At 103, ‘Lobster Lady’ Renewed Her License For The 95th Season Just In Time For Her Birthday

Jun 28, 2023

Virginia Oliver, popularly known in her home state of Maine as the “Lobster Lady,” celebrated her 103rd birthday in 2023, and despite being more than a century old, it appears that the sweet old lady still loves what she’s been doing for decades as she renewed her license that year.

According to News Center Maine, the Lobster Lady, also known as Ginny to those who are close to her, celebrated a big milestone in her life as she celebrated the special occasion with friends and family at the Rockland Historical Society.

Since it was her special day, Oliver was dressed in a lovely birthday outfit consisting of a floral-printed blouse and a gray jacket. To top off her look, the celebrant wore a pair of blue bedazzled earrings with a design of, you guessed it, lobster!

Her birthday cake was also fitted with her title as it was decorated with red and white details as well as lobster candies and a text that read, “Ginny, making the world a better place since 1920.”

Born on Clarendon Street in Rockland in June 1920, Oliver has spent most of her life living in the area where she spent her childhood. She still resides on the same street where she was born but in a different house.

Speaking about her love for lobstering, the Lobster Lady began working at the age of 8 along with her father and older brother. 

It appears that the job runs in the family as four of her children, as well as her late husband, also worked in the seafood industry.

Despite her age, Virginia Oliver still continues to work on boats as Wayne Gray, one of the attendees of her birthday celebration, told News Center Maine that the old lady renewed her lobster fishing license for the 2023 season.

According to Fox Weather, the Lobster Lady isn’t just known locally, but also worldwide, thanks to several projects that featured her, like documentaries and even two children’s illustration books titled “The Lobster Lady: Maine’s 102-year-old Legend” by Barbara Walsh and Shelby J. Crouse, and “The Lobster Lady” by Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs and Jamie Hogan.

Walsh said in an interview that after seeing a segment about Oliver, she kept watching it and fell in love, which eventually led her to write a book.

Speaking about what Oliver does, her son Max Oliver, spoke with the outlet and said that he and his mother would go out three times a week during the lobster season as she thinks five days is too much. Although, there are also times that she hates lobstering, especially when it’s foggy outside. However, she has no choice but to pilot the boat by herself.

"I don't like the fog, but you have to go in it," she said.

Even though she has been known for working in the lobster industry her whole life, there was a point when she worked at a local printing shop for nearly two decades. However, the ocean kept on calling her.

Unfortunately, there was one tragic incident. Oliver mentioned in the interview there was a time when a crab bit her, and her wound required seven stitches. The injury didn’t stop her as she continued doing her job, but she does it with one hand only now as the other one is not as strong anymore.

Oliver told the Washington Post she has no intentions of retiring:

“You have to keep moving,” she said. “I intend to do this until I die.”

What do you think of the Lobster Lady’s dedication to her work? Do you think she should retire soon due to her age? Let us know your thoughts, and make sure to pass this on to your friends and family.