Episode 109: BONUS - A Cape Cod Summer Vacation In 1923(8-23-2023)

Episode 109 is a special Bonus Episode. This is going to be a fun and unique episode.
We are going to take a deep dive into what it would have been like for someone coming to visit Cape Cod on summer vacation a century ago in the year 1923.
What would you see? Where would you stay? Where would you eat? How would you even get there?
All of these questions will be answered as you are transported back one hundred years. It's a fun slice of history wrapped up as a makeshift old-time radio play. Even if you're not from Cape Cod or have never visited it there is something for everyone as far as entertainment goes.
So enjoy a look back at a Cape Cod summer vacation in 1923.

Helpful Links from this Episode

• The Lady of the Dunes.com
• Purchase My New Book Cape Cod Beyond the Dunes!
• Kiwi's Kustoms - Etsy
• DJ Williams Music
• KeeKee's Cape Cod Kitchen
• Christopher Setterlund.com
• The In My Footsteps Podcast Blog
• Cape Cod Living - Zazzle Store

Listen to Episode 108 here 

Transcript

Speaker 00: 0:00

Hello world, and welcome to the In My Footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund, coming to you from the vacation destination known as Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and this is episode 109. It's the monthly bonus episode, and this is going to be something a little bit different, really fun, as I take you on a trip back 100 years to what it was like to vacation on Cape Cod in the summer of 1923. Even if you're not from Cape Cod, if you've never been to Cape Cod, even if you're not a history fan, this is going to be an entertaining enough episode that I think it'll be something for everyone. So sit back and relax and close your eyes and pretend you are back 100 years ago as we look at summer vacation on Cape Cod in 1923. Before we get started, I wanted to, of course, take some time to say thank you to everyone for tuning into the podcast. All of you who listen, who share. Hopefully a few of you will subscribe when subscriptions come up next month in September. I'll see you next time. And I should say subscriber bonus episode because this literal episode you're listening to is a bonus episode. So I don't want to confuse anyone. Subscriber only episode. I also wanted to say a big thank you to everybody who came out last Friday, August 18th, to the Osterville Village Library for the premiere event for my Searching for the Lady of the Dunes true crime book. It was a lot of fun. I've got more coming, as well as events for my other two books that were released this year. Cape Cod Beyond the Dunes, the photography book, and the second edition of the In My Footsteps Cape Cod Travel Guide, which will actually be released next week, but you can still pre-order it. So what we're about to do now is a look back a century to a summer vacation on Cape Cod in 1923. So without further ado... Let's take a walk back in history to a Cape Cod summer vacation in 1923, right now on episode 109 of the In My Footsteps podcast. Congratulations, you've finally made it. After a long, cold winter, the warm weather has finally arrived. It's time for a trip. And what better place could you choose than Cape Cod? So let's head down there for a beautiful summer vacation. You pack up the car, you pack up the kids, and you head down to the Cape. But wait a minute, this isn't 2023. Oh no, you're heading for a vacation on Cape Cod in 1923, 100 years ago. Are you ready to find out what a trip to the Cape looked like back then? All right, let's find out. First and foremost, do you have your own vehicle or are you going to take a train? If you do have an automobile, you are one of the lucky ones. It would take until 1930 for more than half of American families to own automobiles. So rail travel was... the more common and likely preferred method to get down to Cape Cod. However, if you do have a vehicle, it was most likely the Ford Model T, as 1923 was its best year for sales, with more than 2 million units produced in that year alone. If you didn't have the Ford Model T, other popular vehicles included the Chevrolet Superior and the Dodge Brothers Touring Car. These cars were quite different from the vehicles of today. They had exposed engines and Spartan interiors. A Spartan interior means lacking any luxury or comfort and is marked by its simplicity. So basically those cars had no AC, no radio, maybe even no windshield or windshield wipers. So you packed up, you found whatever your mode of transportation was, and you're heading to the Cape. As you approach the Cape Cod Canal, it looks different. The Cape Cod Canal, which by 1923 had only been in operation for nine years, was still at its original width of 100 feet. It would not reach its present-day width of 480 feet until 1940. Naturally, with a narrower canal, the three bridges that crossed it were also different. The Sagamore and Bourne bridges were drawbridges in 1923. Both bridges consisted of two 80-foot cantilever sections that rose to allow vessels to pass through. The railroad bridge was a 160-foot cantilever bridge that pivoted upward on its north foundation, creating a very unique sight. These three bridges remained in use until 1935, when all three were replaced with the current bridges that still exist as of 2023. So you have crossed over whichever bridge you need to take, and you have now made it on to Cape Cod. There are 15 towns and 143 unique villages. A major difference that you will notice after crossing whichever bridge... is that there is no Mid-Cape Highway. It won't be until 1950 that the highway opens from the Sagamore Bridge to West Barnstable. That was Exit 6 forever, and now they changed it so it's present-day Exit 68. There are also very few paved roads, which means it's a slower go of things getting around on the Cape in 1923. Even without the Mid-Cape Highway, you're in luck. Route 6A, which was then known only as the Old Kings Highway, did exist. And this could bring people all the way from the Cape Cod Canal out to Provincetown. The big question now is, where are you going to stay during your summer vacation? One thing that Cape Cod did not lack in 1923 was popular resorts and hotels. In fact, the world-famous Chatham Bars Inn existed back then, although on a far smaller scale. If you couldn't find a room at Chatham Bars Inn, there was no need to despair. Some of the historic, iconic hotels that you could have stayed at in 1923 included Aberdeen Hall on Great Island in West Yarmouth, which existed until a fire burned it to the ground in 1924. There was Terrace Gables in Falmouth Heights, which existed until 1971. The Chequesset Inn in Wellfleet, which existed until 1934. The Pines in Katuit, which existed until 1958. And Hotel Belmont in Harwich, which existed until 1974. And you better make the right choice... Because it was common in those days to vacation in the same place for weeks or even the entire summer. So hopefully you enjoy your surroundings because you're going to see a lot of them. So you found your place to stay, unpacked your bags. If you were lucky enough to stay at one of those fine hotels that were just mentioned, perhaps your room would have the hot new technology known as radio inside of it. If you did have a radio, there were no broadcast radio stations yet on Cape Cod, so you wouldn't have much of anything to listen to, but you could look at it. The medium of radio would explode in popularity over the rest of the 1920s. But the majority of what would be heard in 1923 would be from tiny amateur stations that would broadcast at random hours. So you'd have to sit in your room and fiddle with the dial and pray that somebody nearby was broadcasting something. Your place to stay on your summer vacation is all set. But what's next? All that traveling from wherever you came from had to leave you hungry. So it's probably a good idea to find somewhere to get a bite to eat. However, don't go looking for franchises like McDonald's, Wendy's, or KFC. Not only did none of those restaurants exist, but franchises as a concept didn't even exist yet. The very first restaurant franchise was a Howard Johnson's, which opened in Orleans, Massachusetts in 1935. So you'll be waiting 12 years. Not to worry though, there are plenty of great places to eat on Cape Cod in 1923. Driving around on Cape Cod, you'll find an abundance of tea rooms. What's a tea room? These were Victorian-era establishments that functioned as small restaurants slash cafes. They served light meals, snacks, and of course, tea. Some of the popular Cape Cod tea rooms in 1923 included the Whippoorwill in Bourne, the Chatham Tea Room, and the Grey Gull in Falmouth. The Gray Gull would go on to become infamous as a speakeasy during the waning days of Prohibition as the Hanger Tea Room. Now, if tea rooms weren't your thing and you were looking for more of a sit-down dinner, there were a few popular longtime Cape Cod restaurants that existed back then. You could grab a bite to eat at the legendary East Bay Lodge in Osterville. or visit a pair of places that still exist to this day, the Old Yarmouth Inn, which was then known as the Yarmouth Tavern, or the Daniel Webster Inn in Sandwich. Now, of course, just like today, you could save money by looking to make yourself a home-cooked meal, and you could go and grab some necessities, and this might have been easier than going to a restaurant, so you could go to the market or the drugstore slash pharmacy. Megathlins in Hyannis was the tops as far as drugstores went. There were no supermarkets to speak of in 1923, although you could venture out to the local Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, also known as A&P, which had locations at the time in Falmouth, Provincetown, and Dennisport, among others. Although A&P was a big name for a long time, in 1923, this was not the mammoth supermarket like we see in the 21st century. So you're taking a walk around the aisles of the market or the pharmacy, and if you're looking for familiar brands from the 21st century to purchase there, there were many that are still prominent today. These include Coca-Cola, Heinz Ketchup, Wrigley's Gum, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Bayer Aspirin, Campbell's Soup, Hershey's Chocolate, Kodak Film, Colgate Toothpaste, and many more. One interesting fact about the markets and pharmacies back then, at least most of them, you would give the person in charge your list and they would get you the stuff you needed. It was not self-serve, at least most of the places were not self-serve. So you better hope you don't have any embarrassing items on your list to bring back to your hotel room. The accommodations are set. You've had lunch or dinner or whatever snack you wanted, or at least visited the local market. So what do you do now for fun? Obviously, Cape Cod has always been known for its miles of sandy beaches. It was no different 100 years ago. You could spend the day at one of the beloved bathing beaches like Craigville, Sandy Neck, Nauset, Race Point, and countless others. However, unlike today, there was no option to drive over the sand to find a private spot, so you would need to either walk all the way out through the dunes or learn to love the crowds. But like we said at the beginning, you might be in the same spot all summer, so what happens on a rainy day? On those days, you could go and see a motion picture. These were still part of the silent era, and thus there was no dialogue, only music. Seats were available for matinees at the Idle Hour Theater in Hyannis, Empire Theater in Falmouth, and the Orpheum Theater in Chatham, which still exists to this day. Tickets cost $0.35 for adults and $0.10 for children. But what were the big summer blockbuster films of 1923? They included The Covered Wagon, which was a western, Safety Last, which was a romantic comedy starring Harold Lloyd, Main Street, which was a drama, and a re-release of the 1922 romantic hit Monte Cristo. Perhaps you came to Cape Cod without children, though, and you wanted some fun nighttime adventures. Well, unfortunately, prohibition was in effect, so alcohol was illegal. Now, this did not mean it wasn't on Cape Cod. Law enforcement was having a hard time stopping illegal rum running that occurred along the Cape's coast, specifically in the remote beaches of Provincetown and Truro. And for those that vacation on Cape Cod currently, there is a reason why Yarmouth's Bass River Beach is more commonly referred to as Smuggler's Beach. Sure, you could spend your Cape Cod vacation trying to find a speakeasy, but even without easy access to alcohol, there was no shortage of fun nightlife. The Mill Hill Pavilion in West Yarmouth, no relation to the Mill Hill Club that came later, the Chatham Pavilion, and Bornhurst on the canal in Buzzards Bay offered nightly entertainment, while many towns had dancing events on special dates throughout the summer. Of course, with the relatively new development of the automobile, coupled with the summer playground that Cape Cod was referred to at the time by the Boston Globe newspaper, it might be fun to simply take a drive and enjoy the scenery. But what would you see as you drove around Cape Cod in 1923? In short, a whole lot of open space. In the 1920 census, Barnstable County as a whole had a population of 26,670. To compare, in the 2020 census, the population of Barnstable County was 228,996. That's more than 10 times the number of people. As mentioned before, there was no Mid-Cape Highway, there was no Cape Cod Mall. Route 28, which is typically the most congested roadway on the peninsula, was unpaved and still consisted mostly of residential homes and swaths of open land and forest. All of this open space would allow you to hear the unending hum of the 17-year locusts that had made Cape Cod their home in 1923. It was mostly contained between Falmouth and Hyannis, though, so lucky for you if you ventured all the way out to the outer Cape, you might not hear any of them. In addition to the locusts, a scenic drive along the Old Kings Highway might look different than today. In 1923, there were 97 large billboards that dotted Cape Cod roadsides. These advertised local businesses, but they slowly but surely were removed over the coming years due to an increased fervor from residents. Perhaps while motoring along the Old Kings Highway, you could stop for a few minutes to watch the bricks being made at the legendary West Barnstable Brick Factory. It was owned at the time by Cape Cod's cranberry king, Abel Makepeace. In the 1920s, it was reported that the factory could produce more than 100,000 bricks per day and more than 30 million per year. They were widely popular not only on Cape Cod, but throughout the state of Massachusetts and even further. And if you're lucky enough to have one in your possession today... They make for good collector's items, fetching $35, $50 or more per brick. Driving into Chatham, you'll see a lot of construction happening. The big news in the town in 1923 is the dismantling of one of the Chatham Twin Lighthouses. The North Tower was shipped up to Eastham. There it replaced the final diminutive wooden tower of the Three Sisters of Nauset. The former Chatham Twin Lighthouse was rechristened Nauset Lighthouse, although it would not receive its distinctive red and white coloring until 1940. At Mayo Beach in Wellfleet, you could gaze upon the recently deactivated Mayo Beach Lighthouse. Within a few years, it would be removed and lost for more than 80 years. In 2008, it will be found living a new life as Point Montara Lighthouse in California, where it still exists to this day. You might take a drive to the ocean side of Wellfleet. There you could gaze upon the abandoned remains of Guglielmo Marconi's revolutionary wireless station. It was here that the first transatlantic wireless communication took place in 1903. However, much like today, erosion was an issue in 1923. The station's four towers had already been dismantled, but their foundations and a few buildings remained. If you enjoyed shellfishing and a good adventure, you could take a day trip by boat over to Billingsgate Island in Cape Cod Bay. Located about two and a half miles west of Sunken Meadow Beach in Eastham, this formerly thriving community was on its last legs. Erosion had wiped much of it off the map, with all of the homes being floated across and assimilated into Eastham and Wellfleet. Billingsgate Lighthouse had crumbled, it had been replaced by a skeleton tower, but in 1923 it still had some of the best shellfishing on Cape Cod. Within 20 years, though, the island would finally be fully washed over and rechristened Billingsgate Shoal. A journey to the tip of the Cape in Provincetown was as wondrous then as it is today. The Portuguese fishing boats were aplenty, the town crier would keep you informed of all the local news, and if lucky, perhaps famed poet Eugene O'Neill would come into town from his shack on the Peaked Hill Bar to say hello. And if you got tired of driving on all the unpaved roads on Cape Cod and the journey called to you, it was possible to take a visit to either island of Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket via the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Line. This was the predecessor to the present-day Steamship Authority, and there were several trips leading out of Woods Hole daily. But remember, it's a steamboat, so it's going to take you longer. Excitement was in the air on Cape Cod when in June 1923, the Cape Cod Baseball League was formed with William Lovell of Hyannis serving as its first president. Four teams based out of Falmouth, Hyannis, Osterville, and Chatham would play a total of 12 games each. Opening night was July 10th as Falmouth defeated Osterville 11-7. It was not to worry for Osterville, though, as they would become the inaugural Cape League champions. And in 2023, the Cape League celebrated 100 years in existence. As it is in present day, the crown jewel of the Cape Cod summer in 1923 was the Barnstable County Fair. It opened on Tuesday, August 28th, and was held for three days rather than a week like it is today. Back then, the fair was known as the Cattle Show and Fair of the Barnstable County Agricultural Society. Back then, though, the county fair was held in Barnstable rather than East Falmouth. It was in an area right near the county courthouse. There were horse shows that drew upwards of 15,000 people. Also on the grounds were cattle shows, electrical appliance exhibits, swings, a merry-go-round, floral arrangements, and more. If you were unable to come to the Cape for the fair, the next best thing was the annual 4th of July festivities. There were lots of town-sponsored fireworks displays. However, if you wanted to create your own show, you could find ads in the local papers for stores like B.T. Gorham's in Yarmouthport and A.C. Ryder's in South Yarmouth, selling all of the fireworks you could need. There were also numerous special events, including dinners, dancing, and more to celebrate Independence Day on Cape Cod. But just like today, summer goes by so fast. And before you know it, your time is up. Your vacation on Cape Cod during the summer of 1923 is now over. It's time to pack up all your provisions from your hotel, get everything loaded into your car or bring it to the railroad station, and get ready for the long trip home. I don't know. Before you cross back over the canal, be sure to gas up your vehicle and also stop by T.T. Hallett's in Yarmouthport to take with you some classic Cape Cod cranberries or other gifts and novelties to remind you of your trip. We hope it was the cat's meow. Be sure to come back again next year in 1924. And now we can slowly return back to present day, August 2023. I hope you enjoyed that. It was something I put together a blog post, a YouTube video for this same subject. It's actually something I've wanted to do for several years, kind of capturing a moment in time. But it takes a lot of time and effort to properly research everything that you heard and then to actually put it all together. So I hope you enjoyed that special bonus episode. Next week, we're going to be back with episode 110. It'll be a regular length episode, the final episode of the month of August, which is the final full month of summer. It's going to be a fun episode. We are going to go back to restaurant story time. This is going to be the sixth installment of Restaurant Storytime. It's going to center around my days as a prep boy. We're calling it Prep Boys Rock. The reason being that was the name of a series of mixtapes that I made in the early to mid-90s of all the music to help me and my prep boy tag team partner get through those long days. We're going to take a road trip to the small town of Chester, Vermont. We're going to go way, way back in the day and look at what it was like to be a 1990s mall rat. I have some experience with that. There's going to be a brand new top five. I had warned you about the weird laws segments. We did Rhode Island last week. Next week, it's going to be weird Maine laws, and there are some pretty funny ones, so get ready. And of course, there'll be a brand new This Week in History and Time Capsule all coming up next week on episode 110 of the In My Footsteps podcast. If you're looking for more content from me, subscribe to my YouTube channel. Find me on Instagram, Threads, Twitter. There's a Facebook fan page for the podcast. Still no Facebook group yet. I'm mulling that over. If you want to come out and see me, my next book event is Tuesday, September 5th, so right after Labor Day at 6 p.m. at the Sturgis Library in Barnstable Village. This is the double whammy presentation of my photo and travel books. I think you'll really enjoy that, so if you're in the area, come on out. There's still a little bit of summer left, so enjoy it. Like I said I would last week, I want to wish a happy birthday to my oldest friend, Barry. I hope you enjoyed last week where I embarrassed you a lot, but gave you the praise you deserve as a human, as a friend. Always make sure to take time for your mental health. Times can get tough. Times can get heavy. In those times, lean into what makes you happy, whether it's YouTube videos, certain food, certain people, maybe certain podcasts like this one. Do what makes you happy and stay true to yourself. That's so important. I have always said I would rather try and fail as myself than succeed by being somebody else, someone I'm not. And I'm being even more true to myself. You can kind of sense it in these podcast episodes since I've made my return from hiatus that my foolishness and random kind of humor is starting to creep in a little more. hence something like the weird laws for different states. But don't just take my word for it. Do it yourself. Be true to yourself. Lean into what makes you happy. Focus on your mental health. And most of all, remember that in this life, don't walk in anyone else's footsteps. Create your own path. Enjoy every moment you can on this journey we call life because you never know what tomorrow brings. It is never guaranteed. Thank you for taking a little trip with me back 100 years ago for summer vacation. I'll see you all again next week for episode 110. This has been the In My Footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund, and I'll talk to you all again soon.