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A Day to
Remember!
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A picture says a thousand words!
This photograph was taken in the fall of 1986 as the first
shipment of trout fingerlings from the PA Fish and Boat Commission
were delivered to the newly constructed Blackleggs Trout Nursery. |
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How it All Started
There are many stories out there about how our
group actually came into existence. Instead of trying to tell them all, we
feel that this excerpt from a 1986 article that appeared in the Indiana
Gazette summed it up the best. The article was written by Jim Bothell
in the Outdoor Outlook section of the paper.
The
Blackleggs Trout organization, which is located two miles outside
of Clarksburg, just below the Luzerne 9, mine is the first
cooperative nursery in Indiana County and hopefully a step towards
better trout fishing in the county.
"The organization first began to
take shape two years ago when a group of us who work at Lucerne 9
decided to put some money together and stock trout in Blacklegg
Creek," Ray Grafton, recording secretary for the Blackleggs
Trout Nursery organization, said.
"There were six or seven of us who
put some money together and bought trout and stocked them in
Blacklegg Creek from Clarksburg downstream for about a mile and a
half. We found that many of the trout lived through the winter and
we decided that we may really had something."
From that point, the organization
inquired about buying fish and having them stocked in the stream.
After contacting the Fish Commission and
area Waterways Conservation Officer Jan Caveney, the group of
concerned outdoorsmen found that it would be more to their benefit
to raise trout from the fingerling stage, which would be provided
by the Fish Commission, to maturity and stock them on their own
rather than purchase mature fish.
With some help from Caveney and a growing
interest from other outdoorsmen in the possibility of raising and
stocking trout, the ground work for the Blackleggs Trout Nursery
was laid early this year (1986).
In February (1986), the Blackleggs
organization was incorporated by the state as a non-profit
organization. Being all of 200 members strong (junior members
included) the organization at that point began to push ahead
toward construction of the nursery.
The
Water Comes From Where?
One of the most surprising aspects about this project is where the
organization gets over half of its water supply.
"Just about 70 percent of the water
for the nursery will be what is being pumped out of the nearby mine
and into our ponds. The R&P Coal Company has been a big
supporter of this entire project," said Grafton.
"In fact, R&P made a very
generous donation to help us with the construction of the
nursery."
Unbelievable
Generosity
The Blackleggs organization and the entire project has received
some generous donations which included the ground on which it is
being built. The ground was donated by the Blaisin family, which
resides in the Clarksburg area.
So far $5,500 has been spent in
construction, a figure which would be much greater if not for such
local businesses as Lucerne Mine 9, Mickey's Excavating,
contractor Jack Lentz, Central Cambria Drilling, Lawton Cement and
David Trucking.
Art Grguric and Grafton are quick to
thank all of the people, members and nonmenbers, who have given
time, material and money. The project would never have been a
reality without the support it received.
"We are especially indebted to Mike
Gatski, who is the mine superintendent of Luzerne 9," said
Grguric. "We owe him a lot."
Add to the volunteers the many area
children who excitedly turned out for stocking. "Our biggest
support came from our wives," joked Grguric. "We just
about lived here day and night for the last two weeks." |
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Want
to Know More?
Check out the following
links!
Photo Galleries
Nursery
Construction Trout
Kids Days Newspaper
Photos Publications
Stories
Blackleggs or Blacklegs?
From Trout Club to Watershed
Association
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