Travelogue film of New England - 1940s

Have a look at a nostalgic view of New England in this travelogue film from the 1940s.  Summer in New England is something eternal.

Or watch on YouTube here.

End of Summer - Wells and Ogunquit, Maine

The surf at Wells Beach, Maine, where only the scarcity of swimmers may indicate this is the end of summer.

King of all he surveys from a height of about nine or ten inches, this seagull may regret the end of summer, if only because he has fewer opportunities to mooch off beach-goers.

Down the road in Ogunquit, this single rosebud on The Marginal Way is more optimistic about plenty of summer left to come.

The Last Rose of Summer by Thomas Moore:

"'TIS the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
To give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Loves shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?"

Summer beaches

The New England shoreline is not so firm or impregnable as these rocks around Westerly, Rhode Island would seem to indicate.  The shoreline is moving thing, that alters with each storm, sometimes a lot and sometimes only a little.

They know about such things over at Chatham, Massachusetts, where the sand bars dance with the ocean and the beach departs without so much as a goodbye.

Still, it seems that summer is eternal, even when it is gradually leaving us.  It will come back next year, and until then be stored in our memory, as will the beach, just as it was when we last saw it.





Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire

Lake Sunapee still wears the mysterious aura of rugged gentility. Rent yourself a canoe and paddle out to the middle, jostled lightly in the wake of a passing motorboat perhaps, but still serene enough to imagine the ghosts of steamships around you, passengers leaning over the rail dressed in summer white.

Back in the 19th century, wealthy summer visitors came here by train, and then crossed the lake on steamer ferries to the grand hotel of their choice. There were several from which to choose.

A replica of the old MV Kearsarge (the original began operation in 1897) plies the gentle waters here and gives narrated tours of the history of the lake, exploring its coves and the single lighthouse.

The beach here is not always this empty, but if you come early you can stake out a spot for your towel, your chair, your umbrella, and your sense of bliss. The lake is over 4,000 acres, so there’s plenty of room to swim, ride out in that canoe, or in the Kearsarge.

Most of the Victorian grand hotels are gone, but the sense of a perfect place to escape remains.

For more on Mt. Sunapee State Park, have a look here, and here.

 

Old Orchard Beach Pier - Maine

Like a world unto itself, a world on stilts, the Old Orchard Beach Pier has been around over 100 years, first opening to the public in 1898. It has been altered over time, requiring renovation after several storms or fires. A world on stilts can be precarious.

The heyday occurred during the mid-20th Century when the enormous Pier Casino Ballroom showed movies and big band concerts with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Xavier Cugat, and Benny Goodman. But the casino was torn down in 1970 after one too many storms weakened the pier, and the remainder was obliterated by the Blizzard of 1978. Remember that one?

But the Old Orchard Beach Pier rose from the beach again and stepped up on its stilts, and re-opened to the public in 1980. It’s still here, a world unto itself.

For more information on the Old Orchard Beach Pier, have a look at this website.

Hampton Beach - New Hampshire

Above we have a World War I-era view of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. The popular beach was just as popular then, even though it looks as though only a few brave souls splashed in the waves in their modest bathing costumes.

By “brave”, for those not familiar with northern beaches, I mean the ability to submerge one’s warm body into water cold enough to elicit physical as well as mental shock. Every summer thousands of New Englanders standing chest-deep in temperatures cold enough to keep your tuna fish sandwich from spoiling in the car on a hot day, shout with shaky voices to their apprehensive loved ones on the beach, still in the stages of removing sweatshirts:

“It’s all right once you get used to it!”

I’d often though this should be the slogan on the tourism brochures for our beaches in the summer: “It’s All Right Once You Get Used To It.”

But others on the beach, by the looks of this postcard, have no intention of disrobing. The ladies sweep the beach in their long white dresses (the days when everyone, man, woman, and child switched to uniform white after Memorial Day), and sip perhaps a lemonade under wide straw hats to keep cool, lifting their chins to catch the salty breezes.

Here we have the rates for the Hampton River Bridge toll of the same period. Automobiles, those such as were around, could pass for 5 cents. Same for a bicyclist, a horse and rider, or a single horse drawing a carriage. Two horses would cost you another nickel. If you were to drive your herd of cows across the bridge, you’d be out one cent per head, same as for sheep or pigs. According to this interesting article, it is reported that the Hampton River Bridge was the longest wooden bridge in the world at the time.

It seems to me I’ve not seen any herds of cattle, sheep or swine crossing the current bridge these days, which replaced the old wooden bridge in 1949. Could be I just wasn’t paying attention.

Hampton Beach developed into a summer vacationer’s Mecca probably in the late 19the century. Hotels along the coast had opened in the decades before, but it probably wasn’t until trolleys, and later the automobile that made getting to Hampton Beach easier for common folk, newly discovering what wealthier classes had enjoyed for decades. Some time around the turn of the 20th century, the year-round inhabitants of Hampton Beach must have seen the handwriting on the wall and developed the Hampton Beach Village District to create infrastructure and attractions to bring the beachgoers.

Today there are festivals and sand sculpture competitions, and still that tangy ocean breeze to lick from your lips under the seductive wide brim of your straw hat. Here, and also here, are a couple of sites to learn more about Hampton Beach, and to make your summer plans.

Remember your bathing costume. It’s all right once you get used to it.

Beach Conditions

Here in the middle of our summer season, we pay homage to the signs which we sometimes ignore. Here on the bay side of the Cape, we are reminded there is no life guard present.


Here on the south side of Nantucket, we are reminded of the treacherous undertow and not to bring our dogs. Reading this incorrectly one might think the beach is unsafe for dogs. Not so. The undertow is treacherous for everybody, whether you have four legs or only two. Maybe it means there are no dogs on the beach because the undertow dragged them away.


Here on Wells Beach in Maine, we don’t need to worry about beach conditions at high tide, because there is no beach at high tide. The ocean sloppily kisses the seawall and you may not bring your blanket and cooler back onto the beach until low tide.


This starfish doesn’t care much about beach conditions. He’s cool with it.