Author: God's Morning

That I’m having my first coming out party as a Cape Ann artist on Wednesday, April 13^th at Alchemy, and I’d love everyone to come?  I am excited about my exhibit at Alchemy, and the opportunity to meet in person some of the people I’ve connected with virtually through Good Morning Gloucester, as well as see again those I’ve had a chance to meet and get to know in person.  In addition to the art opening, I handed off the completed Did You Know book files at 7:00 morning to Barry Pollock at Cricket Press, and he assures me I will have books in hand by the 13^th, so it will also be a kickoff and book signing for Did You Know the book.  This is the chance for those of you who have just been hankering to have a signed first edition of Did You Know to get one fresh off the Cricket Press.  In addition to the books, I will also have some matted prints of my work available for sale.  Did you know that during an Alchemy exhibit, 10% of the proceeds of any art sales go to the Gloucester Education Foundation?  During the opening party, 20% of the proceeds of any matted print and Did You Know book sales will go to the GEF, so come out, have fun, give me the chance to meet and see you, help the GEF, and help me start paying for the rest of the printing of the book.  Also, Mark McDonough, does a great thing for artists with his Alchemy of Art exhibits, so show him some love by filling his place to overflowing.  The only thing I am really sad about, is that Joey C., the person I have most to thank for so many of the wonderful things and people I have experienced since moving to Cape Ann, will be away (he’s on vacation again! I really need to become a lobster broker!), so won’t be able to be there.  Hopefully Manny (the driving force behind the Did You Know book being done in the first place) will be and can capture it on video for Joey to see on GMG. 

You saw it first on Good Morning Gloucester!  Have a Good Morning Gloucester (and any where else in the world that you might be right now reading GMG), and a blessed day.  EJ

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

I just finished having a long, really lovely conversation with Sylvia DeBoever, niece of Sarah Lawrence (known as Aunt Settie), of FDR memorial stamp letter fame.  Sarah lived at 121 Leonard Street, not 123, which was her husband’s house, Leonard Lawrence, also known as Richard L. Sears who died in the 1970’s.  Sarah then moved from Leonard Street to Heart Street in Gloucester to take care of her aging mother.  Sylvia said she spent a lot of her time at the Senior Center, bringing arts and crafts for the seniors to do, and was much loved by everyone who knew her.  She died at the age of 98 on August 22, 2001.  She was an avid stamp collector, as was FDR, who was considered the greatest stamp collector that ever lived.  Sylvia’s husband Tom, also an avid collector, owns some of FDR’s personal stamp collection.  Sylvia grew up in Gloucester, but moved away to Michigan 51 years ago, after she and Tom married.  She loved to visit Aunt Setti in Annisquam, then walk to the lighthouse to rendezvous with her then boyfriend, Tom who was in the coast guard.  She would then walk home to Heart Street.  Aunt Setti instilled in her a love of stamp collecting, which Tom also shared.  After talking with her, I am so thrilled that she will be reconnected with something that was her aunt’s and meant so much to her. 

Sylvia found out about the stamps by reading the Gloucester Times, which she does every day on line, to stay connected with her beloved Gloucester.  I have sent her the link to Good Morning Gloucester, so she can subscribe, and now stay connected in the GMG family way. 

E.J. Lefavour

That the intended recipient of these FDR memorial stamps was Sarah Lawrence, an avid philatelist and regular customer of Mr. Grimsland. 

Henry Grimsland became interested in First Day Covers during the depression when his firm, The Artcraft Engraving Co., needed additional work. As a topnotch steel and copper plate engraver, Grimsland was dissatisfied with the current cachets and felt that a steel engraving, printed on a high quality envelope, would be of interest to philatelists. He produced his first cachet for the Peace Commemorative stamp issued at Newburgh, N. Y., April 19, 1933 and made one or more cachets for each United States stamp produced until the American Chemical Society stamp issued in New York City, Sept. 4, 1951.  He was born in Risor, Norway on January 16, 1889 and died in Chicago, Illinois on January l3, 1957, just three days short of his 68th birthday.

I received this email a short time ago from Sylvia DeBoever, niece of Sarah Lawrence:

Dear Ms. Lefavour: I am Sylvia DeBoever of Grosse Pointe Woods, MI who is the niece of S.E. (Sarah) Lawrence now of the “Grimsland” cover fame!  I have contacted both the Gloucester News writer (Francis Quinn), as well as the USPS representative in Boston (Mr. Tarmey) with the evidence of death of my aunt Sarah E. Lawrence (2001) in order to obtain receipt of the long lost mail that ended up in England 66 years ago. Mr Grimsland was well known to us as the stamp dealer (professional philatelist) of whom my aunt was a regular customer.  I have not yet contacted Mr. O’Keefe who presumably holds the item in question.  I assume he will get contacted by Mr. Tarmey of the USPS.  We (my husband and I) were thrilled to get this bit of info as we are active philatelists ourselves, and had acted in the 1990’s as agent for my aunt to sell her stamp and cover collections for her then needed cash.  I’m sure we will be getting further information in days ahead. 

I responsed to her:

Hi Sylvia, Nice to make your acquaintance.  It must have been even more surprising to you to learn of its existence than it was for us to see it, after it floated around who knows where for almost 66 years.  At this point, I believe Mr. Tarmey at the USPS is in possession of the envelope and who you should be in contact with.  It makes for a very nice end to the story to know that Mrs. Lawrence has family that are also philatelists, and that you will now have in your collection something your aunt obviously wanted to have in her’s but never received.  I wonder if she wondered what ever happened to them.  Just out of curiosity, how did you learn about it?  Do you read Good Morning Gloucester?  Thanks for contacting and best wishes, Ellen

Nice ending to a very fascinating story – thanks to Good Morning Gloucester spreading the word.  I’m just sorry that Tom O’Keefe won’t have the stamps and envelope for the Annisquam Historical Society.

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

That before I even moved to Cape Ann, I was being positively influenced by the inspiring energy of Joey Ciaramitaro through reading Good Morning Gloucester?  The man is a non-stop package of powerful positive energy, a goodwill ambassador for Cape Ann, and a guru of social networking; but I only knew the Good Morning Gloucester side of him.  I’ve gotten to know him personally now, learned a little about his family history and wanted to share it with those GMG readers that might not know. 

Joey’s Grandfather, Captain Joe Ciaramitaro was born in Detroit, Michigan on January 6, 1915. He was two years old when his father died. His family then went back to Sicily where he learned to fish. At the age of fifteen he returned to the United States and settled in Gloucester, Massachusetts where he fished on several trawlers.  Captain Joe met and married Felicia Curcuru at the age of 23 in 1938. With the help of Ben Curcuru, Captain Joe had his first boat built – the “Ben and Josephine”.
The Ben and Josephine was launched in March of 1941, however the vessel was sunk off the coast of Maine by a German U-Boat.  When Captain Joe tried to board the Ben and Josephine to get the compass out, the Germans thought he was going to radio their location to the Coast Guard. They shot at him with machine guns so he came out of the Pilot House with his hands in the up and without the compass.  The crew of the Ben and Josephine got into the lifeboat and rowed for 36 hours and finally landed at Mt. Desert Rock off the coast of Maine. Navigating by the stars of the night, Captain Joe led his crew to shore after a day and a half of rowing.
The next boat built for built by Captain Joe was the “Benjamin C”. The Benjamin C was launched in 1946. He fished the Benjamin C from 1946 to 1952. The boat was then sold to National Sea Products of Nova Scotia.  In 1953, Captain Joe bought the former Slade Gorton property on East Main Street. The property was used as a smokehouse, salted fish house, fillet house and flakeyard. It was then that Captain Joe & Sons was formed.
In the 60′s and 70′s, Captain Joe & Sons, Inc. was known for processing whiting and the company supplied A&P grocery stores throughout the United States. The company was run by Captain Joe and his two sons, Benjamin (Libby) and Charles Ciaramitaro.
In the mid-70s Joe (our Joey C.) & Frank Ciaramitaro joined the company to form the third generation. Joe and Frank worked summers until they graduated from college to work full time along with their fathers.  As Joey tells it, their fathers paid them slave wages, so they decided to do a little lobster brokering on the side to make a little extra money.  The Captain Joe & Sons fleet has since grown to handle the fish and lobsters of 37 fishing boats and 39 lobster boats.
Today you can visit Captain Joe & Sons, in Gloucester, seven days a week to buy fish and lobster directly as the boats are being unloaded.  Stop by Captain Joe & sons at 95 East Main Street, say hi to Joey, get yourself a Good Morning Gloucester bumpersticker, and of course some lobster or fish.  http://www.wholesalelobster.com/

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

That picturesque and unique Lanes Cove, located in the village of Lanesville in Gloucester, rose to prominence in the 1800’s for fishing (one could row out into Ipswich Bay and bring back a boatload of cod) and later granite quarrying? Except for lobstering, no one fishes out of Lanes Cove today, and all that is left of the granite industry are water-filled quarries and a cove with massive breakwaters designed specifically for loading granite onto sloops. Because the granite industry died in the 1930’s, Lanesville has remained largely untouched.

During the 1900’s, the rocky coastline and wonderful light that pervades Cape Ann brought artists and sculptors to Lanesville.  World famous sculptors made their homes here, buying quarries from the bankrupt Rockport Granite Company. Lanesville became a home to many extremely creative people. Today, many of the descendants of these artists live in Lanesville or close by, and many new artists have settled here, attracted by the same natural beauty and camaraderie of other talented and creative people.  http://www.lanescove.us/

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

Cape Ann Home & Business Exposition
Saturday, March 26, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Sunday, March 27 2011, 10 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Gloucester High School Field House
32 Leslie O. Johnson Road, Gloucester

On Saturday, GMG contributors were out in force at the Cape Ann Home & Business Expo.  Our assignment was to spread the GMG love and sign up new subscribers to Good Morning Gloucester.  The happy exhibitors pictured here are some of the lucky people who will now be part of the worldwide GMG family.  For anyone who may not know this, you can subscribe to Good Morning Gloucester free of charge and obligation.  All you have to do is go to http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Goodmorninggloucester, type in your email address and anti-spam text, and you have become a part of a blogging phenomenon that is spreading around the world to share the unique awesomeness of Gloucester, and all of Cape Ann.   There is no requirement that you blog or that you even read it every day if you don’t have the time; but if you don’t, you will surely be missing out.   FYI, Good Morning Gloucester has a booth at the Expo, so stop by today between 10:00 – 3:00 and check it out.  Go to http://www.capeannchamber.com/expo/partic.htm for more details on the Expo. 

That Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), a/k/a FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States (1933-1945), a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war, and the only American president elected to more than two terms?  On April 15, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt was laid to rest in Hyde Park, New York.

July 26, 1945 – The U.S. Post Office Department issued a 1-cent stamp commemorating Roosevelt in Hyde Park, N.Y. This was the second in a series of four stamps issued in memory of the recently deceased president. Each stamp showed an oval portrait of Roosevelt to the left plus a scene of an important place associated with his life. The 1-cent issue showed Roosevelt’s house in Hyde Park, N.Y.  The postage rate in 1945 was 3-cents.

On July 26, 1945, H. Grimsland of Chicago mailed this First Day of Issue Roosevelt Memorial envelope and  1-cent stamps to Mrs. S.E. Lawrence of 123 Leonard St., Gloucester, MA.  This envelope finally arrived in Annisquam 3 days ago.  It had traveled to Gloucester, England and God only knows where else over the past almost 66 years, but it finally made it to its destination.  Mrs. Lawrence is long gone, so the mailman gave the envelope to Tom O’Keefe who is the curator of the Annisquam Historical Society, and he loaned it to me to share with all of you.  The mail must go through!

(lyrics by Larry Groce)

When you mail a letter,
you can send it anywhere.
On foot, by truck, by airplane.
The postman gets it there.
So write a letter to a friend,
Maybe she’ll write you.
No matter what, you always know.
The mail must go through.
No matter if it rains or snows.
The mail must go through.
 Some folks live in a city,
some live in a little town.
Even if you live out on a farm.
There’s a post man making his rounds.
So mail someone a letter,
even just a card will do.
You know it’s nice when the postman,
has a letter in his sack for you.

E.J. Lefavour

http://www.khanstudiointernational.com/did%20you%20know%20book.htm

That Eastern Point Light, a 30 foot high stone lighthouse erected at a cost of $2,450 to help fishermen and others entering Gloucester Harbor, was first lighted on January 1, 1832?  The new lighthouse’s ten lamps showed a fixed white light and were fueled by whale oil. The first keeper was Samuel Wonson, who was paid an annual salary of $400.

With the arrival of the railroad in Gloucester in 1847 the fishing business exploded into one of the world’s largest, and Eastern Point Light assumed new importance.

A whistling buoy was installed near Eastern Point in 1883 to provide additional warning and guidance to the harbor. Some of the summer residents objected to their summer quietude being shattered.

Because of the complaints of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, a well-known local writer who claimed she suffered from a “nervous ailment,” the United States Secretary of the Navy ordered the buoy removed from May to October. Later Ms. Phelps was married to the Reverend Herbert Ward and the Boston Record reported, “Since her marriage Mrs. Ward is much better, and the officer who had to remove the buoy has put it back with the assurance that next summer he will have no orders to disturb it.”

The third and present Eastern Point Light was built in 1890 on the old foundation of the 1832 tower. The 36-foot brick lighthouse was attached to the keeper’s house by a covered walkway.

The station is closed to the public, but there is a parking lot nearby and the breakwater next to the lighthouse is open all year, with good views of the lighthouse. There are “private road” signs posted in the Eastern Point neighborhood, but visitors are permitted to drive to the lighthouse.  (http://www.lighthouse.cc/easternpoint/index.html)

This photo of Eastern Point Light was taken from the beautiful rocky shoreline of Magnolia.

I want to apologize to Joey and GMG readers for being so sketchy in my posts recently.  I am in the final push to get the Did You Know? book to the printer next week, so have been in the weeds a bit. 

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

That Ten Pound Island Light is an historic lighthouse in Gloucester Harbor that was built in 1881 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988?  Common lore says Ten Pound Island got its name from the amount of money the local Indians received from the early settlers for the property. Cape Ann historian, Joseph Garland, believed it was more likely named for the number of sheep pens (also known as pounds) on the island.

The actual light is 30 feet high with a focal plane of 57 feet above Mean High Water.  The island is open to private boaters, but there is no landing facility except a small sandy beach. The lighthouse is not open to the public and is best seen by boat.  It is an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation, with the grounds managed by the City of Gloucester.

E.J. Lefavour

http://www.khanstudiointernational.com/did%20you%20know%20book.htm

That the Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial (also known as the Man at the Wheel statue) is a tribute to the more than 10,000 Gloucester fishermen who have lost their lives at sea over the centuries and a reminder that fishing is our country’s most dangerous occupation? The statue is the work of sculptor Leonard Craske (1877-1951) and is based on a 1901 painting by Gloucester artist A.W. Buhler.  It is an 8-foot-tall bronze statue positioned so that the fisherman is looking out over Gloucester Harbor. The fisherman in the sculpture was modeled after Capt. Clayton Morrissey, a prominent Gloucester fisherman, once the captain of the Effie M. Morrissey.  A small plaque on the north or street-facing side of the base reads, “Memorial To The Gloucester Fisherman, August 23, 1923.” A larger recessed panel on the harbor-facing side of the base holds an inscription of bronze letters taken from the Bible’s Psalm 107:23, which reads: “They That Go Down To The Sea In Ships 1623-1923.”

I know that everyone in Gloucester knows this, but there may be some GMG readers out there that don’t.

E.J. Lefavour

http://www.khanstudiointernational.com/did%20you%20know%20book.htm

That there are rocks painted to look like frogs in Riverview on the Annisquam River?  They were painted by an unknown artist in the 1930’s on the property of Hasty Gammage, and are still there; but you can only see them by boat.  This is a painting of Hasty’s Frogs by David Montgomery.  Have any of you ever seen them?

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

That the statue at Gloucester City Hall is a version of the Statue of Freedom and was dedicated September 11, 1879?  It is bronze on a base of Rockport granite.  She stands 6′ tall and the base is 9.6′ tall.  Erected by Col. Allen Post 45, GAR  (in memory of the Civil War soldiers and sailors).  It was created by an unknown artist using an unknown model, and was a mass-produced item for just such memorials.  I personally like the version we have, where she is holding her sword in one hand and a broken shackle in the other.

The original Statue of Freedom was designed by Thomas Crawford and installed on top of the dome of the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC late in 1863 (small photo to right).  Crawford died before she was completed.  She is a female figure whose right hand holds the hilt of a sheathed sword while a laurel wreath of victory and the Shield of the United States are clasped in her left hand.  She wears a military helmet adorned with stars and an eagle’s head which is itself crowned by an umbrella-like crest of feathers.  She looks overly encumbered, and not very free to me.

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

On Saturday, friend Cythia Kennedy Sam took me on my first excursion to Magnolia.  She shot me (above) while shooting the shot below of Eastern Point Light from the rocks.  On this same outing, we stopped at the Causeway and had their fish chowder.  I can now say without hesitation, that Causeway’s fish chowder is the best I have ever had.  I also can’t wait to go back and explore more of Magnolia.

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

That artist and GMG contributor, EJ, hasn’t been paying attention to the time, and will soon be out in the field with no barn in sight – aka homeless?  My lovely winter rental home in Annisquam reverts back to the Bentleys for their family’s summer enjoyment come June and I need to find new digs/work space.  If anyone out there in GMG land knows or hears of an artist friendly (affordable) situation out there, I would be grateful to learn about it.  I can return here after Labor Day (which I would love); but I would also be happy to know about more permanent arrangements.  Cape Ann is home to me now, and I don’t love moving, so finding a more permanent home base would be wonderful.  I am clean, quiet, come with great references, and am a good neighbor. Did I mention I have cats (very well behaved, indoor couch potato cats).   Please email me if you know or hear of anything at khanstudio@comcast.net.  Thanks, EJ 

PS  This was a cow I did a barter commission painting of when I lived in Jamaica, in return for a season of fresh honey bananas.

How in 1990 a high school art teacher in Michigan helped his students, and ultimately Cape Ann solve a problem? They were searching for a way to raise funds to support a food drive. What evolved was a class project to make ceramic bowls for a fund raising meal. Guests were served a simple meal of soup and bread, and were invited to keep the bowl as a reminder of hunger in the world.

By the following year the originators had developed this concept into Empty Bowls, a project to provide support for food banks, soup kitchens, and other organizations that fight hunger. Since then Empty Bowls events have been held throughout the world, and millions of dollars have been raised to combat hunger. The Open Door/Cape Ann Food Pantry saw this event as a way to raise funds and also to raise awareness in the community that hunger does exist on Cape Ann.

For the last ten years professional potters from the North Shore ClayWorks group have donated bowls; seniors at the Rose Baker Senior Center made bowls; students in public and private schools all over Cape Ann made bowls; and lots of people who had never worked with clay created hand-built bowls at Marty Morgan’s studio. 

The photos above are: 1.)  Jim and Lea Watson and Mark Morgan creating their lovely bowl contributions, 2.) some completed bowls awaiting glazing and firing, 3.) inside Marty’s workshop are many bowls in process (the blue tinted ones have been decorated, glazed and are awaiting firing) and a couple of finished products, 4. & 5.) pottery on a rolling shelf system, that when the time is right gets rolled into the large gas-fired kiln at right,  and 6.) some of Marty’s lovely pottery in the studio shop.  Marty Morgan Pottery is located at 428 Washington Street in Gloucester.  Mary has been working on Cape Ann since 1972, creating dinnerware and other functional pottery.  Her glazes and designs, inspired by the quarries and river outside her studio, has evolved over time.  Her latest work features heavily textured, multi-colored porcelain wall tiles and vessels.  She welcomes visitors to tour the studio, see work in progress and sit by the river to watch the swans and egrets.  Visit www.martymorganpots.com to see more (and better photos) of her work.  Marty also has some of her work on exhibit at the Sawyer Free Library as part of the Cape Ann Artisans Group exhibit through March, a very nice exhibit which you should definitely stop in to see.

This year’s Empty Bowl event will be held May 12^th 4- 8 pm at Cruiseport.  Tickets $15 for adults and $10 for children and are available at the door. Extra parking is available at Harbor Beach with complimentary trolley service to and from the event site. The Silent Auction part of the event features work by local politicians as well as local artists such as Marilyn Swift, Kevin Ellis, Betty Lou Schlemm and Sigrid Olsen.  There will be delicious soups and breads donated by local restaurants and bakeries. Best of all, everyone in the community who attends the event has a wonderful time, makes a significant contribution to the Food Pantry, and gets to take home a beautiful bowl as an unspoken reminder that somewhere someone’s bowl is empty.  In 2010 nearly 1,000 people attended the event and they raised over $26,000 for the Food Pantry!

On Saturday, March 26 from 10:00 am to noon, you too can enjoy painting a bowl to contribute for the event at Open Door Food Pantry, 28 Emerson Ave.

For more information on the Empty Bowl Project, visit www.emptybowls.net.  For more information about the Open Door/Cape Ann Food Pantry: www.foodpantry.org, or call: 978-283-6776. 

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

That Gloaming is the time of day immediately following sunset and before dark?  People go to watch and photograph the sunset; but it is the gloaming that to me is always the most spectacular atmospheric condition and what determines whether a sunset was amazing or just nice.  I have had people say to me as I arrived at a spot: “Oh, you just missed the sunset”, as they were leaving and missing the grand finale of the event that I was arriving just in time to catch.

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

That on a day they are mashing, when you enter Ryan & Wood Distilleries, the place smells of Maypo?  You know, the hot breakfast cereal you ate when you were a kid.  It was the big vat of grains fermenting with yeast and distilled water that created the smell.  Bob took me on a fascinating tour of the distillery Wednesday; a photo of the still (a beautiful thing made in Germany that looks like a strange musical instrument/decompression chamber), the aging barrels and the finished product is above.  I’m not much of a drinker, and more apt to drink wine if I do; but I might have to break down and get a bottle of Folly Cove Rum or Beauport Vodka one day.  I have never cared for gin at all, don’t like the smell or taste of it; but the gin they make at R&W has such a lovely aroma, I might even be willing to try that. 

It was really interesting talking to Bob Ryan.  He is a Gloucester man, who grew up in a tough section of town, worked the piers, as his father had done, started a bank, and now has a distillery.  When I asked him what prompted him to open a distillery, his answer was very profound.  After recounting stories of the factories that have closed down around Gloucester, LePage’s Glue, overnight, leaving many suddenly unemployed, he wanted to show people that they can do something new.  That is important for people to keep in mind, especially in a tough economy.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going (the man I trained with for the Boston marathon always said that), and it’s true.  As bad as things may seem, this is still the land of opportunity, and people who are willing to run with an idea and give it their best, have a much better chance of succeeding than those who prefer to wallow in the notion that things are so bad. 

If you have a chance to take a tour of Ryan & Wood Distilleries, do; you will really enjoy it.  If you are a drinker of rum, vodka or gin (whiskey is coming soon also – they are just awaiting labeling approval), try Ryan and Wood’s Beauport Vodka, Folly Cove Rum or Knockabout Gin.  It’s made in Gloucester with great care and passion for creating an exceptional product.  Also, their bottles, which are lovely, are imported from France, not China.

This 1951 photo (courtesy of Cynthia Kennedy Sam of Annisquam) is of one of the famous Annisquam Fish Class catboats in a race (which Annisquam won).  The original Fishes were first built in 1921 by Nick Montgomery at the Mongomery Boat Yard in Gloucester, and were used as class boats by several Yacht clubs in the area, including the Annisquam Yacht Club, Conomo Point and Eastern Point/Sandy Bay Yacht Club.  Montgomery built 80 Fish boats the first year.  There have been close to 1,000 built since then.  The last Fish was built in 2006 for actress, Lindsay Crouse, who has a home in Annisquam; however, you can still have one built if you’d like to order one. 

The second photo is of the seven-ton concrete mold, made by Nick Montgomery in the winter of 1920, which was still used to form the Fish boats up until about six years ago. 

The third photo is of the workshop where the boat building takes place.  The Montgomery Boat Yard, now a third-generation business and one of the oldest family boat yards in New England, is located at 29 Ferry Road on Montgomery Cove (so named in honor of the 100 years of operation of the boat yard in 2008). 

Third generation boat-building Montgomery, David, is also a gifted artist.  He and members of the Cape Ann Artisan’s Group have a group exhibit at the Sawyer Free Library through March.  The last photo is of David in his studio with some of his work.   Check out the Library exhibit.

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

For those GMG readers who may not have seen this response to my Harp seal post, and have encountered or may encounter a harp seal, Mendy from the National Marine Fisheries Service writes:

Hi E.J., thank you for posting your great photos! I am the regional Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Coordinator for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. I wanted to chime in an let you (and the GMG readers) know that we are documenting an increase number of adult harp seals this year, not just in MA, but along the eastern seaboard down to NC. We haven’t seen this number of adult harp seals for almost 10-years. While this particular seal looks healthy and happy, I do encourage folks to report any sightings or strandings to our local network partner, The Whale Center of New England (978-281-6351). NOAA, in collaboration with a network of organizations, document sightings and stranding trends to monitor the population’s health and distribution. Check out our website for more information: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/prot_res/stranding/.
Cheers,
Mendy

I forgot to mention in my post yesterday about Harp seals, that this one was basking on a dock on Lobster Cove, and he was spotted by the eagle eyes of Martha Bentley of Annisquam.  I had been wanting to get a shot of a harp seal ever since I had seen one on the ice behind Richdale’s one day when I didn’t have my camera with me.  I was really thrilled to see this one so close up, and grateful to Martha for spotting him, coming to tell me about him, and going with me to check him out.

E.J. Lefavour