Good Morning Gloucester

We always enjoy a trip down to Cape Pond Ice. The outside is a study in the history of the company as well as Gloucester.

This time, we needed to stop inside and pick up a t shirt requested by a family member. As always, we were greeted in a friendly manner and we were able to complete our purchase easily (even if it did require a trip back for additional shirts!). Thanks, Cape Pond Ice! It’s always a treat.

Karen Pischke submits-

The ‘Tea for Tina’ fundraiser was a great success!

With Gratitude – Everyone Loved Tina! The ‘Tea for Tina’ celebrating the life and legacy of Cape Ann’s Tina Ketchopulos was a memorable and successful event. Thanks to all those that attended and contributed to this event! With your support, we managed to exceed our goal for three charities that Tina loved and supported – Cape Ann Animal Aid, The Open Door and Reid’s Ride (the Reid R. Sacco Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Alliance), in Tina’s memory.

It Takes a Village …. Thank You to all the attendees, contributing and supporting charitable foundations, restaurants, merchants, services, and individuals that made this event a Big Success!

Family, friends neighbors, co-workers and colleagues of Tina Ketchopulos: Christine Sarantopoulos and Members of the Melissa Society of Ipswich, Rebecca Baylies, Deb Eliason and Cynthia Dunn of Cape Ann Animal Aid, Julie LaFontaine and Sarah Grow of The Open Door, Lorraine Sacco of Reid’s Ride and their supporters, Lauren MacDougall Johnson, Kim Kainer at the Manchester Community Center, and all that attended this event.

Restaurants and Merchants for donated items: Gloucester – Jeremy and Mary Goldberg at Cape Ann Brewing Company and Pub, James Eaves and Anna atCape Ann Giclee, Patty and Rick Gates at Cape Ann Olive Oil, Laura Cramer at the Cave, Dorothy Linquata at the Gloucester House, Luis Prado at Machaca, Dennis at the Studio, Jim Turner at Turner’s Seafood, Neal at Blue River Diamonds, MaryAnne at 7 Seas Whale Watch, Karen Lohnes Massage, Dreamtime Wellness, GloucesterTEASE™, Rob Newton at Cape Ann Cinemas, Cynthia Hendrickson at Cape Ann and Newburyport Foodie Tours and author of ‘the Luckiest Dog Not Alive,’ John Williams at Gloucester Cinema, Danielle at Pastaio, Larry McEachern Photography, Gina Russo of Sage Floral Design, Christian and Nicole del Rosario at Surfari, Kathleen at Savour Wine and Cheese; Manchester-by-the-Sea – Scott Bumpus at Seaside Cycle; Rockport – Pam Wasserman at Good Dog Gallery; Rowley – Irene Winters (Danielle Yagjian Holmes Foundation); Ipswich – Kim of Dip N Clip Dog Grooming, Michel at Zenobia Emporium and Ipswich Photo, and Jessie Winn at Salon Bogart.

Local Restaurants that offered delicious soups, sandwiches and desserts: Manchester-by-the-Sea – Allie and Glenn at Allie’s Beach Street Cafe (andPleasant Tea in Gloucester), Beth at Bravo by the Sea, Toby at Essen; Gloucester – Pat, Kate and Travis at Common Crow, Judy and Kaitlyn at Destino’s Subs and Catering, Gloucester Healthcare, Eric at Stones Pub, Nancy and Joe Virgilio at Virgilio’s Italian Bakery; Rockport – Chrissy and Sonia of Latoff Farmhouse Kitchen; and Hamilton – personal chef, Terri Smith R.D.

Venue Set-up/Breakdown Crew: Paul Clark, Marcia Masse, Gap Lafata, Darlene Riley, Frank Sacco and Jess Winn.

MIT Japanese Tea Instructors Kyoko, Aki and Maki Wada and Jaclyn Lee, for providing a beautiful demonstration of a formal Japanese Tea Ceremony.

We are grateful for all the community support, that helped make this event a success, in memory of our beloved Tina Ketchopulos. 

— The Planning Committee of a ‘Tea for Tina’, Kathy Hitchcock, Karen Pischke, Joan Pohas, and Deb Sacco

Thank you to all of you that Stepped Up to the Plate in 2018. Thank you if you ordered a plate for your car, if you already have a plate and helped us promote the plate or if you brought one of the low number plates in the Online Auction. We finished strong in December and hope to continue the momentum in 2019, if you don’t have a Cape Ann License Plate yet and you love Cape Ann go to Lovecapeann.com and order one today.

In the last two years we have awarded $24,000 in grants to nonprofits and education initiatives. The more plates on the road the more grants the Cape Ann Community Foundation can make. Order today at Lovecapeann.com!!!

Just a few pictures of the fun we had in 2018. Watch for the great events coming in 2019.

I’ve been seeing rock piles such as these in more and more locations in recent months. I can’t quite decide how much I like them. They are a testament to someone else’s patience and engineering skills and they are made of natural rocks but they aren’t “natural” either.

I will admit I like looking at them while reluctantly understanding why some might urge us not to build them: moving rocks can disrupt nature; they can be mis-read by hikers and walkers who know the signage; or, as one website put it, they are “an unnecessary reminder of humanity”.

So, I guess I will leave it to others to decide. I’m not starting a debate: I don’t build them, but I kind of like looking at them. PS Some apparently call them “cairns”, but random rock piles are not cairns, which are meant as memorials or landmarks and are usually much larger.

More Off Market Luxury Homes

Did you know that there are dozens of owners that would like to sell their Cape Ann and North Shore luxury homes but can’t because the homes aren’t currently on the market? The homes didn’t sell last season and have “expired” or are “canceled”. They are considered “off market” by zillow.com, realtor.com and the multiple listing service so you may not know anything about them.

These off market opportunities are available, they’re just not easy to find.

Interested? Watch the video.

Or just click here for your free list of Off Market Opportunities.

Prepared by McDermott & MacCarthy of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty. Visit OffMarketGuide.com for your free Off Market Luxury Home report.

January 4, 2019

Some people pay a compliment as if they were expecting a receipt.

Frank McKinney (Kin) Hubbard (1868-1930)

Midwestern humorist, cartoonist, and writer known best for his political commentary, Hubbard was a high school dropout who said his goal in life was to own a circus. He worked briefly as a silhouette artist and attended art school for a short time before beginning cartoon work for the Indianapolis News.  For 25 years he drew the acclaimed cartoon “Abe Martin of Brown County” which went into syndication and made him nationally known. Will Rogers cited Hubbard as an influence and called him the greatest humorist of his time. Another favorite Kin Hubbard quote: “Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature.”

Greg Bover