The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

[Rich Scheffer]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Best pictures yet! Its hard to imagine natural clams that thick! The most we ever caught on my boat was 38 bushels, in about two or three hours. This was at a transplant off Bayshore. A lot of guys called it Bedell's folly, as Chet Bedell was Baymens Association Pres. and orchestrated the transplant. I guess the clams werent spread out very well' most of the guys did terrible. It rained cats and dogs the opening day, blew 20 to 30 out of the east. Lots of guys said they would have done better on their regular spots. We, Lou Duffy and myself, saw a kid next to us struggling even to stand on his little 18 or 20 ft Volker boat, waves washing his clams over as fast as he could catch them. His clams were all yellow. Lou said " That kid is on em azz deep and he doesnt even know it" We grappeled over next to him and landed on the mother load. Clams were piled about a foot deep! thus the reason they were yellow, as they never got to burrow down in the bottom. We cleaned that pile up in no time. Grappeled side to side, ran up and down the anchor and never found them again. Stan buys was right in front of us, he dug two bushels, gave up, and sat in his cabin watching us. On the way home we had to stop at White Cap to pick up a check for some black back flounders i sold them the week before. George King came over, looked at my truck full of clams and said " Rich, you and Lou buying now?" Great memories, even better to have these old pictures to add a visual impact to them! Rich

[catskill1]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

I just got back from vacation. Spent 3 weeks in Sebastian, Florida. We go there every year as we own 3 weeks of timeshare down there. Is there anyone on this thread that moved down there from LI? I saw the names of some nearby towns down there on this thread. I'd like to know if there is any good place to tread a few clams clams in the Indian River? I'm new to the area.

[Rich Scheffer]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Danny Siebert and his son Gary live in Sebastian. Richard Madden told me Gary scouts most weekends looking for signs of the next florida "set". Hey Jim Ledger there is another one of those wheelhouses we talked about. Rich

[catskill1]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Danny Siebert and his son Gary live in Sebastian. Richard Madden told me Gary scouts most weekends looking for signs of the next florida "set". Hey Jim Ledger there is another one of those wheelhouses we talked about. Rich

Thanks Rich, I'm gonna look him up next February!

[Jim Ledger]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

That guy in the white cap looks like a good digger. The picture must be somewhat staged though, no piles on deck, two guys working the same side, that never works. Clams are real enough though.

Is that a cut down catboat, do you suppose? The tumblehome bow looks like no other tongboat that I've ever seen, but it does resemble a certain catboat I know. Very Dutch, anyway.

I've been mulling over those cabins, Rich. As you say, it's a traditional type of style, but actually it represents an interesting transition. You can tell some of these builders had a good eye for line, but somehow they stopped thinking in those terms when they built the new cabin tops, building them boxy like the early makeshift ones. Later on, the cabin designs became more unified in appearance, giving the tops split windshields, crowned roofs, side and end rake, widening them up so two men could stand inside. It just seems like there must have been a period of time where the builders evolved their ideas.

I suppose that building complex angled and windowed cabin tops from solid wood must have been time consuming and difficult, not to mention expensive, so maybe there are economic factors to consider. Plywood and fiberglass certainly simplified construction of difficult shapes, so maybe that's the difference.

[Rich Scheffer]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Jim I think these wheel houses were considered temporary, maybe for winters only, much like the little cabins on the early raking boats. I definitely think this boat was originally sail powered. When I was fresh out of highschool, Teddy Mcdermot had a big old dark green tong boat just like this one. It still had a foot or so of mast skicking out of the deck where they sawed it off, just in front of the forward hatch. I dont ever recall the bilge pump not running. Teddys younger brother Butch owned the boat Lou Duffy is pictured on. Butch kept it at the head of patchogue river on that little dock on the east side. Butch would walk to his boat every morning, work a brief day, sell his clams, and walk to Kapplers to spend his earnings. I never saw him walking home. I guess I just couldnt stay up that late! Oh by the way at first I didnt understand the bow on that old girl with all the clams piled on her either, but after closer inspection I see there is a funny shadow thar makes the bow appear different than it really is. In Joseph Mitchell's book "Up in the old hotel" He writes an interesting story about clamming out of Babylon back in the forties or early fifties. He tells about selling their catch right out on the water to buy boats, not to any trucks at the dock as we did. This could explain all the burlap bags on the trunk cabin top and the rubber tire/fender for holding off other boats while they came alongside to off load their catch. Rich

[Jim Ledger]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Probably a lot of big stuff in them bags. Rich...

One time, when I was digging out East, they opened Peconic River, right by the Indian Island golf course. It hadn't been worked since forever. The river was only a couple of hundred feet wide at that point and I don't think the open area was very long either.Ten foot handles in three or four feet of water. Not many boats, but a crowd of overboard rakers all around, digging right under the boat every time I hit some. Girlfriend culling and bagging. Thirty-three bushels the first day...for four neck. Naturally, the price of chowders dropped from three dollars to two the morning of the opening, in anticipation of the glut. Good times.

Yes to the buy boat, and I recommend "Up in the Old Hotel" to anyone who can find a copy.

Take a look at the stem on that boat, Rich, it.s got a samson post carved into the top, in addition to the pair just aft. Like, maybe the boat was cut down and some extra stem left. Definite tumblehome to the stem, though.

You know, Steve Naeder is in Florida, running a marina. I'll find out where. It might be near you.

[Dockatbay2004]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Jim I think these wheel houses were considered temporary, maybe for winters only, much like the little cabins on the early raking boats. I definitely think this boat was originally sail powered. When I was fresh out of highschool, Teddy Mcdermot had a big old dark green tong boat just like this one. It still had a foot or so of mast skicking out of the deck where they sawed it off, just in front of the forward hatch. I dont ever recall the bilge pump not running. Teddys younger brother Butch owned the boat Lou Duffy is pictured on. Butch kept it at the head of patchogue river on that little dock on the east side. Butch would walk to his boat every morning, work a brief day, sell his clams, and walk to Kapplers to spend his earnings. I never saw him walking home. I guess I just couldnt stay up that late! Oh by the way at first I didnt understand the bow on that old girl with all the clams piled on her either, but after closer inspection I see there is a funny shadow thar makes the bow appear different than it really is. In Joseph Mitchell's book "Up in the old hotel" He writes an interesting story about clamming out of Babylon back in the forties or early fifties. He tells about selling their catch right out on the water to buy boats, not to any trucks at the dock as we did. This could explain all the burlap bags on the trunk cabin top and the rubber tire/fender for holding off other boats while they came alongside to off load their catch. Rich

Rich,
I remember a tong boat tied up on that side with a long tiller and the name "Black Dog" across it's stern. I never knew who,owned it just imagined a black lab scampering across it's decks. Who were the guys with the catboat/tong boat I think it was a light green, I remember a mast as well, used to work the shell beds off the tanker channel turnin buoy. I heard they used to,take it down the intercostal to Florida in the winter. I used to work that area with what we used to call a lot of handle 2 and a 1/2 sections and a 22 spike rake, this was before the Rhode Island heads came out.

Who was the digger who opened that clam gear place on Ocean Ave near Patchogue Music? Didn't he invent the clam power T shirt?

Jim,
The last time I saw Steve, he was a Chrysler outboard mechanic for Larry. I hope he's doing well. I run into Donahue once in a while up here on the North Shore, although it has been a while.......

Thanks guys for keeping this thread going, and interesting, love hearing all the old stories, sorry about all the questions, they just keep popping up every time you guys mention something familiar.
Pete

[Rich Scheffer]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Pete, google "Clam Power" He has a website, with a video of him running out of Browns River in his old Jorgensen garvey. His clamming looks more like something you would do for exercise or for old time sake than for a living. I think Steve McCune is his name. He still sells the Clam Power shirts, one of my buddies down here was a tonger out of Babylon/Bayshore, recently sent for a couple of Steve' shirts.

[lucky strike]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Rich, I thought i was an expert on tong boats but you may have me beat we must have crossed paths in the 47yr's i've bineen a bayman in Babylon did you play when we had the softball teams with Babylon,Bayshore,West ,Sayville and Patc hogue in the 80's most of the pic's from Wiley and Holzbit are mine i have a lot more I'll post when i learn how to scan pic# 148 is Rick Leigh-Mamual, on the Ranger Speedy Leigh-Manual on StanlyBuys old boat John and Donny Vanessendelft Donny gave me the pic's above me on the lucky strike he doesn't know who it is, it might be on Blue Point's but the clams wouldbe in baskets , pic 300 is me with the wheel barrow and on the bottom in 1966 ,Russ

[Rich Scheffer]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Rich, I thought i was an expert on tong boats but you may have me beat we must have crossed paths in the 47yr's i've bineen a bayman in Babylon did you play when we had the softball teams with Babylon,Bayshore,West ,Sayville and Patc hogue in the 80's most of the pic's from Wiley and Holzbit are mine i have a lot more I'll post when i learn how to scan pic# 148 is Rick Leigh-Mamual, on the Ranger Speedy Leigh-Manual on StanlyBuys old boat John and Donny Vanessendelft Donny gave me the pic's above me on the lucky strike he doesn't know who it is, it might be on Blue Point's but the clams wouldbe in baskets , pic 300 is me with the wheel barrow and on the bottom in 1966 ,Russ

Russ I moved to florida in 1980, didnt play softball. I treasure these pictures. For years I have been looking for a venue like this, and the time and energy to compile some sort of organized collection of pictures and history of our past on the bay. Guys lets hope this has been just the tip of the iceberg. Rich

[lucky strike]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Rich, pic 199 Lowell Ockers, Tom Ball and the stern of Webbey Becket's Selena also Jake Klaasen"s Special K I wish i could go back in time and drive through Harry's in the 60's . were you at baymans meeting in the West Sayville firehouse when Stanly Buy's took a swing at George King it was around 1972? russ

[Rich Scheffer]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

[QUOTE=lucky strike;3720240]Rich, pic 199 Lowell Ockers, Tom Ball and the stern of Webbey Becket's Selena also Jake Klaasen"s Special K I wish i could go back in time and drive through Harry's in the 60's . were you at baymans meeting in the West Sayville firehouse when Stanly Buy's took a swing at George King it was around 1972? russ[/QUOTE Russ, Chet Bedell was president,called me earlier that evening, asked if I would be recording secretary for the meeting. Saw the whole thing, wrote it all down, blow by blow. George was hogging the floor, wouldnt let anyone get a word in edgewise. After a particularly longwinded speech by George, Chet asked him to give the floor to someone else, in otherwords asking him to shut up. George refused, Chet said "You are out of order!" George kept talking.Chet then asked if anyone would want to be Seargent at Arms and throw George out. Stan stood right up and volunteered. I was surprised that George gave Stan all he could handle. George was a big impressive guy, very well informed and well spoken, had me fooled I pictured him working on a shiny new virginia built tong boat,maybe diesel powered like Stan Schlagers boat. Believe me I was really let down when I saw him living in an old school bus down in White Caps parking lot. Thats really why the Dutchmen didn't like George. He would go to all the political town meetings, Give long winded speeches, annoy the politicians, and not really accurately represent the rest, or majority of the baymen. Now I am starting to sound like old George. Rich

[lucky strike]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Rich now i know we crossed paths. I was vp and Jake Klassen was president in about 1975 by then it was kinda over.I can still picture Stan Tuma and Jake Sluiter sitting up there Chet and i worked together quit a bit back then Stan Tuma still has all the paperwork from all the meetings WAS just at Stan's 90 birthday at the W. s. fire house him and Tom Van are the only old Dutchman left Russ .

[Rich Scheffer]

Re: The Life of a Clam Digger (1972, Long Island)

Stan Tuma was an amazing working machine. He wasn' blessed with a tall athletic build like Stan Buys or some others, but I am sure he had an abundance of core strength and stamina. He told me Bishop built his boat, so it had to be built at South Bay Boat Works,in Patchogue. I remember they put one of those Polyester/ fiberglass boat over a boat glass jobs on her . Stan had one of the deepest, loudest voices I ever heard.Stan always wore a white shirt and tie to baymens meetings, I respected that. Tommy Van, was that "Eight Vans" Tommy. Some nice pictures of his old boat on this thread.More later. Rich