Woodman

Lawrence Dexter Woodman was born on July 25^th 1918 and was later married on the same day to Virginia Woodman in 1938.  Throughout his life, he was a man of small words and big actions. He grew up around acts of charity; it was in his blood, just like the sea clams and soft-shells.

 Deck was always there to lend a helping hand to his seven children in time of need. However, his generous spirit did not just affect the lives of his family. When times were tough in the community, he always knew how to lighten the load.

 Dexter’s generosity is somewhat of a legacy today in our family.   We have tried to follow his lead by providing our employees with money for their school books, donating our services to various fundraisers and charities, enacting a Scholarship that has given over $550,000 in his name and helping out others in times of need.  As we are approaching the 25^th Anniversary of the L. Dexter Woodman Scholarship Fund we think of him fondly and wonder what more could we do to emulate his spirit and celebrate his life?

 As a boss, Dexter was kind and fair.  He valued his employees and was always grateful for their contributions to his team.  He supported his workers in their endeavors to better themselves through education and was always excited to listen to their stories, meet their families and become a part of their lives.  He saw the good in everyone and made you see it too.

 Dexter was not afraid to take a chance on someone in fact, he loved the thrill of a good gamble.  He loved a good party too!  This year on July 25^th, Dexter’s birthday and wedding Anniversary we will celebrate his life once again!

 Another Scholarship is to be enacted in his name and we are keeping it simple like his nature.   As a way to thank our workers and all that you do for us, two applicants will receive a $500 check to be applied directly to their tuition bills.  All current Woodman’s employees from both Essex and Litchfield locations, that are presently enrolled in a Higher Educational Institution and can produce an official copy of their tuition bill are eligible.  In other words, incoming freshmen and past employees need not apply. 

 For over 20 years, our family has raised the means to support the education of incoming freshman.  However, until now, we have never had a scholarship that has supported the efforts of sophomores, juniors and seniors at both an undergraduate and graduate level. Unlike other Scholarships that involve a lengthy application process we are keeping it easy and fun!  

 Bring a copy of your most recent tuition bill to the Clambake and Marketing Office by 5pm on July 11^th 2011.  Once received, you will be given a number.  At the stroke of 12pm on July 25^th two random numbers will be drawn and announced by a customer.   The lucky winners will redeem their checks for their respective institutions from Wendy Viator in the Clambake Office.

 As a way to remember Dexter’s life, as well as his beautiful marriage with Gini, we will continue this newfound tradition for years to come.  Like Dexter, we hope to encourage and support our employees’ educational endeavors helping them in any way we can.  We know that, for many of you, we are just a stepping-stone on your career path.  We hope that you will remember us fondly as we do Dexter and all that he has provided for us.

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word Woodman’s?  Some think lobster! While others obviously go for the fried clam.  Steamers, clam chowder, clamcakes and onion rings are not too far to follow. Mmm… now even I am getting hungry!

But what about the classic fish and chips?  Nothing says New England and Woodman’s of Essex like a heaping plate of fried haddock and French fries.  Out of all the menu items it is honestly one of my most favorite combinations.  Top it off with some tartar sauce, lemon wedges and cole slaw and I’m hooked (especially if you throw in the Frank’s Red Hot!)

This summer we are bringing The Woodman’s of Essex Fish Fry to YOU.  Not only can you now enjoy Chubby’s famous fried clams in your own home and office, you can also savor our classic fish and chips dish without having to wait in line at Woodman’s!  We are so exited to be adding this new menu to our catering service, as we are the first and the only clambake catering company in the Cape Ann area to be doing it!

The menu begins with our famous, award-winning clam chowder. Later we will serve you a plate of crispy fried haddock and French fries that you will never forget.  All you need is the home-made tartar sauce and cole slaw and you have got yourself a Woodman’s Fish Fry!

Impress your guests this year with the Woodman’s Fish Fry.  All you have to do is show up, eat and enjoy as all the work and cleanup is done for you!  What could be better than that?  Oh wait, I know.  Frank’s Red Hot, I put that $#@% on everything!

Lawrence Dexter Woodman-Son, Brother, Cousin, Husband, Father, Uncle, grand-father, great-grandfather, “Deck,” “Grampy” and so much more passed away on December 17^th 1987.  He was a man of small words and big actions.  Grampy’s generosity is somewhat of a legacy today in the Woodman Family history books
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Lawrence Dexter Woodman (1918-1987)

Grampy’s parents were best described as, “Always wanting to create a business that they could pass down to their children.  In fact, they constantly wanted to provide for everyone.  Both of them had hearts as big as the town.”  Grampy grew up around acts of charity; it was in his blood-just like the quahogs and softshells.

Deck's father "Chubby" sitting in front of the restaurant selling clams.

Grampy was always there to lend a helping hand to his seven children, and their families in time of need. When times were tough in the community, he always knew how to lighten the load.  Grampy gave his children and their families jobs, houses, cars, dancing lessons and educations; yet somehow didn’t spoil them rotten!  Grampy taught his kids how to work hard and take care of their families.  All seven of Grampy’s children are individual parts of him.  If you ever get them all together, he’ll be standing right in front of you.

The L. Dexter Woodman Family-Viginia, Doug, Geoff, Larry, Cynthia, Judi, Patti, Deck and Steven

When awarding Woodman’s with the Small Business Award in 1988, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and close friend to the Woodman family Teresa Eisenhauer said, “Gini and Deck not only carried on the spirit of generosity, but as their success in business grew and expanded, so did the scope of their contributions to our community.  Their quiet and usually behind the scenes thoughtfulness has without a doubt benefited all in our community either individually, or collectively, or both.  Today the Woodman name is synonymous with the word ‘generosity.’”

Leonard recalls Sunday dinners and Monday night feeds in the restaurant with Uncle Deck.  After closing the restaurant on Sunday after a busy weekend everyone would get together for dinner.  It didn’t matter what they ate so long as they were together.  “In the winter we also used to have Monday night feeds every week.  We’d get the whole crew together, make stuffed lobsters, and raise a little hell.”  Besides providing food for their family, workers and friends, Nana and Grampy were known to donate chowder to all the funerals in town, helping families in times of great need.

Dexter Woodman and his loving wife Virginia B. Woodman

Even before we winterized, Grampy sometimes opened for a weekday if we had good weather.  And even if he didn’t open, he would still buy clams to keep the clammers in business.  He’d have to take them to Ipswich and sell them for less than he had paid for them.  He wanted to keep the clammers happy; so he’d buy their clams all winter even though we didn’t need them.  He also bought the lobsters when we had no use for them.  He took them to Boston to sell.  That was good business too.  When the lobstermen were real busy in the summer and the lobsters were in great demand, the lobstermen would say, “Look, the Woodmans bought from us all winter, so we’re going to supply them first.”

The old restaurant

The opening paragraphs of the newspaper article about his death states that, “L. Dexter Woodman was a quiet benefactor to many Essex residents over the years.  Residents recall how Woodman gave them summer jobs when they were young, or had provided Christmas presents when times were hard or helped pay for their college education.”  Grampy was his own kind of Santa Claus; instead of red velvet, he wore Hawaiian shirts and plaid shorts; instead of black boots he wore colorful shoes.

Grampy walking to work in his uniform

Ask any of the Woodman grandchildren about Grampy, and they will tell you the same.  “I was his favorite,” they’ll say with confidence.  Wendy recalls being a child, asking Grampy, “Can I have a lobster?”  He always responded with, “Sure, have two!”  He always had a way of making you feel special.  I was three years old when he passed away and I still remember our walks, our naps and our songs.  Uncle Steve and Aunt Rhonda’s son Nathan read the scripture at his funeral describing Grampy perfectly, “Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It does not envy.  It does not boast.  It is not proud.  It is not rude.  It is not self-seeking.  It is not easily angered.  It keeps no records of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.  Love never fails.” (I Corinthians 13:4-7)  And then Nathan added, “Gramp was love.”

Grampy's children, his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren

Although Grampy passed away 23 years ago, his charitable spirit continues to affect both our family and the community members of Essex today.  The L. Dexter Woodman Scholarship fund was enacted in his name in 1988.  The LDW Scholarship Fund now awards just under $30,000 per year to local students. Along with two students chosen specifically for the LDW scholarship, the fund awards additional scholarships through the Massachusetts Restaurant Education Foundation, the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, Lithfield Nh High Scool and the Essex Lions Club as well as sponsoring 25 honors scholars through the North Shore Chamber of Commerce. To date, a total of $565,000 has been given out over the past 22 years! The money raised for the fund is now generated through our annual Golf Tournament, as well through our many loyal and generous donors.

Deck and Ginni serving up a wonderful meal with family and friends

Ed Holmes, a dear friend of Grampy describes L.D. as, “never forgetting that his family worked for everything they had.  He was a benefactor of the noblest kind, as many can attest-from jobs to education, to Christmases’ never to be forgotten.”  In this season, we think of you fondly Grampy, and all the ways you made Christmas for us and the town a little bit brighter.

The Holidays are here again, and with this time come the memories and anticipation of many heartfelt traditions.  As a family business we pride ourselves on the importance of such events like family meals, warm and cozy fires, good friends and gift giving.  Yet not everyone is fortunate enough to look forward to these seemingly typical holiday pastimes.  Many, in fact, will not even sit down to a meal with friends and family or give a gift. Not because they don’t want too, but because they can’t.

 It is for these reasons that we have joined up with Action’s Project Uplift and their Annual Toy Drive.   Every year Woodman’s hosts the North Shore Radio Station 104.9 and Senator Bruce Tarr, as they travel “aboard” the US Coast Guard Boat from one toy drop location to the next, encouraging North Shore residents to give back to their community members in need. 

 This year, Woodman’s Restaurant will be hosting Senator Bruce Tarr, Santa and 104.9 on Thursday, December 9th from 1:15 to 1:45pm while they collect your generous donations of unwrapped toys.  The event will kick off at 11am with free chowder and holiday music with DJ Pajarillo Mexica. If you can’t make it to the celebration, we are accepting donations for this wonderful cause until December 17th!  We invite you to join us in the Holiday Spirit, and let our family tradition, become a part of yours.

Hey all you foodies out there, ever been to Woodman’s of Essex?  Well if fried seafood is not for you, stay tuned.  As a way to celebrate our 100^th anniversary we are digging through our drawers and closets in search of our most treasured family recipes.  Every month we are getting together to share these delightful dishes with one and other, as a way to relive traditions and foster new folklore.

The Woodman Family Cookbook will weave a history of not only the traditional New England Fare, for which we are so famous, but also how new people and places have influenced our family and our taste buds!  Who was there the first time you ate Grandma’s famous apple pie or Aunt Maria’s meatballs?  This cookbook will tell you all about our family history, as well the recipes that have rooted themselves within our lives, through good times and bad. Along with great cuisine, come the stories of the who, what, when, where and how these recipes have made it into our hearts and bellies for, at times, over 5 generations!

 Although we may not agree on many things, when it comes to the Woodman Family, one thing is for certain; We Love Good Food! This cookbook will not disappoint you!  It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, but most importantly it will make you cook, eat and share the fun with the rest of your family.

Where is the best place to get fried clams?  Essex of course, that is according to Michael Symon and the Food Network. Recently Michael Symon and his foodie entourage came to Essex to film an episode of his new show at Woodman’s and Farnham’s.   The two restaurants will be featured in an episode of his show in September.

And there are no spoilers, I will not disclose the winner of the  throw-down between Woodman’s and Farnhams.  The debate between the  clamshacks in town is something that will never be put to rest by the two family owned and operated restaurants.  Fans at both locations will always say that their fried clams are better.  It is a matter of someone’s opinion as to which restaurant has the better fried clams.

So with that in mind, if you want to find out who won  according to Michael Symon watch the show when it premiers on TV, and then hopefully it will motivate you to come to Essex, and decide for yourself who has the best fried clams, Woodman’s or Farnham’s?

BY Ashley Viator 

            After a slow start, the Red Sox are back in the top of the American League East standings.  As of June 23, 2010 the Sox were only 1.5 games behind the Yankees, and tied for second with Tampa Bay.  Since the start of the season the Sox have been hit hard with the injury bug, but they have done what they do best.  What the Sox do better than any other team in the league is use players that they already have in the minor leagues to fill the holes (mostly AAA Pawtucket and sometimes AA Portland).  As of June 23, 2010 players that are currently on the disabled list are Josh Beckett (back problems), Jed Lowrie (mononucleosis), Jacoby Ellsbury (rib problems), Jeremy Hermida (rib problems), and Daisuke Matsuzaka was on the disabled list for a short period of time and missed a couple of starts.  The players that have been called up to fill in the holes of the injured starters have been nothing short of impressive.  The outfield at Fenway is not the easiest to play in however Darnell McDonald, Bill Hall and Daniel Nava have been manning the outfield just fine.

            Another reason to remain optimistic for the rest of the season is pitching.  The pitching has been unbelievable, and I’m not talking about just the starters, I’m talking about the relief pitchers too.  The Sox have what could be a very dangerous combo in Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon, with Bard pitching the 8^th inning and Papelbon pitching the 9^th.  Another pitcher to keep an eye on in Dustin Richardson, another relief pitcher who normally plays in Pawtucket has promising potential.  And of course don’t forget to vote for your favorite Red Sox starters to be All-Star starters.  Voting ends on July 1^st, 2010 at 11:59 pm eastern time and the All-Star game will be held in Anaheim on July 13, 2010.

Dad’s & Grads…

Check out our Lobster & Clambake Shipping Packages a great way to celebrate Father’s Day and treat a Special Graduate to fresh seafood shipped right to their door. Order before June 30th and receive a FREE Woodman’s Baseball Cap with your purchase of a lobster or clambake shipping package. Just mention Dads & Grads in the memo portion of your order form and we will ship it with your order (hat must be shipped to same address as the seafood package).

 Like Peaches? We do and so we have added peaches to our “Fruit Swirl-Ins” for Yog n’ Flave. Stop in and try one today only 230 calories for 9 oz of delicious Fat Free, All Natural frozen yogurt. YUM!

Has anyone ever told you to “act like a Grown-Up”? Well we have! Last summer Adam Sandler and the cast of Grown-Ups choose Woodman’s as a setting for their new movie Grown-Ups and over 80 staff, family and friends were invited to take part in the filming.

To celebrate the movies opening (in theaters June 25th) we created a special Woodman’s T-Shirt that is featured in the movie. They are available at our gift shop for $14.99.   All the cool kids, I mean “Grown Ups” will be wearing ‘em.

Hello fans. Welcome to our first ever, Woodman’s of Litchfield Blog. We’re two months into season two and we finally feel like we’re setteling into our “new” digs, and working out the kinks of season one. Did you know that you can now enjoy a cocktail (or two) on our newly built outdoor tented patio? We’re still working out the logistics, but stop in at the bar and tell the bartender you want to enjoy your drink outside. We’ll make your cocktail “outdooor friendly” and bring it to you. Weather permitting, and only on weekends, we will have outdoor clambake staff that will also be able to assist you in getting a refill should you want one.

We have been very fortunate to be embraced by the Litchfield community and surrounding towns. When we heard the news about the GMS kids being without a playground, we decided we needed to help. So on June 14th, we invite you to enjoy a nice meal at Woodman’s of Litchfield, and at the same time you will be helping the community get closer to their goal. A portion of the proceeds from the food and fountain drink sales will be donated to the GMS Playground Fund. They need to raise $40,000 in order to have a new playground installed before school starts in the fall, which is a tall order to fill. We also donated a special Woodman’s goodie basket for them to raffle off at their Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser at GMS on June 12th. Please make sure you attend that fundraiser and buy lots of raffle tickets so you can win the Woodman’s basket.

Lastly, make sure you become a fan on our Woodman’s of Litchfield Facebook page. We’ve started taking many pictures of our restaurant patrons. Will YOU be caught eating a Down River Combo with your family? We’re also going to be launching a “Where’s Bessie” campaign.

160 and still working

She will be visiting many places around Litchfield, while getting to know the area, and what it has to offer. Will you spy her at your favorite farm stand? Or maybe catch her at a PTO Meeting? Keep checking and see if you can guess where she’ll show up next. Coming up next: The latest scoop about Ice Cream.

BY Ashley Viator 

            The Celtics beat Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games in the second round of the playoffs.  They are now playing Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.  The key for the Celtics in the series against Cleveland was how Rajon Rondo and the rest of the team played.  They looked like they were having fun playing basketball. Cleveland had a difficult time finding a player that could defend Rondo; Lebron James even said that he would defend Rondo.  If you’ve ever seen Rondo, he’s really fast, and he’s little too.  Oh yeah and not to mention the fact that he’s like a robber, stealing the ball from opposing players (he did lead the NBA in steals the whole season). Another key for the Celtics in the Cleveland series was that all the players were healthy, and that will be a key factor in the series against Orlando.  Most of the team was hit with the injury bug during the regular season, so staying healthy during the playoffs is very important, especially if Boston wants to see another banner raised to the rafters, and another parade.  A surprise, but a pleasant one at that is how some of the bench players have been playing.  One of those players is Tony Allen.  Tony Allen is not a player that gets a regular amount of playing time, during the regular season, and when he does play he does make an impact. He is a very good defensive player, so he’s very helpful on the defensive side of the game.  You’ll probably see Tony Allen in the game if there is a sizeable lead in the closing minutes of the quarters.  Nate Robinson really hasn’t been seen that much either, and Rasheed Wallace, who many questioned throughout the regular season, also seems to be having some good games in the playoffs.  Below you will find the Eastern Conference playoff Schedule Courtesy of Celtics.com

2010 Postseason – Eastern Conference Finals

Game 1 Sunday, May 16@ Orlando Magic 3:30 p.m.92-88, Win
Game 2 Tuesday, May 18@ Orlando Magic 8:30 p.m.95-92, Win

ESPN- Game 3 Saturday, May 22 Orlando Magic 8:30 p.m.

ESPN- Game 4Monday, May 24 Orlando Magic 8:30 p.m.

ESPN- Game 5*Wednesday, May 26@ Orlando Magic 8:30 p.m.

ESPN- Game 6*Friday, May 28Orlando Magic 8:30 p.m.

ESPN- Game 7*Sunday, May 30@ Orlando Magic 8:30 p.m.