Born into the prominent seafood and boatbuilding Fountain family of Biloxi, Ethel Fountain was destined to be an active part of the seafood industry.
The daughter of Gussie Fountain, Sr. and Clara Noble Fountain, Ethel, affectionately called “Sis”, was born in 1907, the second of six children. She worked at Foster-Fountain Seafood, and after her father’s untimely death in 1927, continued her work in the seafood industry for the remainder of her life. She worked at many factories including Gollott’s, Taltavull’s, Biloxi Canning Co, Fayard’s, and, most notably, for Chester Delacruz at Southern Shell Seafood. It was here that she was a “floorwalker” leader and a long-time union leader.
Her entire life was lived at the family’s Lameuse Street home in Biloxi where she was well liked and a respected ambassador to the seafood industry. Though Ethel never married, she was regarded as “the favorite aunt” of her very large family and lived a full life of ninety-one years.
The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum is pleased to honor Miss Ethel “Sis” Fountain for her lifetime dedication to the seafood industry of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.