Reedville Fishermen's Museum - Reedville, Virginia
Reedville Fishermen's Museum - Reedville, Virginia
Reedville Fishermen's Museum - Reedville, Virginia
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“Those are good boys. They knew what they<br />
were talking about. I fished with their fathers<br />
& their grand-fathers. Let me tell you. They<br />
knew what they were talking about.”<br />
-- Captain Earnest Delano<br />
On the morning of April 16, 2008, Captain Tom<br />
Moore, skipper of Omega Protein’s Lancaster,<br />
and spotter pilot John Mark Deihl presented<br />
“Conversations with a Captain” at our Third<br />
Wednesday docent training session. At our<br />
invitation, the duo spoke about their jobs and<br />
21st century menhaden fishing.<br />
FROM THE PILOTHOUSE<br />
and excitement began to surface. Soon, the<br />
explanations of nets, sets, and menhaden<br />
schools grew into accounts of a grandfather’s<br />
wisdom, battles with rough seas, and crew<br />
members pulling together to support their<br />
families.<br />
It was a great way to spend an April morning.<br />
A sample of audience comments indicates that<br />
the presentation left quite an impression on<br />
those attending:<br />
• “ I’ve lived here my whole life and that<br />
was the first time I’ve ever heard a<br />
(Menhaden) Captain talk like that about<br />
fishing. You could see how much it<br />
meant to them.”<br />
• “ Don’t you know every parent in the<br />
room was thinking ‘I hope my son or<br />
daughter finds a career they enjoy as<br />
much as those boys do.’”<br />
• “ The passion they felt was so obvious.<br />
I was really touched.”<br />
The two were intelligent, articulate, and<br />
well-versed in their craft. They provided<br />
the audience with insightful information and<br />
thoughtful answers to questions. In short,<br />
they were everything we had hoped for. Had<br />
that been their entire contribution to the event,<br />
it would have been a success.<br />
• “ I didn’t realize it was so complex!<br />
They’re thinking about so many things at<br />
the same time. It’s just amazing.”<br />
• “ You can tell they really love it, can’t<br />
you?”<br />
• “ We need to do this again.”<br />
Our sincere thanks to Captain Tom Moore and<br />
Mr. John Mark Deihl. We invited them to teach<br />
us about fishing. We ended up learning much<br />
more.<br />
Chuck Backus<br />
Executive Director<br />
But both these young men have deep roots<br />
in the community. Their connection to the<br />
water is multi-generational and when they<br />
speak, they speak from a place of family pride,<br />
tradition, and legacy. As a result, each was<br />
able to talk only a short time before his passion<br />
4 Starry Banner Summer 2008