ESSEX
HERITAGE PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES
Make Trails & Sails Last All Year Long!
As a member of the Essex National Heritage Commission there are
many opportunities to connect to resources in this region. In September Trails
& Sails offers hundreds of opportunities to explore the region, but
membership makes the fun last all year long. Your connections to place foster
stewardship enriching both your life and ensuring the longevity of the natural,
historic and cultural treasures here in Essex County, MA. Enjoy Essex Heritage
as well as featured partner events. Both offer special Essex Heritage
membership rates to attend, just let them know you are a member! Join us and experience the best of the region throughout the year!
Friday, September 21 - Sunday, September 23
& Friday, September 28 - Sunday, September 30
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ESSEX HERITAGE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Essex Heritage Scenic Byway
Essex Heritage is leading the planning effort for the EssexHeritage Scenic Byway, a 85-mile route linking 13 coastal
communities between Lynn and Newburyport featuring scenic views, period
architecture, historic sites and recreational opportunities. With the twin
goals of preserving the byway’s intrinsic qualities and spurring investment in
its infrastructure, attractions and amenities, Essex Heritage worked to secure
state byway designation and federal funding for a comprehensive management plan
that will help community and regional leaders increase cultural tourism. Learn more about the Scenic Byway.
Border to Boston Trail
Working to expedite development of the 28-mile
Border to Boston Trail, Essex Heritage provides leadership and staff support to
a regional partnership composed of local officials, the Massachusetts Highway
Department, Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, Metropolitan Area Planning
Council, and National Grid. With portions already under construction, the
non-motorized, multi-use rail-trail will provide alternative transportation
links to town centers, schools, businesses, and public parklands in eight
communities from Salisbury to Danvers. When completed, the trail will be one of
the region’s most outstanding assets, facilitating safe, scenic and healthy transportation
and recreation for all. Readmore about the Border to Boston.
Essex National Heritage Area Visitor Centers
Essex Heritage coordinates a network of ten
visitor centers that provide information on the heritage resources throughout
Essex County. The centers include the National Park Service’s Regional
Visitor Center in Salem, the Hall Haskell House and Visitor Center in Ipswich,
and the NBC&VB’s Maria Miles Visitor Center in Salisbury. Essex Heritage
works cooperatively with these centers, and the seven others located in Lynn,
Lawrence, Gloucester, Haverhill, Peabody, Newburyport and Saugus, to promote
regional tourist visitation. By providing consistent and knowledgeable
assistance about the Area’s myriad of natural, historic and cultural attractions,
the visitor centers, many run by volunteers, are a key to competing in the
growing cultural tourism market. Learn more about the ENHA Visitor Centers.
Area Guides
Essex
Heritage has produced a series of print and
electronic thematic guides to the region.
The purpose of these guides is to make it easier for residents, visitors
and future stewards to connect with area’s heritage sites and encourage
regional exploration. Themes range from Art Escapes and Birding to Farms and Historic Homes and Districts. Guides are built with the cooperation of
local experts and participating organizations throughout the Area. View, Download and/or Request a Printed Guide (depending on availability).
Essex Heritage Membership Program
Through the Commission’s signature membership
program, area residents are encouraged to take an active role in supporting the
organization’s stewardship mission while exploring the region’s unparalleled
historic, cultural and natural assets. Members enjoy “behind the scenes”
excursions to heritage area sites for guided tours, educational lectures and
interpretive demonstrations. More about Membership.
Essex Heritage Photo Safaris
The photo safaris program connects new
audiences with the region’s heritage resources. Through a unique partnership
with Hunt's Photo and Video, major camera companies provide safari participants
with the latest in digital camera equipment and expertise as they learn photography
tips using some of the Area’s most extraordinary natural, cultural and historic
landscapes as a backdrop. Learn more about the Photo Safaris.
Coastal Trails Coalition
The Coastal Trails Coalition, Inc. is a
non-profit organization whose mission is to assist in the development of the
Coastal Trails Network, a 30-mile system of interconnected foot trails and
bikeways throughout the lower Merrimack River Valley communities of Amesbury,
Newbury, Newburyport and Salisbury. Launched in 2003, Essex Heritage, with
early assistance from the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program and
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, has provided leadership and technical
support in the areas of visioning, outreach, and project development and
implementation. Visit the Coastal Trails Coalition website.
Great Marsh Coalition
Essex Heritage is a founding member of the
Great Marsh Coalition, an ad hoc group of organizations and agencies promoting
greater awareness and stewardship of the Great Marsh, the largest salt marsh in
New England. Essex Heritage supports the coalition’s advocacy efforts,
including its annual educational symposium. Learn more about the Great Marsh.
Affiliation with the National Park Service
One of the most unique benefits that Essex Heritage provides to
this region is the ability to partner with the National Park Service.
This special public-private relationship allows Essex Heritage to develop
educational and interpretive programs with Park Service staff and resources
that bring history and environmental stewardship to life for people of all ages
and backgrounds. Essex Heritage is particularly excited about current pilot
programs that are designed to engage underserved, urban youth in natural
resource stewardship within and beyond the Park boundaries. Read more about our
successful partnership with the National Park Service in youth engagement
initiatives such as First Bloom, F1rst Jobs and America’sBest Idea.
The Alliance of National Heritage Areas
Essex Heritage plays a leadership role in the Alliance. There are 49 National Heritage Areas, and the
Alliance is the national organization of
that represents and advocates for these areas. Visit the ANHA website to learn more.
Preservation Mass
Essex Heritage is a member of this statewide, private non-profit
preservation organization dedicated to preserving the Commonwealth’s historic
and cultural heritage. View the Preservation Mass website.
Essex
Heritage Corporate Memberships
As I have previously
reported in this space, I am spending a fair amount of my time these days
seeking new members for the Essex Heritage Corporate Membership Program. We are proud to announce the East Boston
Savings Bank and the Metro Credit Union have recently become members and the
law firm of MacLean, Holloway, Doherty, Ardiff and Morse have made a generous
contribution to our efforts.
ESSEX
HERITAGE COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Visit to
Danvers and the Olde Salem Village Section of Town
I hope that you had the chance to read
the profile that was prepared and printed in this BLOG about a visit to
Downtown Salem either during or after the Essex Heritage Trails and Sails
Weekends. In that profile, I wrote
glowingly about the community of my birth where I either lived or worked for
almost three quarters of a century.
Today’s profile will take you on a tour
of the Town of Danvers with a particular emphasis on the Olde Salem Village
section of the community where the witchcraft accusations of 1692 first surfaced. This section of the Town starts along Collins
Street, up from the Liberty Tree Mall and continues through the classic and
picturesque part of the Town that includes Glen Magna Farms. My family and I were most fortunate to move
to the Town of Danvers thirty-five years ago, first in a bedroom section of the
Town adjacent to St. John’s Preparatory School and for the last decade or so on
the edge of the Olde Salem Village section of the Town.
Even though the St. John’s Prep
campus is not to be found on the Essex
Heritage Trails and Sails agenda, this organization partners in our
work. If you have never visited the
campus on the old Spring Estate at the junction of Summer and Spring Streets,
it is worth a visit to view the classic New England Prep School campus that
looks more like a small college campus than a High School.
The sites hosting events during the Essex Heritage Trails & Sails weekends
are all planning specific programs for these free weekends, but there is still
a lot to see if you decide to visit at another time of the year.
The real flavor of the old farming
community can best be felt as you return several centuries to savor where the
original Witch hysteria was first exposed to public scrutiny. The first stop,
though not scheduled in the Trails and Sails weekends, is the Witch
tercentenary memorial that is located just beyond the First Church in Danvers
on the corner of Hobart and Centre Streets just beyond a local elementary
school. The memorial site is opposite
one of the two or three working farms
(Clarke Farms) still operating in Danvers. After viewing that memorial, travel up
Centre Street to Ingersoll Street and drive into a twenty-acre summer residence
the famous Glen Magna Farms that was the summer house of a famous Salem sea
captain and enjoy their famous gardens.
The main house is not on the Trails and Sails agenda but the Society
will be offering a concert at that time at the main repository of the Society
in Tapley Hall on Page Street in the Downtown section of Danvers. The concert will be performed by the
Society’s Artists in Residence, Essex Harmony. That group was an audience
favorite at last 2011 Trails and Sails
event.
The Danvers Bi-Peds, who have helped to
create the partially completed Danvers Rail Trail, will be holding a walk in
the Danvers Woods as part of Trails & Sails. There will also be Trails and Sails events sponsored by the Danvers Alarm group at
their headquarters at the Rebecca Nurse House on Pine street, and there will be
a festival event at the 1670 Judge Samuel Holten House, located at the junction
of Pine, Collins and Centre Streets.
Both of those locations are great examples of the kind of history that
abounds in Danvers and should be visited.
There is much to view in Danvers
whether at Essex Heritage’s Trails &
Sails or before or after these weekends. One way or another, you should place the
historic section of the Town of Danvers on your list of must view venues. You will be most pleased that you took the
time to visit the numerous locations outlined in this profile or listed and
enumerated in great derail in the Essex
Heritage Trails & Sails brochure on line that can be obtained on line
at www.essexheritage.org
REGIONAL NEWS
Town of Rowley Holds
Jeopardy Game for Officials
The Town of Rowley recently
planned and held a most entertaining event modeled after the television quiz show
Jeopardy. Town officials competed by
being asked questions prepared by local historians about the history of
Rowley.
Swampscott
Weather Vane to be Displayed
A historic Town weather vane that
formally adorned the Town Hall will be displayed inside the Town Hall. The weather vane was first mounted on the
cupola of the home owned by the co-founder of General Electric, Elihu Thompson,
in 1889 before the house became the Town Hall. The weather vane was once stolen and later
recovered in a Vermont Antique store.
The valuable town asset has been damaged over the years and must now be
protected inside.
Danvers
Historical Society hosts an Essex Heritage Trails & Sails Event
Friday Sept. 21 Concert: “Huzzah……Welcome Home!” will
feature Danvers’s Artists-In-Residence “The Essex Harmony”. Founded
by Glenn Mairo and under the direction of Tom Carmody this
evening is part of the annual Essex National Heritage Commissions Trails and
Sails Weekends of Events. Free to all, 7 PM in Tapley Memorial
Hall. Parking is on Page St. or in the community lot at the corner of
Page & Elm Streets. Reservations required, contact essexheritage.org
or call 978.740.0444. Light refreshments will follow the concert.
City of Peabody
Re-Locates Farmer’s Market
The City of Peabody is re-locating its
Tuesday Farmers Market from the Peabody Common to the area in front of the City
Hall to create more visibility and foot traffic.
Grant Award
Allows Salem Residents to Visit Museum
A long standing grant made by the Read
Trust will allow Salem residents the opportunity to visit the Museum of Science
in Boston free of any admission fee during September 2012.
Salem Rotarian
Ken Rothwell to be Roasted to Benefit local Boys and Girls Club
The party to honor Kenny
Rothwell at the Boys & Girls Club's inaugural "Champions for Kids
Celebration" is coming! Thursday evening, September 20th, Boys & Girls
Club Auditorium, 13 Hawthorne Boulevard.
Tickets are available at the Club and Ken's Kickin Chicken. Come and enjoy a
fun event: cocktails at 6:30pm, buffet at 7:00, followed by comedian and roast.
Join us for lots of laughs to honor this outstanding member of our community
and long-time friend of the Boys & Girls Club!
North Shore
Elder Services to Again Offer Power Meeting for Trustees and Staff
This fall, the conversational series, “NSES Power
Breakfasts” will be renewed. Power
Breakfasts are designed for NSES Board Members, Staff, and Volunteers to have
an opportunity to meet and talk with “those who help shape our
communities”. The setting is informal and the number of participants is
limited to encourage dialogue. No presentations are expected.
Rather, we look forward to a casual conversation on topics relative to aging on
the North Shore and in Massachusetts.
Previous guests have included Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll,
Salem State Representative John Keenan, Peabody State Representative Joyce
Spiliotis, Danvers State Representative Ted Speliotis, Massachusetts Older
Americans Association President Bob Green, and Massachusetts AARP President
Charles Desmond, Elder Affairs Secretary Michael Festa, and others.
In light of the forthcoming elections, several Power
Breakfasts have been planned. On Tuesday, September 18th,
Congressional Candidate and Former State Senator Richard Tisei was our Power
Breakfast guest and on Tuesday, October 2nd, Congressman John
Tierney will be joining us. We have also extended an invitation to Joan
Lovely, who just won the Democratic nomination for the open seat in the Second
Essex Senatorial District succeeding Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry.
She will be with us following the November 6th General
Election. We will be also inviting Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt who is
in his first year in office.
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
St John’s Prep
Names new Chief Advancement Officer - Michael Ebner
I am pleased to announce that on October 1 Michael
Ebner will join St. John’s as Chief Advancement Officer. Mike will partner with
Associate Headmaster for Alumni and Community Relations Michael Newhall ’80 to
lead the Advancement office at St. John's, and he will serve on the
Headmaster’s Leadership Team. Mike comes to St. John's from Phillips Academy,
Andover, where he was a Principal Gift Officer during a time of unprecedented
growth in the school's philanthropic efforts.
A graduate of Andover,
Mike has served his alma mater in a variety of leadership roles since 1995.
Most recently, he played a key role in the Campaign for Andover, a capital
campaign that has raised nearly $300 million since 2005. He began his career at
Andover as the school's Protestant chaplain. He went on to serve as Interim
Secretary of the Academy, Director of Alumni Relations, and Assistant Director
of Community Service, as well as many other roles including house counselor,
faculty member, admissions interviewer, advisor and member of the school's
Community Health Team. Throughout his years at Andover, Mike engaged students
and adults in cultural exchanges, outreach, and service learning programs,
including an alternative spring break trip to John’s Island in South Carolina,
where faculty and students help to repair homes for local residents. A graduate
of Rollins College, Mike was an investment manager and business owner until
1992, when he left to attend Andover Newton Theological School.
PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
New Patriots
Season Starts with Great Promise
After many long weeks of anticipation
and waiting for the season to begin, the local professional football team began
last week with a convincing win against a team they should beat. They received numerous contributions from
both the offense and the defense with a number of excellent performances by
rookies. The outlook for 2012 looks
positive but it is many weeks between opening day and the big prize in New
Orleans in February.
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