Author: Pat D

Our winter wonderland this week produced more than beautiful scenery. It also served as a reminder that Christmas and other winter holidays are coming up FAST!

Whatever you celebrate, hang on for the ride as the holidays gallop toward us.

Sometimes you just need a little Charlie’s for lunch. Friendly neighborhood atmosphere, quick service, good food……..

Intrepid GMG Jimmy on the back shore earlier today. Almost like having Jim Cantore and the Weather Channel in town! Haha

It was quiet and peaceful at St. Peter’s marina yesterday afternoon although a little bit dreary. Still beautiful.

Step one to prepare for upcoming storm: a visit to the Azorean for dinner. Shout out to our server Ryan. Ryan moved to Gloucester from Portugal and he did a great job with his recommendations. The Bife Escondidinho was awesome! Loved the creamy mustard sauce. BONUS we saw our friend Melissa Cox!

I was meandering through Ebay recently and came across this postcard featuring the Barnacle Tea Room in Annisquam. I thought it was completely charming and, naturally, began to do some research. Link to ebay here.

That research led me to this document by Peter Fortune outlining (among other tidbits) the history of this building which is still standing at 25 River Road in Annisquam. It is now a private residence. It’s called A Brief History of Cape Ann, Massachusetts, most recently revised in 2017. You can read it or download it here. It’s a very interesting read. I appreciate Mr. Fortune’s efforts!

I also found this ad in an August 1914 Cape Ann Shore provided online by the Cape Ann Museum (thanks to them as well!)  It’s well worth checking out. Perhaps you have a little extra time over a long weekend to do some reading. You just never know what you might find when you are wandering around the internet!

This is what I felt like yesterday! Brace Cove seals showing us how to food-coma!

Isaac Newton said:”We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” I hope your holiday is filled with bridges to cross.

On our way back to Gloucester recently, we spotted these 3 eagles in a tree along the River. I imagine them to be a family. A short distance up the river, there was a 4th resting eagle! It filled my heart to see these majestic birds. I thought to myself that perhaps this is a scene our forefathers might have seen in just about the same setting back around the time of the first Thanksgiving. Enjoy your weekend with family and friends.

We made a quick visit to the Paint Factory armed with a news lens as well as a new crystal ball. It was a wonderful setting for some experimentation.

Work is coming along nicely on the back shore for the new Aquarius on the Back Shore project.

Our first stop back home yesterday was Halibut Point. GMG Jimmy was craving chowder and he was not disappointed. I allowed myself an Irish Coffee. Thanks Halibut Point for the warm welcome back. Same to those of you traveling home for Thanksgiving!

I stumbled across a very interesting online exhibition presented by the Smithsonian Institute yesterday called On the Water.  The specific portion of this online exhibition that I found to be a time-sucker is called Atlantic Cod. Click here for the link, but you’ve been warned about the hole you’re going to fall into…….

Two of the items I found especially interesting were the depiction of the Schooner Dauntless, build in Essex in 1855 and lost at sea just 15 years later in 1870. One of the men aboard that vessel may be a cousin (Martin Costello) but I haven’t yet been able to confirm it’s “my” Martin Costello. If it is the correct Martin, he was only 17 in 1870 when the Dauntless went down, a mere 2 years older than the schooner.

Schooner Dauntless model  as depicted on the Smithsonian website for this exhibition:

Other items in the collection of special interest to me were the ones related to the ship’s cook. A senior Martin Costello in my family tree was a cook on the Schooner Paul Revere with Captain John Bentley (Martin’s son in law) which was lost in 1882. Pictured here from the Smithsonian collection is a shirt typically worn by cooks on fishing vessels:

I like thinking of my 3 times great grandfather looking pretty snazzy in such a shirt as he was prepping meals for the hard working fishermen. Thankful for online exhibits such as this. I hope you enjoy.

So much has changed in our lifetimes…..an understatement that came to the fore when I saw this 1914 New England Telephone ad:

When I was a kid, we were on a party line….for those of you who may not remember, these were shared phone lines. Your neighbors essentially had the same line as you did so you could eavesdrop on their phone conversations and vice versa. You paid a premium for a private line.

When you called someone, you were pretty sure you knew where they were located at that moment but they had no idea who was calling.

A phone number was typically shared by everyone in the household so you had a chat with whomever picked up the call.

You VERY carefully planned “long distance” calls for the cheapest rates because you were charged extra for each call made outside your zone…..and, as referenced in this ad, you could rest easy if no one answered.

Today you can make those Thanksgiving calls anytime you like. When your college kid comes home for the long weekend, your line is no longer tied up making their plans with friends. It’s a wonderful world we live in (mostly)! What else do you remember about phones back in the day?

Here’s a link to a cute Ellen video demonstrating some of this. Might provide some guidance for Thanksgiving family fun.   https://youtu.be/Gjin8t633pc

I’m stuck in New York for the time being taking care of business and I’ve been missing my Gloucester family. These are from about a year ago on a dreary day down on the harbor. Iconic Gloucester.  I will see you soon.

The dreary weather has me digging through old memories and I came up with this gem from 1958 showing me rocking a Gloucester shirt…….even then……

I have previously posted this picture taken in our grandparents’ backyard in 1966 but it’s appropriate today to say Happy Birthday to my brother Chris! I have pretty clear memories of this visit so long ago. I hope he does as well. Happy Birthday brother!

Perhaps this is not technically a barn, but if this was on my property I would be calling it “the barn”.  I find it quite charming each time I drive by. I think there must be some interesting stories in those walls!

Are you ready? We are on the 10 day countdown to Thanksgiving….a time for families to gather, give thanks and ….well, watch here. I found the premise of sideline commentary amusing and thought you might too.

Pretty critters enjoying fall at Niles Pond. I enjoy regular trips over there to watch the seasons change.

After October 31, Salisbury Beach State Reservation charges no parking fee so we look forward to when we can return there to take a look around. On our first trip in the off season, we were rewarded with frolicking seals. Apparently a number of them had been hauled out on the rocks during low tide, but something spooked them back into the water just as we arrived (I do not believe there is a correlation here 🙂 ) Only one remained on the rocks with a sunning bird for company. Others were swimming a flipping themselves around as if they were glad the off season had arrived too.