Still very painfully within living memory — and destined for an enduring place in Provincetown lore — is the loss of the Patricia Marie, her captain and six crew members, while scalloping off Pollock Rip on Oct. 24, 1976. It was the worst such fishing disaster since the early 20th century. Captain William W. “Billy” King, 45, lived at 3 Point Street. Every other member of his crew came from Provincetown: Ernest Cordeiro, 46; Alton Joseph, 19; Maurice Joseph, 47; Walter Marshall, 52; Richard Oldenquist, 35; and Robert Zawalick, 23. So the accident just devastated the close-knit community. Almost no corner of town life was untouched by the absence of these men or the presence of their widows and their fatherless children. King’s son Chris is now the master of the Donna Marie.
Patricia Marie in 1976. Photograph by Clyde Smith, courtesy of Lisa King.
Building Provincetown 