My View of Life on the Dock
GloucesterCast April 23, 2013 With Host Joey C and Guest Fr Matthew Green
Click to listen- 
We discuss Fr Green’s recent decision to take a year off from priesthood. What he loves about Gloucester, His Favorite Local restaurants, His origami classes at The Hive and how he announced his decision to his parishioners.
RUN, don’t walk – to Bananas, Gloucester Music or Alexandra’s Bread and get your tickets for the enormously popular theatrical event and fundraiser – STEPPING UP FOR CITY HALL.
Imagine the Gloucester Bananas shop windows come to life, as the mastermind of style, Richard Leonard and his accomplices, the Bananarettes, provide an elaborate and high class revue, Stepping Up for City Hall on Saturday evening May 4th and Sunday afternoon May 5th. You will feel you have been transported to Broadway from the minute you step into our historic Kyrouz Auditorium, and we are certain you will leave uplifted and entertained.
Tickets are nearly SOLD OUT for the Saturday event, but there are still limited tickets available for the Sunday afternoon show, available at Bananas, Gloucester Music and Alexandra’s Bread.
Sunday tickets are $35 and doors open at 2:00 pm for the 2:45 show.
You do not want to miss out on this one of a kind event!
Earth Day is being celebrated between April 20th and April 27th 2013 here in Gloucester. Because in the past I’ve never seen a comprehensive list ahead of time and neighborhoods who would like to have a plan to meet, I think Good Morning Gloucester is the perfect place to be the clearinghouse for Local Earth Day Information.
If your organization or neighborhood is planning something, submit it to goodmorninggloucester@yahoo.com I will add it to the GMG Earth Day Google Map and add your listing here on the blog.
Click map for interactive information and send in your Earth Day Clean Up Pictures And I’ll attach them to the map and the blog!
Would be great to have neighborhoods write in and say where and what time they would like to meet. FOB Patty Amaral will also update us with where to get yellow bags which will be collected and anything else from the Clean City Initiative coordination efforts. We are continually updating this list so continue to send in your neighborhood plan and I’ll post it. (seems most neighborhoods are meeting at 9AM) I don’t see a Magnolia, or East Gloucester initiative yet. Send your listing to goodmorninggloucester@yahoo.com
This is what we have so far-
Gloucester DPW Yellow Plastic Bag Pick Up For Community Clean Ups- Ongoing
Pick Up Yellow Plastic Bags For Community Clean Ups
Gloucester Public Works
28 Poplar Street
Gloucester, MA 01930
(978) 281-9785
Gloucester Housing Authority Riverdale Park/Veterans Way Community Clean UP
April 18th 9-12
April 19th 9-12
Toad Hall Bookstore Earth Day Cleanup Event at Loop Pond between 8 – 9:30 am on Saturday, April 20
In support of Rockport’s Earth Day activities, the Toad Hall Bookstore is sponsoring a volunteer cleanupof the Loop Pond Conservation Area and Upper Mill Brook between 8 – 9:30 am on Saturday, April
20thth. The Loop Pond Conservation area has been collaboratively restored by the Town and dozens of volunteers over the past decade. Anyone who wants to learn more about this project and pitch in a little volunteer time to further the ecological recovery cleanup of this important area of native grasslands, trails and wetlands please meet at the gate located at the end of Applecart Road at 8:00 am. For more information please contact Eric Hutchins at 978-546-6425 or Toad Hall Bookstore at 978-546-7323.
Toad Hall Bookstore Earth Day Beach Clean Up For Rockport April 20th
Pick a beach ,Front , Back or Old Garden Beach to clean up and recycle trash that pollutes our beaches. Saturday April 20th at 10:00- rain or shine join a volunteer at a location to clean up each beach. Trash bags will be provided, gloves are recommended. For more information please contact Nina Samoiloff at 978-546-7785or Toad Hall Bookstore at 978-546-7323.
Gloucester Goes Green in Earth Day Eco-Trip Celebration April 20th
Celebrate Earth Day and discover what Gloucester businesses are doing to go green on the Eco-Trip Scavenger Hunt on April 20 at 12:30 p.m. Eco-Trip registrants will get a free copy of “Share the Ocean” by Michael Crocker, donated by Niaz Dorry, coordinating director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance.
More Info: http://www.capeanntimebanks.org/Ecofaq.html
The Cape Ann Chamber in partnership with Shred-It Boston will be offering free on-site shredding services on Saturday, April 20, 2013 from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm at 33 Commercial Street in Gloucester.
More Info: Cape Ann Chamber Shredding Event to Celebrate Earth Day
Sidewalk Sweeping Day Saturday, April 20, 2013
Please join the Clean City Initiative and the Building Center of Gloucester on our Annual Sidewalk Sweeping Day April 20, 2013. Sweep all the winter sand off of your sidewalk and into the street for the D.P.W. to come and take it away on your scheduled sweeping day, look for the posted schedule in your local newspaper or online on our cites website. Try to keep it in small piles so the street sweeping machine can sweep it up. Offer to help a neighbor that might need it. Look for coupons in local paper from our sponsors the Building Center of Cape Ann. Thank you for “Helping to Keep Our Home Port Clean”.
More Info: Sidewalk Sweeping Day Saturday, April 20, 2013
Earth Day Film Offerings @ Cape Ann Community Cinema April 20,21,22
More Info: http://capeanncinema.wordpress.com/
Cape Ann SUP and Island Upkeep Pavilion Beach Clean Up April 20, 2013 9-12
More Info: http://www.capeannsup.com/#!beach-clean-up-/c76c
April 20th Farmers Market At The UU Church
More Info: April 20th Farmers Market At The UU Church
The Annisquam Village Church presents:
"A Concert for Mother Earth" in celebration of Earth Day. Saturday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m
Featuring Greta Bro Group with Ricardo Frota, Maurice Cahen and Steve Travis.
Tickets at the door only: $20/$10 students.
For more information:
Call: 978.283.6416
Visit gretabro.com or annisquamvillagechurch.org
Burnham’s Field Clean Up April 21st 9AM
Joey, Hi my name is Ambrose Orlando and I am getting a group of hopefully quite a few people to go down to Burnham’s Field and clean up on April 21 at 9am if u could give us a shout out on ur page that would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Ambrose
Cape Ann Trail Stewards Gloucester’s Goose Cove Reservoir on Sunday, April 21st 1PM
Cape Ann Trail Stewards invites the public to join the inaugural clean up workday at the city of Gloucester’s Goose Cove Reservoir on Sunday, April 21st (the day before Earth Day) beginning at 1PM.
We will meet in the lot along Gee Avenue. Participants should wear sturdy shoes and dress appropriately for the weather (the event is rain or shine). Bring rakes, shovels and buckets if you have them. CATs will supply gloves and other materials.
Register for this event, join our roster of regular volunteers and learn more about us at www.capeanntrailstewards.org
4/22 Salad planting at all the elementary schools
Backyard Growers Program and Gloucester Elementary Schools announce
The First Annual Salad Planting Day
Earth Day, April 22nd
Teachers and students at all five elementary schools will visit their school gardens to plant a variety of salad greens.
In the end of May we will have a district-wide School Salad Day where children get to harvest and eat the salad greens they grew.
The Emerald Forest Cleanup will be on Earth Day April 22 from 12p.m. to 200p.m.
Patty Amaral writes- Meet at Al’s Glass on Maplewood Ave., bags and gloves will be provided. Oh and my webpage is cleancity.us for that link thing. That’s about it, thanks for EVERYTHING…. Patti Peace
Earth Day Cleanup Saturday April 27, 2013 from 9-12.
Come join the Clean City Initiative for an Earth Day cleanup at Stage Fort Park on Saturday April 27, 2013 from 9-12. We will be collecting fresh fruits and vegetables for the Food Pantry so if you can, please bring something that comes from the earth. You can come and clean Stage Fort Park or take your bag and bring it to an area that you like to visit that needs some cleaning. Take an extra bag and separate the recycling from the trash. Organize a neighborhood cleanup, we can show you how. Contact Rose Lopiccolo at the DPW at 978-281-9785 or Patti Amaral at 978-412-4201 or visit our webpage at www.cleancity.us,. Thank you for helping us to “Keep Our Home Port Clean”.
More Info: Earth Day Cleanup Saturday April 27, 2013 from 9-12.
CAPE ANN TRAIL STEWARDS
Inaugural Event
Cape Ann Trail Stewards (CATs), a new non-profit organization, announces its upcoming inaugural event.
Cape Ann Trail Stewards was founded by citizens of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester and Essex to help landowners and conservation organizations protect, maintain and expand Cape Ann’s trail networks.
By matching volunteers with trails in need of stewardship, CATs will connect Cape Ann residents with the vast network of trails in the area and help preserve these recreational resources for our community. Cape Ann Trail Stewards will arrange workdays where volunteers can learn about trail construction and maintenance.
The board of directors includes residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester, and representatives from the Essex County Greenbelt, Essex County Trails Association, Cape Ann Climbing Coalition, the New England Mountain Bike Association and other user groups.
Cape Ann Trail Stewards invites the public to join the inaugural clean up workday at the city of Gloucester’s Goose Cove Reservoir on Sunday, April 21st (the day before Earth Day) beginning at 1PM.
We will meet in the lot along Gee Avenue. Participants should wear sturdy shoes and dress appropriately for the weather (the event is rain or shine). Bring rakes, shovels and buckets if you have them. CATs will supply gloves and other materials.
Register for this event, join our roster of regular volunteers and learn more about us at www.capeanntrailstewards.org
Besides Having The Most Beautiful Room To Dine In Gloucester the Rudder Also Has A pretty Good Web Presence.
Check Out Their Site For All The Details- www.rudderrestaurant.com
The Rudder is available for private functions 7 days a week. Contact Greg
Halle the event coordinator if you would like to book your special function.
For more information on the hours of operation, private functions and
social media visit www.rudderrestaurant.com."
Can’t wait for this years Schooner Festival.
Here is my latest screed on cycling in Gloucester. I had the Big Mikes folks build me “The Ultimate Gloucester Bike.”
Hope all is well!
Jim
James Dowd writes-
“Make it look shitty.”
For those of you who have been following my Fifty Shades of Grey-esque relationship with Gloucester cycling, above is the first instruction I gave to the crew over at Big Mike’s Bikes when I tasked them with building me a custom bike from scratch.
“I want even the most hard-up thief to pass it over in favor of fishing pre-scratched lotto tickets out of the trash. I want the bike to give the impression that the owner dug it out of a pile of dredging spoils from a particularly nasty canal.”
“Can it have surface rust?” Mike asked. I think this was just an attempt to gauge my seriousness in this somewhat odd request.
“Can it? CAN it have surface rust? Michael my good man, if it does not have surface rust we’re going to have to ship it to Hollywood in order to have the professional prop distressers who worked on the Statue of Liberty for The Planet of the Apes have a solid go at it, savvy?”
They savvied. Oh, and how did they both savvy. The whole point of the surface rust was a key component in my secret plan to create the Perfect Gloucester Bike™. A bike that would have the following characteristics:
1. It must not present an attractive theft target to the station-zombies who have already sullied two of my nicer-looking locked bikes left there during my work hours up the line.
2. It has to be durable enough to manage the series of shell-craters and trench networks that pass for roads in our beloved burgh. Prospect Street, part of my commute, currently feels like riding from Lens to Ypres somewhere around 1915.
3. At the same time it would have to be fast enough to outrun the enraged pitbulls and their cleaver-wielding owners, maneuverable enough to evade the erratic traffic during prime self-medication hours and must be an overall a good enough ride to make it all worth it.
“No problem,” said Mike and KT. “Really?” I asked. “Really,” they said. “Really really?” I asked…they both stared at me. Conclusion: the Big Mike’s Bikes crew are very sweet, but are not to be trifled with when bikes are the topic.
And ooh, dawg, were they right. The work of sheer brilliance you see depicted above and dubbed “Professor Farnsworth” is the ultimate stealth bike. It’s a vintage Raleigh Mountain Tour, an 80’s-era hybrid tour/mountain bike back from the day when manufactures weren’t quite so sure that Mountain biking was exactly going to catch on. It’s not surprising, the 80’s were a turbulent time; no one knew what the future was going to hold. The Bell System broke up (people under 40, look it up), Apple launched its Macintosh operating system in order to carve out a small niche for itself against technology titans Wang and Digital and the film Amadeus swept the nation and our hearts, kindling America’s burning passion for classical music and opera that persists to this day.
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[Check out this sweet ad for the bike back from 1984. No helmet? Check. Mork Vest? Check. Cargo panniers full of hair teasing products? Double check.]
But the real magic in this bike is not the vintage frame. The magic is the work done in the secret underground laboratory miles below Big Mike’s World Headquarters on Maplewood (next to MacDonald’s). This is where the rubber really meets the hunks of crumbling sidewalk.
This crappy looking bike defies its outward appearance and sports all upgraded components: shifters, bearings, wheels, tires, fenders, reflectors, integral lighting and gear racks making it a sweet and practical ride for commuting and errands, the bulk of my in-town bicycling. But all put together in a way that doesn’t give off the “this bike cost more than a two year community college degree” vibe that one so frequently gets from some of the bikes you see rolling around the wealthier towns of the North Shore.
This solidly-built customized bike, work included, cost me substantially less than even a bottom-line new one offered at a place like Target . Indulge me for a sec while I tell you what you get when you buy a new “bike” at a discount retailer.
First, think about the quality of the other products you get from those places and how you use them. You get a $25 coffee maker from Target, the handle breaks off, makes a mess of your counter and you clean it up and get a new one. No biggie, you don’t expect much more and Hell, for 25 bucks you could buy a new one every six months. Whatevs. Or you get a beanbag chair for the kids and after a couple of weeks (and having been used in an especially active game called “Invasion of the Giant Space Marshmallow”) it starts leaking those little white Styrofoam balls, you vacuum them up and throw it out. Wasteful? Yes. But not much more of a hassle than that.
Now lets think about the failure event that occurs on a cheap bike. It won’t fail sitting in your garage, oh no. It will fail when you’re trying to pull a Millennium-Falcon-in-the-asteroids maneuver that is the essence of Gloucester cycling. That won’t be a mess that will just clean up with a dust-buster and a sponge…unless you head-on one of those diesel freezer-haulers cranking around the wrong side of the blind corner on East Main. Ironically, in that case those are the exact tools the Fire Department guys will use to get the bulk of your remains into a consolidated container.
The point is we’re at a weird phase in the economy. “New” things at the lower and increasingly middle price points are frequently much, much crappier than older products that have been expertly rehabbed. This is just a fact of how things are made and sold now.
The good news with bikes is that there are a ton of great ones still around just waiting for someone to apply a little TLC and get them back on the road. Unlike mine, most of them don’t look like they spent the past few years locked to the mainmast of the Hesperus. And doing all this, in the end, leaves you with a much better bike for less money. Win, win.
As for me, I also need it to look shitty seeing as the Big Mike’s crew flat-out refused to build and install the first proposal I brought to them: a remote self-destruct mechanism for my nice mountain bike, centered around stuffing enough Czech-made Semtex plastic explosives down into the frame to disintegrate the thief down to purely elemental particles. So, failing that, (“explosives permits” they said. Bah!), this is a pretty solid plan B.
Click here to read more about her
Has anyone else noticed the total power revitalization going on in the Middle of the City?
You suddenly have these big time community oriented businesses setting up shop and THRIVING in a neighborhood which in the past had been not feeling as much love as what is going on right now.
Let’s start with Burnham’s Field and the Community Garden as well as the recently announced a big grant to further make that inner city park even better.-
Posted on September 27, 2012 by Joey C
Then right behind there is Alicia and Chris DeWolfe’s Mamie’s Kitchen which holds the meetings for the Burnham’s Field group and has been bustling as a breakfast joint. Alicia and Chris frequently invite other businesses in like Glosta Joe’s coffee and Dinner Dealer and host community dinners at Mamie’s Kitchen.
Next to Mamie’s Kitchen you have Savour Wine and Cheese and Beach Gourmet who invested a shit ton of money into the space former occupied by Connors Pharmacy. They are holding open table meals, and if you haven’t been into that space you will be amazed at the renovation.
Behind St Ann’s Church you have our friends James and Anna Eaves at Cape Ann Giclee who decided to make central Gloucester home for their fine art reproduction company and turned their work space into a community Art Gallery opening it’s doors for artists shows and gathering of creative people to explore what is possible in digital reproduction.
Posted on December 12, 2012 by Joey C
The owners of the local McDonalds spent a ton of money investing to build a beautiful McDonalds on Maplewood Ave.
Posted on July 12, 2012 by Joey C
Big Mike’s Bikes opens it’s doors and recently upgraded to a larger space on Maplewood Ave as well.
Big Mike and his wife Kathleen are offering repairs and are huge into the local Bike scene.
Welcome to Big Mike’s Bikes, Gloucester, MA’s only full-service bike shop! We offer full bicycle repair services, rentals, and accessories and have pick up and drop off services available.
Posted on February 25, 2013 by Joey C
Hey Joey! Good news! After months of cramped quarters overstuffed with bikes, we moved into the space directly next door that was Miguel’s and before that, Enterprise Car Rental. So our address and everything is staying the same. How easy … Continue reading
Norm’s Auto Repair set up shop at the Former Tri-Angle Motors and is doing expert repairs. The shop is meticulously maintained and Normand his wife are making a go of auto repair business when many smaller shops are folding.
It’s like there’s a complete power move in this Central Gloucester neighborhood of creative community minded people.
That’s not a slight in any way to the already great old school businesses that have been operating there for decades like The Yellow sub Shop or Joe Mondello The Cobbler.
But to not recognize that there is something significant going on in Central Gloucester you’d have to be deaf dumb and blind.
Kudos to all those people who are investing in making Gloucester even more dynamic than it already is (and that’s pretty damn dynamic to begin with)
Hi Joey, Do your readers remember the Easter Parades on the Boulevard?
My family won a prize in 1960. Pictured are Virginia (Frontiero) and Robert McKinnon and our children, twins in carriage, Roberta and Regina, Lola, Mary-Ellen and Hilary.
I made the matching outfits for my two oldest children. Later we were blessed with two more children, Michael and Carol. We will be celebrating our 60th Wedding Anniversary this year.
Happy Easter.
Captain Pete Mondello At The Helm
Gloucester Downtown Easter Stroll April 7th!
Join Assistant Curator Laura Johnson of Historic New Englandon Sunday, April 14, at 2pm for a fascinating tale of Judith Sargent Murray’s influence on women’s education, the world of domestic arts and the sampler that reflects multiple stories and connections to Gloucester and its history. The sampler was donated to the Museum by Virginia Pleasants, and will be permanently installed following the lecture. A free will donation is suggested; members are admitted free of charge.
The Sargent House Museum
Sunday, April 14th
2pm
RSVP: sargenthousemuseum@gmail.com
please visit our blog for featured essays, photos and upcoming events
sargenthousemuseum.blogspot.com
Hi Joey,
Just thought I would keep your readers in the loop on some of the things we have going on here at the Police Department.
1. Our Gloucester Police Fitness Challenge will be wrapping up on April 14, 2013. We have over 40 officers participating in it and we have all benefited from weight loss and learning more about fitness. We have also seen great support from the community and would like to recognize them here:
– Cape Ann Car Wash donated for the purchase of fitness equipment
– Castle Manor Inn donated for the purchase of fitness equipment
– Cape Ann Marina and Resort donated for the purchase of fitness equipment
– Gortons donated for the purchase of fitness equipment
– Toms Auto Center donated for the purchase of fitness equipment
– Manchester Athletic Club donated 6 weeks of membership to all participating in the Fitness Challenge
– The Fitness Zone came up with the Final Fitness Challenge and will host at their facility
– YuKan Run and Rich Morell donated the entry fees for the Yukan races being run in Gloucester this summer, and will sponsor each officer who participates in the races with a donation.
We thank them tremendously for their support!
2. The Citizens Police Academy is winding down. We are in our fifth week and the class has enjoyed presentations from patrol, detectives, and a tour of Middleton Jail. The response has been great and both officers and citizens are enjoying the program. I would like to thank Bob Ryan and CATA for donating a bus ride to the Middleton Jail for the students. I would also like to thank the Gloucester Police Superior and Patrol Officers Unions who have donated a graduation pizza party at Guiseppes (thanks Joe and Memory, as well). We will be running a 2nd Academy in the fall and hope people will fill that class as well.
3. We are partnering with the Healthy Gloucester Collaborative, the Gloucester Licensing Commission and the Gloucester Council on Aging to present "Social Hosting: The Law and Underage Drinking". This is a free, must attend seminar for anyone with teenagers or kids who will eventually be teens. It focuses on what can happen when an underage drinking party is hosted at your home, with or without your knowledge. Our speaker will be District Attorney Jon Blodgett and an expert attorney in the field of Social Hosting law. The seminar will run from 6:30pm-8:00pm on Thursday April 25, 2013 at Rose Baker Senior Center. I would strongly encourage your readers to join us and learn some very important information on this topic. Give me a call to register. Again, its free!
4. In late April, early May, residents can expect to see a coordinated, concentrated effort to stem the tide of drug sales in Gloucester. Our message is clear: If you’re using drugs, we will help you or point you in the right direction for help, If you’re selling drugs…Stay out of Gloucester. Period.
5. Hopefully by May 1, residents will see a new uniform and patch which we will be unveiling in the near future. This has been a six month long effort to coordinate uniforms for all officers so that we present professionally at all times. As the summer months arrive, residents can expect an increased walking presence in the downtown area as well as the possible addition of motorcycles to our fleet to both enhance traffic enforcement and foster community policing (also to quickly get through crowds during the many special events the City hosts).
The above measures are just a quick overview of some of the ongoing projects we have going at the Police Department, in addition to handling our estimated 20,000 calls for service annually. We are humbled by the support the Gloucester community continues to show us and hope we are providing an above satisfactory level of service to all residents. Your readers are welcome to contact me directly with any questions, comments, ideas or issues, at the information provided below. Thanks, Joey, for the opportunity to update your readership.
Sincerely,
Leonard Campanello
Chief of Police
City of Gloucester, MA
Courtesy – David B. Cox
![image_thumb[3]](https://goodmorninggloucester.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/image_thumb311.png "image_thumb[3]")
This is a site where you can create your own Lego set, and if it reaches 10,000 votes the Lego review board will decide to make it a official set or not,
This week we’re highlighting models of ships. The staff pick of the day is: F/V Andrea Gail
http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/37260
created by mmbace on 2013.03.14
“The aren’t many LEGO sets that allow one to identify with an episode of modern history like this. The Andrea Gail would be a gem in any shipbuilder’s collection.”
“She’s comin’ on, boys, and she’s comin’ on strong.”
— Last radio transmission from Capt. Frank “Billy” Tyne of the Andrea Gail.
If you have seen the movie The Perfect Storm (or read the book on which it was based), then you should be well acquainted with the history of the Andrea Gail. If not, I’ll give you a little background:
The Andrea Gail was a longline fishing vessel built in 1979. She was homeported in Marblehead, Massachusetts, but usually sailed from Gloucester. On or around October 28, 1991, the Andrea Gail was caught in one of the worst storms to ever hit the North Atlantic, the so-called “Perfect Storm” of 1991. The Andrea Gail radioed her last position at around 6:00 PM on October 28, and then went silent.
Although the US and Canadian Coast Guards mounted a vigorous effort to rescue the crew of the Andrea Gail, searching almost 200,000 square nautical miles, the only items ever recovered were an EPIRB unit (a rescue beacon), several 55-gallon drums, and a few random pieces of flotsam.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Courtesy – David B. Cox
![image_thumb[3]](https://goodmorninggloucester.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/image_thumb310.png "image_thumb[3]")
Joey,
This is one of the statues that inspired my series of the last few weeks in Good Morning Gloucester. It was after I noticed this statue of Fitz Henry (Hugh) Lane and the Joan of Arc statue, that I started looking around Gloucester for more and more statues and plaques. It has been a fun and interesting search for me. The legacy of Fitz Henry Lane (1804-1865) and his wonderful paintings is such an important part of the artistic heritage of Gloucester. Just go to the Cape Ann Museum, and look at their enormous collection of these detailed, soothing seascapes. These paintings are world famous glimpses into life on and about Gloucester’s harbor and shores.
One of the things I learned about Fitz Henry Lane was that he was crippled as a child by ingesting some kind of a plant. And it was because he was unable to run around like other children his age that he became fascinated with drawing and sketching; and the thing that was nearby was Gloucester harbor, and its shipping activities. And because he had all this time to sit quietly sketching, he was able to see the play of light evolving at different times of the day; and fortunately for us, he became fascinated with the interplay of darkness and light. He was one of the school of luminous artists. Because his only formal training was with a lithograph and printing studio in Boston; he also showed the fine intricate details of many of the things that he painted. He took the painted equivalent of snapshots for us of nautical things that might not have been preserved from the workings of the Gloucester and other harbors of this day. His house where he lived as an adult, and created many of his paintings and drawings was in the center of what is now Harbor Loop. If you look at old photographs of the early 1900’s this, the western edge of Gloucester Harbor was packed with houses, warehouses and docks. All but this one granite constructed residence remains, and it was from this elevated perch that Fitz Henry Lane looked out often to the harbor. This life-like copper statue of him that is here was “Sculpted by Alfred M. Duca in 1997 “, and carved into the granite base it says, “step into my shoes and become inspired”, and next to that are a pair of copper or bronze sandals that are welded to the rock.
“I am have been a residential real estate broker for 26 years. Also, I am a novice rower down on Harbor Loop at the Gloucester Rowing Club at Maritime Gloucester. I have roots in this city that go back to 1919 when my father was born here. My grandfather worked as a scientist for John Hays Hammond at the time. Every year, as I do business in this city, and travel around Cape Ann, I find more and more interesting things that I see for the first time. I like to share some of these special places here on Good Morning Gloucester with my camera.”
Peter Dorsey
Joey,
Over the last two years, GoodMorningGloucester readers have followed the renovation of Burnham’s Field, the largest open green space in central Gloucester. In fact, many people who’ve read about Burnham’s Field on GMG have volunteered at Burnham’s Field clean-ups and even joined our new community garden. Thanks for all your interest!
The planned renovation of Burnham’s Field continues this Tuesday night with a second public meeting to welcome community input. Back in January, landscape architects from Weston & Sampson and city officials took ideas and comments from a gathering of more than 40 people. Now the community is invited once again to give their ideas and review several concepts for re-shaping Burnham’s Field. Anyone is welcome.
When: Tuesday, March 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Hive, 11 Pleasant Street (next to Pleasant Street Tea)
Who: Parents, children, neighbors, athletes, nature-lovers, dog-walkers – anyone interested in Burnham’s Field!
Questions? Call Stephen Winslow, Gloucester Community Development Department, (978) 282-8007 or e-mail swinslow@gloucester-ma.gov
Thanks,
John McElhenny
Good Morning Gloucester 