About 1930 I used to join childhood friends during three summers on Lambert’s Cove Beach, which was the base for Norman Benson’s trap fishing business. There were pilings stacked on the beach, and nets in a shed along the path to the road. There was also a small pier and cooking shed on the beach. One item Norman brought from home before going out was a small pump and length of iron pipe. He used the pump to wash in the pilings, instead of driving them. He set his traps mostly on the far side of Vineyard Sound or in Buzzard’s Bay. He and son Franklin did the work.

He stopped setting about 1932, when the beach became a popular party location. The pilings were fuel for bonfires, the nets rotted, and the little shed fell apart. By 1935 not a trace. Sic transit...

W.R. Deeble, West Tisbury