2,000 people in Maine make their living digging for bloodworms. Meet Werner Rhode, worm digger. Read the full description.
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Piece Description
Digging for worms on the tidal mud flats of mid-coastal maine has been going on for about 60 years. When the tide goes out in the summertime, the diggers wander out into the mudflats with their hoes, hip boots, and buckets. Werner Rhode has been digging for 30 years - as he says in the story, "once a worm digger, always a worm digger." Broadcast History: Maine Public Radio [5/03] Prime Time Radio [3/04] Music by: Angeline the Baker, a quartet from Steuben Maine. Words and Vocals by Curtis Russet.
Broadcast History
Broadcast History:
Maine Public Radio [5/03]
Prime Time Radio [3/04]
Musical Works
Music by:
Angeline the Baker, a quartet from Steuben Maine. Words and Vocals by Curtis Russet.
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Garry McCandless
Posted on August 01, 2005 at 08:05 AM | Permalink
Review of Werner the Wormer
This could make a great Labor Day weekend soft feature. The story of a man who chooses to be his own boss with a job that, while physically demanding, offers the consolation of working in a beautiful place.
Werner makes his living digging for blood worms, which can go for up to twenty cents a piece, at low tide along the beaches of Maine.
A good example of story telling without a narrator/reporter, I found Werner to be a likable guy and found myself genuinely interested in his work. This story also has that fantasy appeal element to it in that it almost made me wish I could have a life like that.
Lots of good sounds: the ocean, digging, walking through the water, Werner's Maine accent. Interesting use of music at the end.