Tag Archives: Provinetown history

Provincetown Fishing Tradition Celebrated at Blessing of the Fleet

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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.

Dressing FIsh in Provincetown Cape Cod

Dressing FishCod fishing grew quickly in New England by the mid 1800s, particularly on Cape Cod.  Look at the size of the fish those men are cleaning in the above antique postcard illustration.The town of Provincetown had a thriving economy and its numbers swelled with immigrants from all over the world, particularly Portugal who came to work on the fishing boats. Many were from the Azores. They settled in Provincetown and raised families.  Portuguese ancestry figures into the plot of the mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook. Available at The Provincetown Book Shop on Commercial Street and online in trade paperback and as an ebook, 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.

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

By
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.

Sailors and Railroad Wharf Provincetown Photography

Provincetown sailorsMany 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.

Provincetown Cape Cod 19th Century Landscape

19th century Provincetown Cape Cod

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

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

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Champion Provincetown Clam Digger

"Carl" Champion Provincetown Clamdigger

“Carl” Champion Provincetown Clamdigger

Quahogs and steamers were once in plentiful supply in Provincetown harbor.  The above antique postcard is a  19th century color lithographic print published in Germany by F. H. Dearborn, Provincetown Massachussets. The card shows a champion clam digger, “Carl”, wheeling his haul down Commercial Street standing in front of what is now Marine Specialties.
Clams were often used for fish bait. Nowadays  Cape Cod clams are enjoyed fried, stuffed, steamed, and in chowders. Because the clam population has become depleted due to overfishing, clam digging is closely monitored and restricted according to season.  But during the Great Depression, shellfish was an important source of protein for Cape Codders.
Everyone loves a creamy hot bowl of Clam Chowder on a cold damp day. A number of Provincetown restaurants serve delicious homemade chowder and one restaurant “Sally’s Chowder Bowl,”–a fictional location,  is a favorite dining spot of several of the characters in Remaining in Provincetown, the mystery novel by S.N. Cook.  Who likes to eat there and why? Read the book everyone’s talking about available online and at local bookstores. Like us on Facebook and keep the conversation going.

Provincetown Cape Cod Seining Fish

Seining FIsh Provincetown Massachusetts

Seining FIsh Provincetown Massachusetts

This antique Provincetown postcard is entitled “Seining Fish” and was published by the Provincetown Advocate in the late 19th century. The American Indians used weirs, stationary nets to capture fish and fishing weirs were still a common sight in parts of Cape Cod  Bay in the 20th century. But another fishing technique, popular in the 19th century as depicted in this antique Provincetown postcard, was seine fishing. Seine fishing uses nets that are hung vertically in the water, set in place to catch a school of fish and then removed. The bottom edge of the net is held down by weights while the top of the net edge is held aloft by floats.  Purse seine fishing uses rings on the edges of the nets to gather the net together like a purse. That’s where it gets its name—purse seine.

Names can be very descriptive. What is the significance of the name of the novel, Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook? Who is remaining? Is it the murder victim or is it the characters who have chosen the town as their home and have chosen to stay? Want to learn more? Read the murder mystery available at your local bookstore or online as a trade paperback or ebook. Like us on Facebook

At bookstores that include the Provincetown Bookshop.

At bookstores that include the Provincetown Bookshop.

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

and keep the conversation going.

U.S. Lifesaving Service at Race Point, Provincetown

Firing the Lifeline

Firing the Life-line

The United States Lifesaving Service was founded in 1871 after an alarming number of fatalities occurred along the Atlantic coast during the winters of 1870 and 1871.

The stations were manned by expert surf men and boat handlers who patrolled the coast at night and during foggy and stormy days.  The buildings where equipment was stored were painted red so they could be seen from the sea and a sixty foot flagstaff signaled  passing ships by International code.

Nine lifesaving stations were built on Cape Cod in 1872. Captain Samuel O. Fisher was one of the Race Point station’s keepers and he had a horse that would help the crew by dragging the heavy boats and equipment across the sand.  Postcards that show the work of the early Cape Cod Lifesaving Service are highly desirable. It was a these types of antique postcards that Sonny Carreiro was looking at before he drives back to Provincetown and is inexplicably murdered. Want to know more about the mystery? Read the new novel, Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook available at bookstores, including signed copies at the Provincetown Bookshop and online in trade paperback and 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

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Provincetown to Boston ferry come back soon!

Boston Boat from Provincetown Departing

Boston Boat  Departing from Provincetown, Massachusetts

This antique postcard, circa 1900, was not as popular a card as the one tourists arriving from Boston to visit Provincetown. That’s when the excitement begins. These folks, although they are so nicely dressed with those handsome hats, long dresses, vests, and waist coats, look a little downcast. Their friends are on their way to Boston after a fun time in Provincetown.  They’re leaving.  Hope they get to come back soon. Times have changed, but a boat– the Fast Ferry– still travels the same route.  And some of us still send postcards, although often we do so by email. The Fast Ferry is having a postcard contest, so check it out on their website.  Meanwhile, if you haven’t visited the Remaining in Provincetown facebook page, we are also having a contest. We want you to like our page, if you haven’t already, and tell us your favorite month to visit Provincetown and why. We’ll be sending the winner a signed copy of Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook specially inscribed to the winner. So play the game and enjoy the town.

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

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!

Like our facebook fan page and you may be selected to receive a FREE advance cppy!