Remembering the clambake pavilion
at Perry’s Grove in North Dartmouth
By Robert Barboza
Chronicle Correspondent
DARTMOUTH – One of North Dartmouth’s longest running and most popular businesses, Perry’s Grove and Clambake Pavilion on Hathaway Road, was recalled in Sunday’s lecture at the Russells Mills Schoolhouse by Dartmouth Historical & Arts Society president Bob Harding.
He was assisted in the storytelling effort by 92 year-old former “bakemaster” Marie (Guillen) Bates, a member of the family that was operating the pavilion at the end of its 75-year run as the premier destination in this area for enjoying the uniquely New England shore dinner known as the clambake. Other members of the Bates family, and a handful of their friends and neighbors were also on hand to add their personal reminiscences to the presentation.
Harding started his talk and slide show presentation with a look at the historical roots of the business once located on the north side of Hathaway Road, near the intersection of Slocum Road. Today, the site is part of the Country Club of New Bedford.
“Abraham Perry started the business in 1884” after ending his youthful career as a mariner, Harding reported. Born in New Bedford in 1835, the sailor was living in Dartmouth by 1850, and was listed in later census records as being a farmer living on Hathaway Road with wife Hannah Davis, a native of Westport.
Long before that, the property earned its place in town history as being the site of the first Town Hall in Dartmouth, in the late 1600s, Harding noted. There was also an animal pound there, where stray animals would be kept until claimed by their owners, he said.
In the early 1900s, the business was purchased by the McAvoy family, which continued operations until 1945, when the property and pavilion was then sold to Curtis and Blanche Bates. According to Harding, Curtis was looking for a part-time business that could be profitably run by sons James and Allan Bates in the postwar days.
Curtis renovated an old barn on the six-acre grove site into a duplex occupied by his oldest son James and his war bride Marie, a native of Algeria; and younger son Allan, just returned from service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
The men both worked day jobs, as the clambakes were mostly weekend affairs, so much of the ordering of food and bake planning detail fell to Marie in the early days; Allan was in charge of supervising the part-time workforce, consisting of friends and neighbors and a crew of high schoolers called in to work on bake days.
at Perry’s Grove in North Dartmouth
By Robert Barboza
Chronicle Correspondent
DARTMOUTH – One of North Dartmouth’s longest running and most popular businesses, Perry’s Grove and Clambake Pavilion on Hathaway Road, was recalled in Sunday’s lecture at the Russells Mills Schoolhouse by Dartmouth Historical & Arts Society president Bob Harding.
He was assisted in the storytelling effort by 92 year-old former “bakemaster” Marie (Guillen) Bates, a member of the family that was operating the pavilion at the end of its 75-year run as the premier destination in this area for enjoying the uniquely New England shore dinner known as the clambake. Other members of the Bates family, and a handful of their friends and neighbors were also on hand to add their personal reminiscences to the presentation.
Harding started his talk and slide show presentation with a look at the historical roots of the business once located on the north side of Hathaway Road, near the intersection of Slocum Road. Today, the site is part of the Country Club of New Bedford.
“Abraham Perry started the business in 1884” after ending his youthful career as a mariner, Harding reported. Born in New Bedford in 1835, the sailor was living in Dartmouth by 1850, and was listed in later census records as being a farmer living on Hathaway Road with wife Hannah Davis, a native of Westport.
Long before that, the property earned its place in town history as being the site of the first Town Hall in Dartmouth, in the late 1600s, Harding noted. There was also an animal pound there, where stray animals would be kept until claimed by their owners, he said.
In the early 1900s, the business was purchased by the McAvoy family, which continued operations until 1945, when the property and pavilion was then sold to Curtis and Blanche Bates. According to Harding, Curtis was looking for a part-time business that could be profitably run by sons James and Allan Bates in the postwar days.
Curtis renovated an old barn on the six-acre grove site into a duplex occupied by his oldest son James and his war bride Marie, a native of Algeria; and younger son Allan, just returned from service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
The men both worked day jobs, as the clambakes were mostly weekend affairs, so much of the ordering of food and bake planning detail fell to Marie in the early days; Allan was in charge of supervising the part-time workforce, consisting of friends and neighbors and a crew of high schoolers called in to work on bake days.
“I learned the clambake business, and was in charge of it from then on,” Marie recalled. “Early in the morning, we’d get the fresh clams delivered” and get them washed and prepped for cooking, she said. Quahogs would be scrubbed and boiled, then ground up to make chowder and the seafood stuffing for the clambake, she remembered.
Then, the rest of the clambake ingredients would be prepped and assembled, Marie reported. Sausages, fish, white and sweet potatoes, onions and corn would be readied and placed into wire-bottomed trays and bags ready for placing on the wetted hot rocks that would generate the steam for cooking the tasty components with a wood-fueled fire.
“We were very fussy” about the quality of the ingredients, and the authentic manner in which they were all cooked together to create a first class clambake, Marie said. “We were the only ones around who had a real old-fashioned clambake...” all for the 1940s and 1950s price of $2.25 or $2.50 per person, she noted.
“We were not serving individual people, only groups... sometimes we served over a thousand people,” Marie remembered. “We used to work like the demons all day long, then take a shower and go to the restaurant to eat,” she added. It was hard work for all involved, “but it was fun,” she said.
The restaurant reference was to the Robin Hood Restaurant, not far from the clambake pavilion, which was also owned by Curtis and Blanche Bates and part of the same Robin Hood Restaurant Corporation.
Then, the rest of the clambake ingredients would be prepped and assembled, Marie reported. Sausages, fish, white and sweet potatoes, onions and corn would be readied and placed into wire-bottomed trays and bags ready for placing on the wetted hot rocks that would generate the steam for cooking the tasty components with a wood-fueled fire.
“We were very fussy” about the quality of the ingredients, and the authentic manner in which they were all cooked together to create a first class clambake, Marie said. “We were the only ones around who had a real old-fashioned clambake...” all for the 1940s and 1950s price of $2.25 or $2.50 per person, she noted.
“We were not serving individual people, only groups... sometimes we served over a thousand people,” Marie remembered. “We used to work like the demons all day long, then take a shower and go to the restaurant to eat,” she added. It was hard work for all involved, “but it was fun,” she said.
The restaurant reference was to the Robin Hood Restaurant, not far from the clambake pavilion, which was also owned by Curtis and Blanche Bates and part of the same Robin Hood Restaurant Corporation.
The statewide renown of Perry’s Grove was illustrated by one of Harding’s slides, showing an Aug. 12, 1905 article in the Boston Herald, reporting on the previous day’s excursion to Dartmouth by the Bay State Automotive Association. The caravan of 16 early motorcars included Locomobiles, Colombias, Peerless, Pope-Toledos, Wintons and Packards, the news report said, with the trip to Perry’s Grove taking half a day to complete.
A full-page photo spread in a 1954 edition of The Standard-Times newspaper brought to the talk by a Bates family member was passed around to show how the work crews assembled the clambake, cooked the food, and served up the tasty treats. At the end of the talk, a 1950s era home movie gave a more detailed illustration of the work that went into staging a typical clambake.
The entertainment opportunities before and after the clambake included horseshoes, a baseball diamond, and a basketball court, she noted. “They always had a good time. They were there all day; they brought their own booze... we didn’t have any booze to sell,” Marie said.
The pavilion was a popular destination for company outings, church groups, and area clubs seeking an authentic New England clambake experience for several generations, Harding explained. On occasion, the family would also stage chicken barbecues for groups seeking an alternative to the popular clambakes held there.
One of the final slides in his presentation recorded the last clambake staged there, on Aug. 30, 1959, with the flyer shown noting that this was the “last chance” to enjoy a bake there after 75 years of continued operation of the business.
“It was an institution in the town of Dartmouth” for decades, Harding said. Sunday’s lecture was recorded for future broadcast on Dartmouth Community Television, which has about 15 other Dartmouth Historical & Arts Society talks on local history available for on-demand viewing, he noted.
Like past presentations, the look back at the long reign of Perry’s Grove and Clambake Pavilion is another interesting topic saved for future generations to study and enjoy. “We have preserved some of the history of Dartmouth that would not otherwise have been saved,” Harding pointed out.
Gone but not forgotten, the story of Perry’s Grove now takes its place in town history, thanks to the tireless efforts of the society and its members. For details on upcoming talks, follow them on Facebook @DartmouthHistoricalandArtsSociety
Watch the full presentation in the studio on the resource page
A full-page photo spread in a 1954 edition of The Standard-Times newspaper brought to the talk by a Bates family member was passed around to show how the work crews assembled the clambake, cooked the food, and served up the tasty treats. At the end of the talk, a 1950s era home movie gave a more detailed illustration of the work that went into staging a typical clambake.
The entertainment opportunities before and after the clambake included horseshoes, a baseball diamond, and a basketball court, she noted. “They always had a good time. They were there all day; they brought their own booze... we didn’t have any booze to sell,” Marie said.
The pavilion was a popular destination for company outings, church groups, and area clubs seeking an authentic New England clambake experience for several generations, Harding explained. On occasion, the family would also stage chicken barbecues for groups seeking an alternative to the popular clambakes held there.
One of the final slides in his presentation recorded the last clambake staged there, on Aug. 30, 1959, with the flyer shown noting that this was the “last chance” to enjoy a bake there after 75 years of continued operation of the business.
“It was an institution in the town of Dartmouth” for decades, Harding said. Sunday’s lecture was recorded for future broadcast on Dartmouth Community Television, which has about 15 other Dartmouth Historical & Arts Society talks on local history available for on-demand viewing, he noted.
Like past presentations, the look back at the long reign of Perry’s Grove and Clambake Pavilion is another interesting topic saved for future generations to study and enjoy. “We have preserved some of the history of Dartmouth that would not otherwise have been saved,” Harding pointed out.
Gone but not forgotten, the story of Perry’s Grove now takes its place in town history, thanks to the tireless efforts of the society and its members. For details on upcoming talks, follow them on Facebook @DartmouthHistoricalandArtsSociety
Watch the full presentation in the studio on the resource page
