Tag Archives: Lesley and Leah Ranquist
“Maritime Women on Swan’s Island” – Swan’s Island honors women who fished
Betsy Philbrook’s grandmother, Melita Staples, was up for anything except cooking and housecleaning. “She used to bait tubs when she was younger,” said Philbrook. “She was much happier driving a dumptruck or working on a dock than staying home.” As a child, Philbrook, whose family goes back on Swan’s Island to its first settlement, learned how to set lobster traps from her grandmother. She went on to become a sternman for her father, went off to college, bought her first little lobsterboat in 2001, and has been sterning for Dwight Colbeth since 2006. >click to read<13:48
Swans Island sisters forge careers on the sea
Lesley and Leah Ranquist, sisters in their early 20s, were first introduced to fishing when they were mere kindergarteners. Now they are among the 4 percent of women currently holding commercial fishing licenses in the state of Maine. Lesley and Leah’s story isn’t just noteworthy because they’re young women making a good living in an industry dominated by men; their introduction to lobster fishing started with a grandfather who fished with only two fingers and a thumb. Read the rest here 10:10
