Jack of All Trades And Master Of
Crab Boat Janice Is Marvin Hamlin
By Karl Armstrong
“I’m a Jack-of-All-Trades and
Master-of-None in this fishing
game I guess you’d say,” said the
rugged and competent looking
skipper of the boat Janice, as he
shoved a cup of hot coffee across
the mess-table *o me.
While Marvin Hamlin might use
that phrase to describe himself to
a stranger, it is a bit misleading
in that he IS Master of the Jan
ice, a trim-looking 58-foot (over
all) Alaska limit seiner now em
ployed in King Crabbing in Kodi
ak waters.
Although he does not own the
Deisel-powered Janice, Skipper
Hamlin is nonetheless quite ob
viously proud of her.
“She was built in 1956 and is 3
true Alaska limit seiner with all
the latest and most modern navi
gational and safety equipment,”
_ _
he said nodding around at the
neat, clean, new cabin interior
and gesturing toward all the intri
cate-looking equipment up for
ward in the pilot house.
Neither fishing nor Kodiak is
new to Marvin Hamlin. A veter
an fisherman who has spent the
last 28 of his 46 years searching
the Pacific for tuna, herring, hali
but and other species of commer
cial sea life, Skipper Hamlin’s
first 18 years were spent in the
“Show Me” but unsalty state of
Missouri.
Even as a youngster he felt the
tug of the ocean tides in his
blood and at 17 attempted to join
the navy but was thwarted by an
adamant father who refused to
sign the necessary papers.
“But the following year I went
to sea as a merchant sailor any
way and I’ve lived my life since
on the sea as a fisherman,” he
chuckled.
Although presently hailing from
the salty city of Seattle, where he
maintains his family home, Ham
lin regarded Kodiak as his home
for several years (in 1942-43) and
knows Kodiak waters thoroughly
by virtue of his many years as a
halibut and herring fisherman.
And he is seriously considering
moving his family and making his
home in Kodak again.
“It looks like there is a good fu
ture ahead for Kodiak. It’s right
in the center of North Pacific
fisheries. There is unlimited bot
tom fisheries here... it’s virtually
never even been scratched yet,
he stated convincingly.
“However, any expansion of the
fisheries here will to a large ex
tent depend on a much greater
expansion of facilities for the fish
ing fleet.
“The opening of a cold storage
here is a beginning. Kodiak real
ly should have had a cold storage
thirty or forty years ago,” Hamlin
said emphatically, adding, “the
present small boat harbor here
still has space that should be util
ized for more facilities as quickly
as possible.
“Ther£ is definite need for
more grids and for grids capable
of handling the larger fishing
boats that are now being used for
fishing King Crab here,” he said.
“And with the introduction of
(Continued on Page 12)
MECCA WRECKER SERVICE
Insured Service
24 hours
Ph. 486—5637 or 486—2255
#1 GLADIOLA BULBS
4 cents each
. /
Lowest Price In Town
Your Choice of Ten
Lovely Colors
SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO.
4 Main Street » PH. 486—2277
i
We Wish You A HAPPY EASYER
Window Service Free Parking
CASH
PRICES
s
BREAKERS DRIVE-IN LIQUOR STORE
Across from Small Boat Harbor
-___ 1 —1
Lucky Lager Beer IJbSwSJ* 3Pak $1.35 Case $5.35
__ _
I.S.C. PORT.$1.25
TAVOLA DIRNER WIRE .$1.20
TOWER VODKA..ARM
HALLER’S WHISKEY.$3.00
/ ' -
Fifth.$5.50 Gallon
Fifth.$4.75 Gallon
Pint.. .$4.75 Fifth
Pint.$5.00/ Fifth
SEE OUR SELECTION OF CHAMPAGNE AND IMPORTED WINES