Here are our pictures from this year's "Old Home Day" for the town of
Carver, Massachusetts. This was Carver's 108th Old Home Day. The highlight of the day is the
clambake among the pines of Shurtleff Park during the afternoon of Old
Home
Day.
This picture shows people gathering in the park before the clambake.
Steam can be seen rising from the clambake pit in the
background. The food is still cooking in the pit. Click any
picture for a larger
image.
The clam pit. Earlier that morning, the pit was dug, rocks
were placed the bottom, and a roaring fire was built on top of the
rocks. Once the rocks were hot, the fire was doused and the
long rakes (foreground) were used to pull the remaining logs from the pit.
Seaweed was placed over the hot rocks, then the wire frames
full of food (clams, white fish, corn, hot dogs, sausages, stuffing,
onions, white potatoes, sweet potatoes) were carefully stacked over the
seaweed. The entire stack was then covered with corn husks
and tarps. The rocks heat the seaweed, and the resulting
steam rises through the stacked frames, cooking and flavoring all of
the food. In about an
hour, the pit will be opened, and the food will be served. In
the meantime, there are plenty of other activities to enjoy.
The bandstand at Shurtleff Park in Carver Massachusetts. On
Old Home Day the band plays a variety of nostalgic and patriotic songs.
Diane and Jeff pose next to the millstone in Shurtleff Park.
If you sign the guest book, you will receive a timely
postcard reminding you to reserve your tickets for next year's
Old Home Day. The lobster-pattern tablecloth is ironic --
lobsters are not served at this clambake.
The kids' climbing wall is a popular attraction at Old Home Day.
Crafts for sale at old Old Home Day.
This picture shows how tall the pine trees in Shurtleff Park really are.
A friendly game of horseshoes.
Whoops, it appears it was an entire horseshoes tournament...
The art show displays pieces created by local residents.
Remember to click any picture for a larger image.
This is a classic Cap Code "dunescape".
The art show is open to both adults and children.
On Old Home Day, the Carver Town Library holds a modest book sale.
On display in the hallway was this beautiful piece,
constructed by Marwa Abdelal (age 12). An appropriate title would be "Chipmunks a la Andy Warhol".
Antique cars on display in front of the Carver Town Hall on Old Home
Day.
An antique Chevrolet Nova on display. The car's wheels are
quite small. The Carver Town Library is visible in the
background.
OK, it's time to get down to business. The food is done
cooking, and the crew is preparing to open the clambake pit.
The Carver Fire Station is visible across the street.
The "butter girls" stand at the ready at the staging tables.
After the pit is opened, the food trays are quickly removed,
sorted by food type, and stacked in the foreground. The food
is transfererred to steel buckets (clams) or steel trays (everything
else), and then taken to the tables by the servers. The men
serve the clams, white fish, hot dogs, sausages, and
watermelon. The women serve the butter, brown bread, corn,
onions, stuffing, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and coffee.
I don't know why -- it has always been this way.
Here
is a 4-minute video showing the clambake pit being opened at
Old Home Day, Carver Massachusetts, on July 25 2009. The
smell is incredible. If you walk through that smoke, you will
smell like roasted seaweed and steamed clams for the rest of the day. ________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Or
if you would prefer to download a video file, right-click
this .wmv
file (26 MB) and select "Save Target As".
The diners await their food. The clambake pit (out of view to
the right) has just been opened, so it won't be long now. The
tickets are numbered, and corresponding numbers are written on the paper tablecloths in
crayon. Each plate is stapled to the table (in case of wind).
A view looking up into the pine trees of Shurtleff Park in Carver.
The weather for Old Home Day was excellent (it usually is).
Clams on a plate at the clambake. These are hard-shelled clams, also called "quahogs" (KO-hogs).
The clam's shell should already be partway open (otherwise,
don't eat it!). Open the shell and remove the clam.
Peel off and discard the leathery black membrane.
Swirl the clam in melted butter (to remove any remaining
sand). Eat and enjoy. Repeat.
Jeff says, "What do you mean there aren't any more clams? I'm
just getting started."
Everyone relaxing after the clambake.
Can't get enough of Old Home Day? Here are our pictures from last year.
