Jefferson store to host author of ‘The Lobster Lady’ Nov. 12

Sat, 11/05/2022 - 10:15am

Lynn Farrin, owner of the Jefferson Market & General Store, has announced that the store will be hosting author Barbara Walsh on Saturday, Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a book-signing.

Walsh is the author of “The Lobster Lady: Maine's 102-year-old Legend,” the true story about Rockland resident Virginia Oliver, who is the oldest lobster trapper in Maine, and maybe even the world.

Ginny is one of Maine’s treasures,” Walsh said. “Her story inspires people of all ages.”

Walsh said Farrin reached out to her after she saw the recent “207” show that featured her book on Oliver.

"The Lobster Lady has a special place in my heart," Farrin explained. "It's amazing she is still lobstering at the age of 102.

“The book resonates with so many people in the Midcoast area who have ties to the lobstering community,” Farrin said. "Everyone has a connection to lobstering in Maine, if you grew up near the coast. I lobstered for one summer and my husband's family has lobstered for years. She (Oliver) is one of Maine's treasures.”

“Soon after I saw the segment about Ginny Oliver in the summer of 2021 on ‘207,’ I knew I wanted to write a book about her. Her resilience and optimism inspire people of all ages,” said Walsh. A longtime journalist, Walsh says she enjoys writing books about special people in Maine.

Walsh is the author of other books; “The Goose Lady,” which is about the Augusta woman who dressed her cement lawn goose for over 23 years on Route 17. She wrote the biography “August Gale: A Father and Daughter’s Journey into the Storm” and has written five children’s books, including “Sammy in the Sky,” illustrated by Jamie Wyeth, “The Deer Man” and “Rhoda’s Rescue.”

Oliver began catching lobsters off Rockland’s coast when she was a little girl. People all over the country think Virginia is brave and strong, but Ginny, as her friends call her, knows the secret to staying young is doing what you love. People often ask Ginny when she plans to stop lobstering. She smiles and tells them, “When I die.”

Walsh is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who has worked for newspapers in Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Ireland. She is currently a reporter for the Maine Monitor.