She’s smart, she’s beautiful, and she’s also an Oyster Shucking Champion.
     Deborah Pratt began her quest for oyster shucking fame when she was a child sitting on the doorstep with her younger sister, Clementine Macon.
     The novelty of an oyster and how one goes about quickly getting it open became a lifelong obsession for both of them.
     Deborah explains the simple way she cracks into this bivalve treasure of the Rappahannock, stating:
     “If you go into the oyster at 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9, you will always get in.
     “From there it’s just about how fast you get in, and how little damage you do to the fragile sea life within,” she assures.
     The titles Deborah has won are too numerous to mention, but perhaps the time she edged out her nephew by mere seconds in the 2007 Urbanna Oyster Festival (State of Virginia, U.S.A.) is among her most fond memories. That, and making the trip to Ireland a few times to compete in the world competition.