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June 2017
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boatingonthehudson.com
NOWYOU GO TO
COLLEGE TO GET
YOUR “GRASSROOTS”
DEGREE!
by
John H. Vargo, Publisher
I
t used to be
that many a child would go to their
grandparents when they were old enough to walk to get a basic
understanding of what life is all about! That included fishing,
hunting, trapping, and how to operate a boat. These children
were perfectly capable of handling the boat and going fishing by
the time they were twelve years old.
The grandparent was proud to show the children what a
wonderful life they had and very happy to pass on the skills
they had learned.
For the majority of today’s children this is not happening!
Because of the huge percentage of young couples that have
broken up, or moved away fromwhere the grandparents live, the
children are not getting the basic education they traditionally
received. Those of us who recognize this are desperately trying
to bring these children into what we feel is a wonderful way of
life. A good example of what can be done is the HRFA!
The Hudson River Fishermen’s Association, for the past 40
years has been a staunch advocate of teaching children what
fishing is all about. In the recent past the children’s catfish
contests, which are held in various parts of the Hudson River,
are a good example of teaching children the basics of fishing.
The concept of using catfish as the target fish is excellent, as
they are extremely easy to catch and can provide the same joy
to the child that any other fish.
Many of the children that attend one of the HRFA Catfish
Contests receive a fishing rod and reel of good quality to take
home. That memory will stick with them forever.
One example of this was the catfish contest sponsored by Billy
Joe’s Rib Works last August. One mother and her son walked 4
miles in the heat, from a motel, so that the child could catch a
fish. Needless to say the child caught a few catfish and went
home with a rod and reel. Interestingly enough, when the HRFA
volunteers, men and woman heard about the long walk, that
the mother and child took to get to Billy Joe’s Rib Works, one of
the HRFA volunteers drove her back to the motel.
It brought tears to a number of our volunteer’s eyes to see how
eager these children were for their new rod and reel at the end
of the day. It was very hot on the deck that day but the children
will never forget catching fish and going home with a rod and
reel.
Another wonderful event was the Croton Yacht Clubs River Day.
The Commodore, Dennis Kooney, and his crew of volunteers
really “get it” as the focus of the day is on children and educating
them as to what the Hudson River has to offer. Here is a positive
event, with plenty of children designed displays including, color
books, toy sailboats, fish tanks with actual species of fish caught
that morning in the tanks that are on display. This years Croton
Yacht Club event is September 9th, 2017 11 am to 4 pm.
Again, the HRFA was the focus of the day with a catfish contest
for children. The HRFA volunteers provided rods, reels and bait,
as well a very patient volunteers, who untangled lines, baited
hooks and smiled all the time they were doing it. Many children
caught fish, and went home with a tackle box, and a new rod
and reel. These are the kind of memories that will last forever.
The truly sad part about this is that there are so few volunteers
who are acting as parents to children that have the skills to
teach fishing, in this case, and hunting and boating in many
others.
In this day and age of “playing it safe,” most organizations
hire individuals with a rock-solid college education, that have
no skills whatsoever in the basic grassroots abilities of fishing,
hunting, and boating that the older generation still possesses
Without teaching the children these basic skills our way of life
will fade away quickly.