Celebrating Pine Islanders: Jarod Bigler
Although his family has a generational commercial fishing background, Jarod Bigler imagines the most important thing about him is simply that he is a father. It is something he has embraced and feels his own father influenced him a great deal on.
“My dad’s a commercial shrimper, my brother is a commercial stone crabber, my grandma and grandpa were commercial fishermen back in the ’90s before the net ban. They helped start the co-op so everybody could sell their product right there at Demere Key before the county bought it,” he said. “We have a long lineage out here.”
“I think the most important thing is that I have three kids and I’m depended on,” Bigler added, noting that having children will change a person in a number of ways and it is a good thing.
A fifth generation Pine Islander, he has his own business building docks. In an effort to take care of other Pine Islanders, most of the construction jobs he takes are on the island. One of his business mottos is “Quality is more important than quantity.” He said it is a slogan he learned — and stole — from his father, along with a number of other integral moves.
“We don’t take a ton of work, we just do what we can handle, and we try to do every job to the highest quality we can,” Bigler said.
His family came to the island in 1947, with his maternal great-grandfather, Gordon Neilson, leading the way. Bigler’s own family includes wife Katrissa (Rowell), who is also a fifth generation Pine Islander.
While being a good father is where he finds real purpose, he credits his wife for helping him zero in on the desire to strive to become the man he wants to be. He said he sees himself as the first step in his children’s lives.
In consideration of his role as a Pine Islander, Bigler said the segments of his life are apportioned to many responsibilities, such as his work and family and as a member of the community.
“My customers like working with me — they’ll see us at lunch, or they’ll see me with my kids at the grocery store. I’ve made so many lifelong friends out here just from my business,” he said, noting that often talking to people about building a dock for them leads to friendships built on their similarities.
Something Bigler admits is a charm to which he has grown accustomed is having grown up on an island where he finds himself raising his own family, running a business and living happily.
Asked what he would tell people about Pine Island who may have never heard of it, he said he might tell them not to try to change it.
“It ain’t broken, so don’t try to fix it,” Bigler said.
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