e-Newsletter | May 13, 2022
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Come Hear the Story of the Gardens at Castle Hill
Thursday, May 26, 7pm - Free for Garden Tour attendees
Castle Hill on the Crane Estate was first established just over a century ago and developed under the care of the Crane family and, subsequently, The Trustees of Reservations, with work ongoing today. As one climbs the hill, the landscape unfolds to reveal multiple buildings, natural areas, formal gardens, and panoramic views of the Atlantic, a noble estate that epitomizes the American Country Place era.
Castle Hill Farm was purchased by Richard Teller Crane of Chicago from the estate of John Burnham Brown in 1910. Brown, who had inherited the property from his father, expanded the agricultural landscape into a gentleman's farm hiring landscape architect Ernest Bowditch to lay out the roads and some gardens. Brown additionally expanded the farm house into a rambling shingle style cottage. This became the headquarters of the Crane family as they undertook a massive building and design scheme between 1911 and 1928 to create their summer seaside retreat.
The roster of architects, landscape architects, garden designers, and horticulturalists who were engaged represented the best that the early 20th century had to offer. The Olmsted Brothers played prominently in some of the early designs while the Boston firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge designed an Italianate mansion atop the drumlin and 21 support buildings spilling down to the base of the hill. The mansion house was razed by the Crane family in the 1920s and replaced with a Stuart-style great house designed by Chicago architect, David Adler. Landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff, who had left the Olmsted Brothers to start his own firm, became engaged with the estate design and is responsible for some of the most significant aspects including the Grand Allée that sweeps to the sea, the Vegetable Garden, and the Rose Garden. Shurcliff is also known for his landmark work at Colonial Williamsburg, and, closer to home, his improved designs for the Bartlet Mall in the 1930s.
During the last decade, The Trustees of Reservations has taken on monumental restorations of the gardens and landscapes at Castle Hill. Join us on May 26th as Beth Walsh, Crane horticulturalist, leads us through the "Past, Present and Future" of this legendary National Historic Landmark. Free for Garden Tour attendees.
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43rd Annual Garden Tour - June 11 & 12, 2022, 10am-4pm
Join in this tradition - our 43rd year!
A great way to spend the day or the weekend - your ticket is good for both days. Visit 10 separate gardens and get ideas for your own. The gardens are in Newbury, West Newbury and Newburyport.
With thanks to our sponsor, Bentley's Real Estate.
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Twilight Music in the Garden - Saturday, June 11, 7pm
Round out the Garden Tour weekend with this special offering. Join us for an exclusive after-hours musical event in the Cushing House Garden as we welcome mezzo-soprano Kathryn Tolley and members of Theater in the Open to this magical space. Enjoy a unique program of arias and art songs celebrating the natural world by Grieg, Mozart, Handel, and Hahn. Sip a glass of wine or seltzer or a local brew, courtesy of Ipswich Ale Brewery, accompanied by a selection of fine desserts, and spend the evening surrounded by music, poetry, and history in an idyllic setting.
This event is a fundraiser for the Museum of Old Newbury and Theater in the Open. Tickets are $35 members/$45 non-members and include dessert and two drink tickets.
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Woman on the MOON
...a blog by Bethany Groff Dorau
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The Cushing Contralto Controversy
I popped into The Thirsty Whale the other night, my first time back since they reopened. I can’t say I’m a regular, but The Whale features prominently in many of my favorite stories and is where I can reliably run into some of my favorite people.
Which is why it was no surprise that I ran into a friend of mine from my decadent adolescence, who shall remain nameless. And this, dear friends, is the beauty and the sorrow of remaining in, or returning to, the home of one’s youth. In the presence of our teenage friends, we get to be eternally sixteen. We have both changed, my friend and I, but it was the reunion of our old selves – him a Teen Beat-worthy heartthrob, and me a bright-eyed punk rock girl with a jawline that could slice bread. Ah, youth.
And then, while catching up with my old friend, he revealed that he recently worked on the set of the HBO series Julia, about the early years of Julia Child's’ television career. James and I went home and binge-watched all available episodes. I was completely and utterly charmed. Since I am a nerd, I wanted to read more, and because I am a provincial nerd whose loyalty is bound inexorably to Old Newbury, I unearthed a local mystery, a possible subterfuge involving a patrician suffragette, a “luscious” contralto, and Julia Child’s husband. Oh, and some post-mortem landscaping.
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Julia Child cooks a hearty meal for the Cushing family - both true and false. Photo credit: Lynn Gilbert, 1978, Wikimedia Commons.
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First, Julia. What a gal! Next, Paul Child, her husband. What a guy! They met in Sri Lanka. He was setting up the war room there. And then - imagine the sound of a needle sliding across a record - there was this. From a biography of Julia Child, “their mother, Bertha CUSHING Child moved the two boys and their sister back to Boston, where she had grown up.”
Cushing is a common name, you say. Millions of them. Not necessarily related to the Newburyport Cushing family. You’d be right, and wrong. There are a great number of Cushings in the world, and our branch of the family was not especially prolific. Caleb Cushing himself was childless, as was his niece Margaret, the two people most involved with the Cushing House Museum. But lo, a smoking gun.
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The Richmond Daily Times announcement of Bertha Cushing’s Virginia performance. The body of the announcement says, “She is the daughter of the Rev. John Russell Cushing of Boston, a nephew of Caleb Cushing, the eminent jurist”, April 6, 1902 |
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Bertha Cushing Child introduced herself, and was introduced to the public, as the grandniece of Caleb Cushing, at least in early performances. Now, since I collect Newbury connections like some folks collect stamps, I plugged her into my family tree. Well, I tried to. As hard as I tried, I could not make a connection between her father and Caleb Cushing, even as a step- or half-nephew.
I am making this story sound much better than it is. There is no connection between Bertha Cushing Child and Caleb Cushing, at least none after the 17th century that I can find. Bertha may have lied, she may have been passing on a lie from someone else, it may have been a rumor or family story that was repeated until it seemed true. She also referred to herself as a “native of Boston” but was born in Connecticut. What is provable is that she did not claim to be Cushing’s great-niece when she moved to Boston after the death of her husband in 1902 and performed there frequently to support her family.
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Bertha Cushing Child and her children, L to R Mary, Charles, and Julia Child’s future husband, Paul. Boston Globe, April 7, 1907 |
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Perhaps it would have been too easy to check her story when in such proximity to the family of her alleged relative. Margaret Cushing, his actual niece, was alive and well in Newburyport and may have objected to the singer claiming such kinship. Perhaps Bertha understood that she would get more traction from a relationship with Caleb Cushing in Virginia.
It is dangerous to guess at people’s motivations, but sometimes putting the pieces together requires a bit of supposition. What the promotion of Caleb Cushing as great-uncle of the singer reveals, beyond a doubt, is that twenty-plus years after his death, Caleb Cushing was still a national celebrity. What is perhaps uncomfortable to consider is that he was also less problematic in the American South.
I am just beginning to do a deep dive into the legacy of Caleb Cushing. He is one of those figures who seems to evoke devotion and anger in equal measure. He was praised by his contemporaries as “the most learned man living”, a brilliant orator, a skilled negotiator, and a pioneer in the establishment of trade and conflict-of-interest rules. He was regarded by many as a highly ethical man.
On the other hand, as Attorney General, Cushing supported the March 1857 Dred Scott decision, which declared that Black Americans were not and could never be citizens of the United States and were not protected by the Constitution. Throughout his political career, Cushing opposed the abolition of slavery and supported states’ rights, though he supported the Union during the Civil War.
In 1874, President Grant nominated Cushing as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. His nomination was withdrawn when Cushing's friendship with President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis was made public. His withdrawal from nomination was explained away by his supporters as “purely partisan”, but it is pretty damning. Cushing wrote a letter of recommendation for a member of his staff directly to Jefferson Davis, already the leader of the burgeoning Confederacy, on March 23, 1861.
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The New York Times, page 1. January 14, 1874. |
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Though this could be explained by a long-term friendship between the two men, President Lincoln had issued a proclamation prohibiting communication with the rebel leaders, and Cushing clearly and knowingly violated it. The New York Times declared the “DOOM OF CALEB CUSHING” and published a summary of the “TREASONABLE LETTER OF MR. CUSHING”. President Grant quickly withdrew his nomination.
It is fascinating from a distance of over a century how people are lionized, vilified, excused, and excoriated in the public mind. But we know that at the dawn of the last century, Caleb Cushing's name was enough to help launch the career of Julia Child’s mother-in-law, who Julia referred to as “an utterly impractical, pre-Raphaelite creature”. And the post-mortem landscaping? Bertha Cushing Child died in Paris in 1933 and her ashes were interred at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Since her grave was leased, not owned, however, after 30 years, her ashes were sprinkled on a lawn.
I am a little bit sad that my plans to recreate the Julia Child kitchen at the Museum of Old Newbury in honor of her family connections here are dashed. I did so want to think of Paul Child as the urbane, witty heir of a long line of Newburyport folks. Plus, if he had been Caleb Cushing’s great-great nephew, Julia Child would have been my sixth cousin-in-law, and THAT would be worth boasting about.
After all, I have followed Julia's advice closely, at least when it comes to history. “Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."
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We are seeking additional volunteers to sit in the gardens of our Garden Tour. The shifts are 10-1pm or 1-4pm on June 11 and June 12. In return, you'll get a ticket to the garden tour - and our gratitude! Two persons per garden, so sign up with a friend or meet someone new! Garden addresses will be sent out the week before the event. Sign up here.
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Something is Always Cooking at the Museum |
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Cayenne Crab Dip
When I moved to Maine and there was an abundance of fresh crabmeat, I started making the cayenne crab. It's a little piquant and was always a favorite at cocktail parties or a wine evening with friends. -Susan Edwards
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 eight oz. package of cream cheese
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 grated onion
1/2 lb. of cooked crabmeat, flaked
Combine all ingredients except the crabmeat and simmer over low heat in a sauce pan until thoroughly blended and warm. Remove from heat and stir in crabmeat. Can be served with crusty bread, crackers or raw veggies. It is also excellent as a filling for a three egg omelet.
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Click on image above to play the puzzle |
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Iris in bloom
Cushing House lower garden
Museum of Old Newbury
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Museum e-Newsletter made possible through the
generosity of our sponsors:
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Museum of Old Newbury
98 High Street
Newburyport, MA 01950
978-462-2681
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