The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-03-18
STAMFORD
''SHADDIN' TINfE'' BRINGS FOND RECOLLECTIONS TO
 OLD RESIDENTS.
Anniversary of the Passing of the King of All Table Fish Recog-
 niZed by Local Epicures.
Especial to The Farmer

Especial to The Farmer)
 Stratford, March 1S.-This is 'Eshad- dln time" and the old resident heaves a sigh when he recalls the good old days when the king of all table fish swam up the Housatonic by the thou sand and when every resident, rich or poor was able to fill himself with the seasonable dish. It is even said of the old timers that they ate so many snad in the spring that the bones stuck out all over them and they were unable to remove their shirts until hayln time when they sweat them out Fifty years ago every cellar in town had it's half barrel of salt shad and some had more. The fish that were not immediately disposed of were Salted and sold. Fishermen had their customers up the river and in all directions who had a standing or der of half barrel or more of salt shad every year. They were not con- Sldered so much of a dainty as a reg lar part of the menu of the average household. Many can recall working in the hay field all day with break fast of only salt shad and boiled pota- toes to fOrtify them for the severe labors of the rush period on the farm. F1Ity years ago on March 4, Capt. Samuel Welles with his crew of fish ermen put an old seine in the river at Oronoque Meadows which is opposite the present residence of Frank Blake man and caught 10 shad and IA bass. This was very early and it was the practice on those days to take an old net and clean up the. ground at every fishing point before the fish started up the stream. Charles w. Blakeslee was one of the crew who was to fish at this place that spring and when Capt. WelleS took half of the catch the boys put up fruitless kick. The seines and fishing rights were gener- ally partnership affairs in which there were sometimes a dozen owners. Each took his day at the net or was repre- sented by some one. All the fishing was done lon shares" The net and owners took half and the re- mainder was divided up among the crew which usually consisted of four men besides the owners or their rep resentatives. The fish were usually sold and the money divided among the fishermen, who were mostly young and venturesome young men who depended on the receipts from the fishing season to help out the yearly income They sometimes made nice little stake, enough to carry them we'll along through the year without additional income. There was considerable rivalry among the different crews along the river for ev- cry available spot where a net could
 
 was then against the law to stretch a net across the river so to prevent the hsh from passing and the boys would do many smart things to ac-. complish this result without violating the law. A crew fishing on the is- land above Peck's mill managed one day to keep a school of shad in the vicinity until almost every one of them had been taken. A quick haul followed by sneak up stream haul ing the boat with Q tow line to avoid the noise of the row locks and an other haul before the fish could get by was repeated until over 800 fish had been taken. Each member of the crew received $25 for his share of that days work.
 The delicious planked shad was not the discovery or invention of any noted chef but was a general method of procuring lunch among the fish, ermen while at work on the river Every crew had a fire on the shore and the hard work usually provoked an 1nSlStent appetite. To allay this the boys would nail a big buck shad times not so clean and place it close to the fire where it would get the benefit of the intense heat. It did not require many minutes to turn out a delicious morsel for any palate. Some epicure who happened along the IlN0I III lIl0 uSIllIlS SGdSOu dOOpCOQ the idea and carried it to New York where planked shad is now served with many additional frills at the most ex- pensive restaurants. But the high priced French chef of the lobster palaces of Gotham cannot beat the old time fishermen in serving this delicacy. Perhaps the fact that the fish was always served with hunger for sauce on the river accounts for it's superiority in the minds of many epicures. The Stratford shad belong ed to the royalty. The markets are filled with plebians from other sources but there was only one family of Stratford shad and the old timers believe that he has joined the Ameri- can Bison, the wild pigeon, the white heron and others of the fauna of the country which might have been pre- served. His kingly head has been laid on the block of progress for the factories up the river have so pollut- ed the waters of this ancient stream that he has disappeared and like the prize fighters who have passed their prime it is believed that he will never come back. Capt. Charities Plumb, however, asserts that If the sewage was diverted from the river Stratford shad would be as plentiful as ever. About this season of the year the members of the Stove club exchange regrets over the disappearance of their favorite dish as their mouths water in memory of the feasts of the ,oc,f