Cape Cod and the Portland Gale of 1898 at The James Library

Cape Cod and the Portland Gale of 1898 ~ with Don Wilding
Sunday, March 9, 1 pm
James Library & Center for the Arts, 24 West Street, Norwell
Tickets: $20 general admission, $10 students
A limited number of free tickets for seniors are available, courtesy of a Cordelia Family Foundation grant

On the night of November 26, 1898, with a killer storm of historic proportions approaching, the steamer Portland set out from Boston. By the following night, the winter hurricane had sent the vessel to the depths of Massachusetts Bay off Cape Cod, claiming nearly two hundred lives. On the Cape, a few dozen victims of the Portland disaster washed ashore, while ships piled up in harbors, high tides swept away railroad tracks and the landscape and beaches were changed forever. Several Cape Cod mariners went to sea and never returned, caught in the gale’s evil clutches. Local author Don Wilding revisits this disaster and the heroic deeds of the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the Cape’s citizenry in what came to be known as “the Portland Gale.” Sponsored by Cheever Tavern.

Since the start of the millennium, Don Wilding has been telling stories of Cape Cod Outer Beach history through lectures, video, and the written word. Don is the author of five books on Cape Cod history.

Don is a Cape tour guide and is a frequent speaker of lore on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, and across New England. He previously served as an award-winning newspaper editor, writer, columnist, and designer in Massachusetts. Don has also led history walks for the Harwich Conservation Trust since 2018 and was recognized as one of their “Conservationists of the Year” in 2023. He also was previously an instructor of Cape Cod history courses for the Open University of Wellfleet and Nauset Community Education.