, one of the oldest lobster fishers in the world who trapped crustaceans in Maine for nearly a century, has died. She was 105.
Born in Rockland, Maine, Oliver started trapping lobsters at age 8 alongside her father and older brother at a time when few women worked on the water in the male-dominated industry. She fell in love with the business and went on to become known as the 鈥渓obster lady鈥� as she faithfully tended traps for decades
鈥淚 like doing it, I like being along the water,鈥� she told The Associated Press in 2021. 鈥淎nd so I鈥檓 going to keep on doing it just as long as I can.鈥�
Oliver died Wednesday, according to a family obituary published Monday.
鈥淗er life has been celebrated in books, articles, and across social media platforms worldwide,鈥� the obituary states. 鈥淵et despite her renown, she remained quiet and humble, greeting everyone with a quick, radiant smile and eyes that literally twinkled.鈥�
As she worked on the water over the years, Oliver watched the lobster industry drastically evolve, from a working-class food to a pricey delicacy. Lobsters fetched 28 cents a pound on the docks when she first started trapping them. Today, it’s 22 times that at $6.14 a pound.
Yet many of the aspects of the job remained the same. She had to get up in the early morning hours 鈥� long before dawn 鈥� and use small fish called menhaden, or pogies, to lure lobsters from a boat once owned by her late husband, the 鈥淰irginia.鈥�
鈥淰irginia was more than a local icon; she was a living piece of Maine鈥檚 maritime history,鈥� the Maine Lobster Festival said in a statement honoring Oliver, where she once served as grand marshal of the festival’s parade.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who once presented Oliver with a special state recognition for her birthday, posted on social media that the lobster lady’s life inspired “the next century of hardworking Maine fishermen.”
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