The ST. VINCENT was owned and operated by Vincent Rosetti in the early to mid 1900s. Vincent would take on each of his sons as deckhands aboard the vessel and teach them to harvest shrimp and oysters. The ST. VINCENT would lead the annual Blessing of the Fleet boat parade for many years under the guidance of the Rosetti men.

The MARION BOY was a 40-foot wooden hull Biloxi lugger built by Jack Covacevich in Biloxi, Mississippi. Beginning in the 1920’s, the vessel was owned by Mateo Pitalo and used in harvesting for many seafood processors, but primarily the Kuluz Bros Packing Co. The lugger served the seafood industry under the guidance of Captain Bill Romero.

The MARGARET A was a 40-foot wooden hull Biloxi lugger built by Jack Covacevich in Biloxi, Mississippi. The vessel was owned and captained by Mateo Pitalo for more than 30 years beginning in the 1920s, and used in harvesting for many seafood processors, but primarily the Kuluz Bros Packing Co.

Built in 1928, by Jacky Jack Covacevich, the HAPPY LANDING was a 55-foot Biloxi lugger. With its cypress hull and mahogany interior, the beautiful vessel was originally used by the “Happy Landing Restaurant and Lounge” located in New Orleans to entertain guests and for gambling on the Mississippi River. When the boat was relocated to Biloxi, it was purchased by John “Wesley” Compton, Sr. and used for charter fishing. Many trips along the Mississippi Sound and to the Chandeleu

Born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1920, John “Wesley” Compton, Sr., moved to the Gulf Coast as a young man. He began working with his father on the electrical systems of the popular Buena Vista Hotel. After serving in the US Navy, he assumed ownership of the electrical business. It was when “Big Bill Kennedy” took Wesley to the Chandeleur Islands on a fishing trip that he fell in love with the islands along the Gulf Coast. This inspired him to purchase the 32-foot Mary Jack an

Cecile Barras McKreth was born in 1908, to a family of sharecroppers in St. Martinville, Louisiana. As did thousands of seafood workers from south Louisiana, Cecile’s parents, Alcide Barras and Clemence Odalie Borel, brought their family to Biloxi in 1919, seeking work in the seafood industry. For nine years, Cecile’s family lived in “the camps”, which were housing units provided by the factories for seafood workers. The family moved from the camps after the passing of her fa

Born in Biloxi, January 1919, to Vincent Rosetti (an immigrant of Hvar, Yugoslavia) and Josephine Frank Rosetti, Tony was the first generation of his family to be born in the US. His grandfather, Anthony Rosetti, came to Biloxi at the turn of the twentieth century, as many Yugoslavian immigrants did, in search of a better life for his family and became a captain and commercial fisherman. He would ultimately become a founding member of Biloxi’s Slavonian Lodge. Tony’s mother,

Florrie Myrlene Cumbest was born on February 23, 1931, to Mack Elvis Cumbest and Florrie Almeda Goff Cumbest. She grew up in the Creole/Wade Community in Jackson County and married Israel “Buddy” Shemper, Jr. in 1950. In 1954, the couple moved from Pascagoula to Biloxi to a property Buddy and his father secured in a trade. On this property located at the foot of Crawford Street and Bayview Avenue, a surplus store and Shell Oil service station were on the north side of the str

Employed at Marinovich Trawl Co. from May 1, 1978, until the business closed on June 2, 2002, William E. Wiley has been an invaluable part of the seafood industry using his craftsmanship in many diverse ways. After serving in the US Navy on highly classified projects, Mr. Wiley found his passion and livelihood working at the trawl company with Mr. Steve Marinovich. He trained the newly arrived Vietnamese fishermen on netmaking, setting trawl doors, splicing cables and other t

Born in Youngsville, Louisiana in 1913, Ramsey P. Girouard moved to Biloxi in 1926, following the death of his father. The young Ramsey would live with his brother, Francis, who worked in the seafood industry. Upon arrival, Ramsey Girouard served as deckhand and eventually served as boat captain for DeJean Packing Co., commanding the ANNA WILLIAMS and later the ALMA MAY. Recognizing his skill at net making and mending and boat repairs, the DeJean Co. chose Girouard to captain

Otis “Peanut” Broussard was born in 1909, in Youngsville, Louisiana and moved with his parents to Biloxi at a very early age. While still a young man, he started working in the seafood factory alongside his mother to help provide for the family. When old enough to captain a boat, Broussard would work for Sea Coast Packing Co. aboard the JOHN SEKUL and STEVE M. SEKUL. This career would carry him the better part of his life as he loved the open waters of the Gulf and only ever

The Mark & Dawn has been owned by Clyde F. “Ricky” Ross, Jr. for more than 35 years. Built in 1974, in Chauvin, Louisiana by Ernest J. Bourg, the lugger trawler has a deep-v hull and a bow cabin. The construction is fiberglass and Louisiana red cypress. After the boat originally sunk, it was completely refurbished by Ricky Ross and named “Mark & Dawn”.

Born in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in 1926 to Paul Maurice and Victoria Cospelich Maurice, Leo Paul Maurice, Sr. found his heart in the Gulf waters. In his young adulthood, Leo would serve in the US Navy, and later, found occupation as a plasterer, often building homes for the less fortunate. But his talents were not limited to the land – Leo would share his knowledge of fishing, boat building and net making with anyone, which was always done in his front yard. Though he was

Fourth generation fisherman, Clyde F. Ross, Jr., is the eldest of six children born to Clyde, Sr. and Rita Mae Fryou Ross. He was raised in “Possum Neck” area of Biloxi, closely located near the ice houses and seafood factories. This is where his parents shrimp boat, the “Magg-Doff” would be docked and Clyde, Sr. would teach his children the industry. “Ricky” would work side by side with his father on weekends, summers and on school breaks. But his teachers would include uncl

Born in 1895, Splitsko-Dalmatinska, Croatia, arrived in Biloxi, Mississippi, and soon found work in the seafood industry. He would marry Mary Kuluz Pitalo and begin a family. Fulfilling his dream, Mateo purchased his first Biloxi lugger in 1920, and then later, a second. For more than 30 years, Mateo would captain the MARGARET A with Bill Romero serving as captain of the MARION BOY. Captain Pitalo would work for many of the seafood factories along the Gulf Coast, but worked m

Joseph Alfrede Boudreaux was born August 28, 1875, in Loreauville, Iberia Parish Louisiana. His parents were Jean Pierre Boudreaux and Marie Rosema Bourg. Joseph Alfrede's family remains in Iberia Parish working in the farming community and nearby Vermilion Parish. He met and married Elizabeth “Elisa” Toups. They were married on January 14, 1895, in Vermilion Parish. Elisa Toups was born July 16, 1879, in Abbeville, Vermilion Parish Louisiana the daughter of Valerie Toups and

Born Ivan Kolic, in 1899, John Kolich left his homeland of Yugoslavia arriving in the United States in 1919. Later Johnny arrived in Biloxi where he would meet Alma Weeks hauling watermelons from her father’s farm in Foley, Alabama. Together, they had three children. Kolich would make his career as boat captain aboard the schooners, ADRIATIC and PACIFIC, both owned by Grego Anticich. In the late 1940s, the PACIFIC would be sold to the Mavar Shrimp and Oyster Co. and Kolich wo

Born in England in 1868, John Edward Lewis came to Biloxi in the late 19 th century where he would serve as a respected member and official of the Mississippi Pilot Association. As a decades long captain of the pilot boats, Lewis guided ships into and out of the coastal ports and barrier islands of the Mississippi Sound. He was recognized for his civic leadership in recovery from various hurricanes during his lifetime on the Gulf Coast. Among is most well known and documente

George Henry Gray was born in Enterprise, Mississippi to John Henry and Essie Mae Gray. He moved to Biloxi in the early 1960s where he was a real estate investor, purchasing his first property in 1968. Better known, and quite renowned along the Coast, for his welding skills, Mr. Gray established his welding business, Gray’s Welding and Iron Works. As a result of his top-quality skills, he was appointed to assemble and weld one of his most cherished pieces – the original “Gold

Marking the beginning of the commercial seafood processing industry on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, “Lopez, Elmer, and Company” was...