Author: Pat D

I stopped at the Boat House Grille in Essex at the end of a VERY long ride home from Maine on Monday. Note to self: avoid long road trips on a holiday weekend…..anyhow, the Boat House was a welcome sight so I stopped in. Oddly enough, it made the second night on a row I had dinner at a restaurant which labels the bathrooms Inboard and Outboard. Lucky for me and other clueless patrons, at least the Boat House was nice enough to add an M on the Outboard sign as well as a W on the Inboard sign. Not true of the Geddes Restaurant in Bar Harbor……enough said about that…..

Another genius move by the Boat House are the table lights to assist those of us over the age of 40 or so. Wonderful service was provided by Lisa and I was very satisfied with my sandwich and drink.

I heard from FOB David Collins recently in response to a post that featured pictures of Half Moon Beach. With his permission, I am sharing his recollections.

Your photos of Half Moon Beach struck a real nostalgic chord with me. I used to love to run up and down those steps from the beach to Tablet Rock back some 60-65 years ago (!) when Stage Fort Park was my “personal playground”. The steps look to have been made a good bit safer now but still have their charm. The life guard stand and the ramp were not there then, however. And, in fact, very few people seemed to go to that little beach during the week.

We used to live on Stage Fort Avenue and there were many days when I would ride my bike through the whole park – from the tennis courts to the playground to the fort to Half Moon Beach and Tablet Rock to Cressy’s Beach to The Cupboard and be just about the only person there. I’m glad to see the gem of a park is more fully utilized these days. 

I can remember when the little league field (now Boudreau Field) was added. That sure changed how we sledded down the hill behind it. One winter, I tried to sled down the embankment at Half Moon Beach. That was a disaster – too many plants sticking up under the snow. I think some of them were beach roses. Are they still there do you know?

The park came much more alive in the summer, of course, and especially so when the circus or the carnivals were there. And Cressy’s Beach often had a crowd on it during the summer days. I remember talking to the young man who painted the sea serpent there. I was about 10, so 1955? I think he referred to it as a quetzalcoatl. When I first started going there, Cressy’s Beach was mostly all sand. Then a storm or hurricane hit and it became almost all stones.

The building housing the Visitors Welcoming Center where you volunteered this summer was there back then along with a playground with swings (little box-like swings for very young kids were in an area separate from the rest of the swings) and there was a slide and see-saw and a spinner or spinning carousel. Here are a couple pictures of my sister and me enjoying them way back in 1948.

You can see the Welcome Center in the photos. I forget what we called it back then. I honestly don’t remember that ladder attached to the big kids’ swings in the top picture.

The park bandstand you featured in another GMG blog entry was not there back then but the ball field below it was.

The (Welcome) building seemed little used that I can remember except by us neighborhood kids who loved to run its porches (which are likely not as big as I remember them being). I think I can remember buying an ice cream in that building at one time, maybe before The Cupboard opened? But not often. And maybe some of the park maintenance equipment was stored under the building? Shel Sudbay, who I think was the park maintenance supervisor, lived next door to us and a lot of the  maintenance equipment was housed there in sheds right below my bedroom window.

Anyway, thanks for the pictures, Pat. What wonderful memories they brought back!!

You are very welcome, David! Thanks for reaching out. I am certain there are others who will enjoy these memories.

I will be sharing my thoughts, observations and pictures from my recent photo tour in Bar Harbor Maine, but, in the meantime (cue Twilight Zone theme music): Ghost Ship! Happy October to you all.

The lemons are the egret photos I recently took at Parker River Wildlife Refuge that featured an undetermined brown object hanging from the rear portion of the majestic bird.

The lemonade (from my point of view) is the cropped and flipped reflection that looks a little bit like a Monet painting (well, I think you get the idea here). I hope you like lemonade…….

I often visit David Cox and Main Street Arts and Antiques seeking family albums or memorabilia. I specifically look for items that might contain enough clues to allow me to contact current family members to offer their return. It’s very rewarding, and honestly I am hoping one day to be on the receiving end of such an effort.

Anyhow, for a very modest sum, I recently purchased from David’s shop a folder containing handwritten family tree pages and a certificate of membership to the Governor Thomas Dudley Family Association naming George Richards Minot. As I had recently been doing some transcription work for the New England Historic Genealogical Society, I recognized the surnames contained within the folder: Cabot, Dodge, Bradstreet, Dudley etc.

A quick Google search revealed that George Richards Minot was a well regarded medical researcher who shared a Nobel Prize in 1934 for pernicious anemia research. He apparently descended from Massachusetts Bay Colony’s second Governor Thomas Dudley. I just had a feeling there might be interest in this folder of information for the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston so I contacted their Manuscript Collection Department. They did express interest in adding this to their collection on the Governor Thomas Dudley Family Association so I sent it to them. Here’s a PDF of the certificate if you are interested:

MINOT George Richards membership certificate

Just another example of the role we all play in keeping history alive. Thank you David Cox for making that opportunity available!

I took a new route back home recently and found Meadowbrook Farms along Rt. 22 just outside Essex ( technically 247 Essex St South Hamilton) and was completely charmed by the employees and goods offered. I am not sure why I was surprised to see Virgilios items available, but there they were along with many other local offerings. Katie told me her Dad’s been farming for 60 years and that the business has been run since 1974. She and her brother Michael are transitioning into ownership. Organic practices are in place for the crops and the extra care shows in the selection. Check it out for yourself!

And how much does this picture of Katie harvesting pumpkins say FALL?! I am sorry I forgot the other woman’s name, but it was wonderful to meet you both.

In case you weren’t sure, Surfside Subs is still open and serving yummy pizza, subs, ice cream and other treats. Although the pizza is a favorite of mine, I decided to try a sub … a real sacrifice (tee hee ) but I’ll do anything for our readers!

It’s a little bit lonely down there on days such as we’ve been having, but it still brings great joy with its inherent beauty. The lifeguard chair seems a little sad to be alone.

I just cannot stop taking pictures of these waves! This is from near the old Coast Guard station on Old House Cove. I love being able to also see Eastern a Point Light crashers.

You won’t see this guy here in Gloucester today because he’s in New York coaching JV Field Hockey, but I hope you’ll join me in wishing him a very happy birthday. Many of my posts have had “value added” content thanks to his insight and assistance. Even though he’s a Long Island NY Italian, I think  he’s adapted fairly well to Glosta life since his first visit on our honeymoon 34 years ago!

It’s been pretty windy recently and these kite surfers took full advantage. This one looks like flowers in a garden:

It’s how you know fall has really arrived: pumpkins and mums….mums and pumpkins. These are displayed at Corliss Brothers in Ipswich, where I was getting a new RED hummingbird feeder so I am ready next spring for their arrival.

I got my annual Serenitee email which added a free entree AND dessert to my card in celebration of my October birthday; which coincided perfectly with my plan to have dinner at Minglewood over the weekend. Our server Jamie expertly delivered our drinks, appetizer, meals and dessert. It was a delightful experience, made even better by a nearly 40% reduction in our final bill! A wonderful date night for us. It’s a no brained….get your own Serenitee card today!

Blood Orange Margarita (yum) and wine:

Fried pickles accompanied by a dill dip (genius move):

Baked Haddock and Baked Seafood Casserole:

Flourless Chocolate Torte:

As promised in last week’s podcast, Saturday I attended one of the many events the Essex Bicentennial Committee is sponsoring all year to celebrate the 200th birthday of Essex. This was a tour of the Ancient Burial Ground on Main Street in Essex. Delightfully presented by a number of players including Rebecca Axelrod, Barry B. O’Brien, David Gabor, Wendy Nunes, Alan Budreau, Laura Doyle, Mark Nelson, and Jim Witham along with Annie Archer, Heidi Jackson Dean, Laurel Eisenhauer, Diana Hughes, Jack Kippin, Susan Parady, Kim Porter, Robert Porter, Tricia Richards, April Wanner and Kurt Wilhelm. Thank  you to these volunteers for a fascinating look into the history of Essex as told by its founders.

I will be out of town next weekend, so today was my final regular shift at the Welcome Center at Stage Fort Park. I was expecting a quiet shift, but instead it was actively busy with visitors from Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia who were looking for Hammond Castle ( now closed for the season), tasty lobster rolls and the Fisherman ‘s Memorial. Thanks to Carol Mondello for her efforts to make our visitors welcome, Karen and my partner Alfreda for a memorable season! See you in the spring.

Even if the day is a little bit grey, Good Harbor Beach shines. I just love it there.

Lots of activity on the water recently at Good Harbor Beach.

Frenchman’s Pier at Stubby Knowles Landing in West Gloucester looked exceptionally pretty at high tide this week.

Santa and his helpers visited Hammond Castle last night preparing in advance for their upcoming visit with children of the area scheduled for Friday Dec 13 from 5-7 PM in the Great Hall of Hammond Castle..  That night, 80 children will receive a gift from Santa, as well as an opportunity for photos with Santa.Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken will be reading  Twas the Night Before Christmas.  It promises to be a magical night.

If you cannot wait until December 13, you might consider attending tonight’s showing of silent movie The Phantom of the Opera in the Great Hall of Hammond Castle from 7-9 PM, complete with accompaniment on the piano by Peter Krasinki. $15 in advance, $17 at the door. Contact Hammond Castle for further information

Many other events will be held in the upcoming weeks and I encourage you to visit the website for further information.

Thanks to Rebeccah Pearson and museum staff for a lovely evening!

Rachel, Soni, Katie and Alana!

Linda Harvey, Executive Director and Rebeccah Pearson, Shop Manager

Santa (John Cena Sr) and his helpers from Ice Queen Cosplay Princess Parties

Wasn’t expecting to find a cruise ship in my backyard this morning!