



My View of Life on the Dock





Exit Stage Left…


To inquire about our private event room, visit this link: https://sereniteerestaurantgroup.tripleseat.com/par…/11337





TUESDAY, JULY 23 AT 2:00 PM (rain or shine)
Corner of East Main Street and Rocky Neck Avenue
Join Mayor Verga and the Department of Public Works for the unveiling of the newly restored Samuel de Champlain historical roadside marker on Rocky Neck, which had rusted and disintegrated almost beyond repair. Spearheaded by Rocky Neck resident, Susan Morreale, this 7-year project is finally ready for prime time!
Susan, a member of the Historical Commission, worked with DPW, who funded the project, and the restoration firm, Skylight Studios in Woburn, to bring this 200-pound, double-sided, cast iron marker back to life.
A total of 275 markers were made and erected along Massachusetts’s roadways to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1930. Each marker tells a concise, significant story about the history of Massachusetts in just a few short, inscribed lines, identical on both sides, so they could be read from either direction by passing cars.
They commemorate “places which played a leading part in the history of the colony,” according to the official catalog issued at the time by the Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission. Beyond value in noting historical moments, the markers are a kind of history themselves — a standing museum of how the state saw its past in the 1930s.
Gloucester has four such markers, the others are in Annisquam and two at Stage Fort Park. As of 2011, of the original inventory, there were only 146 markers still standing in the state. Of the original 83 markers in Essex County, only 43 remain.1630 – 1930 SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN
IN SEPTEMBER, 1606, SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN LANDED AT ROCKY NECK IN WHAT IS NOW GLOUCESTER HARBOR, TO CAULK HIS SHALLOP, AND MADE AN ACCURATE CHART OF THE HARBOR WHICH HE CALLED LE BEAUPORT.
I usually try to post Margarita Monday suggestions that you can replicate if you choose to, but in this case it’s unlikely you’ll be able to recreate last week’s margarita fun at the Bluefin Blowout Fundraiser event. Held at Mile Marker Marina on Essex Ave, it was a terrific evening full of food, fun, laughs and fundraising. It’s not too late to donate to the fundraiser to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association at this link: https://secure.etransfer.com/eft/flexblockcode/donation1.cfm?d2org=ECCF&d2tool=BBDonation





DISCUSSION GROUP SCHEDULE: SIGN UP AND BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION
| Sponsor/Location | Date | Time | Registration Link |
| Temple Ahavat Achim | Sun. July 28 | 10am-12pm | Register |
| 1623 Studios | Mon. July 29 | 1-3pm | Register |
| Annisquam Village Church | Tues. July 30 | 4-6pm | Register |
| St. Paul Lutheran Church | Tues. July 30 | 7-9pm | Register |
| Manship Artist Residencies@ Lanesville Community Center | Tues. August 6 | 7-9pm | Register |
| St. John’s Episcopal Church | Thurs. August 8 | 3-5pm | Register |
| Gloucester Writers Center | Mon. August 12 | 6-8pm | Register |
| Gloucester UU Church | Thurs. August 22 | 5-7pm | Register |
Together in partnership, the Sawyer Free Library, Gloucester’s Racial Justice Team and Gloucester Health Department, is presenting Gloucester Reads 2024, a citywide, intergenerational summer reading initiative. Running through August, this community-wide book club aims to spark conversations, inspire new ideas, and encourage introspection about race equity in our community.
In collaboration with sixteen additional community co-sponsors, Gloucester Reads 2024 will explore books reflecting Black experiences in America. This initiative includes selections for adults, young adults and children. Adults can participate in three ways: reading the book, joining a structured discussion group, and attending the virtual author’s talk.
The summer book club’s main selection is How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith. This acclaimed book, which has won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism, the Stowe Prize, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, focuses on the history and present impact of slavery in the United States. Through eight sites, including New Orleans, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, New York City, and Angola Prison, Smith uses archival research and interviews to offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has shaped our nation’s history and memory.
For more information or to sign up for a book discussion, visit, SawyerFreeLibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.
To ensure everyone can participate, Gloucester Reads is offering to cover childcare expenses for those attending discussion groups, the author’s talk, or both. Participants can request funds on the discussion group registration form.