Good Morning Gloucester

Sno-Caps…

I’m not deleting this weekly alarm til I get to experience one.

Love going to this one and the one in Newport.

Perhaps you already thought the magnificent Bald Eagle was the national bird of the United States but it wasn’t until very recently. President Biden signed a bill into law designating the Bald Eagle as the national bird only about a week ago–on Christmas Eve 2024. It seems right to start a New Year with a new national bird. According to Smithsonian Magazine:

” The U.S.’s national tree is the oak, and its national flower is the rose. The national mammal has been the bison since 2016, and all 50 states have a state bird. But until this month, there was no national bird on the books.” PS The Massachusetts state bird is the black capped chickadee and its flower is a Mayflower (surprise).

This is an eagle we saw on our recent trip to visit family. He just looks so proud high atop that tree! The Bald Eagle is probably my favorite raptor. (It shouldn’t surprise you to learn I have a favorite raptor)

JANUARY 1, 2025 ~ SAWYER FREE LIBRARY ~ 

Please join the Sawyer Free Library on Thursday, January 9 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm for an Author Talk with Diane C. Bradley.  The Boston-based author Diane C. Bradley will discuss The Summer Before, her gripping novel about trauma, guilt, and the resilience of friendship which explores the shattering impact of abuse and healing journey that follows. 

All are invited, no registration required. The discussion will take place at the Sawyer Free Libraryat 21 Main Street in Gloucester. If you have questions, please contact: lsvensson@sawyerfreelibrary.orgor 978-325-5500.

About The Summer Before:

If the perpetrator is also someone you love, there are no words. 

Madeline and Summer are more than best friends. They might as well be sisters; they’ve claimed the title, anyway-and sisters tell each other everything. But Summer has a secret she’s been hiding for years. Someone’s been hurting her, someone close, and when it comes out, it destroys everything around her with the force of dying stars.

Six years after the trial, Madeline is a haunted young woman trying to build a new life in Boston, but the guilt of her betrayal brings her to the brink of suicide. To let go of the past, Madeline must confront her father, mother, and all those involved with the trial that split her family apart-or continue her descent, finishing what she started to escape it.

About the Author:

A raw, gritty New Englander, Dianne C. Bradley, is a registered nurse and freelance writer. Dianne and her family, both human, furry, and feathered, are firmly planted in a small town north of Boston, not far enough away to lose her city edge. After falling in love with Martha’s Vineyard on a weekend visit as a girl, she returns every summer, reigniting her passion for writing in the magical place that inspired it.

Surfside…

I shouldn’t need to explain this one……hoping the same for you all!

I took this at White Beach in Manchester last evening.

Thought you might like to share this with your readers.

Ruth Goutal

17 Desmond Ave

Manchester

Kate and I stopped in to pick up a few books and the service couldn’t have been more friendly and accommodating.

Thank you

Maine-scape…

December 31, 2024 ~ gloucestereducationfoundation ~ 

As 2024 winds down, the Gloucester Education Foundation is celebrating a banner year of community support and dynamic programming benefitting the 2,862 students of the Gloucester Public Schools. We distributed over $500,000 in grants to support 24 different programs in GPS this year! Thank you to everyone – students, educators, administrators, volunteers, board members, families, and especially our generous donors – for your work to strengthen teaching and learning in our local schools. Here’s to a great 2025!

Celebrating a great 2024 at the Gloucester Education Foundation!

December 29, 2024 ~ coliecatherine ~ 

Join us for a Bad Xmas Gift Yankee Swap at the American Legion Post 3 on December 31st @ 6PM!

Unleash those unwanted Xmas gifts! Bring a wrapped, unwanted, funny, or slightly embarrassing gift to participate in the Yankee Swap.

Details:

• Time: 6:00 PM
• Food: Delicious Chinese Food Buffet (included!)
• Swap: Bring a wrapped gift to join the fun!
• Lounge: Open until 10:00 PM

Let’s swap those bad gifts for something (hopefully) better and celebrate New Year’s Eve together!

Ring in the New Year with a Laugh!

Liz Simmons will open the show. Lupton brings to life the best of the contemporary folk music scene in Ontario, while incorporating the Celtic influences that have been such an important part of the Canadian immigrant story. Allison will be joined for this concert by Canadian and US National fiddle champion and multi-instrumentalist Shane Cook and guitarist and Canadian Open Step Dance Champion Kyle Waymouth. Liz Simmons is a Cape Ann favorite as a founder of the bands Annalivia and Low Lily. In 2021 she released “Poets”, her first solo album in 15 years, and she will appear solo at this concert. Get tickets at https://oldslooppresents.org, John Tarr Store in Rockport, or The Bookstore of Gloucester.
This is a video of The Allison Lupton Trio performing their set “Mel’s 100th/Blind River Breakdown/Sarah Dancing”: