CAPE MAY COUNTY MAGAZINE 6 JULY '83

20

He Said, "And Board.'

Til Give I Said, 7

You $15 Want to

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I ED NOTE Following is exceprtpd from an interview with Larry linhm of Eldora. one of a series conducted by Dr Thomas Cheltus of Atlantic Community College and Cape May County marine agent Stewart Tweed‘as research for a history of fh«* rounfy's rommerriaf /ishinfi | industry I Intervlpwrr: Today, ur'rr in thr hornof Mr. I.arry Bohm...Wr generally begin our inlerviews by asking a very general question and the person can kind of reminisce back into their childhood.... Rohm Well when I was young, one of my first jobs out of school was oystering I oyslefed, well. I guess, all the time Not steady, but all the time during my first married life and my children We had a nice home in Delmont I oystered from then and then that's where I first started to fish I moved to Eldora after that What brought you to this area? B Well, my wife is from here and she worked at the clothing factory I trapped in Cape May County A man from Margate owned this farm and meadow and I trap p«*d in on a share I made enough off that meadow to buy the property 116 acres. I suppose, and the house I: Were you trapping for muskrat? B Yes I started out growing lent House tomatoes and peppers then I came down i here and I started to Tiuy tomatoes and peppers off the local people They didn't have my market these were people who had real small farms and had a job and they formed on the side We rent a farm down here and we grow 40 acres of beans on it — soy beans on that And this field here, that's I guess 20 acres and that's soy tieans The rest is all sod I: While you were growing all this sod and soy beans, did you also do fishing then? B I was vegetable farming while l was fishing But we quil fishing just Indore we started in the sod business I Was it easier to grow vegetables and fish too? I mean, could you work around the two'* B Well yes See. we fished in the early

spring and we didn't do no fishing in the summer We started fishing in April. May the fishing was good and the price was right If the price got cheap, we'd quit and go to work here I: Did you do this from the time you moved into Cape May County ? You fished and also farmed? B: Yes. and trapped I: ( an you tell me about what year you moved Qptn ( ape May County? That’s when you first began fishing here, too? B Yeah 1 did a little fishing before 1 came to Cape May County It was .19 or '40 I: L'p until that time. then, you were primarily in the oyster business? B Well. I was in the oyster business, too. at the time, yes I guess about eight years I: That was only during the bay season — spring? B Yeah Bay season Then I'd go along with other boats in the fall of the year, dredging oysters — after planting Then two weeks - start in September and October. November That's when we started catching oysters I: Where were the boats? B Out of Bivalve I worked with Dr Sharp I worked with him first I went out on Doc's boat when 1 was about 16 No - I was going to school and school was out so I was 14 the fellows had the big boats told me. said I wasn’t very heavy I was just skin and bones They were telling me to gel on a big boat where they had a big crew I was working in a shipyard there, copper plating They were overhauling boats there going up Die bay I had an old pair of boots, a blanket and a pillow and I stuff ed them all in with ramgear all in a bag I went down on this side of the river At that time they had docks along there And Dr Sharp's father was just getting ready to go I: Were you working at Dorchester then? B Yeah I worked in the shipyard in the spring I: This is when you were II years old? B Yeah Then all the boats was going up

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the bay There was nothing doing in the shipyard then, see They depended on the oyster business. So- I went down to the dock I left my things in the bag in the store up there - ship cfiandler store. You could buy anything you vftmt I walked down the dock and Capt SWarp was just getting ready to leave. I said. "Captain, you haven't got a berth for me, ahve you 0 I haven't found one yet.” He said. "Well, I'll give you $15 a week and your board Do you want to go 0 '' I said. "I want logo " He said, "Well, where's your dinkey?" I said. "Up in the store.” And I run up there and grabbed it and throwed it on the boat and jumped on the ship and up the bay I went That's how I come by getting a berth I: What did you call it? A dinkey? B Yeah Your dinkey bag. you know, you put everything in it I: You had your pillow and your blanket and boots and raingear? B: All jammed in this bag. I: That was all you needed to get in the oyster business? B: And fingerstalls I brought finger stalls and gloves before I was even sure I was going to get to go because I didn't want to miss it. you know I: What were fingerstalls? B: Rubber fingerstalls They fit on each finger and you wet them. Then dump the water out and put your hand in them and that suction from that holds those fingerstalls on You can cull oysters good with them I: Did you plant (oysters' larvel anywhere in Cape May County? B No. all in the upper part of the bay Not too far. but some of them, years ago. before that, used to plant down there But most grounds in Cape May was usually what they call growth grounds They'd catch a growth and then you'd either transplant them or wait till they growed up there and get them from there I: You mean...that they would get small oysters settling on there? Then you'd bring them up after a year, or two years? B: Yeah It would take a couple of years for them to grow I Then you'd move them to another bed? B: Well, either that or they wasn't big enough to take in -But they didn't look too good after you transplanted them A lot of people lost a lot of money I: Why didn't they just leave them in the Cape May beds? Was anything wrong with it? B Well, they grew slow They grew slower than they did up the bay I: Would you say that most o( the people who farmed here also got involved in the fishing business? B: A lot of them did. and king crabbing in the spring They had wares and like it's a trap, you know They'd make a circle and then they'd make a fence The crabs would come to this fence and then they'd walk down this fence The stakes come clean ashore and they would follow that down and then they'd have a big, round spot like this room and the crabs would all gather in there and when the tide got down, go out there and catch the crabs and sell them for fertilizer Grind them up and sell them That's one of the old industries here They did it for years I: When you say king crabs, what kind of crab is that? B Horseshoe crabs

LAKRY BOHM I: What kind of net fishing did you do? B: W'ell, all gill-nets I had haul-seined, too Not for business, more for just to catch a few fish, like that I: Could you describe how you gillnetted? B: Yeah, well some people made their nets 25 fathoms, some people made them 30. I made mine 30 And you stuck a stake just as soon as we could gel them out Then we d go tie nets on to them Get maybe 15 or 20 nets out If the fish were there, then we kept sticking more stakes and getting morn net out I: Arc there many gill-netters working today? B They're not staking nets like they used to They have a better system now They have these wheels on their ncLs and wind their net with a reel and just lay them off there and they'll anchor both ends and (hen they'll pick up the end and put it on the reel Sometimes they just hang on to it anchor one end and hang on to the other end and go and just lay to Just keep laying to until they figure they got some fish and then just start to w r ind A lot more simpler then You don't have to worry about all them stakes and somebody stealing your net and running through it, you know I: So you had to put those stakes in by hand, then? B Yeah. I: That was a lot of work in the spring B: Oh boy. that is work till you get those stakes out of the woods and getting them down to the boat And you can only take so many in the boat, you know, they're heavy, all green I: Sounds like you really had an active year. You fished, you farmed, you trapped. B: Yep, never out of.a job I: No vacation time, huh? B: No vacation I take one now, though

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