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Another Haul is a beautifully written ethnography of a community and the fishing tradition that sustains its sense of place through what the author calls 'narrative stewardship.' It is the tale of a remarkable family and the stories that have sustained their traditions, their values, and their community. From the 'big stories' of environment, tradition, and civility to the personal narratives of place, relationships, and boundaries, Another Haul is an excellent study of the intersections between conversation, story, and occupational identity. The author writes in a lyrical style that had me eager to come back to the book between readings just to see how the 'characters' were faring and what they have been up to.--Amy Skillman, director of the MA in Cultural Sustainability at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland Charlie Groth's study of narrative stewardship and cultural sustainability extends this field into new settings and futures--namely, a local fishery sustained in part by cultural practices that feature festivals, rituals, and most significantly, narratives. Another Haul presents an intimate community ethnography that deftly analyzes the many ways that narrative in its simple forms and complex relations does the real heavy lifting of cultural sustainability, contributes to the pragmatics and civic work of maintaining community tradition, manages social change, and ensures cultural vitality.--Thomas Walker Journal of American Folklore Lewis Island is an island and it isn't. Its Shad Fest is about its fishing legacy and it isn't. It is a storied place and full of stories, and paradoxes, that readers need to know, whether or not they ever stepped foot there. The place, and people, bespeak narratives of our times, of work, of play, and, most of all, of the culture that is like water to fish. With vibrant storytelling skills equal to the people she studies and lives among, Groth introduces us to the characters and plots of experiences to which people far, far away connect. She gives context--of tradition, of landscape, and of a past and future different from the corporate megalopolis casting a mighty shadow. Hers is not local history tucked away on a regional shelf. Neither is it a standard folklore collection or folklife survey of a people somehow apart. It is about them and about us. Its haul of material to ponder, and its cultural reach, cast a wide net. We need to listen to these stories and appreciate Groth's guiding hand to understand what it means to have places like this and carry their messages of cultural stewardship and sustainability into countless other locales.--Simon J. Bronner, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of American Studies and Folklore at Pennsylvania State University Overall, Another Haul provides a sensitive and nuanced portrait of a long-term fishery and how stories and story-telling practices steward that the social, economic, environmental, and labor practices that have enabled the Lewis fishery community to thrive for well over a century.--Rachelle H. Saltzman, University of Oregon Western Folklore This is a very timely and important book in current-day folkloristic studies in the ways that it contributes to applications of interdisciplinary applied folklore theory and case-study research scarcely broached, arguably even conceived, fifty years ago. Groth's observations and arguments in the concluding chapter, especially, support such a contention. There was a time when the author's treatment might have been quite satisfactory as an account of occupational heritage, vernacular oral narrative in contexts of particular regional environmental setting, place particulars, shared group expression, and locally valued, traditional practices. Charlie Groth obviously saw opportunity in findings and interpretive framework for a greater reach.--Robert D. Bethke, University of Delaware Journal of Folklore Research

This is a very timely and important book in current-day folkloristic studies in the ways that it contributes to applications of interdisciplinary applied folklore theory and case-study research scarcely broached, arguably even conceived, fifty years ago. Groth's observations and arguments in the concluding chapter, especially, support such a contention. There was a time when the author's treatment might have been quite satisfactory as an account of occupational heritage, vernacular oral narrative in contexts of particular regional environmental setting, place particulars, shared group expression, and locally valued, traditional practices. Charlie Groth obviously saw opportunity in findings and interpretive framework for a greater reach.--Robert D. Bethke, University of Delaware Journal of Folklore Research

While her range of sources is primarily academic, her discussions are refreshingly absorbing in relating themes and approaches from folklore (story, festival, performance), sociology (anomie), cultural geography (sense of place), and sustainability (economic, environmental, and cultural).--Thomas Walker, Goucher College Journal of American Folklore, Volume 134, Number 532, Spring 2021 Lewis Island is an island and it isn't. Its Shad Fest is about its fishing legacy and it isn't. It is a storied place and full of stories, and paradoxes, that readers need to know, whether or not they ever stepped foot there. The place, and people, bespeak narratives of our times, of work, of play, and, most of all, of the culture that is like water to fish. With vibrant storytelling skills equal to the people she studies and lives among, Groth introduces us to the characters and plots of experiences to which people far, far away connect. She gives context--of tradition, of landscape, and of a past and future different from the corporate megalopolis casting a mighty shadow. Hers is not local history tucked away on a regional shelf. Neither is it a standard folklore collection or folklife survey of a people somehow apart. It is about them and about us. Its haul of material to ponder, and its cultural reach, cast a wide net. We need to listen to these stories and appreciate Groth's guiding hand to understand what it means to have places like this and carry their messages of cultural stewardship and sustainability into countless other locales.--Simon J. Bronner, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of American Studies and Folklore at Pennsylvania State University This is a very timely and important book in current-day folkloristic studies in the ways that it contributes to applications of interdisciplinary applied folklore theory and case-study research scarcely broached, arguably even conceived, fifty years ago. Groth's observations and arguments in the concluding chapter, especially, support such a contention. There was a time when the author's treatment might have been quite satisfactory as an account of occupational heritage, vernacular oral narrative in contexts of particular regional environmental setting, place particulars, shared group expression, and locally valued, traditional practices. Charlie Groth obviously saw opportunity in findings and interpretive framework for a greater reach.--Robert D. Bethke, University of Delaware Journal of Folklore Research Another Haul is a beautifully written ethnography of a community and the fishing tradition that sustains its sense of place through what the author calls 'narrative stewardship.' It is the tale of a remarkable family and the stories that have sustained their traditions, their values, and their community. From the 'big stories' of environment, tradition, and civility to the personal narratives of place, relationships, and boundaries, Another Haul is an excellent study of the intersections between conversation, story, and occupational identity. The author writes in a lyrical style that had me eager to come back to the book between readings just to see how the 'characters' were faring and what they have been up to.--Amy Skillman, director of the MA in Cultural Sustainability at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland Charlie Groth's study of narrative stewardship and cultural sustainability extends this field into new settings and futures--namely, a local fishery sustained in part by cultural practices that feature festivals, rituals, and most significantly, narratives. Another Haul presents an intimate community ethnography that deftly analyzes the many ways that narrative in its simple forms and complex relations does the real heavy lifting of cultural sustainability, contributes to the pragmatics and civic work of maintaining community tradition, manages social change, and ensures cultural vitality.--Thomas Walker Journal of American Folklore Overall, Another Haul provides a sensitive and nuanced portrait of a long-term fishery and how stories and story-telling practices steward that the social, economic, environmental, and labor practices that have enabled the Lewis fishery community to thrive for well over a century.--Rachelle H. Saltzman, University of Oregon Western Folklore

Author Information

Charlie Groth, Lambertville, New Jersey, teaches cultural anthropology and research writing at Bucks County Community College. A native of New Jersey, she, her husband, and two daughters are members of the Lewis Fishery crew.

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