Author: Pat D

Thanks to GMG FOB David Collins for forwarding this very sweet tweet. My eyes are leaking a bit. Thank  you David and thank you Neil. Sweet Caroline never seemed so sweet.

It has been hard for me in recent days to determine what tone to take with these posts. For myself, one minute I am panic planning and preparing. The next minute I feel pretty confident knowing I am doing my part along with so many others and that this will not last forever. I expect it is the same for many of you.

Many of you follow us from afar, longing to see familiar sights and hear what’s new. I’m not going to tell you anything new here today, but we took our daily ride-around and noticed a few things.  Mostly, we noticed “life going on”. Lots and lots of people were out on the beautiful sunny day, but perhaps that was because so many normal inside locations are not available. It was Saturday, but does that matter now? Tough to look at empty municipal lots……heartwarming to see kids playing in the sand……gratifying to see groups of people respecting distance recommendations. It’s life as we know it now. It’s life going on. Here are some shots from our ride today showing this for those who need to see it. Stay well.

An email notification I received this morning Mar 22

To Our Guests,

With an abundance of caution and in the best interest of our employees, their families and our guests, in recent hours we’ve decided to pause all operations at Beauport Hotel Gloucester, this evening through April 5th, 2020. At this current time, we plan to accept room reservations for arrivals beginning April 6th, 2020 and beyond. This timeline may be adjusted as we continue to assess the situation daily. We do look forward to reopening and welcoming guests just as soon as we feel it is safe to do so. Our reservations team is ready and available to assist you with future plans – please contact our team at info@beauporthotel.com.

Our Weddings and Events Teams remain fully available for future bookings and planning – we’re your virtual wedding planners! Pease contact us at events@beauporthotel.com for all questions and interests. While in-person visits aren’t available at this time, we’ll be doing virtual site tours, video conferencing and more, working closely with clients to plan future celebrations and events.

We’ll still be (happily!) taking overnight stay reservations for this Spring, Summer and beyond, and we hope you’ll continue with your plans to join us – something to look forward to.

We wish you health, safety and positivity during the time. Look toward enjoying the Beauport deck in the sunshine, relaxing in the lobby lounge, and taking in the BirdsEye Rooftop ocean views, very soon. Please stay tuned for news on our reopening.

Best,

Ray Johnston & Lauren Johnston

Managing Directors

Census Day is April 1 2020. The US Census is mandated by the Constitution to be taken every ten years and the data that results drives federal funding for local schools, roads, hospitals, fire departments and others. The resulting data is also used to determine seats in the US House of Representatives and helps determine those district borders.

And that’s all important stuff, yes…BUT census records are one of the most valuable tools for family history research! Individual census records don’t become available until 72 years later (for 2020, that would be 2092 and I’ll be forced to miss that one……). The most recent census available is from 1940 and we are lucky enough to have it available free from Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.  Anyone can look at them anytime…like under the current circumstances of our at-home time. Here’s an example from Gloucester that highlights some familiar family names…see Ciaramitaro and Orlando? These provide a glimpse into life just prior to our entry into World War II.

It’s very easy to do your part and submit your 2020 Census report. You should receive an “invitation” by mail. You can respond by mail, phone or online. It’s required by law  and you might have a little extra time on your hands anyhow. I filled ours out online in just about 10 minutes. Your descendants will be very thankful!  Here is a link to some common questions.  

It was one of those foggy/hazy days recently when I noticed a beautiful hawk hanging out on the Newbury Pink House. Pretty soon, he took off, landed but flew off again pretty quickly. It landed in a nearby tree.

It wasn’t until I got home and looked more carefully at the pictures that I realized the hawk caught some prey on that quick flight. Nature is fascinating. Also, lesson learned: keep on clicking!

I hope all who pray to St. Joseph are blessed today. Here’s a little acknowledgement that appeared in the Mar 18 1924 edition of the Gloucester Daily Times regarding St. Joseph’s Day.  I do not know why it was celebrated on March 18 that year, perhaps someone has a thought? Thinking of all the novena ladies today! Also, happy first day of spring to all!

Ocean Alliance is having new docks installed at the Paint Factory intended to be made available for temporary or seasonal rentals in the hope of getting more vessels coming to Gloucester! Very exciting. Here’s how the work is going so far. Thanks Alicia Pensarosa for the info and the heads up!

The recent Tom Brady news stories brought to mind some Gloucester High football stories I have been waiting to post. Here’s some memories of gridiron days gone by from the Gloucester Daily Times. You may see some familiar names in the GHS Class of 1959.

Gloucester Daily Times Oct 3 1958:

Spring is set to arrive Thursday March 19, for an early equinox! The earliest spring in 100 years is what I am seeing. Isn’t that good news??? Here’s a link for more information: https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-spring-vernal-equinox

Here are a couple of small signs of spring around town. Pussy willows and early tulips blooming. A feast for the eyes and heart.

Mary Ryan Brotherton 1866 – 1943

Mary was my Irish immigrant Timothy Ryan’s daughter–she was born in 1866 and died 1943.  Her story is a very typical one of my Gloucester Irish fishing families. She lived her whole life in Gloucester, Massachusetts. This Mary appears to have been named after a sister Mary who died when she was 2 a few years before this Mary was born.  It may also have been a tribute to her mother Mary Squires Ryan.  This picture was obviously from later in her life but I see a little resemblance here to her brother William, my direct Ryan ancestor.

I recently obtained some new information about Mary after one of those “dope-slap” moments that often occur in life.  The Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters was originally based in Boston after its founding in 1879 by Irish immigrants to provide life insurance for its members.  It soon spread to other cities, so Gloucester Irish were among its target demographic.  In the past, I have found a couple of our ancestor’s files in this collection (now being housed at the University of Massachusetts).  Their applications for membership have been scanned and made available.  They are several pages long and provide intimate details of their lives at the time of the application.  They are especially helpful because applications were often made in a range of life span that often lacks detail in normal research.  Often, the applicants are heads of young families with living siblings and parents.  These details are extraordinarily helpful in pinning down the lives of the applicant as well as the life of their families.

And I made the CLASSIC mistake of only seeking the males in these files.  Since the files were recently transferred to UMass, more have become available and it finally dawned on me that I should look for some of the females (cue the dope-slap).  And Mary was my first discovery!

This is one page of the file showing the status of Mary’s parents and siblings as of 1913 when this application was made.  This helps establish her life circumstance in a period that is sometimes hard to research: “mid” life.  These policies paid $1000 upon the death of the member.  Mary’s Foresters file contains 16 pages all together and they are extraordinarily valuable and interesting.  You can bet I’ll be looking for others.

I guess if we won’t be sitting down for meals in local restaurants for a while, I am happy Minglewood was one of our last stops. Pu Pu Platter and garlic Parmesan wings. Stay well.

Twin Lights Manor is being torn down and the other Aquarius at the Back Shore buildings are coming along. One appears to be in the finishing stages, the other seems to be mid-construction and the last is just coming down.  It’s pretty interesting to see the 3 right in line in these various stages.

Just took a stroll through Stop and Shop to see what’s left. Your kids are going to love it! Seriously it seemed there are enough staples left if you still need to shop. You just may not get your preferred brand or size. Plenty of checkouts open.

Let’s just take a moment and breathe deeply. A little zen might help.

I am trying to be like this guy: relaxed, outside, socially distanced, and not touching my face. Took this picture on a Cape Ann Whale Watch. can’t wait for their opening next month.

It was a beautiful later winter day when I stopped by the Mt. Jacob Cemetery off 133 recently. I had never been there and, since it is not visible by from the roadway, it dropped off my list of cemeteries to walk through. It abuts the Tompson Street Reservation and is easily accessible from 133 though the road in is a bit bumpy. It is small and very well kept and extraordinarily peaceful.  The rustle of leaves and the caw of crows which seemed appropriate during my walk was comforting and calming. One lone duck was calling out as if to welcome me.

The Guide to Cemeteries in Essex County Massachusetts notes it has been in operation since 1913, making it one of the newest cemeteries in Gloucester. Indeed, the stones are clearly more modern than in many other cemeteries in the city but they tell the same stories of ancestry and family that fascinate us.  Very interesting!

You may have heard that Felicia and her team have decided to cancel planned novena events scheduled to be held at the American Legion Hall. This was a painful and difficult decision especially in light of the gargantuan efforts by dozens of people to prepare the altar in a new location.

However, tonight a final rosary will be offered and live streamed on Facebook for anyone to attend virtually. Please join us at 7 pm for the live streamed final rosary. In the meanwhile, here are some photos I hope demonstrate the incredible efforts made to honor this tradition. The attention to detail is humbling.

I stopped by the Topside Grill because I couldn’t stop thinking about how good Joey reported the Buffalo Chicken sandwich was. But I wasn’t overly hungry so I ordered the appetizer Buffalo style wings (there are other choices like Thai and Jamaican Jerk as well). YUMMY. And, bonus since I was unaware, many appetizers are only $5 during happy hours 3-6 pm Monday through Friday. I had a side of coleslaw and a house margarita for under $20. Going back soon to try the other wing flavors.

If it’s almost-but-not-quite a “king tide”, is it then a prince tide? If not, why not?…Asking for a friend.

Stops included many that are recognizable: Man at the Wheel statue, Good Harbor Beach, Rockport Motif, Halibut Point State Park,  Ipswich Bay and Plum Cove Beach. There are many others, of course, but I was just focusing on the scenic ones most easily accessible by visitors. It’s a great ride to take even on a slightly hazy, foggy day in late winter.