South Shore history – W. Ray Freden

December 27, 2021December 27, 2021

MY BEACH BUGGY DAYS

PART 1.

I will cover some history of over-sand vehicles. Driving on beaches goes back to the horse and buggy days. Every photo of vintage ship-wrecks along our Cape Cod beaches has horse & wagons or buggies on the sand. I would expect soft sand gave them trouble but that would be expected on any beach.
So wheeled vehicles were used to spectate, to haul survivors or remove wreckage.

A gathering of friends on the beach in the early 1900’s.

When the motor vehicle arrived, it was used exactly the same way for the same purposes on the sandy beaches. The biggest problem was the motor vehicles’ power came from a rear drive-wheel with little traction, and a wagon is being pulled by outside power.

A 1925 Ford Model T Sandmobile

Early auto tires needed high pressure to keep the tires on the rims, and this also contributed to poor traction. As the years went on, the tires got wider which helped some. Henry Fords Model T became a popular over-sand vehicle which was fitted with various additions to the wheels both for sand and snow.
The big cars used larger tires to support its weight. These tires were quickly adapted for use on the light Ford “T” bone cars & pickup trucks.

1930 Model A Ford Coupe

Hunting and fishing camps out on remote sand dunes needed an over- sand vehicle to transport people and supplies. A beach buggy proved to be an asset. And thanks to Henry Ford, his later Model A & B ‘s proved to be an even better vehicle for use over the sand with a more powerful engine and a 3-speed transmission, with wider rims & tires.
Lowering the air pressure allowed the tires’ contact area to pooch out creating a larger footprint giving more traction.
Remember, these were two-wheel drive vehicles going places where only four- wheel drive go today. With a two wheel drive vehicle, only one wheel drives, usually the right rear in forward and the left rear in reverse.

I’m not going to get into four-wheel drives & posi-trac differentials.

The biggest problem was the tube tire. At a lower pressure, it allowed sand particles to seep past the tire bead. These particles got between the inside of the tire and tube, causing an irritation to the tube and eventually creating tiny holes, resulting in a flat tire and an undrivable vehicle. I can tell you all about that aggravating experience which happened over and over!

The next problem was pumping up a deflated tire to drive home on a paved road. Some innovating mechanics took an old refrigerator pump and attached it to a belt driven by the engine. This compressor was a fast way to pump up. I was in envy of these contraptions.
A company, Enginair, came up with a tiny compressor that screwed into a spark plug hole and was operated by the engine compression. It was slow, but it worked for those of us without a real compressor. The sand creeping into a tire was solved by the tubeless tires, which were first used as a standard item on Chrysler vehicles about 1946. I was one of the first to use them and was told by old-time beach drivers that they wouldn’t work because the tire would come off the rim at low pressure. Any one that changed tubeless tires, knew that it was a real task to break down a tubeless safety rim without a special machine.

A 1936 Ford woody, two wheel drive, wagon, and with balloon tires, giving dune tours in Provincetown .

The late 40’s & early 50’s became a boom of various over-sand vehicles and Beach Buggies along our Cape Cod beaches, along with dune buggies, used on the mid-west dunes and sand rails used on the west coast for racing on sand.

Model A Ford dune buggys

The Myers Manx fiberglass body on a VW chassis became very poplar in the ’60’s

Surf-fishing became a very popular sport along both the East Coast and the West Coast. All along the East Coast, Striped Bass were sought-after by many surf-fishermen, along with other species of fish.

My first over-sand experience, about 1957, was with a friend from Scituate in his 1948 Chevy convertible. He made wide rims and installed large tires to drive on sand. He took me over the sand cliffs of the Boston Sand and Gravel pits off the Driftway in Scituate. It was an experience I’ll never forget…….Jim, driving up and over sand hills with ease….it was a real thrill!

RIGHT OFF I GOT THE BUG………. THE BEACH BUGGY BUG!

My Dad had the perfect truck to be converted to a beach buggy. It was old, but tough. In the 50’s there was little to no camping gear to add for creature conveniences. This would include cooking gear, water…enough for a weekend, a sleeping area and other comforts. But most important was getting this old truck over the sand and learning how to drive on sand.

This is what my 1936 International “C” looked like new. It was purchased by Lloyd Frisbie for his plumbing business from 1937 to 1950. Then replaced by a ’50 Ford pickup.
My Dad then used it to carry & store his small tractor. I obtained it in 1958.

The first area addressed were the tires. Off to the local garages to find large worn tires that were still usable. The big cars ran 8:20 X 15″ tires….perfect for most beach buggies. Most of the time these were free.
Next was a collection of accessories for getting yourself unstuck.
Bumper-jacks worked best, plywood jack pads, shovels, rope or chain, and an air-gauge for accurate low tire pressure.

15-gallon keg for water, dog house for sleeping, a Jerry can for washing water, awning fly, 8:20′ x15 tires on 10″ rims.

READY FOR A TRIAL RUN?

The closest remote beach was a barrier beach of a few miles. Duxbury Beach could be accessed two ways….one from Green Harbor through a private parking lot overlooking the ocean and the other was over a half-mile wooden bridge from Powder Point in Duxbury.
In the early days there were no fees or permits needed. An over-sand vehicle could. drive the beach to the Gurnet and Saquish beach.
On a nice spring Sunday, I got my friend from Scituate to accompany me to Duxbury Beach via the long wooden bridge off Powder Point to the inside trail, south along the bay. A stop was required to lower the tires’ air pressure of 20 pounds. This pressure allowed driving on the road back to the St. George Street garage to pump-up.
We drove to High Pines a two-mile run. We crossed over to the beach and returned on the beach side……all without a hitch—- WHOOPIE!

We pumped up the tires at the garage and drove back home to plan the next addition.
To shorten this up a bit, the additions came slowly and as needed….Jerry cans for extra water, a kitchenette I custom made, a 15-gallon keg on top to carry water, a dog-house on top with a mattress for a comfortable night’s sleep, a large cooler, an awning, folding table & chairs, and many other creature comforts.

Part 2. will consist of some adventures on beaches from Humarock to Provincetown.

W. Ray Freden.

July 7, 2010November 25, 2020

SC 241 – The Mysterious Wreck in the Hanover Flats

The SC 241 being scrapped

As long as I can remember, I was mystified by the boat or ship atop the marsh in ”The Hanover Flats,” on the South River . Sometimes during the summer, at night, my Dad, Mom and I would take a ride to Humarock and up to the cliff. As we passed Hatch’s Boat Yard, the dim shadow of the boat would appear out atop of the marsh, with dim lights showing thru the windows.

My Dad said it was once a Rum-runner — oh wow, more mystery! Dad told me it was there before he arrived in 1927. Dad worked for Charlie Clark of Clark’s Store in the early ’30s and said that the people who lived in the boathouse on the flats would come to the store for groceries during the summer — but he didn’t know their names or where they came from.

During the summer, two or three dories or skiffs would be tied to the rear porch built on the back (stern) of the boat. A large square box-like structure was built in the middle, like living quarters. A line of windows could be seen from Central Ave. There was a tall flagpole near the center. I remember it as being grey natural wood with little paint.

A few of the Humarock kids that had boats would go aboard in the fall or spring, when no one was there, and tell stories about the skeletons seen inside. Not true, but it made even a greater mystery! Oh, how I wanted to go aboard and see for myself. I never did.

There have always seemed to be conflicting stories about the history of the mysterious wreck on the Hanover Flats in the South River, between Humarock and Branch Creek, which is south of Trouants Island. In Edward Rowe Snow’s story about the Submarine Chaser S-241, published in the Patriot Ledger on 12/11/67, he wrote, “First I was informed that the craft was a rum runner which was trapped during prohibition days under heavy gunfire at half tide on Hanover Flats, after which it was abandoned.” I really like that part — my Dad told me many stories of the rum running days in Humarock.

Snow goes on, “Then I was told it was not a rum runner but a rum chaser which, after a successful career, ended her days on the edge of the North River and went ashore at the Hanover Flats in a gale. This story was objected to by a prominent resident of the area who told me that it was neither a rum runner nor a rum chaser but actually a submarine chaser which had been converted into a Rum runner during prohibition and operated in the Marshfield-Scituate area for three years, during which time its owner buried hundreds of cases of liquor at various places on the marsh, two of which I was taken to. Surely enough, it did appear as though something had been placed there at some time.”

Snow continues, “My informant also assured me that there were still scores of bottles which had been hastily pushed into the soft ooze in the area and were still there. As to whether the contents were useable , he did not offer any comment.”

These are the same stories I heard from Seaview and Humarock residents in the ’40s. I will have more about buried “hooch” later. Many times I passed the remains of the mysterious wreck to go clamming in the area. The ribs stuck up maybe three feet with some planking still attached. One shaft lay in the middle for years. Not until 1967 did I learn the much more accurate story about the SC 241 from the Edward Rowe Snow article.

Peeking through the remains of the SC 241 Submarine Chase

Dolly Snow Bicknell

A total of 447 SCs were built. The New York Launch and Engine Company at Morris Heights, New York built the SC 241 in 1918. Commissioned April 8 1918, and captained by Ensign Robert L. Mills, she was 110 feet long, beam 14’9”, and draft 5’8′. Her speed was 18 knots, powered by 3three 220 hp gasoline engines, with three props, endurance 1000 n.m. Her armament included a 3” gun, two 30 cal. machine guns and one Y gun.

The origin of the Submarine Chaser (SC) traces back to World War I and the SC-1 class, wooden hulled, “Splinter Fleet.” The SC was designed for off shore patrols and anti-submarine warfare.

The SC 241 left New London, Connecticut, on May 13,1918, after being outfitted with submarine detectors and wireless telephones. She arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, five days later. On July 11, 1918, in the company of SC 247, she sighted a U-boat on her starboard side in a thick fog. At 3:40 p.m., she sighted a torpedo heading for a freight ship, which managed to avoid the torpedo. Pursuing the U-boat, she was able to get less than 35 yards away and then fired depth charges from the “Y” gun. One charge landed 10 yards in front of the periscope, which immediately disappeared. Five seconds later, a terrific explosion followed.
It is not known whether the U-boat she destroyed was ever identified.

After the war, the SC 241 was struck from the naval registry. She was sold for scrap on May 11, 1921, to the C.P. Comerford Co. of Lowell, Massachusetts, and stripped of guns, engines and all hardware. Sometime later she was sold to a John F. Smith, and towed by a tug to the South River, where she was then anchored. The Smith family painted the interior in various colors. The SC 241 came with a pilot house and a crow’s nest.

The SC 241 as I remember it c. mid 40’s by W. Ray Freden 2019.

A storm in November 1925 caused the SC 241 to break away from her mooring. Blown across the marsh, she became stranded on the Hanover Flats. The Smith family dug a trench in the marsh and settled the sub-chaser into the south side of the flats. The family added a five-room structure, a rear porch, and a landing on the stern, which faced south. The family used the SC 241 as a summer home for many years.

The SC 241 with a six room living structure built atop by the Smith Family in the mid ’20’s.

Photo, collection of Janet Fairbanks.

During World War II, the history-making SC 241 was used less, and without care, began to deteriorate. Torched by vandals, she burned to the water line as fire companies watched helplessly from Central Ave. in Humarock. I never heard that anyone was charged with the arson.

On Monday July 1, 1968, the 50th. anniversary of the SC 241’s proudest moments, a small group from the Massachusetts Marine Historical League visited what remained of the craft out on the Hanover Flats. After a brief ceremony the members paid their respects to the crew of the SC 241 who had achieved fame half a century before, out on the rough waters of the North Atlantic when they sent a German Submarine to the bottom.

S.C.’s wasting away in Dorchester Bay. c. 1920’s

”We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch-we are going back to whence we came .” John F. Kennedy

W. Ray Freden Seaview/ Marshfield, 70 years.

Note: Much of this information came from Edward Rowe Snows “Sea and Shore Gleanings, “ published in The Patriot Ledger on 12/11/67. The coordinates are 42º 09′ 10. 88” N x 70º 42′ 21. 81” W. These are very close to the site were the SC 241 once was.