Kathryn B. Smith

“Kay” was such a long-time stalwart and presence in Provincetown that many who thought they knew her well had no idea of the remarkable path she took to arrive here, first coming to Provincetown in 1972, quickly adapting after many experiences and adventures elsewhere.

She was born in Pittsfield MA, a Berkshire Mountain girl at heart. An excellent swimmer, a trampoline enthusiast who lived by a lake, she could take her father's canoe out in the middle of the lake by herself, after having helped him build it in their backyard. While in high school, she would learn synchronized swimming, how to play Mozart on the piano, sing in the church choir, and make flutes from bamboo cane. She attended Bates college in Maine, and was fond of telling stories how she would go swimming in the pool and go back to the dorm with frozen hair. She always loved the outdoors.

After college she moved to the city, NYC, and lived an independent and varied life. Working in market research, her boss would often find her in her office, having unscrewed half the florescent lights, feet up, and reading a book. He would ask, why aren't you working, she'd answer, “I finished it all this morning.” He then offered her 3 times the pay and a manager’s job, and she refused. She was happy with things as they were.

One year, she and a girlfriend walked from their apartment in the Village over to the Hudson River and boarded a steamer heading for Liverpool. When they were casually walking around the city, they saw police barricades outside a small bar. Asking what was all the fuss about, someone said the Rolling Stones were playing tonight. Having never heard of such a band, they went, and saw the Rolling Stones in a little pub before the world knew of them.

She had the knack to find just the right place to be, when things began to happen. One time, she asked the personnel director at the market research firm where she worked for 2 tickets for the Ed Sullivan show -- eight months in the future. They wondered, why would she want these tickets to an unknown show so far in advance? But she got her wish. And she was there when the Beatles first played in the US.

In New York she became a seasoned photographer, developing and printing her photos. Her inquisitiveness and fearlessness led her to become intensely involved with karate, and that seemed to lead to her to the spiritual path of Zen. That in turn led her and her lover to Berkeley CA to study at the Zen center. After getting married, they went to Tassajara and studied under Suzuki Roshi. And then they met a Tibetan teacher, who was a guest speaker at the Zen Center, and followed him to Tail of the Tiger, a religious enclave in Vermont.

This move proved to be pivotal in her life. Going from the Zen world of black and white to the blazing world of Tibetan color was an both an awakening and a disintegration. Her relationship with her husband had become strained, and she moved into the early 70's world of a commune, beginning to attract all sort of people, who came to be with Trungpa Rinposhe, a Tibetan master.

After being there for over 4 months, she and a fellow member, Mark Birnbaum, found each other. Months later, they moved out of the confines of the religious world to New York to start a new life. After a stay on the Lower East Side, and upstate, they moved to Provincetown in 1972.

In 1973 Mark, after being a carpenter for a few years, started a food business called Mojo's. Kay was working as a waitress in the earlier year at the Meeting House and then at the Flagship. Meanwhile, while living in upstate NY she had learned the fine art of cloisonne enameling form an artist in NYC, and she started selling her jewelry in Ptown and continued to waitress. After 5 years of that, she joined Mark at Mojo's and became true partner there. The restaurant was among the most popular and beloved in Provincetown for four decades. Kay was a fixture and feisty presence for much of that time, and much of the town interacted with her as they stopped by for a good bite to eat.

She loved the Cape and Provincetown. She was an avid reader and her 2nd home was the library. She was a 4 book a week gal. Her favorite swimming hole was Hatches Harbor, where she swam up the outbound tidal river and floated back down. She roamed all over the dunes, the back shore, the ponds, and always collected pebbles and shells. She took many hikes out tin pan alley, cross-country skied the dunes and even on the beach in the 6 hours the snow lasted. She loved to skate the ponds, even when, if she got too close to thin ice, big booming cracking sounds would spread to the shore. She loved to dance. She is deeply missed by many.

Kay is survived by her sister Sylvia Smith, her niece Sara Bildik, nephew Jack Dalton, and her husband Mark Birnbaum. In lieu of flowers, she would want you to give to your favorite Public Radio station, especially in these times.