Craig Kirkner and Charlie Ross stand across from each other in a small, refrigerated back room at Conrad's Crabs & Seafood Market on Joppa Road, near Towson.
One by one, the men take turns picking blue crabs out of boxes, sorting the crabs by vitality, size and weight and tossing them into baskets. The work is "tedious," 18-year-old Kirkner said, and sometimes messy, but necessary to support the uniquely Maryland tradition of producing steamed crabs in the summertime.
"I always thought it was a novelty," said Kirkner, who has worked at the store for four years. "I didn't really know what went into it. There are those who think you just go catch them and steam them, but it's a lot more work than that."
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Towson Times