Last spring Marshall’s Farm Stand underwent an extensive remodel that allows them to push out their shoulder season well past Halloween through December 2023. The unassuming door on the right was relocated–broadened into two and centered for the new entrance into an expanded country market with a great selection of fresh produce and fare. An impressive fleet of cold and freezer cases lining the length of one wall are stocked with customer favorites, supermarket standards, and assorted frozen meals, all with a focus on local. I imagine this expansion saves residents in the immediate areas a trip past the rotary. For everyone else on a scenic drive or going for a walk on Wingaersheek Beach, it’s nice to know Marshall’s Farm Stand is open in November and December and worth the trip.
Gloucester small business owners serving Cape Ann.
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Mike Hale, Director of DPW, and Jeff Destino, VP at O’Maley, reviewed top to-do list items at O’Maley back in January 2020, before Covid-19 hit. They also consulted with the principal and teachers, mentioning Ms. Crosby as one point of contact. The third floor (7th grade wing) was deemed “the most tired”. DPW slated work for February and April vacations with more lined up for the summer. When the pandemic closures ensued, many of these projects were ready to roll. Essential improvements and remodel efforts inside O’Maley include a wide assortment of interventions and upgrades by the DPW team: floor cleaning/refinishing/buffing (perpetual! a la Golden Gate Bridge painting); fresh coat of paint in various classrooms (in consultation with the teachers); wall repairs; 8 bathroom renovations; custom murals with hand painting by Jason Burroughs; built-in benches and high top counter; remodel of the resource officer’s room; renovation of one of the teacher lounges; and new classroom clocks.
About those classroom clocks. Ralph B. O’Maley (O’Maley) school was built ca.1972 and first class welcomed in ’74. The original classroom clocks were synced (hardwired and controlled from the main office) and no longer operational and hadn’t been for some time. They were kept up until they couldn’t be; after so much time the manufacturer was long gone. Bids for repairing the classroom clock system were astronomical. Instead, DPW replaced them with new clocks, automatically synced and operated via a wireless station in the Commons.
(update: *phase one is 50 replacement clocks- 30 more to be added if these do all they should)
The hodgepodge assortment of abandoned seats and folding tables in the teachers’ break room were replaced with quality and safe amenities.
Two large bathrooms on the ground floor and six small bathrooms on the third floor were renovated. The bathrooms looked rough and dated. Swapping out elements with smart design choices have made a huge difference. New non-porous epoxy flooring in stock colors, fixtures, ceiling tiles, and brushed aluminum wall squares (to clean up and conceal fifty years of mismatched accessory drill holes) work wonders.
Similarly, spot design choices in long halls appeared to complete punch items lingering from the original build. For instance, random walls of cinder blocks– where banks of lockers were planned for and never needed–are now sheet rocked and finished. Others were repaired and painted. The odd, old wood base runners and lifts (again related to locker banks) were removed. Built in custom benches in one hall and a counter for another clean up long corridors and are functional for these spaces in ways they hadn’t been before. Paint color, good quality “brag” boards, and painted quotes were selected by teachers and students. Jason Burroughs hand painted the custom selected phrases.
Custom built-ins
Wall murals hand lettering by Jason Burroughs
Classrooms – Cleaned up walls and fresh coats of paint (colors selected by teachers)
Teacher’s desk rather than folding table (bonus- match case goods already there)
Acquisition of case-goods in some classrooms was necessary. For instance, this teacher’s desk is no longer a folding table.
Mike Hale describes the recent DPW O’Maley interior projects as small yet necessary and beneficial to staff and students alike. He added,
“Coming in at roughly $100,000/ $10,000**, all in all they’re worthy, and relatively short money on the return.”
-Mike Hale
Note from author- typo- $100,000 for this work (includes less than $10,000 for clocks).
A big redesign at Cape Ann Lanes is underway. It’s looking great. $25 for an hour is an excellent option for a group of teens. P.S. Until the dining option is completed, they have local menus on hand for ordering pick up or delivery. Snacks and beverages are available on site.