Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Frank Burbank |
Object Name |
Recording, Audio |
Audio Recording |
Click here to view/hear the file. |
Scope & Content |
Frank Burbank was interviewed by Grey Edenfield at the AIMH on June 23, 2014. Frank starts the interview talking about his Great, Great Grandfather, Mason Burbank. Mason was a carpenter in Fernandina and was instrumental in helping to rebuild the Episcopal Church and its alter after the fire of 1876. He helped build many of the Victorian homes in the "Golden Age" of the late 1800's. His family was here during the yellow fever epidemic and after the epidemic, they bought property on Cumberland Island and moved there. His Great Grandfather, George traveled from Cumberland to attend school in Fernandina. There was a close relationship between residents on C.I. and residents of Fernandina. The Burbank family worked for the Carnegie family year round taking care of their homes. When they weren't taking care of the properties, they were in Fernandina shrimping or trapping. George had a trading post on Cumberland. He went to Berry College in Rome, GA to study mechanical engineering. At the time, a shrimp net was used with a seine trawler to catch bluefish when they were running. George made a net specifically to catch larger loads of shrimp and eventually started making nets for other fisherman and shrimpers. George met his wife, Effie Peterson when her family moved to Fernandina from North Carolina to catch bluefish. The Burbank family and the Peterson family became good friends. George and Effie had six sons that were all brought up in the fishing/net industry. The Burbanks and the Hardees went into business together, but after WWII there was a decline in the shrimping industry along the east coast so the families moved to various parts of Florida to where the shrimp went. Frank says the families moved to follow the shrimp around. There was a "gold rush" for shrimping in the early 1960's and net making was becoming a big industry. Frank's Dad, Frank moved the family to Tampa to run the Standard Marine Supply Company for the Hardee family. By the mid to late 70's the shrimping industry was on the decline again because of escalating fuel prices and the importing of farm raised shrimp. Eventually Standard Marine in Tampa closed and Frank came back to Fernandina Beach in 1994 to work at the Burbank Net Factory office at Standard Marine which eventually closed as well. Frank went on to work at Robison's Jewelry, the oldest retail store on Centre Street, where he still works to this day. |
Object ID |
2019.043.017 |
Collection |
AIMH Heritage Keepers Project |
Caption |
Frank Burbank |
Interviewer |
Grey Edenfield |
Narrator's name |
Frank Burbank |
Number of images |
1 |
People |
Burbank, Frank Burbank, Mason |
Search Terms |
Burbank Net Company Carnegie family Golden Age Hardee Brothers Heritage Keepers Project Net Makers Robison Jewelry Shrimping Shrimping Families Standard Hardware Marine Supply Company Yellow fever |
Date |
06/23/2014 |