Recently, the Mattapoisett Museum and the Mattapoisett Land Trust joined together to hold a showing of the silent movie, “Down to the Sea in Ships.” This reminded me of one of my grandmother’s stories. My grandmother, Marion Frazer Hartley, came to Rochester to teach school after graduating from Bridgewater Normal School. She eventually married Jim Hartley and became active in the Rochester community. She was a member of the Grange and a Past Master. She was on the staff at 4H Camp Farley in Mashpee and a member of the Rochester Historical Society, among many other activities.
Grandma was a talented piano player and the organist at the First Rochester Congregational Church for many years. She also played the piano for plays and programs at the Grange. This brings me to her story about the film. When “Down to the Sea in Ships” was filming, it was a big deal in the area with many locals answering the call for extras. My grandfather was one of them and as the story went, he drove a team (horses or oxen that was never specified) down the pier.
Eventually, a copy of the film was sent to Rochester to be viewed at the Grange Hall. Silent movies were accompanied by music, and my grandmother was the one who would play the piano accompaniment. She spent a great deal of time assembling music that would match events occurring in the film.
When the night came, and the Grange Hall was packed with an expectant audience, she discovered the flaw in her plans. Unlike the other performances at the hall, the film required all the lights to be turned off. In the darkness, there was no way to read the musical scores. Not one to be deterred, she played musical selections that she knew by heart, and she always said that nobody ever noticed. Oh. By the way, my grandfather’s scene was cut from the movie and left on the cutting room floor.
By Connie Eshbach