They dove here for mussels in the river. Had a place that bought them about 50 miles south. They used them for buttons and what was left was ground and seeded into oysters to make pearls. Talk about a hard dangerous job for no money.
To sell them you had to boil the mussels and clean the meat out of them. A 55 gallon drum full was 20 bucks last time I heard a.price. I have seen people diving for them. 2 guys and a big wide John boat. Automotive air compressor. Garden hose to an ancient diving helmet. Imagine breathing the air out of an oiled air compressor. Guy in the water picking them up and filling a metal basket. Lifting them into the boat with a home made crane. They were filling the boat up but between the whole operation they had to be making below minimum wage.
