In Search of Oyster Fisherman and Sailors

It’s Wednesday, and I’ve already packed my paints and brushes for plein air painting in Bay St Louis, Mississippi this weekend. I’m looking forward to retracing some early steps of my family’s life there. I’ll go to mass at Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church, which has served the community for over 170 years, and is where my grandfather was baptized. I’ll visit the cemetery to search for family names, explore neighborhoods and waterfronts, and of course enjoy eating seafood.

Fleeing poverty in the late 1800’s, my great grandparents joined others from their small fishing village on the island of Krk, and sailed from Croatia to the United States in search of a better life. Together they built a new community for themselves in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, where they continued to work as oyster fisherman and sailors, just as they had back home.