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There were always plenty of activities on and around the Choptank to keep a young lad busy and entertained, in addition to the ones already described. The highlights of some of these follow:
Swimming
During the swimming season there were always some local young people swimming from the wharf or diving from the bridge, especially Saturdays and Sundays. I must have been in the tenth or eleventh grade in high school before I learned to swim and only then at the insistence and patience of my brother when he spent one summer at home.
Even though I could not swim, I was in the water (under the bridge or somewhere that was shallow) whenever I got a chance, often at the risk of being reprimanded by my parents. I am sure that my brother's awareness of the risk involved prompted him to take me to Williston Lake, about six miles from Denton, each day for my swimming lessons. At this lake there was a diving board and a sloping beach that had been prepared especially for swimmers, making it a good place for beginners.
Fishing
Fishing for the sport of it was almost a daily activity from spring to fall. As a boy I spent many hours with a homemade pole, hook and line, and a cork float fishing for sun perch and white perch. If large enough to justify cleaning, they were good eating when fried in hot grease. Catfish were plentiful, but due to the fact that they fed largely on the contents of the Denton sewer lines that emptied directly into the river, most people did not eat them.
There were large carp in the river and several of acquaintances made it a practice to fish for them with their own special bait. These were hard, round cooked balls made from a mixture of flour, corn salt, and other ingredients, which they placed upon hooks fastened to a strong line and threw into the water. Some commercial fishermen also used nets to catch carp. When a carp gets a little old and yellow, it begins to have a muddy taste, so it was not a very popular fish.
The back of my father's store was at the immediate edge of the river and there was a window in the back from which we used to fish with drop lines. A drop line is a strong cord with two or three leaders containing hooks tied so it and weighted with a lead sinker. Without the benefit of a pole or boat you fed it out into the water and let it go as far as it would until the sinker reached the bottom. A drop line was better than a pole for fishing out of the window since we could tie it fast while we waited on a customer in the store if needed.
Once, I recall, when my dad returned to the line after waiting on a customer, he pulled in the line and it contained two large catfish and an eel. Eels were delicious eating after being skinned, soaked overnight, and fried in hot grease. Many would not eat them because, as they put it, "they look too much like a snake" or "you can't kill them- they'll even flip over in the pan while being fried." The pieces of eel would curl up in the pan after they had been flattened out but I do not ever recall having seen one "flip over."
There is a small amount of skill involved in salvaging your drop line after catching an eel. They are so wiggly that they will hopelessly knot up your line in no time flat after they are out of the water. One secret is to pull your line rapidly from the water and, all in one process without pausing, flop the eel hard on the wharf or river bank to stun it long enough to remove the hook and free the line. Thereafter, they will revive and continue to wiggle for a long time...
The end of the drawbridge that opened rested upon concrete piers and each side of the draw contained a swinging electric lantern having clear glass in it. Mounted in front of the lantern was a quarter-circle piece of lass, half of which was red, the other half green. When the draw was closed the lantern rested behind the red glass, showing red to the boatman progressing up the river, especially at night, and indicating to him that the draw was closed. As the draw was raised the lantern swung over to the green glass, showing green to the boatman and indicating that the draw was open far enough for the vessel to pass through. The bottom of the huge lanterns were open and at night the light shown down onto the water. This light would attract hundreds of fish, swimming around under the lantern along the side of the concrete piers, often breaking the surface of the water.
I conceived the idea that I could catch lots of fish easily if I had a wire basket that I could let down into the water under the fish, let it rest awhile until the fish accumulated again, then pull it up rapidly above the surface. A friend of mine, Charlie Taylor, helped me make a basket of wire netting, about two feet square, with sides six inches deep. Cords extended up from the corners, then merged into one cord which was used to hold the basket and pull it out of the water.
It worked: I would drop it below the fish, wait a few minutes until they reassembled in a school, then jerk the basket up rapidly. Of course, the slightest movement would cause the fish to scatter in all directions, but if you were fast enough you could get a few. The most that I ever caught in a single trial was about thirty-six. They ranged in size from minnows to as much as six or eight inches in length. I think this was probably an illegal catch, but I was only doing it for the fun and sport of it, and as soon as I counted my catch I would dump them back and try again. After awhile the novelty wore off and it became more work than fun...
In addition to drowning, accidents can happen even while doing simple fishing. Once has to be aware of the fins on fish that will hurt if they penetrate your hand. The catfish especially, has a "stinger" which is no more than a large protruding fin on his back behind his big mouth that really stings if it penetrates your hand. The hand will remain swollen and will hurt for several hours. I have never heard the real explanation for why this fin stings more than any other fish fin, but we Denton boys all assumed that it gave off some kind of poison that irritated human flesh.
One can get hooked by fish hooks, also, and they are not easy to remove without tearing some flesh. When using a drop line from a wharf, the kind with the leaders, hooks, and sinkers near the end of it, the technique of throwing it out into the water is to grab the line a short distance above the top leader, get up momentum by revolving the sinker and hooks in a circle by your side or over your head and let it fly out into the channel. This requires practice and can be dangerous, even with much practice.
The most serious such accident that I witnessed happened to an elderly gentleman who, with his wife, fished almost daily from one of the wharves along the river. When he let his drop line fly one of the hooks caught him in the hand ripping a long gash. His wife had to get him to the doctor where several stitches were required. Their daily fishing was interrupted for several weeks. Those standing nearby could get hurt in a like manner if too close. Every boy gets his share of fish hooks in his hand and falls victim to other small accidents wnich may be a practical but not necessarily best way to learn.
Crabbing
Another form of fishing on the river was fishing for crabs, generally called crabbing. To catch crabs one needed a cord to which a piece of meat was tied (usually fat-back because it was the cheapest) and a dip net. The end of the cord containing the meat was thrown into the water from the river bank or from boat, and it would slowly sink below the surface. By holding the cord so that it crossed your forefinger you could feel the vibrations when a crab started to nibble. Then you started pulling in the cord, meat, and crab very slowly so that the crab, who by nature is very suspicious of any movement near him, would not depart from his source of lunch before you could spot him.
In the meantime, while pulling in the cord with one hand, you had lowered the dip net into the water, out of sight of the crab, with your other hand. As the crab came into sight... swish... you quickly brought the dip net under him, lifted him out of the water and flopped the net over your basket or can so that the crab landed inside.. all in one quick operation. Then... overboard again with the cord and meat for another one. Crabs are very fast in making their getaway once they sight the slightest movement and many a crab has been lost in the process of applying the dip net, proving that the eye (crab's) is faster than the hand (boy's).
When a party of youngsters went crabbing a favorite form of recreation was not only to catch them but also to build a fire, fix a lard can containing a small amount of water over the fire, drop your live catch into the can, cover it so that the crabs were well steamed, and eat them on the spot. This was called a crabbing party.
Boating
Today almost everyone near a lake or a navigable body of water has a boat with either an outboard or inboard engine for recreational purposes. During my boyhood days, only those who made a living with a boat (fishermen or oystermen) or the well-to-do had such a boat. Even then, outboard engines had not yet been invented. The rest of us had no boat, except or a few who had rowboats. I learned at an early age how to row a boat and have at times in later years surprised friends at such places as scout camps, vacation spots, et cetera, with my ability in this area.
My cousin and I jointly owned a secondhand rowboat, which I believe he bought for five dollars. My part of the deal was to caulk and paint it. Since I lived at the water's edge, I was appointed the caretaker. Our biggest problem was to keep the old boat afloat; it had a strong inclination to leak and to sink even with repeated caulking. When in use, it required a two man crew - one to row and the other one to bail water. But we had a lot of fun with it.
My dad's friend, Charlie Taylor, had a boat which he was always improving by changing the inboard auto engine, and he would take my dad and me occasionally for a cruise on the river, usually on a Sunday afternoon. I remember once we went almost to Cambridge, at the mouth of the Choptank, a round-trip distance of about eighty miles.
The most elaborate motor yacht to ever come to Denton when I lived there was one from Baltimore, owned by a Mr. Emerson, reportedly the inventor, manufacturer, and owner of the Bromo-Seltzer product. About once a year he came in his yacht with his servants and tied up at a wharf for a few days. One can go to any marina near the bay or the coast today and see many such exotic yachts, but that one from Baltimore when I was a boy seemed to be the only one of a kind in the twenties. It attracted a lot of attention and was as unique as its millionaire owner.
The most interesting local boat was one owned by Layman Redden, one of the owners of G. T. Redden & Sons, a cannery in West Denton. Layman had an adventurous spirit and he decided that he wanted a motor boat that could be surpassed by none in speed. Thus, he proceeded to purchase an airplane engine for his approximately 18-foot boat, which he mounted inboard, leaving off the propeller, of course.
Those of us who remember the old barnstorming days of the airplane remember that these early airplane engines were started by having a person other than the pilot turn the propeller while standing on the ground after yelling, "contact." Because of the high torque of the engine, the propeller would usually kick backward perhaps several times before the engine finally started, making it necessary for the one on the ground to jump backward at each attempt to start it or suffer a broken or mangled arm.
In place of the propeller, Layman had devised a crank for his boat engine. Only one man, known as "Turk," an employee of Layman's, had nerve enough to crank it. More than once, while standing on the river bank, I have seen that crank kick backward with such force that it would fly off, hit the bottom of the boat, and bounce overboard into the water. Layman often had a couple of boys handy to dive overboard and retrieve the crank. Eventually they rigged up an attachment for the crank so that when it bounced overboard, they could retrieve it without leaving the boat.
The engine of Layman's boat had no gears. It had a direct drive to the underwater propeller beneath the boat. When it did finally start, the boat had to be directed toward open water because it took off like a streak of lightning and otherwise would have climbed the river bank. It could be heard for miles around, and it was undoubtedly the fastest boat that ever rode the Choptank.
I'm sure that the novelty never wore off, but the problems connected with an engine of that size and power in a small boat on a narrow river must have been too great, for it was eventually abandoned in favor of a more sophisticated motor yacht.
Showboat
Another boat that plied the waters of the Eastern Shore was the showboat. Usually when the showboat arrived it would stay for several days, giving theatrical performances on board in afternoon matinees and evening shows. I don't believe that my parents attended to any great extent, at all, but I remember seeing crowds of people coming in the evenings to the glamorous, all-lit-up showboat. It seemed like a touch of the big city brought to a small town. That was one event held in West Denton that was patronized by the "uptown" people.
Firemen's Practice
Denton developed one of the best volunteer fire departments in Maryland, and was able to purchase the latest equipment and keep it updated. This was due in large measure to the support given to the annual Fireman's Carnival, which was then the chief money raising activity. A minstrel and variety show also was held each year to help raise money for tne Fire Department and I participated in the chorus of this show for several years.
I remember the first Seagrave fire engine purchased by the Denton Volunteer Fire Department, red with yellow trimmings and black lettering. It was followed by the purchase of other trucks every couple of years. The firemen used the lot on the river bank across from our house for practice and would usually hold their practices on Saturday afternoon.
The suction hose from the pumper was lowered into the river and the fire fighting hoses were aimed at various points along the river. Here I made my first and only attempt at holding the end of a fire hose while it was emitting a stream of water at very high pressure. The firemen gave me a try at it - actually it was sport to them to see a small boy try to hold it - but needless to say they didn't turn it completely loose or it would have flipped me around like a kite in a strong wind had I been able to hold it at all. For youngsters, there is always a lot of excitement and fun around a pumping fire engine. I rather suspect that the firemen enjoyed the practice sessions also.
Adventure
The Choptank River and the activities around it contributed much toward the meaningful and enjoyable experiences of my early life. There seemed to always be much adventure associated with the river. Even the ebb, low, and high tides were fascinating to me. A boy soon learned that fishing with a pole and float was best at ebb tide, a time when the tides were changing and the surface of the water was as smooth as glass.
Then there were storms that brought very high tides. For a while, all tide regularity ceased - the river might overflow its banks and the water remain at high tide for several hours, even a full day or more. I have seen the tide high enough that the water reached our front yard and lapped at the back end of my dad's store...
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