Raking In The Fish

May 21, 2019, 5:36 PM

After my discharge in 1951 from my time in Korea, I transferred my job from Mississippi to Belle Glade, FL. I was tired of the cold weather I experienced in Korea and was seeking a warmer climate. Belle Glade is in the "boonies" in the upper everglades. It's so flat one can look Eastward and see tomorrow and look Westward and see yesterday. :Lake Okeechobee sits north of the city and around the lake is a #### seventeen feet high, The native usually drive out to the #### so they can get a feel of being atop a high mountain.

Several canals lead from the lake to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, One of the canals runs through the middle of Belle Glade. My office was about two miles South of the city with a road and one building separating my office from the canal. My home was near the down town area on the opposite side of the canal from my office. A street was between my home and the canal.

Leaving my office one afternoon, the canal bank was lined with people with all sorts of containers filling them with fish. When I crossed the bridge to get to my home, I could see people lined on both banks up and down the canal. When I got home I walked over to the canal and saw fish floating on top of the water. Most were crappie in the one pound range and bass weighing between one and two pounds. There were also some bream and other types of fish and some bass I guessed as large as three or more pounds.

I don't remember the cause but I was told there were was a lack of oxygen in the water and the fish were stunned. This did not preclude them from being edible. I went back to my home and got a garden rake. I started raking in the fish for the people collecting the fish. Some had huge galvanized wash tubs, some had gunny sacks, some had wooden vegetable crates and others had all sorts of containers. I had never seen so many fish but eating one of those fish just did not appeal to me.

Once in awhile a large size fish would float by but my rake was not long enough to rake it in. They always seemed to be in the middle of the canal. I asked some of those who were collecting the fish what they were going to do with so many fish. Several said they were going to share them with their neighbors and friends. Others said they would need help cleaning all those fish and would invite those in their neighborhood to help clean the fish and they would have a neighborhood fish fry. Everyone seemed to be in a festive mood and a desire to share the wealth.

That, my friends, was the only time I can say, "I was raking in the fish".

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During my time there it was the vegetable capital of the eastern US. There was also a lot of sugar cane at that time but now most of the farming land is devoted to sugar cane. Farming and sugar cane required a lot of migrant labor. Belle Glade was known in recent years as the AIDS capital of the US. Because of the migrant labor it is the poorest city in Florida. A great divide between the "haves" and the "have nots". I left there in 1955 when I came to Clemson.

I have a couple more fishing stories from Belle Glade I will post later on.

Balm -- that pic is from many years ago. Jax beer hasn't been around for ages. I Googled Belle Glade a couple of months ago and found a vided showing the poverty that exists there. When I was there. the city had two large labor camps. Nothing fancy, but they were well maintained. Was nothing like I saw in the video.

Message was edited by: Joe21®

Raking In The Fish

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Re: Raking In The Fish

Belle Glade and Florida City didn't look real to me...

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