Author: Pat D

I needed a little something as a thank you gift and Nichols Candy just seemed to call out as a solution. It’s always worth the trip! PS and FYI Mother’s Day is right around the corner.

It was a lovely sunny afternoon that hinted of summer fun so I decided to have my first lunch of the season at the Cupboard. 55 years this year….great milestone! Delicious sandwich but ice cream only available on the weekends for now.

As if returning to Gloucester wasn’t rewarding enough, I returned to find our hawk couple together at their nest. I will keep sharp eyes open for chicks but I was happy enough to find the hawks together.

And, thanks t9 a heads up from Paul Morrison in a recent post, I put the hummingbird feeder out with some sugar water and was rewarded within 30 minutes with this welcome visitor:

We were visited by a hawk during a recent cemetery stroll, which is supposed to indicate imminent enlightenment of some sort. And, in this case, it certainly held true. I was contacted by Joanne Riley, team member of a public history project at UMass researching the Boston Police strike of 1919.They had found some evidence that james Conway, one of the people on my Ancestry tree, had been one of the striking Boston police officers in September 1919. They were seeking additional information about him.

It got me thinking about how Gloucester might have been affected by this strike and I found that Gloucester and Rockport sent troops to Boston to help; Company K, L and M of the Rockport and Gloucester State Guardsmen as noted here from the Gloucester Daily Times Sept 11 1919:

I learned this strike helped get Calvin Coolidge elected President based partly on the manner in which he dealt with the strikers as Governor of Massachusetts. From Gloucester Daily Times Sept 25 1919:

And, more than anything, it made me look a little closer at James Conway who did indeed lose his job as a policeman but census records indicate he was able to find other employment fairly quickly. His police duty card sent along by the research team. It’s been an interesting exercise researching this historical event and its impact locally.

If you are lucky enough to see eagles and spend time watching them, you are lucky enough. This eagle family resides on the Susquehanna River a short distance from our New York home. We have watched them raise previous families and this was our first time to observe a little bit about this year’s family. We watched as they guarded and tended to the HUGE nest. We could hear eaglet cries, but saw none (so far).  We heard one call out for the other and watched in awe as the mate responded. I have not yet been fortunate enough to see eagles this close in Gloucester but I am lucky enough to have them nearby in New York. They are simply amazing and breathtakingly majestic.

I think this might be the female monitoring the nest from a distance.

Here  you can see both partners guarding nest. Lower right of nest for one, upper left for the other.

Dad coming in to check things out.

Calling for mate. I suspect it sounds like this to Jim’s ears when I call out for him.

Thanks to Catherine Ryan’s recent post, my attention was drawn to the Elizabeth Gordon Smith Garden project at Stage Fort Park. I am quite enamored of the Triton statute. Sculptor Walter Hancock portrays him as majestic and mighty. Thanks once again to the Generous Gardeners for their work on this hidden gem of a memorial. I look forward to the flowering trees and additional flowers. It’s worth stopping by for a little rest and meditation.

We took a walk through Mt. Pleasant Cemetery on a recent damp morning to see if we could fulfill any Find-A-Grave requests for Mt. Pleasant. Although we were not able to find any of those requested gravestones, we did notice some interesting things about this local cemetery.

Find-A-Grave provides a wonderful map (a very rare occurrence and a HUGE bonus) drawn by Matt Hautala in 1995; revised and expanded by Peter Tysver in 2008 and added to Find-A-Grave by Mark G. Spencer in 2015. Huge shout out of thanks to these guys! This kind of tool is invaluable to researchers.

Find-A-Grave states there are two famous interments: John F. Bickford Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor recipient 1843-1927 (he must have been a VERY young Civil War soldier) and Jessie Ralph, actress 1864-1944, but I think the most interesting one I located was the Amos Story family. The land upon which the cemetery is located belonged to him and his family has a long history of service to our country. Jesse Story was killed at Bunker Hill and Joseph Story died during the Civil War.

The cemetery was built Victorian style, also known as park style and you can see this in how the pathways are designed almost like sidewalks or park trails.

It was a dreary day and the ground was wet, but I found this cemetery to be peaceful and interesting in its variety of gravestone types. In fact, I do have at least one member of my family line buried here and it’s good to know he is well taken care of.  We could hear children’s voices from a nearby playground but it was otherwise quiet. We did get a visitor though! After the hawk stopped by to watch us, I knew there must be a message being shared. A little bit of research indicates that hawks forebode enlightenment and that we should be ready to receive a message. Shiver…… I should have taken note, but I think this might even be the Amos Story monument. So I am expecting a message from the past. I will keep you posted.

St. Peter’s Square reflections on a pretty spring day.

The difference a day or so makes in telling the story of the harbor’s mood.

We were very happy to see this sign letting us know Sailor Stan’s would be open for breakfast on the weekends.

Also we were very happy to return to The Studio for (half price!) dinner recently. It feels as though the summer season is officially open now. Jim watched the Bruins game and I watched people. Great food, fun evening.

Seared scallops as an appetizer:

Lobster rolls and chicken scampi:

Adult beverages appropriate for people watching…I love the lighting at the bar.

Things look great this spring down on Rocky Neck

Preparing for the upcoming season!

The Gloucester 400 committee recently shared a Facebook post about the books they have on their shelves and it hit a nerve for me. Not only do I have books on mt shelves here and in NY, but also a folder on my computer desktop in preparation for 400! Here’s a sample ad which  includes prices from the Gloucester Daily Times June 1904:

And  here’s a small sample from my own collection (a poor contrast to list above!):

We enjoyed dinner at the recently opened Ripple on the Water Restaurant in Essex. The vibe is beach house casual, the service friendly and efficient (shout outs to Cathy, Lily, Michelle and Tom). GMG Jimmy splurged on chicken and waffles, which he enjoyed very much! Except for the bite he allowed me to take, every bit was eaten. My lobster rolls were perfectly proportioned and yummy. We’ll go back! Looking forward to the outdoor seating.

Let us go in; the fog is rising. Emily Dickinson

Holy Cow Ice Cream Cafe plans to open for the season Friday April 26. That little corner of Gloucester seems a perfect set up for families with the nearby Yellow Sub Shop and Burnham’s Field playground. As Holy Cow says: ice cream, coffee, happiness.

Essex Marsh House at high tide seen through crystal ball. I kind of love this one.

The Fool’s Gold and Northern Contender anchored together look to  me a little bit like tulips in a spring garden Gloucester style…….. Happy Easter and Passover to all!

I recently found a hawk watching over the iconic pink house on Plum Island and shared it on Facebook. A New York friend asked “You mean THE Plum Island?” and before I dashed off “Ummm….yes, of course”, I checked for other well known Plum Islands. Now Google knows where I am so the results favored our Plum Island so I didn’t scroll down the list very far. So I affirmed I meant THE Plum Island. And she asked “How did you get there and what about the lab?” Then I knew I was out of my depth. She informed me of the Long Island NY Plum Island which has a lab that studies hoof and mouth disease and comes under the  umbrella of Homeland Security.  Who knew?

The “Who knew?”, of course, is rhetorical since I am sure there are several Plum Islands well known in their geographic areas, but I think ours is very special.

No matter where we are or where we might be going this holy holiday weekend, I think Notre Dame’s damage is haunting us. I hope its caretakers know how widespread the effect is.