Members of the Sippican Women’s Club enjoyed hearing tales of old Cape Cod told by author Kathleen Brunelle on Friday afternoon. Ms. Brunelle is also an English teacher at Old Rochester Regional High School.
Brunelle read excerpts from her two books, Bellamy’s Bride and Cape Cod’s Highfield & Tanglewood: A Tale of Two Cottages. Bellamy’s Bride tells the story of a young girl, Maria Hallett, and her pirate lover, Sam Bellamy, who died in the wreck of the ship Whyda when she ran aground in Wellfleet during a storm in 1717.
“There were no lighthouses and lots of sandbars on the Cape back then,” said Brunelle. The tale told of Maria’s struggles of having a child out of wedlock, the infant’s passing after eating straw in a barn, and her time in prison after being held responsible for the child’s death. “She was a very beautiful girl and eventually talked her way out of jail,” said Brunelle.
Brunelle’s second book, Cape Cod’s Highfield & Tanglewood: A Tale of Two Cottages was based on childhood memories, letters and information left by her grandparents.
Her grandparents were the caretakers of the two summer cottages located in Falmouth near Falmouth Academy. Their duties included cooking, cleaning, lawn maintenance, laundry and overall caretaking of whatever needed to be done.
One story included the amazing life of Helen Gertrude Randall, a con artist who lived in Falmouth during the 1930s. She made her money pretending to be an astrologer who could predict the future. When she was in her 30s, she claimed to be in her 50s and sold lotions and creams that could make a woman look much younger than she was. She was invited to Highfield cottage and asked to help turn it into a spa, which was a popular vacation option for the wealthy. When she was finally shown to be a phony, she claimed that she secretly married the owner and promptly sued him for half the property. When that fell through, she went her way, eventually marrying a doctor, who passed away. Randall started a scholarship in his name and was back in the society pages of the newspaper.
Brunelle told the group that the Highfield estate was restored to its original condition and is now known as the Falmouth Theatre Guild at the Highfield Theater. Anyone interested in learning more about the Whyda can visit the Whyda Pirate Museum in Provincetown, MA.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry
