Where in Massachusetts Does This Fisherman Stand?
In February of 1879, 249 fishermen from this Massachusetts city disappeared at sea.
It may have been the deadliest month, but it’s just a fraction of the total casualties by sea this community has seen over the centuries. According to the New England Historical Society, as many as 11,000 fishermen have died.
This Fishermen’s Memorial Monument, also known as “The Man At The Wheel,’’ was unveiled in 1925 to honor them. The 8-foot-tall bronze statue depicts a fisherman looking out over the harbor as he steers a ship.
The memorial was begun in 1923 as part of the city’s 300th anniversary. It was created by sculptor Leonard Craske and based on a 1901 painting by an artist from the same city where it stands named A.W. Buhler.
The dangerousness of the fishing industry was captured in the 2000 biographical drama “The Perfect Storm’’ starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. The movie, based on the 1997 book “The Perfect Storm’’ by Sebastian Junger, is about the Andrea Gail and its crew, which left from this city for a fishing expedition in 1991. A powerful storm destroyed the ship and there were no survivors.
George Clooney played Captain Billy Tyne in the 2000 movie “The Perfect Storm.’’
There have been so many lost at sea, this city has a “Lost at Sea Register’’ on its website.
The lengthy register lists the names of fishermen over the centuries who have died at sea along with descriptions of how they died. The causes of death range from weather related to collisions to health related to accidental.
For example, a crew of seven, including Stephen Adams, went mackerel fishing in 1830 and were never heard from again, Charles Anderson died after being “washed overboard’’ in 1874, Oscar Andrews died when his “dory capsized’’ in 1893, 20-year-old Eugene Amero “died while taking ice from an iceberg’’ in 1906, and Louis Benot died from an “accidental drowning’’ in 1942.
The memorial, which includes a plaque bearing the names of thousands of fishermen who have died, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Those who have visited the monument have called it “the very heart’’ of this city, according to reviews on TripAdvisor.
Do you know where it is?
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The answer: Gloucester
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