May 06, 1982 - Retracing Old StepsPage 10A �C�jC �Uf f Ord �lttieg May 6, 1982
Retracing O/d Steps
When I was a kid we used to walk to and
from school. Later, when we went to high
school which was many miles away we
took the school bus that ran along the main
road. If you lived off the main road, it was
your job to get up there and catch the bus.
We didn't think too much of it, but when I
look back at that mile -plus walk, it must
have been quite a chore -- particularly on
cold days like we had last winter when the
wind swept out of the northwest. I don't
think it did us any harm. As a matter of
fact, much good came from those walks to
and from school.
One of the main benefits was that you got
to know the countryside a lot more than
the kids do today. Simple sights and goings
on became a part of your life. We became
familiar with what farmer had pigs or
cows, what trees in the orchard produced
the best apples, and where the sweetest
berries grew. All kids went through this
outdoor class, whether they realized it or
not. We'd also learn the shortest routes
crosslots and on occasion knew exactly
when a free ride would come along the
road.
Those were the days when a penny was
worthwhile and you couldn't wait until
lunch to break away from school and dash
over to Mrs. Gould's little store she had in
the corner of her house. There were all
sorts of fascinating and exciting - looking
candies to be bought ... two for a penny - -five
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for a penny. They were behind a big glass
case that we all peered through. Even the
occasional purchase of a new notebook
was a big thing. Clean and new, it gave you
a certain pride of ownership, for no longer
did you have to use that old hand -me -down
from the year before.
Looking For Wild Asparagus
About this time of the year it was my job
to collect wild asparagus along the
hedgerows and creek edges on the way
home from school. This was a practice my
Dad passed on to me. Once I took over the
task, he no longer made the rounds. I was
the official asparagus collector. Young
eyes were a lot sharper than they are now
and as I walked along they were always on
the search, looking for those new green
stalks that made such a welcome addition
to our meals. Often I'd spot last year's tall
dry stalks and by them would locate the
plump spears at the base. As years went
on, my asparagus locations grew and I
IIA II -1
WILD ASPARAGUS - -With sharp eyes and a lot of walking, a handful or
two of wild asparagus can always be found.
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
knew them so well I could have found them
in the dark. Those were the days of few
dollars and an extra free benefit was truly
appreciated. It was on my way home from
school I learned this ancient art of
collecting wild asparagus.
It was here also that I learned you could
get poison ivy before the leaves appeared.
Once I learned to identify this culprit, the
problem ceased and to this day I can spot
poison ivy in its dormant stage. Such is the
schooling of the outdoors.
There were other rewards while hunting
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the wild asparagus. Along the high storm
tide line there was always an assortment
of special things worthy of collecting; an
oar from someone's boat, a ball that
escaped from a game, a good piece of wood
that could be made into all sorts of things,
bottles of all sorts, corks from old life
preservers that could be made into duck
decoys or be used to hang fish hooks on.
These all added to the adventure.
Then there was the occasional black
duck nest that you'd come across and be
scared almost out of your wits as the bird
took off from underfoot. After a difficult
search I'd find the nest and marvel at how
beautiful the hen had lined it with her own
down, and how beautiful the clutch of eggs
was -- so warm to the touch. Or perhaps I'd
find a song sparrow's nest on the ground;
the brown speckled eggs blending in so
well with the grass nest. I .guess you could
call it a youth's learning by doing.
Early Morning Hunt
The trait of gathering asparagus has
never left me, so this Sunday morning as
the sun rose I decided to retrace the steps
of my youth. Plans were set for my wife to
drop me off at the head of the creek where
my old trail from the farmer's hedgerow
would have led me. As we turned down the
old road, my mind flashed back to the '38
hurricane when all the big trees along the
road had been blown down. Right after
that maple trees were planted that now
tower over the road with bases 18 -24 inches
in diameter. Time surely had moved
along.
As we turned off that road onto the dead
end road I got out and was left alone.
Things had changed for sure. The little
road that once went down to the creek was
completely grown over. Tall trees did their
best to hide familiar landmarks. The world
had grown since I was there.
The fields that once raised corn for cows
and horses was now completely covered
with houses. I made my way through the
brambles and out to the creek edge. Now
my eyes started to search. Ah-ha ... there
was a green shoot! I went over and
snapped it off. Then another. Some were
still there but much had changed. Docks
and boats that were not there before lay
ahead of me.
As I walked along and searched, I
remembered how carefree and
unconcerned those days were. Now I felt
the world was watching me, for although
many of the homes along the creek were
there then, they had since been converted
to year -round homes with year -round eyes.
It was different. In some places the people
had pushed soil and debris over the bank
and out onto the marsh. Great blotches of
tall phragmites had taken over. Some
people had mowed their lawn right out into
the marsh, eliminating that most
important marsh edge with its hightide
bush and tangle of vines and grasses,
homesites for a multitude of birds and
animals. Those people surely must be in
love with their lawnmower.
Asparagus Few and Far Between
Occasionally I'd find a bit of asparagus
but most had disappeared. The spots I had
remembered had been altered somehow
by man. Yet there was that occasional
shoot that kept me going.
Now the community was waking up and
I could hear the cars up in back starting to
move. That area used to be all woods. Now
almost every lot has a house on it. Whether
it's a summer house that will be converted
or a year -round house-our area is building
up. It happens slowly-ever so slowly..and
it's only when you come back years later
( continued on 20A)
ootstepsman
(continued from loA)
and retrace your steps that you realize it.
By now I had worked my way to the bay,
which always held some choice spots. But
these were completely smothered in six
foot of sand dug from the channel mouth
and spread about. These were the scars
left by unthinking men. Making my way to
the end of the road where I was to meet my
wife I felt uneasy walking over this filled
1 area, for below it I know were smothered
fiddler crabs, banks of mussels and
thousands of other organisms that go into
Imaking one of our most valuable
. resources, our marshes. Man woke up in
the nick of time to pass rules and
regulations preventing further destruction
of these valuable assets. We still have our
clear creeks where the flounders are
running and an unpolluted bay where this
week I await the return of the weakfish.
Man can live with the natural world but
what he cannot be allowed to do is use it so
these valuable resources will be harmed.
There's too much at stake for that.
PAULSTOUTENBURGH
!ENPORT HARBOR
Sun. May 9
Mon. May 10 12:27 am
Tues. May 11 1:05 am
1:44 am
I Plum Gut — 25 minutes
Southold + 40 minutes
Mattituck + SO minutes
Inlet
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