Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival

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Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival
25th Annual
                Share the 1 Heritage

      Festival 2021

Sharing the Heritage
  Celebrating the   74th Blessing of the Fleet
Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival
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Celebrating the heritage and the future
     of the community we serve

          Cape Cod’s First Community Bank
                seamensbank.com

               Portuguese Festival painting by Nancy Whorf
Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival
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                                           25th Annual

                                           Festival
                                      Friday, Saturday and Sunday
                                       June 25, 26 and 27, 2021

The Early Beginnings of the Provincetown Portuguese Bakery.................... 5

A Taste of Portugal ..................................................................................... 7

Generations ................................................................................................ 9

“The Town That ‘Grew’ Me” .................................................................... 13

The Unseen Provincetown ........................................................................ 19

The Next Generation ................................................................................ 23

A Letter from Josephine Del Deo to Francis “Flyer” Santos ....................... 28

A Man and His Boat ................................................................................. 29

The Victory II .......................................................................................... 34

Stormy Harbor – Port of Portuguese Cuisine ............................................. 43

In Memoriam ............................................................................................ 61

T
                he Festival Commemorative Book Committee The Festival Commemorative
                    Book Committee extends its most sincere gratitude to those who have so
                  generously shared wonderful family histories, fascinating information, beautiful
paintings and priceless memories with us: Seamen’s Bank, Provincetown History Preservation
Project, Provincetown Advocate Public Library Archives, David Dunlap, Building Provincetown,
 Kenneth Macara, Darlene Macara, Joel Macara, John Francis Santos, Noah Santos, Michael
  Silva, Lisa King, Helen Valentine, Salvador Vasques, Truro Historical Society, The Janoplis
     Family, Carol Leonard LeDuc, Mel Joseph, Judy Dutra, Mary Jo Avellar, Chuck Stanko,
                                           and George Carroll.
Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival
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             Toast to America

                                                                       Festival 202 1
            Open Year Round                                          Portuguese Festival Team
     Deli • Bakery • Catering
150 Bradford Street, Provincetown, MA 02657                  Susan Avellar, Liliana DeSousa, Beverley Ferreira,
   Party Platters      • Gift Baskets
              508.487.0045                                   Maureen Joseph Hurst, Susan Leonard, Chris King,
           Food Concierge                                       David Mayo, Tim McNulty, Donald Murphy,
   In the spirit of the general store,                         Michela Murphy, Jeffrey Perry, Mike Potenza,
  Far Land Provisions offers one-stop                         Shannon Sawyer, Nancy Burch Silva, Paul Silva,
 shopping for prepared meals, baked                                    Charles Souza, Rich Waldo
goods made in-house from scratch, deli
       sandwiches, wine & spirits                                      Cover: Fishing Boat Victory II
        and full service catering.                                       Painting by Derek Macara
                                                            Graphic Design by Ewa Nogiec, iamProvincetown.com
           Open Year Round
         150 Bradford Street
                                                               Provincetown Portuguese Festival
       Provincetown, MA 02657
                                                                   P.O. Box 559, Provincetown, MA 02657
             508 487.0045
                                                                    ProvincetownPortugueseFestival.com
      www.farlandprovisions.com
                                                               facebook.com/ProvincetownPortugueseFestival
Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival
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          The Early Beginnings of the Provincetown
                    Portuguese Bakery
                      By Mary Jo Avellar, 2008 Commemorative Booklet

                      Ofelia Ferreira Bago and Tibor Bago baking sweets at the Portuguese Bakery

L
       ong time Provincetown           Brito, the baker’s founder, was           than 30 years.
       residents, especially those     born. Of all the bread still baked           Ofelia Bago said her family
       who grew up in the 1950’s       in the bakery today, the Viana is         came to Provincetown in 1992
and 1960’s, have vivid memories        still my favorite. I used to have         because her grandmother Ofelia
of freshly baked Portuguese bread      a hard time bringing it home              Costa, the late Matt Costa’s step-
wafting through the early morn-        without having eaten a sizable            mother, lived here. Mrs. Bago’s
ing air. East Enders, like me, who     chunk from the end of that warm,          father, Jose Ferreira went to work
daily walked to the high school,       crusty loaf.                              for Matt Costa and eventually
could barely resist stopping in and       Mr. Brito, who opened the              wound up at the bakery, working
buying a fresh loaf of bread on        bakery in 1932, retired to his            for Tony Ferreira.
their way to school, even though       hometown of Britello, Portugal               “We weren’t bakers,” Mrs.
they may have already downed           in 1971, but the tradition of bak-        Bago said of her parents. “My
a nice big breakfast. The smells       ing excellent Portuguese bread            father was the general manager
from the bakery were that irresist-    and pastries continues in the             of a company in Portugal that
ible.                                  same location under the capable           sold motors for boats and other
   And at least once or twice a        hands of Ofelia and Tibor Bago,           aluminum products.” Her hus-
week, my mother would give me a        her parents Jose and Arnaldina            band, a Hungarian, is however, a
quarter and send me down to the        Ferreira and Ofelia’s sister              professional pastry chef. He, too,
bakery for a Viana loaf, the loaf      Helen, a kindergarten teacher at          went to work for Tony Ferreira.
still made today that looks like a     Veteran’s Memorial Elementary             Mrs. Bago said that when Tony
short baguette that put on some        School. They took over the                Ferreira retired, taking over the
weight around the middle. That         bakery following the retirement           bakery seemed “the logical thing
particular loaf was named for          of Mr. Antonio Ferreira (no rela-         to do.”
the Portuguese town in northern        tion) who moved to Florida after             Under their stewardship, the
Portugal near where Mr. Antonio        having run the bakery for more            Bago-Ferreira family have done
Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival
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extensive remodeling to both the        Restaurant across the street from       on the egg yolks, and trutas (fried
kitchen and the bakery space it-        the bakery. Mike Janoplis is the        sweet potato crescents), which lo-
self. All of the kitchen equipment      son of Sammy Janoplis and the           cal Portuguese families only bake
has been updated to modern              late Maria Brito Janoplis, Mr.          during the holidays.
stainless steel. The floors have        Brito’s daughter. The couple ac-           Mike Janoplis is thrilled to
been replaced and the bakery            tually ran the bakery for a couple      have another wonderful family
itself has been painted a bright        of years when Mr. Brito moved           continuing the bakery, something
cheerful yellow. “We really made        back to Portugal. Mike Janoplis         neither he nor his sister and
a commitment,” said Mrs. Bago,          said when his grandfather owned         brothers have any desire to do.
whose two daughters, Sarah, 8,          the bakery, it was more of a               “They seem to be great,” he
and Emma, 4, both attend the            bakery and grocery store, sort of       said of Ofelia Bago and her fam-
Provincetown school system. “We         like the old L&A Market (now            ily. “They are expanding into
wouldn’t have it any other way.”        Far Land Provisions).When his           new frontiers and upholding all
   The pastry case has also been        parents took over, they intro-          the old traditions all at the same
expanded. Not only are the              duced deli style sandwiches. It         time.”
traditional breads and authentic        was Tony Ferreira who brought
Portuguese pastries still baked on      in soups, the fryolater for those          Note: The ownership of the
the premises, Mr. Bago has intro-       scrumptious malasadas (fried            Bakery has remained in the Janoplis
duced individual pastries, whole        dough), and rabanadas (a kind           family since the very beginning,
wheat and 7-grain breads as well        of Portuguese French toast), and        which continues to this day with
as birthday and wedding cakes.          the grill for hot sandwiches like       siblings Mike, Mark, Michelle, and
   Like Tony Ferreira before them,      burgers and linquica rolls. It was      Mylan Janoplis, with Chuck Stanko
and Ernie Carreiro who also ran         also Tony Ferreira, Mike Janoplis       and George Carroll as the cur-
the bakery for one year, the Bago-      said, who expanded the bakery           rent stewards of this time-honored
Ferreira family leases the business     to include authentic Portuguese         business.
from Michael Janoplis and his           pastries like pasteis de nata (small
family who own the Mayflower            custard filled tarts that are heavy

                                                                (l-r) Savana Vida, Shannon Sawyer and Jill
            John Collier, Jr., taken for the War Department       Lambrou paint the traditional Portuguese
                         Courtesy of Lisa King                                Rooster, 2020
Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival
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                                  A Taste of Portugal
                           A Provincetown Tradition Continues

I
   n a long line of family, descending from grand-       together here in Provincetown, a place that has
   parents to parents, Sam and Maria, and parents        been very special to them. It is evident that they
   to children, Mike, Mark, Michelle and Mylan,          are continuing the tradition of the many Portuguese
the Janoplis family has owned the Provincetown           recipes that have been passed down to them from
Portuguese Bakery at 299 Commercial Street in            everyone who has been a part of this bakery for
downtown Provincetown for an exceptionally long          so many years. One “old” recipe that never needs
time, and continues to do so in remembrance of their     changing, and they don’t plan to, is that of the
family. Even though the Janoplis siblings are not        Portuguese malassada, a favorite of everyone. A
involved in the day-to-day operation of the Bakery,      delicious, tasty Portuguese tradition, it is a specialty
which has been the nucleus of their family for gen-      of the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores that was
erations, they know that the crafting of Portuguese      first settled by the Portuguese in 1427. Balls of
pastries and breads will continue in the capable         dough are deep fried, and coated with sugar, which
hands of Chuck Stanko and George Carroll.                becomes a wonderful combination of a soft inside
  Chuck and George are the new “torchbearers”            and a crispy sugary outside. In the Azores, malassa-
(as they like to refer to themselves), of the iconic     das are often eaten on Terca-feira Gorda, the day
Provincetown Portuguese Bakery. They say that            before Ash Wednesday. In Madeira, malassadas are
they are fully cognizant of the responsibility to keep   eaten during the Portuguese Carnival of Madeira.
this beloved tradition going, and they are going         Malassadas were created with the intention of using
to see to it that they do exactly that. They have        all the lard and sugar that a person had in their
made all the necessary changes to repair all that was    home prior to Lent. Chuck and George are hoping
needed, as well as a myriad of other up-grades that      that in Provincetown, malassadas will be eaten
have kept them occupied since early spring.              every day during the up-coming summer season!
  For 20 years, Chuck Stanko had a career as                Chuck says, “George and I are so excited and hum-
Production Manager of the Cape Cod Chronicle             bled to be the new torchbearers of the iconic Portuguese
in Chatham. He and George in their life together,        Bakery. The Bakery has meant so much to me as a
before taking on the Bakery, owned Dolce Bakery          child, and to us as a couple visiting Provincetown
and Coffee Shop in Milford, Delaware for 10 years.       from Chatham. We are so lucky to be able to do this
They are incredibly pleased that the community of        and hope to do right by the name and its predecessors.
Provincetown has given them such a warm wel-             The uniqueness of the Portuguese people has made
come, and so much support and encouragement, as          Provincetown so special to so many. We hear it and
they begin their stewardship of this time-honored        share it every day. Whatever memories this great institu-
business. They are, without a doubt, very excited        tion conjures, we share them and hope we can live up to
and eager to continue the next phase of their lives      the standards set by so many, and ourselves.”

                                                                             Desejando-lhe successo
                                                                         a felicidades na sua Aventura
                                                                             na Padaria Portuguesa!
Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival
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                                       Provincetown Chapter established February 1932
                                           Bert H. Paige Sivert J. Benson Myric C. Young
                                             President       Secretary      Treasurer

 THE PROVINCETOWN LIONS CLUB
         IS PROUD TO BE
A PARTICIPATING SPONSOR OF THE

                      Festival
 CONTINUING THE TRADITION OF SERVING THE COMMUNITY

                                                            SCHOLARSHIPS
                                                                 TRIPS
                                                    RECOGNITION BANQUETS
                                                              MOTTA FIELD
                                                            SPONSORSHIPS
                                                      INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

         Lee White       Peter Grosso      John K. Roderick
          President        Secretary            Treasurer

           Perhaps some day, your name will be here
Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival
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                                              Generations
                                                   J. J. Dutra

O
          f the many cultures that                                             Frank, Emily, Juliana, Caroline,
          have built Provincetown,                                             and Michael. Mary married
          it is the Portuguese that                                            Richard Davis from Wellfleet.
developed the fishing industry.                                                Emily married Joseph Silva, and
They brought their inventiveness,                                              Caroline became Mrs. Joe Dirsa.
their optimism, and their knowl-                                               More surnames were added to the
edge of fishing with them when                                                 family tree.
they immigrated from Portugal                                                     Juliana, my husband’s mother,
and the Azores. They shared their                                              married David Sousa a fisher-
heritage as well as the fish they                                              man from the Azores. He went
caught. Fishing continues to be                                                fishing with Juliana’s father. When
                                               Amelia and Miguel Diego
a major commercial endeavor in                                                 Captain Miguel Diego died sud-
Provincetown, right alongside                                                  denly, David Sousa had to earn
tourism.                                                                       money with the Fanny Parnell to
   My late husband was a fisher-                                               support his family and his mother-
man with Portuguese ancestry.                                                  in-law, Amelia. Another odd
Every family has roots, a tree                                                 family story is that Amelia later
with branches full of interesting                                              remarried a man with the same
characters. I married into a family                                            last name as her first husband. She
with deep roots in the commu-                                                  married two men named Diego.
nity. David’s great-grandmother,                                                  Life was not easy in those days.
Amelia Costa was a widow                                                       There was hardship, illnesses,
who came from San Miguel in                                                    and sadness. They had endured
the Azores with three daugh-                                                   the Spanish flu that killed sixty
ters: Mary, Amelia and Rose.                                                   people in Provincetown. WWI,
She married a widower named                The Sousa Family, Juliana, David,   the Great Depression and WWII
Joaquin Silva. They added Helen,               Robert, and David Sousa         brought more hardship, but the
Florence and Clara, as well as                                                 families endured through fishing.
Albert and Louis to their blended        There has always been a question      The work was demanding, ardu-
family. Both sons became fisher-         about his last name. Some say         ous and dangerous. Fisherman
men and then lobstermen. Each            Diego, but on the headstone at        measured their income in pennies
daughter married local men with          St. Peter’s Cemetery it is written    per pound.
names such as: Silva, Cordeiro,          Diogo. In the 1938 Provincetown          Life in the 1930’s and 40’s had
Costa, Reis, and Diego. As you           Fishermen’s Association ‘s First      few conveniences. Still Juliana
can see, it is difficult to keep track   Anniversary Ball booklet it is        and David Sousa were able to
of all the relatives.                    spelled Diego. No matter the          save enough for a down pay-
   To quote my husband, “Be              spelling, he was a Portuguese         ment on a house on Pearl Street.
careful what you say about               fisherman and owned the Fanny         The price of their home was five
someone, they may turn out to be         Parnell.                              thousand dollars. Juliana and
a relative.” David’s grandmother            Many families in Provincetown      David had three boys. Their first
was also named Amelia. She               were large, some with ten and         son died at five years old in a
married Miguel Diego a fisher-           twelve offspring. Amelia and          childhood accident. The second
man born in Lisbon, Portugal.            Miguel had six children: Mary,        son Robert was born a few years
Sharing the Heritage - Festival 2021 25th Annual - Provincetown Portuguese Festival
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    FISH • LOBSTER • SEAFOOD                     Come and visit our
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    4 Highland Road, North Truro                freshest daily catch!
            508 487-5800

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         508 487-2164                          508 255-7221
         Open 10:30am-6:30pm                      Open 10am-7pm
         Truro Central Village                  19 Old Colony Way
       300 Route 6, TRURO, MA                    ORLEANS, MA

           www.capetipseafood.com
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                                                                          her way home from a doctor’s
                                                                          appointment in Boston. She was
                                                                          six months pregnant. Sadness
                                                                          seemed to follow the fam-
                                                                          ily. Juliana lost her second son
                                                                          Robert when he was eighteen
                                                                          years old. A private in the US
                                                                          Army, his death was ruled an ac-
                                                                          cident. Juliana’s second husband,
                                                                          Herman Dutra was kind, gentle
                                                                          and a thoughtful dad. He adopted
                                                 Miguel Diogo             David and taught him about me-
                                      And on a few occasions he was       chanics and how to build things.
 David Sousa reclining in boat bunk   known to land in Provincetown          Juliana never wanted her
                                      Harbor, bringing his seaplane up    surviving son to be a fisherman.
  later and then along came           to the dock at Angel’s Landing,     She felt it was too dangerous.
David. Tragedy struck again on        named for his daughter, Angel       Instead Dave (Sousa) Dutra
a June afternoon when a fire          Diogo. He served his country        went to a trade school to learn
broke out aboard the Fanny            in two separate branches of the     mechanics and auto-body repair.
Parnell. David Sousa put out          military in two different wars.     David worked for a short time in
the fire, but suffered from toxic     Michael was a pilot in the Army     the car repair business, but the
smoke inhalation. He died leav-       Air Corp during WWII and            desire to be a fisherman never left
ing Juliana and two sons. She         when the Korean Conflict broke      him. Maybe there is a gene that
had no job, no insurance and a        out, he came out of retirement,     is inherited, maybe it was how
house that had a mortgage. She        and joined the U. S Air Force as    a young man defied his parents,
was told by the bank to sell her      a pilot. Captain Michael Diego      or maybe it was the Portuguese
house. Her brother Frank was a        was buried at Arlington National    ancestry, but he wanted to be
Provincetown businessman and          Cemetery with full military         a fisherman. Growing up in
supported her financially until       honors in 2018. “Thanks for your    Provincetown surrounded by wa-
she married Herman Dutra.             service great-uncle Mike.” (Bob     ter and boats, David hung around
   Over the years, Frank Diego        Dutra)                              the wharfs. He made trips with
owned many Provincetown res-
                                                                          the weir fishermen in their dories
taurants including the Ancient
                                                                          and went out on the fishing boats
Mariner, Scott’s Chowder House,
                                                                          whenever he had the opportu-
and Peter’s Hill, where the cur-
                                                                          nity. David worked as a fisherman
rent Seamen’s Bank stands in
                                                                          for over fifty years.
North Truro. He was a generous,
                                                                             I’m happy to report that the
flamboyant gay man who sup-
                                                                          fishing gene has been passed
ported his family and community.
                                                                          down. Our son Robert Dutra
   Michael Diego, the youngest
                                                                          owns his own fishing boat, the
son in the family was a remark-
                                                                          Rolex. It is named after the next
able man. He was the driving            The Diego family was tight
                                                                          generation of children in our
force behind the Provincetown         knit. They visited each other,
                                                                          family: R for Ryan, OL for Olivia,
Airport, going to Washington,         went to Saint Peter’s Church
                                                                          and EX for Alex. Bob works hard
DC with a petition. Captain           together, and celebrated holidays
                                                                          and loves fishing, just like his
Mike used to land his seaplane in     together. And they mourned
                                                                          father, grandfather, and great-
Pilgrim Lake, the body of water       together when Mary died in a
                                                                          grandfather before him.
next to Rt. 6 in North Truro.         plane crash off Race Point on
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                                                                            Boston

                                                                                      Provincetown

                                                 White Plains
                                                                       Ground transport included.

                                                                 NYC

Fly us to the local color.
Next time you celebrate P’town’s rich heritage, remember
there’s no faster way here than by hopping on a flight from
Boston or New York. Book online today.
                                                                        Your wings to the Cape and Islands.

                                                                         capeair.com     800-CAPE-AIR
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                        “The Town That ‘Grew’ Me”
                                            By Mel Joseph

          Dad and son                         PaPa and VaVa                   PHS 1964 Class D Championship

Over the years I have always        a smock apron and old ‘grandma’       methods. Who remembers the
referred to Provincetown as:        shoes.                                classroom game; ‘Can I’ or ‘May
“the town that grew me”.               Veterans Memorial Elementary       I’? Use it correctly and she would
This is a short list of people,     School ‘cook’, Aunt Fanny: my         serve you up a wish of your choice
places and sounds from my           father’s godmother, but a ‘grand-     as a reward. “Conventional”
Provincetown youth of the           mother’ figure to every child she     teaching methods be damned.
1950’s and 1960’s. These            served and touched. No matter            Freeman Watson: guiding the
influences watered my roots,        who you were, she made you feel       Little League White Sox through
pruned my limbs, and helped         like you were in your grandmoth-      losing season’s and teaching me
me to bare life’s fruit.            er’s kitchen. Love; cradled in a      to accept defeat with grace, but
                                    spoonful of meat covered mashed       to never let myself get used to
        “The People”                potatoes.                             it. And a good effort rewarded
                                       VMS custodian, Jimmy Sants:        with a Dairy Queen soft serve ice
  My father [Molly], rowing me      what kid didn’t feel safer with his   cream.
and my mother out to ‘The Point’    caring presence in their lives. He       Steve Goveia: From summer
in his shallow draft dory, aptly    was more than just ‘the guy’ that     ‘Morning League’, to swimming
named; ‘The It’ll Do’…these         kept the boiler running.              lessons to Coach Goveia’s PHS
summer adventures sadly came to        Miss Jean: my Cub Scout Den        football gauntlet drills. He taught
an end once my brother was born.    Mother. She guided me through         us much more than ‘sports and
  Jimmy Dalpe: my best friend,      social growth and forced this         competition’. He taught us to
and why I survived my child-        painfully shy boy out of his shell.   earn respect and give respect.
hood. I was his left hand, and he   A scout is “trustworthy, loyal,          The entire 1964 PHS
was my right. Within the narrow     helpful, friendly, courteous, kind,   Championship Basketball team:
bubble of our friendship, nothing   obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave,   what young Provincetown boy
could go wrong. Or was it that      clean and reverent”. These words      didn’t want to have a jump shot
everything would go wrong, and      memorized, and to be guiding          as sweet as Johnny Colley, or the
we would rise or fall together as   cornerstones for a lifetime.          bullheaded tenacity of Kenny
best friends.                          5th grade teacher, Mrs. Grace      Segura in the paint? Or Eddie
  My Va Va: Love wrapped up in      Collinson: her quirky teaching        Veara’s smooth jump shot from
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“Everyone has a place
here. There is an
experience you can
have here that you
can’t have anywhere
else.” - Emily

Visit Ptowntourism.com and plan your stay today!
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                           Cheerleaders                                        Adam’s Pharmacy

the corner? We all got to dance      ‘crime’ of my life [14 years old]      ’68, he said something to this
[as PHS fans] on the Boston          and a caper, that still to this day,   16-year-old young man that has
Garden parquet that day.             is fondly embellished by Jimmy         stuck for a lifetime; “I treat my
   Doc Hiebert: whose not so         Dalpe and me, with smirks, smiles      employees well because they will
gentle repair of a broken nose,      and belly laughs. All of this at       then treat my customers well”. I
shot a flaming pain up my fore-      the expense of old man Nelson’s        have worked for employers that
head, down my back and out my        [Market] pocketbook. We didn’t         both understood this and those
butt…before his usual gruff re-      get hired back the next summer.        that did not. Which ones do you
sponse; “You’ll be OK now, son”.        English teacher, Phebe Rogers:      think were the best?
   Arthur D. Roderick,               I may have been befuddled by the          The entire town folk of
Recreation Dept.: recognized that    prose of Lady of the Lake or the       Provincetown: a working village
this young boy had a vision prob-    overly wordy Ivanhoe, but I heard      of families; those of the same
lem and arranged for this poor kid   her loud and clear when she            blood…or otherwise. “I know
to get a pair of glasses from Dr.    preached that you can say more         your father”, meant I was in
Berman…charity, from a caring        with less. One or two well-chosen      trouble.
man, presented to my proud par-      adjectives, over many repetitive
ents with a discreet dignity. Now    descriptions. And for those that               “The Places”
I could see Pony League catcher      still say, ‘these ones’, shame on
Jimmy Dalpe’s signals behind the     you…it’s ‘these and or those’ and        Perry’s Market, Cabral’s, Joe
plate.                               drop the ‘ones’.                       Marshall’s, Nelson’s, Kermit’s,
   Paul Days: an inventive young        There was Ronnie Holmes/            and Tillies: If one didn’t have
man that masterminded the            A&P Manager: the summer of             your needs, the other did. And

                     Phebe Rogers
Graciette Leocadia
“Grace” Gouveia
                                                      White Sox
   Collinson
                                                                                           Coach Goveia
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                                    BY&D
                                      Insurance Agency, Inc.
                                                                Benson
                                                                 Young
                                                              & Downs

                                    Serving all your insurance needs

       Celebrating Our
     Portuguese-American
           Heritage

                                                                                    Ferdinand Salvador
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                                                                                     to dedicate
                                                                                     our effortsfor
                                                                                       our  efforts  forthe
                                                                                     the Portuguese
                                                                                   Portuguese     Festival to
                                                                                     Festival to our
                                                                                 our Mom and Dad, from
                                                                                     ancestors, as
                                                                                   whom
                                                                                     well we    were
                                                                                            as to   ourtaught
                                                                                  tofriends     andlove and
                                                                                       work hard,
                                                                                     neighbors.
                                                                                              laugh.

                                      www.BYandD.com
                                           WWW.BYandD.COM
                      56 Howland Street, Provincetown 02657 • 508.487.0500
15 Briar Lane. Wellfleet56 Howland508.349.6311
                         02667     Street, Provincetown MAHarwich
                                                  • 565A,  02657 • 508
                                                                   Port487-0500
                                                                        02646 508.432.1256
 15 Briar Lane, Wellfleet, MA 02667 • 508 349-6311   565A Route 28, Harwich Port, MA 02646 • 508 432-1256
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all done with a smile and a pat
                                                                             It is our granite rock, as much as
on the head or a playful ‘shoo-
                                                                             the family that helped us to stand
ing you away’ from the candy
                                                                             on our own two feet. All our lives
counter. Well worn, random
                                                                             were played out in the shadow of
pine board floors and the sound
                                                                             the Monument.
of a slamming screen door. Hires
Root Beer, Orange Crush, and a
                                                                                      “The Sounds”
Twinkie. A handful of pennies or
a nickel still went far.
                                                                                The ‘clackity clack’ of the
   Adam’s Pharmacy: meeting
                                                                             carts filled with fish climbing the
at Adam’s was the place to be,
                                                                             tramway to the third floor of the
the place to meet your friends…
                                                                             West End Col’ Storage.
your girlfriend. To have a vanilla
                                                                                The sounds of the Town hall
or cherry coke and split some Nabs.
                                                                             clock chiming noon and running
Spinning endlessly on the soda
                                                                             home for lunch before the 12th
fountain stools, to the hum of the         The Monument: go anywhere clang. The long wail of the noon
celeste green frappe machine whip-       in town and it can always be seen. whistle fading as you take your
ping up its concoction. A clear sight    Within our 3-mile by 3-mile exis- last strides into the kitchen.
through the on-street windows,           tence, it casts a shadow of safety.    The rumble of a dragger’s
looking for a passing ’57 Chevy, full
                                                                             diesel engines on idle, echoing
of high school friends, cruising Front
                                                                             through the morning fog.
Street on a Friday night.
                                                                                “Don’t be shy, don’t be cheap,
   The Point: here comes the
                                                                             chuck your nickels so I can eat”.
Jimmy Boy, Sea Fox, Capn’ Bill
                                                                             “Chuck a nickel ‘ovah’”. Tourist
and more. Steaming in to off load
                                                                             entertainment, a local kid’s fun-
their catch. The melodious sound
                                                                             filled employment.
of the gulls following them in.
                                                                                Saturday PHS football games
   The Community Center:
                                                                             and the sweet sound of loyal
Saturday afternoon 10 cent movie
                                                                             cheerleaders: “We are the fisher-
thrillers; The Scorpion, The
                                                                             man, the mighty, mighty fisher-
Werewolf and The Day the Earth
                                                                             man, everywhere we go, people
Stood Still. After school crafts.
                                                                             want to know who we are…”
Papier Mache giraffes and woven
                                                                             And we were always proud to
‘gimp’ into jacket zipper pulls.
                                                                             tell them!
   The Provincetown Movie
                                                   Grease Pole ‘68
Theater and the smell of popcorn
and bubble gum rubbed around
on the bottom of my sneakers.
   Freeman’s Wharf: the ‘gurry
pipe and the pungent smell of our
childhood ambrosia and a hot
fishing spot for dangling a line by
local boys. The trolley clacking its                                                         Jimmy Boy
way to the ‘last tie up’. Molly [my
father] at the wheel. Old school
trap fisherman hard at work at
end of day.
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                               25th Annual

                            Festival 2021

                                          Fishing Boat Victory II Painting by Derek Macara

 Festival T-Shirts will be available for sale at Marcey’s Oil Booth on MacMillan Pier starting in
June, and at the Festival Booth in the Stop & Shop parking lot from Memorial Day Week-end until
 Festival Week-end, June 25, 26, and 27. Festival T-Shirts will then be available in Portuguese
   Square when the booth moves to the corner of Ryder and Commercial Street by Town Hall.

                  provincetownportuguesefestival.com/
              facebook.com/ProvincetownPortugueseFestival/
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                            The Unseen Provincetown
                 William Dearborn Hersey, from Inside Provincetown, 1966

C
           ourage and creativity constitute the real      were captains of whalers and of clipper ships roam-
           character of Provincetown. Unseen to the       ing distant seas and ports in search of commerce.
           casual visitor who may form his impres-        Many a house in Provincetown holds relics of the
sions by the observation of the people that crawl         days when sails and whales shared the throne of
out of the nation’s woodwork and walk the streets of      commerce.
Provincetown in the summer, this courage and cre-            The exploits of Admiral Donald B. MacMillan, a
ativity were nurtured here long ago and still send the    native son of Provincetown have filled minds and
powerful influence of their silent example throughout     museums with memories and mementos of a lifetime
the world.                                                of daring arctic exploration. At the age of ninety-
   First, there is the courage of the men, who as         one, his sharp eye still scans the harbor as his alert
the Bible says, “go down to the sea in ships and do       mind does its history.
business in great waters.” They must be prepared to          The courage and ingenuity of the seafarer have
face sudden and unpredicted storms and to make it         their counterparts in the minds of the artists and
back to port on their own. They share an experi-          writers. They set sail upon the uncarted seas of the
ence that few others are called upon to face in our       mind. Here “ingenuity” is described as “creativ-
mechanized age – the bare-handed encounter with           ity”, and it is this creativity and courage that has
the furious forces of elemental nature. They dredge       become increasingly evident since the great painter,
the deep in constant competition with the Russian         Charles Hawthorne, came under the spell of the
fleet, and summer and winter there flies from every       unique light in the Provincetown area and founded
masthead the unseen banner “Courage.”                     a school of painting over fifty years ago. Today
   Many of the landlubbers of Provincetown have           Provincetown is one of the great art centers of the
the unusual background of the seafarer. Some              world. At about the same time that Hawthorne was
have come ashore and now operate motels, res-             doing his early work, a young playwright, Eugene
taurants and other establishments. The ancestors          O’Neill was bringing his courage and creativity into
of others were sailormen as far back as sixteen           focus in Provincetown. Fifty years ago, one of his
twenty when the Mayflower made her first landing          plays was produced for the first time on a wharf in
in Provincetown. In the great sailing days of the         Provincetown.
nineteenth century, their grandfathers and fathers           The challenge facing the seafaring man, the

  Hawthorne teaching on the pier; Pilgrim Monument and            The explorer Donald MacMillan, 1926
      Provincetown Town Hall in the background.              Photograph by Leslie Jones, Boston Public Library
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Family Owned and Operated for Fifty-One Years

Cape Cod Life Reader’s Choice Gold Award, 2021

           WWW.TOPMASTRESORT.COM
          209 SHORE ROAD, NORTH TRURO • CAPE COD

                   1-800-917-0024
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  Harry Kemp                                                                                   Eugene O’Neill

artist and the writer were captured and capsuled         can lie on a dune with the entire mass of another
strikingly by the great poet of the dunes, Harry         earth beneath your body and with no focus for the
Kemp, in his poem “Ultimate Challenge.” He wrote:        eye in the blue above this side of infinity. In the
                                                         spring and fall you can stand alone on the great
  Especially if their lading by a dream                  beach pondering the inevitable and eternal tides,
  Ships must go lonely if they’d voyage far;             sharing the fury of the storms, witnessing the
  Feeling the upsurge, through each brace and beam       ancient battle of the sea against the land, of the el-
  Of fuming oceans; top and a shrouded spar              emental against the emerging and feel that peace of
  Set to the following of a single star!                 mind and spirit that come from the contemplation
  There’s no safe compass when the hidden gleam          of solid and grand ideas and elemental forces.
  Sits behind clouds, and when blind tempests stream,        In my profession, I travel up and down the Cape,
  Except the guiding laurels faith would wear!           but always the road leads at last to Pilgrim Heights
  There often bide black gales and bursting beams,       and the unsurpassed view of Provincetown cradled
  And sails that fly in rags from broken spars:          in the crescent of sea and land with the Pilgrim
  There are no charts for ships that follow dreams       Monument standing like a queen surveying her
  And crowd up sail against the beckoning stars:         domain.
  Don’t sign aboard – unless you’re certain you              And always I think, “Here indeed is a modern
  Can dare a wreck, and deem it glory, too.”             golden crescent of creativity and courage, the nar-
                                                         row town with the broad mind still sending forth
   The prolonged influence of the land and the sea       its constructive and unseen influence into the ideas
is another powerful yet unseen influence of this         and ideals of the entire world.”
unique area. I say unseen because the casual visitor
rarely gets a chance to enjoy the solitude as well as      William Hersey chose Provincetown as a place to live
the might of the sea and the dunes. When the dunes       and work for many years. He was an investment sales-
have lost their summer sprinkling of humanity, you       man by vocation, and a memory expert by avocation.
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                                  The Next Generation
        Flyer’s Boat Rental and Boat Shop Continues with Noah Santos at the Helm

T
         he Santos family has a                                                and his crew worked out of our
         long and rich history in                                              back shop. The building behind 94
         the boating traditions of                                             Commercial Street was filled with
Provincetown. “Flyer” Santos, a                                                tools, machinery and a beehive of
custom boat builder, and master                                                activity! Repairing boats and renting
sailor began this family’s journey                                             them in the summer. Across the
on the water by renting sailboats                                              street was the beach. Who needed a
and motorboats, building a home                                                playground when you had all that!”
at 94 Commercial Street, as well                                               In 1978, Francis John took over
as a marine railway and cradles                                                the business, becoming president,
on the beach across the street                                                 and bringing a new and different
from his house. He lived with his                                              energy into the running of the
wonderful wife and life’s partner,                                             boatyard. He created the Long
Irene, until she was into her late                                             Point Shuttle, expanded the
80’s. It was in this rambling house                                            rental fleet and mooring field,
that they raised their growing                                                 and made the transition from a
family, his sons James, “Jimmy”,                                               commercial enterprise to leisure
Arthur Joseph, “AJ”, Francis John,        In 1978, Flyer retired, although     boating. Flyer’s Boat Rentals
“Grassy”, and daughters Janet,         he kept continually busy. He            continued to flourish through the
Dorothea, “Dora”, and Patricia.        says, “No one ever sees me sit still.   dedication and determination
Francis “Flyer” Santos lived in this   When no one could find a job, I         of Francis John, with help from
house across from the sea until he     had, five, six and seven. I was         his son Noah. In 2007, “Grassy”
was 100 years of age, a life well-     always flying around,” Santos said.     Santos suggested that his son
lived.                                 “My nickname Flyer means day            Noah, take over the business,
   The success of his business         and night worker, always on the         continuing the family tradition
led to the purchase in 1949 of         move. Always”. He did work, day         of his father and his grandfather.
Good Templar Place which               and night, building, by hand, the       Noah had graduated from Cape
became known as Flyer’s Boat           half-scale model masterpiece of         Cod Technical High School, then
Rentals. “Flyer” was a legend in       the well-known Provincetown             joined the Marine Corps Infantry
his own right, and his love for        haddock schooner Rose Dorothea.         in 1998. In 2003, he attended
Provincetown, and his contribu-        It proudly occupies today,              Cape Cod Community College,
tions to the community he loved,       the children’s section of the           receiving a degree in Criminal
as a selectman, fireman, and           Provincetown Public Library.            Justice. He taught for a while,
board member of many organiza-            Flyer’s son, Francis John had        then became a dispatcher for a
tions, are unrivaled. The West         grown up in the family business         police department. It was at this
End Racing Club was one of his         repairing and using boats, even at      time when he was working as a
favorite endeavors and countless       5 years old, running a skiff with a     dispatcher that his father Francis
numbers of children have learned       3 horsepower Evinrude. “Grassy”         John offered him the position at
to sail and have a love of the sea     eventually built his own beautiful      Flyer’s Boat Rentals. With his
in their lives because of his dedi-    sailboat at his father’s boatyard       family’s maritime background, and
cation in making sure they knew        called the “Shrew”. “My child-          his life as a child on the water,
how to swim and be safe at sea.        hood was unique” he said. “Dad          which Noah says about his boys
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now, is that it is “the only way      assistance program serving Cape        a member of the local Volunteer
to grow up!”, Noah felt that this     Cod Bay and is president of            Fire Department. Noah’s father
opportunity would be a perfect fit    TowBoatsUS which he estab-             Francis John is usually around as
for him.                              lished in Provincetown in 2010,        an interested bystander, as well
   Apparently, Noah, the third        in Chatham in 2014, and Bass           as all the people who are part of
Santos to run the boatyard, has       River in 2016. Captain Noah            this thriving business. Noah says
become exactly that right fit as      Santos competently services these      the boatyard is, and always has
V.P. at Flyer’s Boat Rental and       boating areas 24 hours a day, 7        been, “a very positive place to be,
Boat Shop. Noah has added to          days a week aiding and offering        and everyone involved here shares
the fleet of rental boats, expanded   assistance for whatever your ves-      a healthy respect for the work ethic
the daily Long Point Shuttle,         sel’s needs may be, whether it’s to    and the boating life.”
with sunset cruises and as well       be recovered, re-floated or towed.        With Noah at the helm, Flyer’s
as special event options, added       With its sophisticated equipment,      Boat Rental and Boatyard is in
pontoon boats and kayaks, and         the company is able to contain         very capable hands, and likely his
has expanded the boatyard’s dock      spills of fuel and oil. His grandfa-   young sons, with all their experi-
storage facility. This 150-foot       ther would be immensely proud of       ence at the boatyard, in sailboats,
dock expansion completed over         his grandson’s very high standards     motorboats, and tow boats, have
the past two winters, which           on land and sea.                       learned by example, from one
involved the addition of 60 more         Noah is definitely a “hands-on”     generation to the next, and may
boat storage spots, makes way for     businessman and is consistently        one day be interested in carrying
the next generation of boaters.       at the boatyard with his uncle         on the family tradition that their
   Noah has become a part of the      Jim Santos and his three sons,         great-grandfather began so many
National Fleet of TowBoatsUs,         Myles, 15, Mason, 14, and Max,         years ago.
a rapid response marine               9, except when he is called in as
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                                The murals on view
                         throughout the Provincetown Inn
                      are authentic scenes of old Provincetown
                                   and its people.

                 Flyer’s Boat Yard: The constructed boat model was here in 1935. Don
                  Aikens of Weymouth, Mass., who was in charge of the Interior Design
                and Decoration, completed the painting of the mural around the boat in the
                1960’s. Pictured is a Trap boat, a Cat boat, and traditionally constructed
                                        Scallopers and Trawlers.

Photographs by Nancy B. Silva
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         A Letter from Josephine Del Deo to Francis “Flyer” Santos
                                        Flyer’s Birthday Celebration
                                            September 10, 2014

Today, the 100th birthday of            wharf needed rebuilding in the        far from his home on the water’s
Francis “Flyer” Santos, I am copy-      1950’s, and his knowledge and         edge. Here, he has lectured and
ing a tribute I wrote 10 years ago on   expertise were brought into play      demonstrated the skills needed to
his 90th birthday in anticipation       in its supervision.                   be able to sail and to swim to the
of his being cited by Portugal for         His lifelong career as a master    young people from the ages of 8
his lifelong contribution to the        boat builder in the town and his      to 14 every summer for fifty years.
community of Provincetown and           operation of a successful boat-       Today, the West End Racing Club
to his Portuguese Heritage.             yard, over many years, made an        membership averages approxi-
                                        enormous contribution to the          mately 150 during the months of

T
          he Portuguese community       fishing industry. He has either       July and August. The wonder, for
          of Provincetown is one        built or repaired, with great skill   him, of teaching the young the
          of the oldest and greatest    and integrity, a large portion of     moral values of life, while at the
fishing communities in America.         the fishing fleet.                    same time, giving them lifelong
It boasts a long history of the men        Late in life, in 1977, he          aquatic skills is totally rewarding.
who have gone down to the sea in        brought his experience in boat           To this man of unceasing
ships, and their combined record        building and his love for his         energy, enormous vision and
is extraordinary. None of them,         heritage to the building of the       integrity and personal pride in
however, have had a record that is      half-scale model of the famous        what he does and in what he
more interesting, varied or produc-     Provincetown fishing schooner,        has accomplished, the town the
tive than Francis “Flyer” Santos        “Rose Dorothea,” the largest half-    nation, and his ancestral home of
who will be ninety years old in         scale model of a fishing schooner     Portugal owe him both recogni-
September 2004. He is a man for         in the world, which he completed      tion and gratitude, for a man such
all seasons; a man for all times.       after eleven years of arduous labor   as Francis “Flyer” Santos who
He is a native of Provincetown,         and which was dedicated to the        points the way to a better future,
but a citizen of the world like his     Provincetown Heritage Museum          to a sounder way of life, and to an
famous Portuguese ancestors, men        on June 25, 1988. The story of        enduring humanity.
of discovery and of incredible skill.   this Herculean task was given            In 1968, I dedicated the follow-
He has been enamored of the sea         without recompense as a memo-         ing poem to “Flyer” on the occa-
all his life. Although his parents      rial to his Portuguese heritage and   sion of the launching of his boat,
were born in this country, his          to the people of Provincetown,        the “Columbia”, a beautiful sloop
grandfather came from the island        past and present.                     which he had crafted for many a
of San Miguel in the Azores and            “Flyer” Francis Santos believes    sailing Saturday in Provincetown
arrived in America as a striker         in people and has never ceased        Harbor. I include it here as my
aboard a whaling schooner at the        in his attempts in every aspect       personal tribute to a man with
beginning of the 20th century.          of his life, to make the world a      whom I shared the dream of
   In his long life in                  better place. No stronger proof       building the “Rose Dorothea”
Provincetown, he has served             of this could be demonstrated         and for whom I have the most
the town in a number of official        than by his fifty-year commit-        profound respect.
capacities and in many meaning-         ment to maintaining a sailing and
ful ways. He was a selectman at         swimming club for all the young         – Josephine Del Deo
a critical moment when the town         people of the community not
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             A Man and His Boat
Josephine C. Del Deo, Founding Chairman of the Provincetown
       Heritage Museum to Francis “Flyer” Santos

      His world begins here in an empty cradle
      Holding the shape of hulls against the sky.
Waiting to snuggle up a boat then slip it back to sea.

     Rib-cage poppets rise above a maze of yard,
          Deliberate confusion of the trade
          Where the sea gulls stalk at ease,
         And where he talks, talks of the sea.

      The tools that lie in readiness, as if awake,
      Live by his summoning to make the dead oak
      Quake beneath the quick and shivering sail.
                Nothing he keep sleeps,
       But speaks the dialect he taught them –
              Ship’s talk – to build a ship.

                    The man is true,
               Heart’s keel beneath him,
    Balanced by work, he lives close to the wind.
  The ship he made, he launched, he loves, he sails.
    I cannot tell you more that needs my telling.
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 LO B S T E R                                PO T
“A PROVINCETOWN TRADITION”
Overlooking Historic Provincetown Harbor
 The best in Seafood & Waterfront Dining
                on the Cape

         Celebrating
         Portuguese
          Heritage

     321 Commercial St., Provincetown, MA 02657
508-487-0842                 www.ptownlobsterpot.com
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The Squealing Pig
                                 Amazing Selection Of Domestic,
                                 Imported & Micro Brews
                                 Full Bar • Oyster Shooters

                                 335 Commercial Street
                                 Provincetown
                                 508-487-5804
                                 www.squealingpigptown.com

PROUD SPONSORS OF THE PROVINCETOWN PORTUGUESE FESTIVAL
VC T O RY I I B L E S S E D I N 19 81   Share the 32 Heritage
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                     Painting by Provincetown artist John Mendes. Courtesy of the Seamen’s Bank.

                                           The Victory II
                                       LIFE AND LOSS at SEA
                  “The sea that calls all things unto her, called them...” –Kahlil Gibran
             Story by Nancy B. Silva, in collaboration with the Macara Family

    Blessing of the Fleet Breaks       Garrard who has conducted the cer-        Bishop’s blessing.” (Provincetown
   All-time Attendance Record          emony for a number of years, had          Advocate Public Library
“One of the largest crowds ever        been scheduled to officiate this year.    Archives)
recorded thronged McMillan Wharf          While crowds jammed the wharf,

                                                                                O
Sunday for the 1965 Blessing of        other guests on the fishing vessels                  n these bright and beauti-
the Fleet, as the gaily decorated      or in small harbor craft, added                      ful days of the Blessing of
fishing fleet passed the wharf in      numbers to the many thousands                        the Fleet, when every-
procession to receive the blessing     congregated here for the colorful         one’s hopes are so high for the
of the most Reverend James L.          event. The Victory II, skippered          safety of their loved ones and their
Connolly, Bishop of the Fall River     by Capt. Manuel Macara, led               vessels, it is very difficult to com-
Diocese. The Bishop’s visit here was   the procession of the vessels, that       prehend some of the dangerous
a surprise since Auxiliary James J.    one-by-one slowed to receive the          and life-threatening conditions
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that many Portuguese fishermen                                                without difficulty, and the Queen
encounter in their daily lives on                                             Mary, Captain Anthony Russell,
the sea.                                                                      blown ashore at beach Point was
   “A southwest storm with roar-                                              refloated Sunday morning on the
ing winds and raging seas, bat-                                               high tide, assisted by the Race
tered this Cape town Friday night                                             Point Coast Guard and towed off
and Saturday morning, leaving                                                 by the DUKW. A bulldozer had
in its wake three fishing boats                                               dug a trench to assist this opera-
blown ashore, tree limbs and                                                  tion. Captain Anthony Russell’s
debris washed in by the high tide                                             Queen Mary was refloated on a
cluttering low-lying places along                                             high tide, assisted by the Race
Commercial Street, flooded cel-                                               Point Coast Guard and towed
lars, and damage along the beach                                              off by the DUKW. A bulldozer
Point section of Provincetown                                                 had dug a trench to assist this
and Truro such has not been                                                   operation.
known for many years. A high          Kenneth Macara, 2011 Festival event        Earlier Saturday, Coast
course 11-foot tide driven higher         Courtesy of David Dunlap            Guardsmen launched their
by gale winds reported at Race                                                DUKW through heavy seas
Point Coast Guard Station at 70         The Victory II, grounded near         and put the skipper and men
miles, and clocked unofficially, in   the Church of St. Mary of the           aboard the grounded 60’ Victory
town, sent huge waves battering       Harbor, was refloated Saturday          II. Captain Manuel Macara’s
the shore. At times during the        morning with the assistance of          60-footer foundered close to the
storm the East End breakwater         Race Point Coast Guardsmen              church of St. Mary of the Harbor.
was completely underwater. Total      who braved heavy surf in their          The combined effort of Coast
damage to Provincetown from           DUKW to put fishermen aboard,           Guardsmen and seamen aboard
the storm has been unofficially set   and later assisted in refloating the    the Victory II floated the vessel
over $100,000 but the full extent     craft.                                  free and tied her up to MacMillan
will not be known until summer           Joan & Tom, captained by             Wharf.
cottage owners return to check        Manuel Thomas, grounded a                  However, the vessel had devel-
on damage to their property.          short distance east, was refloated      oped extensive leaks in the seam

                                Courtesy of Lisa King, My Grandfather’s Provincetown
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Provincetown
 Chamber of Commerce
     2021-2022 Visitors Guide

       PtownChamber.com
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                                                                                 VICTORY II model built by
                                                                                 Alfred J. Silva and his son,
                                                                                 Mark S. Silva. An eastern Rig
                                                                                 Dragger that was rigged on the
                                                                                 starboard side only. Built in
                                                                                 1944 by Manuel G. Macara in
                                                                                 Stamford, Connecticut, it fished
                                                                                 for ground fish, including flat
                                                                                 fish, cod, haddock, and pollock.
                                                                                 Victory II model is currently at
                                                                                 the Highland House Museum,
                                                                                 Truro Historical Society.

                                                                                 Photos by Nancy B. Silva

area, and the Coast Guard were         all over the Atlantic Ocean in      was complete, all Ken wanted to
forced to put aboard a pump to         his four years of service to his    do was to “come back home” to
work with the dragger’s equip-         country during WWII. He spent       follow in the family tradition of
ment.” (Provincetown Advocate          time in Casablanca, a chief port    fishing as his grandfather, father,
Public Library Archives)               in the central western part of      and uncle had done. When his
   Captain Ken Macara, who will        Morocco, bordering the Atlantic     father Manuel became unwell,
be 90 years old at the end of this     Ocean. Another port of call was     Kenneth took over the business
year, speaks of his life-long love     United Kingdom’s Scotland,          for his mother Inez, according to
of fishing, his days at sea, and his   again surrounded by the Atlantic    Michael Coelho, Sr.
wish to always come home. At           Ocean to the north and west,            Kenneth Macara became what
nine years old, he said he “forced”    and then African’s Algiers on       fishermen commonly refer to as
his father, Manuel, Sr., to “let me    the Mediterranean Sea, in the       a “high liner”. The National
go fishing.” And, indeed, he did       north-central portion of Algeria.   Resource Council describes a
fish with his father on the Victory    A local young man was seeing        “highliner” as having a fishing
II every time he had a chance, as      the world in a much different       operation with high catch and
did his brother Manuel, spend-         way. Kenneth recounts how he        profits. When a boat is filled with
ing most of their young years out      witnessed the loss of many men      fish, it is quite an unbelievable
at sea. Kenny graduated from           during the dark, nighttime hours,   feeling, and there is no doubt that
Provincetown High School with          in horrendous weather at sea that   the Victory II filled the boat, and
the Class of 1949. He was a good       was many times life-threatening,    everyone’s expectations as well as
student and was accepted at            sometimes disaster striking even    a very successful fishing vessel.
Boston University to continue          during practice sessions on board      Kenneth Macara felt it was
his studies. After a year and a        ship. Kenneth Macara from           time to turn over the helm of the
half, he said that he had enough       Provincetown became part of the     Victory II to his son, Kenneth II,
of academia and college life. He       elite Antisubmarine Squadron in     as he knew quite well the love
longed for the sea, and it was call-   the United States Navy, where       his son had for the open sea. He,
ing him. He joined the Navy.           he had also become an electrical    himself, would continue to fish,
   Kenneth Macara, “born and           technician.                         but it would be on his new boat,
bred in Provincetown”, sailed             When his four years of duty      the Ruthie L that he had re-built
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       Cape Cod 5 is a proud sponsor of the Provincetown
          Portuguese Festival and Blessing of the Fleet

   NMLS# 401717           www.capecodfive.com • 888-225-4636
   Member FDIC
   Member DIF

                                                          Frank and Janice
                                                             Hallaman

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                                                          In Loving Memory of FJ Hurst

                  319 Main Street, Hyannis, MA 02601 • capecodtimes.com
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and re-furbished by Eldredge           were concerned with for fishing        boat had not returned yet to the
in Eastham. Kenneth Macara             and its economic future.               pier. In her recollections of that
was proud of his fishing record           Fishing for a living is dangerous   fateful day, Darlene Macara, said
aboard his vessel the Ruthie L,        work, and no one knows this bet-       that she had woken with a “very
named after his wife, with whom        ter than the local fishing fleet in    weird feeling” that she couldn’t
he had three children, Kenneth         Provincetown who has seen more         explain, just a melancholic heavi-
II, Joel, and Gene. Kenneth            than their share of tragedies and      ness. When she drove down the
referred to his new fishing vessel,    lives lost pursuing a life that de-    pier, she said that there seemed
the Ruthie L, as the “Queen of         fined them and their Portuguese        to be more fishermen there than
Provincetown.” The family lin-         ancestors from so many years ago.      usual, and they all appeared to
eage was continuing the tradition          On May 1, 1984, Kenneth            be looking at her with a sadness
aboard fishing vessels. Kenneth        Macara was fishing on his boat         that caused her a feeling of ap-
says his history “goes all the way     the Ruthie L about 5 miles away        prehension and dread. Darlene
back to the Mayflower.”                from his son on the Victory II. As     met her father-in-law Kenneth
   Kenneth became very involved        fishermen do, he called out on         at the end of the pier, and it was
in and took an active role in the      his radio to his son to say he was     then that he spoke the words
politics of fishing, becoming part     heading in, and to check on the        she never wanted to hear. The
of task forces that dealt with the     day’s catch. He was very disturbed     Victory II was missing. She was
Federal Government’s 200 mile          and extremely distressed with          overwhelmed at this disastrous
limit, as well as with State fisher-   no response from his son. He           news. Darlene and Kenny had
ies and the issues of diminishing      continued on into MacMillan            two young children at the time
fish stock. He said very often         Pier. Darlene Macara was on her        of this tragedy, Crystal, 6, and
that Federal and State officials       way to the pier to pick up her         Kenneth III, 4.
would board his boat to go out         husband Kenny as she always did            Although Kenneth said that
on fishing trips with him and his      when he came home after a fish-        “no one will ever know what
crew to experience first-hand          ing trip. It was at the end of the     happened that day, but all I know
what local fishermen deal with         pier that she learned the devas-       is that it was the worst day of my
every day, and the issues they         tating news that her husband’s         life”. In the 1985 Coast Guard

        “Victory II went down on May 1, 1984,
     in the last of a tragic triumvirate of accidents
     that had claimed the lives of 14 fishermen
     in eight years. The victims this time were
     Captain Kenneth R. Macara II who was -at
     28- the youngest man aboard; John Dorf, 36;
     and Benjamin Fernandez,33. The Victory
     II was active as early as 1948 under Captain
     Manuel Macara. That year, the boat found
     the wreckage of a Navy test plane. The
     Victory II was blessed by Bishop Cassidy in
     1948. Manuel Macara was still the master in
     1955, but by the time of the Vessels/Owners log (http://www.provincetownhistoryproject.com/archives/
     view 4979, he’d been supplanted by his son Kenneth Macara of 72 Franklin Street. The Victory II
     had been blessed by Bishop Cronin in 1977, 1978, and 1980, and again in 1981 and 1983. At the
     Seamen’s Bank are pictures of all three vessels in the triumvirate the Patricia Marie, Captain William
     King, the Cap’n Bill, Captain Ralph E. Andrews, and the Victory II, Captain Kenneth R. Macara II.”
     --David Dunlap, Building Provincetown
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