Tag Archives: provincetown cape cod

Provincetown Bathing Beach at Delight Cottage

Delight Cottage Bathing Beach, Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Delight Cottage Bathing Beach, Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

The sign in the antique  photograph says “Delight Private Beach” and it looks like everyone is having a fun time in their bathing costumes. A boardwalk built out over the water, enables visitors to dangle their legs over the edge without actually going swimming. On one side are cabanas for changing and on the other side a gazebo for shade. Delight Cottage was located at 113 Commercial Street, on the West End of Provincetown near the bend in the road by where is currently the Coast Guard Station.  Times have changed, and usually even at high tide the bay side is not as crowded as it was in approximately 1910 when this photograph was taken. Old photographs and postcards were a passion of the murder victim Sonny Carreiro in the mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook. Do the antique postcards figure into the plot in some shape or form? You’ll have to read the story to find out. Now available in bookstores and online. Autographed copies are at the Provincetown Book Shop or purchase your trade paperback or ebook at Amazon.com Like us on Facebook and join the conversation.

Long Point beyond Provincetown, a hidden gem

Long Point Light at the Tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown, Masachusetts

Long Point Light at the Tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown, Massachusetts

This lovely antique postcard shows Long Point light on the tip of Cape Cod, once the location of a fishing village. The postcard was published by  H. A Dickerman and Son. . It’s a handsome color lithographic print from the late 19th century. at a time when it cost just a penny to mail a postcard and two cents if you wanted to send your card outside the United States.

Today, no  one lives on Long Point, which makes it a quiet and secluded spot for clothing optional bathing and picnics. If you don’t have a boat, you an hike across the breakwater at the far west end of town, by the Provincetown Inn. The further out you are willing to hike, once you arrive at the point, the more secluded you’ll be. But watch out for the tides, or you may get stranded. If you like Provincetown adventures, don’t miss out on reading Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook. Autographed copies are currently available at the Provincetown Book Shop on Commercial Street. Or you can buy a copy online. The books are available in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebookand join the conversation. Send questions to the author via comments on this website. Thank you!

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

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

Vacationing in Provincetown Cape Cod in 1911

Old colonial house by the sea in Provincetown, Cape Cod circa 1911

Old colonial house by the sea in Provincetown, Cape Cod circa 1911

A beautiful seaside setting in Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod, is depicted in this antique postcard. Labeled “Old Colonial House” I’m not certain where this is except to guess it looks to be on the West End of town, which is the older portion of Provincetown. The postcard was mailed in 1911 from Mary to Millie and here is what is says:

The wheel on the boat broke down and we were two hours late so missed the train and had to stay in Provincetown over Sunday. Stayed at the Gifford House and had a dandy time. It is just lovely here and the daisies and roses are so pretty. We went for a long walk this morning. We’ve had plenty of showers today but hope it is pleasant tomorrow.  Love from South Wellfeet.

So evidently Mary took the Boston Ferry Boat to Provincetown as the quickest way to get to South Wellfleet. At the time she was traveling, the train still carried passengers up and down Cape Cod. Her firiend, who she was writing to lived in Wollaston, Massachusetts.  People sometimes arrive  to places quite by accident and end up staying there, like some of the characters in the new murder mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook. Want to learn more?  Read the book now available online in trade paperback and  on kindle. Like us on Facebook and continue the conversation.

Provincetown Cape Cod 60 years ago

Provincetown, Massachusetts Town Hall and Cafe Poyant circa 1970

Provincetown, Massachusetts Town Hall and Cafe Poyant circa 1970

Right beside the town hall in Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod, was a favorite outdoor sidewalk cafe called Cafe Poyant. Next to the cafe was a bakery with French pastries and donuts. Who remembers the place? It was a great place to “people watch”. The red and white awnings were classic. The large white building in back, once a church as shown on some of the earlier postcards on this website, was the Art Cinema movie theater. They showed wonderful foreign films. The bakery and cafe were owned by Gene Poyant, who in his later years volunteered as the Provincetown Town Crier. Today there is no outdoor sidewalk cafe at this location. As the town has continued to grow and expand. stores and restaurants change, although some favorites remain.  What did it feel like to live in Provincetown year-round 25 years ago? If you’ve read Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook,  you might have gained a different perspective.  If you haven’t read the book yet, read what everyone’s saying about it. Now available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble and other online sites in trade paperback and on kindle. Signed copies are at the Provincetown Book Shop while they last. Like us on Facebook. Keep the conversation going.

Provincetown Race Point beach shipwrecks

Fishing Schooner "Buema" wrecked near Race Point Light in Provincetown, Cape Cod

Fishing Schooner “Buema” wrecked near Race Point Light in Provincetown, Cape Cod

Race Point Beach in Provincetown, now a part of the National Seashore is a favorite spot for swimming, fishing, and nature watching where one might catch a glimpse of a seal or whale, depending on the season. But Race Point is also the site of many shipwrecks and between 1873 and 1902 had a Lifesaving station known as Race Point Station. Unfortunately the station was no longer in operation when the fishing schooner Buema crashed into the surf and was wrecked on January 7, 1908.  The above postcard, purchased in 1924 tells the story.  During the time the Race Point Station was in operation they had three surfboats which aided hundreds of seafarers. Among the names of men who served at the lifesaving station and lost their lives aiding others were Captain Dave Atkins and Frank Mayo. Is that where the name for the road Atkins Mayo, the dirt road where two characters in the mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown  live, comes from?  Curious to read the new murder mystery set in Provincetown, the book everyone’s talking about.  You can pick up a signed copy at the Provincetown Book Shop while they last or buy a book online at Amazon.com in trade paperback or ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

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

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

The Provincetown approach to wooing shoppers

purchased in 1940 This antique postcard shows the Town Crier Gift Shop.

purchased in 1940
This antique postcard shows the Town Crier Gift Shop.

Provincetown, Massachusetts has always been a mecca for shopping. It’s one of the busiest towns on the Outer Cape.  This postcard shows 265 Commercial Street, when it was the Town Crier Gift Shop. Prior to that time, this location was the home of the Advocate Gift and Souvenir Shop according to John Wright Hardy the author of Provincetown Vol. I. The gentleman in the pilgrim outfit standing outside the shop, which boasts itself as being the largest gift shop on Cape Cod, was not the official Town Crier for the town of Provincetown but was hired by the store to attract business. His name was Charles Walton. To learn more about Town Criers in Provincetown read some of our previous postings. To be entertained by a Provincetown mystery story read Remaining in Provincetown , available at bookstores and online in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown Cape Cod vacation includes art gallery visits

Interior view of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum in 1940

Interior view of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum in 1940

The caption on the top of this vintage postcard sent in 1940 says “Provincetown Art Gallery” but those old timers familiar with the town will instantly recognize this photograph as the interior of the Provincetown Art Association founded in 1914 the way it used to look before various renovations and additions. The organization is now known as the Provincetown Art Association and Museum or PAAM for short.  If you are in Provincetown this weekend, you still have time to catch the “Art in the Garden” exhibit which includes work by Will Barnet, Mona Dukess, Pasquale Natale, Sideo Fromboluti, and Judith Shahn.  You can also attend the opening reception of the Jim Peters exhibition  this Friday ($10 admission to non-members of PAAM) Peters teaches painting and drawing at the Museum School at PAAM and is a member and former chair of the visual arts program committee at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown.                                                     One of the characters in the new mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown, Annie Tinker, came to Provincetown to study at the FIne Arts Work Center. Is she a possible suspect? Or is it her husband Beau Costa who put the fatal bullet in Sonny Carreiro? You’ll have to read the book to find out. SIgned copies, while they last, are at the Provincetown Bookstore, or buy your trade paperback book online or as 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

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

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Shipwreck on Provincetown sandbars averted

Swedish Freighter the Monica SMith

Swedish Freighter the Monica Smith

The sandbars off the tip of Cape Cod , even with the Provincetown lighthouses  at Race Point, Woods Hole, and Long Point to alert passing ships can be treacherous. Fortunately in the case of the Swedish freighter, Monica Smith, enroute from New Bedford to Nova Scotia, no damage was done. This photograph was taken on February 23, 1960. A storm caused the vessel to be beached at Provincetown, Massachusetts, where the boat remained until tugboats could be assembled and then during high tide, with the help of her anchors, she safely floated out to sea and started up her engines.
When you live by the sea, you learn to deal with unexpected weather and unexpected events like a murder. What happens in a small town like Provincetown, economically dependent on tourism,  when a crime takes place? Who had a motive to kill one of the town’s leading citizens? The ending may surprise you. Get your copy of the new novel Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook in time for summer beach reading. Now in bookstores and online, in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

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

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

Provincetown Cape Cod your heart’s desire

Old Cape COd That Land of Heart's Desire by John Chipman

Old Cape Cod That Land of Heart’s Desire by John Chipman

Cape Cod is often referred to as “God’s Country” as it is in the poem by John Chipman printed on the above  antique postcard. The top illustration shows the steamer Dorthy Bradford (the Boston Boat ) heading from Boston to Provincetown,  the best town from which to start your Cape Cod visit.   Today you can visit via the Fast Ferry. Chipman writes of hearing the waves pounding on the short  and says “no place in the world shines the sun so bright or the moon so full on a summer’s night.”

“”They make you as welcome as flowers in Spring                                               A hand clasp that thrills way down to the toes                                                       In the greeting one gets whereever he goes.”

That sense of intimacy is one of the characteristics of a small town. It’s one reason why so many people gravitate towards places like Provincetown. Want to experience more of what it’s like to live in Provincetown, who maybe what it could have been like for some residents in the 1990’s.  Buy a copy of the fabulous new novel,  Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook available at bookstores and online in trade paperback and ebook.  Like us at Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Boston boat to Provincetown a vacation experience

Steamer dockingThe above postcard was mailed in 1912, over 100 years ago, and shows the steamship the Dorothy May Bradford, pulling up to the dock in Provincetown harbor on the tip of Cape Cod. At the begiinning of the 20th century, taking what was referred to as the “Boston Boat” was the most efficient way to get from Boston to Provincetown and from Provincetown to Boston during the summer months. Back in those days the journey took a good half of the day, but today the Provincetown Fast Ferry makes the trip back and forth two and three times a day in 90 minutes.  While the Dorothy Bradford was named after one of the first Pilgrim travelers who traveled across the ocean on the Mayflower and then drowned in Provincetown Harbor after she slipped and fell off the boat, the newest Provincetown Fast Ferry Salacia, is named after the Neptune’s wife and goddess of the sea. Salacia’s name, derived from the  Latin word for salt, was thought to personify the calm and expansiveness of the sea. A beautiful sea nymph who bore three sons with Neptune, including Triton, she is usually personified in sculptures as having a crown of seaweed and driving alongside Neptune in a shell chariot drawn by dolphins.  Certainly the sleek and fast Salacia looks quite different in contour and shape from the more stalwart Dorothy Bradford. But different time periods in history call for different experiences. If you like postcards, you may want to enter the Boston Harbor Cruise “Design Your Own Postcard Contest” 
If reading a book during your vacation is more your idea of fun while relaxing on the beach, pick up a copy of Remaining in Provincetown, the new murder mystery everyone’s talking about. Now available at bookstores and online in trade paperback and ebook. Buy your copy today at Amazon .com or purchase a signed copy at the Provincetown bookshop while supplies last.  Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

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

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

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