Henry made several versions of his
flat-bottomed fishing boat during his years as a fisherman.[i] Henry was an experienced sailor having worked
on boats in 1911 and later served in the Pacific in the Merchant Marine during WWII.
The vessel was
always named “The Klang”[ii],
a name inspired by his service as a merchant mariner during WWII in the
Pacific. In letters written home during his wartime service, he almost always
included a message to his young grandson, Norman, about fish he had seen and
how much he looked forward to fishing when he returned home.
He had acquired plans for a plank boat at a
New York boat show in the 1930’s. It
was constructed in his garage on sawhorses with clamps holding everything
together. First, he water swelled the boards to make them bend. When the boat was formed, the cracks were
packed with Oakum.[iii]
The
Klang was unusual because it had a very large back seat. The substantial
back seat had a locker underneath that Henry would fill with damp newspaper for
bait storage. Also, the two forward seats both had oarlocks, so two could row
at the same time resulting in a very speedy vessel. However, two rowing at the
same time in different rhythms was a problem, which is why, as a child, I was
never allowed to row.
Henry
practiced a kind of bass fishing called structure fishing. In short, it involves following changes in
the bottom of a lake such as submerged logs or building foundations. The bass tend to feed along such structures,
so simply waiting with a baited hook in and around the formation leads to a
good catch. Sources[iv]
tell me that this kind of bass fishing is not mentioned much before the 1970’s,
so Henry was ahead of his time. Perhaps
he knew it by instinct, but more likely, he heard it from an old-timer.
Henry
enjoyed fishing around the coves of the Ashokan Reservoir, and often parked his
boat near the Esopus entry. He enjoyed fishing
with compatible pals and tried his grandchildren, but they did not all make the
grade. I was one who was off the fishing
team pretty early on, but my cousin, Sarah Petito, and brother, Norman Boggs
were often invited. Other than grandchildren,
Henry favored lovely women as fishing companions. In his scrapbooks, he tends to refer to these
companions in glowing but careful terms.
After all, several of them were married ladies.
Henry’s
daughter, May, had the words “Gone Fishin” inscribed on his tombstone. She knew if fishing could be his eternal
break from work, it would be a good one.
I thought of Saint Peter, and knew Henry would fit right in. Some years later, when visiting the cemetery,
I met one of Henry’s lady fishing companions[v]
looking at his stone. It was not many
months later that I heard she had passed away.
I’m sure there is room in The Klang for a large fishing
party. Row on, all, but synchronize,
please, so as not to upset the universe.
[i] Henry
was an experienced sailor having worked on boats in 1911 and later served in
the Merchant Marine in WWII. He served
in the Pacific, which is probably why the boat was The Klang.
[ii] (from
Wikipedia) Klang formerly known as
Kelang, is the royal city and former capital of the state of Selangor,
Malaysia. It is located within the Klang District in Klang Valley. It is
located about 32 km to the west of Kuala Lumpur and 6 km east of Port Klang. It
was the civil capital of Selangor in an earlier era prior to the emergence of
Kuala Lumpur and the current capital, Shah Alam. Port Klang, which is located
in the Klang District, is the 13th busiest transshipment port and the 16th
busiest container port in the world.
Majlis Perbandaran Klang (MPK), the local municipal
council of Klang, exercises jurisdiction for a majority of the Klang District
while the city council of Shah Alam, the state capital, exercises some
jurisdiction over other parts of the district (known as Shah Alam selatan).
[iii]
(From an advertisement) Made
with bentonite, an inorganic compound that expands over 10 times its volume
when wet, this is the best oakum available. It is clean from knots and yarns,
is long stranded and has no lumps or ends of sacking. 5 lb. box. Twisted jute
packing. 5 lbs. yields 30 lengths of 2-1/2 ft. each. Further improved with
golden oils. Does not split.
[iv] This
comes from a conversation with my brother, Norman Towar Boggs III, who went
fishing with Henry, his grandfather, many times and, later, became an
enthusiastic fly fisherman.
[v] J.W.
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