Behind the Apron Interview with Doris Harris

Scope and Contents: Through an oral history interview, Doris Harris talks about growing up in Lusbee, Maryland (Calvert County) with her nine siblings, and her parents' jobs (tobacco farming and housekeeping). Harris explains her work as a clam shucker at Warren Denton Seafood House (Calvert County, Maryland) and the difference between shucking clams and shucking oysters. She also describes her enjoyment for the job, the experience of women oyster workers, and changes in the clam shucking industry, particularly the diminished African American workforce. Both interviews - May 9, 1996 and May 12, 1997 - cover the same topics. The May 12 interview contains a bit more detail.; Interview. Part of Behind the Apron oral history project. Dated 19960509 and 19970512 (transcribed from transcripts).

Type: Archival materials; Sound recordings; Oral histories (document genres); Interviews

Topic: African Americans; African Americans -- Employment; African Americans -- Maryland; Oyster industry; Clam industry

Citation: Behind the Apron Interview with Doris Harris, Behind the Apron oral history project, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Object Details