A Day in the Life of: Steve Kuhn in Living on DiscoverSayville.com

About three months ago on a summer Saturday, the Discover Sayville crew got up before the sun and the rest of Sayville to experience a day in the life of Steve Kuhn, Sayville's very own clammer. Steve has been clamming for forty years right here on the Great South Bay and has recently become a Sayville icon with the re-launch of "Clam Power." One thing is certain, we will never look at clamming the same again. Not only must you have physical strength, a clammer also requires endless mental and emotional strength to provide a living year round. Share our experience and Steve's day-by-day job through a short documentary-style film.

Clam Power
It was while Steve was attending North Carolina State University as a design major when the idea for a Clam Power shirt was first created. Every summer Steve would return home and clam to put himself through college.

As a way to pay respect to the bay and to capture the turbulent times in the early sixties and seventies, Steve came up with the Clam Power tee shirt. The tee shirt became a success among local clammers and eventually for many people on Long Island. As clamming began to fade, so did the Clam Power tee shirt. Now nearly three decades later Clam Power is making a comeback. Even today people still connect and remember the Clam Power tee shirt from the seventies. What better way to represent The Great South Bay, the environment, and local clam diggers. Remember, Clam Power was created by a bayman and not a businessman! So you can do your part to represent the Great South Bay, local clam diggers, and a healthy environment by bringing Clam Power back!

"Being a bayman is a great job because there's a lot of stress you don't have to put up with like you do back on land. It's strenuous work and you don't get a lot of money but to me, it's all about what you love to do. Out here, it's just you and the water. I honestly wouldn't trade if for anything else."

Question & Answer
How did you become a baymen?
I started about 2 years after high school. I always liked being outside on the water. A friend asked me to come out on his boat and try it. That 1st day I caught two bushels of clams. My hands were covered with blisters by the end of the day. It was very hard, physical work but, I loved it. My friend said two bushels of clams was very good for the 1st time clamming. I was hooked and decided right then and there that this wouldn't be a bad way to spend my life.

How long have you been clamming?
I started when I was 20 years old and now I'm 60. So I've been clamming 40 years on the bay.

Is this a seasonal or year round job?
I work year round, although not as much as I used to. I've been out in every kind of weather imaginable: rain, sleet, snow, 100 degree temperatures, 5 below zero temperatures, flat calm, 50 mph winds, water spouts and thunder storms. You name it and I've been out in it!

You spend a lot of alone time working on the bay, how do you keep yourself entertained?
Clamming now is a solitary job. There used to be thousands of guys clamming and you could always talk to someone. Now there are only a few guys left. I listen to tapes of music that I like and I have a pet seagull that comes everyday. I talk to him and as long as he doesn't answer me back I know I'm still sane. I also concentrate alot. I pay attention to changing tides and subtle changes in the winds, and always making adjustments. You have to pay attention.…