My View of Life on the Dock
Article describes some Gloucester highlights: Cape Ann Museum and Harrison Cady exhibition, Gloucester Beaches, Stage Fort Park, Half Moon Beach, Gloucester Shuttle, Cape Ann Cinema, Gloucester Stage, Schooner Thomas E. Lannon, Hammond Castle Museum, Perfect Storm, Wicked Tuna, Rocky Neck, Latitude 43, Lobsta Land, Zeke’s Place, Willow Rest, Beauport Hotel, Ocean Hotel at Bass Rocks, Beth Williams, and (couldn’t get a reservation at) Duckworth’s Bistro.
Look for New Information about artist Byron Brooks and images of his work added here https://goo.gl/WPv1XT and on Good Morning Gloucester (GMG). Byron Brooks Homeward Bound, found displayed Addison Gilbert Hospital spring 2018:
Good Morning Gloucester readers shared comments and images of Byron Brooks paintings to help rediscover the artist and the man.
Searching for artist! Byron Brooks? Part 1 November 2016
Searching for Artist! Byron Brooks? Part 2
Searching for Artist Byron Brooks Part 3
In response to Searching for artist Byron Brooks (Part 1) and (Part 2), David Collins, a Good Morning Gloucester reader and amateur geneologist, was inspired to act. First he emailed a PDF family tree for artist, Byron Lloyd Brooks, and then shared vivid remembrances and vintage photographs in response to the artist’s timeline in Gloucester, Massachusetts. These are wonderful additions to filling out Brooks story and a peek into Gloucester and Stage Fort Park history. Thanks so much, David!
For a time, Brooks lived in 12 Stage Fort Avenue. Collins’ family lived in 7 Stage Fort Avenue 1940s-1960s. Does anyone know the neighbors Collins mentions or have more photographs of long gone homes and Barrett’s Camp at Stage Fort Park? I’m looking forward to scouting for that boulder.
“Hello, Catherine, Here is a little more information on the artist Byron L. Brooks, in case you are still interested. I have attached a family tree for him. It does also have some information on his two wives that I know of. I am not a professional genealogist, so don’t take the information as gospel. I grew up at what was then 7 Stage Fort Avenue (no “Park” in the address) in the late 1940s, 50s and early 60s in the house that is now 1 Anchor Lane, I believe. We moved to Connecticut in 1961 the week I turned 16. The house Byron lived in, 12 Stage Fort Avenue, was, back when I lived there, a 2-family house. Most of the other houses in that part of the neighborhood were, or had been, summer camps. Stage Fort Avenue Y-ed at our house and both parts, one going on to one of the Park’s parking lots and the other going past us to Barrett’s Camps, were named Stage Fort Avenue. The house in front of Byron’s, the address was 10 Stage Fort Avenue back then and is now 7 Stage Fort Avenue, didn’t exist – at least not in the large form it is in now. Sam and Marion (Kerr) Johnson lived there. I think the house burned down in about 1975.
Ralph and Evelyn (DeCoste) Bradstreet lived in the downstairs part of 12 Stage Fort Avenue and several families lived upstairs over the years. Byron must have lived in the neighborhood a while before my family did. I think my folks moved to #7 about 1939 or so. I don’t know when the Bradstreets moved into #12. That said, Byron Brooks was my mother’s 2nd cousin. They share Ephraim Brooks [1818-1905] and Ruth Ward [1816-1892] of Nova Scotia as great-grandparents.
However, I had never heard of Byron until your 2nd GoodMorningGloucester article. I even collect art by people who called Cape Ann home – Charles Movalli was my best friend growing up*. I also have an extensive family tree that I have worked on for many years. Still, I had no idea Byron existed! Of course, I had his parents in my mother’s part of our tree. I have now added information on him and his many siblings because of your articles. Thank-you! Hope this helps you, in return.” David Brooks 7/1/18
photo credit below (click to enlarge): 7 Stage Fort Avenue ca.1947-57 (L), and Stage Coach Inn vintage postcard, both images courtesy David Collins
about the photo with the girls on the rock and Stage Fort Avenue homes THEN (now gone):
“This one is of my sister and the girl (and her dog) who lived upstairs at 12 Stage Fort Avenue for several years while we lived on Stage Fort Avenue and then moved to School Street in Manchester. Her father, originally from Rockport, was a 7th cousin of Byron Brooks but I doubt he knew. The girls are sitting on a rock outside the side entrance to downstairs #12, the one the people we called Auntie Evelyn and Uncle Emerson (Ralph Emerson) Bradstreet (both cousins of each of my parents) probably used most often. It led into their kitchen. The doorway at the stairs in front (in the other picture I sent you) led into a hall, with stairs running up to the 2nd floor apartment and also a door at the left into the downstairs apartment.
The building behind the girls and to the left was, at least at one time, a Barrett camp. I think sometimes people bought them and made them more permanent homes even if they didn’t live in them year-round. The family’s name sounded like Brown-eyes but I don’t remember how it was actually spelled. Oh, I do remember: William and Irene (Douglas) Brauneis. Irene Douglas’ brother (a close friend and fishing buddy of my uncle) and his wife and family and his parents lived in the large house at the top of the hill behind the camps that was not a camp. I think the Brauneis family lived in theirs, maybe even full time eventually, long after we had moved.
The next home which looks altogether different was rented out in the summer, too, but I have no idea who lived in it. In the next camp to that one, not in the picture, a Mrs. Morrison spent the summer and her daughter and family, the Kilroys, would join her for a few weeks. Mrs. Kilroy had grown up in Gloucester. I hung around with daughter Carol and brother Robert the part of the summer when they were in town…Henry and Pauline (Osmond) Garvey and family lived in the Barrett camp that abutted our property on (what was then) Stage Fort Avenue. Great family. They would summer there from Tuckahoe, New York, but both had been brought up in Gloucester. ”- David Collins
*author’s note – more on this connection later
Byron Brooks on line catalogue (updated)
From the call announced 8/13/18:
“…The Call to Artists is open to to all artists, artisans, architects, landscape architects, or teams with experience in public art, site responsive design, project management, and construction administration. An Artist Selection Committee comprised of representatives from the Boston Art Commission and local arts professionals representing the neighborhood will review all applications and determine the final artist/team.
The deadline to submit questions about the project to bac@boston.gov is August 29, 2018, and applications are due by September 18, 2018. The application can be found here.”
City of Gloucester officials are working towards a Phase 3 for the Haskell Pond Dam reconstruction which I wrote about last week (Part 1). I included information about the original monumental build. In response, Bruce Roberts was kind enough to share these amazing photographs of the impressive crews at the Haskell Pond construction site 1901. Bonus: they were annotated by his grandfather in 1958. West Gloucester families may recognize a surname or two, maybe a family resemblance. Please help ID if you can.
Bruce Roberts explains: “My grandfather, Edward F. Roberts, identified the individuals back in 1958. There are some folks he didn’t recognize, since he would have been pretty young when these images were taken. The first picture has the most identified individuals. One thing that has always been remarkable to me in the second image is how much Chester Andrews, my g-grandfather, resembled my father, Eugene Roberts, at that age.”
HASKELL’S POND CONSTRUCTION ca.1901-02 – (Individuals ID’d by Edward Roberts in 1958)
Photo 1, Dec 1901 (in snow): “Wood Choppers at Haskell’s Pond, December 1901”
Front Row, L-R: 1. Otis Lufkin, 2. Matt Poland, 3. Loren (sp?) Harris, 4. Melvin Wilkins, 5. Jim White
Back Row: 1.Asa Sargent, 2. unknown, 3. Ed Lufkin, 4. James Chadbourne, 5. Joseph Abbott, 6. unknown, 7. Joshua Roberts, 8 & 9. unknown
Photo 2 (late 1901 or early 1902):
Front, L-R: 1. Loren Harris, 2 & 3. unknown, 4. Asa Sargent
Center, w/ white shirt: Eps Walter Haskell
3rd row: (Right side, behind Asa Sargent, in light coat): Chester Andrews
(2nd to left from Chester Andrews): Fred Jeffs
read more:
Saying hi, meeting artists, having a ball. They draw a crowd
Big crowd at Gloucester Stage youth acting
Weather held off for the big Reenactment of the 1775 Gloucester Falcon Battle, but the incoming tide kept things moving ahead of schedule. If you missed it – not to worry: 1623 Studios (Cape Ann TV) filmed the battle from Beauport Hotel, and there were drones in the air. Fantastic coverage of the event here on GMG: see Bridgette Matthews photos from event here on GMG and Manny Simoes photos on GMG.
So as not to let the parade pass by, here’s a snippet of fife and drum retreat swinging through downtown after the battle. The officers gave them protection and compliments and timing of Cape Pond Ice truck was kismet.
Calm and warm water for the 40th Anniversary Celebrate the Clean Harbor Swim. Short video of the start and finish and a few snapshots from Day 1. Relays tomorrow!
Sarah Fraser Robbins (R) with Barbara Blais (L)
Sarah Robbins Evans cheers and celebrates milestone she helped push through 40 years ago. Before it was celebrate the clean harbor it was…clean it. Read more about its beginnings:
Rio Waters can get better! Thanks to Dogged Naturalists We Can Put Our heads Under Water in Gloucester Aug 4, 2016
Sarah Fraser Robbins excerpt, August 10, 2016, and her seaweed recipe included here- see the sea of seaweed and mosses on Long Beach post storm Sept 2016
Gloucester Clean Harbor- H2O no nos are a thing of the past August 12, 2016
and Conservation Inspiration: Roger Babson, Sarah Fraser Robbins, Sarah Evans, Philip Weld Jr August 15, 2016
Scenes from today
Video 2018 Niles Beach Gloucester MA Celebrate Clean Harbor Swim START roughly 9:30am
FINISH roughly 9:48am
Roughly 20% of each branch of the Military is Women – Woman-Owned Businesses along the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway great idea donation drive in the works on Cape Ann
We will have the boxes in shops Labor Day Weekend thru Columbus Day. Any money donations will go towards the shipping of the boxes overseas. We will have a pick up date also with www. operationtroopsupport.com by the end of October.
As of August 11, 2018, the following Women Owned Businesses will have the boxes in their shops:
Pauline’s Gifts Gloucester
Essex Bird Shop and Pet Supply Essex
Sea Meadow Gifts and Garden Essex
Olde Ipswich Shop and Gallery Essex
Bookstore Gloucester
Cape Ann Olive Oil Gloucester
Premier Imprints Gloucester
Roamin’ Baths Mobile Pet Spa On The Road all over Cape Ann
And the Block party tonight!
“Landing” – before Battle of Gloucester Reenactment – for great photos of the event, see Bridgette Matthews photos from event here on GMG and Manny Simoes photos on GMG.
swimmers check in before the 40th annual Celebrate Clean Harbor Swim at Niles Beach, kids swim up first
Stage Fort Park – annual Gloucester Blues Festival preps for the music
and the Block party tonight!
Fun spectator sport even if you’re not out there! And for this special 40th anniversary it’s a two day affair. Here’s the schedule for the (already) registered folks for friends and fans who’ll cheer them on.
SATURDAY AUGUST 11, 2018
8:15 – SAFETY Director will meet with Kayakers/Lifeguards.
8:45 – MANDATORY Meeting for coaches, officials, and swimmers
8:00- 8:45 WARM UP
Events
1. 8-12 year old boys/girls 500 meter – Event starts: 9:00 A.M.
The race will consist of a 500m course which will be along the beach and back around green buoys Shallow water start and shoreline finish.
2 . Open Men/Women 1.2 mile – Event start: 9:30 or 10 minutes after the final swimmer finishes the 500 m event. The course will be a rectangle, starting in shallow water. The swimmers will swim approximately 0.55 miles out from the beach to a buoy where they will make a 90 degree turn to the left, keeping the buoy on your left. The second leg will be approximately 0.1 miles, and the swimmers will make another 90 degree turn keeping the bouy on their left. The swimmers will then proceed to swim back to Niles beach and finish at the orange buoy at the shore/finish line.
NEW THIS YEAR – SUNDAY EVENT
The 10 Mile Celebrate the Clean Harbor Relay.
6:30 a.m. Registration/Check in opens
7:15 a.m. Safety Meeting.
7:30 Start of First leg.
No one will be allowed to start a new leg after 1:20.p.m. 2:00 p.m Course will be cleared.
NEOWSA (formerly NEMSA) Printed matter about the Celebrate the Clean Harbor Swim:
The CELEBRATE THE CLEAN HARBOR OPEN WATER SWIMMING FESTIVAL will be held August 11 and 12, 2018. This year, in celebration of 40 years of aqua activism for Goucester Harbor water quality, we are expanding to a two day open water event sponsored by New England Open Water Swimming Association (NEOWSA), formerly New England Marathon swimming Association (NEMSA).
Starting off the festival will be the Clean Harbor Kids Swim on Saturday, a 500 meter swim along the shore of Niles Beach for 8-12 year olds. Held since 2015, this is a wonderful way to introduce kids to the sport of Open Water Swimming.
Also on Saturday will be the 40th Annual 1.2 Mile Celebrate the Clean Harbor Swim
For 2018, we are adding a second day to the event, creating the festival. We will be holding the 10 mile Clean Harbor Relay event on Sunday, August 12th. This event will be held on a 1.0 mile course, very similar to Saturday’s event. We suggest teams of 5, and swimming through the rotation two times.. Your team may have more or less than 5 swimmers. We believe the more the merrier. There will be a 6.5 hour limit. This will be a fun atmosphere, so bring a beach chair/blanket, snacks, some sunscreen and shade, and have a great time hanging out on the beach between your swims with your closest swimming friends.
Proceeds from the event will go toward supporting two organizations in the local area: Maritime Gloucester and Gloucester Fisheman’s Wives Association.
The mission of Maritime Gloucester is to inspire students and visitors to value marine science, maritime heritage and environmental stewardship through hands-on education and experiences.
The Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association is a non-profit organization promoting the New England fishing industry, helping to preserve the Atlantic Ocean as a food supply for the world, and assisting active and retired fishermen and their families to live better lives.
We have reason to celebrate this incredible resource that is Gloucester Harbor, and we owe it all to four Cape Ann residents who, in 1979, swam across Gloucester Harbor in protest of its polluted status. This evolved into an annual Audubon Society-sponsored event to help raise funds for cleaning the harbor, hence the name “Swim for a Clean Harbor.” When, in 1993, the harbor was deemed clean by the Audubon Society, the efforts of these pioneering swim-eco-activists became a cause for celebration and “Celebrate the Clean Harbor Swim” was born. Don’t miss this year’s event. We have reason to celebrate and what better way than to Jump in. Get Wet.”
Complete results will be posted to the New England Open Water Swimming Association Facebook page. A few prior GMG posts about the swim:
Last month I was fortunate to glimpse the impressive Haskell’s Pond Dam reconstruction orchestrated by Gloucester’s Department of Public Works (DPW). Protecting and managing water utilities can be easy to take for granted. “This not so sleepy dam by Rt. 128 continues to deliver almost 30% of the city’s water,” exclaimed Larry Durkin, City Environmental Engineer. He explained that years ago the DPW team began assessing the city’s water infrastructure and compliance requirements including what would happen during an event storm. Haskell’s Pond Dam needed attention: The reconstruction was projected to cost 2 million (based on the preliminary plans and the recent Babson Reservoir repair). Phase I and II were contracted out to SumCo Eco Contracting and the estimates were correct. The project cost two million and the work is largely completed thanks to grants and loans from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (EEA), and the Commonwealth’s Dam and Seawall Program. DPW Director, Mike Hale, and Larry Durkin concur: “They are fabulous to work with.” Discovery was anticipated. While drilling it was determined that the Haskell Pond Dam was indeed not structurally stable, and a MAJOR fix would be required to bring the dam into compliance. The DPW team is working with the state to fund the critical work of Phase 3.
Until then, take time to enjoy its history. While checking out the 2018 progress, I pulled stories and stats from the Haskell’s Pond Dam original build In 1902. As with today, the dam work was regarded a model project. State assistance and contracted elements were required then, too. The numerous links among these two century projects are a fascinating delve and described below. The evolving breaking news in 1902 kicked off with a bang, surprising lawsuits (next stop for one could be Supreme Court), and deft leadership. Readers and history buffs will recognize names. (Tarr ancestors were involved; were yours?)
panorama and contemporary photos – Like a mini Walden pond- Haskell’s Pond during Dam reconstruction Gloucester, MA ©c ryan July 7, 2018.
Scope for Phase 1 & 2: Construction of a new concrete spillway chute, concrete repairs, clearing of trees and unwanted vegetation and valve replacement at an earthen embankment dam within the City’s active water supply system, and more (A prior $175,000 grant from the state’s Dam and Seawall Program was awarded to support “engineering, permitting and the development of construction documents” which established scope for Phase 1)
Contractor: SumCo Eco Contracting,
Status: largely completed
Mayor: Mayor Romeo Theken
DPW Director: Mike Hale
City Environmental Engineer: Lawrence A. Durkin, P.E.
Project start (historic): 1902
Modern project start: 2013-18; RFP for Phase I issued: March 15, 2017
Total project cost: estimated to be $7 million
Funding Awarded to date: $1,925,000
| No | EEA | Grant | Loan | Comment |
| 1 | Design & permitting grant FY 2016 | $175,000 | Completed 6/30/16 | |
| 2 | Haskell Phase 1 Construction Grant FY 2017 | $500,000 | Closed 6/30/17 and City reimbursed | |
| 3 | Haskell Phase 1 Construction Loan FY 2018 | $500,000 | Submission by DPW to EEA 7/26/18 for reimbursement | |
| 4 | Haskell Phase 2 Construction Grant FY 2018 (Applied to Phase 1 change orders) | $500,000 | Submission by DPW to EEA 7/26/18 for reimbursement | |
| 5 | Additional FY 2018 EEA, funds applied to Phase 1 change orders | $250,000 | Submission by DPW to EEA 7/26/18 for reimbursement | |
| 6 | Haskell Phase 2 Full FY 2019 Grant, to be applied to Phase 3 | $500,000 | to be realized if Phase 3 goes forward in FY 2019 | |
| 7 | EEA Total to date | $1,925,000 | $500,000 |
Phase 3: Some future phase was anticipated, though obviously impossible to nail down until Phase 1 & 2 were completed. The reconstruction was based on discovery put into works five or more years ago as Durkin and DPW team assessed city’s watersheds. The dam has been deemed unstable and will require a major fix to be compliant. According to Durkin, the scope for Phase 3 will include “a secant concrete wall to be drilled and concrete along the dam crest for its entire length, cored in the bedrock beneath dam for structural stability and a concrete parapet wall tied into the secant wall that provides the necessary containment for the maximum storm as defined by the state” and some exicting ancillary projects I’ll write more about in a future update. Phase 3 is estimated to cost 5 million and DPW is working on grants with the state to ensure that it happens.
Location(s): West Gloucester
Priority: Mayor Romeo Theken’s Office-City consider water highest priority – this one continues to provide 1/3 of the city’s water
before photos courtesy DPW ca.2014 / after photos ©c ryan 2018
Reviewing the ordeal that was constructing the dam– one hundred and six years ago –is a fascinating read, and helped me appreciate the major job it’s been in 2018. The original dam construction was contentious and hence the top news story of 1902 and years prior. While researching its beginnings, I was struck by just how many areas of concern and themes of city governance from 1902 remain relevant in 2018. Here’s a short list: the financial condition of the city (“revaluation”), suitable allocations, considering work on Rogers Street, water costs, heroic solo sails, possible steel bridge over Annisquam, Burnham Field play ground, pros and cons of tourism, disagreement over what is considered sound development, new theater on Main Street, announcing state grants, eminent domain, boundary lines, Gloucester Fresh, cut bridge in bad condition, aiming to keep work in town when possible, Stage Fort Park tributes, environmentally friendly innovations, sustainability, access and oodles of local politics- Office of Mayor and City Council, city staff, committees, and commissions.
The excerpts below pertain to Haskell’s pond dam from 1902 Gloucester Daily Times archives that I pulled from reels at Sawyer Free and transcribed for easy access. Plans and maps are courtesy of Mike Hale and the Department Public Work team. Links to high resolution versions are provided at the end of the post.
January 4, 1902 – MAYOR FRENCH LOSES: Aldermen Vote to Exonerate Water Commissioners
Pauline Bresnahan shares photosand a message from Rick from Rowley, who is the chair of the local chapter of Austin Healey Owners Club:
“Rick zipped by to ask that I thank all of the Woman Businesses that hosted the group of ladies on Tuesday. Thank you to Heather at Essex National Heritage for recommending our trail to this group. There were over 150 members at the summit from around USA and Canada. The ladies told Rick they were thrilled with the shops and the refreshments and customer service. I Love This Car!!”
Thanks for sharing, Pauline. Cool car and positive message. There’s a Rowley stop on your Byway trail. The video looks like he’s heading back to Gloucester 🙂
Fun poster (note sponsor Lyon-Waugh) for the 2018 Healey Seaside Summit which has just one more day in our area. I look forward to seeing photographs of these beautiful cars zipping around our scenic shores; send some in to GMG!
Pauline Bresnahan shares this photo and writes: “Ladies from the Austin-Healey summit travelled along our Woman Owned Business on the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway. They are now headed to Beautiful Gloucester Ma to enjoy a sail on Schooner Lannon and the Schooner Ardelle. Thanks Ladies for stopping in.”
Prepared meals and soup and sandwiches to go. Classic Cooks Cafe and full service catering can be found at 27 Eastern Avenue (back of the Masonic Lodge by Veterans Elementary School and Russel’s florist), Cape Ann Farmers Market, and this new space next to Orange Leaf, 102 Rogers Street. Easy sandwich from two stops- one small container of pulled pork from Classic Cooks paired with Alexandra’s cobbles was scrumptious I’m told.
Good Morning Gloucester 