Hurricane Relief Collection, Fundraiser At Trowbridge Tavern In Bourne

Hurricane Harvey ravaged Texas, dropping 4 feet of rain on them and generally screwing up life there for a decade.

Texans were and still are in desperate need of relief supplies. The whole region is a disaster area.

It might seem like there isn't too much you can do to help all the way up on Cape Cod, but you'd be amazed at what a little positive effort can get done.

Mary Ellen McCarthy runs the Trowbridge Tavern... you know, that iconic TAVERN sign (it is very much the Fenway Park CITGO sign of Cape Cod) that you see when you come over the Bourne Bridge onto Cape Cod. That's her place, in the pic right above this text.

McCarthy, a local do-gooder, saw the damage done and started fishing around for ways to help.

Joshua Walbert of Mashpee is also Joshua Walbert, formerly of Houston. Houston got about 50 inches of rain, and some people in the area are living a pre-industrial lifestyle.

Walbert and his main squeeze Lindsey Mahoney came upon the idea of renting a U-Haul/Penske truck, stuffing it full of needed relief supplies and rolling down to Texas like ZZ Top or something. He set up a GoFundMe page to cover his expenses, and he was halfway to his goal as I write this.

Here's the text of his GFM page:

So, as everyone may know, I am from Houston. Honestly, I love the Cape but my family is there and my heart will always be "A Texan." Hell, it's even my football team #GoTexans. 
TEXAS IS ME. 
So, Lindsey and I are going to rent a uhaul, the big one, and take it to Texas, Houston area..... and we NEED YOU HELP!!
MONETARY DONATIONS FOR TRIP
MONETARY DONATIONS FOR GAS
MONETARY DONATIONS FOR FLIGHT BACK UP
NON PARISHABLE FOODS
BLANKETS AND PILLOWS
CHILDREN'S CLOTHING
DIAPERS

UPDATE: we have currently been in contact with Pastor John Mooney at the First United Methodist Church in Vidor Texas. This town received over 54 inches of rain so far and they are planning to get more unfortunately.
This is the information for the church so you can verify my story.
Pastor John Mooney 
First United Methodist Church 
501 North Main Street 
9034223933
john_mooney@alumni.baylor.edu

We are also currently looking for charitable organizations that we can donate the excess money's towards after the trip and after we pay for everything to go down there to Vidor Texas.

Walbert and McCarthy were introduced, they kicked a few ideas around, and even brought in some other people... even little ol' me. Here's what we came up with:

McCarthy's Trowbridge Tavern is a drop-off spot for relief supplies. She is filling up half of her function room with goods.

You can also drop off supplies/donations at White Lion Baking Company on Route 151 in Mashpee.

There will be a Stuff A Bus event on September 21 or 22, we're still figuring that out.

Stevie B's in Onset is also accepting donations for Harvey relief.

In Woods Hole, the Church Of The Messiah is holding a potluck chili dinner on September 11th to raise funds for Harvey victims. Gorgeous church, by the way...

The Massachusetts Maritime Academy is sending the TS Kennedy down to southern waters, I'm not sure if they are helping with Harvey or the incoming Irma. The Kennedy was used as housing for FEMA workers during Katrina and Sandy. We didn't have anything to do with the launching of the Kennedy, but we thought we'd mention it.

The Trowbridge Tavern will host a fundraiser on September 15th. They will have food, a cash bar and music (DJ Cizzle) will be provided. They will also be having a raffle.

BRUINS TICKETS!
Ben and Bills Gift Certificates!
Paintings and Prints from local artists!
Estia Restaurant Gift Certificate!
Amazing vintage posters, figurines, puzzles, games, artwork from blast from the past!
Handmade art from local vendors
Wine gift baskets!
Sass on Main gift certificates!
Multiple Lawn Care auction items from Fire Guys landscaping and Cox Landscaping!!

Supplies are still needed. Here's Mary Ellen:

I just want to clarify my post from today. We are still taking dog and cat food, adult and baby diapers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, wipes, water, toilet paper, cleaning products, medical items, shampoo, feminine products, etc. And in addition to these the Pastor is asking for the following items. Texas is looking for the following items Texas is looking for the following items to try to clean up.
NEW LIST PROVIDED BY PASTOR JOHN MOONEY IN VIDOR TEXAS
Trash bags
Cleaning products
Feminine hygiene products
Dehumidifiers
Fans
Orange Extension cords
Hammers
Pry bars
Saws
Contractor lighting/lamps
Work gloves
Nilene/latex gloves
Work masks
NO CLOTHING!! They already have too much. try to clean up.
NEW LIST PROVIDED BY PASTOR JOHN MOONEY IN VIDOR TEXAS
Trash bags
Cleaning products
Feminine hygiene products
Dehumidifiers
Fans
Orange Extension cords
Hammers
Pry bars
Saws
Contractor lighting/lamps
Work gloves
Nilene/latex gloves
Work masks
NO CLOTHING!! They already have too much.

The Trowbridge Tavern is located at 100 Trowbridge Road in Bourne. If you come over the Bourne Bridge, take the right out of the rotary after the State Police barracks.

The Tavernis open from 11 AM on, so you can dropoff supplies whenever you wish, They are being stored in the function room.

We'll announce the exact times of the fundraiser and the bus-stuffing when we get more information.

Yes, I did time my come-and-take-pictures visit for this article with the Trowbridge Tavern's weekly Half-Priced Appetizers Wednesday night promotion. Charity is important to me, but a man must eat.

Hurry down, I'll save you some garlic bread.

Salt Water Lures Show In Bourne

Bourne is sort of Cape Cod's flyover territory for a lot of tourists, but not for the fishermen. Bourne is Fisherman Nirvana.

Bourne is the only town touching both Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay... although to be quite honest, we're not 100% sure that Plymouth doesn't make contact with the upper reaches of the body of water that is Buzzards Bay. That's something for a future article.

You can also cut between those two bays via the Cape Cod Canal, another fishy factor favoring Bourne. This canal, which runs for 5 miles or so, is a fisherman's destination in itself.

Bourne is the home of legendary fisherman Stan Gibbs. He was the uberfisher who designed many of the basic lures that every fishing supplier copies today. His reputation among scholars of salt water fishing lures is similar to the reputation Karl Marx has among Communists. He has his own statue in town, and his legend is everywhere. If you heard the story about someone fishing a cap off of a yachtsmen's head, that was Gibbs. If you hear about a guy who can cast all the way across the Cape Cod Canal, that was also Gibbs.

No matter how you slice it, Bourne is a fisherman's paradise. You can cast from anywhere in town and stand a chance of catching some sort of fish.

It is the repeatedly stated opinion of this column that Bourne should attempt to cash in on all of these factors and exploit the Angler Potential of their numerous and potentially lucrative fishing hot spots.

This could be accomplished via simple things (advertising in the right places, better access, and so forth) and complicated things (construction of fishing piers, etc...) that might pay off if done properly.

I'm not the Answer Man when it comes to how this should be done. There's a reason I am not running Bourne, and instead seemed to have peaked at writing articles about how the town can profit from things like fisherman conventions.

Speaking of which...

The Salt Water Lures Collectors Club is having their annual convention in Bourne this week. Friday is a members-only affair, but they will be open to the public from 8 AM to 3 PM on Saturday.

You can come in and see the top of the line in salt water fishing lures. You can buy, sell or trade. You can also Gawk, which isn't a bad thing to do whenever you are in a room full of experts. If you live on Cape Cod, you should probably try to have some working knowledge of angler-type stuff. If you fish here, you may as well fish with excellent gear.

I mean, you can go down to the ol' fishing hole with some shoddy rubber lure that you got at Wal-Mart if you're not serious about catching fish. There's a reason that they put sandwich shops on the way home from fishing holes.

Orrrrr, you can ante up and get the good ish. These guys (and girls, fish are tasty and fun to catch for both genders) don't mess around. While I am not a member of the Salt Water Lures Collectors Club, it stands to reason that you don't join up to hock junk to people who will know better/be able to spot junk.

The show is happening at the Trowbridge Tavern and Canal Club. The Trow is an excellent place to have dinner, and is a fine spot to fortify yourself with some Fisherman Fuel before heading downstairs to gawk at the goods.

See you there!