John Sarrouf was featured in a Time magazine video on efforts to develop common ground between gun rights advocates and proponents of stricter gun laws.

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Dear Joey,

I’m a long-time GMG reader — even though I no longer live in Gloucester.
I thought you might want to know about this very cool matter involving my good buddy John Sarrouf, who still lives in East Gloucester (and has for years, though not by true Gloucester standards).
John was featured in a Time magazine video on efforts to develop common ground between gun rights advocates and proponents of stricter gun laws.
Here’s the link in case you want to check it out:
Thanks for publishing a great site!
Eric Convey

The Fisk Connection

Posted on by Donna Ardizzoni

‘THE FISK CONNECTION,’ A PROGRESSIVE ORGAN CONCERT ON SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 14, 2018

EVENT DESCRIPTION:   The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation hosts a performance by six local organists on Saturday, April 14th at 7:30 p.m., the first half in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church at the corner of Middle and Church Street and the second half next door in St. John’s Episcopal Church.   Doors open at 7:00pm; come early for the best seats.

The performers are Kathleen Adams, Frances Conover Fitch, Carl Klein, Michael Kraft, Mark Nelson, and Robert Wech. Each one is connected to the work of the late Charles B. Fisk, whose firm located in Magnolia is world-renowned for superb pipe organs in churches, universities and concert halls. The concert will be narrated by Charles Nazarian describing the connection of the players to Fisk, history of the two remarkable instruments, and information about how the pipe organ sounds.

WHAT TO EXPECT: In the mode of a progressive recital last year by virtuoso organist Joonho Park, the first half will be performed in the Meetinghouse, home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, on the 1893 Hutchings pipe organ, restored by Gloucester organ builder Charles Fisk in 1962.

At the intermission, the audience will stroll next door for the second half of the concert in St. John’s Episcopal Church on the 1989 Fisk pipe-organ, the firm’s Opus 97. A reception will follow the concert at St. John’s. For more information and advance tickets please visit www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

WHAT’S SPECIAL? This concert is a rare opportunity for Cape Ann residents to hear two pipe organs of historic significance and contrasting characters back to back, performed by organists with individual connections to Gloucester and the work of Charles Fisk. The Meetinghouse organ was built by George Hutchings, builder of the organ in Boston’s Symphony Hall, and restored in Gloucester by Fisk in 1962. The innovative St. John’s organ is the only new Fisk instrument commissioned on Cape Ann, the firm’s Opus 97 completed in 1989. Although products of different eras in organ building, both instruments feature mechanical (tracker) key action, a wide tonal palette for the performance of many eras of organ music, and exquisite craftsmanship.

WHEN: Saturday, April 14th 2018, 7:30pm

WHERE: The concert will begin in the historic 1806 Gloucester Meetinghouse (home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church), corner of Church & Middle Street with parking on the green. Persons needing an elevator may enter from the 10 Church Street side entrance. The second half of the concert will be performed next door at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Additional parking is available in the St. John’s Church lot.

ADMISSION (at the door or on-line at http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org):

$20 General

$15 College Students & Seniors (65+)

Under 17 free

Red, White & Blue Sip ‘n’ Shop May 11 at Gloucester MA Elks Lodge #892 🇺🇸

Posted on by Catherine

Red, White & Blue Sip ‘n’ Shop 

hosted by the Elks, The Bridge and Pauline’s Gifts

Save the Date- just about a month away! Friday May 11, 4:30-8pm at Gloucester MA Elks Lodge #892 

🇺🇸”Join us as we raise awareness for Cape Ann Veterans Services’ “Welcome Home Initiative”- a program that helps local veterans adjust to life back home. Local vendors with patriotic items and crafts. it will be as American as mom & apple pie, Stay tuned for more details and features!” 🇺🇸

Red, White & Glue Sip 'n' Shop4th Gloucester Elk Lodge #892 back shore Gloucester MA_130158 ©c ryan.jpg

This could have been any of our Sicilian Grandmothers

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

A Spring Visit to Niles Pond

Posted on by Pat D

I’m not alone in my love of visiting Niles Pond. Two particular things I like to check when I visit is a large stone near the edge to see what wildlife is King of the Roost for the Day:

006011

Another favorite view is of the ocean just beyond the causeway, especially when the waves are rocking:

002004

Looking forward to summer views!

Leonardo Says. . .

Posted on by Marty Luster

DSCF3680

The beginnings and ends of shadow lie between the light and darkness and may be infinitely diminished and infinitely increased. Shadow is the means by which bodies display their form. The forms of bodies could not be understood in detail but for shadow.

Leonardo da Vinci

Sherry’s Corner Cafe

Posted on by Alicia Unleashed

Cinnamon bun, grilled ofcourse

Spinach and asparagus omelette with stone of the best cheddar I’ve ever had

Good ole classic breakfast eggs and bacon with grilled english

 

Got to give Sherry’s Corner Cafe a try! Went this morning with Mr.E and we will definately be back. Located in the quaint, happening Magnolia. Find them on Facebook!

 

THE FISK CONNECTION | A PROGRESSIVE ORGAN CONCERT ON APRIL 14 Gloucester Meetinghouse UU and St. John’s

Posted on by Catherine

high res Fisk facade photoGloucester Meetinghouse Foundation shares news about its upcoming special event

“The the first half of the concert is performed on the historic 1893 Hutchings/Fisk organ in the Gloucester Meetinghouse (home of the Unitarian Universalist Church) and the second half is performed on the innovative 1989 C. B. Fisk organ in St. John’s Episcopal Church next door.  Six professional organists, related in various ways to Gloucester, will perform diverse repertoire on these two fine pipe-organs.  The concert will include narration about the work of Charles Fisk, the relationship of the players to the Fisk legacy, and a bit about how the two instruments sound.  A reception will follow the concert.”

Fisk Connection Organ Concert PosterRead the full press release Continue reading “THE FISK CONNECTION | A PROGRESSIVE ORGAN CONCERT ON APRIL 14 Gloucester Meetinghouse UU and St. John’s” →

Support the Cape Ann Farmer’s Market – Dinner and a Movie Fundraiser!

Posted on by charlene01930

There are still tickets available for Monday night’s Dinner and a Movie Fundraiser at the Cape Ann Cinema.

The Cape Ann Farmer’s Market was a recipient of the 2017 Cape Ann Community Foundation first ever round of grants. They were award $3500 for their project entitled “Fresh Food Access and Supporting Local Business”.

The Cape Ann License Plate funds this program through the Cape Ann Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit set up by the Cape Ann Chamber Of Commerce to manage the proceeds of the Cape Ann License Plate.

Cape Ann Farmer’s Market loves Cape Ann and is proud to step up and support the Cape Ann License Plate at this event!

Somerville Mosaic Art Exhibition through April 7th

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Karen Pischke BSN, RN's avatarCape Ann Wellness

Promoting Optimal Wellness for Mind, Body and Spirit

Somerville Mosaic Art Exhibition 2018 – I recently went to Somerville Museum to see my friend Angel’s artwork at this exhibit. There, I came upon these beautiful mosaics created by two Artists from Cape Ann – Pamela Stratton and Mary Bowles. Both had a number of pieces there. If you haven’t been to this exhibit, I highly recommend it! 

Visual Art and Health – Medical professionals have increasingly recognized the role that creative arts play in the healing process. Arts in medicine programs are emerging worldwide. The Mass General Hospital’s (MGH) Illuminations program is an example of this.

MGH Illuminations – Good Morning Gloucester blogger and Photographer Donna Ardizonni currently has her photography on display at MGH Boston. During the June 2018 – September 2018 MGH Illuminations Rotation, my Annisquam Delight and others photos will be on display. Years ago, I attended…

View original post 139 more words

Cemetery Walk at Calvary

Posted on by Pat D

“There’s something about the confluence of springtime and death that feels right: life ends and life starts up in an explosion of pink blossoms. I’ve got grief on one shoulder and gratitude on the other…..” is a quote from author Ann Patchett that seems appropriate for a post about a recent tour of Calvary Cemetery in Gloucester.  I like to tour cemeteries, what can I say?

002

Each cemetery has its own personality and Calvary’s shines through as a large, open, well tended, very Catholic cemetery.  It was established by the Catholic Church in 1890, almost “new” by the standards of New England cemeteries.  And, as a Catholic cemetery you can expect to see crosses and statuary. These are quite magnificent.

017

Of course, signs of ties to the sea are prominent here. It should not surprise you to learn that I generally favor the older gravestones and symbols such as this beauty:

008

If you are caring for a loved one’s grave site, please be careful about plants.  Some can grow larger than expected and cause tombstones to tip, become unstable or hidden from view

016

For those interested in family history, it should warm your heart to find something like this at a loved one’s grave:

004

It means someone out there is paying attention to it.  These are potential cousins!

Some tombstones are adorned with photos and I like these as well.  011

There is also a trend in some places to put QR/barcodes on tombstones so visitors can scan for further information about the person.  Although I find this VERY intriguing, it also seems a bit out of place on a gravestone.

Many people find cemeteries creepy or uncomfortable, but I find a great deal of peace in them.  Give it another try if you haven’t done so recently.

 

 

 

Common Crow Event

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro
Health Fair at the Common Crow, Saturday April 21, 10-4. There will be
fun children activities, free samples, hot and cold food and drinks,
educational talks throughout the day and 20%off sale of vitamins and
beauty products. Check out our FaceBook page for more details or call
978-283-1665.
Thank you, we really appreciate you!!
Karen Andrew and Susan Davis
Educators at the Common Crow

GREAT NEWS FOR STRAITSMOUTH ISLAND AND CONGRATULATIONS TO PAUL ST. GERMAIN AND THACHER ISLAND ASSOCIATION!!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

A huge shout out to Thacher Island Association and president Paul St. Germain for winning an Essex National Heritage Area partnership grant to restore the elevated pedestrian lighthouse walkway on Straitsmouth Island.

Paul St. Germain writes, “We will restore the original C 1850, 220-foot granite and wooden timber walkway to provide safe and easy access for the public to visit the lighthouse from the keeper house. This walkway has been there since 1854 and was destroyed sometime in the 1930’s. Besides its usefulness it has also been an iconic signature of the island’s profile for over 80 years.”

This unique 1906 photo shows the 315-foot walkway, the oil house, and keeper house, as well as Thacher Island’s Twin Lights in the distance.

Facts about Straitsmouth Island Light Station

  
  • First lighthouse was established in 1835 to mark the entrance to Rockport Harbor.
  • The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1851 and again in 1896.
  • A 6th order Fresnel lens was installed in the lantern in 1857.
  • The current Victorian styled keeper house was built in 1878 similar to the one on Thacher Island.
  • In 1932 the light was converted from white to green.
  • Coast Guard moved the station to shore at Gap Head and sold the island to private parties in 1934.
  • Coast Guard continues to maintain the light as an official aid to navigation today. In 1967 the island (except for the lighthouse) was donated to Massachusetts Audubon Society who maintains it as a wildlife sanctuary.
  • Straitsmouth Island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
  • In 2010 the lighthouse and 1.8 acres of land was given to the Town of Rockport by the coast guard.
  • In 2014 the Town of Rockport signed a long term 30 year lease with Mass Audubon for the use of the keeper and oil houses.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THACHER ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE AND STRAITSMOUTH ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE, VISIT THE THACHER ISLAND ASSOCIATION WEBSITE HERE

Straitsmouth Island pounding waves after March nor’easter

MOURNING DOVES CHILLING

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Beautiful Mourning Doves hanging out in the semi-frozen bird bath wondering too if the temperatures are ever going to warm.

Beautiful Fish: Menhaden -By Al Bezanson

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns
 

Menhaden: Pogy, Mossbunker, Fat Back, and 30 other common names.

The menhaden, like the herring, almost invariably travels in schools of hundreds or thousands of individuals, swimming closely side by side and tier above tier. In calm weather they often come to the surface where their identity can be recognized by the ripple they make, for pogies, like herring, make a much more compact disturbance than mackerel do, and “a much bluer and heavier commotion than herring, which hardly make more of a ripple than does a light breeze passing over the water,” as W. F. Clapp has stated to us. Also, pogies as they feed, frequently lift their snouts out of water, which we have never seen herring do, while they break the water with their dorsal fins, also with their tails. And the brassy hue of their sides catches the eye (as we have often seen), if one rows close to a school in calm weather.

No wonder the fat oily menhaden, swimming in schools of closely ranked individuals, helpless to protect itself, is the prey of every predaceous animal. Whales and porpoises devour them in large numbers; sharks are often seen following the pogy schools; pollock, cod, silver hake, and swordfish all take their toll in the Gulf of Maine, as do weakfish south of Cape Cod. Tuna also kill great numbers. But the worst enemy of all is the bluefish, and this is true even in the Gulf of Maine during periods when both bluefish and menhaden are plentiful there. Not only do these pirates devour millions of menhaden every summer, but they kill far more than they eat. Besides the toll taken by these natural enemies, menhaden often strand in myriads in shoal water, either in their attempt to escape their enemies or for other reasons, to perish and pollute the air for weeks with the stench of their decaying carcasses.

From Fishes of the Gulf of Maine by Bigelow and Schroeder (1953) online courtesy of MBL/WHOI http://www.gma.org/fogm/Brevoortia_tyrannus.htm

 

Currently, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, based on the 2017 Stock Assessment Update, Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing.  More here on the commercial harvest for reduction to fishmeal and oil and the commercial and recreational bait fishery.

http://www.asmfc.org/species/atlantic-menhaden

Al Bezanson