OK, I'm posting a little nostalgia today, a glance a few decades back to the 60s and later, remembering a place on Cape Cod I knew well. And it all came about because of a chore I finally took on this morning.
Today I spent a few hours cleaning and straightening my den/office, a task I had put off for far too long. For some unexplained reason it had become so cluttered that trying to enter or walk around in this rather small room was actually dangerous. And at my age no trip and fall would be welcome. So, I cleaned it all up...well, mostly.
Part of the task involved removing several storage boxes filled with papers, photos, letters, and piles of other stuff and carting them off to the living room where I hope to go through them while listening to music or watching meaningless shows on TV. I doubt if Diane is real happy with five boxes stacked up in the living room, but she agreed to my plan so long as I carry it out, as we used to say in the Navy, expeditiously.
Among the first items I came across was a 1981 menu from a restaurant called Thompson's Clam Bar. For 25 years Diane and I lived just a block away from Thompson's, a famous eatery located in Harwich Port, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. Actually, Thompson's closed in 1996, so I suppose we lived nearby for only about 18 years. Diane and I sold our home in the fall of 2003 and eventually moved to sunny Florida in February 2004.
The Clam Bar was open for only 10 to 12 weeks each summer but seemed always to be filled with locals and tourists. Because it was on the water, just inside the harbor entrance, boats could tie up to the restaurant, permitting the sailors to order meals and be served right on their boats. I actually did this a couple of times back in the 60s thanks to several friends who owned boats and let me crew for them. (Just an aside...it's much better to have boat-owning friends than to actually own a boat into which you must pour large amounts of cash every year. The friends are always looking for others to crew for them -- all the benefits, none of the costs.)
The below photo, definitely vintage and probably from the 60s, shows a few boats tied up at the Clam Bar.
As you can see, it was not a small restaurant. Here's a photo showing a typical crowd enjoying Thompson's excellent seafood:
Most of the servers were college kids, spending their summer on Cape Cod and making a few bucks to help with tuition and room and board. As I recall, Thompson's had facilities to house these young folks so they could actually afford to spend a summer on the Cape. When I turned 19 my folks moved from Larchmont, New York to Chatham, a town only about four or five miles from Thompson's. During my Naval Academy summers -- we usually had only about a month's leave -- I actually dated a few of the young ladies who worked at the Clam Bar. I also had access to a car, which was a definite plus. They were a fun group, always ready to party hearty.
I've included all four pages of the Clam Bar's menu. The cover page is an aerial photograph of Wychmere Harbor, showing the Clam Bar (marked with a white circle). I also circled our home (blue circle) where we brought up our four children.
As you can see by the menu, in 1981 Thompson's opened for the season on June 17. It closed for the season that year on my birthday, September 13. Living so close to Thomason's was a joy. Diane and I would often walk down to the Clam Bar just to sample a few littleneck clams and maybe sip a glass of white wine. Occasionally, we'd even splurge and enjoy a complete meal.
As you can also see in the photograph, Wychmere Harbor was almost a perfect circle. In fact, back in the late 19th and early 20th century it was not a harbor but a racetrack where the locals would compete racing their horses. Years later, the outer harbor was dredged giving us the beautiful body of water we have today. A brief history of the harbor and the Thompson Brothers' involvement is provided on the back of the menu, below. Click on the photo to view a readable page.
I think the menu itself -- two pages from 43 years ago (1981) -- might interest those who yearn for less costly meals. Just keep in mind, it might have cost less for a good meal in 1981, but for most folks, their income was also much lower. And I think I can truthfully say that I nver had a bad meal at Thompson's Clam Bar. Here's the menu:
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Thompson’s Clam Bar was one of those places that I'll always remember and always miss. Here's a photo of Wychmere Harbor I took a few years ago, after the Clam Bar closed. The Clam Bar is the long building in the background, now part of a private club.
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