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August 30, 2001
MBL Dock Named for Longtime Squid Collector, Henry W. Klimm, Jr.
Henry W. Klimm, Jr. of Falmouth has been collecting squid for neurobiological research at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) since the summer of 1959. In honor of Klimm's many contributions over the years, the MBL has renamed the dock to which he ties his fishing boat, the Loligo, as the Henry W. Klimm, Jr. Pier. The announcement came at an August 23 ceremony honoring Klimm's 86th birthday. The dock, located off the Woods Hole Waterfront Park, was originally built in 1960 to accommodate Klimm's boats.
Throughout the years Klimm has collected over 500,000 live squid for the MBL, allowing scientists, including some Nobel Prize winners, to learn how nerve cells work through studying the squid's giant axon.
Klimm was hired in 1959 by MBL General Manager Homer Smith to determine the feasibility of collecting the delicate squid by means other than a damaging weir trap—he has been collecting the animals ever since. In February 1985, Klimm made a special offshore trip for the MBL to see whether squid could be collected from these deep waters and brought back alive. His trip was a success, which meant that the squid's collecting season could be extended to September.
Klimm's most recent boat, the Loligo—the genus name of squid—was recovered about five years ago from New Bedford Harbor and towed to the MBL dock in Great Harbor. It needed many engine repairs and the installation of winches and other equipment to make it operational for summer squid collections.
Klimm, a long-time Falmouth resident, was born aboard a houseboat in Hyannis Harbor. His father, a commercial fisherman and lobsterman, owned a boatyard there where Klimm worked as a child fishing and lobstering with his family. Around 1936 Klimm's father gave him his first boat, the Eleanor K. In subsequent years he owned many other fishing boats including the Capt'n Bill (versions I to V) named for his son H. William Klimm III, who is the now the Captain of the MBL's collecting vessel, Gemma.
Henry was married for 66 years to his wife Edna who passed away last fall. They have one son, H. William Klimm III and three grandchildren, H. William Klimm IV, Jeff Klimm, and Heather Farrell, and two great grandchildren, Madeline Klimm and H. William Klimm V. |
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