Isnt it beautiful . Im on my way to the town of topping to hear all about a strange inheritance that was literally stuck in mud. My brother billy and i inherited our fathers oyster biz, which his father started farming in 1899. We didnt want them. The business was dead. Hoping we could bring it back to life. Hey, guys, im jamie. Hey. Im travis. This is my cousin ryan. Nice to meet you. How are you . Its absolutely gorgeous here. Before i crack open the croxton family story, you got to know a thing or two about oysters, which raw, baked, or fried have been a part of the north american seafood diet for thousands of years. I get the scoop from tommy leggett, a marine scientist and longtime commercial fisherman. So, were they always so popular . I mean, oysters are all the rage. Is that sudden . No, no, no. Native americans have been eating oysters forever, all around the Chesapeake Bay. Tommy tells me oysters were not a delicacy back then, but an everyday meal. When they finished eating them, whether they were raw or roasted or on a fire, they tossed the shells. And so you can find these old fossil shell piles from 1,000 years ago. Oyster harvesting becomes a big business in the Chesapeake Bay more than 14 million bushels a year by the 1880s. The supply seems endless. It was a wild commodity that you would just go out and take, and there werent a whole lot of regulations on it. So it created this leasing structure where the state went out and carved it up into real estate. In 1899, dirt farmer james croxton, grandfather of billy and jimmy and greatgrandfather to ryan and travis, gets in on the new underwater real estate, leasing two acres from the commonwealth of virginia. When he got into the oystering, that was to supplement his income in the winter. James plots are located at the mouth of the Rappahannock River, where it meets the Chesapeake Bay. Each year, he and other oyster farmers are allowed to harvest baby oysters from reefs in the bays public waters and plant them in the muddy bottom on their plots. He planted oysters on the bottom. So the bushels are there, and you wait 2 1 2, 3 years to retrieve them. And you hope that they matured and they all lived. Croxton successfully farms oysters for more than half a century, then passes away in 1961 at age 85, leaving his oyster bed leases to his son bill, jimmy and billys father. Over the years, bill croxton takes on more bed leases, expanding operations to 200 acres and putting a name to the business, the Rappahannock River oyster company. He harvests about 7,000 bushels a year and sells to grocery stores, shuck houses, even the campbells soup company. We really loved selling the oysters that ended up with campbells soup because they wanted a small oyster, so we didnt have to leave them overboard as long. So it lessened the risk. But by the 1980s, decades of pollution and overfishing have taken a huge toll on harvest numbers less than 2 million n 1985, a mere fraction of the 14 million at the tuf e century. What happened . We took too many oysters, it got out of hand. You kill a whole ecosystem. Thats what we did in the Chesapeake Bay and up and down the east coast. The croxton brothers say their fathers ledgers tell the story of the oyster harvest decline, year after disappointing year. Were there any significant losses . Yeah, theres one that is really sad. Its total loss. He lost 100,000, which had accumulated over the years. It was a sad, sad experience. For about a week, hed come to dinner, but he couldnt eat. Their father dissolves the business but holds on to his 200 acres of oyster bed leases. Did you want to take it on . It was sort of a dead business at the time. Nobody was getting into it. But we had the oyster grounds, and we didnt want to give them up. Bill croxton dies in 1991 at age 78 and leaves his sons, jimmy and billy, the rights to his 200 acres of oyster bed leases, along with a bit of advice. He pretty much said, this oyster planting business is over. So for the next decade, the croxton brothers retain the rights to the oyster beds but let them lay dormant, paying about 200 a year to keep their names on them. In 2001, when it comes time to renew those leases for another 10 years or give them back to the state, jimmy and billy decide to hand them down to their sons. Ryan was actually at my house in richmond, and we were drinking beer. And my dad called and mentioned it i was, like, hey, we should do this. Just like that . Just like that. Well, it wasnt a lot of money, and it was, hey, weve had this in the family since 1899. How can you let that go . Had you ever thought about it before . No, but obviously, a couple drinks make anything sound good. One little detail the two cousins work in the Banking Industry and know zip about oysters, other than how to order them for lunch. [ splash ] theyre about to have their hands full. Thats them . Heres a strange inheritance quiz question. The answer after the break. Imagine traveling hasslefree with your golf clubs. Now you can, with shipsticks. Com no more lugging your clubs through the airport or risk having your clubs lost or damaged by the airlines. Sending your own clubs ahead with shipsticks. Com makes it fast easy to get to your golf destination. With just a few clicks or a phone call, well pick up and deliver your clubs ontime, guaranteed, for as low as 39. 99. Shipsticks. Com saves you time and money. Make it simple. Make it ship sticks. Shipsticks. Com saves you i need all the breaks, that i can get. At liberty butchumal cut. Liberty biberty cut. Well dub it. Liberty mutual customizes your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. thud crash grunting whistle play it cool and escape heartburn fast with tums chewy bites cooling sensation. Tum tututum tums cooling sensation. I am totally blind. And non24 can make me show up too early. Or too late. Or make me feel like im not really there. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442342424. Apps except work. Rywhere. Why is that . Is it because people love filling out forms . Maybe they like checking with their supervisor to see how much Vacation Time they have. Or sending corporate their expense reports. Ill let you in on a little secret. They dont. By empowering employees to manage their own tasks, paycom frees you to focus on the business of business. To learn more, visit paycom. Com only certain kinds of oysters typically produce valuable pearls. And by the way, they are not the edible kind. In 2001, cousins ryan and Travis Croxton take possession of their strange inheritance 200 acres of oyster beds in and around the Chesapeake Bay in virginia. After their grandfathers oysterharvesting operation dried up in the late 1980s, he warned his family not to get entangled in a dying business. But his grandsons ryan and travis, they werent really listening. Whatd you go to school for . English. Women. [ laughter ] well done. Not really. So, i have a masters in english, he has a masters in finance. Us have, you know, marine backgrounds. I mean, we got into oysters as a way to kind of remember our grandfather, to kind of reconnect with our heritage. I dont think we got into it, necessarily, with this great business plan. It really was more of a passion project. At the time, both ryan and travis have steady, wellpaying jobs at a bank in richmond. As they begin to talk about the possibility of dipping a toe back in the family oyster biz, their dads ask them to reconsider. Did your father tell you, i want you to stay in banking and have a real job . He definitely didnt tell us to go into oysters. And when we kind of broached the idea, they thought we were a little crazy. Crazy because decades of overfishing, pollution, and disease all but wiped out the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay. The cousins keep their day jobs, but in their spare time, begin researching the ins and out of 21st century oyster farming. We started finding people local in our community who were doing some really cool, innovative stuff. One of those people is the local oysterman and marine scientist tommy leggett, whom we met earlier. Leggett and others have begun experimenting in the chesapeake with a cool technique for farming oysters called offbottom aquaculture. Thats where we put our oyster seed in a cage or in a bag or on a rack and the oysters are in one place and i know where they are. Unlike the old form of oyster farming, where young oysters were planted right on the bay bottom, the offbottom technique allows for oysters to be suspended in cages or bags. The upside the oysters receive more oxygen and better nutrients when theyre not buried in the mud. The family leases ryan and travis take over give them a place in the chesapeake waters to set out these newfangled oyster cages. But the rest of the operation doesnt come cheap. How much of your own money have you had to put into this venture from the beginning . All of it. We had to, basically, max out our credit cards. We looked at our debt for the first time, like, whoa. Its, like, 350,000. Ryan and travis money buys cages, equipment, and their first crop of baby oysters. Check out these little guys. So, whats here . Were at the point where were growing them out in just a protected environment. And theyre super small. Thats them . Yeah, but this is huge relative to when we first got them. Wait, wait, wait so, they start out microscopic, and theyre already this big . Yeah, so, when we get these as larvae, we can fit a million larvae in the palm of our hands. We tell our guys, if you drop that, thats it. Youre fired. Wow. I bet. Whats novel about the way were doing it now is that we have a hatchery system. Were taking healthy oysters that are in the water, pulling them out, putting them into a tank and raising the water temperature up to 75 degrees, and were creating millions of larvae. We can then take that larvae, and thats our next generation. So we dont go out and actually take from nature. Were actually, you know, propagating nature and putting it back. In march 2002, the croxton cousins reseed their strange inheritance with their first crop of oysters using the offbottom technique and relaunch the Rappahannock Oyster Company name, started by their grandfather 40 years earlier. Its one of the first largescale aquaculture plots in the entire Chesapeake Bay. We kind of arrived at a time a whole lot of options, so it was open to some kind of a bold move. Whether a bold move or a fools errand, itll take more than two years to see if their investment will grow into something they can sink their teeth into. When we first planted, we didnt really know. It was a bit of a nailbiter. This is the up button. Okay, here we go. Come to mama. Heres another quiz question the answer when we return. Lets be honest, quitting smoking is freaking hard. Like quitting every monday hard. Quitting feels so big. So, try making it smaller. And youll be surprised at how easily starting small. Can lead to something big. Start stopping with nicorette at chwere a festive family. Were a fourlegged family. Were a getupandgo family. Were a ski family. Were all part of the chevy family. And as we kick off the new year, wed like you to be a part of ours. Because our chevy employee discount is Still Available to everyone. The chevy price you pay is what we pay. Not a cent more. So happy new year, and welcome to the family. The chevy family the chevy employee discount for everyone ends soon. [ electrical buzzing ] [ dramatic music playing ] [ squeaking ] [ screaming ] elliott . [ gasps ] elliott. You came back my son. My, my family. Lots changed since you were here. Its called the internet. Whoa whoa holiday movies. Im dreaming of a White Christmas family. Home. Woo [ gasps ] woohoo woo ill be right here. Oysters rockefeller are baked with a rich sauce of butter, green herbs, and breadcrumbs, while oysters bienville include parmesan cheese, sherry, and butter. Its the spring of 2004, and cousins ryan and Travis Croxton have begun farming oysters in 200 acres of the Chesapeake Bay in virginia that have been in the family for more than a century. Having planted their first crop of oysters on the same spot their greatgrandfather once farmed, theyre waiting to see what their harvest will yield. Theyve kept their fulltime banking jobs, so theyre burning the candle at both ends. We worked probably 100 hours a week on oystering days, nights, weekends. Thats what it takes. Yeah, thats what it takes. We were working ourselves to death. I mean, we would get home from work to start work. On top of their time commitment, ryan and travis have shelled out more than 350,000 clams, maxing out credit cards and draining savings accounts. They know everything depends on their first years harvest. When we first planted, we really an equation of, like,ts temperature and salinity and things like that. It was a bit of a nailbiter. Out on the waters of their strange inheritance, travis and ryan show me what it was like pulling up those first cages. Well, were here, attached to our long line. Each line has hundreds of cages attached to it. Hundreds . Im going to let you, actually, draw the honor. And meet the oysters . Yeah. This is the up button. Okay, here we go. Not too complicated. Come to mama. Wow there they are. That is so awesome. Thats good. You can let it stop right there. The cousins were relieved to find that nearly all of their first crop of oysters had not only survived, but had grown to market size. Now, what do you look for when youre looking for one that is ready . Youre looking for something thats a nice, deep cup, so a nice, thick cup. More meat . Yeah, and you want a little bit more of a rounded shell. You want to make sure that theres not a whole lot of lip you want to try and shuck one . I would. Its all about the shuck. I got a perfect one for you right here. You got a perfect one . Okay. Perfect is good. Oh you went in through the lip. Is that wrong . No, thats, like. Thats pro. Ive worked in restaurants. You have to make it look pretty, too. Voila. [ chuckles ] here you go, babe. That was impressive. Suck it up. And were you both standing there, travis, when you tasted that first oyster . And how did it taste . Were, like, i really hope you taste good. And they did, so sure enough. Right from the beginning . Oh, yeah. Mean, as far as we knew. Its like if have your own garden, youre going to think everything that comes out of it is terrific. The area where ryan and travis grow their first crop produces a sweettasting oyster, something they think chefs and oyster lovers might go wild for. But the cousins know these beauties are not ready to sell themselves. No one was serving chesapeake oysters at the time. It was not seen as a viable, good product. So we had to educate lots of chefs and the public on, hey, no, this is a pristine oyster, if grown the correct way. So ryan and travis hustle to set up tastings with wellknown seafood restaurants on the east coast. Their search leads them to the worldrenowned restaurant le bernardin in new york city. We called the reservation line, and they said, oh, well take a message. But then, yeah, they reached back out to us. I guess they thought the story was cute. They called us back and invited us up for a sampling. But when it comes time to introduce their product to the restaurants culinary director, water. We went in there, we were having a hard time shucking ourd of new to us, right . And so hes like, let me show you how to do it. Such rookies. Yeah. What nerve i know, right . Their shucking skills might not have been up to par, but the oysters themselves, theyre right on the money. He said, that tastes great. How much are they . I have no idea. Like, what are you willing to pay . Well, 60 cents apiece, and they want 200 a week. For ryan and travis, it sounds like the start of something big. And they may be right. Are you making a living . Were making 400 livings. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. Ugh, another electronic signature. You have to print, walk, sign, scan, recycle, walk, email yourself. Really . 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Orried someone might see so, i switched. To always discreet boutique. Its shapehugging threads smooth out the back. So it fits better than depend. And no one notices. Always discreet. Now back to strange inheritance. Its the spring of 2004 when cousins ryan and Travis Croxton get their first order for oysters harvested from their strange inheritance, 200 acres of beds in the Chesapeake Bay. Manhattans renowned le bernardin wants 200 oysters a week. That only adds up to 120 bucks, but its a start. We just had this determination to showcase virginia oysters as the best of the best. Over the next four years, the croxtons land more highend restaurant clients and rent more oyster beds, growing their operation beyond the 200 acres passed down to them from their grandfather. In 2008, they bring in 7,000 bushels, one of the largest hauls in the entire Chesapeake Bay. Two years later, they leave their fulltime jobs to go allin with their oysters. Do you get along . Who, us two . I mean, its hard to be in business with a family member. What kind of stuff do you fight over . Everything. Everything. But i think since we cant actually divorce because we are family, we have to talk it out, so it kind of works out. Eventually, the cousins decide they dont just want to sell oysters to other peoples restaurants they want some restaurants of their own. In 2011, they open merroir, an upscale tasting room overlooking the Rappahannock River, where their greatgrandfather got things started back in 1899. Ooh look at those babies anything else i can get for you . Not for now, but more of these. Okay. Enjoy. And the tasting rooms just the beginning. Starting in 2012, the cousins launch rappahannock, a fullservice farmtotable restaurant in richmond, virginia, along with more upscale oyster bars in washington, d. C. , charleston, south carolina, and l. A. Its kind of funny the oystering was scary enough, and then restaurants was super scary. Know, my dad was, like, telling my wife one time, dont let him do this thing. Dont let him do this. But now he eats at the restaurant once a week. So its fantastic. As weve moved into restaurants and its become more of a way to interact with consumers, its been just an awesome vehicle for getting direct feedback. Will there be 10 restaurants, 20 restaurants . Were kind of taking it, so, like in the near future, weve got a couple more restaurants that were opening, were expanding the oyster farms, and then well kind of see where it goes. Not only are the cousins now making a living in the oyster biz, but theyre playing a major part in reviving a way of life on the Chesapeake Bay that was once written off as dead. I mean, the nice thing is were making 400 livings, so thats kind of been the beauty of it. 400 people . Throughout the restaurants and the oyster company. Wow. The world is, indeed, their oyster. Theyre now farming 2,000 acres in the Chesapeake Bay and harvesting 21,000 bushels a its a long way from the business their greatgrandfather and grandfather ran. What would your dad say . Could he have ever dreamed . No. No. Jimmy and i have both talked about just brings tears that he could see this. Well, it just makes you feel good to see them succeed in business like this and work hard, taking over what their grandfather and greatgrandfather started. I know my father would be so proud of them. Thats probably more important than anything else. Was he always in the back of . Oh, always, yeah. What do you think your grandfather would say . Hed be pretty impressed, i think. I think hed be happy. Hopefully, hed be really proud. As fast as ryan and travis are selling oysters these days, they might want to hire this guy. In june 2017, Patrick Mcmurray shucked 39 oysters in one minute in a contest against celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay good enough for the guinness book of world records. Im jamie colby. Thanks so much for watching strange inheritance. And remember, you cant take it with you. Oh, yeah. New york. Paul paul welcome to the special edition of the journal editorial report. As we look back on the highs and lows of 2019. Im paul gigot. From the Mueller Report to the impeachment probe, we begin with the investigations into President Trump which kicked into high gear this year as democrats took control of the house. So what did we learn about the president and those investigating him and which side emerged stronger . Lets ask wall street journal columnist and deputy editor, Dan Henninger and columnist kim strassel, bill mcgern and mary o