With its narrow streets and overhanging
trees you could almost be in an English village. Here are delightful houses and shops in all
shapes, sizes and colours. White, pink,
yellow and one or two in deep wine red.
All very picturesque. I parked
the car and strolled up and down taking pictures, then out of curiosity
followed the road around a bend. There
were some large white clapboard houses, a church, the Dexter Grist Mill and a
village pond. More and more like
England.
I didn’t have time to
stand and stare, I was looking for the Americana Museums and Gardens at the
Heritage Plantation of Sandwich. As it
wasn’t within walking distance I took a slow and careful drive along a twisting
country lane. With my usual luck, it was a showery day. I am not sure whether that was because I seem
to be a rainmaker or whether it is because there is a shop called 'The Weather
Store' in the village. Because of the
rain I didn’t get to see much of the gardens at the Plantation although I am
told they are beautiful, particularly in spring when the rhododendrons and
azaleas are in bloom.
The first museum was the
J.K. Lilly III Automobile Museum. As a
lover of veteran and vintage cars I was in my element – there are even two old
Rolls-Royce cars here. The building is a
copy of a large Shaker Round Barn so I was able what one of these look like.
Among the cars there are a gaudy yellow Stutz Bearcat, a Ford Tin Lizzie, Chevrolets,
Oldsmobiles, a Cadillac and almost any make of American car you can think
of. They even have a car which once
belonged to Gary Cooper – an immense leaf green and primrose yellow Duesenberg.
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| Stutz Bearcat |
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| Gary Cooper's Deusenberg |
As the rain was still
bucketing down I ran from here to the Carousel café for a warming bowl of
chowder whilst hoping the rain would subside.
It did and it was then a rather quick walk to the Military Museum. For
people are into all things military it is great. Firearms and flags, military miniatures, and
Native American artifacts. And I saw a
very strange Union Jack – red, white, blue and beige!
Outside and another
quick dash to the Art Museum. Here I
indulged myself with looking at a room full of glasswork, lithographs, toys and
loads of miniature model birds. Everyone’s favorite ‘toy’ in here has to be the
gorgeous carousel. I sat for ages
watching it. No, I didn’t get on it but did
enjoy watching everyone else. The last section is American art. Some of the paintings are, to say the least,
naïve, others, particularly the landscapes, interesting. There is also a collection of weather vanes –
some quite strange – and carved cigar store figures. You know, those human sized figures which you
see outside tobacco stores in old American movies. What I cannot understand is why there are so
many Native Americans - both male and female.
What do they have to do with cigars?
They smoked pipes of peace.
Then it was time to return to the village to discover one more place
I had always wanted to see. To be exact,
a type of house. I had read of Salt Box
houses but never seen one. The Hoxie
House is a wonderful example. Why is it
called a Salt Box? If you have ever seen
an old fashioned saltbox you will know that the lid slopes down to the front so
that any moisture will run off and not get into the salt. The house has a short deep pitched roof at
the front and at the back a long steep pitched roof. Thus the snow falls off!
A guide showed us about
the house, explaining the artifacts and how they were used. Bearing in mind that the house is thought to
have been constructed around 1670 and you will realize that some of the items
are very strange. The most important
room is the Keeping Room where all the cooking was done and the family
congregated – especially in the winter.
Here all the sewing and laundry was dealt with. Above that room is a loft which could be used
for sleeping or storage with a wooden ladder up which to climb.
Also done in this room
would be the spinning. You couldn’t just
go to a shop and buy wool in the seventeenth century. You had your own sheep, sheared them and had
the wool spun. This was usually done by
an unmarried lady of the village. Hence
the name “spinster” for an unmarried lady.
There is a Great Room or
parlour which was used for high days and holidays. This is furnished appropriately with a table
and chairs, a chest and a large loom. In
those days the weavers were travellers who received free bed and board in
exchange for doing the weaving which sometimes took two or three months. Above
this room is the Chamber or bedroom. A
large room where parents and children would have slept - the parents in a
double bed and children in cradles or truckle beds. During the day these last were pushed away
out of sight under the big bed. And above that is the loft - reached by a
ladder.
For me the
best was yet to come. I stayed at The
Belfry Inn, a wonderful B&B. My room was in the Painted Lady – a pretty
Victorian wooden house which was once the Manse (Drew House). Adjacent is The Belfry, a deconsecrated
church now turned into a wonderful restaurant.
And a section has had a first floor added with six guest rooms. (www.belfryinn.com)
During the rest of my stay I drove extensively around Cape Cod. Looking
at some of the town names. It is easy to tell where some of the Pilgrims and
later Settlers came from. Chatham, Falmouth, Harwich, Yarmouth and Truro. Enough to make the English feel at home.
