Read the original story here-
Missing In Magnolia July 25, 2013
Hi Joey,
My husband and I have been residents of Magnolia for the past couple of years. We read your blog everyday and love everything about Gloucester and Cape Ann. Our neighbor, Terry Weber, did a post in the blog while relaxing in our pretty garden the first year we were here. This is our piece of heaven. We have felt very safe in our neighborhood. Sadly, I writing to express my disappointment. Someone stole a hand painted wooden sign that hung next to our front door. I bought it from an artist at a craft fair in Manchester soon after we moved here. I am attaching a picture. If any of your readers happen to notice someone with a new Cape Ann sign in or our of their home, I would hope that someone might contact you at your blog. This is not a piece of art that would have been purchased locally. We would love to have our sign back.
Lynn and Bob Bird
Magnolia, MA
Follow Up to “Missing in Magnolia”
Earlier this summer I wrote to you with a heavy heart as I expressed my dismay at having a lovely Cape Ann fish sign stolen from our home in Magnolia. Sadly it was never returned to us.
A couple of weeks ago I returned home to find a beautiful copper dory placed on a bench in our front yard. Neither my husband, nor I knew where it came from but admired the beautiful craftsmanship. We asked several neighbors about the dory, but no one knew anything about it.
A couple days later my husband and I were walking along Shore Rd. in Magnolia and came upon a local man in his truck pulled up on the side of the road. We didn’t know his name but we see him on our daily walks, enjoying his coffee and newspaper at Magnolia Beach. As we approached he called out, “That’s for plants.” Upon realizing that he was the creator of this beautiful dory, we introduced ourselves. His name is James (Jim) Fialto. He’s a coppersmith. Apparently he had just heard that we lost our sign, and had some free time on a Sunday afternoon waiting for the Patriots game to begin. When asked why he made us the dory, he said, “I felt bad about your sign being stolen and I see you picking up trash every day on your walk…”
We shared this story with many people and all agree what a lovely gesture this was. Residents of Magnolia acknowledge the kindness of Jim and agree that we live in a very special place.
Sincerely,
Lynn and Bob Bird
Magnolia
Good Morning Gloucester 
A great story, there are so many nice people here in town. However, I still think that if ever caught, we should flog whoever stole the sign!
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Wow! If GMG ever decides to give awards for random acts of kindness, Jim should be an immediate recipient! I’m sure the list would be long as it seems Cape Ann has a good share of kind and generous folks. Neat story.
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That is awesome! So nice that he decided to do something so nice and selfless for you guys. Good stuff!
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Jim is one of a kind…with a huge heart! We are happy and proud to call him a good friend!!
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Jim has such a big heart!! We are happy and proud to call him “friend”!!
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Nice GMG story ~
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The artist of the lost sign is Dean DiMarzo email: dimarzos@aol.com , website: http://www.yessy.com/luckyfishstudio , Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LuckyFishStudios , (603) 236-9045. I bought one this past summer at the Manchester Sidewalk Bazaar and they are great! If you want another give him a call. Sorry the original was taken, but what a great story about Jim!
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A few years ago, my husband went to Florida and left me with a snow storm and snow blower (which I didn’t know how to use). James came over and cleared the whole driveway. One of the many nice people in our community!
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well im humbbled i saw the story on here and i would see lynn and bill walking and she would always smile and wave and pick up trash on there walks. i talked to her once she was planting flowers on the ave so since they didnt get the fish back i figured id make a dory for her so they wouldnt be sour on magnolia i guess it worked. it didnt take long and was made from scrap what i see her doing keeping our town clean is worth way much more than that boat lynn deserves all the thank yous not me
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What a great thread that just keeps on going. Awesome random act of kindness. Don’t we all think of something like that but don’t follow through for one reason or another? Would the world think Cape Ann strange if we exploded with random acts of kindness? Not that Cape Ann isn’t already a hot bed of kindness but we could take it up a notch.
I always thought the original story might end with an anonymous delivery of a wooden fish to Joey’s dock since the posting made the fish too hot to possess. That may still happen just like the return of Kevin the Panda. Maybe Joey should put a nice table at the end of his driveway where anyone who wants to turn over a new leaf can drop off their ill gotten gains.
We all may end up singing Kumbaya yet. RD, Homie, and a cormorant are high fiving over this one.
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Love it! That dory is beautiful!
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A random act of kindness to make my day! Restores your faith in mankind! Luv your story.
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Magnolia is truly heaven. We bought and recreated “The Sullivan House” in 1998 for our young family. The gorgeous location and the people…our amazing neighbors…made it a place hard to leave. After our children graduated from college, we decided the house was too large for just the two of us (and our 2 dogs!) so we sold, hoping to find another place as wonderful as Magnolia. After a short rental in Annisquam, we found another sweet house and committed to making the changes it needed (many!) to bring us home. We are happily back in Magnolia and see Lynn and Bob frequently. They have bags with them on their walks to pick up trash! Jim is another special guy from the neighborhood, thinking of others. Here’s hoping I see your sign in my travels, it would fill me with joy to bring it home to you. Until then, hope it graces someone’s entry with positive vibes.
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This is what it’s all about being there for other’s in their time of need – be nice if whomever took it would bring it back – hope is a good thing…No problem with looking at a nice sign like this but taking that’s – a whole different story only a heart of stone could do that…do the right thing bring it back!
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