My View of Life on the Dock
Here’s a great opportunity to see first hand the kind of education going on at Gloucester Community Arts Charter school. Students get to choose from 7 workshops, from creating and illustrating a story set in Gloucester, to creating one of the species of fish that have contributed to Gloucester’s maritime history, to dissecting a squid, to taking the virtual harbor walk celebrating Gloucester’s people and poetry. The event is free and open to the public.
Cape Pond Ice Company
95 East Main St
Last Saturday, Fred Bodin hosted one of his seasonal parties at his store on Main Street.I had another commitment so I couldn’t get to the store until rather late, but when I arrived there were still a few meatballs in the crockpots and a small crowd of people.
No need to go to the malls on Black Friday!
Here’s the latest from Susan Parent owner of Toodeloos Toy Store Downtown Gloucester!
Toodeloos!
Island Art And Hobby
Life Is Good
Jewels Of Gloucester
Pisces
Palazola’s
Mark Adrian Shoes
Premier Imprints
The Cave
The G33K Store (yes, that’s how it’s spelled)
Green Life
The Raven
Local Colors
Menage
Dogtown Books
Antique Store
Village Silversmith
Cape Ann Olive Oil
Stuff
The Bookstore
Kid’s Unlimited
AND Lone Gull will open at 5:45 AM so people can get caffeinated and get shopping!
Most stores will be open at 6AM, some a bit later…7AM or so. I am still working on more stores! I will be pounding the pavement again on Saturday.
Read the story here-
Brandon Bernard, left, and Joe Maisonave carry one of 44 photovoltaic solar collection panels toward its place in a solar array on the roof of Reversing Falls Lobster Wharf in Harpswell recently. Each panel weighs about 44 pounds and can harness 240 watts of energy.
OK, let me first state that if this is true, that they could get all their energy to run their commercial lobster dock from these solar panels that would be fantastic. The clean air, fantastic. Less reliance on big oil, fantastic.
I’m not as sharp as I was when I was in college and practicing my math skills on a daily basis but from what they are saying in the article-
“44 panels which can harness 240 watts of energy each.”
That means you can power a bunch of lighting fixtures, right? Assuming in an industrial space you are using 100 watt bulbs. More than likely in huge industrial spaces I’m thinking your bulbs use more than 100 watt bulbs so maybe you could light the joint with 44 big lights? 44 panels times 240 watt lighting fixtures. But someone once told me you could have every light in your house on but as soon as you turn on the toaster oven it uses way more energy than a bunch of lightbulbs.
Take our dock for example-
I have a seriously hard time believing that the juice that our 5 lobster tank recirculating pumps at 2.5 hp to 5 hp and are sucking water in large pipes 20 feet up from low tide up to the tanks and run 24/7 is equivalent to a bunch of lightbulbs even if you were lighting up a monstrous building.
In my very conservative estimation the recirculating pumps use about 1000 times more energy here at our dock than whatever piddly money our lighting expenses are. Then we have refrigeration and huge refrigeration compressors for our bait cooler where the pallets of bait are stored.
Guaranteed that the energy those compressors pull are far greater than what 44 panels that can harness 240 watts of power when the sun is shining and not when it’s dark outside and our recirculating pumps are still pumping and our bait cooler compressors are still cooling.
Oh but wait, then there’s the winches. If you’ve seen the huge motors that turn the winch heads you know those bad boys are sucking down a huge amount of electricity to be able to lift three crates of lobsters at a time at close to 400lbs or tuna that can get to 1000 lbs, or three totes of bait at close to 450lbs. These motors run those a good part of the afternoon and early morning.
So to me, the numbers in no way add up. No way, no how.
But the media looooves to grab onto these stories because the green folks will always accept whatever the headline is as fact and run with it. Once the things are half paid for with government (read taxpayer) subsidies and installed, they’re not going anywhere.
I have a very hard time accepting that this commercial lobster dock is going to power their entire operation from solar power even though they will market themselves that way and all the green lemmings will trip over themselves to go buy lobsters there for $2-3 more a pound because they are using green technology that they as taxpayers footed half the bill for.
Hey if I’m wrong with the numbers and they can somehow squeeze 100 times more than 240 watts of power out of 40 panels and indeed run their lobster company with some type of new math, then congratulations!
The point for me is not if this was or wasn’t a good financial investment for the guys up in Harpswell. I wish them the best, I really do. What bugs the hell out of me though is the media’s acceptance of all these green technology wild claims because they know people eat that stuff up as it makes for a feel good story regardless if the numbers add up or not.
Smells fishy to me though.
This leaf is designed like the tree it came from. -Len Burgess
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Museum presents second lecture in the series: Who We Are Is Who We Were: Historic Businesses of Cape Ann
The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to present the second lecture in their series Who We Are is Who We Were: Historic Businesses of Cape Ann. The series looks at today’s local businesses that have thrived on Cape Ann over a hundred years. On Saturday, October 20 at 3:00 p.m. Scott Memhard, President of CAPE POND ICE COMPANY, INC., will be discussing his historic business. As part of his illustrated talk, Memhard will have historic ice harvesting tools, block ice and other tools of the trade to share with the audience. This program is free with Museum admission.
Cape Pond Ice Company was started as Gloucester Co. in 1848 by blacksmith Nathaniel R. Webster, who recognized the local fishing industry’s need for a reliable, large volume source of ice. Prior to that time, fish – primarily halibut & cod – were preserved with salt and brine. Webster dammed a local brook and built his first ice house on what became known as Webster’s Pond; today it is the site of Veteran’s Memorial School and the Route 128 extension. The ice industry grew rapidly, and within four years Webster built ice houses on Upper & Lower Day’s Ponds, where Foster’s Service Station is located, and on Cape Pond in Rockport, which the company is still named after.
Almost a century and a half later, in 1983, Memhard Investment Bankers of Riverside CT became the fifth family group to own and operate Cape Pond Ice. Today, it not only provides ice to the commercial fishing industry but also the produce, poultry, and concrete industries, and to sculpture and wholesale / retail packaged ice customers.
Since “The Perfect Storm” sales of the popular “Cape Pond Ice – Gloucester – The Coolest Guys Around” t-shirts and merchandise have become a significant element of the business, including national advertising and internet sales. Over the past 29 years, in the face of dramatic declines in the commercial fishing industry, the company has implemented a strategy of diversification, requiring substantial investment in plant and technology upgrades. The workforce increases from a year-round base of 7 to 20-30 during the busy summer season, including a fleet of ice delivery trucks. Cape Pond Ice occupies an acre of industrial harbor-front real estate, and also has storage and distribution operations in Peabody and Lawrence, MA.
Funding for this program was made possible through a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and to contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.
I bought one for the Mrs a couple of weeks ago without the Kit lens but for this deal it is ridiculous. Listen to me- If you have ANY interest in photography this camera has the best of all worlds and I can’t think of a better camera for the price than this one. Small size, awesome low light capabilities, huge sensor $478. For just a little more than a good point and shoot you get DSLR performance in a small package. COMPLETE TOTAL NO-BRAINER THE CAMERA TO BUY!
Here’s the link to it on Amazon where you don’t have to pay any tax on it and it ships within days.
Throughout the 1940s and the 1950s, Marcia, Tim, and Sunny Moran traveled from their home, first in Boston then in Kansas City , to spend more than 15 summers with their grandparents, former Gloucester High School principal Wilfred and Marion Ringer, on Shore Road in Magnolia.
In time, as some of the residents moved away and the summer visitors grew up and got on with their lives, with a few exceptions, we all lost track of each other.
While on the way to Magnolia, they eagerly looked forward to renewing old friendships and making new ones with both the “townies” kids (full time residents) and others who were visiting relatives in Magnolia.
Having been back separately, Marcia, Tim, and Sunny planned to be together in Gloucester and Magnolia in mid-September for the first time in over 25 years. The Moran “kids” started contacting people with whom they had kept in touch and soon a Magnolia Kids Reunion was being planned.
As people flew and drove to Gloucester from as far away as California and Texas , we ended up with a gathering of more than 26 people, most of whom had not seen each other in SIXTY years!
It SURE was good to renew old friendships, to see who married who, and hear all about their kids and grandkids.
To see the pictures of the gathering, please visit – http://www.themorans.org/themorans/Magnolia/Magnolia.htm
Tim Moran
Hi Joey!
Good morning Gloucester !…. from Perth , Scotland … standing w’ ma noo trusty fiere, Gordon Munro, in front of Elcho Castle , overlooking the River Tay …..
(If you have a chance to explore the Highlands of Scotland, you will find them breathtaking!)
Jim Clyde, Essex
Walking through Coolidge Reservation on Monday noticed the colors are changing quickly. This place is very serene and calming.
Lifelong Rockport resident and FOB, Christina Corliss and hubby, Jay Rourke are heading for warmer climes and moving to Englewood, FL. The couple ran the Halyard Guest House in Rockport for twelve years. They obviously can’t leave Cape Ann for good, and plan to return for summer visits, and of course keep up with things here on Good Morning Gloucester.
E.J. Lefavour
Several weeks ago I visited my friend Kent at his wood working shop in Cambridge. You may recall that we featured his wife Lyda Kuth and her beautiful new film, Love and Other Anxieties, this past summer.
It was my lucky day because Kent had just completed a commission for this exquisite table and was setting it up to show his friend Norm Abram (This Old House). The table is both a dining table, when fully assembled, and a collection of stand alone side tables. I thought GMG readers would like to see not only snapshots of the table, but the way in which Kent documented the fabrication of the custom table–an exceptional example of both an instructional how-to and marketing tool for designers and builders. From the initial concept mock-up to the laser engraved labels, Kent beautifully photographed every step of the construction process in Link to Custom Table Fabrication Process.
Kent Christman
Gloucester Harbor from 2008
The other day I posted a poll-
Posted on October 9, 2012 by Joey C
Have we as a society gone soft?
Coaches getting punished for making kids run,
Mothers getting arrested for letting kids play outside,
High School Basketball coaches getting fired for swearing in the locker room,
High School Boards Trying to eliminate Football because it’s too dangerous,
Teachers getting fired for writing out of frustration,
Nursury Rhymes being changed to not offend, the list goes on and on and on.
People in everyday life acting as if they were running for office or were in some corporate job 24/7 campaigning for a raise. Everything is supposed to be vanilla, no one is supposed to raise their voice, we’ve literally handcuffed the poor teachers from disciplining students, everyone gets a trophy, eliminating MVP awards to not make anyone feel inferior.
For Christs sake when does it end? Are we creating a nation of weak, dry, humorless politically correct robots?
What would our Grandfathers say about all this? Probably just shake their heads in disgust.
Thank goodness for the results of this poll. It restores a little bit of faith in the sanity of the populace.
Hi Joey,
We’ve all been working hard to create a WONDERFUL event for arts lovers of all kinds. Along with friends and fellow board members – Kris Fisher, Susan Boles, Seyrel Williams, Jo-Anne Crawford, Bill Bode, and many more – we’d love your support for Celebrate Emerging Stars!…..for those of you who can’t believe how time flies – the early bird tickets ($85) need to be bought or postmarked by this Friday, October 12th.
In case you haven’t received a flyer or seen it online, we have been extremely fortunate to engage the Cape Ann Big Band and the BHS Jazz Sextet for a great evening of music & dancing at Bass Rocks Golf Club. It’s so rare to find a nice place to enjoy danceable music infused with jazz, swing, soul, and rock n’ roll!
We have over a dozen tremendous emerging artists to showcase at our event – many surprise entries – their work will be for sale and we want to support them as well as the fabulous show on the walls at Bass Rocks.
We also have a wonderful raffle planned (tickets on sale now here) that includes donations from: Susan Hershey, Jenny Rangan, Beth Williams, Cape Ann Museum, Peabody-Essex Museum, Rockport Music, and Duckworth Bistro.
The silent auction will have very exciting, exclusive items! A piece from Mahri Jewelry, a skype guitar lesson with LARRY CORYELL, a painting by JANIS SANDERS valued at $2500 to name a few.
It’s an exciting time – getting ready to launch a beautiful new website in early November. (we have a select number of sponsor spots on the website available too!)
Please come and join us on the dance floor and support our work to grow our local creative economy!
Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco
Celebrate Emerging Stars on October 27th!
Good Morning Gloucester 