When the men pulled back the final tarp, steam rolled out in great white billows. Instead of stepping back, they plunged in to grab crates upon crates of clams and other shellfish.

All in all, they pulled 12 bushels of clams from the smoking pit at this year’s annual Wareham Community Associates clambake, held at Zecco Marine. The organization holds a clambake every year to raise money for scholarships for a select number of graduating seniors from Wareham High School.

Association member and current clambake master Bill Atwood said the organization gave out about $4,000 to six graduating seniors this year. Most, but not all of the money comes from the clambake.

“We have a bank account with money in it still, from previous years,” Atwood said.

Atwood has been the bakemaster since 1974, but started learning how to bake clams in 1968.

“My father taught me. He did it before me,” Atwood said of his father, who was also the association’s bakemaster, for a time. “My two boys do it … hopefully, they [take over] next year. We’ve been doing it since forever.”

Myles Atwood, Bill Atwood’s younger son, said he has been learning to bake clams since he was four years old. He said they use a very specific technique of layering stones over burning wood to heat up the rocks. Once the rocks have been heated, they remove the wood, replacing it with a certain kind of seaweed, called rockweed, that has little hollow bubbles.

“Those bubbles have seawater in them. When they pop, it steams it all with saltwater,” Atwood said.

The sold-out event saw 230 people, including Selectmen Alan Slavin and Peter Teitelbaum, who helped serve the clams. There was also a raffle table, at which association members could raffle off items they brought to support the fundraiser.