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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

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