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Advocate Archives
This week’s trip back into the Advocate Archives takes us to 1938 when Provincetown’s town crier went to Washington for a national folk festival; to 1954 when Manny Zora finds an author to pen his tale; to 1966 for the dedication of the Cape Cod National Seashore and to 1977 when the season’s first stripers were caught.
May 5, 1938
Town Crier Leaves for Washington
To Open National Folk Festival
Amos Kubik, the nation’s last official town crier, and Selectman Edwin Lewis left by train yesterday afternoon bound for Washington, D.C., where Town Crier Kubik will ring the changes during a three-day National Folk Festival in the great Constitution Hall, opening tomorrow and closing Sunday night.
Kubik will open each of the afternoon and evening performances at which more than 500 participants from 29 states will show a cross section of the folk-lore of the nation in the greatest festival of its kind ever held in this country. From Maine to Arizona and Michigan to North Carolina, cities, states, and counties are sending their best performers.
Five great Indian tribes will stage their dances, play their music. There will be Mexican-Spanish groups from the south-western section, plainsong chanters from Kentucky, Mormons from Utah and Dunkards from Maryland, all demonstrating their customs and arts.
On the program will be Acadians from Louisiana with songs and tales brought from the Cajun land by Evangeline’s people. And the work songs of street criers, oyster shuckers, crab pickers, cowboys, sailors, lumberjacks, miners and railroaders will be presented.
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt is honorary chairman of the Folk Festival’s Sponsoring Committee.
But judging from the fact that the name of Amos heads each section of the program and that a full figure picture of him covers the Folk Festival Edition of the Washington Post, Provincetown’s Official Town Crier will be the really important character in the whole show.
May 6, 1954
Zora Saga Finds An Eager Author
A talk given by Capt. Manuel Zora of Provincetown to the Orleans Rotary Club on April 5 will result in the narration of his life story to be written in collaboration with Scott Corbett, author of “We Chose Cape Cod.”
Besides tales of fishing and the sea, the book will highlight the exciting story of Capt. Zora’s activities during the rum-running days of Prohibition, which caused the Coast Guard to give him the name of the “Sea Fox.” The book will be published next year by Mr. Corbett’s publisher, the Thomas Y. Crowell Co. of New York.
First hint of Capt. Zora’s story came to Mr. Corbett as the result of an Orleans Rotary meeting, and the only reason Mr. Corbett was not present as a guest to hear Capt. Zora was that he was giving a talk that night himself at Wellfleet.
In the course of his talk, Capt. Zora told an amusing story about some ‘screwball’ writers he fell in with years ago in Chatham, who were supposed to write his story but who never produced anything except some large bills for food and liquor which he had to pay.
Coming from Portugal to Provincetown nearly forty years ago as a commercial fisherman, Capt. Zora has led a life full of adventure, particularly during those years when he was registering his disapproval of the Eighteenth Amendment by bringing ashore on moonless nights certain merchandise sent to a thirsty America from foreign climes.
May 5, 1966
Dedication of National Seashore Announced for May 30 At Eastham
Secretary of the Interior Steward Udall announced today that dedication of the Cape Cod National Seashore will be held Monday, May 30, at the Visitors’ Center at Eastham. The ceremonies to formally establish the Seashore will be held at 1 p.m., with Secretary Udall himself making the address of acceptance when the Department of the Interior accepts the deed from the Commonwealth to the Province Lands and the former Pilgrim State Park in Truro.
Secretary Udall will head the delegation of Washington officials coming here for the dedication. The May 30th date follows by one day the birthday of the late President John F. Kennedy, who would have been 49 years old had he lived until May 29.
The late President’s deep feeling for the Cape and his personal identification with establishment of the National Seashore was one of the contributing factors to the choice of the May 30th date.
May 5, 1977
First striped bass taken
The striped bass are back in Cape Cod Bay after a winter’s sojourn to warmer climates.
The first bass of the season were reportedly taken off “the general vicinity of Sunken Meadow,” on the Eastham/Wellfleet town line. The fish were reported caught with a trolled Rebel swimming plug. The fish were all schoolies in the three-to-five-pound class.
But stripers are not the only fish being taken now. Provincetown Harbor, reported Tom Holway of Truro, is chock-full of doormat-sized flounder and small pollock. Some of the best pollock fishing, with fish up to two pounds, is off MacMillan Wharf.
The flounder are taking seaworms and scallop “rims” in and around the breakwater. Holway said he took two boxes of nice flounder in an afternoon last weekend. He said the fish were so thick there were times he couldn’t get his spreader down to the bottom before he had a fish on.
Cod fishing has been disastrous off the backside this spring. The only productive areas have been off Chatham and off Nauset Inlet. But even there, the fishing has been inconsistent and best only from boats.
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May 1st, 2008