Author: Pat D

Update: whale released! Loosely entangled and harbor master crew were able to free the trapped whale

This is the story of a cousin lost at sea.  Ho Hum you might think.  Gloucester has suffered thousands of such losses but  in every person’s life there is a story  and this is one of the many heroic tales of the sea.

John Handran was lost at sea aboard the Schooner Cleopatra Dec 26, 1885.  He left a wife and 3 very young children just a day after Christmas that year.  I don’t know how long the fishing trip had been at the time of the accident, but it is certain he and the rest of the crew were not home for Christmas that year.

This is a picture from Fred Bodin  of that time period and I like to imagine it reflects what it must have looked like seaside in the 1880s in Gloucester

The Cleopatra story inspired an epic poem “The Ballad of the Cleopatra” available on Google Books from Cornhill Magazine .  I encourage you to read it when you have a chance as it gives an interesting viewpoint from a fisherman’s perspective.  A storm came up and swept 3 men into the ocean, John Handran was one of them.  Another crewman died on the deck.  A distress flag was raised and seen by a British vessel, the Lord Gough.  As they prepared to send a rescue boat, the distress flag was taken down.  The potential rescuers were confused by this but continued their mission.  Apparently the captain and crew of the Cleopatra took down the distress flag so as not to put other sailors in danger by attempting to rescue them.  This seems a very brave decision to me and speaks to the nature of Gloucester fishermen.  The remaining crewmen were rescued and delivered to the Philadelphia port.

This information is from the Out of Gloucester archives.

I believe this to be the same John Handran of Gloucester who, a few years earlier, was  recipient of a peacetime Medal of Honor awarded by President Ulysses S. Grant for heroism in rescuing a shipmate who was swept off the US Steamer Franklin near Lisbon Portugal in 1876.  From the New York Herald:  “”poor Henry O’Neil seemed about to pay with his life the penalty for having gone to sea without learning to swim” when two sailors “were soon in the water making for the spot.  One of them, Edward Madden, held a rope’s end.  The rope proved too short, the icy waters chilled him, to let go the rope was to lose his own life, and he returned.  The other, John Handran, seaman, kept on with vigorous strokes.  This was not the first time he had risked his life to save a shipmate.  As he approached the drowning man with admirable coolness he kept clear of his struggling efforts to clutch, swimming round until he could grasp him with his right hand just so as to keep his mouth above water”.

Such bravery boggles the mind.  Such acts have repeated themselves over and over again throughout fishing’s long history in this area.  This story is representative of the proud heritage of Gloucestermen throughout time.  I am proud to have descended from such men.

My sister and her husband have been visiting from New York State and we have been having a grand time showing them some of our favorite Gloucester spots.  Despite the iffy weather, we rode out to Halibut Point State Park and Reservation.  We wanted to show off some of the nifty stuff we learned on our recent quarry tour.

It was like we were in a different climate zone when we got there.  The sky was a bit gray, but the winds were warm and welcoming.  There were a fair number of visitors already there.  I guess great minds really do think alike.  It was a great day to bring CB out to share the beauty with us.

Here’s a view from across the quarry of the World War II fire tower.  OK, you have to squint to find it, but it’s there!

Shout out to Cape Pond Ice from Halibut Point!

And here’s a backstage tour of how we make the CB magic happen:

It may appear that I have fallen and cannot get up but, in reality, we were working to place CB just so.  The magic doesn’t just happen, you know.

Sunday Sea Shower

No matter the reality of Columbus’ voyage  back in 1492, it’s a glorious thing to have a long weekend in October.  Perhaps the theme of this weekend should be one of discovery.  Sometimes we seek the discoveries and sometimes they seem to seek us.  I’d like to be open to them when they present themselves.  It’s easy to cloak ourselves in the weight of daily responsibilities and neglect to look beyond the next task on the list.  Here’s hoping you discover something new this weekend!

After a brisk walk at Ravenswood (where the ticket for admission is apparently a dog), we decided to have some lunch at

Destinos!

We shared a linguisa sub and enjoyed a trip to the salad bar.  Cannot resist the bread they use!  It’s a friendly, neighborhood place and it was about half full of people enjoying their lunches.  I overheard a first-timer, as well as gentle ribbing from some obvious regulars.  Quick, reliable service in a genial atmosphere.

After lunch, I succumbed to my sweet tooth and we visited Nichols.

Yes, there is a piece missing…..and NO I am not sharing.

Penthouse view at the State Pier

CB is Crystal Ball.  In my mind, she’s a she and as fickle as a teenager.  When I needed a little inspiration in my photography, she came to my rescue.  The purchase was recommended by a friend and CB’s Cape Ann adventures are among her finest work.  Mine came from Amazon (of course)  and there’s a good variety of various globes and accessories.

Some of CB’s recent adventures

Gotta love the Lone Gull.  Carefully prepared drinks, yummy pastries and a relaxed atmosphere.  I especially like to check out the art work on the walls.  We discovered Lone Gull quite a while ago and I loved the quote on the coffee holder so much that I saved them.  Now I’m glad I did because they don’t have these anymore.

When I sit out on the sidewalk in front of Lone Gull and hear the gulls screech, I smile thinking this thought from Captain Norman Borge F/V Nomad: His belief was when a fisherman passed away, his spirit would like on in a seagull and the gull would watch over his family and friends…..

Gloucester and Cape Ann are absolutely filthy with riches in scenery, dining, art and many other blessings.  My passion is family history and local history research, and for those of us interested in these, we are also blessed with Cape Ann treasures.

The “low hanging fruit” for local history research includes the City Archives housed in Gloucester City Hall. This hidden treasure is stuffed to the gills with valuable records and information.  It is staffed with volunteers, though you can also make online requests for information.  I have had very good luck doing that.  They are very efficient in response and willing to assist.

Another piece of low hanging fruit for researchers is the Cape Ann Museum Library.  Most are probably already familiar with the fabulous collections of the museum, but they also have a research library packed with gems and treasures for those seeking family or local history insight.  Staff there have been very helpful and their collection is in addition to the information available at the City Archives. Stop in an check it out next time you’re there!

And, of course, no such list would be complete without mentioning the Sawyer Free Library.  I have mostly taken advantage of the microfilm collection of newspapers,  they have a link to the genealogy collection here.  I have spent many many hours here and loved every minute.

There are many other resources as well, these are just some of the more prominent ones that I have made use of over the years.  The City is to be applauded for taking such great care of its history and making it available to all.

Here’s the upcoming Gloucester Ice Hockey team practicing skills . Look for them in about 4 years.

It was a half day of school for the Gloucester kids on Tuesday so we accompanied some of our favorite Gloucester schoolchildren on a trip to Russell’s Orchards in Ipswich to do some apple picking.  Now, I’ve never picked apples at an orchard.  Sad, but true.  I HAVE picked dead squishy apples up from the ground so my Dad could mow the lawn, but I don’t think that counts as apple picking even though we were paid the princely sum of a nickel per BUSHEL.

It was a lovely day to be outside and Russell’s has a great set up.  There’s a small per person charge to enter the orchard (which is credited toward the cost of the loot you bring out of the orchard) and an easy walk up to the trees.  The trees are well marked and LOADED with several varieties.  It took us very little time to get the apples we wanted, so then it was time to look at the pumpkins.  Kids and pumpkins.  You can’t really go wrong.

As we were checking out, I got an “emergency” call in request for a dozen cider donuts to be delivered to the dock upon our return to East Gloucester.  The store area was full of tempting aromas and the donuts were still warm when I purchased them.  I was there solely for the apple crisp, but – just my luck – none was available for the rest of the day.  Lucky for me, this means another trip to Russell’s in our near future.

Today we went on a tour of the Babson Farm Quarry at Halibut Point State Park with John, program coordinator. If you’ve been there, you know those massive pieces of rock that you walk by???  Well, John gave us a lot of insight as to their origins and the history of quarry mining in this area.  First and foremost, he told us the original name of (what we know as ) Halibut Point was Haul About.  This phrase apparent evolved into Halibut.  Go figure.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

The main quarry area at Halibut Point State Park is 65 feet deep and I have no idea how far across, but it’s a darn big bowl of granite.  Any waste from wildlife or 2 legged creatures has never had a chance to be removed, so it’s not a safe place to swim or for other recreation. (You’ve been warned)  Smaller mining areas, called motions, are also easily visible at the park and were generally used for things like pave stones.  We saw 2 of these in the hour we toured around the larger quarry area.  Well, to be honest, John pointed them out to us since we probably wouldn’t have otherwise noticed.

When you see things like this:

it’s evidence that derricks that were built to help haul the granite out  were built in this area.  These are called “dead men”(da da daaaaaaa).  Apparently, technology (invention of concrete) and changes in workers rights (unions) were major factors in the demise of the granite quarry industry in this region.

It was fascinating and if you’d like to be similarly informed, you may still be able to catch a free tour at Halibut Point State Park before Columbus Day this year.  Please be aware parking fees have changed since July, but it’s still a great deal!

My husband and I have been coming to Gloucester for so many years, we decided to make a move to spend more time here.  Our first stop is usually to Cape Ann Brewing and such was the case today.  We can rely on great service, good food and a relaxed atmosphere.  We were able to sit on the deck in the glorious sunshine and harbor-watch.  We saw two harbor seals out there exploring.  Behind us sat two women making plans for the upcoming Plein Air event Oct 8-16.  The seagulls were screeching.  (The women and the screeching were unrelated 🙂 )We felt right at home.

I ordered the steak bomb and Jim had one of the specials, grilled cheese with brisket sandwich.  YUMMMMMM.  Fresh squeezed lemonade and a Viva beer rounded out the meal.    We noticed Cape Ann Brewing has a couple of events coming up:  Anniversary Pig Roast on Oct 13 ($25) and Oktoberfest Oct 19 Beer Dinner ($45).  Perhaps we’ll see you at one of these events or at Cape Ann Brewing one of these days.

I’m a new contributor to the blog and hope you will enjoy my take on life here.  See you around town!