Author: Pat D

To follow up on yesterday’s post about eagles and other larger birds at Mystic Lakes State Park, I wanted to share the adventures of the more common grackles and gulls hunting the herring as they come over the dam between the Upper Lake and Lower Lake…… it was quite the show and easily distracted me while I awaited the eagles. The herring were plentiful, as were their predators. The grackles attacked these fish nearly their size with their beaks and talons pecking and poking away to get their satisfaction for lunch. The bigger gulls of course fled with the herring in their beaks as they were chased by their hungry companion gulls, often losing their prizes in flight.  A great side show while the bigger birds were resting!

Brief details on how establishments and services will be allowed to operate in Phase 2 in Massachusetts starting tomorrow Monday June 8.  Further details available in this Boston Globe article

Retail stores can open for browsing! (with restrictions in place)

Restaurants can open with outdoor dining! (with restrictions in place)

Organized sport can resume! (with restrictions in place)

Car dealerships, funeral homes, child care, health care, lodgings and home improvements can resume their work (and you know what I’m going to say here, right?….with restrictions in place)

Everyone will take the steps back to normal to their individual comfort levels…..hoping to see you all soon. Full details here from Mass.gov.

I’m not embarrassed to admit I am somewhat addicted to eagles so I actively seek them out. It’s hard not to love those majestic birds and often I am asked where and how do I find them.  I am sharing the secret with you here today.  A great place to go for watching birds is Mystic Lake State Park in Medford. From Gloucester it’s about a 50 minute ride. Yes, I realize that’s off-island but if you want to see eagles, most of the time you have to go to them…..they aren’t coming to you…….

It’s a lovely area at the lower part of the lake near the dam and there’s plenty of free parking.  Although it seems to be popular for fishing, boating and other water activities it’s been very manageable in terms of crowds so I highly recommend a trip if you want to bird watch, especially for eagles. The eagles have nested lakeside so you are almost guaranteed a sighting. We have also seen swans, blue herons, ospreys, black crowned herons. Here’s a sample of what we have seen recently:

We enjoyed 2 separate sightings with a pair of whales in one area and 3 playful whales in the other area. There was even a full breach!!!! None of us was quick enough to get it on camera, but we got to see that as well as another “nose” breach.  It was a private 4 hour trip which cost a bit more than 4 tickets for the Hurricane II, BUT the experience of being close to the water made it an entirely different trip and totally worthwhile……PLUS we got 5 tickets for a future whale watch. So I feel it was worth the extra cost for the experience we had. I will be booking another. 

As you can see here, the skies were a bit grey so some of these photos almost appear to be black and white, but I hope they tell the story of a great day of sighting whales.

As you are probably aware, some of our restaurants will be allowed to reopen for outdoor seating starting Monday June 8.  Please remember that restaurants will likely have limited seating so reservations will be very important. New procedures will be in place which are new for all of us, so be patient with staff and other customers as we all work our way through these new times.

Some of the restaurants we are aware of that are making plans for outdoor dining starting Monday include the following (images borrowed from each Facebook page)

Oliver’s Harbor (978-559-7638) plans to use their outdoor patio as well as some of the parking area for seating. Prime view of Main Street!

Captain Carlos is now accepting reservations at 978-283-6342. Their outside deck is awesome and we are looking forward visiting again.

We had takeout (wonderful) from Seaport Grille last night and they displayed a sign that they will also be offering outside seating starting Monday June 8 (978-282-9799). Looking forward to some key lime pie!!

A beautiful sight on Niles Pond was presented to us to try out my new camera lens! It was such a perfect setting, I’m not sure it was actually a good test of the lens. But it was made even better by the company of family members. Thanks Paula, Lori and Chris!

We were killing some time before picking up our takeout so we went down to the Pier to see what was going on. Fishing vessels coming in, pleasure sailing and a family fishing were among the activities we saw. The fishing family was very successful!

Parker River Wildlife Refuge announces on its Facebook page that it is reopening to motor vehicle traffic today Thurs June 4. This is one of my very favorite places to go and I have been missing it badly, so this is great news for us and I hope for others as well.  This is part of their announcement:

As of June 4, 2020, access to the refuge is as follows:

These are from my last visit April 14. I wonder if they miss me……see you again very soon! Now waiting for good news from Mass Audubon……..

It was a little bit gray and overcast but that didn’t stop the fun at Good Harbor Beach one weekday afternoon recently. There seemed to be more birds than people. The lifeguards appeared a bit lonely and chilled but the nesting plover appeared calm and in charge. Others braved the water or just read.

The plover exclosure and the nesting plover. They are well camouflaged!

GMG contributor Pat Dalpiaz (yours truly) was recently interviewed by renowned genealogist and podcaster Lisa Louise Cooke for an episode of Genealogy Gems Premium. It was Gloucester hero John Handran’s story as told here on Good Morning Gloucester as well as on my personal family history blog Gathering the Cousins that Lisa thought her listeners might like to hear.

It’s a story I’ve told here previously. John Handran was a US Naval seaman on duty in Lisbon Portugal in 1876 when he rescued a fellow seaman from drowning. Apparently this was not his first successful rescue, and it did earn him the US Medal of Honor as presented by President U.S. Grant. He was only 24 at the time. A few years later he married Sarah Campbell and they made a home here in Gloucester with 3 children.

John’s life was cut short in 1885 upon the sinking of the Schooner Cleopatra, itself an amazing tale. His story has been told in our family circles for many years thanks largely to the research skills of our cousin George Handran, a former Gloucester resident and esteemed genealogist.

Now, thanks to the work done as told in this podcast episode, John’s memory is honored by a plaque placed at Calvary Cemetery just prior to the quarantine. This was an arduous effort finally come to fruition due in part to the wide reach of the Good Morning Gloucester blog. Researchers looking to honor John Handran found me through GMG and the story began! It’s a lesson in how far and wide the interests of the readers and followers of the blog stretch.

When restrictions are lifted, a dedication ceremony will be held at Calvary Cemetery and I hope anyone interested or related can attend. I would love to  meet you all.

Lisa Louise Cooke has generously made this episode freely available here. Genealogy Gems Premium is a paid subscription service and is worth every penny of the $49.95 per year for its reasoned advice and responsive nature. Please give a listen as yours truly tells the story of researching Gloucester resident John Handran to verify his service to our country and his heroic acts.  If you cannot listen, read the story as told in the shownotes.  His story might have been lost to history but now can be celebrated.

Thank you readers and listeners for sharing these stories widely. Thank you Joey for your vision and support for all of us who love Gloucester.

Drift Cafe announced on their Facebook page that they plan to reopen June 8 at 10 AM.  That’s only 5 days from now, by my count!! This seems a very positive sign of hope to me. Sharing their menu from the Facebook page.

They are also looking for help: Servers, cooks, bartenders, Hosts. Rick@driftgloucesrer.com. Tell him about yourself. Experienced only please.

(Image borrowed from Facebook page)

The Trustees have annnounced the scheduled reopening of a number of properties on Thursday June 4; these include Ravenswood! Other Trustees properties will also reopen Thursday including Appleton Farms Grass Rides in Hamilton and Greenwood Farm in Ipswich. Some of the properties such as Appleton Farms Grass Rides will now implement parking fees for non-members in order to offset cost of added staff to monitor the grounds and prevent overcrowding, so check before you go. 

I recently stopped by the Crane Beach for the first visit of the year.  Visitors need a timed day parking pass which you can obtain online herewhich I did not realize.  It was explained that capacity is limited to 650 vehicles per day and even membership does not guarantee  you will be able to visit Crane Beach as expected. So be sure to check for that pass (they go very fast and you cannot request further than one week ahead). I am hoping those restrictions lift soon as well.

But, if you miss Crane Beach yourself, here’s what I saw recently:

The Cherry Hill Cemetery’s location adjacent to the Addison Gilbert Hospital makes it somewhat more intriguing than some others, especially in light of the report on FindAGrave.com come which states, in part: Its proximity to the Addison Gilbert Hospital was convenient during times of epidemic when large numbers of bodies were reportedly buried in a common grave. Epidemics and pandemics are on our minds lately and it did seem that many of the burials were for the 1918-19 time period, but that was likely my imagination……..

The cemetery is very steep and uneven. Sections are not easily identified, except for the Firefighters’ Memorial. It is currently a bit overgrown, but so are we all these days.  Despite hospital busy-ness and nearby traffic, I found it peaceful there on this beautiful morning.  However, I was a bit winded by the climb and careful stepping.  The worn sign seems to indicate it was established in 1865, but the Guide to Cemeteries in Essex County, Massachusetts (by the Essex Society of Genealogists) indicated it may have been established around 1823. There is a nice variety of stones, not many slate ones though. It’s not very easy to determine the growth of the cemetery as stones dated many years ago find themselves among more recent ones.

As I have mentioned before, FindAGrave supplies family historians with a place to search cemeteries for loved ones as well as to request photos of gravestones. It was with this purpose that we went today. “Cemetery Stomping” is a great activity during virus isolation. Armed with the FindAGrave list of about 55 photo requests, we started off in search of them. We were VERY lucky on this trip to have been able to fulfill 7 of those requests. It is not uncommon to leave a cemetery empty handed in the photo department, but today we were blessed with extraordinary luck.

I was even able to recognize some names from my own tree and took a couple of extra photos to add to the FindAGrave database.  Coincidentally, two of the names that we were not able to find on this trip included Nellie and Frank Tyne, the grandparents of my featured soldiers Jeffrey Gordon Tyne and Gordon A. Tyne. I guess we’ll be going back! I’d really like to locate the Tynes.

Update to the Restaurant Update: No takeout meals, but Tonno Gloucester is offering produce boxes ($45 each for a fruit box or a vegetable box) as well as rigatoni, bolognese and tomato sauce. I also noticed they were offering their wine and rocks glasses (nice!). Wednesday June 3 pickup 4:30 PM to 6 PM. (Mixed fruit pickup Thursday)  Order online here: https://www.toasttab.com/TONNO/v3 Thank you Tonno!

Ospreys seem to be plentiful this year, including the pair in the marsh behind Lobsta Land. There are 3 eggs in that nest and you can watch progress on the osprey cam (link: https://ecga.org/Osprey-cam)  The Essex Greenbelt website reports that “Annie” and “Squam” are tending to three eggs, the first of which is expected to hatch around June 15.

We have been keeping an eye on them from the road, but watching on the webcam is much much better! A screenshot from the webcam taken today May 31. One appeared to be feasting in the nest while the other watched from a safe distance.

Here’s another I took earlier this season before the eggs appeared. Obviously the webcam is a much better view.

And another taken in flight recently. They are magnificent.

Sharing information that might be helpful. I urge you to do your own research with sources that are reliable and that you trust.

Several reliable news agencies are reporting that people are receiving postal mail from the Money Network Cardholder Services that looks like junk mail but contains a stimulus debit card! If you have not received expected stimulus money, check your mail delivery carefully for a plain white envelope from the Money Network Cardholder Services in Omaha Nebraska. It does indicate Presorted First Class mail.

Some of the news services covering this include NBC News, Forbes, and the link the IRS provides: https://www.eipcard.com/

Images provided borrowed from wwitv.com and wrcbtv.com

Art Haven staff decorated the outside of the building in an effort to cheer everyone up. It worked!

They are working on their summer classes (pending the virus situation) potentially to begin late June. Classes under consideration include Clay, Comics, Tie-Dye, Whale Week and many others. More information will appear on their website: arthaven.org so stay tuned! Thanks for the extra beauty boost!

Today, May 30, is considered now to be “traditional” Memorial Day. As I am a traditional kind of girl, I consider May 30 to be the “real” Memorial Day so I’d like to pay another tribute to a Gloucester man killed in action during World War II at the tender age of 19.

Gordon A. Tyne, son of Everett and Mary Ambrose Tyne, joined the Merchant Marines in June of 1942 as was a Deck Cadet aboard the MS American Leader. The ship was carrying “general cargo of war” and was sailing from New York to the Persian Gulf for Russia.

According to the Kings Pointers of World War II website: At about 1930 on September 10th, the American Leader ran afoul of the German Navy commerce raider, Michel, a converted merchant ship that had been operating in the South Atlantic. The Michel, disguised as a neutral merchant ship, fired on the American Leader, with deck guns and then launched two torpedoes. The Michel’s crew managed to destroy two of the lifeboats as the crew attempted to launch them, forcing the crew to abandon in life rafts. The American Leader sank in about 25 minutes, and ten crew members, including Deck Cadet Gordon Tyne and Engine Cadet Joseph C. DiCicco, were killed in the attack and went down with the ship. The 39 crew members and nine Naval Armed Guard who survived the sinking were taken prisoner by the Michel.

Gordon Tyne was a member of the Class of 43 at Kings Point but sadly prior to then when he was only 19 years old.

The story of the MS American Leader is a pretty interesting read and you can find an account here by its Captain George Duffy. The POW tales seem particularly grim.

It’s interesting to note that Gordon Tyne was a cousin to Jeffrey Gordon Tyne, whom I profiled in this post for Monday’s Memorial Day observation. Since Gordon died in 1942, and Jeffrey was born in 1945, I can only imagine his middle name was to honor his cousin.  This is one Gloucester family that paid a very high price in service to country.  I am pleased to share his story and honor his memory.

The story of Gordon Tyne, the MS American Leader and other Merchant Marines who died during World War II  is told in the book Braving the Wartime Seas:  A Tribute to the Cadets and Graduates of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Cadet Corps Who Died During World War II by the American Maritime History Project is available at Amazon if you are interested. Book cover image borrowed from Amazon.

We took a little drive around and this is some of what made me smile. I hope the same for you.