Interview with Billy Burbank III, Netmaker

In the accompanying interview, longtime net maker and Fernandina resident Billy Burbank III discusses the history and practices of the net making trade. Conducted by folklorist Peggy Bulger in July 1980, the interview begins with Burbank describing how his grandfather began the family business, Burbank Trawlmakers Inc., in 1915. Since then, Burbank nets have been used by people in the US from North Carolina down to Florida and up the Gulf Coast through the Texas Panhandle area. In addition, their nets have been exported to Central and South America and Africa. At the time of the interview, Burbank Trawlmakers was the largest producer of fishing nets in the United States. Stories about the family business include nets made for President Nixon and a fishing boat that accidentally caught a submarine in its trawl nets.

In addition, Burbank also describes the different net types and uses – including flat nets, four seam balloon nets, two seam balloon nets, and a modification that Billy Burbank III developed called the Mongoose, which is actually two nets in one. He also describes the net making process, and the various tools and skills involved.

This unit includes the original audio, as well as the original transcript and the pictures that folklorist Bulger created during the interview. These materials, audio and visual, were created as part of the Florida Folklife Program, and are presently housed at the Florida State Archives.

At the time of the interview, Bulger was chief administrator for the Florida Folklife Program. Today, she serves as the Director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.