A stocking is hung in Spanky’s Courthouse Cafe in Clearfield with care, in hopes that down in the river, fish will be there.
“The stocking is our annual Christmas drive,” said James Naddeo. “People come in, they contribute, all the money goes to rejuvenating the West Branch of the Susquehanna.”
James Naddeo and Pat Domico are members of Squirrel Tails for Trout, an organization in Clearfield County that stocks the West Branch of the Susquehanna River with fish 12 times a year.
That’s because, at one point, fish couldn’t be found in the river.
“When we were kids, nothing could live in the West Branch of the Susquehanna River,” Naddeo said. “We now have that part of the river stocked with a variety of sport fish. It’s been an absolute miracle.”
The stocking is one of the main ways the organization raises money to stock the fish, and for every dollar that stuffs the stocking, the owner of Spanky’s Cafe will match it.
“Our program is for the people, by the people, we don’t get any grant money, this is what we use and we’ve been very successful because the people believe in our program,” Domico said.
The stocking will hang on the wall through the first of the year.