My View of Life on the Dock
Here are a few November ‘feast for the eyes’ golden scenes over the river, marsh, and creek and through the woods, grass and sands to wherever you call home.
First thing Thanksgiving morning was a slight drizzle, 11/26/2020
Scenic bounty: so easy giving thanks in one of the best Thanksgiving regions around. In my opinion there is never a time that isn’t the most beautiful time of the year.
From the Boston Globe evening edition 1889, news of four weddings held on Thanksgiving Eve in Gloucester, Mass. John R. Pringle was a best man for one (and perhaps the reporter). One minister married two of the couples. Schooners were festooned with bunting. And five couples married, not four.
The marriage of George F. McDonald of the Western Union Telegraph staff and Miss Helen M. Procter, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Procter of Pond Street, occured Thanksgiving eve at the residence of Rev. W. R. Rider. The bride was becomingly dressed in a princess gown, blue nun’s veiling ecru, with silk trimmings. Miss Lottie Perry was the bridesmaid and J.R. Pringle, best man. After the ceremony the couple held a reception at the residence on Pond street, which was attended by many friends and relatives, a delegation coming from Avon. The wedding gifts were numerous.
Capt. Joseph Swan, one of Gloucester’s most popular and successful master mariners was united in marriage to Miss Edith Scott by Rev. G. W. Mansfield at the residence of the bride’s parents on Procter Street Thanskgiving eve. The schooners of the firm of Wilham H. Jordan in whose employ Capt. Swan has sailed, were gayly decorated with bunting in honor of the event. The couple departed for a trip to New York and other ports.
James Crawley of the custom house force and Miss Margaret Ryan, daughter of Capt. Joseph Ryan, were married by Rev. C.W. Regan at St. Anne’s parochial residence Thanksgiving eve. The schooners of Benjamin Low, from whose firm the bride’s father sails were decked in bunting in observance of the occasion. Mr. and Mrs. Crawley left for a trip to Albany, N.Y., and other large cities.
Edward E. Tobin and Miss Nellie A. Fanning were united in matrimony Thanksgiving eve by Rev. C. W. Regan. They left on the 5pm train for an extended tour.
Levi Norwood and Miss Ella Skillon were united in marriage by Rev. Rufus H. Hibbard at the residence of the bride’s mother, 26 Cleveland Street, Thanksgiving eve.
-(possibly Pringle)
“GLOUCESTER WEDDINGS.: FOUR COUPLES UNITED IN THE GREAT FISH CITY.” Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Nov 29 1889, p. 10. ProQuest. Web. 25 Nov. 2020 .
Courtesy photographs and news from Jane Deering Gallery upcoming exhibition opening November 27, 2020:
Pinch and zoom and/or click to enlarge details from installations
Print out PDF
Then and now.
1860 Osman Babson Carpenter house Washington Street
Scuba divers heading out 8am Sunday morning 11/22/2020
Armand Sindoni (1929-2002) was a Massachusetts native. He resided and worked on Rocky Neck. For many years he was the artist in residence for the Gloucester Schooner Festival. This is a follow up post.
Earlier this week, I posted a GMG reader request wanting to know more about a specific Armand Sindoni work of art. I added one Sindoni portrait and asked readers to join in.
GMG reader Kathy reminded us about the Sindoni murals at Destino’s:
“Armand Sindoni painted the beautiful murals inside Destino’s. One of the vessels in the murals is the “Can Do”. It was lost during the blizzard of ‘78, going to the rescue of a huge freighter that was off of Beverly, that is also in the mural. The other vessel in Sindoni’s mural is the “Alligator”, a fishing vessel that was also lost during the blizzard.“
Kathy W.
Here are interior (and exterior) photographs I took 2017,2018 and 2020 highlighting some of the art and history details you’ll find there.
There is another work by Sindoni on display at Destino’s. Behind the counter is a portrait of Alex Destino, Sr.
Another GMG reader shared a Sindoni nocturne hanging in her home (courtesy photo)
Thanks to all for taking the time to share your messages about Armand Sindoni.
Headlines on November 17, 2020 concerned the promising results from Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine trials. Fans including researchers were enthusiastic about Dolly Parton being listed in the acknowledgements for helping to fund their work, “the Dolly Parton Covid-19 Research Fund”. Thanks to a long friendship with Dr. Naji Abumrad, she donated one million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help support Covid research.
His son, Jad Abumrad, creator of Radiolab, produced a chart topping podcast about Dolly: Dolly Parton’s America. Fans of Radiolab and Dolly learned about his father’s friendship with Dolly there. Before I read the name of the doctor friend I was hoping it might be him. Here’s an excerpt from the transcript with some of the marvelously rich and layered story telling about Dolly and his dad:
JAD: The memory that kept intruding was from almost exactly 20 years earlier. I’d gone to Lebanon with my dad for a wedding. This is when I was just getting into recording, so I had my recorder with me everywhere I went. And the day after the wedding, my dad had driven us up the mountains to show us the village where he was born and raised. A little village called Wadi Chahrour. It’s this little enclave where literally half the village has our last name. It’s high up in the mountains, actually the exact same elevation as the mountain where Dolly lives. The air sort of has that exact same kind of thinness to it. And when we finally got to see his house, it looked a lot like Dolly’s.
JAD: When I saw her house …
JAD: I told him about it later.
JAD: It reminded me instantly of your house in Wadi.
NAJI ABUMRAD: Yeah. It’s almost identical like Dolly. There was one bedroom. We were five kids and two parents, and so you put your floor mat and you sleep side to side. And when you wake up in the morning, you stack the floor mats in the corner.
JAD: Wow. So seven people in one room?
NAJI ABUMRAD: Seven people in one room.
JAD: Jesus. How did you even sleep?
NAJI ABUMRAD: You sleep. You learn.
JAD: God! Tell me who you are, just so I have your introduction.
NAJI ABUMRAD: What do you mean? I’m Naji Abumrad. I’m your father.
JAD: [laughs] And what do you do when you’re — when yeah, what do you do otherwise?
NAJI ABUMRAD: Right now, I’m a professor of surgery at Vanderbilt. And …
JAD: I didn’t expect to want to put an interview with my dad in an episode about a visit to Dolly’s Tennessee mountain home. But as I mentioned at the top of the series, I mean, I really couldn’t have even done this series without him.
JAD: Can I ask you a personal question?
DOLLY PARTON: I guess.
JAD: This is something — it’s something I’ve always been curious …
DOLLY PARTON: It’s not that personal.
JAD: No. It’s like, it’s more personal but — for both of us, I guess. I’ve never under — how did you meet my dad?
DOLLY PARTON: Well, your dad was — I had — first time I met him was years and years ago. I was having some health problems, and then I didn’t connect with him again ’til my friend Judy and I had a wreck …
[NEWS CLIP: Dolly Parton suffered a few minor injuries in a car crash in Nashville on Monday.]
DOLLY PARTON: … several years back.
[NEWS CLIP: Police say she was riding in an SUV that was hit by another vehicle.]
DOLLY PARTON: And so when they rushed me to the emergency room, he came to the emergency room. And then after that, we just kind of …
JAD: They became friends.
DOLLY PARTON: Friendship.
JAD: That’s cool.
DOLLY PARTON: He’s a good man.
JAD: I feel like I have to be completely transparent about this. Now I had always been really tickled and a little bit confused. Like, what could they possibly have in common? But then seeing how similar his house looked to hers, and then also thinking back to something she had told me in one of our conversations.
I don’t know how well you know him, but you can never know your parents like — like other people do.
DOLLY PARTON answers Jad, Dolly Parton’s America podcast, Neon Moss episode
JAD: To make a long story short, I decided to ask him some questions. And it turned out she was right. My dad and my mom left Lebanon same year that Dolly wrote My Tennessee Mountain Home. 1972.
…WELL, It’s a gorgeous listen. Go finish DOLLY PARTON’S AMERICA here
Here are screenshots from the LIVE NASA video as the SpaceX new arrivals joined the Space Station 11/17/2020. Astronauts are all fist pumping and smiles at the “zero gravity indicator” baby Yoda in space.
Loved watching this feed (you can see the whole playback). I wonder if the crew already in residence had the time or inclination to watch any shows and if it was possible to see current content like the new Mandalorian season? In other words did those aboard get the cultural reference?
Mesmerizing ‘Floating Tall’ 😉 scenes – Baby Yoda hovering alongside the Mandalorian
The Mandalorian trailer
And yes, this is a deliberate, second rearranged post experiment here. Will lede Dolly or Yoda first makes a difference?
Two wonderful feel good stories made news this week on the very same day.
Here are screenshots from the LIVE NASA video as the SpaceX new arrivals joined the Space Station 11/17/2020. Astronauts are all fist pumping and smiles at the “zero gravity indicator” baby Yoda in space.
Loved watching this feed (you can see the whole playback). I wonder if the crew already in residence had the time or inclination to watch any shows and if it was possible to see current content like the new Mandalorian season? In other words did those aboard get the cultural reference?
Mesmerizing ‘Floating Tall’ 😉 scenes – Baby Yoda hovering alongside the Mandalorian
The Mandalorian trailer
Other headlines on November 17, 2020 concerned the promising results from Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine trials. Fans including researchers were enthusiastic about Dolly Parton being listed in the acknowledgements for helping to fund their work, “the Dolly Parton Covid-19 Research Fund”. Thanks to a long friendship with Dr. Naji Abumrad, she donated one million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help support Covid research.
His son, Jad Abumrad, creator of Radiolab, produced a chart topping podcast about Dolly: Dolly Parton’s America. Fans of Radiolab and Dolly learned about his father’s friendship with Dolly there. Before I read the name of the doctor friend I was hoping it might be him. Here’s an excerpt from the transcript with some of the marvelously rich and layered story telling about Dolly and his dad:
JAD: The memory that kept intruding was from almost exactly 20 years earlier. I’d gone to Lebanon with my dad for a wedding. This is when I was just getting into recording, so I had my recorder with me everywhere I went. And the day after the wedding, my dad had driven us up the mountains to show us the village where he was born and raised. A little village called Wadi Chahrour. It’s this little enclave where literally half the village has our last name. It’s high up in the mountains, actually the exact same elevation as the mountain where Dolly lives. The air sort of has that exact same kind of thinness to it. And when we finally got to see his house, it looked a lot like Dolly’s.
JAD: When I saw her house …
JAD: I told him about it later.
JAD: It reminded me instantly of your house in Wadi.
NAJI ABUMRAD: Yeah. It’s almost identical like Dolly. There was one bedroom. We were five kids and two parents, and so you put your floor mat and you sleep side to side. And when you wake up in the morning, you stack the floor mats in the corner.
JAD: Wow. So seven people in one room?
NAJI ABUMRAD: Seven people in one room.
JAD: Jesus. How did you even sleep?
NAJI ABUMRAD: You sleep. You learn.
JAD: God! Tell me who you are, just so I have your introduction.
NAJI ABUMRAD: What do you mean? I’m Naji Abumrad. I’m your father.
JAD: [laughs] And what do you do when you’re — when yeah, what do you do otherwise?
NAJI ABUMRAD: Right now, I’m a professor of surgery at Vanderbilt. And …
JAD: I didn’t expect to want to put an interview with my dad in an episode about a visit to Dolly’s Tennessee mountain home. But as I mentioned at the top of the series, I mean, I really couldn’t have even done this series without him.
JAD: Can I ask you a personal question?
DOLLY PARTON: I guess.
JAD: This is something — it’s something I’ve always been curious …
DOLLY PARTON: It’s not that personal.
JAD: No. It’s like, it’s more personal but — for both of us, I guess. I’ve never under — how did you meet my dad?
DOLLY PARTON: Well, your dad was — I had — first time I met him was years and years ago. I was having some health problems, and then I didn’t connect with him again ’til my friend Judy and I had a wreck …
[NEWS CLIP: Dolly Parton suffered a few minor injuries in a car crash in Nashville on Monday.]
DOLLY PARTON: … several years back.
[NEWS CLIP: Police say she was riding in an SUV that was hit by another vehicle.]
DOLLY PARTON: And so when they rushed me to the emergency room, he came to the emergency room. And then after that, we just kind of …
JAD: They became friends.
DOLLY PARTON: Friendship.
JAD: That’s cool.
DOLLY PARTON: He’s a good man.
JAD: I feel like I have to be completely transparent about this. Now I had always been really tickled and a little bit confused. Like, what could they possibly have in common? But then seeing how similar his house looked to hers, and then also thinking back to something she had told me in one of our conversations.
I don’t know how well you know him, but you can never know your parents like — like other people do.
DOLLY PARTON answers Jad, Dolly Parton’s America podcast, Neon Moss episode
JAD: To make a long story short, I decided to ask him some questions. And it turned out she was right. My dad and my mom left Lebanon same year that Dolly wrote My Tennessee Mountain Home. 1972.
So looking forward to sharing photos of winter lights for some merry drives and cocoa nights this holiday season! Were you planning to go big on lights or take a break this year? Hopefully this post may convince some readers on the decorated home & yard fence to GO FOR IT! Please treat the community to some creativity and smiles. The city and neighboring towns of Cape Ann have some special holiday light plans in the works thanks to Discover Gloucester’s First Annual Winter Lights Display on Cape Ann. Check out all the businesses and organizations readying light displays and local shopping!
What I wrote in 2019 still holds true in 2020: “If you’re wondering about holiday lights near you, in addition to the city’s beautiful seasonal trees and sparkle downtown, rewarding drives through Gloucester neighborhoods abound.”
These local homes were shining bright and it’s only the week before Thanksgiving. GRAB SOME HOT CHOCOLATE AND GO! The drives are festive, free, and social distancing safe for all. Perfect for 2020.
I’ll add more photographs of merry lights and displays as days go by and maybe a map if there are enough. Which houses and streets will be most lit up in 2020? Which ones not to miss?
Gloucester’s Lobster Trap Tree adorned with hundreds of “ornaments”- buoys hand-painted by local children– is no doubt the sweetest and charming tree around.
I thought this Scotland effort was a pretty kindred spirit. Like Gloucester, the smaller* town of Newburgh, Fife, loves celebrating art by local children for their Annual Christmas Lights Display. A public appeal for funding this year surpassed its goal.
*Gloucester population 30,000 | Newburgh population 2100
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOur village Christmas lights are designed by the local primary kids and they are the single best thing about the festive season. pic.twitter.com/kDhfLk3Dcb
— Poppy McKenzie Smith (@GTOpoppy) November 16, 2020
Due to Covid-19 precautions, Cape Ann Art Haven buoy painting started early this year.
“It’s buoy painting time! We are instituting reservations for buoy painting. We will be open Saturdays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. starting November 7th. For health and safety reasons, we will have a maximum of 10 people at any one time. Masks will be required as well as social distancing. Please sign up on our Events page or click the reservation button below and come paint!”
Reservations
So looking forward to sharing photos of winter lights for some merry drives and cocoa nights this holiday season! Were you planning to go big on lights or take a break this year? Hopefully this post may convince some readers on the decorated home & yard fence to GO FOR IT! Please treat the community to some creativity and smiles. The city and neighboring towns of Cape Ann have some special holiday light plans in the works: First Annual Winter Lights Display on Cape Ann. Check out the businesses and organizations readying light displays!
What I wrote in 2019 still holds true in 2020: “If you’re wondering about holiday lights near you, in addition to the city’s beautiful seasonal trees and sparkle downtown, rewarding drives through Gloucester neighborhoods abound.”
These local homes were shining bright and it’s only the week before Thanksgiving. GRAB SOME HOT CHOCOLATE AND GO! The drives are festive, free, and social distancing safe for all. Perfect for 2020.
I’ll add more photographs of merry lights and displays as days go by and maybe a map if there are enough. Which houses and streets will be most lit up in 2020? Which ones not to miss?
Gloucester’s Lobster Trap Tree adorned with hundreds of “ornaments”- buoys hand-painted by local children– is no doubt the sweetest and charming tree around.
I thought this Scotland effort was a pretty kindred spirit. Like Gloucester, the smaller* town of Newburgh, Fife, loves celebrating art by local children for their Annual Christmas Lights Display. A public appeal for funding this year surpassed its goal.
*Gloucester population 30,000 | Newburgh population 2100
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOur village Christmas lights are designed by the local primary kids and they are the single best thing about the festive season. pic.twitter.com/kDhfLk3Dcb
— Poppy McKenzie Smith (@GTOpoppy) November 16, 2020
Due to Covid-19 precautions, Cape Ann Art Haven buoy painting started early this year.
“It’s buoy painting time! We are instituting reservations for buoy painting. We will be open Saturdays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. starting November 7th. For health and safety reasons, we will have a maximum of 10 people at any one time. Masks will be required as well as social distancing. Please sign up on our Events page or click the reservation button below and come paint!”
Reservations
11/18/2020 4:10pm
A fishing boat set out and I bet a GMG reader knows who it was. What a gorgeous setting for home games.
At other times we’ve been treated to great flocks of birds, schooners, cruise ship, and an ever busy back up at the cut.
The games are the real deal. And the site is singular!
A GMG reader shared a snapshot asking to know more about the specific work in the photograph by artist Armand Sindoni. It’s hard to make out from this photo.
Armand Sindoni (1929-2002) was a Massachusetts native. He resided and worked on Rocky Neck. For many years he was the artist in residence for the Gloucester Schooner Festival. I don’t know what happened to his art or estate. Along with research, one might glean more information about Sindoni by reaching out to: the Rocky Neck Art Association; leaders involved with Maritime Gloucester, the Adventure and the Chamber due to the artist’s involvement with past schooner festivals; and local artist friends, perhaps L.A. Dahlmer.
Sindoni was commissioned to paint a portrait of William “Bill” Squillace, Gloucester’s 54th Mayor (1988-1991), who resigned to serve as Assistant State Treasurer.
Maybe another GMG reader can steer the question to Sindoni family, friends, or fans who might leave comments about Sindoni, the man and the artist, and more examples of his art.
Flip has earned the respect of high school athletes — teenagers — for many, many years. His demeanor and steady presence are a fixture. Some of his work behind the scenes helps operations like managing the equipment, uniforms and attendance. He knows all the players. If they are late and checking in, passing in the halls, or heading to the gym; — any greeting exchanged with Flip enriches the students’ days immeasurably. I’ve seen a GHS alum in his late twenties– I’m not all together sure he played a sport- cross a room to say, “Hi! Remember me?”, and brighten with Flip’s affirmation and brief encounter. It’s a sure and easy bet that on countless days when things were not going well, Flip has made a student’s day brighter.
The kindest gatekeeper ever, Flip is taking taking and recording temperatures, one of the new Covid-19 safety protocols. GHS Boys Varsity Soccer (a win vs. Swampscott) New Balance Newell Stadium Gloucester, Mass 11/18/2020
Shout out and thanks to Danny who is such a positive boost for the sports teams whether on the New Balance Field at Newell Stadium or inside the GHS fieldhouse!
He’s always hustling. One of the new protocol tasks for the 2020 Covid-19 season is sanitizing the soccer balls.
Players mention how the New Balance Newell Stadium is the best field in the league.
The next game is today, Wednesday November 18, 2020: Boys varsity soccer 4PM vs Swampscott ⚽ and JV 6pm. The final game for boys soccer 2020 is on Friday.
Did you miss a game? Bryan Lafata, Dir. GHS Fishermen Athletics, writes that prior games are being added to the GHS Fishermen Athletics website “Video Archive”: https://gloucesterhighschoolma.rschoolteams.com/page/5417
White light, pink light, yellow light, sky. Big rock moods Nov. 14-16, 2020
(double click to enlarge to full size)
Doused! November 15, 2020 Stacy Boulevard.
courtesy photo- GMG reader shares a snapshot of “some dude on Stacy Boulevard”. Caption this 🙂
382 Main Street (formerly Gloucester Nails; Domino’s still). Do you remember what was here before its last reno?
but wowza when it’s a single story! Curious to see the new streetscape
A word from Jane Deering to artists and fans:
“‘Absolute Secret 2020’ @ JDG ended November 3rd, 2020. The show was a wonderful success for the gallery’s mission of providing exhibition space for area artists and great fun for all art lovers who found very special art works for $20. The credit for this event goes to the many many artists who so generously donated work to the gallery’s cause. My warmest thanks to the artists listed below (PDF here).”
Jane Deering, Jane Deering Gallery, Gloucester, Mass.
Absolute Secret 2020
Jane Deering Gallery is very grateful for the generosity of these participating artists who made Absolute Secret 2020 a success:
(unless otherwise noted, the artist maintains a studio in Massachusetts)
Aaron Fink
Adin Murray
Amy Robson (UK)
Ann Conneman
Ann Marie Crotty
Arturo Di Stefano (UK)
Birgit Faustmann (Barcelona)
Bobbi Kovner
Chris Baker (California and Maine)
Christopher Pullman
Coco Berkman
Connie Connally (California)
Dane Goodman (California)
Debra Weisberg
Deborah Brown
Donna Caselden
Eliza Proctor (NY)
Erin Luman
Esther Pullman
Gabrielle Barzaghi
Gail Barker (UK)
Gail Pine (California)
Geoffrey Bayliss
George Wingate
Gina Werfel (California)
Harry Reese (California)
Hazel Walker (Ireland)
Heidi L. Johnson (New York)
Helen Burgess
Hugh Margerum (California)
Isabelle Greene (California)
Jack Evans
James Paradis
Jan Weinshanker
Jeffrey Marshall
Jenchi Wu (California)
Jennifer Fels (Vermont)
Joan Tanner (California)
Joy Halsted
Judith Wright
Juni Van Dyke
Katherine Richmond
Ken Riaf
Kevin Lucey (California)
Kristine Fisher
Leslie Lewis Sigler (California)
Lillian Hsu
Linda Ekstrom (California)
Linda Sodja
Lynne Sausele
Marie Schoeff (California)
Mary Bucci McCoy
Mary Rhinelander McCarl
Michael McKeen
Michael Porter (UK)
Neeta Madahar (UK)
Nell Campbell (California)
Paige Farrell
Paul Cary Goldberg
Paul Neily
Penelope Gottlieb (California)
Pia Juhl
Patty Rosenblatt
Ro Snell (California)
Robin Paine (UK)
Ruth Daniels
Sally Gregg
Shaun McNiff
Shelley Reed
Steve Rosenthal
Susan Harrigan
Susan Willis
Terry Delpercio Piemonte
Tom Fels (Vermont)
Vanessa Michalak
Wayne McCall (California)
Youngsuk Suh (California)
Jane Deering Gallery
California & Massachusetts 917-902-4359
London . UK residence +44-207-584-1671
facebook.com/JaneDeeringGallery
