JANICE'S CAPE MEMORIES
Not long after he returned from serving in the Navy during the Second
World War (he was in the Pacific), our Uncle Fran Mardulier and our Aunt
Dot bought several acres of land from a farmer in North Truro and sold a
few of those acres to our Mom and Dad (Rita and Henry Fernald). (It
was probably around 1948.) They then bought (salvaged?) two army
barracks from a base that was being closed down in Welfleet. Fran and
Dot put up their "new" house first, including, of course, the outhouse
we called Peony. Then the Fernald house was raised. I remember our Mom
painting over the graffiti as the walls went up. There were no ceilings
on any of the rooms and no paneling at first. (This made for a lot of
peeking into other's rooms!) Shari, Greg, and I then became the first
generation of kids to enjoy the Cape. At that time, the land in back of
our house, which has since been sold, was a pasture where the farmer had
kept his cows. I remember making "horses" out of pieces of discarded
lumber. We painted them, attached a tail and reins, and rode them all
over the place. I had several favorites - including a pinto and a black
"stallion"! Another favorite memory from that time was our construction
of a two-story(!) structure - deep in the woods where our parents
wouldn't find it - which we called Hernando's Hideaway, named from a
popular song. We had help from our friends the Armstrongs (Paul, Sheila,
and Bill). Aunt Dot and Uncle Fran had a son (now known as Captain
Jim) in 1952 and he joined in most of our activities as he grew older.
Sometimes we were also joined by cousins Donna and Marc Belisle, whose
parents built a house on Hart Road. And, of course, there were those
square dances down in Truro and Welfleet which we all attended
faithfully (with the Armstrongs and the MacLauchlan's, who had a small
cottage down on Great Hollow Road).
July 1948
The next generation to fall in love with the Cape, included Doug and
Laura, Margaret and Steven, Erin and Shelley, and David and Fiona Paul.
Babs and Bill Paul, the parents of David and Fiona, had become
"honorary members of the family" soon after they came to the States in
1952. Among other good memories from those days were the Plays which
were performed regularly - complete with costumes and dialog. Most of
you may not have found it particularly memorable but, for my family,
bringing Tom's Father to visit our families on the Cape in 1972 was a
special time! Everything was new to him! And I don't think any of the
parents can forget the evening that David Paul (newly licensed) drove
Fiona, Doug and Laura, and Margaret and Steven to "dinner" at the Howard
Johnson's in P'town. Fortunately, all went well but we certainly heard
a lot of complaints about David as he had insisted that they use a fork
while eating french fries!
The third generation to enjoy being together on the Cape includes
Michaela and Cam, Meghan and Alex, Matthew and David, Jimmy and Annie,
Kingsly and Cammie, and - last but definitely not least - Max. Many of
them enjoyed the swing set that the Pauls provided in 2003. Starting in
1999, there has been a "Fernald Family Reunion" on the Cape every two
years - except that occasionally there was a gap due to a wedding or
some such thing! We all owe a debt to Laura for inaugurating these
wonderful get-togethers! She has been the guiding light! I do remember
that Judy once called attention to the fact that she was often the ONLY
Fernald at many Fernald Family Reunions! Gatherings usually include wild
games of croquet, loud and rambunctious games of Bonanza, lots of good
food, and, of course, the beach!
I feel certain that there will be more generations coming to the Cape
in the years ahead! We hope they hear our laughter and feel our love
when they come! Jan
