Gulls were resting at the Good Harbor Beach parking lot.
April 4 storm: shoveling and sloshy steps in downtown #GloucesterMA
Author: Catherine
posted content / cell phone photos mine, unless otherwise credited
(thumbnail portrait of Catherine at MFA, Boston © David Cox photo)
https://www.cryanaid.com/
April 4 storm and hail #GloucesterMA
video
10AM.
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April 4 storm wild winds whipped with sand and slush
Happy spring~!
photos: Morning high tide on April 4, 2024. Views from Gloucester to Long Beach, Rockport. Vid. clip – wind gusts at times super high, sea spray, and Twin Lights not visible. The wind gusts were strong enough to push me and impede holding a camera by hand.
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Boston Globe 1925: Silva Triplets! Happy Mom and Fisherman Dad in a House by the sea where three roads meet #GloucesterMA
This happy spring birth announcement was featured in the Boston Globe in 1925 (see below). The Silva family lived in this house where 3 roads come together (Sadler St., Mt. Vernon St., and Elwell St.). Triplets on the triple :)! Back then the address was “#8 Sadler Street”.
Mary Elizabeth Silva, nee Rose and Manuel B. Silva welcomed Arthur, Beatrice and Robert.
Boston Globe (March 1925)
“Gloucester, March 19. The triplets born to Mr. and Mrs. Manuel B. Silva are 11 days old today, are thriving and bid fair to have the same chance of reaching maturity as the general run of infants that age.
The father was absent on a fishing voyage when the interesting event happened. He is one of the crew of the schooner Mary D. Silveria, which arrived here Wednesday, and when he learned the news was surprised. Friday night the little ones were taken to the residence of Rev Fancisco (sic?) Viera De Bem, pastor of the church of Our Lady of the Good Voyage, and formally christened Robert, Beatrice and Arthur, there being two boys and a girl.
The mother is doing well, and in a short time will be about the house attending to her duties.
The father is 29, weights about 150 and is a native of the Western or Azores islands. He came to this country when 13 and has since followed fishing. He is a clean built and good looking man and a t (illegible) type of his race. The mother, whose maiden name was Mary Elizabeth Rose, is a slightly built woman, a native of this city of Portuguese descent. She is 28, one year younger than her husband. They were married nine years ago and have a girl of 8 and a boy of 6. The triplets are the only children since the birth of the boy 6 years ago.
The little ones are, of course, objects of much interest and when the Globe correspondent called at the Silva residence, 8 Sadler st., yesterday, were receiving in state on soft pillows surrounded by a number of the children of the locality who viewed the tiny mites with the greatest interest.
Little Robert, Beatrice and Arthur bid fair, if they grow and thrive, to be personages of interest in the section of the city where they live.”
Boston Globe, March 20 1925, p.9
*Where the author takes pains to describe the father’s physical attributes (virility?), I’m not sure what the illegible word describing the father is, “tan”, “tall”? I’ve interviewed parents of twins born in the 1960s when it was still common that parents had no idea they were expecting multiples.
Local surnames, places mentioned:
- Silva
- Rose
- Our Lady of Good Voyage
- Schooner Mary D. Silveria
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Long Beach seawall status. Storm damage photos 2024.
Photo series journaling the impact from the 2023-24 winter storms and tides. Much of the wall and walkway look great.
The packed soil walkway atop the Long Beach seawall shows a loss of 1″ to 6″ vertical height, scraped for stretches along most of the wall (and more than a foot high loss by the old hotel). There are new and old potholes and cracks in the concrete sections beneath the handrail, and a single rapidly enlarging sinkhole at the footbridge end which is ready for a caution cone or barrel.
photo series: year vs. year comparisons
pinch and zoom to enlarge; right click for description
2024 seawall status
2022 vs. 2024
There are a few repeat vulnerable spots that have not grown rapidly (unlike the one in the photo block above).
2018-2024. How the Same spot changed over 5+ years
After a trio of March storms in 2018, the seawall pathway collapsed in two sections, revealing gaping chasms beneath (later filled). Fissures, cracks and seasonal pothole wear and tear were numerous. Thanks to immediate major repairs, the hollow underbelly sections were filled and packed down and the walkway widened pretty much the entire seawall. Rip rap boulders were shuffled into temporary pyres as extra wall support on the beach side.
photo caption: Same spot. Unlike the pathway which changed significantly, find the railing post to note the rough concrete chunk jutting out that has not changed.
Detail of the 2022 dislodged piece before/after
In 2019 major support was completed
In 2019, hundreds of tons of boulders were added strategically, and later an impressive quantity of sand. Unsurprisingly the sand was devoured by tides and storms–even on the very day it was deposited, swept straight away. The rip rap–mostly unchanged–and new walkway have held.
Seawall corner by the footbridge before 2018 vs. 2019 after added boulders
Boulder pile 2019 still here 2024. The big rocks work.
Aftermath of trio of 2018 storm damage
Before the 2018 winter storm trio, people discussed the pros and cons about raising the height of the seawall, removing it, and so on. After the major upgrades in 2018 and 2019, a town committee was established to study future options for the Long Beach cottages and seawall which wrapped up March 2022.
The 2024 Rockport Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2024.
The detailed Long Beach seawall schematics from 2020 can be found here:
Rockport DPW does annual maintenance. I can’t find updated plans and diagrams about the scope of the proposed next phase of the Long Beach seawall project, but will add them here if I do. Based on the estimated 2.8M award reported in the FEMA press announcement May 4, 2023 to be combined with the town’s match of 1.3M, perhaps it was solely repair and maintenance, and spots that had not been addressed in 2018 and 2019. It’s a long seawall! The 2020 schematic labels 350 feet of wall from roughly #58-#70 as damaged. After the path was tamped down, the bowing was visible.
After this winter, there are new additions (e.g. the vertical loss on the path and that sinkhole). That 2023 press release described a deeper wall section slated for reinforcement, but it doesn’t indicate how long or diagram where. It describes new stairs on the Gloucester side relocated within Rockport. I believe that the replacement stairs installed after the 2018 storm damage were temporary (still standing).
Rockport DPW response is swift and sure. Other than the sand, the infrastructure repairs and maintenance are strong and steady and coordinated with state and federal assistance.
- throwback: 2018 emergency repairs photo journal here https://goodmorninggloucester.com/2018/05/25/long-beach-status-sand-creeps-back-no-stairs-seawall-storm-damage-continues/
- throwback July 14, 2017: piece about Long Beach seasons of sand shifting and seawall. 2012 was a bad year for sand loss.It’s come back and gone again since.
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April 1. Tree removal underway. Gloucester UU Church
photo caption: Tree removal at Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, allee away, April 1, 2024.
photo caption: Gloucester UU Church August (summer), November (fall), (winter)
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Stone, thicket and Joy. Early spring March in #GloucesterMA
March trees and brush–Gloucester in early springtime.
photos and video clips: stone soft joy March 13-24, 2024
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Happy Easter!
On Easter morning, the faint arcs of two partial white rainbows crisscrossed contrails and clouds in a blue sky above Long Beach.
photos: March 31, 2024
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MBTA TOD Housing Zoning Plan Meeting Held at City Hall #GloucesterMA
photos: MBTA Communities Convening at City Hall. Gloucester, MA. March 25, 2024. Pinch and zoom or select to enlarge.
Gregg Cademartori, long time Planning Director for the Gloucester Community Development department, welcomed a crowd composed of residents, officials, city board & commission members, and staff to a public meeting related to the newest MBTA TOD zoning requirements. There were 12 tables or so set up with 8-10 seats in Kyrouz Auditorium at City Hall. Additional seating was available along the perimeter and plenty of room for people who prefer standing. The photos show about 125 people convened.
The city hired a planning consultant, Erik Halvorsen, cofounder of RKG, to lead a public process this year–including this workshop meeting–in order to facilitate compliance assistance related to the ‘new’ MBTA TOD zoning also known as the MBTA Communities housing plan. Back in 2014, Halvorsen was the Assistant Director of Transportation for the Metropolitan Planning Area Council (MAPC) and worked with the city on several projects including in 2013-14 the “Downtown Working Group” and “Reimagining Railroad” which covered this material.
March 2014 | March 2024
2014 Reimagining Railroad Avenue
Ten years ago almost to the day: here are throwback photos from 2013 & 2014 of zoning & planning meetings below and posted on GMG here.
The MAPC June 2014 presentation can be found here
MAPC site page about Reimagining Railroad here
Just a few months ago, in November 2023, MAPC published interactive public maps (akin to Mass Power outages or MEMA) for housing, Homes for Profit: Speculation and Investment, which you can read more about here. They hosted a panel about the research findings concluding at least 1 in every 5 homes were sold to an investor.
Mapping features for the public were promoted during the Reimagining Railroad Avenue project as forthcoming and in concert with other planning projects. They weren’t. The release followed a Boston Globe Spotlight series on housing in Massachusetts published in 2023 and continuing this year. The Spotlight installment that preceded the MAPC published data maps was this one, “Reckoning with Boston’s Towers of Wealth”.
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Good Harbor Beach Inn demo and rebuild underway #GloucesterMA
March 2024. Gloucester, Mass.
Good Harbor Beach Inn is undergoing a big repair, reno and rebuild. Its future footprint and layout with the signature terraced design will be the same, as you can see in how it’s been framed up as of March 2024. The demo of the main building is still to come and will be raised 18 inches per the newest FEMA flood map guidelines. A completion date and exterior design details are not ready for release. Although reservations won’t be available in the summer of 2024, there’s hope for the fall 2024. For sure they’ll be booking summer 2025.
photos Good Harbor Beach Inn: on the left shows In progress (2024) vs. on the right “Before” (2019, 2022). click or pinch and zoom to enlarge
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21st Annual Poetry Without Paper contest is on! Sawyer Free Public Library #GloucesterMA
Among so many welcome signs of spring, the unique and enchanting SFL Poetry without Paper 2024 contest is a Gloucester gem. How fortunate our community is that Christy Russo and John Ronan established it 21 years ago.
Please print and share. Have fun and good luck young writers!
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Daylight Aurora | Beguiling silver mirage clouds above Good Harbor Beach #GloucesterMA
morning photos: cloud drama starting 8:45 AM on March 18, 2024 in Gloucester, Mass.
First
THEN
View from Thatcher Road–tapers to the right
but hang on – LOOK CLOSER
as if it were a daylight aurora in the bottom layers
AND THEN: HOLE PUNCH FINGER CLOUDS after!
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St. Patrick’s Day fun at The Farm Bar & Grill
All day 🍀🌈🎩💚☘️
May have heard some talk about CNN Irish history article and GMG smashburger competition
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! rainbow at the end ☘️🌈
Shamrock tree & clouds plus a rainbow top o’ the evening –what else would it do on St. Patrick’s Day 🙂
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This Sunday! Cape Ann Symphony THE GREAT (AND UNKNOWN) GREAT CONCERT!
Just four days away! Heidi Dallin shares a reminder about Cape Ann Symphony spring concert in this their 72nd season:
The Cape Ann Symphony’s 72nd Concert Season continues with The Known (and Unknown) Greats Concert featuring world renowned pianist Janice Weber on Sunday, March 17 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. For tickets and information about the concert, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org
The program for The Known (and Unknown Greats) Concert features Louise Farrenc’s Overture No. 1; William Grant Still’s Woodnotes and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 performed by Janice Weber. Ms. Weber made her Cape Ann Symphony debut in 2008 playing Saint Saens’ Piano Concerto No. 2. in The French Fantasy Concert. CAS Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa looks forward to the upcoming concert,
“Virtuoso pianist Janice Weber is an amazing artist! She has a long history of breathtaking performances with CAS. We can’t wait for our audience to hear her perform Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto. We begin the concert with a sparkling Overture by the French composer Louise Farrenc followed by a gorgeous suite for orchestra by American composer William Grant Still.”
Yoichi Udagawa
Read the press release and print and share the poster!
IMAGES
Photo 1: CAS Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa
Photo 2: Guest Artist Pianist Janice Weber
Photo 3: Composer Louise Farrenc
Photo 4: Composer William Grant Still
Photo 5: CAS In Concert, Credit: Jeph Ellis, Image Maker
Photo 6: CAS Players, Credit: Jeph Ellis, Image Maker
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Mad skills: Turner’s Seafood Fish Facts videos | filleting local haddock from #gloucesterma
Turners Seafood operates in several communities. Its Gloucester branch, Turner’s Seafood Market & Fish n Chips is located near St. Ann’s on Smith Street between Maplewood Ave. and Pleasant St., on the same side of the street as Holy Cow ice cream. On Turner’s Seafood main website, you can find descriptions for the daily fresh catch options. And from the “more” option you can select LEARN MORE: FISH FACTS to see a few local video shorts including, Real Local Haddock from the Dock to Your Plate. You’ll see master filleter, Milton, who has honed his decades of artful expertise at Turner’s, inspecting and fish cutting; and then on to Joey for another round of skinning and inspecting the fillets.
**Thanks to Heidi Dallin for recommending their local video production: Turner’s Seafood gets 2 Heidi Dallin thumbs up for their short reel Fun Facts 🙂
Turner’s Seafood shared the short videos on social media, too.
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Bicycle Rider with Westie on Board. #Gloucesterma
Photos February 2024: On different days & weather conditions, same bicycle rider on Bass Ave with sweet passenger Westie riding in back.
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Gray to Glorious #GloucesterMA waves today
photo caption: 3/10/2024 at about high tide, views from Gloucester and Rockport, Long Beach, Twin Lights. Before the sun came out, the wind was strong enough this morning to move a portapotty off site 100′ down a street. Later, when the sun broke, waves in the surf matched up with a cloud filled blue sky.
porta potty almost put back to construction site. gray sky on left. blue sky hours later
Video clips: Long Beach 2024, March 10
-loading a few-
From the seawall, ricochet wave rolls
From Cape Ann Motor Inn
Photos above: C. Ryan 3/10/2024
March 9, 2024: The gray days are pretty, too. Snow buntings still about.
snow bunting dips- flying down from cottages over rip rap on the beach and back up again
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City Hall Draft #GloucesterMA
An article in today’s Gloucester Daily Times newspaper 3/9/2024 encouraged the public to attend the Comprehensive Plan Draft Day, today– underway in City Hall from 10-2, if you can make it. See the article for more information, links to the plan’s website and next steps for the project. The Director of Community Development responsible for the plan stepped down. Staff from that department was on hand and members of various boards. Mayor Verga welcomed attendees and introduced the consultants.
Check out a Master Plan blast from the past: Read WALKER HANCOCK AND THE 1958 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR GLOUCESTER. Zoning, master arts plan, signage, trees, inventory of significant homes (dozens of addresses across town), and more
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Congratulations Barbecue Chef Doug Keiles! And Check Out Laurie Lufkin’s Festive St. Patrick’s Day goodies. Meat & Sweet Foods #GloucesterMA
Bringing home the bacon and the baking!
After a 6 year hiatus from barbecue competitions, Doug Keiles went down with his rub and won the whole thing. Congratulations to the 2024 Grand Champion! The Great American Kosher BBQ and Jewish Festival was held in Palm Beach, Florida.You can see the custom wood burned cutting board trophy on display.
photos would be better scratch n’ sniff ( imagine brisket wafting): smoked sea bass and other specialties in the case and a counter brimming with homey baked goods that are truly inspired by heirloom recipes their* mom used to bake, amped up and generous. Meat and Sweet is located at 23 East Main Street. Hours: Saturdays 10- or earlier if they sell out. Customers can order ahead. It’s a cheery shopping experience.
author’s note update: “their” as in Laurie and her sister, who can be seen in the photos and working front of the house 🙂
Spouses and business partners are both award winning foodies: Doug Keiles at doug@meatandsweetfoods.com | Laurie Lufkin at laurie@meatandsweetfoods.com | 978-559-7564
Good Morning Gloucester 