The Town of Yarmouth has proclaimed today, May 25th, “Jack’s Day” on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Yarmouth Port’s former unofficial mayor, Jack Braginton-Smith. Duncan Oliver has kindly allowed us to share the eulogy he wrote for Jack at his funeral service at Thacher Hall in 2005. Jack was a long time member of HSOY and a dedicated local historian.

Most of you knew Jack through the Outback or socially; I knew him through our mutual interest in local history. I first saw him at a historical society annual meeting in September 2000 where he put forth a challenge to do some serious research on Cape Cod history. Who was this guy – no socks, hair looking like it never saw a comb, but having a fire in his eyes about history. The first time I formally met him, I was invited to his apartment over the Outback. Great first impression! Books, paintings, artifacts, boxes everywhere, from quadrants and sextants to a half-used bottle of 19th century molasses. Paths to let you get from one room to the next. Scattered amongst all of this was the most extensive private collection of documents and journals of anyone on Cape Cod. He had read them all, and knew their contents well.

Jack at the register at Jack’s Outback. The restaurant was featured twice on Channel 5’s “Chronicle” and was visited by Rachel Ray for the Food Network (go to the 2:45 mark). The large bowl in the foreground was for “Tips for the widows and orphans.” Anything added to the bowl resulted in a horn toot.

From this beginning, my “Tuesdays with Jack” began. We went everywhere researching, to every Cape town and town clerk’s office, to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, off-Cape to the Peabody Essex Museum, the State Archives, the Worcester Antiquarian Society, the New Bedford Whaling Museum, and many other places. It’s not surprising that in virtually every place there were people who knew Jack or knew of him.

He charmed all librarians and town clerks, except for one town clerk who shall remain nameless. She wouldn’t let us see the documents and wanted us to pay to have one of her staff research the information. Needless to say, that town didn’t get a thank you in our whaling book! Jack - he wanted to go to court under the “freedom of information” act. Fortunately, the Mormons microfilmed all town records and these are available in the state archives, so we only had to make a couple of extra trips to Boston. The other town clerks were great.

On our first trip to Nantucket, his son John met us at the boat, showed us where to go and introduced us to those in charge, thus saving us considerable time and effort with his help. He even treated us to lunch! We went one other time without notifying John. We hadn’t been there 30 minutes before he showed up asking how he could help. He has a network which rivaled Jack’s.

Jack once gave me a list of twenty books he wanted us to write; neither of the two books we did write were on the list. After we were finished researching and had started the serious writing, I’d wait for the call - “Hey Dunc, you’ll never guess what I just found” and that would lead us to another chapter or further adding to existing information. It really crushed him that after we printed Cape Cod Shore Whaling, he found four additional documents concerning a 1724 court case contesting a whale. Since virtually all of Barnstable County’s records had burned in a fire in 1828, Jack owned the only copies of this trial.

Some of you might know that Jack only typed using capital letters. I think he thought he was a reverse EE Cummings, the poet who never capitalized. I couldn’t scan through OCR any of his writing. I type using only one finger – we made a fine pair!

In the 70s, 80s, and 90s, Jack wrote a number of articles for newspapers. We continued those, from articles for Cape Cod Life (they paid us – every other article was free), The Barnstable Patriot, and research for writing Images in Time. We wrote frequently for HSOY’s monthly page in the Register and any money our books earned went to the historical society.

Losing his second big toe caused a change of our regular meeting day. Jack and I would go early for his Wednesday appointments to the foot doctor in Sandwich. We would take side trips on the way, often arriving just a wee bit late. Dr. Schaum never complained. I’ll never forget Jack going in to the waiting room and then heading immediately for the bathroom – he did that frequently as you who know him understand but he came out and loudly (he was quite deaf) told the receptionist that the toilet paper was on upside down. The entire time he lived above the Outback the toilet paper sat on the floor. That was Jack!

On one trip, we started late because Jack couldn’t find his belt. We both looked for it unsuccessfully - finally I told him I had rope in the car. We’d make a belt. That was fine but the pants still slid down so we made suspenders out of more of the yellow rope to hold them up. I ripped open my pocket getting the rope from the trunk. When we walked into the Sandwich wound center, we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies.

Jack was in and out of hospitals and rehab facilities frequently as the result of that second toe. If he was sleeping when I got there, I’d say “Wake up, you old coot.” His answer always – “Oh God, Oliver, why couldn’t it be the Swedish twins.” One time he saw Ensign Cash (a friend) at the Wound Care clinic – both started insulting each other and I thought there was going to be a fight except one was in a wheelchair and the other on crutches and there was no way for them to get at each other. The nurses resolved it by calling both men and putting them in separate examination rooms.

We spoke to many groups about our research. One such group Jack couldn’t go to because he was at Epoch Center. It was to be a ham and bean supper followed by our talk. I asked him if he had anything he wanted me to relay. He told me, “Dunc, don’t ever speak to a group after they’ve eaten beans – if you have to, stand near the door.”

Certain things will always remind me of him - poached eggs at the Red Cottage, BLTs, lots of pepper on everything, tomato soup, and ginger snaps dipped in hot tea. My wife Carol and I learned that he really disliked lima beans after she served them to him once, and he disliked vegetables cooked al dente.

Ben Muse’s Parnassus Books was a favorite haunt of Jack’s. When he found a book or papers and couldn’t afford them, he’d hide them behind other books in various parts of the store until he had enough money. One day a man came into Jack’s carrying a French cookbook that Jack coveted. Jack asked him where he got it and the man said Parnassus. Jack was furious because he had hidden that book until he could pay for it.

Jack had been a wine sommelier but would drink two buck Chuck, and disliked Merlot because he thought the grapes were inferior. His drink of choice this past year has been Diet Pepsi.

He had expressions he often used around us – PEACHY – sometimes as PEACHY KEEN, WHAT A JOY, IXNAY, the SWEDISH TWINS (Jack’s imaginary blonde friends), THE MILITANT QUAKER (Paul Noonan), I KNOW THAT. His expression – JUST A SLIGHT MISUNDERSTANDING he used frequently at speeches to explain why the early Smiths who were involved with shorewhaling were so very tough and nasty. I really wish that just once more I could hear on the telephone – JACK HERE -

Jack is now in heaven, once again with Heather (his daughter) and talking with Edward (Gorey) and Herbert (Senn), Baroque music playing in the background. In this heaven you can have all the salt you want on your food, no lima beans, he is wearing Edward’s white tennis shoes and Herbert’s sweater, there are no combs, and all clothes are wrinkle free.

Jack, Carol and I are really going to miss you. Knowing you – WHAT A JOY!

I love you, you old coot.

——

Jack’s daughter, Dianna, asks that to honor her father’s memory you consider a donation to HSOY, become a member, or donate to or visit one of Jack’s favorite Yarmouth Port spots named below.