On The Menu: A Look Back Into The Past

Submitted, for your consideration (with apologies to Rod Serling) – a menu that's been around for almost as long as there's been motorists on Route 1. It's from the former Ship’s Haven restaurant, predecessor of “The Ship” on Route 1, that appears to date back to the 1930s. And it's also got some very useful local history information casually tucked away on the back page.

Word is that if you buy the menu and open it at midnight, an apparition will appear and utter the phrase, "Say, what'll ya have, Mac?" as something vaguely resembling the Lindy Hop plays tinnily off in the background. But I digress.

This 1930s menu, with an asking price of $9.99, features some old stand-by dishes, some of which would be at home on any menu today, and others which might not be – for example, the filet mignon wrapped in bacon and the boneless southern fried chicken sound pretty good right about now, especially for less than five bucks each. And Tabasco sauce had even been around for some 70 years by then.

That duck in orange sauce even sounds tempting. As far as the chicken a la king en casserole or the lobster newburg go, well, maybe I'll try those in another 80 years.

Notwithstanding the non-cartoon reminder that there’s a dish called duck a la king, Here’s a big reason this particular item has local historical significance and value – a back page of the menu tells the story of “The Ship,” and it’s a clear, detailed history unlike what you can typically find today. The image of the page is saved here for posterity.

But basically, the back page says that in May of 1923, Captain James F. Wilkinson, a retired Gloucester sea captain, started a small refreshment stand at that location on the Newburyport Turnpike. From there, the ship-shaped building we see today emerged in June of 1937. That should clear up the whole "I hear there's been a restaurant there since the 1920s or 1930s" discussion.

As noted in other local history – possibly the son of Captain Wilkinson - and his wife as the owners of the restaurant.

As featuring a new international menu that invokes the various ports of the world, as well as the classic days of the restaurant.