Sardine Musings

When I checked on the theme for this weeks Mono Monday challenge, the topic was "invented in the 19th century." As I mentioned yesterday, I happened to be spending the weekend in a time capsule, so it seemed there must be something on hand pertaining to the challenge. Sure enough, sitting there on little shelf above the toaster oven was an empty can of sardines (see extra).

Not only did sardine canning begin in the 19th century, but for many years it was a significant part of life on the Maine coast. The tin pictured here came from a cannery right around the corner in Prospect Harbor. On the way home we stopped by and I hopped out to take a quick photo. The giant fisherman holding a can of sardines outside the factory is a well-known landmark in the area.

Wait, you say, isn't that a lobster trap in his hands? Well, yes, but that is a fairly recent change. The outfit which used to pack sardines here went out of business in 2010. At the time it was the very last sardine canning factory in the United States. It was eventually bought by a lobster processing company, which repainted the billboard to reflect the new business.

Now that company, too, has gone belly up, and once again there is the chance new owners may take over. The latest proposal would involve processing salmon farmed in pens submerged in nearby Frenchman's Bay. The scale of the project has the potential to have a huge negative impact on the coastal area, including the shoreline around the Point where I spent the weekend. 

Curiously, the can pictured in the extra appears to be a strange anomaly of sorts. It's obviously not from the 19th century. I would place it somewhere in the 1960's. The label identifies it as being produced by the Seaboard Packing Company in Prospect Harbor, but I found no other evidence this brand was ever canned in the area. I suppose it was produced just after Seaboard was bought out and before tins were produced with ring openers.

While on the topic, I might point out that we showed up for our weekend with no less than five cans of sardines with us, because my wife is a very avid consumer of said oily fishes. Personally, I prefer not to eat at the same time when she is consuming them.


The entire day was not spent contemplating sardines, however. I've included another extra from my morning walk along the east trail. The boardwalk was made from lumber scavenged from shoreline. The lighting effect is from the high seawall to the left of the frame. The early morning sunlight is just clearing the top of the rocks, but the sun hasn't risen enough for it to shine down onto the trail yet. I thought it looked very neat.

Now that we're home, I went back and posted some extras from our last couple of days. It will probably be a shock to go back to work tomorrow.