The following excerpts are from a personal communication from Priscilla
Horst to Tom Chace. Both are Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse (FPRL)
members and also sister and brother. They are siblings of Nate Chace, a
member of the FPRL board. Alice Chace is their mother and also a FPRL
member.
Priscilla lives in Ohio, Tom in Connecticut and Nate and Mom Alice are
neighbors in full view of Pomham Light in Riverside, Rhode Island.
The Pocasset mentioned in the writing is a section of Bourne, Massachusetts
on Cape Cod.
“April 17, 2006
Dear Tom,
………..
I understand that you will be attending a “Friends of
Pomham Rocks Light” meeting this Tuesday, April 18. Since I am unable to
attend, and since you are interested in the history of the lighthouse, I
was hoping you might be willing to share the following information,
which has come to my attention in recent weeks, with anyone at the
meeting who might have an interest.
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
On Tuesday, March 7, 2006, Mom and I made a day trip to Cape Cod in
search of the burial place of former lighthouse keeper William James Howard.
I had learned from his granddaughter, Priscilla Howard Davis who resides in
California, that he was buried in a cemetery in the village of Pocasset,
Massachusetts. Since the car trip was a spur of the moment decision, the
only “technical assistance” we had was a AAA map of Massachusetts and a
stop-and-ask-for-directions-and-information attitude! It took just three
stop-and-ask episodes to locate the only cemetery in Pocasset which is a
lovely village on Buzzards Bay, 4 or 5 miles south of the Bourne Bridge.
Pocasset cemetery is located in the southwest quadrant of the
intersection of County Road and Barlows Landing Road in the village of
Pocasset. According to the date on the rusting iron gate at its entrance (on
County Road), the cemetery was established in 1896. It appears that the
cemetery has both an older and a newer section. The older, smaller portion
is accessed via the main entrance on County Road. There is no designated
parking area there, so you have to pull your car over to the berm of the
road and walk through the gate. The newer section, which is located behind
(east of) the old section, is accessed by a VERY obscure road off of Barlows
Landing Road. This turn off is just a couple hundred feet east of the County
Road/Barlows Landing Road intersection. To my recollection, this little lane
bears no name or reference to the cemetery. At the end of this access road
is a parking area which basically divides the old and new sections of the
cemetery.
Photo Courtesy Dave Kelleher
Though Mr. Howard is buried in the older section of the cemetery, his grave
is near the back, so the parking area provides the nearest access. As you
enter the old section of the cemetery from the parking area (you would be
facing west), walk about 30 small paces (Mom was counting off
the paces), diagonally to the right (northwest). There is a lovely vertical
granite marker with the name HOWARD on the west face.
Carved in the upper left hand corner is a lighthouse with the letters USCG
under it. Carved in the upper right hand corner is what I would call a “lamp
of knowledge” with the word WRITER under it. I learned from Priscilla Davis
that her grandmother, Alice, who is also buried there, was a writer.
On the back side of the marker (east face) are the following names and
dates;
William J. Howard 1891 –
1970
His Wife – Alice M. Wheeler 1892
– 1958
Daughter – Priscilla M.
1920-1928
His Wife – Dorothy L. 1919 –
1981
Notes:
Dorothy L. is Priscilla Howard Davis’ mother.
Priscilla’s father, William Alfred Howard, is in a
hospice/nursing home on the Cape.
Priscilla M., who died in her youth, is the “aunt” after whom
Priscilla Howard Davis is named.
In a recent telephone conversation with Priscilla Howard Davis I asked if
she had any of the writings of her grandmother, Alice M. Wheeler Howard.
Confessing that “things were not in an orderly way”, Priscilla said that
some family archives had gone to her sister, and some were in her son’s
possession. Priscilla will try to do some research. She did mention that her
grandmother had written a story, “The Lighthouse Cat”, which was about
‘Alexander Hamilton’, a ‘tuxedo’ cat who lived at the lighthouse with the
Howard family. Priscilla remembers this cat very well as she lived at the
lighthouse with her family (parents and grandparents) for a time, and spent
summers there with her grandparents when she was a little older.
I also asked Priscilla if she recalled the name she and her family called
the lighthouse. She said they called it POMHAM ROCK (singular) LIGHTHOUSE.
Priscilla mentioned that her grandfather’s brother, George Howard, was a
keeper at Wings Neck Lighthouse on Buzzards Bay and that her grandfather
assisted George at that lighthouse before becoming a keeper at Pomham Rock.
Apparently both brothers were credited with saving many lives off
.
I mentioned the possibility of a visit when we are in California this coming
June, and Priscilla seemed enthusiastic. Perhaps we/everyone should come up
with a list of questions for her.
Hope this information helps in some way…….
Love,
Cilla”
Read on…..)
Note: I spoke with Priscilla on the phone prior to her journey to Pocasset.
It was evident that she was a person with a purpose and mission. There was a
bit of explorer in her voice; she had a narrow window of time available and
a tug of nostalgia to connect with the memories of bygone days and to
reacquaint with those warm and wonderful moments of childhood. And yes, a
day out with Mom Alice made the adventure personally more rich and fun.
Thank you, Priscilla and Alice, for sharing part of your special time
together on Cape Cod.
Priscilla Horst enjoyed many happy hours with the Howard family at the
Pomham Rock Lighthouse. Priscilla Howard Davis and Priscilla Horst were
childhood playmates and friends for several summers in the early 1950s.
Priscilla Horst recently said, “we were out of touch for at least 50 years.
I have a photo of the two of us taken in 1950 when I was 6 years old. We
probably spent more time together over the next few summers, but we lost
touch. It was in 2005 that we “reconnected” because of the lighthouse
restoration project.”…..
This writer has visited keeper Howard’s family burial site several times
since Priscilla Horst’s discovery. It is exactly as she describes. I visited
last week with Dave Kelleher who took a number of photos. The Pocasset
Cemetery is truly a peaceful location, especially during a Cape Cod spring.
The cat birds had arrived in the tree margins and were brilliantly mimicking
other bird calls. Cardinals sang. Amongst the grave markers, blooming yellow
dwarf cinquefoil crept ‘round-and-about flower-budded hawkweed, all in a
general mix of soft moss and grasses, typical of an open-spaced Cape Cod
soured- soil habitat, and particularly, a New England graveyard. Lichens
clung to polished granite stones, most appropriately. The scent of salt
water carried on the Buzzard’s Bay breezes and a sense of bounding calm
prevailed.
As for keeper Howard’s Pomham Light, it may glow again. He can rest in
peace.
