Main Street, Rockport, circa 1898. Poole’s Drug Store is on the left, and Rockport’s first school house, circa 1790, is on the right. The team of horses in the background is most likely a wooden wedge-plow or a weighted wooden platform to compress the snow.
Author: Fredrik Bodin
Fred Bodin is a photographer who owns a gallery on Main Street in downtown Gloucester, MA. The gallery features Fred's land and seascapes, as well as historic images printed from the old negatives.
Blizzard Valentine’s Dinner
As the blizzard started, we walked over to the Emerson Inn for a special dinner (it’s always special there). I had the pan seared scallops with lentils and wine sauce. It was delicious, but because of what chemo has done to my taste buds, I ate sparingly. The leftovers will make great omelettes at home. It was nice to dress up. The place is not as formal as my outfit indicates.
Janet, my Valentine: She had the Rack of Lamb, rubbed with brown sugar and dijon mustard, served with a Port Wine reduction. She cleaned the plate with a simile on her face. Leftovers: 4 bare lamb bones.
http://www.emersoninnbythesea.com/
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Blizzard of ’69, Gloucester
Forty six years ago, almost to the day, the Blizzard of 1969 visited us. It dropped a mere 20 inches of snow. This is Gloucester’s DPW yard on Poplar Street, with National Guard and police vehicles in the yard and on the street. I think I see an armored personnel carrier on the right. The so-called “Lindsay Blizzard” killed 94 people. Mother Nature has a way of repeating herself, as does history.
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Cabin Fever Better Than A Hospital Bed
I’d like talk about our snow, and spare you yet another snowy scenic photo, which you can see out the window or online. I took the ADA bus to work this morning, the first time I’d been out of the house since last Saturday, (2/7/15). On the ride, I noticed that from the intersection of Phillips Avenue and Granite Street in Rockport, to the traffic light at Route 128, only three small properties had shoveled their sidewalks. That’s a distance of over 3 miles, impassible. This is extremely dangerous for pedestrians, who are forced to walk in the street.
When people complain to me about snow related cabin fever, I explain to them how it affects me: After spending February and March of 2014 confined to a hospital bed, toughing out a blizzard or two isn’t difficult. At home I can walk around in the house, prepare food, read, nap, talk on the phone, shower in private, and putter around at will. Be thankful for what you’ve got.
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Drifting
Yesterday (2/10/15) after the snow ended, I asked the Pigeon Cove shovelers if they’d seen any drifts as big as ours. No, they thought the drift in front of the garage was the worst. Fortunately, no path or walkway goes thru it. Again, they dug us out and now we have each other’s phone numbers and emails. Heike called to ask if I needed my gallery shoveled out, but I didn’t know the condition of the sidewalk. She works down the street.
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Another Tool in Your Safety Locker
Stabilicers were recommended to me by Deb Callahan, one of our City’s parking enforcement officers, who was formerly a letter carrier for the USPS. I ordered them from Campmor for $45 (LL Bean: $60). My StabiIcers have been solid from day one. They strap onto your boot or shoe in one minute, and come off in 20 seconds. http://www.campmor.com/Product___33020
The teeth of the Stabilicers are screw-in and replaceable. Unlike spikes, like I have on my cane, they won’t chew up your rug, but I wouldn’t leave them on for long, and pick your feet up.
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Cape Ann Bus Tale #1
I took the CATA bus to work this morning, and my driver was Gloucester’s Eddie Salah. Knowing that he owned George’s Coffee Shop on Washington Street at one time, I asked him if he was a good cook. “Hell no, I can’t even scramble an egg! Gloucester attorney Mike Faherty ordered a scrambled egg breakfast, and I had folded it over like an omlette. Mike showed me how to cook it right, and I’m sure he remembers that hilarious event. That was about 40 years ago, when I was a 17 year old trainee.” Eddie is one of the most colorful and entertaining people I’ve met, and a good driver too! Today, Georges is one of the best breakfast joints around, and is still owned and operated by a Salah. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=george’s+coffee+shop+gloucester+ma&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&gws_rd=ssl
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Pigeon Cove Shovelers
I physically can’t shovel snow and Janet had shoveler’s fatigue. This morning, I saw three people walking up the street, all carrying shovels. We asked if they were looking for work, and they started clearing our driveway and walkways. These were, in fact, our neighbors Eva Maria (L), Heike (mother of these kids), and Levin (R). They did an outstanding job, speak German (their native language), and I asked them to come back after the next snow storm.
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Snow: Gone Today and Here Tomorrow
My friend Donna Ardizoni reports that Main Street, in Downtown Gloucester, now has sidewalks clear of snow. Tomorrow, Monday February 2nd, we’ll have plenty more of the white stuff. If the oncology clinic at Addison Gilbert Hospital is closed, I’ll stay home. Now that I’ve had some practice with my cane cleats, I feel more comfortable on paths shoveled thru the snow.
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Biting Cold
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Main Street Today
I understand that the city will remove the snow drifts tonight. Hope so.
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Arctic Explorers, Rockport, Massachusetts.
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Please STOP
At the height of the storm, this was all I saw directly across the street. It made me think: “I’d like it if the snow would just STOP.” It snowed in Rockport this morning, and now Juno has moved on. There are no cars on the road.
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Juno Buffet
Our feeder was especially popular this morning with the sparrows and cardinals. Four birds crowded the buffet at once. Bon Appetit!
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Winter Storm Iola
We had a beautiful snowfall in the afternoon, then a rainy-icey mess, and finally heavy snow for a short time. The total accumulation was 3 to 4 inches. Needless to say, I did not venture out into my first snowstorm since being released from medical facilities. The upside is that I can’t shovel or drive (yet).
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Making Ready
For safety’s sake, I’m very concerned with navigating snow and ice. A fall could put me back in the hospital or nursing home, places I’d like to avoid. I bought an ice cane attachment at Conley’s Drug Store on Railroad Avenue in Gloucester. It works great! If you hold the two white buttons together, the spikes can be lifted to face up on the cane. I also bought a pair of basic shoe cleats for my boots at Ace Hardware. We’ll see how they work. Another safety option for the snow storm we’re supposed to have is to simply stay home 🙂
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Trenel Cove, circa 1915
Trenel Cove is where a ferry went between Gloucester Island and the mainland. Ferry Street, off of Washington Street, goes there. Today, the Route 128 A. Piatt Andrew Bridge crosses the Annisquam from the hill just behind Trenel Cove. Clammers still pull up their skiffs onto the beach at the head of the cove. This Trenel Cove photo is going to hang in…..Trenel Cove!
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A Present Surprise
A week later, I look back on Medical Monday. In Addison Gilbert Hospital, I was eating a chicken salad wrap between appointments, when Lisa Smith of Cape Ann TV came up and gave me an unexpected gift. The bright flowers and yellow mug make a great pair. I’ve never been a “Smiley Face” guy, but now this mug is my favorite. Thank you Lisa. I’ll do my best to get well soon.
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Productive Day
I framed two Rockport photos. Flat Ledge Quarry, 1898, and the Long Beach Rodeo, about 1950,
on the Gloucester end of Long Beach.
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Medical Monday
9.30am: CATA Dial-a-Ride bus picks me up at home to go to Addison Gilbert Hospital.
10:00am: Have an echocardiogram made, to check for heart valve abnormalities.
11:00am: In oncology clinic, get injection for my bones, and have a teaching session about upcoming chemotherapy treatment.
12:30pm: Eat lunch in hospital cafeteria, read, and people watch. The food is good there and inexpensive.
2:15pm: Walk down to the AGH sports medicine and rehab department for specific exercises for gait and balance.
3:00pm: Call Dial-a-Ride for ride home to Rockport.
3:30pm: Hit the couch and watch CNN.
Don’t let anyone tell you that being sick is like a vacation. I’m busier that when I was healthy!
Good Morning Gloucester 