·'

Hurley Conklin Award Presented to people who have lived in the Barnegat Bay tradition. The award has been

named in honor of the last of the Great Old Time Barnegat Bay Carvers, Hurley Conklin.

CAPT. LEW BROOM Donor: Barnegat Bay Decoy

& Baymen's Museum 296-7111

PETER OLIVER BAHR Donor: Tuckerton Wawa

296-6995

BERT CRANMER Donor: BayShore Agency

296-7111

BILL CRANMER Donor: BayShore Agency

. 296-7111

MARTIN "BOBw CHADWICK

"I was born In Barnegat on October 30, 1917, and lived by and worked the bay all my life. From the summer of my first year, my mother and father worked in the seaweed business in Harvey Cedars or High Point

"In those days there was long seaweed that they gathered off the sand dunes in August. The railroad used to come by there, and they shipped it loose and in bales.

"In the cold winters they'd come to Barnegat I traveled back and forth with them. When I was young, people would hunt snipe - it was legal then - and pack them In barrels with hay and ship them out. My dad taught me a lot. He lived on the bay. In 1920 he went to the Sandy Island Gun Club. He lived . right there. and cooked and guided and repaired stools. He did that for 24 years: He taught his boys everything about the bay. It was tough in those days. We used to spend the summer there. He· taught us how to run a sneakbox, how to fish and clam. When I got out of the service my dad had a boat and we worked as partners out in the bay.

"! worked the bay quite a few years primarily clamming. fishing the winters. I both raked and tonged and used a scratch rake 10 to 12 teeth. We got the scratch rake from Ridell in Crisfield, Maryland. If we caught less than 400 an hour we moved on. I pulled a 30- to 32-toother. We could catch 1,000 clams an hour in perfect conditions. Bailey's Hardware stocked those rakes. My clams sold for 30 cents a hundred. I made my living in the bay and when times were hard we went out to get deer, pheasant and duck. My first gun was an Eastern Arms from Sears. My second was a . double barrel Stevens I bought from

This year's recipients are:

CAPT. DICK CLINEMAN Donor: Grapevine Restaurant

296-7799

PAUL LAFFERTY Donor: Kenneth B. Maxwell, Inc.

296-7273

LACHLAN BEATON Donor: Lucille's

Country Cooking 698-4474

CAPT. CALVIN WILSON Donor: Naples Pizza

296-1313 .

MARTIN "BOB" CHADWICK Donor: Kenneth B. Maxwell, Inc.

296-7273 Hurley Conklin. That gun shot buckshot and killed many deer and ducks.

"My nephew and I built our own garveys. I helped him a little; he helped me greatly on mine - a 26-footer. I've built several since then. I built six of the garveys. I didn't have the knowledge or form for a sneakbox. I built good boats!

"I entered my garvey in the first races up with a 25-footer that my son helped build. Melvin Parker and I had a 21 -footer. We had 10 acres, and we'd gun geese with decoys. My father donated his live decoys to the Estlows at Wells Mills when they stopped him from using the live decoys 'cause it was unlawful.

"When I was a young teen, I went with my older brother to gather horseshoe crabs on the full moon · tide. We ~d them tq bait the spearing (shiners) that we sold to the fluke boats for: 50 cents a quart. We used a 400-foot haul seine that cost $10 for the state permit We also dragged for shrimp by hand.and sold . them for weakfish bait. Bciaters would wave me over to ·them because I would ride around in my boat with a big sign that said "bait"

"I used to rake and dredge for scallops and crabs and tong for the black mussels. We would ship them

. to Philadelphia. The eels were speared and shipped to New York in nail kegs from Conrad Bros. Lumber Co. to the Fulton Fish Market.

"I've taken a few gunning parties and friends to our meadow boxes for ducks and geese. My brother and friends and I had about 72 acres of meadow for our use. If there was ice on the bay, we used an ice hook to scoot along in the sneakbox. We planted oys­ter spats (seed) on 17 acres of leased ground from the state. We paid $1.25 per acre back then.

"I have been out in the bay already today and got my limit of weakfish. They have to be over 13 inches long and I got my 10."

12 / 1993 Old Time Barnegat Bay Decoy & Gunning Show

ELLIOTI GILES Donor: Woods Funeral Home

2.96-2414

ERNIE CRANMER Donor: Tuckerton Lumber

296-2731

PERRY INMAN Donor: Wilson Clam &

Oyster House 652-7545

CHARLIE RICHARDS Donor: Ocean Trophies

693-7480

ERNIE CRANMER

Ernie's father started the salt hay business where Pebble Beach in Barnegat is today. He used a team of horses and set out on the salt marsh with a sicklebar mower, gathered it in rows and stacked it. It was used for cattle and horse food, curing for cement and mulching for grass seed.

Ernie was born 79 years ago In the house his dad lived in. His father taught him the salt hay industry and he went on to mechanize it. He did some duck hunting in his life, but the salt marsh provided J:Us living. When the market for salt hay dropped, that was the end of his salt hay business . .

PAUL LAFFER1Y ·

Paul Lafferty was born. in Virg!nia on Sept. 30, , · 1902 .. He and his brothers Frank and Joseph ·came to .· Surf City by boat from Cheriton, Virginia, in 1927 to earn their living by clamming.

He married Peg Inman, daughter of John R. and Amanda Inman, In 1928.

He guided gunning parties for John Inman and helped him carve decoys.

Paul was caretaker and guide for the Bonnet Island Gunning Club from 1951 to 1960, when he moved to Staffordville, where he has. lived for 33 years, making his living by clamming. He always has been an avid · fisherman.

CHARLIE RICHARDS

Charlie was born in Barnegat 79 years ago. He has worked all his life on the water.

Charlie says the difference between Barnegat to­

. Continued on page 14

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1993 Old Time Barnegat Bay Decoy & Gunning. Show/ 13

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