Bud Marseilles purchased a weekend getaway home in Oxford many years ago with a backyard filled with oyster shells that prompted an interest in watermen, oysters, and skipjacks. Once retired, he became a docent at CBMM, joined their model guild and started to build skipjacks. To spend more time out on the water, Bud joined the Dorchester Skipjack Committee which owns and operates the skipjack Nathan of Dorchester. Volunteering at CBBM, he learned about watermen and oysters. Sailing on the Nathan he learned to sail a real skipjack, dredge for oysters, and to work with some legendary skipjack captains. Sailing with passengers in light winds led to his telling stories about oysters, dredging, and skipjack to keep everyone entertained. During Covid, Bud started reading old newspaper articles about watermen and the booming oyster industry of the 1880’s. As a result of this research, he wrote a series of published articles about the historic oyster industry and local oyster war battles. An engineer by trade, prior to retirement and along with his regular management responsibilities, he taught undergraduate engineering technology courses with students from diverse backgrounds.
