Find Us, Photos & Muckets

In June 1982, southern Connecticut was hit with a severe rainstorm that dumped up to 10 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. One of the hardest hit locations was Higganum Center where the water depth averaged three feet deep on Rt. 81 and up to 10 feet deep near the post office and other places. The torrents of water that raged through the Center deposited a two foot layer of silt and tons of muddy debris. At the height of the storm, several rescue efforts required the use of motorized watercraft. Locally, the deluge became known as the June Flood.

In our zeal to clean up the Center and return the town to normal, citizens lost sight of who was most adversely affected by the flood waters. It was none other than the long suffering Candlewood Hill Brook Mucket. Since the June Flood, mucket sightings have been rare, if at all, and it is feared that the creature might be nearing extinction. To make matters worse, the muckets were not protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act because they came from outside U.S. territorial waters at a deep sea location known as Ecnarf.

A migrating fish, the mucket had been spawning in Candlewood Hill Brook for milleniums until the early 1800's when several dams were built to harness water power to run local mills. Undaunted by these obstuctions, the mucket's powerful tail enabled it to leap over tall dams in a single bound abd continue the spawning ritual. After swimming their way to the secluded Upper Pond, the fish liked the location so much that they established a breeding colony and never returned to the sea. One hundred and fifty years later, the June Flood blew out the Upper Pond dam and swept the entire colony downstream to where they seem to have vanished. Since the flood, concerned citizens have been asking town officials where the muckets might have gone, but their inquiries are only met with blank stares and free political buttons.

The person most likely to solve the mystery was Adam Baum, a local crop circle salesman, who had two intriguing explanations. His initial thought was that the June Flood washed the mucket colony so far out to sea that they were caught in the Gulf Stream and deposited on Scotland's coast, becoming the mascot of a last place rugby team. However, after reviewing the statements of several flood witness', Adam was led to believe that the muckets were living in an abandoned 1976 AMC Gremlin under fifteen feet of mud and silt in the Bell Shop Pond where they survived dormancy cycles by feeding on hellgamite larva.

Adam was often chastised for his wild theories, especially after his failed attempt to record katydid's shrill mating call for cell phone ring tones. However, his buried in the mud assessment might be correct because initial sonar scans showed that there was a car at the bottom of the pond. Subsequent sonar images images revealed that the vehicle was not a Gremlin but instead, was an AMC Pacer. Known as the fishbowl car, the Pacer was three times voted to be the most likely sunken vehicle to support aquatic life. However, the only way to determine if the muckets still exist would be by dredging the Bell Shop Pond to see what, if anything swims out of the car.

Ron Denman, proprietor of Kenyon Laboratories located in the former Scovil Hoe Shop, as well as the owner of the property, agreed that dredging was the only way to restore the pond and free the muckets. Always fascinated by old mill waterways and local history, Ron was very much aware of the mucket's plight and knew this might be the last chance to bring the fish back from the brink of extinction. So without the fanfare so common to wildlife re-introduction projects, the Mucket Recovery Program was quietly launched on Bigfoot Awareness Day when national attention was focused elsewhere. Also, since Ron was a true entrpreneur, he did not want any financial assisstance that might have strings attached, so he personally funded the project and performed most of the work himself.

The dam was in such poor condition that the dredging of the pond without fixing it would have caused the structure to fail. To begin the necessary repairs, the brook path had to be temporarily diverted away from the dam and relocated along the tree line. The disturbance caused by equipment moving through the silt resulted in several unconfirmed sightings of muckets wiggling out of the mud and making their way back into the brook. As the news of the sightings quickly spread, the muckets were once again the main topic at the transfer station. The report of free-ranging muckets was further strengthened by the presence of a National Enquirer photographer who had been spotted sneaking around the water's edge.

The dam repairs were recently completed without incident, leaving the dredging as the final stage of the restoration project. Aside from arguing over who gets to keep the AMC Pacer after dredging, local amatuer environmentalist Pete Moss, was more concerned that the shock of being released after having been buried for 27 years would cause the muckets to go berserk and beach themselves. The last time deranged muckets came ashore was in a show of solidarity with their southern cousins the suckets, when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Act of 1933 was signed into law. The TVA dams blocked access to the suckets ancestral spawning grounds, which eventually led to their demise.

To keep Higganum muckets in the water after dredging, the DIP ( Department of Indigenous Protection) brought in Dr. Emory Stick, a noted wildlife counselor, to assist in trauma prevention. Known as Dr. DIP Stick to the ichthyology community, Emory concluded that the only way to contain the muckets is by providing them with an environment that will kick-start their breeding activities so a stable population can be re-established. This responsibility would fall squarely onto the shoulders of Ron Denman and he eagerly welcomed the challenge.

The success or failure of the breeding phase would hinge on simple logistics. For nearly one hundred years, the sluiceway from the dam has channeled an uninterrupted flow of water directly into the hoe shop. After the building is locked up for the night, the indoor aqueduct will provide an excellent location for the muckets to mate away from prying eyes. Since cow muckets are attracted to the flicker of an open flame, a series of Tiki torches will draw the females to a central location, triggering them to emit an alluring scent. The bull muckets, always on the prowl for love, are drawn to the scent and search among the cows for a suitable partner. Then, to get the muckets in the mood, torch music from such talents as Billie Holiday and Peggy Lee will be softly played. The atmosphere would be further enhanced by the gentle spirit of Jarvis Ryan, the last known person to make a genuine Scovil hoe in the old shop. If the mating goes as planned, a water turbine will delicately fertilize the eggs.

The outcome of the Mucket Recovery Program will not be officially known until spring snow melt when the offspring begin to hatch. The newborn calves, or fingerlings, will be monitered by several submerged counting tunnels at various locations in Candlewood Hill Brook. All data gathered from tunnels will be analyzed by Paige Turner, head of the DIP Wildlife Aquatic Division (DIP WAD) to determine whether or not there will once again be an open season on muckets. The report will be released to the public on November 9th, the 44th anniversary of the 1965 massive notheast power outage. The date was chosen because the historic week-long blackout forced serious fishermen to pursue the nocturnal mucket by the light of blazing smudge pots and signal flares. Ironically, the open flame technique proved to be a far more effective method to bag a mucket than electric powered devices and has been used ever since.