Red Horse Inn, where The Bellows once stood. Christopher Setterlund.
THE BELLOWS
Address: 28 Falmouth Heights Road, Falmouth
Years Active: 1933–1948
In June 1933, Cape Cod was a very different place than it is today. The current Sagamore and Bourne Bridges were two years away from being constructed; in their places stood two drawbridges built in the 1910s. The Mid-Cape Highway was two decades from existence; Route 6A and Route 28 were the main roads carrying people all over. There was no television, and there were no radio stations. According to the 1930 census, the year-round population was a mere thirty-two thousand or roughly twelve thousand less than Barnstable alone in 2014. It was a much different world then, except for one thing: food. In any time, people have to eat.
In 1933, just as the Great Depression was taking hold, a new eating establishment opened up in the then-quiet town of Falmouth. It would be simply known as The Bellows, and its owner would make it one of the first landmark restaurants on Cape Cod.
Tekla, or Thekla, Hedlund was born on Long Island in the town of Lynbrook. She first came to Cape Cod during the Roaring Twenties, summering in Centerville and beginning to establish her reputation for creating and serving delicious food. Hedlund operated the Lustre Tea Room on Main Street in Centerville for five successful years before deciding to ply her trade in Falmouth.
Another tearoom, which were popular during the pre–World War II era, was what Hedlund had in mind, although it soon outgrew anything she had previously planned. Even back then it was quite difficult to open a new business, and Hedlund found herself rejected by the town before it finally agreed after a second application to allow the building to be constructed on Falmouth Heights Road. Local builder John DeMello erected the tearoom, and Hedlund was ready for the summer season in June 1933.
Word spread slowly the first season. Hedlund relied on her reputation from the Lustre Tea Room and positive feedback from those customers who took a chance on her new establishment. Those who did come in for breakfast, lunch or dinner were treated to fine cuisine, including popular items like chicken pie, corn fritters and even lobster. Local lobsterman Sam Cahoon, who had provided lobsters to Hedlund at Lustre, caught them for The Bellows as well. This was no ordinary tearoom.
A seasonal spot, The Bellows set a schedule of opening in mid-June and closing in mid-September. Thekla returned to Long Island with her two daughters for the winter. Upon returning to the Cape for the start of the second season at The Bellows, Hedlund found that business was booming. Whereas in the first season one could show up and find a table, it was now necessary for people to telephone ahead and make reservations. Perhaps it was Sam Cahoon’s fresh lobsters, which were part of a $1.50 lobster dinner. It could have been the $.75 dinner specials every night but Sundays and holidays. Whatever it was, The Bellows was a certified hit, and it would only get bigger.
In 1938, Hedlund received permission to expand on The Bellows. John DeMello returned to help build the two additions. Now, when customers entered, they walked into a large reception hall with white pine walls, a beamed ceiling and a large fireplace. The larger dining area was now complete with maple furniture and a spectacular view of a pine tree–lined garden.
The Bellows grew in business and reputation into the 1940s, with Thekla and her two daughters shouldering the load. That wear and tear eventually came to claim Hedlund. In August 1945, nearing the end of her twelfth busy season at The Bellows, Thekla suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Her daughters immediately closed down to tend to their mother. Despite their best efforts, Thekla would never again open The Bellows. She passed away in April 1946 at the age of seventy-two.
After Thekla Hedlund’s death, the building passed through many hands. Charles Colligan bought The Bellows from Hedlund’s estate and almost immediately sold it to New Hampshire restaurateur William Doukas in 1946. Doukas carried on Thekla’s tradition for two more years, even bringing in well-established chefs and bakers from Boston, before selling The Bellows to John Sheehan.
Sheehan turned The Bellows into a guest house and renamed it the Red Horse Inn, likely due to his love of horse racing. In 1952, the Red Horse Inn was sold to Raymond Duffy to be used as a guest house. Grace and Bob Cashman, who bought Red Horse Inn in 1956, worked hard to make it into a landmark in Falmouth. They brought some much-needed stability to the former Bellows and held on to it for forty-seven years. The current owners have been there since 2011, and as of 2016, Red Horse Inn is still thriving.
However, one cannot help but think back to a different time, a different generation. Thekla Hedlund’s principles of good food and unwavering quality in cooking and service are the hallmarks of any great restaurant. It is easy to understand why The Bellows was one of the first true iconic establishments on Cape Cod.