Author: Pat D

What Fiesta? What Saturday morning? Still gotta work.  Still gotta fish.

Congratulations! Well done.

Recently seen anchored off the Back Shore.   Any input on the green, yellow and orange flag will be appreciated!

These pages are part of an article from The Century Magazine published in October 1886 called Gloucester Fishers. I found it on eBay several years ago and had to have it.  I didn’t know what to expect beyond the detailed description of various facets of Gloucester fishing and fishermen.  The sketches alone are worth whatever investment I made at the time. But, as my Irish luck would have it, there was a great big treat hidden within.

You will notice some highlighted sections which I cropped for easier reading. Captain John Bentley of the Schooner Paul Revere is a direct ancestor, which I knew very well at the time. But this article points out that his father-in-law Martin Costello was part of the crew as cook, a fact I did not possess. This gave me the gift of my great great grandmother’s maiden name! This little piece of the multi-page article also gave me insight into the role of the cook on a shipping vessel of the time which I found fascinating.  I thought you might too.  No ordinary sailors indeed.

Spotted on the dock by the Maritime Heritage Center. Imagine what they have seen!

Opposite images: Upside down, right side up.  Old and new.  Retired and Active Duty.

These photos from Joey’s office speak to how the magic happens for GMG and the podcast. Believe it or not, it’s not always Weber grill-side!

As always, we were in search of a blog post so we visited the Crane Estate to view the modern maze structure recently installed on the site of the former maze at the mansion. This artwork is called TunnelTeller by its artist Alicja Kwade. It has concrete walls and steel tubing highlighted by spheres of various sizes. These spheres are polished stone and placed strategically around the maze area.  It’s not a complex maze, you will not get lost.

Peering through the steel tunnels gives an “other-worldly” effect contrasting the steel and concrete with the trees and sky.

It’s an interesting piece that will be on display for several months. Admission to the estate for non-members such as ourselves is $15 (free on weekdays to Ipswich residents) and can be applied to Crane Beach parking ($25 in the high season) if you are so inclined.

We had a relaxing dinner at 525 in Magnolia recently.

They have a special cocktail selection that is raising money one drink at a time to repair the pier. Of course I had to help out!

Clam chowder, fish tacos and pizza!

Anyone know what’s up with these signs posted along 133 between Gloucester and Essex? They appear in order of the planets beyond Earth and have a little replica attached. I’d love to hear more.

Now sing along and have some fun

My name is Jupiter I am covered in clouds

I’m the fifth planet from the sun

My giant red spot is a raging storm

As for size I’m the biggest one

 

My name is Saturn I am brown in color

I’m the sixth planet from the sun

My outer rings are extremely thin

They’re made of dust and icy chunks

My names Uranus I am blue in color

I’m the seventh planet from the sun

Humans have named me the icy planet

Because I am the coldest one

My name is Neptune I am blue in color

I’m the eighth planet from the sun

I have too many storms in my atmosphere

And I’m the furthest planet from the sun

Lyrics from The Planet Song by Kids Learning Tube

Potential volunteers welcome to attend kickoff party tonight Wednesday June 20 at 5:30 at 189 Main Street.  I’ve picked out “our” tree already!

The statue is gone from the window at St. Peter’s Club. Italian flags are flying. The Novena has begun. All signs that Fiesta is upon us. This will be our first and I’m already overcome by the tradition and majesty.  Some Fiesta indicators:

5:30 PM at 189 Main St., formerly Wisdom’s Heart. Enter under the big new Dead in the Water poster.  Volunteers needed to string lights onto 76 trees; also needed electricians and bucket trucks.  Snazzy T shirts available to first volunteers!

Bearskin Neck up close and personal. It pays to look closely.

Councilman Ken Hecht visited the GMG podcast this morning to discuss the Light Up Main Street project, which will deck 76 trees from the Blackburn building to Flanagan Square with 4.3 miles of 23000 LED lights. I can see the sparkle in my mind’s eye already.  It will add a distinct dimension to Main Street and encourage people to linger, stroll, visit, and be neighbors.

To complete the project by the July 14 (Block Party) target date, the project is going to need a great deal of assistance especially from volunteer electricians, bucket truck owners and people willing to “adopt a tree” and hang the lights. To that end, a kickoff party is scheduled for this Wednesday June 20 at 5:30 at 189 Main Street (formerly Wisdom’s Heart). Ken encourages potential volunteers to look for the Dead in the Water banner on the Rogers Street side and use that entrance. If you are among the first ones there, you’ll get a snazzy volunteer T shirt as shown here. The shirts were donated by Sweats of New England and they are awesome! Don’t you want one?

I’m going to head down to Main Street to pick out my tree………see you Wednesday June 20 at 5:30! Spread the word.

Sistas in Glosta-town!!!  We decided to treat ourselves to lunch at the Beauport. Loved the experience. The hotel is so nicely done and definitely a pampering experience. Eric was our server and he did an outstanding job.  I enjoyed my cider margarita, even if they did think they needed to hunt down their cider stock!!  The fish and chips were a treat for my upstate New York siblings. As a treat, it was a great choice.  Thank you, Eric!

What young ladies saw in the Gloucester Daily Times in 1922 as “informal” summertime frocks. I hear we are getting some real summer weather, but I don’t think we will see this much fabric on the entire beach.

It’s Flag Day, one of those commemorations that sometimes gets lost in the patriotic shuffle between Memorial Day and July 4th. Although a Flag Day holiday hasn’t been an official national observance very long (only since 1949), celebrations of the flag’s birthday June 14 1777 have been held since 1885. Gloucester really steps it up when it comes to flying the Ole Stars and Stripes all year round.

 

Congratulations to the Gloucester Class of 2018! It’s probably hard to imagine that your 2018 yearbook will be meaningful in 50-60 years but I can attest that it’s possible.

Fairly often, I get to visit the archives at the Cape Ann Museum.  Recently, I was looking for records pertaining to widows and orphans of lost fisherman, but what I found was my Dad’s high school yearbook: Flicker 1944-45.  This yearbook has been available on eBay for some time but I was not willing to pay $65 for something I was pretty sure we threw out when we emptied our parents attic a number of years ago.

Our father was a cheerleader in college as well as in high school.  He’s the guy in the white pants here (you probably figured that out).  Look at the crowd behind them!

This is the Boys Glee Club.  I think these are ROTC uniforms. (Reserved Officers Training Corps).  In the mid 1940s, it would have been very common as World War II raged overseas.

I saw this senior picture and couldn’t help but think there was a time when such a character would find himself stuffed in a locker every single day.  If you read his summary, you’ll see our Dad Paul Ryan’s ambition is “to go around the world in the Merchant Marine with Umbriago at the wheel.”  Umbriago was apparently an imaginary sidekick to Jimmy Durante.  I don’t quite get it either, but I’ll bet it’s clever.

A few days after I got these, GMG Jimmy found another copy of the yearbook in the Dogtown bookstore.  Someone had very handily labeled all the seniors in the book and this verified that “Paddy” appeared several other times in the yearbook as well but I think these pictures are a fair reflection of Gloucester high school in the 1940s.  It’s an interesting study in social history to review old yearbooks.  I hope this year’s graduates find yearbook gems sometime around 2078!!!!