We go away for a couple of weeks and come back to find a few changes downtown. For one, it appears the location of Stone’s Pub is preparing for outdoor dining. We will be glad to see them return.
And the big change are the parking kiosks along the streets awaiting unveiling. The shrouded standing kiosks look like a screening of Handmaid’s Tale, but I guess it’s progress. Just about one year after the City announced it had been granted a loan for various improvements, these new kiosks appear ready for the tourist season to begin! They are solar powered and will accept cards or quarters. An app can be used as well. Bring on the Handmaids I guess!
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Spring has really sprung and this will be the final update to our joint Reopenings list (thanks Bex Borden!) Changes since last week are in bold. More reopenings to come and we will handle them on an individual basis as we come across them.
We made plans to visit family in Florida and were weighing our options for the mode of travel. We had several legs planned for this trip, so the car was an important consideration. We decided to take the Amtrak Auto Train from Lorton VA to Sanford FL. There was a sale which made it a little cheaper than the last time we traveled by Auto Train and getting a sleeper car seemed COVID safe. It’s not for everyone under every circumstance but it’s a viable option for some. Many are curious about the experience so I thought I would share our journey from Lorton to Sanford on a weekday recently.
The trip is scheduled to leave at 4 PM and arrive around 8 AM the next morning. Upon arrival at the station in Lorton, we checked in with just our names. We were given some sanitizer, a dinner menu and dinnertime options. Most of your luggage is in your vehicle so you just take what you need for overnight. Then we waited in the open airy station with plenty of outside seating for a couple of hours while the cars were being filmed for documentation prior to loading them onto the train.
Our porter, Daniel, showed us our sleeper car which in small but not claustrophobic (at least for us). Three or four of the other sleepers in this car were occupied, about half total capacity. The train aisles are narrow and rocky as expected if you’ve ever seen one of those Lucy episodes!
Our dinner was delivered on time and still warm. It was not gourmet, but it was not bad (certainly better than a McDonald’s chicken sandwich!). We each had the chicken which we ate at the table in our sleeper, knee to knee but that was very manageable. The porter came to set up the bunk style beds and the train motion rocked us to sleep. Breakfast was available the next morning though we did not partake.
We actually departed and therefore arrived almost an hour early. Bathrooms and showers are available. There are also roomette style accommodations complete with their own bathroom/sink etc. Or, you can choose to ride coach style such as on an airplane.
As I said, it’s not for everybody on every occasion. Lorton VA is a long ride from Cape Ann, but only about 5 hours from our home in New York. Amtrak is offering a number of fare reductions for summer travel which we are considering. It’s great to have your car full of your own stuff packed any old way you prefer….especially if you need to transport more than you can carry. It’s worth consideration and I think we may do it again someday.
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Many of you will recognize this barn as the Windward Grille on Eastern Ave! Though I have not been back since they reopened for indoor dining, I look forward to going soon as it is one of my favorites. I do not know the history of the building but it was at one time clearly a barn and therefore qualifies for a Barn Along the Byway.
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This beautiful pair of red tails has been hanging around recently in the marsh area behind our house. I assume this is the same pair I recently observed mating. One was staying close to the nest doing a great deal of grooming. The other seemed to take guard duty a little further away, but in line with the nest. The guard hawk moved from one post to another before taking off.
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It was one of those nights recently……I just needed a little Tonno. I always feel a little spoiled when I am there and the food and drinks are very satisfying. AND, that night, it was like Old Home Days. We saw several friends including Nichole Schrafft and her crew as well as Kerry McKenna! Shawn served us with efficiency and friendliness. Tonno and staff is appropriately attentive to COVID protocols and we felt very secure. Jim enjoyed his Caesar Salad while I had garlic bread with prosciutto (YUMMM). We had Chicken Milanese and Veal Milanese along with cocktail specials pomegranate margarita and red sangria. It was just what I needed. Thanks, Tonno!
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One of the easiest ways to make new friends is to find an eagle that can be viewed from the roadside, then stand there with your camera. Hello to my new friends from Rowley, the guy with his dog in the next field, and the Magnolia guy with his binoculars! And all those who stopped their bikes or vehicles, thanks!
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As I described in the earlier post about the Concord Street farmhouse starring in Episode 4 of HGTV’s Farmhouse Fixer, Good Morning Gloucester was contacted by High Noon Entertainment seeking leads on the history of 2 homes in Gloucester in line for a farmhouse fix. Joey passed it to me, as research is a passion for me. I dove eagerly into the research and found several great stories about each property worthy of telling as part of a renovation project. Although the episodes are very well done, I apparently went down the wrong path and my input didn’t make the cut. But the stories are too good not to share with you all.
Episode 2 of Farmhouse Fixer is called “A Coastal Farmhouse” and has already aired on HGTV, though you might catch it in re-runs. It features an old farmhouse on Wheeler Street who’s families have had a long Gloucester history. The Tucker family is first recorded on Wheeler Street in the 1917-18 World War I Draft Registration records for Benjamin F. Tucker and continues until the mid 1940s. At various times throughout this approximate period, Benjamin lists himself as a clammer, a farmer, a teamster and a liquor peddler (not all of these on Wheeler Street).
This is a snippet from the 1930 census showing Benjamin and his family:
You note this record includes son Clayton as well as son Forest M. I believe this to be F. Maynard (senior) who was the “star” of this photo shown in the episode:
The other son, Clayton is Wesley C. Tucker’s dad and Wesley lives at the Wheeler Street home beginning in the mid 1960s. Wes and his wife Josephine lived there for several years. His obituary says “As a young boy, Wes worked on his family farm, delivering eggs and turkeys to local families and businesses.” His wife Josephine was famous for her turkey dinners and baking skills. These are skills she passed down to her children, including David Tucker who now runs Mom’s Kitchen with his own wife Eleanor. Mom’s is named after Josephine and is such a Gloucester icon that I can’t believe this tidbit was passed over in the show!!!
Seasonal restaurant and activity openings updated as of April 22 with changes since last week in bold. Thanks Bex Borden, Cape Ann Handywoman for assistance and legwork (and the idea)! Next update April 30 for the final one!
As you probably heard, the HGTV show Farmhouse Fixer visited Gloucester to “fix” an old farmhouse on Concord Street. It is Episode 4: “A Farmhouse for a Chef”. I recently watching this episode with special interest to hear what stories were told about the house and property.
In early 2020, GMG was contacted by Heidi Gemer, a producer at High Noon Entertainment about researching the properties HGTV was interested in. Joey forwarded it to me, and off I went! I love this kind of assignment and I dove in head first with great enthusiasm. I found all kinds of cool stories about both properties but the pandemic brought all my communication with Heidi to an abrupt halt. I had wondered what had become of the project, which obviously moved forward without my able assistance.
So I was very intrigued by what might be presented in these episodes. They told a wonderful warm story with all the usual Fixer-show drama and flair. BUT here’s one story they missed and I think it’s a pretty good one.
One longtime resident at this home on Concord Street was Harold Maddocks, who trained as an artist but became associated with his father’s drug store in Gloucester. This is perhaps how the story that a doctor lived there came to the attention of the current owners. It is unclear when Harold’s father lived there, but Harold lived there for a good chunk of the 1930s and 1940s.
Not only did he become a renowned local artist with a studio in Rockport, he was also president of the Addison Gilbert Hospital 1941-47 guiding it through the war years. A portion of his Dec 30 1963 obituary in the Gloucester Daily Times:
I went to Addison Gilbert to see if I could get more information but they were understandably busier with other things last spring. This is an example of his art work as seen at Images of a New England Seacoast 1900-1950 website and it is called Gertrude Thibeaud & Bluenose, Schooner Race, 1938 (when he lived on Concord Street).
I found a great deal of information about him at the Cape Ann Museum in their artists folders. Lucky me I snuck in there right before the shutdown. Here’s a picture that was included in that file along with a profile which included:
“A Sunday painter who had art training as a graduate of the old Massachusetts Normal Art School and very easily could have qualified as a professional painter if he had not gone into his father’s drug business.” I believe the profile prose and the writing seen on the photograph may be his own.
I was so sure HGTV would find this story as fascinating as I did, but alas I went down the wrong rabbit hole of research. Not all is lost though because I get to share this story of Gloucester with you! The lovely home today:
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We tried the Mooring Restaurant in Manchester for dinner recently. Located on Union Street, it is a very small place with a pub-like atmosphere. The limited seating available during the pandemic allows for very few seats. The menu is small but varied and there was a daily special in addition. I had the chicken gyro and Jim had the daily special French dip which was served on a Virgilio’s roll. Jim especially enjoyed the side salad offered as a replacement for the fries. Our server, Amanda, was appropriately masked and distanced and did a great job as the only server while we were there. We might plan to return for lunch because of the pub type setting, nice and relaxed with a view of the world going by.
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Also known as Prospect Street Cemetery, this is a very small and bleak looking cemetery sitting next the the AM VETS building. The few stones are old and clustered within a few feet of each other. A Guide to Cemeteries in Essex County, Massachusetts published by the Essex Society of Genealogists (1991) describes it as “Small, abandoned, barren-looking cemetery sloping downhill from street with stone wall & iron gate. Marker at gate illegible.” It also notes that a list of names was published in the Gloucester Daily Times June 18 1925.
Unfortunately I could never actually recommend a stroll through here. Many have apparently taken advantage of the wall to hide garbage and poop bags thrown into the enclosed area. It’s also not a very big area and it would be a very short walk if you decided to take it. But several Gloucester families have their dead buried here and it deserves recognition as one of our cherished resting places.
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A new acquaintance has shared some excellent photos taken of “our” eagles and hawks in Magnolia. I have been allowed to share them, a very gracious move from the photographer. Thank you! These are outstanding. I aspire to such perfection.
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The April and June 1956 Gloucester Daily Times featured these advertisements for the Remick House and its accompanying restaurant Rockmont. It struck me that the current building retains most of the features from the 1956 version of the hotel, although the current Ocean House Hotel at Bass Rocks offers continental style breakfast only. The windows on the back side of the building seem to have come through the years fairly well. I love the detail offered in the ad regarding the chef and his training. I also love the 4 digit phone number!
I am having so much fun with this “Now and Then” segment and hope you enjoy them too.
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It was my lucky day this week when we stopped at the Azorean Restaurant on Washington Street for a little dinner. The weekday special was pizza, which was exactly what I was craving. When we talk about favorite pizzas, the Azorean doesn’t come straight to mind for many of us, but I think it’s a very tasty choice (among many many tasty choices on their menu). That it was on special was a bonus! We ordered bread and oil to start. Jim had the Azorean salad and we shared some Italian pizza. It was a lovely relaxed experience with the staff following all safety protocols.
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These openings of restaurants and activities is current as of information I had available as of April 15. The changes since last week are highlighted in bold. Thanks again to Bex Borden for her efforts to get this information out to you all.
Good Morning Gloucester 