Wellfleet Public Library

Saturday, Oct 14, 11:30 am

Dwight Estey will present the life story of Wellfleet's most famous resident - the oyster! Having been both a wild- picker and a commercial shell fisherman, Dwight knows of what he speaks. For fifty years he's walked the flats observing the changes in the Wellfleet oyster fishery. What he doesn't know first hand he's learned through research and talking to many "real old-timers." His subject, the oyster, hasn't changed. It was critical to sustaining native Americans and the colonists. As its popularity spread so did the name Wellfleet, giving outsized importance to a small community on a fragile sliver of sand. The Wellfleet oyster continues to help drive the local economy providing livelihood for young families. As a former president of the Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum, Dwight has given countless talks and walks focusing on his favorite subject - the oyster. This presentation will include new material, looking closely at the people who made the "Wellfleet Oyster" famous - or were made famous by it.