I will admit that sometimes we do things out here that an outsider might find hard to understand. Every spring about this time of year the small town of Seneca holds an oyster feed. There are a few things about this that may strike visitors as being a little bit strange. In the first place, the weather in Seneca in May can be kind of rough. This time it was overcast, windy with a light rain and a temperature of around 40F (4C). This was my first visit to the oyster feed but an old timer assured me that, for an oyster feed, this weather wasn't all that bad. And, in truth, it didn't seem to stop the baseball games although I didn't see any golfers out on the course. Then there is the question of why oysters? Seneca is about 300 miles from the nearest salt water. Steak or lamb or even venison would be a lot easier to come by around here. The oysters are good though and $20 gets you a plate filled with plump juicy oysters, a salad bar, fried clams and bread. For $30 you can get all you can eat. The smart people come in trailers or motor homes so the have a place to warm up and change into dry clothes. In spite of its seeming incongruity the Seneca Oyster Feed is a long standing tradition which draws crowds every year. 50 years ago, Seneca was a mill town with a rail line to Burns but the mill closed and they tore up the tracks years ago and the only thing that makes Seneca a town rather than a wide spot in the road is the school. So most of the people at the oyster feed are local ranchers who live on isolated ranches scattered for miles around in every direction. So if you think of it as a chance to chat with your neighbors maybe it makes a little more sense.

The Seneca Oyster Feed

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