Early Files: Barnstable school children take 'cranberry vacation' in 1882

The Early Files includes stories from the archives of the Barnstable Patriot.

1862

Cape Cod out of the draft: E.S. Whittemore, Esq., of Sandwich, Commissioner to superintend drafting in Barnstable County, has reported to Adjutant General Schouler that the quota of said county has been furnished and mustered into the service of the United States, and that each and every town in the county has furnished in full their respective quotas of militia men, without being obliged to draft a single man.

1872

Too long neglected. The only person from this village (Barnstable) who was killed in the late war and buried here, is Samuel Otis. He is buried in the burying ground near the Methodist Church, and has no grave stone. Efforts will be made to procure them to be erected to his memory, and that of his father Solomon Otis who was killed in battle. (Note: Seven years later, the June 3, 1879 Barnstable Patriot reported that in Barnstable Village the graves of Samuel Otis, Henry Ewer, Jr., and Miss Eliza Chamberlain had been decorated for Memorial Day. A Feb. 25, 1890 Patriot article referred to Miss Chamberlain as a “’ministering angel’ in the Union Hospitals during the war.”)

More: Expansion will help historical society 'better tell' Cotuit's story

1882

Osterville: Cranberry picking is over, and school commenced Monday — Mr. Z. Baker, teacher of Grammar, and Miss Mary Crosby of the Intermediate. (Note: It was common practice in some villages on Cape Cod in those days to suspend school during the cranberry season so that the children could assist in the harvest during what was known as their “cranberry vacation.”)

1892

Hyannis: Notwithstanding that quail and partridge were never more plenty than at this season, sportsmen are having hard luck. The underbrush is very dense, caused by the fall rains, after a very dry summer, and it is next to impossible to get at the birds. The shooting therefore will not be real good sport, until after several heavy frosts. (Note: In the same Hyannis news column it was reported that one morning a “bewildered” partridge wandered into the village to perch briefly upon a private residence, and then at the Iyanough House hotel, before returning “unmolested” to the woods.)

1922

Barnstable: Halloween supper given by the Goblins, Village Hall, Friday, Oct. 27th, at 6:30 p.m. Supper tickets 50 cents. (Note: Although goblins seem appropriate for the Halloween season, in this case “Goblins” was, in fact, the name of a girls club formed in Barnstable Village with twenty members in the spring of 1920, “Goblins” being an acronym standing for “Girls of Barnstable Leagued in Sociability.”)

More: Early Files: Scarlet fever outbreak in 1932 at Marstons Mills

1932

Better prices have prevailed this week for scallops due to the fact that less of them are sent to the market with the result the demand is stronger. Scallop fishing is falling off as only a few boats have been getting their daily limit lately resulting in fewer being sent away. Good scallops brought $2.25 a gallon in Hyannis this week with the prices for a few purchases running up to $2.40, the Boston price hovering around $2.50 and likely to go higher. "Scuppy" Crowell, a large local purchaser, submits figures showing that the fishermen can make four cents more a gallon by selling them locally than by consigning them to a Boston commission firm.

1942

Cape Cod and the Islands will hold a region-wide surprise practice blackout and drill between Oct. 26 and Oct. 31, Region 7 headquarters announced today. The surprise blackout will test, for the first time in Region 7, the new audible alert signal recently announced by J. W. Farley, executive director of the Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety. Under the new system signals will be sounded three times. The Blackout of stationary lights begins after the first signal is sounded — traffic can move until the second signal, the "alarm," — and the Blackout lasts until the third signal, the "all clear" has sounded.

1952

West Barnstable: Monday the Brownies met at the home of Mrs. Louis Glantz, their leader. They had a little Halloween party after the Brownie meeting. Each girl made a cat mask and then they played games. Refreshments consisting of sandwiches, cocoa and baskets of candy were served. (Note: The previous week’s Patriot reported that a Halloween party was held at Osterville, under the auspices of the Couples Club of the Community Church, and that the Hyannis Grange was also scheduled to hold a Halloween costume party.)

More: Early Files: County nears 'Food for Freedom' egg production goal of 661,883 dozen in 1942

1962

The mounting problems of summer traffic in Hyannis will be thoroughly aired at a meeting called by Barnstable selectmen for Oct. 30 at 3:30 p.m. in the basement hearing room of the Town Office Building, Hyannis. Asked to attend the session are the town's planning board members, Barnstable Police Chief Albert L. Hinckley, Hyannis Board of Trade and members of the East and West End Business Association, and Hyannis Fire Chief Glen B. Clough.

1972

Town topics: According to Town of Barnstable Clerk Howard W. Sears the total number of registered voters through the end of registration for the Nov. 7 state and national elections was 14,375. From Jan. 1 to date there have been 2,940 new registered voters in the town.

1982

Hyannis fishermen plan co-op: Representatives of the local fishing fraternity spoke with selectmen and Congressman Gerry Studds Friday. Studds, up for re-election, promised to do anything he could to further the co-op cause … Fishermen sought Studds' help on enlarging and deepening the Hyannis Inner Harbor and Lewis Bay channels leading to Nantucket Sound.

More: Early Files: Poor cranberry crop at Cape bogs in 1872

1992

Harbor dredge Part 2: The second phase of the dredging on the northside, the boat basin at Barnstable Harbor, will be heard at the Nov. 10 meeting of the conservation commission. The inner harbor, which grounds some docked boats at low tide, has long been in need of work. As part of this project, a portion of the entrance channel that was not dredged to the full depth in Phase I will be completed. This entails the removal of an additional 2,500 cubic yards of material.

2002

Comic opera/W. Barnstable: Opera New England of Cape Cod presents Donizetti's opera “L'elisir d'amore” Oct. 27 at the Tilden Arts Center at Cape Cod Community College, West Barnstable. The comic story of a young man who thinks a magic elixir will win his lady's love takes place at 3 p.m. (Note: “L’elisir d’amore” translates as “The Elixir of Love.”)

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Early Files: Cape school children take 'cranberry vacation' in 1882