Long Beach riprap cleared of sand now
Sandstorm on beach sent us to the back of the Long Beach cottages. Strong winds continue.
ALIEN SHIPS HOVER OVER IPSWICH BAY!
Today it lay in all it’s glory today, but in the wee hours of the morning, a cruise ship it was not.
By 2:30 am, it was clear, the mother-ship had landed in Ipswich Bay!
What could it be? Is this the night they return?
Then it became clearer. We’re not alone!
And by the morn, the truth was out there!
2 mother-ships had actually arrived!
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Memories of a Gloucester Childhood
I heard from FOB David Collins recently in response to a post that featured pictures of Half Moon Beach. With his permission, I am sharing his recollections.
Your photos of Half Moon Beach struck a real nostalgic chord with me. I used to love to run up and down those steps from the beach to Tablet Rock back some 60-65 years ago (!) when Stage Fort Park was my “personal playground”. The steps look to have been made a good bit safer now but still have their charm. The life guard stand and the ramp were not there then, however. And, in fact, very few people seemed to go to that little beach during the week.
We used to live on Stage Fort Avenue and there were many days when I would ride my bike through the whole park – from the tennis courts to the playground to the fort to Half Moon Beach and Tablet Rock to Cressy’s Beach to The Cupboard and be just about the only person there. I’m glad to see the gem of a park is more fully utilized these days.
I can remember when the little league field (now Boudreau Field) was added. That sure changed how we sledded down the hill behind it. One winter, I tried to sled down the embankment at Half Moon Beach. That was a disaster – too many plants sticking up under the snow. I think some of them were beach roses. Are they still there do you know?
The park came much more alive in the summer, of course, and especially so when the circus or the carnivals were there. And Cressy’s Beach often had a crowd on it during the summer days. I remember talking to the young man who painted the sea serpent there. I was about 10, so 1955? I think he referred to it as a quetzalcoatl. When I first started going there, Cressy’s Beach was mostly all sand. Then a storm or hurricane hit and it became almost all stones.
The building housing the Visitors Welcoming Center where you volunteered this summer was there back then along with a playground with swings (little box-like swings for very young kids were in an area separate from the rest of the swings) and there was a slide and see-saw and a spinner or spinning carousel. Here are a couple pictures of my sister and me enjoying them way back in 1948.
You can see the Welcome Center in the photos. I forget what we called it back then. I honestly don’t remember that ladder attached to the big kids’ swings in the top picture.
The park bandstand you featured in another GMG blog entry was not there back then but the ball field below it was.
The (Welcome) building seemed little used that I can remember except by us neighborhood kids who loved to run its porches (which are likely not as big as I remember them being). I think I can remember buying an ice cream in that building at one time, maybe before The Cupboard opened? But not often. And maybe some of the park maintenance equipment was stored under the building? Shel Sudbay, who I think was the park maintenance supervisor, lived next door to us and a lot of the maintenance equipment was housed there in sheds right below my bedroom window.
Anyway, thanks for the pictures, Pat. What wonderful memories they brought back!!
You are very welcome, David! Thanks for reaching out. I am certain there are others who will enjoy these memories.
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All schools cancelled -Power outages about 30% #GloucesterMA
statewide 22,000
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Gloucester Biotechnology Academy Open House – Thursday, October 24th!
Join us on Thursday, October 24th from 3p to 6p for Gloucester Biotechnology Academy’s Fall OPEN HOUSE! Come tour our state-of-the-art teaching lab, talk with current students about their experience with the hands-on curriculum, and learn about the application process from Academy instructors.
All are welcome! Please contact Elizabeth Wing with any questions at elizabeth.wing@gmgi.org
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5:45AM #GloucesterMA Wind Event Video Report Drive Through East Gloucester and Downtown
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We’ve got a date for the opening reception of my Waterfront Images series at Cape Ann Giclee November 1st!
We’ve got a date for the opening reception of my Waterfront Images series at @capeanngiclee
November 1st from 6:30-9:00PM.
Cape Ann Giclee is located at 20 Maplewood Ave. #GloucesterMA. Please come and share!
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ANNUAL MEETING NOTICE – MT. PLEASANT CEMETERY ASSOCIATION
Monday, October 21, 2019 at 6 pm
East Gloucester Community Church
If you are a lot owner or have family members interred at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery you are welcome to attend our Annual Meeting.
We currently have openings on our Board of Trustees and are actively seeking qualified volunteers who have time and energy to commit to keeping our cemetery going.
I appreciate your help on this. I cannot seem to get it into the newspaper and it receives more traction on your page.
Regards,
Kathy Melanson
Secretary
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery Association
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A FRONT FULL OF MONARCH BUTTERFLIES SWEEPS ACROSS THE COUTRY
You may have seen on social media sites the map of butterflies moving through Oklahoma. This is the original story in which the maps appeared: A front full of butterflies swept through Oklahoma City on Saturday
The line on the map above isn’t rain, but from butterflies and dragonflies. We can surmise based on what has been happening along our shores that the species you see in this front are most likely a swirl of Monarchs, Painted Ladies, and Green Darner Dragonflies. The north easterly winds are carrying the insects south.
Below is a map showing autumn and spring migrations. The orange arow is the fall migratory route of the Monarchs.
Anything red represents rain. Blue indicates more unusual shapes, often biological in origin. Notice behind the “butterfly front” the large spattering of blue. That’s where the insects were. (GR2 Analyst)
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FIRESIDE CHAT WITH AUTHOR JOEANN HART AT THE BEAUPORT HOTEL!
FROM JOEANN:
On Monday, October 21, at 6:30 pm, I’ll be reading and chatting at the Beauport Hotel in Gloucester. Come join me! I’ll read from my new book Stamford ’76, A True Story of Murder, Corruption, Race, and Feminism in the 1970s. This will be followed by a lively discussion with the audience about the writing of this true crime memoir, as well as my two novels, Float and Addled. Or we can talk about whatever you’d like. Books will be available for sale. This event is free and open to the public. To be sure you get a seat you might want to rsvp to Concierge@BeauportHotel.com.
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Beautiful day in Essex
Coming back from a client in Danvers decided to take 133 back, glad I did. Beautiful day
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Restorative Yoga Class with Linda at MAGMA (Movement Arts Gloucester MA) Thursdays 11:30-12:30 (right after 10:15am Nia class)
Restorative Yoga Class Thursdays, 11:30-12:30 at MAGMA (right after Nia class that runs from 10:15-11:15am)
Restorative Yoga is a relaxing and nurturing practice that allows the body and mind to relax and well, restore. All you need to do is sit or lie on a mat with your body supported by bolsters, blocks and blankets. I do all the work. No energy or expertise required for you. The benefits of the practice include better sleep, less anxiety, gentle stretching of the body especially the chest and shoulders, etc.
Linda was was trained in level I Rest. Yoga in the Judith Lasater tradition by Ann Biasetti in Saratoga Springs. She will soon and be attending a level II training session in the spring of 2020 to allow for more poses and therapeutic possibilities.
Here is a link to a nice description of what Restorative Yoga is.
I hope you will try…
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Sam Novello asks GMG: What Happened to the Cannons at Stage Fort Park?
ca.1870
Sam Novello asks GMG, “Joe, what happened to the cannons at Stage Fort Park—— two are gone?”
The cannon(s) are undergoing restoration (cleaning, chemical treatment and re-painting). In 2018, the CPA Committee awarded $22,705 of an estimated $46,000 to the Stage Fort Park Advisory Committee to refurbish the Parrot Rifle Cannon for work scheduled to commence spring 2020. The project is led by the Stage Fort Park Advisory Committee. The grant application project summary indicates the scope of work as follows:
- The fabrication of an aluminum “historic-rendering of a carriage for the Parrot Rifle Cannon as part of a multi-year project to restore the Fort area of Stage Fort Park.
- Cleaning, treatment and repainting of the Parrot Rifle Cannon.
- Machining or “sleeving” of the Parrot Rifle Cannon to create a narrow lined bore capable of firing a small charge report.
“Our final goal is to restore the Fort area as a historic feature of the Park and its importance to our local military history.* Repairs and restoration of this site are long overdue. The ramparts are overgrown with vegetation**. The cannon barrels are suffering due to neglect. The barrels are subject to trash, dirt and debris. We hope to preserve this site for future generations. The cleaning, capping and painting of the cannon will protect the barrel against future damage. We have proposed an annual stipend in the city budget of $2000 for maintenance of the Fort as well as a security plan for the Fort which would include lighting and security cameras. *Our ultimate goals include a visitor education center with historic references to the Fort and its history. It is expected that the entire Stage Fort Park will be used as a centerpiece of the city’s 400th anniversary celebrations.”
– Stage Fort Park Advisory Committee CPA application excerpt, photo from packet and phasing goals
Read the full application here: 2019 CPA Application SFP Parrot Rifle Cannon Carriage
*There is no finalized plan for this area overall. (See photographs then/now below.)There IS a history of Fort use and restoration for historic battles –as well as city celebrations– honoring this legacy and the kind souls who volunteered to do so.
For example: I’m not sure if the 187th Infantry Brigade was paid for the work they did in 1973, which I’m assuming was the last big overhaul. The CPA grant is just about the work on the cannons. The Historical Commission wrote a letter of support stressing replica accuracy using period materials (wood and metal)
**The area is overgrown at the moment because of various DPW work on the boulevard and future plans. (When I photographed the area annually it’s cleared.)
Stage Fort is the oldest fort in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
2019
ca.1870
1973
As part of the city’s 350th celebration prep, the cannon site area (earthworks, entrance area, powder magazine, and gun embrasures) was restored by an engineer brigade from Wollaston. The design intent turned the clock back to how the fort would have been built out in the 1700s. Julian Hatch, the chairman of the 350th, had been director of public works for the city. The project was decades in the wishing and sensitively designed at long last.
1930
In 1930, the Fort was spruced up from its formal design post Civil and Spanish war. Fisherman’s Field Stage Fort information plaques were commissioned and unveiled.
Bronze tribute plaques embedded in Tablet Rock at Stage Fort Park detail the site’s history and were commissioned and unveiled at different times. The monumental and stunning Founders plaque from 1907 on Tablet Rock itself is in fantastic condition. Two DAR plaques were inlaid on the glacial outcroppings past half moon beach on the way to the cannons. The Fisherman’s Field (ca.1930) is so worn it’s nearly indecipherable, though that’s part of its charm. The plaque compels close inspection, lingering and discovery. It’s a fun family activity for anyone who likes a challenge. For those who want help reading the content, I transcribed it back in 2010. ”
Printable PDF of the plaque translation here
Read more about historic battles and Gloucester Stage Fort Park in this trivia quiz designed by Shaun Goulart, GHS history teacher, in this prior GMG post.
1921
copy of Frank L. Cox fine art photograph (pre dates 1921) he used to illustrate his pocket Gloucester guide “The Gloucester Book”, and sell prints
ca.1870
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Half Off Menu All Day/Night Dine In Only At The Studio Restaurant On Rocky Neck Today 10/16/19
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Gloucester Smiles-1353
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Visitors to Gloucester-216
From Puerto Rico, Idaho, and California
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City Hall tower lights are purple for Domestic Violence Awareness Month #GloucesterMA
Enza Taormina, clerk from the Office of the Mayor, relayed that the tower lights are “purple for Domestic Violence Awareness Month” October 2019.
City Hall Clock Tower Illumination
The tower lights are illuminated to recognize special causes, organizations, events and holidays. They were instituted by Mayor Romeo Theken and her administration. The City Electrician with Gloucester DPW installed an LED system which is outfitted with changeable color lenses. Requests for commemoration come to DPW through the Office of the Mayor. Check the Mayor’s Facebook page or local media to see announcements for new lights and/or news related to a cause.
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Where Were We?
After spending the day at the Topsfield Fair, eleven of us stopped for lunch on the way home. Who can tell where we were? Everything, for the record, was delicious.
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Ghost Ship
I will be sharing my thoughts, observations and pictures from my recent photo tour in Bar Harbor Maine, but, in the meantime (cue Twilight Zone theme music): Ghost Ship! Happy October to you all.
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What a great morning.
What a great morning. The Pats are 6-0.
Carson Edwards dropped 8 threes in a single quarter for the Celtics.
The Nat’s are going to the World Series after Bryce Harper stuck them up and left for more money.
The Yankees are one game from elimination in the ALCS.😃
Good Morning Gloucester 