ESSEX HERITAGE
PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES
Essex Heritage Photo Safaris
Just case
you want to attend an Essex Heritage
Photo Safari, there are still two more this summer. On this Saturday, July 21 there is one at the
historic House of Seven Gables featuring
Nikon and another on August 4 at The
Trustees of Reservations gardens at the
Long Hill Estate in Beverly
featuring Cannon camera
equipment. In the last blog on July 13,
there is information on how to register for these safaris.
Essex Coastal Byway Newsletter
Essex Heritage has just launched the Essex Coastal Byway Newsletter. If you would like to receive an electronic
copy, it is easy to sign up at essexheritage.org/coastal or Google Coastal
Byway.org
Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence
The Salem Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence is a new film shown
daily at the National Park Service’s
Visitor Center, New Liberty Street, Salem.
The 38 minute film features authentic dialogue and the latest research
by renowned Salem Witch Trial
scholars. Scenes depicted in the film were shot at actual locations associated
with the Witch Trials of 1692, and many of the places can still be visited
today. The National Park Service has information and a bulletin on these 17th
century sites available for free at the Visitor
Center. This film is a must view for anyone who wants to gain a more
complete understanding of the witch trial hysteria in Salem and the most current theories on the cause and effect of
these terrible events.
Featured
scholars are: Margo Burns, Director
of the Language Center, St. Paul’s School; Dr. Mary Beth Norton, Professor
of American History, Cornell University; Dr.
Emerson “Tad” Baker, Professor of History, Salem State University; Dr. Benjamin Ray, Professor of Religious
Studies
University
of Virginia; and Richard B. Trask, Historian
and Archivist,
Danvers Archival Center. And
special thanks go to the National Park
Service’s Park Historian Dr. Emily Murphy.
The film was produced by Essex
Heritage and directed by Tom
Phillips.
Trails and Sails, Two Weekends of Walks and
Water September 21-23 & September 28-30
219 events
have been registered for Trails & Sails 2012! For more information or to sign up to receive
your own ‘hard copy’ event guide, go to Trails&Sails.org or Essexheritage.org
Join Essex Heritage’s Membership Program
and enjoy Trails & Sails all year long.
Can’t wait until September? You
can make Trails & Sails happen
all year long by joining Essex Heritage
where you will get information and opportunities to enjoy the wonderful sites
and resources that are featured in Trails
& Sails weekends. If you
appreciate the unique historical, natural and cultural events offered during Trails & Sails, you will enjoy
being an Essex Heritage Member.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Salem Historic Site
Maritime Festival - August 3 through 5th 2012
Come join the National
Park Service at Derby Wharf in Salem on Friday August 3rd and
Saturday, August 4th for their annual Salem Maritime Festival, celebrating
"Ships, Sawdust, Sailors & Song." The festival is taking place at the Salem
Maritime National Historic Site on the water at 193 Derby Street
Salem, MA.
The Salem Maritime
Festival is a community-sponsored celebration of four centuries of Salem's maritime history and tradition.
Enjoy lots of free, family fun with activities and music. Find out more and
see the 2012 Festival schedule online at www.nps.gov/sama.
ESSEX HERITAGE COMMUNITY
PARTNERS
Parson Capen House in Topsfield Open for
Tours This Summer
The Capen historic house can be visited
this summer between 1 and 4 on three days per week -Wednesdays. Fridays, and
Saturdays - until September 16th.
It will also be open again during Essex
Heritage’s Trails & Sails weekends.
Go to Trails & Sails.org
for more information on this annual event.
Special Place - Special Feature: Once every
few weeks, we will feature one of the special places and organizations in the
region. This week, we would like to tell
you more about the Green Meadows Farm
located at 656 Asbury Street, South Hamilton.
Green Meadows is
a regular feature of Essex Heritage’s
Trails & Sails weekends when they give tours of their farm yard and
fields. The llamas and baby piglets are
especially appealing to many families, although I find the challenges of
growing organic vegetables and the techniques for keeping destructive insects
away is the most interesting part of the visit.
Whether you visit the farm as part of Trails & Sails or just go on your own, there is always much to
do and enjoy during a visit regardless of your age and interests. To quote directly from the Farm’s webpage: Green Meadows Farm is a certified organic farm raising
vegetables and fruits and also specializing in heritage livestock breeds. The
farm operates a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture program) and the farm
stand is open daily from 8am - 6pm April through December.
It does not seem appropriate to write about Green Meadows Farm without providing
some background on the history of property:
The farm has a long history as a private estate. Portions of the main house were built in 1786
and the house was added on to by a succession of other owners. In 1928 then Major and Mrs. George Patton, Jr. bought the property while he was
an active member of the Army. They lived
in the house only occasionally until World War II at which time Mrs. Patton took up permanent
residency. Mrs. Patton expected to welcome her hero husband, General Patton Jr., home to this house at
the end of the war but the general was killed in a freak vehicle accident in
1945 and so he never occupied the property.
Mrs. Patton lived at Green Meadows until her death in 1953.
It was their son, the next George Patton, and his family who transformed the property from a
gentleman’s estate to a working farm. Major
General George S. Patton and his family made the property their permanent
home upon his retirement from the US Army after thirty-four years of service
including the Berlin Airlift and the Vietnam War. Major
General Patton decided that he wanted to make the property something more
than “leisure land” – so he sought the help and advice of local farmers and
agricultural and environmental experts and began to seriously farm the land. Starting with a small blueberry operation,
the produce expanded to include more fruits and then vegetables. We are told that he named some of the farm’s
fields for brave soldiers who lost their lives in service with him in Vietnam. In 1999, when his health started to fail, his
wife, Joanne, left her career as a non-profit
consultant to tend to both her ailing husband and to the farm.
The farm has matured into a full multi-crop business with
organically produced and certified fruits and vegetables. In addition to the agricultural products,
there are organically raised livestock and poultry. Green Meadows
has a farm stand operation and also a CSA
program which offers individuals the opportunity to purchase shares in the
farm’s produce. They also allow
pick-your-own from a homegrown crop of strawberries. Birthday parties for
children ages three to thirteen can be arranged and the children can tour the
farm, interact with the animals, and take a hayride.
As of this date, Joanne
is still active with the farm, although she has a professional management team
who run the daily operation of the farm.
Joanne Holbrook Patton is the
daughter and granddaughter of a general and is a well-known for her work. She includes in her tasks the maintenance of
the artifacts from the careers of the General
Pattons, and she is also a respected philanthropist to many in this
region.
To learn more about the farm, or its farm stand products go
to www.gmfarm.com or contact the farm
directly at 978 468-3720 (office) or 978 468-2277 (farm stand)
REGIONAL NEWS
Hamilton’s Patton
Park to Conduct Effort to Rehabilitate the Community Park
A Friends of Patton
Park Committee has been formed to raise funds to rehabilitate the park
named in the honor of the two renowned generals. The Town
of Hamilton has already committed some funds to the effort, and this
committee is now charged with raising the balance. For more information or to make a
contribution go to www.friendsofpattonpark.org
Tall Ship Festival in
Boston Brought Value to the City and the Region
I have heard several reports that the tall ship event held
in Boston during the July 4th Independence Day Celebration
brought a substantial amount of both personal business and tax revenue to the
host City of Boston and the
surrounding region. In Salem we know full well that having a
tall ship on the city’s waterfront is a big magnet for visitors.
Swampscott Memorial US Flag Disappears …
and Reappears!
A recently
donated American flag was
stolen. The flag was a gift to the Town of Swampscott from the Raymond Family whose son Jared
died in the Iraq War. It replaced a very tattered flag that flew in
Monument Square. The
new flag was twenty by thirty feet, weighted 50 pounds and cost $1,000. It was great to learn that the memorial flag
that went missing showed up on the front stairs of a local Swampscott church. We are
pleased that whoever took the flag had a change of heart and returned it so
that it could be flown again to commemorate the memory of this Swampscott hero.
Town of Danvers Announces Concert Schedule
The Town of Danvers recently announced a
summer concert schedule being offered at the Rotary Pavilion next to the Peabody
Institute Library by the Mill Pond. The outdoor concerts will be held on certain
evenings in July and August at 6 PM.
For specific information visit the Danvers
Recreation web site at http://www.danversconcerts.com/
City of Newburyport
Hosted Tall Ship to Benefit Local Cause
Earlier this month the famous replica sailing ship HMS
Bounty paid a visit to the waterfront of the City of Newburyport. The
visit was sponsored by a local insurance agency and the Newburyport Chamber of Commerce.
During its stay, the boat hosted tours of the 160-foot long replica and had
other activities including an outdoor showing of the film Mutiny on the Bounty made
in the 1960s. A gala cocktail reception
was held on the ship to help raise funds for a project being undertaken at
Lowell’s Boat Shop.
Lowell’s Boat Shop,
Amesbury
With the help of several local High School apprentices, the
boat shop is planning to build a 28 foot whale boat that will then be donated
to the whaling ship Morgan. She is the last
sailing ship to venture around the world searching for whales. She is berthed as part of the wonderful
display of ships and boats at Mystic Seaport,
Mystic, CT. They are looking to raise
$100,000 to construct this whale boat.
If you are interested in helping, contact Lowell’s Boat Shop at 978--834-0050 or at www.lowellsboatshop.com.
Special note: Lowell’s Boat Shop is the oldest
continuously operating dory building facility in the nation and it is a
wonderful place to visit. It is a
regular feature of Essex Heritage’s Trails
& Sails Weekends.
COMMMUNITY HEALTH AND ELDER AFFAIRS
Call for Nominations
from the North Shore Elder Services
You are invited to submit nominations for North Shore Elder Services’ 2012 “We
Give Thanks” Awards. These awards will bring to light examples of the care and
service others provide to older persons on the North Shore and will publicly thank those whose accomplishments and
contributions best exemplify and advance the mission.
|
North
Shore Elder Services - Life. Made Easier for elders.
Call for Nominations
As you consider the award categories,
please keep in mind the following guidelines in preparing your nomination:
1. the criteria for the award
2. how the nominee fits the criteria
3. what measureable impact the nominee
has had on the community
4. how the nominee enhances the mission
of service to elders.
Nominations must be received in the
North Shore Elder Services’ office no later than August 10, 2012. The
preferred method of delivery is email to: rgauthier@nselder.org.
Award Recipients will be announced on
September 14, 2012.
For more information, please contact:
Rhonda
Gauthier
North
Shore Elder Services 152 Sylvan Street Danvers, MA 01923 978-624-2220 TTY
978-624-2244 rgauthier@nselder.org
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PERSONAL
OBSERVATIONS
City of Peabody
Dedicates Memorial to Holocaust Survivors Memory
A number of Peabody
residents and city officials recently gathered to dedicate a Memorial to Holocaust Survivors. The community built the memorial
to honor and keep the memory of holocaust survivor Sonia Weitz alive. She was
a great spokesperson for that disaster and did much to keep the event in the
minds of many. She prepared a presentation each year that she provided to the St. John’s Prep student body to build
their awareness of the terrible events perpetrated during that period.
Congratulations to
Danvers America Little league in their District Win
The Danvers American
Little League team beat a group from Gloucester
for the second time in two days to claim the district championship. They will now face Saugus in the next round on the road to Williamsport. Both
communities should be proud of the achievements of their teams, and the youth
that represented the two communities.
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