"Both my mother and father worked. They put in long hours. My mother packed fish. In the wintertime, she took care of three kids for a woman who was working. We weren't rich, but I had a good childhood. They didn't owe any money when they died."      -Daniel Collins, Jr., son of Daniel Collins

"The work is not so unpleasant as one might at first suppose in consideration of the combination of fish and oil, but the rejected parts of the herring are speedily carted away to be sold for fertilizing purposes, and in a well-regulated factory a pair of scrubbers are kept constantly employed making the place as tidy as possible."

"The plant is always located upon the water's edge or at the head of a long wharf, and the fresh sea breeze comes in at the broad doors refreshing workmen. If one glances up, he sees the broad stretch of bay dotted by the white-winged boats or the restful green of spruce-bordered shores. Far better it is, despite the unpleasant odors attending this industry, than the close confinement of city shop or mill."

"The small steamers fly up and down the bay until a cargo is obtained from the smaller boats, and then turn toward the wharf after the signal of one, two or three whistles, which indicate the number of hogsheads, and by which signal the men at the factory judge the number of cutters necessary. It is a pretty sight to see the silver shining herring poured from the boats. They glisten in the sun like liquid metal as they are dipped upon the long tables ready for cutting. The fish chosen are small herring, those from three to five inches long being the most desirable. The sardine of the Mediterranean ports is of this genus."

"The heads and tails are removed, and then they are soaked and salted in huge tubs, dried and toasted in the large ovens, and then comes the packing, one brand being packed in mustard and others in plain oil. The work of the sealers is difficult, but when the art is once conquered it is pleasant work and a good workman earns from three to four dollars per day. He has a small charcoal fire beside him, a strip of tin half an inch wide in one hand and a soldering iron in the other. The can is placed upon a revolving plate in front, and with a dexterous movement, so quick one may not say how, the can is hound about and sealed with the private mark of the workman upon it, and slid off into the pile. These cans are then carried to the immense heaps of sawdust which cleans the oil or other dirt which it has gathered in handling. From this burying it is shoveled into a slanting sieve which removes the sawdust, and it is then ready to be packed in cases for shipment."

"One scarcely realizes when he opens a box of sardines, how many different classes of labor have made it possible for him to enjoy this simple article of food. But one fully realizes the immense number of American sardines shipped to all parts of the country when he stands upon the deck of the homeward bound steamer, and, at every point, impatient of delay, he watches the innumerable neat cases run down the gangplank."