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Advocate Archives
This week’s trip back into the Advocate Archives takes us to 1952 when plans are made for a buoy at Race Point; to 1961 when revealing swimwear on the street was discouraged and to 1976 when an arsonist struck.
April 17, 1952
Fishermen Ask For Race Point Buoy
A petition has been presented by fishermen of Provincetown to the Commandant of the First Coast Guard District in Boston for the erection of a lighted whistle buoy as a permanent warning of shoal water in that area. The buoy would be placed about one and three tenths miles from Race Point Light.
Action is requested by the Seafood Producers Association, in a letter signed by the president, Manny P. Dutra, as well as by practically all other Cape End skippers and a number of citizens asking that action be taken “before it is too late.” It was pointed out that the dragger, Queen Mary, went aground in this area during a fog and that a number of lives might easily have been lost when the Gloucester trawler, Marie and Winifred, struck the bar in a thick blizzard.
“During the last year or so,” the letter states, “there have been repeated incidents of fishing boats, during inclement and thick weather, going ashore on the sand bars off Race Point, causing considerable damage to boats but with no loss of life, as yet.”
“It is felt that with this buoy on the position we request, fishing boats starting out of Provincetown for the fishing grounds, as well as boats heading into Provincetown, will be able to use it as a turning point with a feeling of safety that they are clear of the sand bars.”
April 20, 1961
Would Cape End Be More Appetizing
If Summer Garb Were Less Revealing?
Provincetown Chief of Police Francis H. Marshall is sure that it would be and a lot more attractive, too.
He is impressed with what is being done on Nantucket where little warning cards are handed to those whose street dress doesn’t meet with town standards. The card used by Nantucket police is reproduced above.
In addition to police and Civic League, the island selectmen circulate their own notice, titled “approved dress” in these terms: “Lightweight sportswear is popular, including shirts and shorts for both men and women. For street wear, bathing suits and abbreviated play suits are taboo, and their use may result in police intervention.”
Nantucket’s regulation of dress on Summer streets dates back four years, when growing numbers of uninhibited young visitors threatened a complete revolution of island decorum.
Chief Marshall points out that there is in the by-laws of the Town, Article 52, which states, “No person shall appear in any public place, except at a bathing beach, in a bathing suit, unless covered by a coat or wrap coming at least to the knees.” This by-law, Chief Marshall thinks, should be enforced and that as a result the majority of visitors and townspeople would find the summer scene more attractive and enjoyable.
April 22, 1976
Two more blazes set
Two more fires were set this week. One destroyed eight units of the Pilgrim Spring Inn motel in North Truro. The other was a minor grass fire behind the Pilgrim Monument.
Two witnesses to the North Truro fire Friday evening saw a black car without lights speeding away as the fire broke out, according to Truro Fire Chief Raymond Joseph. The car headed up Cape on Route 6.
Joseph said the fire appears to be connected to the recent series of arsons in Provincetown. Investigators found footprints and a can used for kerosene to start the blaze. Joseph said it appeared that at least two persons were involved — one setting the fire and the other driving the getaway car.
Grass inside the Pilgrim Monument enclosure was set afire 12:30 a.m. yeaterday, but firemen quickly extinguished it. Fire Chief Moe Van Dereck said the fire appeared to have been set through the fence.
Meanwhile police and fire officials in Provincetown report progress in their investigations but no arrests so far.
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Apr 17th, 2008