the innards of Old Sow.

* Click the "up" arrow in the upper left hand corner to scroll to Lamberts Cove which is directly south of Pendleton Island.