Bob Slager
Long Island Traditions
Folklorist Nancy Solomon has documented the maritime culture of Long Island through these interviews spanning the years 1987 – 2016. The collection includes baymen, fishermen, boat builders and other maritime tradition bearers.
On July 16, 2000 Steve Warrick interviewed Robert Lowell Slager for the Long Island Traditions oral history project. Bob followed in the footsteps of his father, and started dredging clams at the age of 16. Bob provides details about his life as a clam dredger and the changing nature of the bay, including the sharp drop in clam populations due, in part, to pollution, as well as the shift from primarily seeing commercial boats to pleasure boats. He describes the equipment he uses, the techniques he's developed over the years, and his thoughts on the future of clamming in West Sayville. Bob says of the people who work the bay, "they are...a hardworking bunch of people. They see the livelihood that they had, which is slowly drifting away. Many of them are still willing to stick to it. I haven’t seen anybody thumb their nose at the bay. Everyone that’s ever been out there says, 'I wish I could go back to it.' I think that pretty much sums it up. Everybody who’s ever been out there’s said, 'I wish I could go back, but I just can’t.”
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