"It was backbreaking work," said Anita Elefsen, director of the Herring Era Museum. "They would pack three to four barrels per hour throughout a 26-hour shift and then could go home and rest. Many said they came in and just laid down on the floor, completely wiped out. And sometimes, just two or three hours later, someone would knock on the window to let them know another ship had come in full of fresh herring."