Raking Suckers, painting by Ray Clement

Shared on FaceBook by Gregory Cooke who wrote:

Here is a painting by Ray Clement February 1974 of "Raking Suckers" We did the "raking" on the upper end of the pond where it was shallow enough to drive the fish to the waiting "rakers". The rakers would dump some white navy beans to settle on the bottom, to provide a background to see the fish when they came into view. They would use burlap sacks around their head to shade out competing light. When a fish came they would lift the rake with a continuous motion and then flop the fish out on the ice, then go back quickly to await the next fish. The "rakers" and the "drivers", after a good drive would change places. The fire in the background was for warming up after a session. Suckers raked in the winter from the frigid waters were very firm fleshed and good eating. We got together both us teenagers and the older men folks in groups and raked the frozen backwaters of the Unadilla, Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers any water with sufficient ice and shallow enough. I have a "rake" that my Uncle Stan Davis gave me. They were hand made with the rake tines sticking up off the bottom bar and well sharpened. The handles were about 4 or 5 feet long. We pounded the ice with spuds, axes and heavy tree limbs.

[Click on the link below to zoom in. Don't miss the raker who found a weak spot in the ice on the pond and went through in the back of the painting.]

Ray Clement loved to spend free time fishing. He didn't always catch fish -- but he enjoyed his time outdoors. He was a friend to Draper Daniels, a model for Don Draper in the TV series Madman about advertising executives in the late 1950s and 1960s.

Ken Stowell collected Ray's comments about local fishing holes in the booklet he created. Follow the link below to read it.
http://ourtownnews.info/morris-ny/Futility

The obituary on Ray Clement's findagrave page gives a good overview of his life.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101102071/raymond-nichols-clement

The photo above shows the MCS High School Faculty in 1932. Mr. Clement was director of physical education, coach of both men and women's basketball, men's baseball, and also directed a one act play.

The 1933 yearbook only had photos of the seniors. It looks as if most of it was typewritten and reproduced on a mimeograph machine and stapled together by hand, probably due to the pinch of the depression gripping the country. Two railroads placed ads. Mr. Clement coached all the sports from 1932 and football. Morris under Coach Clement hosted a track meet at the fairgrounds in the spring for boys and girls. A 1/2 mile bicycle race was included. Also a potato race and a three legged race. Morris boys placed first and Morris girls second.

In his spare time Mr. Clement along with Miss Phelps and Miss Johnson produced an operetta.
http://ourtownnews.info/morris-ny/sites/default/files/MCS-1933.pdf

The 1934 yearbook had only one photo, a group shot of the entire senior class. The photo has no caption so you have to guess the names of the seniors in the picture. Mr. Clement coached all his normal sports and started a CLOGGING CLUB! Name another male athletic director who would do that!
http://ourtownnews.info/morris-ny/sites/default/files/MCS-1934.pdf

The 1935 yearbook has a publication date of July 1935. The book was printed on a press by the New Berlin Gazette Printing Company. Individual photos of seniors appeared in the book. There were no faculty or team photos. Coach Clement directed a one act play. No reports of sports scores were included. The Morris School District still has children attending six one room schools.
http://ourtownnews.info/morris-ny/sites/default/files/MCS-1935.pdf

In 1936 the typewriter was in use again and the camera was completely untouched. Sketches adorn some pages. Sports records are listed and boxing is introduced -- but only for intramural contests. Winners and losers in each weight class are listed.
http://ourtownnews.info/morris-ny/sites/default/files/MCS-1935.pdf