Published: Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Fish was a family business
Young men joined their fathers on the boats, while women worked in canneries.
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Courtesy of Everett Public Library
Women clean fish at Fisherman's Packing Corp. in Everett around 1930.
EVERETT - Everett's early fishing industry didn't provide jobs for just the men in the family.
It was a real family affair.
Wini Mardesich of Everett recalls working at the Everett Cannery, which would soon become a fisherman's cooperative called Fisherman's Packing Corp., in 1927, when she was 15.
"The women all wore these caps and had to wear boots," Mardesich, 94, said in a recent interview. "They were standing in water because they were washing and cleaning the fish."
Mardesich said she was one of the lucky ones. She fed the line with empty cans that were washed, lined with salt and then packed with fish. "We worked upstairs," she said. "We could have worn evening gowns, but the rest of the girls smelled like fish."
The cannery jobs paid well, but often involved long hours.
For about three months a year, it provided jobs that paid around 25 cents an hour, allowing many young people to make well over $100 in a summer.
"We thought we were rich as kids," Mardesich said, adding that the work sometimes lasted into the wee hours. "We'd walk home at 2 a.m., having worked all day. But then you'd come back at 8 because the fish had to be canned."
Mardesich said her father brought the family to Everett in 1922. She later worked in the cannery, as did many women from fishing families. Her brother started working the fishing boats when he turned 15.
Fisherman Jim Zuvela recalled making $7,800 in the summer of 1963 while fishing with an uncle. He was a junior in high school.
Gill netter Roland Hublou of Lake Stevens said his son made $19,000 while fishing in the summer of 1976. He, too, was a junior in high school. "He had more money than he knew what to do with," Hublou said.
In the early days, it was common for all the young men to work on the boats.
"When I was in high school, I wasn't even asked if I wanted to fish," said John Martinis, whose father was among the highliners, or top fishers, in the early fleet. "My mother just packed my duffel bag."
As was the custom of the time, John's brother Paul, the oldest son, eventually took over the family business.
John ran a sporting goods store and was a state legislator. Another brother became a heart surgeon.
He and Mardesich said it was common that family members who didn't continue to fish were expected to be educated for another trade or profession.
"School was very important to them because most didn't get a chance to go to school," Mardesich said.
It was a real family affair.
Wini Mardesich of Everett recalls working at the Everett Cannery, which would soon become a fisherman's cooperative called Fisherman's Packing Corp., in 1927, when she was 15.
"The women all wore these caps and had to wear boots," Mardesich, 94, said in a recent interview. "They were standing in water because they were washing and cleaning the fish."
Mardesich said she was one of the lucky ones. She fed the line with empty cans that were washed, lined with salt and then packed with fish. "We worked upstairs," she said. "We could have worn evening gowns, but the rest of the girls smelled like fish."
The cannery jobs paid well, but often involved long hours.
For about three months a year, it provided jobs that paid around 25 cents an hour, allowing many young people to make well over $100 in a summer.
"We thought we were rich as kids," Mardesich said, adding that the work sometimes lasted into the wee hours. "We'd walk home at 2 a.m., having worked all day. But then you'd come back at 8 because the fish had to be canned."
Mardesich said her father brought the family to Everett in 1922. She later worked in the cannery, as did many women from fishing families. Her brother started working the fishing boats when he turned 15.
Fisherman Jim Zuvela recalled making $7,800 in the summer of 1963 while fishing with an uncle. He was a junior in high school.
Gill netter Roland Hublou of Lake Stevens said his son made $19,000 while fishing in the summer of 1976. He, too, was a junior in high school. "He had more money than he knew what to do with," Hublou said.
In the early days, it was common for all the young men to work on the boats.
"When I was in high school, I wasn't even asked if I wanted to fish," said John Martinis, whose father was among the highliners, or top fishers, in the early fleet. "My mother just packed my duffel bag."
As was the custom of the time, John's brother Paul, the oldest son, eventually took over the family business.
John ran a sporting goods store and was a state legislator. Another brother became a heart surgeon.
He and Mardesich said it was common that family members who didn't continue to fish were expected to be educated for another trade or profession.
"School was very important to them because most didn't get a chance to go to school," Mardesich said.
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