As I described in the earlier post about the Concord Street farmhouse starring in Episode 4 of HGTV’s Farmhouse Fixer, Good Morning Gloucester was contacted by High Noon Entertainment seeking leads on the history of 2 homes in Gloucester in line for a farmhouse fix. Joey passed it to me, as research is a passion for me. I dove eagerly into the research and found several great stories about each property worthy of telling as part of a renovation project. Although the episodes are very well done, I apparently went down the wrong path and my input didn’t make the cut. But the stories are too good not to share with you all.
Episode 2 of Farmhouse Fixer is called “A Coastal Farmhouse” and has already aired on HGTV, though you might catch it in re-runs. It features an old farmhouse on Wheeler Street who’s families have had a long Gloucester history. The Tucker family is first recorded on Wheeler Street in the 1917-18 World War I Draft Registration records for Benjamin F. Tucker and continues until the mid 1940s. At various times throughout this approximate period, Benjamin lists himself as a clammer, a farmer, a teamster and a liquor peddler (not all of these on Wheeler Street).
This is a snippet from the 1930 census showing Benjamin and his family:
You note this record includes son Clayton as well as son Forest M. I believe this to be F. Maynard (senior) who was the “star” of this photo shown in the episode:
The other son, Clayton is Wesley C. Tucker’s dad and Wesley lives at the Wheeler Street home beginning in the mid 1960s. Wes and his wife Josephine lived there for several years. His obituary says “As a young boy, Wes worked on his family farm, delivering eggs and turkeys to local families and businesses.” His wife Josephine was famous for her turkey dinners and baking skills. These are skills she passed down to her children, including David Tucker who now runs Mom’s Kitchen with his own wife Eleanor. Mom’s is named after Josephine and is such a Gloucester icon that I can’t believe this tidbit was passed over in the show!!!
Here’s an article you might be interested in from the Gloucester Daily Times about the beginnings of Mom’s Kitchen. And here’s a photo of their new location on Commercial Street:
That’s quite a lot from one farmhouse over on Wheeler Street! And there’s your story behind the story.
Good Morning Gloucester 