THE SHRIMPING TRIP
BY: Jerry Delany
A little background history before I start the story of night time shrimping on the St.Johns River at nine years old.
TOCOI LANDING
Back in 1858 there was a railroad track that ran from the west bank of the San Sabastian River where I live in St. Augustine to the banks of the St. Johns River at Tocoi Landing. This railroad was the St. Johns R.R. and carried passengers and freight offloaded from the steamers and paddle wheelers to St. Augustine, FL. The rails weren’t made of railroad irons but were made of wood and set on top of wooden crossties. There is a whole ‘nother story that I will have to tell you later. This railroad was in existence from 1858 to 1895. Our highway #214 going from St. Augustine to Tocoi Landing is built on top of where the railroad use to be. It passed right in front of Molasses Junction (another story) right by John C. Rogero’s home which was later Jacob and Ida Solana Rogero’s which was later Milton C. Rogero and Martha Pacetti Rogero’s home which is now my cousins home Donnie and Marianne Rogero of Rogero Farms. The Spanish name Rogero is pronounced Ro-Hair-O and is easily miss-pronounced. Now that we have that part cleared up I need to tell you that at the end of Tocoi Landing where hwy #214 junctions into the Bartram Trail, there are mountains of sunken boats, barges and anything you can think of that fell off the boats.
NOW FOR THE SHRIMPING STORY
My relatives will know what a shrimp dock is but for those of you that don’t—it is a platform ,--built of wood about 4 ft. by 6 ft. supported by poles in 6 ft. of water. You walk out in the water for about 100 yards and climb up on the platform.
Back during those days we shrimped at night time,--meaning we had to cut up lightner knot wood and fill the flambos up with kerosene to use for shrimping. Some of you may not know about the wood and the kerosene flambos. Real Quick---the wood is the petrified stump of a pine tree and used in making gun powder,--the flamboe looks like a canon ball with a wick at the top. This was a all day job getting ready to go shrimping.
WELL,---my Daddy Thomas, Uncle Fatty Rogero (real name Milton—but everyone called him Fatty ‘cause that’s just how he was) my cousin Frederick Rogero and me, load the old truck and go to Tocoi Landing. We never did things in just a little way, NO,--we had to do it in a BIG way. We get there just before dark and load everything in a old flat bottom boat. We walk out to the platform dock pushing the boat. Well I wasn’t tall enough to walk in the deep water so I swim half the way hanging onto the boat. We load everything on the dock and tie the boat up—light the wood in a potato basket and hang it off the dock—light the flamboes to see by and start shrimping. We catch so many shrimp that I got tired of chunking the shrimp net and say; "Daddy,--don’t we have enough,"--he replies; "No Son; we need a few more for surf fishing tomorrow." Well,--along about 3 am. We load everything back in the boat but this time we have two wash tubs and three croaker sacks full of shrimp. Daddy is pulling the boat from the front holding a flash light, Uncle Fatty is on one side,--Frederick is on the other side and I’m at the stern swimming and walking in the back. All of a sudden I feel something and yell out; "
SHINE THAT FLASH LIGHT BACK HERE,--SOMETHING IS AFTER ME"!! Daddy turns the light back my way and there is a BIG ALLIGATOR on my heels following me about 2 feet away. All this time I have also been stumbling and falling over the wrecks that are on the bottom of the river. Daddy yells back; "QUIT ACTING LIKE A BABY,--TURN YOUR BUTT TO THE BACK OF THE BOAT AND PUSH,--THAT LITTLE 6 FOOT GATOR WON’T HURT YOU,--HE’S ONLY CURIOUS." Well now,--I thought to myself,--Here I am---his only son and he’s ready to let a Gator get me,--ME—-HIS ONLY SON.When we got back to the Rogero house everyone was still up and excited about our catch---then I related the THINGY about the Gator. Well,--Mama had a way of saying Thomas when she was mad that came out as TOM-AS and VIRGIE MEANT BUSINESS THEN!! TOM-AS said; "Now Virgie Darlen,--It Was Just A Small 6 ft. Gator And I Wasn’t Gonna Let It Eat ALL Of Jerry". Uncle Fatty chimes in and says; "Jerry traded legs with a canary and lost his BUTT in the deal—that Gator wouldn’tve had a GOOD MOUTH FULL."
Side Note: We caught so many shrimp that Daddy and Uncle Fatty took them to the market and sold them. We ate shrimp pilau, boiled and fried, shrimp salad, shrimp creole and all the other Minorcan ways of preparing shrimp. The following weekend we did the same thing but without the Gator,--my butt was in the boat.
Jerry Delany
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