We started our day with a complimentary breakfast at the Cooper's Inn. The owners, Pat and Paul, were busy in the kitchen but Pat quickly appeared and welcomed us with menus and morning salutations. The menu was good; it had enough of the essential items with a few goodies to spice it up: cereal, yogurt, eggs, bacon, toast, French toast, pancakes and tons of fruit like mango, cantaloupe and cherries. Across the top of the menu was written, "Please choose any or all of the following items," practically daring me to eat until I burst.
Today's mission was to meet Brenda Maxwell at the Cape Sable Historical Society and film their video. Susan and I drove the twenty-five minute span to Barrington. There was a good omen almost immediately. Upon arriving in Barrington, Susan wandered over to a group of cattle grazing in a nearby field where, amazingly enough, a young white-tailed deer gingerly walked out oblivious before seeing us and suddenly darting into the thickness of the tree line.
The Cape Sable Heritage Society is housed in the old Court House in Barrington. It's in the center of a museum complex which includes the Barrington Woolen Mill Museum, the Old Meeting House and the Seal Island Light Museum. Brenda spent the morning helping a group of researchers with their genealogical concerns so we wandered through the grounds and finally to the Seal Island Light Museum. It was after June 1st so Susan and I were able to enter the museum now officially open for the tourism season. As I've mentioned before, the museum is actually a replica of the original top half of the Seal Island lighthouse. I walked up several steep flights of stairs, past relics and glass cases, until the last flight at the top opened and exposed the complex Fresnel lens. It was easily the size of a person. A large metal door opened outdoors into windy gusts and dizzying height. The view was incredible. From there, you could see so much.
Brenda was finally free so we began filming, having her talk about the holdings of this particular archives. They had everything from livestock records, obituaries, church registries, vital statistics, school records and many artifacts. I loved the family bibles. The illustrations had amazing detail and the handwriting itself was a work of art. While Susan and Brenda chatted, I began talking to one of the assistants who told me about some of the hundreds of interesting items available at the archives. There was a quilt made from soldiers' uniforms found shipwrecked on Sable Island. There was a photograph of Theodore Roosevelt with his four year old daughter sailing just off the coast of where we were, his daughter steering the enormous ship's wheel. There were too many things to list, although each fascinating in itself. I was eager to write it all down.
After spending most of the day filming, we hurried back to Shelburne where Finn Bower, of the Shelburne County Museum, was receiving accolades for thirty years of excellence with the museum. The lobby was packed with people, standing room only. Finn humbly listened to the countless praise of her peers before reading a fantastic letter. Tomorrow, Susan and I are filming there so I'll get a copy and post it here.
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