Drawing the Pond

In olden days it was a big deal. Drawing (actually draining) the pond, a day-long, once-a-year event, usually occurred in the week of the 4th of July. It would involve hundreds of people, in and out of the river. Men and boys would fight the swift muddy current below the dam, netting—if they were lucky—big catfish that came rushing by. There’s a full description of those fun-filled events in Gene Ingram’s River Street Memories. Meanwhile below is a relatively new (circa 2000) video of a “drawing” when there’s barely anyone around to watch.