Maine's oldest lobster trapper recently turned 104, and plans to quit doing the job that she loves aren't anywhere in her foreseeable future! Virginia "Ginny" Oliver, also known as the "Lobster Lady," celebrated her birthday on Thursday, June 6, 2024. She was surrounded by her family in Rockland alongside her favorite treat: chocolate cake and ice cream. Ginny, the subject of the 2022 kids book The Lobster Lady, told author Barbara Walsh that she doesn’t feel old at all. "Nobody wants to listen to you complain," she said.
Ginny plans to be giving things a go with lobster trapping for the 2024 summer season as well. "Oh, I’m going to go," she confirmed. This will be her 96th year hauling traps.
The 104-year-old started fishing with her father and brother in the same area back when she was only 8 years old. She lives on the same street where she was born in 1920. She’s raised four kids with her husband, all of whom have lobstered as well.
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Ginny's son Max, who just turned 80, is still lobstering and plans to put his traps in the water this year along with his mother. In 2021, she told 207 that what she likes best about lobstering is "being the boss." She doesn't tend to go out if she doesn't want to, but enjoys the independence that life on the water has afforded her and her family.
In a 2023 interview with The Washington Post, she shared, "All my life, I’ve done this kind of thing. I never get seasick." Later in the interview she added that her morning routine typically consists of putting on her fishing gear, getting on her boat, and spending several hours catching lobsters.
When asked by WCSH in 2021 about when she planned to retire from lobstering, she replied, "When I die." She added, "You just have to keep going."
The book written about her summarizes: "Still hauling lobsters at over 100 years old, Virginia Oliver is admired in the state of Maine and beyond. She has been lobstering on and off for over 93 years and is fondly known as the Lobster Lady among locals. Virginia is a native of Rockland, Maine."
"The Lobster Lady chronicles a day in Virginia's life while illuminating all that she remembers from growing up and starting a family on the mainland in Maine and on her family’s island, called the Neck. Readers get a sense of Virginia’s life and an idea of all that goes into lobster harvesting," it continues. "Lyrically told and beautifully illustrated, The Lobster Lady is a tribute to the incredible life of a Maine icon and female pioneer."
"God bless this woman," one person commented.
"I love her!" another person said. "She's so beautiful and never wants to stop living her dream. What an inspiration!"
