I'm from Onset.
Huh?
That's what I was told when I was raised and that's what I always say.
I didn't know Onset was a part of Wareham until I was in my teens, and I didn't believe it then.
Onset was Onset, Wareham was Wareham. The rivalry between the two have existed since their inception, and to this day, not much has changed.
My mother would walk me to downtown Onset to shop, or go to the Post Office to visit with Aunt Mae, or to just enjoy a stroll.
I have always been fascinated by politics. I don't know why or where it came from. My father was never involved in politics, at least openly, and a rule in our house was that we could not discuss politics or religion. Pretty hard for someone like me. It could have been that my father was a registered Republican and my mother was a Democrat. Could have been a lot of arguing going on and the only way to resolve the issue was not to discuss the issue. Somewhat convoluted, but what did I know?
When we went downtown to Onset, we would occasionally run into "our" Selectman.
His name was "Scup"  Merrihew, and he was bigger than life. Not only was he a large man(of course everyone looked huge to me...but he WAS a large man), he drove around Onset in his Cadillac, always wearing a large Fedora and smoking a huge cigar.
I remember the first time I met him. I was probably 4 years old and my mother and I were downtown, when she whispered in my ear, "Here comes a VERY important man. His name is Mr. Merrihew, and he is our Selectman."
She said it with such reverence, I was immediately intimidated.
"Be very polite." She said.
"Scup" walked up to us, removed his Fedora, reached out for my mother's hand and said, "Good morning, Gloria. Who is this young man?"
My mother very respectfully introduced me to him.He shook my hand, smiled and said,"Are you going to vote for me this election, Biffy?"
I stood as erect as I could and politely said, "Yes sir. Your OUR Selectman."
He laughed, replaced his hat, tipped the end of it to my mother, and walked down the street talking to everyone and shaking hands with every person he saw. I watched him walk away, and said to my mother,"How come he knows everyone?"
She smiled and said,"It's election time, dear."
Fascinating!
My father would bring me to the barbershop and I would listen intently as all around us spoke of the political issues in Onset.
One man I will never forget is Maitland Harlow.
Mait was a friend of my father's, and years later was a very good friend and advisor to me. He supported me in all of my campaigns. He was also elected Assessor of Wareham, but I'll get to that later.
Mait was in the barber shop when I was getting a haircut and he told my father that he was having a problem with the Board of Selectmen, the State and now even the Federal Courts.
He had this brilliant idea.
At the time, ESSO was a very large Oil Company and marketed their gasoline everywhere.
Mait decided to open up a gas station in Onset named"ECCO".
ESSO...ECCO.
Brilliant.
Well, of course everyone was after him, but he laughed and said that he was getting more publicity and business than he could handle from the issue.'
My father asked him if "Scup" could do anything.
Mait's reply was,"No. The other two from Wareham won't help me out, so Scup can't do anything."
Those SOB Wareham Selectmen!
Whenever we went to Wareham it was like going to the big city. The downtown was SO BIG. There were so many restaurants, shoe cobblers, stores of all kinds. They even had a full time Police Officer working Main Street.
Tobey Hospital was there. The Town Hall was there.("Where's our Town Hall, Mom?") No answer.
The High School, the Intermediate School, the Fire and Police departments were there. What a place!
Maybe I should move there someday.
Naw...I'm from Onset.
I went to Onset Elementary School with kids from Onset. White kids, black kids, Cape Verdean kids.
Ironically, the Nation as a whole was essentially segregated. Even in the North.
There was a school in Onset called the Oak Grove School.
To this day I believe it only existed because of racism. But, the Cape Verdean people were not stupid. They never have been, and they never will be.
"Why are so many Cape Vereans claiming to be caucasian?" Someone asked in the barber shop one day.
If my father could have covered my ears he would have. He hated any discussions, in front of me, about politics, religion, and especially race.
I can't remember the barber's name, but his answer I will never forget.
"What do you expect? If they claim they're Negro their kids can't go to Onset Elementary. They'd have to go to the Oak Grove School."
It was many years before I realized how demeaning and hurtful it must have been for the Cape Verdean community to be excluded based on their color.
Strange that two of my best friends in Onset Elementary School and all the way to adulthood were the Powell twins. Janice and Sandra. Black. Not Cape Verdean. Black. African American, whatever you want to call it. Yet, they had no trouble going to Onset Elementary, and I know for a fact that their mother would never claim to be white. She and her daughters were proud of their heritage.
The tension that existed between the white community and the Cape Verdean community apparently exists to this day.
I'll write more about that in the next segment.

Last edited by danoconnell (2009-07-31 10:21:13)