Every morning we take a look at who’s in Gloucester Harbor — the draggers and lobster boats tied up along the working waterfront, the tugs and workboats, and the visitors that make people stop and ask “what’s that boat?” — the schooners, research vessels, and Coast Guard cutters that swing into port. If it shows up in the harbor, we’ll spot it here. One honest note: not every boat carries the tracking signal this runs on — a lot of the smaller lobster boats don’t — so if your boat’s not on the list, it doesn’t mean she wasn’t in. Here’s who’s in this morning:
CG 47303 — Coast Guard 47-footer, in the inner harbor, sitting at 0 knots (last signal 5:23 AM).
CG 47259 — Coast Guard 47-footer, moored in the inner harbor (last signal 5:22 AM).
That was it for transmitters this morning — no draggers or lobster boats sent a signal during the 5:00–5:30 AM listen, on a Small Craft Advisory morning when most of the fleet stayed tied up.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
The Boston Globe included Gloucester among its beautiful Memorial Day roundup in 1927. Inspired by Gloucester’s annual Fishermen’s Memorial service, a new addition was incorporated into Gloucester’s Memorial Day observances that year. Perhaps this gesture could return for future programs.
“This maritime place which some time ago adopted the custom of strewing the waves at an annual (Gloucester Fishermen’s) memorial service inaugurated another feature today.
“During the exercises at the Cut Bridge, in honor of the Naval dead, two seaplanes from Coast Guard Base 7 commanded by Commander Carl C. Von Paulson and Ensign Leonard A. Melka, circled over the outer harbor strewing flowers.
“Gloucester lost two airman during the WWI, Ensign Eric Adrian Lingard and 2d Liet. Maxwell Parsons. “Members of the G.A.R. Spanish War Veterans, Legion, and auxiliaries proceeded to Oak Grove Cemetery this morning where exercises were held after which the veterans moved to the Cut Bridge. Details from the servicemen’s posts had previously decorated the graves with flowers and foliage. The main exercises were held this afternoon in City hall auditorium, which was filled to its capacity…”
In 1937, the Gloucester Playground Commission dedicated the Maxwell Parsons Playground in East Gloucester, the neighborhood of his youth:
Named in Honor of
Lieut. Arthur Maxwell Parsons
U.S. Flying Corp
Born Dec. 11, 1895
Died July 3, 1918
Inscription on the tribute plaque
Eric Adrian Lingard
Have you watched Atlantic Crossing on PBS Masterpiece?
Local airman, Eric Adrian Lingard, was part of a daring and brave crew that drove a German U-Boat from the shores of his home state during the July 21, 1918 attack on Orleans, off Nauset Beach.
In 2012, Fred Bodin shared this dynamite photo with Good Morning Gloucester
Lingard Seaplane 1919 Gloucester Harbor – one he had flown
“On October 18th, 1918, Lingard’s plane went down in heavy seas due to engine failure, and he died of pneumonia 11 days later. The Lingard home is diagonally across Washington Street from the Annisquam Church, and was later the home of the renowned Crouse family (Sound of Music lyrics and actress Lindsey Crouse).”
After suffering more than a day in rough seas off Cape Cod, all the while assisting another brother in arms, Lingard and others were rescued from the frigid deep. Later, he succumbed from pneumonia exposure [and/or 1918 flu epidemic, still present that late. For example, the “two brothers who co-founded the Dodge Bros. automobile manufacturing company contracted the flu in New York in 1919: John died at the Ritz hotel in January 1920, and Horace in December 1920 after a wicked year battling its complications.” Search “Notables- Flu Cases and the Arts” Influenza Epidemic 1918 of Gloucester]
NAME: Annisquam Soldiers Memorial Wood LOCATION: Washington Street, along Lobster Cove CAMPAIGN: World War I TYPE: Bronze tablet in granite stone DATE DEDICATED: July 7, 1929 INSCRIPTION: Annisquam Soldiers Memorial Wood In grateful remembrance of John Ernest Gossom Eric C. Lingard Bertram Williams who gave their lives for their country in the World War
-from Gloucester, Ma. Archives Committee
Lingard’s name can be found WWI | Harvard Memorial Church
Where is the hull of Seaplane HS 1695, decommissioned by then Sect. State FDR to Gloucester’s park commission? GMG reader Bill Hubbard commented on Bodin’s photo, surmising:
“Nice old photo, Fred. For years before and during WW-II, the hull of a similar plane was in the lower level of the Twin Light Garage on East Main Street. The garage was owned by the late Ray Bradly who lived on Rocky Neck. As kids, we often played around it and I remember Ray telling us that it had been a WW-I airplane – I believe it was an old Coast Guard bi-winged seaplane. There were no wings or rudder, just the hull which was shaped very much like the one in the picture. Not long after the end of the war, they dragged it out to the flats on Smith Cove and burned it.”
Bill Hubbard, GMG reader comment reply to Fred Bodin, 2012
Fred Buck selected Joan of Arc photographs from the Cape Ann Museum for the HarborWalk Joan of Arc marker. We liked this one. The parade retinue includes a truck carrying wreckage from Lingard’s plane.
Joan of Arc in Legion Square. photog. unknown. date unknown. Lingard’s plane.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Since 1:30pm – Helicopters are sweeping back and forth close to shore, low and high, from Eastern Point past Long Beach and Thacher Island. Police from neighboring communities are helping; we have seen a few vehicles park and walk the rocky coastline and several vessels.
“I’ve been living in Gloucester now since 2013 (and love it of course!). When we first moved to the city, we could hear the foghorns during inclement weather. However, about a year ago, I noticed that I no longer hear them. I loved this soothing sound on a gray day and am wondering what happened? Have the foghorns been turned off? Thanks!” –Patricia
Answer
Sort of. The foghorn sound has not changed but their frequency has dropped significantly because the systems are no longer automated in situ on light house grounds. Instead, foghorns are on demand now, manually kicked in by vessel operators. They are VHF automated to frequency 83 Alpha. Five or more consecutive clicks sets the foghorn off for 30, 45 and 60 minutes depending upon the lighthouse.
The USCG in Gloucester explained that the USCGNortheast out of Boston tends the Cape Ann Lighthouses, albeit Thacher Island North Light which is private. The USCG division responsible for all technology elements is called the “Aids to Navigation Team”, aka the USCGNortheast ANT unit.
Since 2010, slowly but surely the USCG has been replacing the automated VM-100 fog detector systems with “Marine Radio Activated Sound Signal” or MRASS systems. VM-100 were problematic as parts were no longer fabricated and the systems were deemed less reliable and obsolete. Boaters rely on common knowledge. Many access USCG light list, GPS on their cellphones, chartplotters, and radar. When the weather hedges to the odds of even one boater being confused by fog, evidence suggests crowdsourcing engages the signal. Expect frequency to increase in summer when more boats are on the water.
The change was not without controversy. See the history of transition in Maine. Locally, a 2013 Gloucester Daily Times editorial expressed support of the Rockport Harbormasters’ opposition. Because of broad push back, the roll out was slowed down for better outreach and acceptance. The “drop date” requiring all foghorns nationwide to be in compliance was May 1, 2019.
“The upkeep of the MRASS foghorns is so much easier,” explains Petty Officer ONeal of the USCG ANT in Boston. “All the foghorns from Plymouth to Newburyport have been converted. Eastern Point was switched over yesterday.”
I sympathize with this lament for the foghorn. And I appreciate the challenge of maintenance and adaptation. Understandably safety, navigation, cost and care were essential topics of discussion, less so audible texture, mood, sense of place & culture. (Never mind the challenge of mastering dead reckoning when vision fails.) The allure of the sound from shores, often traveling great distance, is in the ear of the listener. Beguiling. Haunting. Soothing. Despondent. Scary. Annoying [see bestselling author Elizabeth Stuart Phelps LTE complaints ca.1880 about the whistling buoy off Mother Ann and that’s no foghorn] What do you think, GMG readers, and vessel experts?
Like train engineers blowing the whistle obliging ogling toddlers, maybe a few boaters will queue the sound in dreary weather for pining landlubbers. Technology changes that’s certain. Perhaps the poetic qualities will be baked into future foghorn design despite obsolescence.
The MRASS system is robust and here now. Thanks to USCG Gloucester and Petty Officer ONeal USCGNortheast ANT unit Boston for confirming details and to GMG reader Patricia for a great inquiry!
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
CHATHAM — The last surviving member of the Coast Guard crew aboard the motor lifeboat 36500 during the historic 1952 rescue of 32 seamen off the stricken oil tanker Pendleton rescue has died.
Andrew Fitzgerald — known as a funny, brave and reluctant hero — was 86.
“It was a dark and stormy night,” Fitzgerald would say at the start of the story about the harrowing night of Feb. 18. 1952, which forever changed his life.
As a nor’easter raged off the shores of Cape Cod, two large tankers split in half, propelling the then 20-year-old Coast Guard engineer and three other Coast Guardsmen into history on their 36-foot boat.
Facing 60-foot high seas, the four men boarded the 36500, led by coxswain Bernard Webber, and headed out into the storm to find the sinking tanker Pendleton, where 33 men waited anxiously for help.
As the crew of the 36500 navigated through the Chatham sandbar, which is tricky enough on a good day, they lost their compass, said Peter Kennedy, who worked on the major restoration of the boat.
Fitzgerald was in the front of the boat when it hit some swells and knocked him all the way back toward the rear, he said.
Then, the engine stalled and Fitzgerald had to go down below and re-prime it, said Kennedy. Fitzgerald was burned by the hot plugs as he restarted the engine, Kennedy said.
“He had quite a history,” said Kennedy. “He was thrown out of the boat and got back into the boat to restart the engine in 30- to 40-foot seas.”
The crew of the Coast Guard rescue boat 365000 after rescuing 32 crewmen from the tanker Pendleton off the coast of Chatham in 1952. From left are Bernie Webber, Andrew Fitzgerald, Richard Livesey, and Ervin Maske. Coast Guard Photo
Bring the family down to Harbor Loop on September 29th from 10AM to 2PM for a Community Safety Day.
There will be many exhibits from the Gloucester Police and Fire Departments as well as others. A $5 fee will be collected from adults and children are free.
State Police Horses on site and State Police Helicopter Fly By
Tours of US Coast Guard Base and Boats
First Responders
Police K9 dogs
Music and food
and more
What a great way to spend the day with family and friends while supporting our Police and Fire Departments as they work to raise money for an incredibly important charity.
It is going to be such a great day and they are looking forward to a wonderful crowd.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Searching for artist! Byron Brooks? query from Kate Foley posted November 2016 on Good Morning Gloucester generated comments about the artist and his work. I was inspired to piece together some of my primary research and the comments into an informal online catalogue. It’s very much a loose work in progress! Hope it helps people searching for information about the artist, and compels collectors to share additional images of his art. Just this week (6/27/18) another GMG reader commented that they acquired a Brooks painting in Tucson, AZ.
Byron Brooks gravesite, Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Manchester, Mass.
Byron Brooks is not listed in any artist biographical compilations. The index card sketch below mimics the format as IF he were listed in Who Was Who in American Art:
BROOKS, Byron[Painter] b. 1906, Manchester, Mass | d. 1978, Gloucester, MA. Addresses: 12 Stage Fort Park Avenue and 2 Davis St in Gloucester, MA (Willet Street during the war)
Studied:not known
Member: Manchester Art Association
Exhibited:1961, Tenth Annual Cape Ann Festival of the Arts, Visual Arts Exhibition, Section VIII, Balcony Show. Painting, “Rock Clipper Ship”. Emily Anderson chairman (curator) 1957, Sixth Annual Cape Ann Festival of the Arts, “Cottage by the Sea”, Group SP (Sunday Painters section), curated by Emily Anderson *Brooks ran a gallery from his home
Work: collection of Addison Gilbert Hospital Employment:Driver-Delivery; employed by City of Gloucester Highway Dept
Veteran: WWII veteran, served in the Coast Guard
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
While I may not be an expert, I know enough about the Merchant Marines (and standard college tuition rates), to know that this is a pretty incredible opportunity…and an even better deal. Think hard about whether or not you may know someone who should take advantage of this….before this ship sails. This program is currently being offered to help find qualified marine engineers as a shortage of such individuals is becoming evident.
To summarize…this program, created by American Maritime Officers and the Seafarers International Union …is offering free training and tuition, room and board, travel expenses, medical insurance, an on-shore stipend, wages for time at sea, and more to qualified candidates to prepare them for a seafaring career. In just about 30 months, upon successful completion of the program and its phases, graduates will finish, qualified by the United States Coast Guard, and ready to sit for the Third Assistant Engineer exam. Upon passing the exam, a pretty sweet salary, a career at sea, and the opportunity to travel around the world, will be theirs.
Take a look at their brochure for much more information….and then share with someone who may be interested.
Also find more information at the link below…including an application
The application deadline for the class beginning in January of 2017 is August 8th, 2016.
My students decided that it would be better to give than receive. They opted to skip the annual gingerbread house making for themselves and instead baked like crazy in class and at home. We then made a list of recipients and delivered holiday treats from Beverly to Ipswich to people whom our school is thankful for. We wish we could have made 100 more stops.
So, the other day, Finn finished his job. In addition to delivering cookies as a class on a school day, each child also brought a box of cookies home to deliver to someone special. Finn chose to deliver his to the Gloucester Coast Guard Station at Harbor Loop. You may remember that my boys have both loved and respected members of the Coast Guard for quite some time.
Here’s another post in case you want to read up on that….
COAST GUARD, LOCALS SEARCH SMITH COVE IN GLOUCESTER, MA, FOR MISSING WOMAN
BOSTON – The Coast Guard, Gloucester police, Marine Environmental Police, and the Gloucester Harbor Master are searching Saturday for a woman who may be missing near Smith Cove in Gloucester.
Missing is Suzan Nilsson, 56.
Gloucester police alerted watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Boston Saturday at about 1:30 p.m. to the situation. They relayed that Nilsson did not show up for work Saturday morning, and was last heard from via text message Friday night. Her belongings were found on the pier in Smith Cove.
A 29-foot response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Gloucester and an MH-60 helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod deployed to help search for the woman.
Anyone with information on Nilsson’s whereabouts is requested to contact Coast Guard Sector Boston at 617-223-5757.
This is a video I did about 11 years ago while working for the Virginian-Pilot and HamptonRoads.tv in Norfolk, Va.
An amazing friend and musician Todd “Tones” Jones produced and played on the track. He’s an amazing guitarist as you will hear. When I first heard this track, I immediately knew I had to create a Memorial Day tribute video. I filmed all the locations throughout the entire Hampton Roads area. (this was pre-HD, sorry) Please enjoy and share!
ARMY, NAVY, AIRFORCE, MARINES, COAST GUARD, NATIONAL GUARD…..THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
