1 10 1 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/32209/archive/files/30c6efec7127bc9e294765868626e690.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=Oa-qBcKweFAYArxEKwNrQ5R4FDnVEAWBkjxMzIG0oopEoo3BghI6UQdMsD1dGJ41yV7u9ocsG%7EERlzjXPo2ykP0it0N8rq3fIv1u51F8k1gTJlxQ7CoBqAETgW9imb5UCAlnh7EFXRCWqmIadqrIoIwu56HOKeIc7FSJVEZ4gekuYhzRBXQbdufDhgt5gQJNkZ2YF4yiKOj9dKaIYCrT%7Edsp8OzzVOPj5kl9Mkn-47AxuNokIwshkIDUh7ggd%7EdubcSGAKLKC%7EAS%7E0y3YdX6CpUXQ0ta-P35F1LdXJ48Z%7ELGleHSne1re%7EaVM6qSfXH8W1wpsrH9CBd4xahgDH-ibg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 2019dca8de5f5025e3c404d18f6b60c0 PDF Text Text Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth Postcards from Falmouth Oral History Transcript Recorded: September 22, 2021 Oral Historian: Reverend Nell Fields Interviewer: Anna Lee Topic: Waquoit Congregational Church Note: The right column references postcards by identifiers searchable in the Digital Commonwealth online collection. 00:00 [Music] 00:45 so the church obviously it's this really 00:47 striking building and it's had a lot of 00:50 time to become embedded in the fabric of 00:52 the community 00:53 so if you could just do a rundown of the 00:55 history for me tell me a little bit 00:57 about how that started 00:59 uh absolutely and first of all thank you 01:01 for inviting me here uh Waquoit #waquoitcongregationalchurch Hunt_Waquoit-Bldg_364 01:05 Congregational Church 01:07 was built in 1848 01:12 so it's not 01:13 that old 01:15 and the reason why uh the folks in the 01:18 village decide to build the church is 01:19 they got tired of walking to the East 01:23 Falmouth church which is in Hatchville 01:26 and if if if that weren't far enough #1848 1 #hatchville �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 01:29 some of the folks were going to the 01:30 downtown church and they said you know 01:32 let's save some time let's let's build a 01:35 church so they built 01:37 uh the 01:38 the building for 01:41 1350 01:42 dollars 01:43 and back in the day 01:45 we didn't have they didn't have enough 01:47 money 01:49 to really do the inside with that fancy 01:51 plaster that you have so they used 01:55 poor man's plaster which is tin 01:58 so we're 01:59 one of the few churches I know of on the 02:02 Cape that have 02:04 that has tin on the ceilings and tin on 02:07 the walls 02:09 and it's not 02:10 just one 02:12 type of panels there's 18 different 02:15 tin 02:17 panels in there 02:18 I said to somebody now how do you know 02:20 they're 18. and they said oh I counted 02:23 them I said I hope you didn't do that 2 #firstcongregationalchurch �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 02:24 during my sermon 02:26 so nowadays it's it's it's really lovely 02:29 and it's very very expensive now to have 02:33 tin panels but back in the day and it 02:35 started off as a summer church 02:38 and it became really a year-round church 02:41 in the 1950s 02:43 and when it was built it was 02:46 the the color scheme of the day was 02:50 white with dark green corner boards and 02:54 dark green 02:56 shutters I wore my dark green clergy 02:59 shirt to to show the listeners the 03:02 viewers 03:03 the the color that it was but when I 03:06 arrived there 11 years ago it was all 03:09 white 03:10 with black shutters 03:12 and the white wasn't even painted it was 03:15 vinyl siding 03:18 and we noticed when the the vitals vinyl 03:21 siding was starting to crack we noticed 03:23 that there was some rot there 03:25 and we were very fortunate to get a CPC 03:27 grant 03:28 to 03:29 renovate 3 #cpc (Community Preservation Committee) �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 03:30 the church 03:32 and so we peeled off the the vinyl 03:35 siding and it revealed these dark corner 03:39 boards 03:41 underneath 03:43 white that had been painted over them 03:46 and 03:48 we wanted to go back to what the church 03:51 was originally but it originally looked 03:53 like and we took a sample of that and it 03:55 wasn't black it was this very 03:58 specific 03:59 dark 04:00 green and so we painted it 04:04 so it could look like it did in 1848 04:08 that's really fascinating so there was a 04:10 um a strong historical restoration 04:13 component to that renovation then right 04:15 oh my gosh that I’m getting absolutely 04:18 so we restored it to the original color 04:21 and just as an aside 04:24 just to give you an idea of how iconic 04:27 that church is because many people if 04:29 you're going to downtown Falmouth you 04:31 pass that church when we repainted it 04:34 and restored it 04:38 instead of using a white primer on those 4 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 04:41 corner boards you want to use a little 04:43 bit darker color and so our painter 04:47 used a 04:49 oh like a turquoise a Key West green 04:53 just as the primer well people had no 04:56 idea was the primer they thought that's 04:58 what we were painting the church 05:00 I got more phone calls 05:03 and some not very pleasant phone calls 05:05 like I can't believe that you're 05:07 painting that you know Key West green 05:10 the Chamber got calls the town got calls 05:12 and finally I I told our painter I said 05:14 can you just 05:16 you know get a piece of plywood and 05:18 write the word primer on it and so he he 05:22 wrote “it's primer” 05:24 so we had that leaning up against the 05:26 church while we were renovating that 05:28 uh kind of interestingly 05:31 when we were we had to replace some of 05:33 the siding and as we peeled back the 05:35 siding 05:36 we saw what our 05:39 what the the folks used for 05:42 insulation 05:43 it was a newspaper 5 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 05:45 back from the 1800s 05:48 so there's nothing there's really 05:50 nothing between the siding in that tin 05:52 but old newspaper and I was able to save 05:55 some of it it's all in like six point 05:57 type and one of the stories talked about 06:00 a neighborhood lad who got lost in the 06:03 woods but he was found 06:05 you know that was that was exciting news 06:07 back then 06:08 that idea of um being able to peel back 06:11 the surface to see history underneath 06:13 that is um really interesting I think 06:15 one of the things we're trying to get at 06:16 with this project so I’m glad you 06:18 brought that up and it does sound like 06:21 um people are very invested in the idea 06:24 of the church as a local icon 06:27 and they they really want to weigh in on 06:29 what they see and how they how they 06:30 perceive it as part of the community 06:32 yes and especially for 06:34 in our situation Waquoit is the smallest 06:37 village in 06:38 in Falmouth and 06:40 the the church over the years really has 06:43 become 6 #waquoit �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 06:44 the heart 06:46 of the village 06:47 when these 06:50 buildings were erected 06:53 initially they were not only a church 06:55 they were a meeting house they were the 06:57 center for activity in the village and 07:00 if there was something of important that 07:03 people needed to discuss everybody would 07:05 gather in there and they would you know 07:07 talk about it and and now we've really 07:10 become the focus of the community not 07:13 only because of the building but all the 07:16 things that we do 07:18 to reach out to the community and invite 07:20 the community in together 07:23 but the outside of the building 07:25 doesn't tell the full story 07:27 because as iconic as it is on the 07:30 outside 07:31 it's equally iconic 07:33 inside 07:34 because 07:38 the folks who belong to that church 07:41 actually 07:42 paid for the church 07:44 by buying a pew 7 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 07:47 and so our pews are still numbered and 07:49 if maybe the Fields family had 16 or the 07:52 Bourne family had 07:54 20 and they 07:56 literally paid for the pew they built 07:59 their own 08:00 book rack you can go into that church 08:02 and there's 08:04 oh five or six different designs on the 08:06 book rack 08:08 of course the Fields family had 08:09 something very plain but the Bournes had a 08:11 very scrolled book rack they made their 08:14 own elbow rest 08:16 it's just like a curve thing it's not 08:18 very 08:19 comfortable 08:20 the person who was in pew 27 liked to 08:24 chew tobacco and um 08:27 there's still a spittoon on the floor so 08:30 you and you pick up 08:31 the cover of it and it's all copper 08:34 inside 08:36 we use that during the summer 08:39 to put a dehumidifier hose in 08:43 the other thing that's sort of iconic is 08:45 is #bourne 8 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 08:46 looking at the changes over the years 08:49 that our foreparents 08:51 made 08:53 when this was first built there was no 08:55 altar area that came a little bit later 08:58 there's a step and then the altar area 09:01 uh about six seven years ago 09:05 we had to replace that platform because 09:07 it got a little squishy and and one of 09:09 our folks replaced it and just left the 09:12 wood out in the back 09:14 and I thought oh I better haul that wood 09:16 away and when I looked at the wood that 09:19 that platform first was built 09:22 it had stencil on it 09:24 and it said 09:25 to Waquoit Church 09:27 from 09:28 the New England Organ Company 09:32 good old Yankees we built that first 09:34 platform on with the crate 09:38 that our first organ 09:40 came in 09:41 um I looked at that uh 09:43 the New England Organ Company went out 09:46 of business in the 09:48 late 1800s so I I’m pretty sure that 9 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 09:51 that was 09:52 the original platform at the time 09:55 wow so there are a lot of really it 09:57 sounds like interesting 09:58 personal decorative details really 10:00 worked into yeah 10:02 I didn't even get to the the beautiful 10:05 uh chandelier that's in the map in the 10:07 middle it's Sandwich glass and it was 10:09 originally uh filled with whale oil and 10:12 you have to go up into the attic 10:14 to 10:15 crank that 10:17 line down we now replaced it with with a 10:19 chain in order to fill it 10:22 with whale oil and we have Sandwich 10:25 glass lanterns on the side that are now 10:27 electric 10:29 and and the other thing that we did over 10:31 the years is that we did put seat 10:33 cushions in 10:34 new seat cushions because they didn't 10:36 have them 10:37 it was all wooden pews 10:39 but we also 10:41 extended the seat cushion for about 10:44 two to three inches because 10 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 10:46 over the years 10:47 you know people have gotten a little a 10:49 little bit bigger than our foreparents 10:52 yeah it's the little things it's the 10:53 little things but got to keep people 10:55 comfortable during those hour-long 10:57 service 10:58 hour-long sermons thinking about all 11:01 that I can imagine that there must be a 11:03 really strong sense of personal 11:04 investment people have really left their 11:06 mark and been allowed to 11:08 see that they have left their mark 11:09 themselves their families 11:11 and 11:12 that concept and the idea of 11:15 faith communities working to build 11:17 something that has a lasting impact in 11:18 the community 11:20 is a theme that's come up um over and 11:22 over again in these interviews 11:23 is there something along those lines 11:25 that you want to 11:26 reach something recent or ongoing that 11:28 you want to spotlight in terms of that 11:30 kind of project that reaches out to the 11:32 community 11 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 11:33 um 11:34 well I think for us it's sort of ongoing 11:36 you know we're we're here for the 11:38 community we respond to the community 11:40 one thing I do want to highlight is 11:42 um 11:44 I’ve always seen 11:46 our chapel I call it a chapel because 11:48 it's it's tiny and it's so beautiful 11:51 I’ve always seen our chapel as a place 11:54 of light and and 11:57 metaphorically of course and so I’ve 12:00 always thought this is a place of light 12:02 for people this is a a harbor a safety 12:06 place 12:07 a place where people can come no matter 12:08 who they are and feel welcome there 12:13 fast forward a couple of years I learned 12:15 what the word Waquoit means it's a 12:17 Wampanoag word and it means 12:20 a place of light 12:22 and and I think it just sort of 12:25 the the the sanctuaries and everything 12:28 it represents just sort of speaks for 12:29 itself it is a place of light in a 12:33 village 12:34 that is a place of light #wampanoag 12 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 12:36 that's wonderful and I do think I know 12:38 what you mean in the sense that um 12:42 you know you're right there in Waquoit 12:43 Village kind of out on the edge of 12:44 everything right out to the sea 12:47 and um 12:48 that becomes people 12:50 people build a strong sense of identity 12:52 in a place like that and that becomes 12:53 something that's entrenched 12:55 oh 12:56 I’ve had you're absolutely right I’ve 12:57 had so many people uh tell me that 13:01 it just makes them smile makes them 13:02 happy when they drive by that church I 13:06 can't I personally 13:08 cannot ever imagine 13:11 that church 13:12 not being there 13:14 because it is so 13:15 um identified with Waquoit it's so 13:18 identified with that community and and 13:21 back in the day 13:23 you could go up in the balcony and you 13:25 could see Waquoit Bay that was our you #waquoitbay Gunning_Waquoit_Har_0563 13:27 know the the first harbor that the town 13 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 13:30 ever had was in Waquoit Bay 13:32 and 13:33 sailors actually used our steeple 13:36 to find their way home 13:38 sail toward the steeple and now that 13:41 steeple is used 13:43 for the Falmouth Airpark they always 13:45 know that they're home because they're 13:46 flying toward the steeple so it's a it's 13:49 a place of light and it's a it's a 13:51 beacon that it it almost calls to you as 13:54 you're rounding the bend as you're 13:55 coming 13:56 from Mashpee toward Falmouth you you just 13:59 you know that you're home because you 14:00 see that steeple 14:02 that is really wonderful and I think 14:04 maybe living in Falmouth some people 14:06 might become 14:08 not used to but we have 14:09 so many historical um 14:12 interesting historical buildings so many 14:14 hallmarks of the you know the history we 14:16 share around us that maybe 14:18 we might be tempted to take for granted 14:20 the idea that 14:22 we still have existing around us all 14 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 14:24 these 14:25 markers of you know the common identity 14:27 that we've built the ways we delineate 14:28 you know this is our place this is our 14:30 community 14:31 so it's it's great to be reminded of 14:32 that and know that something like that 14:34 is still out there and still 14:37 being you know 14:38 seen for the same purpose interpreted 14:40 for the same purpose 14:41 yeah now I think what what is unique 14:43 about um the Waquoit church is that it's 14:46 just right out there in the open 14:48 by itself I mean we have some historical 14:50 houses around it but there's there's 14:52 there's no crowding there's there's 14:54 there's nothing else around it so it's 14:56 it's just out 14:59 there and it doesn't get lost 15:03 in other buildings or with other 15:04 buildings 15:06 you said that you don't think you could 15:09 imagine Waquoit without the church and 15:11 I think for exactly the reason you just 15:13 described I think that's true for a lot 15:14 of people 15 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 15:15 it stands out 15:17 but um to pivot a little bit maybe to 15:20 speak about getting lost in a 15:21 metaphorical sense um 15:24 and especially 15:25 when we're talking about community 15:26 initiatives um is there anything in 15:29 terms of challenges that you faced in 15:31 the past year or so during the pandemic 15:33 that you think stand out in the history 15:35 of the church 15:37 um 15:41 the the pandemic was 15:44 an incredible time of growth for us 15:48 and you use my the word du jour pivot I 15:51 mean it was like 15:52 boom we had to pivot immediately so 15:56 we uh we never missed a Sunday 15:59 we had uh 16:00 technology our first thing of technology 16:02 was an iPhone and an iPad and we were we 16:06 went to Zoom and Facebook and now we 16:07 have cameras and and lights and and 16:10 everything else and uh the pandemic 16:13 taught us the value 16:15 of community and that 16:18 I think we were people were more willing 16 #pandemic �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 16:20 to be vulnerable with each other and 16:23 that hunger to connect and to be part of 16:26 something 16:27 greater than yourself really 16:30 really came through and we're we're a 16:32 different church we're a better church 16:35 a more responsive church than we were 16:37 before and oh my gosh we were very 16:40 involved 16:41 with 16:42 with the community and responding to 16:44 community 16:45 needs but during the pandemic it it 16:47 really it got real we started a food 16:50 program 16:52 we were delivering meals to 16:54 people in need on a weekly basis and my 16:57 idea was of need is not only a monetary 17:00 need but 17:02 parents who were just done with cooking 17:04 for the week um you know they would they 17:07 would call me up or somebody would 17:09 nominate them and we delivered them a 17:11 full meal for Christmas 17:13 we 17:14 uh partnered with our our good friends 17:16 The Buffalo Jump who they live in Waquoit 17 #thebuffalojump �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 17:18 and we gave away drive through 800 17:23 fully cooked turkey dinners 17:27 we wouldn't even 17:28 we didn't even think about that pre 17:30 pandemic and the fact that we have this 17:33 small church with this like big heart 17:35 just delights me some and I think that's 17:37 what people 17:38 see and feel 17:40 and and and think about when they drive 17:42 by that chapel oh that's the church that 17:45 does this that's the church that feeds 17:48 people that's the church that has great 17:50 music that's the church that does these 17:52 wonderful yard sales that the church 17:54 that 17:55 you know reaches out to inviting Afghan 17:58 families to come to development 18:00 that's another interesting and really 18:02 topical question that I’d like to ask 18:04 you about if you could elaborate on that 18:06 a little bit 18:07 we are working with four other 18:09 individuals 18:11 we 18:12 started a group called Neighborhood 18:15 um Support Team 18 #neighborhoodsupportteam �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 18:17 and we've identified three families who 18:20 are opening up their homes they had an 18:22 apartment maybe in their house or their 18:24 their summer folk 18:26 that we're going to we've asked to 18:28 resettle 18:29 uh three families from Afghanistan here 18:32 to Falmouth so we're currently working 18:34 with a an agency 18:36 they're waiting for those families to 18:38 come in from the military bases 18:40 and once they do they're going to show 18:43 families 18:44 our profile that we put together just 18:47 the greatness of a Falmouth you know our 18:49 scientific community and in Woods Hole 18:52 and 18:53 we're ready we've got all our teams put 18:55 together we've raised 18:57 we've raised money so we're ready to 18:59 welcome them 19:01 I think 19:02 looping back to the topic of the 19:03 pandemic it's really a watershed moment 19:05 for a lot of institutions and I would 19:07 hope that the thing that gets hammered 19:09 home for people is that it is about 19 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 19:12 standing up and making sure people don't 19:13 get left behind that's right which is I 19:16 see as the common theme of what you're 19:18 telling me 19:19 yes yes it's um 19:23 I think we saw that during the pandemic 19:26 and it's something that we've always 19:27 known 19:28 is that what 19:30 I think what makes Waquoit unique and 19:32 Falmouth unique is that 19:35 we do have a strong community and and 19:37 and because we're willing to reach out 19:39 and connect 19:41 with others and to make sure that people 19:43 aren't 19:44 left behind and it's so easy to be left 19:47 behind in so many in so many different 19:50 ways 19:51 and the pandemic taught us that 19:54 um you know we do have to reach out 19:57 and welcome people welcome all people 20:00 and that's the other thing that delights 20:02 me about uh Waquoit 20:05 and and not you know when you walk 20:07 inside 20:08 that chapel you feel the sense of of 20 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 20:11 welcome that yes you're kind of stepping 20:13 back in time but you're also stepping in 20:16 to a new future a new reality and when 20:20 you leave 20:22 you're changed 20:24 and isn't that what's supposed to happen 20:25 anyway 20:26 I think so and I think the the extent to 20:29 which 20:30 you believe that is really obvious and 20:32 I’m really happy to see it and um just 20:34 just to wrap up is there anything else 20:36 that you want people to know about the 20:37 church if they're looking for 20:38 information 20:40 no matter who you are no matter what 20:42 you've done no matter what you believe 20:44 in you are 20:45 welcomed 20:46 at our church and you don't even have to 20:49 believe in anything 20:51 then and anytime you just want a tour 20:53 you know 20:54 stop by or give us a call and we're very 20:56 happy to do so oh that's wonderful 20:59 well 21:00 and thank you so much for coming it was 21 �Falmouth Public Library – Postcards from Falmouth 21:02 great to have you as part of this 21:03 project it was wonderful thank you so 21:04 much 22 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postcards from Falmouth Oral Histories Description An account of the resource A collection of transcribed oral history interviews from the Postcards from Falmouth project, 2020-23. Postcards from Falmouth is a local history project made possible by a Library Services Technology Act grant administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Falmouth Public Library Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource pdf Language A language of the resource English Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Falmouth Public Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Transcript of Reverend Nell Fields' Oral History on Waquoit Congregational Church Subject The topic of the resource Waquoit Congregational Church, Falmouth, Mass. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Falmouth Public Library (Falmouth, Mass.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video transcript Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Falmouth Public Library (Falmouth, Mass.) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Nell Fields Anna Lee Falmouth Community Television Falmouth Public Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Postcards from Falmouth Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September 22, 2021 1848 Anna Lee Bourne COVID-19 CPC First Congregational Church Hatchville Neighborhood Support Team Nell Fields oral history pandemic Postcards from Falmouth The Buffalo Jump transcript Wampanoag Waquoit Waquoit Bay Waquoit Congregational Church