A wish to all of you from all of us at Enduring Gloucester… may you have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving, filled with many blessings.
“For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, For love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Gloucester Landscape 1919
Stuart Davis (1892-1964)
From: Maximus, to Gloucester, July 19, 1957
A fisherman is not a successful man
he is not a famous man he is not a man
of power, these are the damned by God
When a man’s coffin is the sea
the whole of creation shall come to his funeral
it turns out the globe
is below, all lapis
and its blue surface golded
by what happened
this afternoon, there are eyes
in the water
the flowers
from the shore
awakened
the sea
Men are so sure they know very many things
they don’t even know night and day are one
A fisherman works without reference to
that difference. It is possible he also
by lying there when he does lie, the jowl
to the sea, has another advantage, it is said.
‘You rectify what can be rectified,’ and when a man’s heart
cannot see this, the door of his divine intelligence is shut
Let you who paraded to the Cut today
to hold memorial services to all fishermen
who have been lost at sea. . .
not knowing what a fisherman is
instead of going straight to the Bridge
and doing no more than–saying no more than–
in the Charybdises of the
Cut waters the flowers tear off
the wreathes
the flowers
turn
the character of the sea The sea jumps
the fate of the flower The drowned men are undrowned
in the eddies
of the eyes
of the flowers
opening
the sea’s eyes
Charles Olson
Please enjoy this clip from the film, Captains Courageous, which illustrates the treacherous life of the Gloucester fisherman.
Sailing with Alex
By Thomas Welch
Growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, you’d think Alex Thomas would be passionate about cheese….or beer….or the Green Bay Packers.
Nope.
22 years ago Alex met and fell in love with his wife, Diane, whose dream it was to live on the coast of New England. So by “dumb luck” (as Alex describes it) they landed in Gloucester, settling in Bay View and raising their two children, Emma and Isaiah.
Alex quickly discovered his other great passion…Gloucester Harbor! Already an experienced sailor (he was a Sea Scout on Lake Michigan), Alex now keeps his 26-foot Typhoon sailboat moored off Rocky Neck.
It was blowing about 10-15 when Alex picked me up to go for a sail, but 20 minutes later, by the time we put in at Stevens Landing on Rocky Neck, the wind had come up to 20-25 mph. “No problem”, says Alex.
With a confidence only years of experience can provide, Alex sets the tiller hard to Port, knowing she’ll fall off that way, he lets the mooring go. As if eagerly following some unspoken command, the vessel quickly brings her bow about, fills her sails and takes off, skipping over waves toward the western shore. Though it’s early August, this much Northerly wind not only invigorates the senses, it requires a light wind breaker to protect against the cold spray off the bow.
We enjoy an afternoon ripping back and forth from Niles Beach to Stage Fort Park, passing just south of the big rock off Ten Pound Island on every tack.
One of the many special gifts of spending a lot of time on Gloucester Harbor is the camaraderie you share with the other “regulars”. Even if you’ve never been formally introduced you “know” them by their boat, their seamanship and their reputations. Alex offers a smile, wave and nod to Capt. Heath Ellis and his passengers on the schooner “Thomas E. Lannon” as we fly by each other, starboard to starboard. The same pleasantries are exchange with the happy passengers aboard the Charter fishing boat “WEJACK”, anchored on the fish at one of Capt. Joe Arsenault’s “sweet spots” in the Outer Harbor.
What a great way to spend an afternoon. Bonding with Nature. Reading Wind and Wave and reacting in accordance and respect of their power, enriching your Soul.
Alex is a perfect example of the thousands of residents who have settled in Gloucester over the years and embraced it. He makes a valuable contribution to the community by not only appreciating the Heritage and the amazing natural resources, but, more importantly becoming part of them.
By the way, if you know, or get introduced to, Alex Thomas in the next few weeks, wish him luck. He and his dorymate, Donnie Favalora will be representing the U.S. in the Senior Division of the International Dory Races in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on August 29th!
Today we offer a letter written by Fort business owner Ann Molloy to the editor of the Gloucester Daily Times, from November 4, 2011. The perspective of time, and events which have transpired since then concerning the re-zoning of the Fort to accommodate the construction of a luxury hotel there, weights this letter with a heartbreaking realism.
What makes Gloucester so cool? Why do you love it here? How does it make you feel? What makes it so great? I like that it’s real. It’s authentic. I like that it was built with hard workers, tough working class men and women. We have something special here, something different. Saltwater runs through our veins. Tourists come here and recognize we’re different. There’s magic here. We’re as tough as our granite and as powerful as our ocean waves. Our hands are calloused and our clothes worn. We’re the finest kind… Now I ask- what are we becoming? Do we really want to sell out? Should people with big money from out of town be able to change our look, our feel, our very existence? They want to pretty us up, put in a Harbor Walk for the tourists, with kiosks that say, ‘This is where the fishermen “used to” tie up, and “used to” unload their boats.” Words uttered from a Harbor Walk representative at City Hall last summer. Was it a Freudian slip?
What is the spirit of Gloucester? Is it a grand hotel and marina down the Fort? Is that really what we want? People from out of town move here because they feel the power here and fall in love with Gloucester. What kills me is the people who move here and then try to change it. As I think about the days ahead, it aggravates me to know I must take time away from my family and job (a marine industrial job down the Fort) to fight again, for the third time, to save the Fort from rezoning, therefore allowing a hotel. And as the mayor(Carolyn Kirk) was quoted in the paper saying “Third time’s the charm”. It honestly makes me sick, and at this point after about four years of fighting this, it feels like harassment.
But now the real big bucks have arrived. The third richest man in Massachusetts (Jim Davis,) can afford to sway votes and public opinion with his cool million (half million for the naming rights, and half million for construction) for the New Balance Newell Stadium. Dollar signs in one’s eyes blurs vision sometimes. Mr. Davis paying double and triple for property will increase all the Fort people’s taxes, by creating a false sense of property values. How many will be forced out? This is what some people want. Is it what you want? Do you want to look like Newburyport, or Newport, RI? Do you want their traffic? Why would anyone pay so much over value for this property? And talk about putting the cart before the horse, especially after rezoning failed in the last two, very recent, attempts. I sure wish he wanted to make sneakers there. Many will say I’m living in the past. Fishing is never coming back, so I’m dreaming. We’re holding the city hostage. Please look a little deeper, before passing judgment. Look at the thriving MI (marine industrial) businesses that are down the Fort. If this zoning goes through, it will benefit my family financially, if we wanted to sell out, but at what cost? I’d rather leave our future generations with something real, authentic and of substantial value, like my grandfather and father did for us. Showing us, with hard work and ambition, you can accomplish great things. I think that’s worth much more than selling out, and leaving them a trust fund. The Fort is basically an industrial park, a marine- industrial park, and the people who live there deal with that daily. Do we want to put tourists and their kids down there with all the big trucks? Sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Do we really want more traffic? Our way of life as we’ve known it will no longer exist. Tourists won’t even want to come here. So, when you’re sitting in traffic for an hour, trying to get over the bridge, will you think of this letter and say “Wow, what have we done? What have we let our town become?” If you value what we have here, will you stand up with me and help me “Hold the Fort”, before it’s too late? It could be your neighborhood next.
Ann Molloy
Neptune’s Harvest Fertilizer
88 Commercial Street (Down the Fort)
Ann Molloy was born and raised in Gloucester. After several years of traveling around the country and world, she settled back here and has been helping run her family business, located down the Fort and on Kondelin Road. For over 20 years, Ann has been in charge of Marketing and Sales for the Neptune’s Harvest division of Ocean Crest Seafoods, which came about as a way to fully utilize 100% of the fish, by turning the gurry (everything that’s left after you fillet a fish) into an organic fertilizer. She has a wide knowledge of organic fertilizers, and the fishing industry. She also loves to paint, write, and see live music.
Gloucester Dock Scene. Russ Webster (1904-1984)
Back about 1970 when I was just a boy working for my dad at Ocean Crest Seafood, there used to be a retired fisherman who worked for us by the name of Nino Trupiano. A better man would be hard to find. Always with an interesting tale to tell, he once recounted a story I have not forgotten to this day. Back in the days when fishermen were allowed to ply their trade whenever and however they wished, the only thing that would prevent them from leaving the dock was weather, and by weather, I don’t mean a little rain, I mean “WEATHER”! Fishermen of the day would never let someone get the better of them, so if one man left the dock, all would follow. One particularly foul and windy day the men and boats waffled by the shore, hesitant to brave the turning waters, when Nino, never one to be indecisive, cast off the lines and intrepidly braved the waters.
Leonard Parco has been working the Gloucester waterfront for over 40 years and is the president of Ocean Crest Seafoods Inc. He is passionate about “Cape Ann School” art, especially that focused on Gloucester’s maritime heritage.
Guests of the captain aboard Adventure as she pulls away from Maritime Wharf for her first official passenger cruise in 27 years.
The Schooner Adventure sailed proudly from Maritime Wharf in Gloucester Harbor Saturday afternoon, past Pavilion Beach crowded with Fiesta revelers, and 13 miles out to sea toward Boston, with an appreciative group of 65 guests on board. With that four-hour trip, Adventure reclaimed her place on Gloucester Harbor.
No longer a work project, Adventure has again taken her place as a functioning member of Gloucester’s working waterfront, where she made her mark from 1926-1953 as a high-liner, a workhorse of Gloucester’s historic schooner fleet, becoming, by her last season as a fishing schooner in 1953, the last of the legendary Grand Banks fishing schooners.
Passengers and crew work together to raise the mainsail
Captain Stefan Edick with volunteer crew member Elisabeth Kerr at the helm.
The guests for this first passenger cruise since Adventure was issued official passenger certification by the US Coast Guard a few weeks ago were all friends and family of Adventure’s Captain Stefan Edick and president of the board of Schooner Adventure, John Morris. For each person walking down the gangplank, the afternoon’s outing held its own significance.
Helen Garland with Adventure’s board president John Morris, and Shirley Morris
George Smith of Manchester with Helen Garland of Gloucester
Helen Garland, widow of Joe Garland, renowned Gloucester historian and author, Adventure’s principal fundraiser and advocate for the 27-year, 4.5 million-dollar restoration project, was pleased to be on deck for Saturday’s trip, surrounded by people, natives as well as newcomers who “represent various aspects of Joe’s vision for Adventure.”
Joe Garland, 1923-2011
“We have with us today,” she said, ” our native sons like author Peter Anastas and Captain John Morris, symbols of Gloucester’s proud heritage, along with our new friends like Bing McGilvray, who respect that heritage and have chosen to become part of Gloucester’s story. The children running over the deck, they all give me hope for the future. Gloucester and Adventure are proof of the spirit and bravery …that created the vital democratic energy which defined this country.”
Three members of Enduring Gloucester’s board of editors, Bing McGilvray, Lois McNulty and Peter Anastas
Helen Garland noted that she hopes to honor what the gift of Adventure means to Gloucester, in the way that Jim Sharp, Adventure’s former captain and owner, who donated the ship to the city of Gloucester in 1988, envisioned it. Sharp called his gift of Adventure “a monument to the history of Gloucester and for the education and pleasure of the public.”
Peter Anastas with Helen Garland and Judy Walcott
Helen Garland adds, ” If Adventure can be allowed to play an active and daily role in teaching children and their parents to nurture the health of our oceans, I know that Joe’s work will not have been in vain.”
Adventure board member and volunteer crew member Greg Bover helps a child with a life jacket.
From Adventure’s website, www.schooner-adventure.org
The Gloucester Adventure, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit maritime historic preservation and educational organization. We are the stewards of the 1926 dory-fishing Schooner Adventure. Our mission begins with restoration and preservation in perpetuity of the National Historic Landmark Schooner Adventure, one of the last surviving Grand Banks dory-fishing schooners. The Schooner Adventure is a national treasure that is resuming active sailing as an icon of the American fisheries and as a floating classroom for maritime history and environmental education programs. The Schooner will be operated at sea, primarily along the New England coast, as a living monument to Massachusetts’ fishing heritage. As such, the Schooner Adventure is important not only to Gloucester, but also to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and all America.
Today Adventure is a rare survivor, an irreplaceable artifact from an extraordinary era in American history. Adventure was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994 and was honored to be selected as an Official Project of Save America’s Treasures by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1999. A prominent destination site on the Essex National Heritage Area Maritime Trail, Adventure serves as a living memorial to the more than five thousand Gloucester fishermen lost at sea.
Peter Anastas and Bill McLauchlan on the deck of Adventure, with the Schooner Thomas E Lannon sailing alongside .
Lois A. McNulty
Does Gloucester Need Aquaculture?
Some say YES:
from the Boston Globe, Dec 3, 2014
The Future of Gloucester Could be in Biotech
Shirley Leung
“Serial entrepreneur Greg Verdine, Eastern Point, is … exploring the idea of Gloucester raising its own fish. Over the summer, he and (former mayor Carolyn) Kirk visited fish farms in Japan. The types of species that could thrive in Gloucester Harbor will depend on the water temperature, and a team from Japan will come in the spring to help sort that out. …
‘It’s opening another channel to bring fish across the docks of Gloucester,’ said Kirk.”
Some say NO:
Ann (Parco) Molloy is director of marketing and sales at Gloucester’s Neptune’s Harvest, makers of organic fish fertilizer since 1986. The company depends on the by-product of high quality local fish to make its very effective and popular organic fertilizer. She has a few things to say about aquaculture:
“Farm-raised fish are not healthy fish. They are raised in pens where they can’t swim in the wild, so they become weak and sick. They are routinely fed on genetically-modified soy feed which results in questionable nutritional value of the fish itself, and when they inevitably get sick, they are fed antibiotics.
Any genetically modified Farmed Fish, raised in pens, have the chance of escaping into the wild, where they can cross-breed with local wild fish,risking the local wild stocks. When the genomes are compromised like this, you could lose a wild species forever. “I wish people would stop thinking they can outsmart, and do things better, than Mother Nature. We have the best fishing grounds in the world. Why would we want to risk losing them, for any reason? Do they want to raise fish inshore and onshore so they can get the fishermen, who are the eyes and ears of the ocean, off of it? Then big corporations can have their way it, mining it, and extracting whatever they can from it? The oceans were meant to feed the world, not feed greed!”
I won’t eat farm-raised fish. It’s not nutritious at all, and can actually be bad for you. We won’t even use it for our fertilizer.”
Enduring Gloucester 