Lake Erie Clambake

B-Ballers In Their 80s

7:59

Morning On Lake Erie

7:21

It's 7:09 and I am sitting in my sister's living room, looking at a calm but wrinkled Lake Erie and gray sky. It's in the 50s and so far, I am the only one up. The vastness of Lake Erie compared to Chautauqua Lake is profound. At Chautauqua, we are always looking across the lake at the shoreline. On Lake Erie, it's like looking into nothingness. 

Saturday was a perfect day for a clambake on the lake, the high in the 70s, and lots of sun and blue skies. I woke at 7:00 and was able to get in a 50-minute paddle on Chautauqua Lake before coming in and finishing the blog with Evie. I had breakfast, then did what little packing I needed to do for our overnight in Euclid, then gathered the trash. By 10:15, I was off to the Transfer Station to get rid of the trash, then drove to Ashville General Store, where an Amish wagon was parked, overflowing with sweet corn. I bought three dozen ears, put twenty-one bucks in the wood box, and drove home.

Adding Clams 

And Chickens

Two Generations

We spent an hour getting the house organized and packing and left for Euclid around 12:40, hoping to stop at Azman's for Slovenian Sausage. It was closed, however, because of the Slovenian Sausage Festival in Kirtland, one that they usually win. We arrived at my sister's at 2:00, and Rich, her husband, was busy getting everything ready for the bake, the brick firepit, already burning, the tables, chairs, drinks, etc. I was able to help some, but most of the work was done. 

My Sister's Amazing Yard

Jim, Claire And The Gals

Aunts And Nieces And Girl Friends

Dads, Sons, And Friends

Claire And Harry

Their yard is a great place for a party because my sister Linda is an avid gardener, and their yard is filled with flowers, shrubs, trees, vines, various colors and lushness. In fact,  Linda was busy too, preparing the chicken for baking as well as other goodies. They have been doing this at their home on the lake since the 1970s; my parents started doing it in the 1950s. We did it at the lake once in the early 1980s.

Evie And Sophie

Vince And Colin, Cousins

Linda, Rich, And Son Pat

Family and friends started arriving at 4:00, and we put the clams in the bake at that time, followed by chicken, and both sweet and red potatoes. Later, we added crab legs and corn to finish it off. The beers, wine, and Manhattans were flowing as we feasted on appetizers, played bean bag, and enjoyed the afternoon. For us, it was fun to see our cousins and their kids, most of them out of college, beginning their careers. Rich started serving up the bagged clams around 5:30, and we filled out plates with chicken, crabmeat, potatoes, corn, and salad, topped by a dozen clams. We had five or six tables, and there were over 30 of us. Fortunately, it was a beautiful late afternoon. I had a couple of dozen clams, dipped in butter of course, along with corn, potatoes, and tomatoes, a feast. For dessert, the Mayor made her cheesecake, topped with either cherries or strawberries, always a feature when we get together.

Cousins At Sunset

Bonfire

The Old Smoothies

As it got dark, a couple of the young cousins went swimming, the lake calm and inviting. By 7:45, it was dark enough to build a fire, and the younger crew sat around the blaze, playing a game called Harmon Killebrew while the old smoothies, seven of us, sat around the table talking. In the corner of the yard, a 40-inch TV had the Ohio/Ohio State game on because most of us either graduated from OU or Ohio State. 

We went to bed around 10:00, feeling guilty about leaving my sister and brother-in-law to stay up until the night ended. OH, what a day. 

A Brief History Of Our Clambakes

Cleveland is the clambake capital of the US for some reason. 

My father started having clambakes in the 1950s. When he got older, Rich and Linda took over, probably in the 1980s, and had them most years in the fall. Yesterday, they served close to forty family and friends.

Clambake from Euclid Fish, in Mentor, Ohio,  and usually there is a line up of cars, waiting for the bake,  and they bring the bake out to you, and put it in your car. 

Clams: 10.85 a dozen, 542.50 for fifty dozen

Total cost: 700.00, for chowder, charcoal, pot, bags, paper bowls, cups for butter,

O What A Day

Good Golly, Miss Molly

7:53 AM

Sunset

7:10 PM

Cleveland At Dusk

It's 7:30 and I have been up for an hour, sitting in my sister's living room, looking out the family room window at Lake Erie, its vastness dwarfing Chautauqua Lake. I can still see the moon high in the sky on a clear morning. It's 57º and will get up into the 70s like yesterday. 

Saturday morning was our usual routine, beginning with a long paddle and photographing of herons who were still hanging around. Once the blog was done, breakfast was enjoyed, and we got busy because we were leaving for Euclid at noon. I gathered the trash and drove to the Transfer Station while Evie got things ready for our visit. We left at noon and it was an easy two-hour drive to Linda and Rich's home. We stopped, however, to pick up a couple dozen Slovenian sausages at Azmans, to take back to the lake today. 

Both Rich and Linda had been busy, setting up the yard for the clambake for 22 family and friends.  We sat around and talked and got a few things done, readying the bake and libations for later. Earlier, Rich picked up the bake from Euclid Fish, purveyors of clambakes since the 1950s.  My dad used to take me with him to pick up bakes when I was in my teens. Most arrived around 3:30 or 4:00 and the fun began. Evie brought the Travelling Treasure Chest so Molly had a delightful time pulling out the presents, ending up with a backpack.  

Sophie, Molly, And Evie

Miss Molly And Mom

Claire And Molly

The fire was started earlier, so once the water was boiling, we added the clams, potatoes, corn, and chicken. So for the next couple of hours, we sat around drinking and enjoying my nephew Pat's appetizers on charcuterie board. 

Nieces And Nephews

The Family Holz

The Bake

Appetizers

Rich, Corey And Lobsters

A Family Tradition: Pregnant Claire Pours Beer Into The Bake

First, we had clam chowder, and then broth as the bake was about to finish. The finishing touch was the addition of King crab legs and four huge lobsters, compliments of Corey, for the last twenty-five minutes. 

Then, Corey and I spent 15 minutes cracking the lobsters and crab legs and pulling on the meat, and once all was ready, everyone grabbed their plates, piled them with chicken, salad, corn and potatoes, and lobster, and then were served a bowl of clams from the bake by Rich. What an amazing bake and evening, the sun setting, the temperatures in the 60s, and all the clams we could eat. Once we had enough clams and sides, Rich's daughter, Kirsten pulled out the desserts, cheesecake, lady locks, and apple streusel. 

Linda, Kevin, Kirstin, And Rich

Dusk

Kirstin, Kevin And Kids

Enjoying A Fire

Evie And New Friend, Molly

Smores And Darkness

Everyone then helped clean up and once that was done, we finished the day with smores while sitting around the fire as the evening waned. By 10:00, everyone was gone and we did a few things in the kitchen before going up to bed. 

7:00

Clambake Saturday On Lake Erie's Shores

Siblings

7:49

It's 7:20 and overcast, as I look out the window of my sister's family room at Lake Erie, a gray vastness that seems to never end compared to a closed Chautauqua Lake.  It's a muggy 68º and we should have rain much of the day if not the next few days.  

Yesterday was another fun day, a traditional day actually, as our family has been having clambakes since we were kids growing up in the 1950s.  And my sister and her husband Rich have followed that tradition and have had fall clambakes since the early 1980s at their home on Lake Erie.  So yesterday morning for us was the usual kayaking and blog but then getting ready to drive to Euclid for the bake.  I did stop at the Transfer Station to get rid of trash and picked up 30 ears of corn for the bake.  We left at noon and Evie had made Mrs. Snavely's coffee cake, a family recipe for our breakfast this morning.  We stopped for gas at Love's and I had lunch, a chicken sandwich from Mc Donalds.

Clambake Master

A Yard With A View

A Bake For Thirty

We were the first to arrive at 2:30 although the sons and grandsons had been over earlier to help set up everything, the tables for thirty, the bake, the coolers with drinks, all that sort of stuff.  Like Evie, my sister Linda is a great gardener and her backyard is filled with flowers as it overlooks the lake, a perfect setting for a clambake. We sat out on their porch and talked until it was time to light the fire and get the water boiling before adding all the goodies, the clams, sweet potatoes, and chicken. My sister had everything ready so it was easy to get started. By 4:30, everyone had arrived.  This year it was children, grandchildren, the boy's girlfriends, and a few family friends. Three of the boys came home from college just for the bake. 

Antipasto

Shucking Grandsons

Great Granddaughter Molly

Dayton Grandson Vince And Girl Friend

O, Yea, Lobsters

The Coming Of Dusk

My nephew Pat, also a great cook, brought an antipasto, a huge board of goodies and we all sat around watching the bake, eating appetizers, and drinking beer.  Some played bean bag, others just relaxed and enjoyed the view.  It was fun for us because we had not seen many of the grandkids for a year because of Covid.  Around 5:45, the lobsters and corn were added to the bake as everyone enjoyed a cup of clam chowder or clam broth, sure to burn the roof of your mouth if you were not careful.

New Grandpa And Molly

Bean Baggers

Grandpa, Son In Law, And Molly

Grandpa And JP, A Senior At Miami

Clambake Dinner

Four of us made a mess of the kitchen as we had a heck of a time cracking open the lobsters and pulling out the meat for serving.  Once that was done, everyone loaded up their plates with grilled chicken, corn, and sweet potatoes, they went over to the bake to get their bag of clams.  Everything was great, of course, the clams tender and tasty, as was the chicken.  The corn was the best we have had in a while and a taste or two of lobster set it all off. My niece Kirsten always makes cheesecake for dessert and we also had a birthday cake because it was the birthday of my sister's oldest granddaughter, Claire, who is also a new mother. So everyone got to hold two-month-old Molly and get their baby fix.  It was fun catching up with the lives of everyone and we have made dates to see two granddaughters play college volleyball this month, one at Allegheny College, the other in Binghamton.  

Nephew Kevin And Son and Girl Friend, Wooster College Grads

Ice Hockey Fans

Around 8:00, it started to drizzle so everyone helped bring everything in and the buys broke down the tables.  We then realized that one grandson, Colin, who is spending a gap year playing hockey for a team in British Columbia, was on Hockey TV so many of us sat around and watched him play goalie as his team won 5-2., the miracle of modern communication. When everyone left, the four of us had the traditional highball, a paean to my parents, as we talked about the day and our wonderful families, the end to another great day. 

Sunday Breakfast With Brother In Law Rich

Sunday Morning At 10:35