Year: 2011

For many years Cape Ann — Rockport in particular — sustained a thriving granite industry. As early as 1800, the inhabitants of Cape Ann began cutting the peninsula’s 450 million year old granite into blocks of stone. The granite industry gradually expanded throughout the 19th Century to the point where it actually superseded the fishing industry in Rockport as the town’s primary business. Quarrying reached its zenith about the year 1910.

The Cape Ann granite industry became successful for a number of reasons. The fine quality of the granite quickly attracted the attention of builders all along the eastern seaboard. As word spread, the granite was regularly shipped throughout the world. Cape Ann’s location allowed for quarries to be set-up close to shore so that the granite blocks could be shipped by vessel. This was important in the early days when railway service was non-existent. Despite the above advantages, it was the rugged character, ingenuity, and perseverance of the people of Cape Ann that made quarrying successful. The men worked year-round in the quarries — irrespective of weather. Before steam engines and drills became available in the 1850s, most of the arduous work was done by hand or with teams of oxen.

The Great Depression ushered in the collapse of the local granite industry. By that time, demand shifted to concrete and steel for building construction and asphalt for street paving. For over 100 years, however, the rock cut and shipped from Cape Ann was used in the construction of many famous buildings throughout the U.S. — including parts of the Statue of Liberty and other great monuments. Paving stones from local quarries were used in the construction of thousands of streets worldwide.

Today, most of the quarries in Cape Ann have filled with both rain and spring water to form deep ponds. Many of the quarries are now hidden in forests which nature has reclaimed. Owing to their colorful beauty and intriguing nature, the quarries are popular with visitors and artists alike. Guided quarry tours are offered frequently at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport — site of the Babson Farm Quarry.

From www.cape-ann.com 

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

Healthy Gloucester Collaborative announces a free workshop for Gloucester Alcohol Retailers and Servers on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 from 9 am until 10:30 am at Cruiseport, 6 Rowe Square, Gloucester, MA.

The free workshop features guest speakers Caroline Wilichoski, Senior Investigator of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission (ABCC) and Joyce Redford, Executive Director of the North Shore Tobacco Control Program. The Gloucester Alcohol Retailer/Server Coalition has extended the invitation to all local Cape Ann purveyors and partnering police departments including Essex, Manchester and Rockport.

Joan Whitney of the Healthy Gloucester Collaborative and Gloucester’s Director of Substance Abuse Prevention, points out, “This is a chance to ask questions, learn what’s available for support and training and get information from the ABCC, Tobacco Control and the Gloucester Police. Department represented by Chief Mike Lane.”

The February 16^th gathering is to provide owners, managers and staff of alcohol establishments with the most up to date tools to strengthen staff skills to prevent sales to minors and to increase knowledge of their legal responsibilities to protect their businesses and to protect youth. In addition to ABCC and Tobacco Control license training, issues of “Energy Drinks” and “3^rd Party Buying” will be offered for discussion.

Mark McDonough, Owner of Latitude 43 and Alchemy Bistro, looks forward to the event “This is a great opportunity to stay current with the latest information, trends and training methods. Education is an important step in maintaining a strong business and a strong community. We are lucky here on Cape Ann to have the Healthy Gloucester Collaborative bringing so many local groups together to work collectively towards the shared goal of a healthy community ensuring Gloucester is truly a great place to live and work.”

The Gloucester Alcohol Retailer/Server Coalition is sponsored by the Healthy Gloucester Collaborative. The Gloucester Health Department under a MA Department of Public Health underage drinking prevention grant is collaborating with the Healthy Gloucester Collaborative to combat this problem through resource support and targeted funding for training. According to James Burnham of Four Seasons Liquors and Co-Chair of Gloucester Alcohol Retailer/Server Coalition, “As business owners, we need to take charge to protect our businesses. That is why the coalition of alcohol retailers and servers was formed in September 2009, to create a network between businesses and to train our employees, and strengthen our business practices and ultimately help our community.”

The free coalition workshop meeting will take place Wednesday, February 16, 2011 from 9 am until 10:30 am at Cruiseport, 6 Rowe Square, Gloucester, MA. For more information, call 866-964-4603 or visit www.healthygloucester.org.

My favorite shore bird, the Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. An all-white population found only in the Caribbean and south Florida was once known as a separate species, the Great White Heron. 

It is the largest North American heron, with a head-to-tail length of 36–55 in, a wingspan of 66–79 in, and a weight of 4.4-8 lbs. Notable features include slaty flight feathers, red-brown thighs, and a paired red-brown and black stripe up the flanks; the neck is rusty-gray, with black and white streaking down the front; the head is paler, with a nearly white face, and a pair of black plumes running from just above the eye to the back of the head. The feathers on the lower neck are long and plume-like; it also has plumes on the lower back at the start of the breeding season. The bill is dull yellowish, becoming orange briefly at the start of the breeding season, and the lower legs gray, also becoming orangey at the start of the breeding season. Immature birds are duller in color, with a dull blackish-gray crown, and the flank pattern only weakly defined; they have no plumes, and the bill is dull gray-yellow.

When I lived in Key Largo, FL, there was a resident Great White Heron, called George, at the Mandalay (an open air restaurant).  He would routinely sneak into the kitchen when the cook’s back was turned, and steal whatever he could off the counter before being chased out, croaking loudly.  He was also known to sneak up behind diners and with incredible speed impale and be off with the burger or fried fish from their plate, and even right out of their hand on occasion.  Amazingly, no one was ever injured, and he was eventually driven away and back to his more natural and healthier food sources.

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com