Provincetown Fishing Tradition Celebrated at Blessing of the Fleet

This 1960’s postcard shows a plentiful catch of fish on a commercial fishing boat out of Provincetown. Fifty plus years later and the commercial fishing boats are not as plentiful as they once were, docked off of MacMillan Pier. Still the tradition continues and has been revitalized in recent years with the Portuguese Festival that has enhanced the annual Blessing of the Fleet.

The end of June is a great time to visit Provincetown an the celebration begins this weekend on Thursday the 26th. To get into the mood of Provincetown, pick up a copy of Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook , the recently published murder mystery that still has everyone talking. What happens during the Blessing of the Fleet in the story set in the 1980s might give you some clues. A few autographed copies can be found at the Provincetown Bookshop on Commercial Street or buy it online in trade paperback or ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown East Harbor Now Pilgrim Lake

Pilgrim Lake approaching from Mayflower Heights
Provincetown, Cape Cod

This postcard shows what Pilgrim Lake looked like approximately 120 years ago, but it had already undergone many changes.

Once known historically as Eastern Harbor and later as East Harbor, the protected inlet was eventually diked in 1868 to make it possible for track to be laid for the railroad that made Provincetown into a thriving hub for fishing. The railroad took the fish from the Provincetown Wharf all the way to New York City.

But in building a railroad and a roadway in 1877, East Harbor became a lake known as Pilgrim Lake.

What’s interesting in this old postcard is that the dunes look fairly low and the vegetation is high. The vegetation is what caused the desalination. The fish population gradually depleted although in the mid 20^th century there were reports of large terrapin turtles that lived in the lake. What did they eat?

The vegetation and wildlife continues to evolve as the National Park Service attempts to restore portions of the habitat.

What happens next? Only time will tell. Life is often a mystery.

Want to read a novel set in Provincetown? Remaining in Provincetown, “captures the characters and places perfectly,” says one reader review. “Finally an author has been able to successfully capture the flavor of that quirky town on the tip of Cape Cod and do it well,” says another. Available at Provinetown’s favorite local bookstore, Provincetown Bookshop, or online as a paperback or ebook you’ll want to read Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook to get you ready for summer 2014. Like it on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Sailors and Music in Provincetown Cape Cod

Band Concert at Town Hall is the title of this postcard from the first decade of the 20th century. The Provincetown Monument looms in the background and the corner of Commercial Street is filled with sailors and officers in their dress whites along with tourists and residents waiting for the music to begin. The streets look as crowded over 100 years ago as they do today during the summer season. Want to read a book with Proviincetown as its setting? It doesn’t take place 110 years ago. It takes place in the early 1990s. A murder mystery entitled Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook is available at your favorite local bookstores and online. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown Book Gets Five Stars

Provincetown, Cape Cod
Bradford Street, just past the town center during the early 1960s.

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it, December 27, 2013

Karen O’Shaughnessy (Manchester, NH United States) – See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: Remaining in Provincetown (Kindle Edition)

If you love Provincetown, you’ll love this book. It captures the characters and places perfectly. It also had me wondering “who done it” all the way through.

If you haven’t read Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook, you’re in for a treat. Buy your copy today at The Provincetown Bookstore or find it online in trade paperback or on kindle. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown Artistic Inspiration

East End
Provincetown, Cape Cod

The Inner Satisfaction

By Harry Kemp

(from Poet of the Dunes)

The Inner Satisfaction is the goal; There is no profit for the soul:
In palace or in hut if you abide,
It does not matter– with that gift inside.

The above antique postcard was printed in Germany and published by the Advocate at the end of the 19th century when traveling by boats was often easier than walking to get from the East End to the West End of Provincetown. The poem was published by Provincetown Publishers and printed by The Advocate Press in 1952. If you like books connected with Provincetown and haven’t yet read Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook, copies are available at local bookstores and for purchase online in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going!!

Provincetown Along The Shore

Along the Shore
Provincetown, Cape Cod

Along the shore is where I want to be on a beautiful day when the sun in shining Pink sky along the water’s edge and pale yellow sand that rubs against my toes Another glorious day in Provincetown where the light is bright and pure and the sounds of the sea are never far from my ears.

The above postcard is a color lithographic print circa 1910. Love Provincetown? Check out the new murder mystery Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook available in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown Song

All I Can Give

By Harry Kemp

Cook Street in Provincetown looking towards Commercial Street.

All I can give is a song
And that is best,

Which down the ages will prolong
Our names when all the rest,

The good, the bad, the glad, the brave

Become lost headstones on a grave:

If poets are a little mad

Their singing makes the whole world glad!

The above poem was published in Poet of the Dunes in 1952 by Provincetown Publishers

If you love Provincetown, you should enjoy the murder mystery novel published in April 2013 Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook. Buy it at your favorite bookstore or online in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Sailors and Railroad Wharf Provincetown Photography

Many of the antique postcards that depict Provincetown, the wonderful small town on the tip of Cape Cod, with sailors walking the streets. The reason for this is because one of the most important events in the town during both 1907 and 1910 was the construction and subsequent dedication of the Pilgrim Monument. In 1907 when the first cornerstone was laid, President Theodore Roosevelt was in attendance. Subsequently in 1910 when the monument was dedicated, the ceremonies were presided over by President William Howard Taft. At both events the entire Atlantic Fleet of the United States Navy was in Provincetown harbor for the ceremonies. That’s a lot of sailors. The above postcard shows sailors landing at Railroad Wharf. No sailors walk the streets in the new murder mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook but several of the characters are interested in history and tradition. Pick up a copy at your favorite bookstore or order it online at Amazon.com in trade paperback or on kindle. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Unique Provincetown on the Tip of Cape Cod

Provincetown on the tip of the Cape has well been called the most unique town in the country for certainly there is just one Provincetown and nothing like it anywhere else. It is the oldest town on the Cape and has always been the center of a great fishing industry. Its street are more winding lands making the town the Mecca for hundreds of artists.

179 Commercial Street
Provincetown, Cape Cod

The above text comes directly from the above Post Card published in about 1940 from the look of the cars in the picture, by E.D. West in West Yarmouth, Cape Cod and is called an ” CT-Art Colortone”. Recognize the corner? The illustration shows the town at an earlier time when newspapers, magazines, and telegrams were the main forms of communication along with the old rotary dial telephone. This was back when you needed to pick up the phone and ask the local operator to connect you to the four digit town number you were trying to reach and there were “party lines” shared by multiple households trying to economize. The murder mystery Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook is set in more recent history– approximately 1990– but the town continues to change. Pick up a copy of the book at your favorite local bookstore or order it online. Like us on facebook and keep the conversation going.

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At bookstores that include the Provincetown Bookshop.

Provincetown Cape Cod 19th Century Landscape

19th century Provincetown Cape Cod

What did Provincetown, that lively town on the tip of Cape Cod, look like before there were big motels? Stand on the corner of Commercial Street and Kendall Lane on the town’s East End and imagine. Once upon a time before there was a big parking lot and a pool for the Surf Side Arms Motor Inn on this left corner, there were mature trees and a white picket fence. Kendall Lane was an actual dirt lane, not a paved street. It was a setting that invited strollers who chatted and admired the greenery on their way towards the town landing near by.
How times have changed. But it’s fun to look at the above antique postcard and remember. Want to remember the 1990s? Pick up a copy of the murder mystery Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook, this year’s favorite new book set in Provincetown. Buy a copy at the Provincetown Bookshop or online. It’s available as a trade paperback and an ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going!

Remaining in Provincetown
By S.N.Cook.
Truro Works. 306 pages
$12.95 Trade Paperback