Finest Kind
Tales of a Brant Rock Lobsterman
by Sandra Staples-Bortner

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Donal Staples joins the Navy at seventeen and soon finds himself in the Battle of Okinawa, one of the defining conflicts of World War II. Returning home a confident young man, he makes up for lost time by romancing the woman who will become his wife. Together, they build a life founded on Donal becoming a lobsterman in their small fishing village, Brant Rock. As Donal becomes a local industry leader, he helps bring up an entire community of commercial fishermen. At the helm of his family, lobstering also takes centerstage as he raises his kids on hauling traps, fishing for food and fun, and the ways of the sea. Donal’s story culminates in the perilous COVID-19 pandemic, where he struggles to find connection in a nursing home amid stringent social isolation policies. Nevertheless, the enduring respect of his colleagues and love of his sprawling family solidify him—long before his death—as a man of exceptional character and strength. This is the incredible story of Donal Staples, whose life bears witness to the hardship endured and accomplishments made by the Greatest Generation—stories slipping all too quickly into distant, forgotten history. Donal’s life story is a testament to the value in being the very best one can be, for oneself and others: the finest kind.

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Author and conservationist Sandra Staples-Bortner is the extraordinary Donal Staples’s daughter. Raised on her father’s lobster boats—and his stories—Finest Kind was the organic product of a lifetime of hearing her father’s tales. With the help of her siblings, her father’s friends, and a wealth of research, Sandra filled in the details. As she did, she realized Donal’s story was that of a generation of men who fought bravely in the Second World War, as well as of those who made their livelihood lobstering, contributing much to the foundation of coastal New England. Above all, it was the story of her family. Sandra has had a three-decade-long career as a wildlife conservationist. She is especially proud of her tenure as the leader of Great Peninsula Conservancy, a non-profit land trust on Washington’s Puget Sound. Now retired, she volunteers her time helping to restore threatened Columbia River salmon. Sandra has lived in the Pacific Northwest for thirty years, where she and her husband raised their two sons. Now living on an old farm, they grow hay, maintain habitat for wildlife, and try to keep up with their two Labrador retrievers.

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Contributors

Author

Sandra Staples-Bortner

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FriesenPress Editions

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