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Adovcate Archives
This week’s visit to the Advocate Archives take us back to 1934 and an early, informal survey of why folks visit the Cape; to 1942 to an eloquent discussion of a rare blue moon; and to 1955 when Cape artists venture south to paint the elephant nursery at the circus’ winter home.
Nov. 22, 1934
Why Some People Visit The Cape
Mr. Tholl, proprietor of the “Beechwood,” Wickford, R.I., has reported to L.G. Weeks, secretary of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, that he questioned the 20 transients staying overnight during July on their way to the Cape as to why they were visiting the Cape, and received the following answers:
Four said they were going because they could ride around and enjoy the countryside and scenery, without offensive billboards staring them in the face at every turn and blotting out pretty views.
Twelve said they liked the Cape on account of its good country or side roads, as they could ramble around in almost any direction and thoroughly enjoy themselves without risking their lives in rushing traffic or by breathing fumes.
Two “had folks there.” And two went to the Cape because they liked it for its quietness and said they had never struck any place quite like it.
Nov. 25, 1942
Blue Moon Shines Over Provincetown
Only “once in a blue moon” is Provincetown, its cottages, churches and harbor as starkly etched as by the moon of the last few nights. It was not a moon that “rode the skies,” but it seemed, rather, a round hole cut through to an unbelievable radiance somewhere behind. And from it came the strange white light that turned the sky to a dark midnight blue and shot brightly through timid wisps of clouds lying like tufts of cotton on the velvet behind. It lavished itself on walls of white cottages and white steeples that soon began somehow to glow with their own light. Everywhere white seemed to become steadily whiter and shadows a darker and deeper blue.
For it was “a blue moon.” Seven times in every 19 years it happens, according to the cosmic timetable. Ordinarily there are 12 full moons a year. Three of them, before the time of our great-great-grandfathers, were allotted to each of the four seasons. But in this year of 1942, there happens to be 13 full moons. Just why the 13th moon in a year has been called the “blue moon” has not been established in fact or legend, but astronomers are willing to agree that the term “blue” is associated with “the blues,” because calendar makers throughout the years have been troubled with the problem of where to insert an extra moon every two or three years.
Nov. 24, 1955
Cape Enders Paint “Pink” Elephants For Pachyderm Nursery in Florida
A certain degree of sophistication is almost a vital part of a Cape Ender’s equipment to insure his survival. He must be ready to swallow any kind of yarn, for instance, without visible perturbation, whether about George Ready’s sea serpent or Horace Snow’s fog that shingles could be nailed to. And Cape Enders are apt to do things just as fantastic as the stories they tell. All this is by way of warning regarding the attractive nurseries for baby elephants by Jere Snader and Bruce McKain, now working for Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey in Sarasota, Florida. The story is told by Earl Mohn, writer for the Sarasota News.
“When the big top is folded and put into mothballs and the big show holes in for the winter on Circus Road, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey baby elephants are going to be in for a pleasant surprise. Thanks to the work of Jere Snader and his assistants, there’s a bright new look on the old face of the elephant nursery. The junior pachyderms will come home from the summer tour to find their playpen completely repainted and redecorated.
Eyes will bulge and egos will be tickled elephant pink when the little peanut eaters see their own images on the walls. Snader, with the help of Bruce McKain, Duncan Tulk and Marjorie Gardephe, has done the nursery up in gay murals depicting the general idea that kids will be kids even if they’re elephants. Elephants are shown flying kites, rolling hoops, playing baseball, marbles and soldiers.
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Nov 22nd, 2007