July 24, 1986 - Swimming B.A. (Before Air Conditioning)The Suffolk Times /July 24,'l 986/Page 9A
Swimming B.A. (Before Air Conditioning)
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
We've all seen hot and cold spells
and rainy and dry spells, but some-
how we seem to forget them. The
thing is, we tend to not remember the
bad and only bring back the good
times and that's the way it should be.
The hot weather we've had reminds
me of the days when we kids spent a
good part of our day down at the bay
swimming. There was no air- condi-
tioning in those early days, so you
had to find your own. Ours was the
bay.
One thing that is pretty well past
is the old wooden rowboats. Yet in
those days they provided the ideal en-
tertainment for us kids. Anchored in
about four feet of water, we'd dive and
frolic about with the usual screaming
and yelling kids are so noted for. Then
we'd swamp the boat and sit in it like
a big bathtub. It was easy to get into
in its floating condition. All you had
to do was push down one side and sort
of slip into the spacious pool the boat
provided.
Of course this wouldn't last for long
as we boys would soon have to tip it
over amid extra loud screams of
"Watch out -- over she goes!" Then if
it was done just right the upside -down
boat would have a bubble of air inside.
We'd dive down under the boat and
come up into a Jules Verne underwa-
ter world. Here in the eerie greenish
light of the water around us, we'd
shout back and forth amusing ourse-
lves with all sorts of trivia that only
the young can truly appreciate.
Clamming on Sand Bar
If the fun of that sport wore off, we'd
go clamming down on the sand bar.
What a wonderful place to explore. In
those days there was no dredging ex-
cept at one or two of the marina entr-
ances and sand bars were common
outside the mouth of every creek. At
high tide they'd be covered with water
about a foot or so, but at low tide they
provided us with a perfect place to
run up and down, dig for clams or just
explore.
We never got any big ones there,
mostly cherry stones and little necks.
We'd often bust one open and eat the
fresh meat right then and there. We'd
see the elongated squirt holes that we
got to know and would dig them up
in the soft sand of the bar.
Once in a while we'd find a large
hole that, if you were quick in dig-
ging, would reveal the long - shelled
razor clam. These often proved to be
Focus on
Nature
faster than the diggers, for they are
remarkably adept at getting out of
reach even for the most expert of kid
diggers. Sometimes you'd just be able
to grab the end as it was disappearing
below and try as you might to hold
on and pull it out, it was no good and
it would disappear.
One year we had jellyfish so bad we
couldn't swim in the bay. They were
white ones about three inches in
diameter with long tentacles stream-
ing behind. When we got stung, I
think we used alcohol or vinegar but
today the cure is meat tenderizer and
that really works. We kids were going
to rid the bay of these devilish in-
truders into our private swimming
grounds by scooping them up and dis-
posing of them on the hot dry sand.
Needless to say, that didn't work and
after about an hour of scooping and
seeing no change, our enthusiasm
for the job wore off and we were off
to better things.
Remember the Blowfish
Those were the days when swellbel-
lies or blowfish were abundant. Often
you'd feel the little ones nibbling at
your feet when you were in swim-
ming. We didn't eat blowfish then,
but threw them away and cussed
them when they stole your bait while
fishing. Later, when we did start
using them I developed a real
technique for skinning them but if
you didn't wear gloves, your hands
would get all rough from the
sandpaper -like skin. But then, that
was just part of a day's fishing.
Besides jellyfish and the nibbling
of blowfish on your feet, there were
always the pesky little sand crabs
that were found down around the
sand bar. We never wore shoes or ba-
thing slippers and stepping on one of
these frisky fellows really would
make you yelp. Yet all these distrac-
tions meant no more than an occa-
sional mosquito or green -fly bite
would to us kids.
There was always something to do
when you were young and lived near
the water. Poling an old rowboat or
walking with a crab net in one of our
creeks would always bring back a
mess of blue claws that would make
9
NORTHFORK Z
LRRESTAURANT n
North Road, Southold, New York ,
Major credit cards r
The Food, Wine John C. Ross
and Warmth of the chef /owner
North Fork.
f/ J
Reservations 765 -2111 Ross y = GREENPORT
Lunch: 12 - 2:30 Noun a SOU OLD
Dinner: 5 - 9
Sunday: Early Bird — MATTITUCK
Noon - 5
Closed Monday
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
BLUE CRAB - -Years ago it was no problem to get a mess of crabs
from almost any creek. Hopefully they'll return once again so we can
enjoy this gourmet delight.
a meal that evening. And once I
learned where and how to find Oie
soft crabs, there was always a tray of
these wrapped in sea lettuce in the
refrigerator awaiting lunch. One day
I got 25 of these softies over in Wic-
kham's Creek and sold them to the
people around Boatman's Harbor for
25 cents each. That was the most fun
and easiest money I think I ever
made.
How fortunate we are to live in an
area that still has some of these
memorable attributes that make
summer living on the East End so
worthwhile. How long it will last with
the ever - increasing population we are
encouraging each year is hard to say.
Perhaps it is time we rethink what
we want our future to be.
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Schnapps $1.00
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a
Hatriga 'xL s
45 Front Street, Greenport
...on the harbor
For light fare and cool, refreshing drinks.
Employee's Night
Tuesdays
6 p.m. - Closing
$1.00 Draft Beer
$1.50 Bar Drinks
Daily Drink Specials
Schnapps $1.00
Live
Entertainment
Weekends
477 -0333 a 7 DAYS A WEEK FROM 12 NOON