Surf Check: Sandwich

Checking out high tide by The Drunken Seal in Sandwich. Our photographers love the Seal because you can shoot at the waves without exiting the vehicle.

There was a coastal flood advisory, but it wasn't that bad. 

They say it's rougher further east, past Barnstable.

Cranberry Harvests In Plymouth County

As Thanksgiving draws near, we got down and dirty in the bogs so we could equip you with enough knowledge to dominate cranberry discussion.

Cranberries grow in cooler Northern Hemisphere climates. The Southern Hemisphere also tries. 98% of the world's cranberries are grown the US, Canada and Chile.

Wisconsin has supplanted long-time champ Massachusetts as the leading cranberry grower.

However, I would point out that if your Thanksgiving cranberries aren't from Massachusetts, your table is wiggedy wiggedy whack.

We bear no grudge towards Wisconsin, but Thanksgiving is a Plymouth thing, most Massachusetts cranberries are grown in Plymouth County and this sort of sets Massachusetts atop the cranberry hierarchy.

Ocean Spray, based in Massachusetts, doesn't miss the mark with their commercials. Cranberries are indeed harvested by guys in hip waders, wielding rakes. The big difference between the commercials and reality is that real workers are too busy to stop and talk shop with the cameraman.

Cranberries need all of summer and autumn to grow, and the harvest is usually a race against the killing frost. If the frost beats the harvesting, they have to fly a helicopter about 5 feet over the bogs to keep the water from freezing.

Bogs look like this, but have to be flooded to loosen the berries. More on that below...

Bogs look cool with fog over them.

The lack of ambient lighting sort of dulls the cranberry colors. When judging how bland this picture is, know that it was worse before we edited it.

We were going to do a Fog Bog article, but Facebook spamming is high risk, so it's easier/safer to just have a Fog Bog section of a larger Cranberry article.

750 acres produces literal truckloads of cranberries. They are sent off to an Ocean Spray receiving plant in Carver. 

Cranberries are closely related to the Blueberry and the (I'm your) Huckleberry. The English settlers of Massachusetts originally called them Bearberries, as local bears would fatten on them before hibernating. Cranberry was settled on because the shrubs and berries supposedly resembled a crane to German/Dutch farmers in New England. They called it a Kranberre, and the English translation stuck. This crane thing may be true for people with better cameras.

It takes a truck of equal size enirely filled with sugar to make cranberry sauce. Cranberries are impossibly tart, and they require tons of sweetener. You'd need about a box truck worth of vodka to make a Paul Bunyan-sized Cape Codder.

Native 'Mericans had the first crack at cranberries, which they used for pemmican and dye. They called them sasemineash. The first English reference of them dates back to 1550. The first cranberry sauce recipe dates back to a 1663 Pilgrim cookbook. A 1672 book described them as "excellent against the Scurvy."

Revolutionary War vet Henry Hall of Dennis, Massachusetts started a bog in 1816, and he was shipping them commercially as far as Europe by the 1820s.

In 2017, the world harvested 625,181 tons of cranberries. The US produced 379,745 of those tons. Canada and Chile split most of the remainder about equally between them. Wisconsin produces 65% of the US total, while tiny Massachusetts produces 23%.

95% of cranberries are used to make either sauce or juice. Cranberry sauce is part of the traditional English Christmas dinner, as well as Christmas and Thanksgiving in the US of A.

Ocean Spray, which controls about 65% of the market,  fights against a holiday-only bias regarding cranberries. They have relentlessly developed new recipes and marketing strategies to get people to consume them regularly. A 1959 herbicide scare collapsed the market, forcing companies to try to market them year-round.

This effort brought us cranberry juice and cranapple juice. Cranapple was invented by Ed Gelsthorpe (a remarkable guy who has his fingerprints on the first roll-on deodorant, snack-pack pudding, frozen yogurt and the Manwich). Ocean Spray also developed the Cape Codder and the Cosmopolitan.

A.D. Makepeace, who were nice enough to let me shoot pictures of their operations, is the largest producer of cranberries in the world. They may be the largest property owners in Wareham, Carver and Middleboro, but I have no documentation to back that up. They, along with other local growers, were original members of the Ocean Spray cooperative in 1930.

Beatles fans familiar with the Paul Is Dead conspiracy theory point to the song Strawberry Fields Forever as proof. The end of the song has John Lennilon saying something along the lines of "I buried Paul." Lennon claims he was saying "cranberry sauce." Keeping it musical, cranberries are what the singer(s) of the Waitresses forgot to buy in their song Christmas Wrapping. They go out to the A&P to get some, meet a guy and the song ends happily.

Once the bogs are flooded, a thresher like this one is used to loosen the berries. They are then fed to a truck after being raked up by those Ocean Spray commercial guys.

The European Union is the largest importer of American cranberries, followed by China, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. China, who imported $36 million in cranberry products, is zooming up the list. I am not aware if the Trump/China trade war hurt cranberry growers or made them eligible for the series of farmer bailouts that the trade war produced.

Mann Farms of Buzzards Bay also let me roam around.

Cranberry prices peaked at $65 a barrel in 1996, before plummeting to $18 a barrel in 2001. Production outpaced demand.

Happy Thanksgiving!

SE Mass Thanksgiving Football Schedule, Predictions

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope it isn't as cold for this year's games as it was last year

Please verify the time and place for your game with a second source.


WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27

CC/BC at Nantucket, 5 PM

CC/BC is Coyle/Cassidy and Bishop Connolly, teaming up. Both had pretty good programs solo, but C.R.E.A.M. Nantucket could be resting their stars if they make it to the Super Bowl. Guess who's writing this on November 10th? (Editor: Nantucket was eliminated, we altered the score to reflect it)

Nantucket, 28-6


Old Colony RVT at Tri-County RVT, 6 PM

The game is in Bellingham. Two good squads, but you don't want to cross the Old Colony anywhere near Thanksgiving.

The OC, 24-18


St. John Paul II vs Monomoy, 6 PM

They had to make a sequel, because there were many unanswered questions after Saint John Paul I. The game will be played at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy field in Buzzards Bay.

SJPII, 24-22

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28

Barnstable at Falmouth, 10 AM

Falmouth is in the midst of a losing season, but they are at home and hoping to knock Barney down.

Barnstable, 31-27


Wareham at Bourne, 10 AM

If someone moves from a beloved hometown to a beloved new town, how long does it take for the new town to become the home town?

I lived in Duxbury for 22 years. I went to high school there. I was voted most school spirit, 1986. The Thanksgiving game there is like a class reunion.

I've lived in Bourne since 2005. The school is right down the road. I am pretty good friends with the cheerleading coach, have known the head cheerleader since she was 5, a friend of mine's kid is on the defensive line for Bourne and- when I feel like catching a regular season game- I go to Bourne.

Where do I go for the Thanksgiving game?

Added factors include my sister in Duxbury cooking a turkey and my having to be at work in Bourne at 1-3 or so.

Bourne, 13-12

Oliver Ames at Sharon, 10 AM

Both teams have had a rough go of it this year. If you have a male-named team, it looks bad if you lose to a team with a girl name in a violent sport.

Sharon, 24-14


Seekonk at Dighton-Rehoboth, 10 AM

My autocorrect turns DR into Right on-Rehoboth if I try to write out Dighton-Rehoboth.

Seekonk, 31-17


Middleboro at Carver/Sacred Heart, 10 AM

Coach Reeves has Carver High all fired up, but will it be enough?

Middleboro, 14-13


Cohasset at Hull, 10 AM

Hull has the best or second best football field view in Massachusetts, depending on where one rates Gloucester.

Cohasset, 41-19


Bishop Feehan at Bishop Stang, 10 AM

One of these teams will beat the Bishop. Yes, it's an awful joke, but I have a lot of filler to come up with.

Stang, 17-14

Somerset-Berkley at Case, 10 AM

Both teams were poised to do damage in the playoffs, before getting ousted by #6 seeds. SB got destroyed by Holliston, while Case fell in OT to hated Seekonk.

SB, 21-13


Braintree at Milton, 10 AM

Milton is 10-0 as I write this. They have one game against an underdog between them and a Super Bowl. Could they be sending out the JV for Thanksgiving? (Editor: Milton was eliminated)

Milton, 21-7


Weymouth at Walpole, 10 AM

Tough to bet on a road 'dog, even if I am favorably inclined towards Weymouth.

Walpole, 21-20


Bristol-Plymouth at Blue Hills, 10 AM

BP declined my idea of having practices on a mountain to acclimate themselves to the higher altitude. Granted, I would have had them driving to Mount Monadnock after school every day for practice, but suffering builds character.

BP, 11-10


Atlantis at Randolph, 10 AM

I was going to make my usual sign-Aquaman joke about Atlantis, but I am rather fond of them. They're scrappy, it's tough to root against them. How they ended up with a Gobbler (Thanksgiving game) against much larger Randolph is beyond me.

Come to think of it, the new Aquaman is a hulking Samoan guy rather than the corny Superfriends version, and they really should see what it would cost to get him in at nose tackle before taking on such larger programs.

Randolph, 44-7

Bellingham at Norton, 10 AM

If Norton's PA guy doesn't pronounce Norton with a Jackie Gleason impression- no matter how bad his impression may be- Norton needs a new PA guy.

Norton, 21-12


Upper Cape Tech at Cape Cod Tech, 10 AM

There's a kid from last year's UCT team- a tiny running back, may have been black- who might read this without otherwise knowing that the author of this piece was the guy with the camera in the end zone yelling "Yeah, kid! Bad man!" at him after he converted a 2 point conversion to beat SEVT last year. I wouldn't normally involve myself so, but the kid fell into the end zone right where I was filming.

UCT, 24-15


Dartmouth at Fairhaven, 10 AM

One of the editors here is a Fairhaven alum, so I should pick them... but she played the clarinet, so I can probably instead get away with betting on Fairhaven having the better band.

Dartmouth, 31-14


Attleboro at North Attleboro, 10 AM

I love Town vs Other Part Of Town. Blood on blood. You know there are mixed (AHS/NAHS) marriages, rival coworkers, dads who went to AHS, moved north, has a kid or two on the NAHS team and busts their balls over it, moms who cheered at NAHS, moved south and has kids on AHS who she hopes have good games in a losing effort... yup, always a good time.

Attleboro, 31-30


Silver Lake at Pembroke, 10 AM

I dated a Silver Lake girl, and she was so perpetually angry that, 20 years later, I'm afraid of betting against her alma mater. In the interest of disclosure, I lived in Halifax for a while.

Silver Lake, 20-18

Duxbury at Marshfield, 10 AM

Duxbury may be in Super Bowl territory when this game is played. The last time they were up for the Super Bowl, the very same coach who is coaching today sent the JV out for the Gobbler, and they lost 55-0.

Marsh Vegas, 44-6


Whitman-Hanson at Abington, 10 AM

Abington could be following the Duxbury formula (see above). It might not matter.

Abington, 7-6


West Bridgewater at Southeastern, 10 AM

Westie is undefeated and heading to the Super Bowl. They should rest their starters against lightly regarded SEVT. This provides a chance for SEVT to knock off a Superheavyweight. However, a Super Bowl team usually has a deep bench.

The WB, 17-14


Brockton at Bridgewater-Raynham, 10 AM

Brockton advanced a round in the playoffs before falling, while B-R was one-and-done in a smaller division.

Brockton, 21-12

Hingham at Scituate, 10 AM

Depending on who comes out on top in Hingham/Duxbury, there could be some starters resting. (Editor: Hingham, thanks to Duxbury, now has no reason to rest the starters)

Hingham, 17-14


Rockland at East Bridgewater, 10 AM

Rockland had a shocking exit from the playoffs, and looks to take it out on the EB.

Rockland, 34-9


Norwell at Hanover, 10 AM

The Mall Brawl to settle it all! The Battle for Route 53!

Hanover, 23-21


Nauset at Dennis-Yarmouth, 10 AM

When looking at common opponents, you see that Nauset barely got by Falmouth, while D-Y blew them out.

D-Y, 21- 17


Apponequet at Old Rochester, 10 AM

Old Rochester thumped Apponequet out of the playoffs. However, they could be in the Super Bowl mix come Thanksgiving. Blowing out Old Rochester's JV on Thanksgiving isn't as good as playoff win, that will matter little at the dinner table. (Editor: OR was eliminated)

OR, 20-7

North Quincy at Quincy, 10 AM

I lived in Quincy as a kid, but I got out early and am not sure which high school I'd have ended up at if I stayed. Therefore, I have no bias when I pick... even though I was off Adams Street, which I think would have put me in Capital Q.

NQ, 17-15


Holbrook-Avon at South Shore VT, 10 AM

If SSVT continues their playoff run (and I'm writing this before their game against juggernaut West Bridgewater), they could be resting starters for this one. Otherwise...

SSVT, 14-12


Diman at Greater New Bedford, 10 AM

Run-GNB made the playoffs. That, and their host status, makes them a favorable bet.

GNB, 21-10


New Bedford at Durfee, 10:15AM

I once fell for a Durfee girl,
But she didn't feel the same about me,
So when I'm doing the football picks,
I call for a rout by New Bee.

New Bedford, 69-0

Mashpee at Sandwich, 11 AM

The starting time is at 11, probably out of traffic concerns.

Mashpee, 27-17


Plymouth North at Plymouth South, 10 AM

This game should be televised nationally on Thanksgiving morning, even if they have to stagger the starting time to fit the nationally televised parade schedules.

I was at this game last year. It was as cold as I have ever been. Since I dress like a coach anyhow, I snuck out on the field so that I could stand in front of North's propane heater.

South is still in the playoffs! This could bench starters.

Plymouth South, 31-21

Take Plymouth National For Thanksgiving

I am not aware of a holiday more tied to a small town than Thanksgiving is to Plymouth. Only Bethlehem rivals it. Without Plymouth, the whole script is gone.

So why shouldn't Plymouth's Thanksgiving celebrations be televised nationally?

This question is more pressing when you consider that the two things most heavily associated with Thanksgiving beyond the giving-thanks dinners are parades and football.

Plymouth has both of those. They just get nothing beyond local exposure.

How can (and should) we change that?

One obstacle involves the parade and the football game being held on different days. Another is that people have dinners to prepare, travel to or both.

Why take on those difficulties? Let's imagine a best case scenario.

Thanksgiving day starts with a parade, televised nationally. It is routed so that it goes directly past Plymouth Rock and directly to Plymouth North High School. The parade itself will finish with a lap around the football field.

From there, Plymouth North and Plymouth South will play their Thanksgiving game. This game, like the parade, will also be televised nationally.

This brings prestige onto Plymouth. It brings tourists to Plymouth. While switching to this format may have costs, the event will eventually be a yearly cash cow. The broadcast would essentially be a Plymouth infomercial.

ESPN could televise both. There are several ESPNs who could handle this. They could show the parade on delay during halftime of the football game if time is an issue.

The parade could also be televised by a different network if ESPN wishes to stick to sports.

Plymouth's parade would be more Americana than the one in New friggin' York. The New York parade is merely a marketing plan by Macy's. The department store runs that parade to their store, to sort of kick off Christmas shopping season.

Ours, while also seeking a dollar, would be more true to the spirit of the actual Thanksgiving holiday... and remember, no city or town has a greater claim to Thanksgiving than Plymouth.

Plymouth's parade will be more small-time than Macy's. Plymouth will have no Led Zeppelin I sized Snoopy blimps. Mariah Carey or Katy Perry won't be singing at Plymouth Rock (although it couldn't hurt to ask them). We'd have to make up for this with small town charm.

The smaller parade will also be easier to televise, fitting rather snugly into a football halftime slot.

ESPN gets handed a ready-made tradition to broadcast, so America that apple pie would be reduced to a bit part. They could up the Americana with brief vignettes featuring Plymouth Rock, Plimoth Plantation, the Mayflower II and the Wampanoag people.

Plymouth gets exposure, revenue and town spirit.  They stake an incontrovertible claim to a holiday that they already should own.

Remember... without Plymouth, the Thanksgiving we know and love would be wildly different, if it even existed at all. When you think of Thanksgiving, you think of Plymouth. The rest of the world needs to recognize.

Someone should already be working on this.

Surf Check: Duxbury Beach/Rexhame

A minor nor'easter blew through today. Tides were astronomically low and no damage occurred, but we still got out and took some pics for you.

While it wasn't a flood tide, there was enough of a storm surge to top off Duxbury's Great Salt Marsh.

We got soaked a few times once we got to the beach.

This was a weak storm, minor splashover. The seawall repairs were never in danger.

You can hide from the rain and wind behind houses when the winds are from the North, which is why some of these shots are set back from the seawall a bit.

"Minor" splashover is a relative term, tied directly to whether it is your property or not.

One more pic, then off to Rexhame.

Sexy Rexy was about the same as Duxbury.

I had a nice concrete stairway to hide behind.