_Local Boy Makes Good On
First Bombing of Tokio_
Eastham, Cape Cod, has a real claim to present-day fame. This
unexciting, though historic little settlement, near the outer end of
the sickle, is the home of Master Sgt. Edwin W. Horton, Jr., member of
the Doolittle party on the first bombing of Tokio in World War II.
On his return to this country, Horton, at the first opportunity,
hastened back to little Eastham for a quiet visit. And brought his
bride to introduce to the home folks.
Eastham is small but historically she is important. The original name
was Nauset. Here the Pilgrims, exploring after their arrival on the
Mayflower, had their first encounter with the Indians. The forefathers
focused particular attention on the fertile soil, Thomas Prence,
Governor of Plymouth Colony, describing it as the “richest soyle, for
ye most part a blackish & deep mould, much like that wher groweth ye
best Tobacco in Virginia.” Today Eastham is still outstanding as a
farming place, noted especially for her asparagus production.
_Provincetown for beauty,
Wellfleet for pride,
If it wasn’t for milk cans
Eastham ’d’ a died._
Thus the sing-song went when, later, the lush Nauset dairy herds
provided milk for a good part of the Cape. And Eastham, truly
farming-minded, would fling back these better known lines:
_The Cape Cod girls they have no combs,
They comb their hair with codfish bones;
The Cape Cod Boys they have no sleds,
They slide downhill on codfish heads._