I visit Horseback Beach in Westport, MA quite often. It’s about a 40 minute drive from where I live, but there’s rarely any traffic, there are no bridges to cross and the beach is never crowded (save July 4th), making it a pretty stressless and meditative destination. I’ve been coming here since college - to skip class, swim, nap on a blanket, paint and take long quiet walks. Besides the long stretch of shoreline, there are acres of dunes to explore and trails both sandy and paved.
I was surprised to find out lately that there’s varying stories regarding the origin of the name. Some say it is an anglicized version of the Algonquin word “hassanegk” which means “cellar dwellers” or “house made of stone.” I honestly cannot think why that would pertain to a smooth stretch of beach and dunelands, but it’s a thought, I guess. Another theory is that it was a place where early settlers would graze their farm animals on hot summer days. That too, feels like a stretch. To me, it’s obvious when you look at a map and check out the shape of the peninsula.
Then again, the colonists probably didn’t have Google Earth.
Toward Cherry & Webb, 2022 - 7 x 10, watercolor on board
Horse Chestnuts, 2023 - 9 x 12, oil on cradled wood panel
While in an equine frame of mind, I began to think about the Horse Chestnuts that grew in the stately trees across the street from my boyhood home. Where did that name come from? It didn’t take long to look it up and find that it was because the leaves and fruits of that tree resembled that of Sweet Chestnuts, and were thought to alleviate the panting and coughing in ailing horses.
But, that’s not all - there’s so much more to learn about these inedible nuts apparently. For one thing, their nutmeat has a soap-like property that can be used in gentle cleaning. They are a favorite subject in bonsai, AND they possibly repel spiders. Admirable attributes, all, but their most famous claim to fame (but unbeknownst to me), is that they are used in the British game of Conkers.
Between the abundance of these distinctive shiny globes that landed at my feet every autumn of my youth and the deep English DNA I carry, I am amazed that I had never heard of this popular British pastime until now. Or that my brother and I didn’t think up our own version back on Bryant St. It seems like it was right in our wheelhouse.
From what I’ve read, Conkers were fashioned by threading string through the nuts, creating a sort of bolo and then used to strike an opponent’s conker until one of them broke off the string. Sort of a combination of the early 70’s American toy called Clackers and a Nunchuk. The name may have come from the word Conch (which some say were also used in a similar game in France) or, duh…onomatopoeia…
Anyway, I’ve painted both the beach and the nut without any of this knowledge beforehand, though I’m not sure if I had, it would have made much impact on the artwork. But, then again…