Author: Pat D

Still beautiful and a sight for sore eyes.

Looking forward to returning to Crane Beach

Thursday’s Gloucester Daily Times reported that Second Glance will be hosting a special event this weekend to showcase vintage treasures that have been donated.  The shelves will be cleared and re-stocked with special vintage items; there will also be music and food.  This sounds like a great time and I encourage you to check it out.  Open at 2 Pond Road today, Saturday, from 9-7 and tomorrow, Sunday, from 11-5.

Today, May 30, is the original and traditional date for Memorial Day.  An interesting history of the holiday is available on History.com and I encourage you to check it out if you aren’t familiar with how the three day weekend to mark the beginning of summer came about.  Originally it was set aside for marking the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers with flowers and flags.  The meaning and significance of the day has evolved as time has gone by, and sometimes May 30 is forgotten in the shuffle of the parades, picnics and family gatherings.  Today, let’s take a moment to remember.

Until very recently, Gloucester has not technically been my home. But, in my heart, it’s always held that distinction. We’ve been away and I’m homesick. One of my screensaver slideshows contains some of the Gloucester memories that bring a smile to my face.  I thought I’d share some of those memories.

It’s not entirely a coincidence that each of these includes the water since we are landlocked in our current location.  But, we’ll be home soon! We know the way.

Happy Memorial Day.  Fly your flag!

Some symbols of America in honor of Memorial Day and the start of Summer ’18:

Boulevard

Baseball (Tebow at bat in Binghamton)

Baby eagle learning to represent

Happy Memorial Day Weekend and Welcome Summer ’18!

Photo assistance provided by GMG Jimmy.

Some food for thought for Memorial Day weekend: As the 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1 approaches later this year, it seems appropriate to turn attention toward a little known federal effort to provide some comfort to the the mothers and widows of fallen soldiers oversees. From 1930-33, the federal government provided almost 6700 mothers and unmarried widows of fallen soldiers to travel, all expenses paid, to visit the burial grounds of their sons and husbands oversees–mostly in France.  These trips were two weeks in length and much appreciated by the women who chose to travel. By all account, this unprecedented federal effort was run efficiently and with great care toward the comforts of the women (or Pilgrims as they were known).

Ancestry.com provides access to records indicating that there were 4 women living in Gloucester around 1930 who were eligible Pilgrims: Mrs. Effie Kittredge (son Paul); Mrs. Joseph Kite (son Clement Cresson); Mrs. Josephine Karem (son Thomas) and Mrs. Edith Cunningham (son Philip). These are the records listed by county.

It is worth noting that by 1930, many of the widows and mothers may have moved from the original residence of the soldier.  All had certainly aged.  The health and mobility of the mothers in particular created issues for the trip planners and surely prevented some from traveling no matter how much they may have wanted to.  We do not know for certain if any of these made the pilgrimage.

One of these families appears to have had a long history in Gloucester: the Cunningham family.  William T. Cunningham and Edith (Rowe) Cunningham were native to Gloucester and had five children, including Philip.  Ancestry.com further provides access to U.S., Adjutant General Military Records, 1631-1976 which includes Harvard’s Military Record in the World War:

It seems certain Philip represented Gloucester well in his service.  He and his parents are buried at Oak Grove Cemetery. All are worth a moment’s thought some time over this Memorial Day weekend.

Shows you how close peace can be to turmoil just on the other side.

This is a call box I found on the side of a house on East Main Street recently.  Clearly, it has been well cared for and is even painted that “public safety blue” to indicate its purpose. These were used to report emergencies in the days prior to widespread telephone availability in homes.

The Gamewell Company manufactured this signal or call box which were common to this area.  From the Hamden Fire Retirees website (I had to do a fair amount of searching for this information and ended up in Connecticut!):

The Gamewell Co. manufactured police and fire alarm communications equipment for municipalities.  The company was originally headquartered in New York City and then in Newton, Massachusetts.

The website further states: Gamewell municipal fire alarm systems are still utilized today, especially in the Boston area. I found that interesting given our proximity to Boston.

City Directories were available in the days before telephone books and gave citizens information about call box locations. This is from the 1917 Gloucester City Directory and you can see the box above, no. 14, was located at East Main, cor. Highland.

Immediately following these locations, the City Directory provided the code for various signals across the city.  I’m afraid I would have had to refer to the directory each and every time since it seems complicated, but I can imagine schoolchildren knew exactly that they should listen for “nine blows”. I have not quite figured out the Imaginary Boxes, perhaps these were places telephones were available to send an alarm out for neighborhood distribution.

I guess the various signals are not so different from today’s changing ring tones or text message alerts, but one hundred years later, we once again find ourselves living in a world where landlines are less likely to be found in homes.  Food for thought.

It’s beautiful, but it’s not Glosta.

Lake Erie sunset

We recently visited our daughter who lives in Erie PA. I spent most of my childhood on the shores of Lake Erie, where my dad settled after he left Gloucester following college. I had wondered if living on Lake Erie helped my dad remember his hometown. There are many similar sights since they are both coastal communities.

Presque Isle Lighthouse

When my son-in-law teased us about staying at the hotel on the lakefront, he said “You just have to see the water, don’t you?” And we agreed.  But I responded “True, but I do miss the salt air.” Erie is nice enough, but it’s not Glosta.

Another sight you might see in Gloucester.

Spotted the Ardelle recently coming out of the fog on the harbor.  Beautiful.

Four Misses on the water.

Miss Rebecka

Miss Carla

Miss Sandy

Miss Trish II

I hope the Santa Fe High School Community can find peace again.

Some seals sunning themselves on a recent spring day on Brace Cove. I think these are the first pictures I’ve gotten of these guys on a bright sunny day.   We were happy to see such a great post storm restoration down there!

Recent residents at the Railways

I have been following Cape Ann Weather on Facebook for some time now as I have some to realize it is the most accurate forecast for eastern Essex County.  I met up with Chris at the Pleasant St. Tea Company to have a chat about his interest in the weather.

Cape Ann is Chris’ hometown and his fascination with weather is lifelong, but his interest piqued with the Blizzard of 78. It probably helped a great deal that his mother was also a “weather nut”.  He worked a number of years at Varian and was trained in web design after leaving there in 1999. He’s been reporting the weather since 1996, so he’s had many years to hone his skills and many interesting weather events along the way.  He shared a number of fascinating stories about the Perfect Storm and I’m sure yesterday’s weather provided him with hours of study for our benefit.

Chris spent some time lobstering and after the Perfect Storm, he led a fund raising effort to replace lost and damaged lobstering equipment for locals. He did so by sharing his photography. His photos were sold and the profits given to lobstermen.  In addition to photography, plane spotting is another hobby he shares with his followers. His Cape Ann Weather website is chock full of vital information and I encourage you to take a look.

Chris was very gracious in our conversation and I appreciate his time. I also appreciate the patience shown when this original post somehow published with only a title! My apologies as this did not do justice to the time and effort Cape Ann Weather has shown area residents, but I hope to meet again someday for further discussion. Have a great weather day!

GMG recently received a press release announcing the retirement of librarian/archivist Stephanie Buck after serving in her role there since 2004.  Since she has been of great personal help to me over the years in my research, I was anxious to speak with her about her experiences before she retires.

She seems reluctant to blow her own horn, but her vast knowledge of Cape Ann and the holdings of the Cape Ann Museum Library and Archives has been shared widely with many people such as myself who needed some expertise to sort through the various resources. And since Ms. Buck also volunteers at the City Archives, the card catalog in her mind is packed with a variety of helpful information.

These are some of the resources at Cape Ann Museum available to visitors. I’m sure Ms. Buck and the other volunteers have these cataloged in their brains ready for access at request by interested parties.

She told me she has been on Cape Ann since the 1970s and was grateful to have landed on Cape Ann.  She was an integral part of the research team that finally uncovered evidence of Fitz Henry Lane’s actual middle name: a renowned local artist born as Nathaniel Rogers Lane and sometimes known as Fitz Hugh Lane. Information provided by the Cape Ann Museum (Sarah Gledhill) informed me that Ms. Buck wrote a book about this discovery called Fitz Who? The Artist Latterly Known as Fitz Hugh Lane. She also co-authored other books about Fitz Henry Lane ( Fitz Henry Lane : Family and Friends  as well as Chronology of Mary Mellen, published in Fitz Henry Lane & Mary Blood Mellen : Old Mysteries and New Discoveries.

Tellingly, she did not mention these to me herself, but she did mention she is working on another book and that she likes to do house research. The Museum library and archives will miss her deep knowledge and talents.  I know I will miss seeing her behind her desk when I visit!

Dr. Molly O’Hagan Hardy will be taking over the position following Ms. Buck’s retirement at the end of the month. She is the guest curator for the current exhibit Unfolding History, Cape Ann Before 1900; a fascinating display of old documents relating to the history of Cape Ann from a variety of perspectives. The oldest one I took note of was from the 1620s!!!!! Imagine that! I suggest you take time to view this marvelous exhibit.

We wish Stephanie Buck a long and happy retirement. Best wishes from GMG and a grateful public.

We were very happy to see that Russell Orchard has opened! I love their fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as the baked goods!  Yummmm…..we took home a blueberry rhubarb pie. They have a very helpful website in case you are ever wondering what’s going on there:  recipes, seasonal info and other helpful guidelines.

Thanks Russell’s! We had a great first visit of the season.