Paul Ito of Gardena sent in a nice piece (after a fair deal of prodding by his wife, Ann) about some recent clam gathering they did at a somewhat “secret” SoCal location. The story makes us long for a leisurely beach excursion…
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Fifty-ish years ago, I remember as a small child, my father would take us kids clammin’ when the tides were minus and the sun was shining. Warm and beautiful the weather was for that perfect “family fay.”
Pack up the kiddies, and for the price of gas we could go enjoy the day getting Pismo clams close by, anywhere from Ventura to Huntington Beach.
The clams were oh-so plentiful and many families would venture out for some great eating, with wet and fun times for all.
With the pressure of crowds and a huge storm sometime in the 1980s, all the Pismo clams seemed to have vanished. No clams to be found anywhere that I knew of. Time marched on…
My father has since passed, many years ago, and I heard rumors of the clams being rediscovered. I put together the pieces of information and located them!
It’s been a full generation gone by, but lo and behold, these clams are here in a different place, but still here no less, and quite prolific, considering how many people know about it. Seeing how the art of clamming must have died off with the onset of electronic entertainment, I’m compelled to feel kids nowadays just aren’t into it, and that’s good for the clams…
So, for those of us who are now at the age of our parents and remember those days back when, these Pismo clams are not only great table fare, but tidbits of a memory of a time gone by happily relived once again.