ESSEX HAPPENINGS 2.1.13

Essex Heritage Events and Activities

Essex Heritage Spring Meeting

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 
Winnekenni Castle
347 Kenoza Avenue, Haverhill, MA

8:00 AM: Continental Breakfast Reception
8:30 - 10:00 AM: Business Meeting

Join us for a morning of engagement on Wednesday, April 10, from 8:00am -10:00am, at Winnekenni Castle! Participate in this free, valuable networking opportunity that will further connect you with the work of Essex Heritage and our partners.

We are now accepting applications for the Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Program! The 2013 grant recipients will be announced at the Annual Spring Meeting on April 10th at Winnekenni Castle

NOTE: For our friends and associates that are handicapped, I have checked and the location is accessible.

Please Join Us!

To RSVP to the Annual Spring Meeting  at 978-740-0444.

Essex Heritage Winter Membership Events

Dedicated to preserving the history of the graphic arts, graphic design, printing equipment and printing craftsmanship, The Museum of Printing holds the most extensive collection of materials and machines east of the Mississippi River.  Explore the museum and experience the evolution of printing from Gutenberg's invention of movable type to your personal portable phone or tablet.  Advancements in printing and type technologies have been the predecessors to changes in civilizations. Industry expert and President of the Museum of Printing Frank Romano will share some of the strange typographic tales that he has collected in his travels around the world. 

Join us to learn the history of type that your teacher never taught you and the type designs that we see every day! Reserve online, or call Essex Heritage at 978-740-0444.

Please note: The exhibit space at the Museum of Printing is handicap accessible but the lecture space on the 2nd floor is accessible via stairs only.

For our members with handicaps please note the proviso above

Upcoming Additional Essex Heritage Events

Sunday, February 24, 2013 • 1:00 - 3:00pm  

Featured Partner Event 
Essex County Greenbelt Association Presents:
Wildlife Tracking at the Arthur Ewell Reservation
Haverhill Street, Rowley, MA 01969
Click here for Driving Directions

Join wildlife-tracking expert Bob Metcalf and learn about the wildlife corridors or animal highways that exist all around us. Click here to learn more about this property.

Reservations required. This event is free, but please email ecga@ecga.org or call Greenbelt at 978-768-7241 to register.

Essex Heritage Audit Committee Presentation

On the morning of January 22, 2013 the firm that audits the financial standing of The Essex Heritage Commission met with the standing Audit Committee under the Direction of Chairman John Meserve of The Merrimack Savings Bank and presented a most complete and satisfactory audit of the financial standing of the Commission.  Parent, Mac Laughlin and Nangle provided a report that was in order and congratulated the staff of Essex Heritage for their preparation and the work on the audit.   There was a brief update on a potential merger with another accounting firm of about the same size that will be most positive to the work provided. 

The committee unanimously approved the draft audit report for 2012 and Chairman Meserve will present the findings of the report to the Spring Annual Meeting of the Commission later in 2013.    The work of the Essex Heritage staff in this effort was lauded for their thoroughness.

Essex Heritage Partnerships

Visit to Newburyport for Shopping and Historic Excursions

The Town of Newburyport and the City of Salem, two Essex County communities, have a great deal in common   I have been aware for many year of the friendly rivalry between these two Essex County communities.  I want to relate to you about a visit to Newburyport and expand that to include the rivalries, but a visit to the Clipper City is a great experience.   That community is a sensational place to visit and spend some of your leisure time.   That location is a wonderful destination during Essex Heritage’s two Sails and Trails festival weekends held early in every fall.   Now I want to take you to many of the great attractions that make this location a great place to visit at any time during the year.  

This location doesn’t need a festival weekend or any other sponsor to make Newburyport a destination regardless of the time of the year.  All along the streets of this maritime city shoppers will find stores that abound with clothes and gift items.  The shopping along with the community’s maritime history is just two of the features that make the two communities comparable.   It seems that if you live or work in either of the two locations you firmly believe that the other location is better off.     In addition to all of the above facts, both communities are blessed with friendly servers and well prepared foods in their restaurants and something as a former banker that is important to me, both cities are blessed with community banks that are well capitalized and are managed by generous community oriented bankers.

Maritime history is a valuable asset to any community on the water and Newburyport has a classic example of a museum that does a wonderful job of highlighting its history.   A visit to the Newburyport Maritime Museum is an absolute must when one plans a visit to the City. 

Designed by Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument and U.S. Treasury Building, the Custom House that houses the Museum was built in 1835 to facilitate growing overseas trade and tax collection of imported goods on the waterfront. The vaulted ceilings and cantilevered staircases are classic hallmarks of Mills’s work.

As Newburyport declined as a commercial seaport, the Custom House took on a number of new roles, from manufacturing site for heels of women’s shoes, to storage area of submarine parts (a function that left significant cracks in our marble floor). The Newburyport Maritime Society was founded to restore the building to its nineteenth-century appearance.

Now the Custom House is an extraordinary maritime museum, educational center, a research facility and a meeting place for people seeking a unique venue for professional or social gatherings.   There may not be a more entertaining and informative museum anywhere in the County.   The exhibits and the tour directors are excellent and provide substantial information.

The city is noted for its maritime history, but that is certainly not all there is to view and learn from in the Clipper City.  There are old cemeteries, churches, ship captain homes to visit and wonderful natural resources including a classic rail trail to savor.   Enjoy all the community has to offer and you will never be disappointed after a visit to the Clipper City.

Regional Events

A Golf Tournament Sponsored by Danvers Historical Society Announced, and it is never too Early to Make Golf Plans

The Danvers Historical Society has reserved Monday Sept. 16, 8:30 shot gun start at Black Swan C.C. Georgetown for our golf tournament.  This price is the same as 2 years ago $125 includes golf, cart, luncheon, contests and fun, fun, fun!!  Please spread the word, we need at least 50 players, 60 would be better.

TOWN OF ANDOVER SEEKS PRESERVATION AWARD CANDIDATES

The Andover Preservation Commission is in the process of gathering information on preservation projects in that community that night be worthy of an award to be presented on May 28. 2013.  Award nominations are due in the Town Managers office by March 1, 2013.  There are definite criteria connected with the awards and if you need more information about the criteria or what needs to be included in the submission contact the Manager’s office in Andover.

WEST NEWNBRY AND NEWBURYPORT TO SHARE OFFICIAL

The two communities of West Newbury and Newburyport have agreed on a trail to share an animal control officer until the end of June 2013. It is hoped that the trail might become permanent at that time.   Essex Heritage is very much in favor of these kinds of consolidation as a way to save valuable resources and to continue efficient services.

MARTIN LUTER KING CELEBRATIONS

Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday celebrated in numerous locations including a touching tribute in Washington D.C. on the occasion of the inauguration for the second term of the 44th President of the United States Barrack Obama who made special efforts to honor Rev. King on his holiday.  The President took the oath of office with his hand a Dr. King bible.   As a note, the year was the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington led by Dr. King.    There were numerous references to the work of Dr. King during the inauguration.  In addition to the King bible, the president also used a 150 year old Lincoln bible in the oath taking.  Locally, there were several events that paid tribute to the work of Dr. King, but none more fitting than the one held in Danvers where awards were given to people who have played an important role in the work of combating discrimination.   I want to designate credit to the Salem News and Reporter Ethan Foreman for excerpts of his report that follows.  All of the award winners are most deserving and we applaud all of them.

Town of Danvers Holds Annual Martin Luther King Awards Event to honor a varied list of winners.

DANVERS — The owners of New Brothers Deli in Danvers Square, the former senior pastor at Holy Trinity United Methodist Church, the initiators of Challenger Baseball in town, a religious studies teacher at St. John’s Prep and the organizer of the North Shore Pride Parade in Salem are all recipients of this year’s Drum Major for Justice Awards.

The individuals were honored at the 12th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Dinner at the Danversport Yacht Club on Monday, Jan. 21, an event hosted by the Danvers Committee for Diversity. The event recognizes those with a commitment to social justice and aims to build a scholarship for those high school graduates who follow King’s example.

Those being honored with Drum Major for Justice Awards were

Kyriakos “Kary” Andrinopoulos; his wife, Patricia Andrinopoulos; her sister Gloria Kougianos; and Kougianos’ husband, Theodore Kougianos, the co-owners of New Brothers Restaurant and Deli who led an economic resurgence in Danvers Square and who are deeply involved in the community.

Karen Devaney, Tammie King and David Gotts, Danvers residents who brought the Little League initiative of Challenger Baseball to town several years ago. The program allows kids with physical or other challenges to play ball.

Gary “Gigi” Gill, who worked with Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and others to start the first North Shore Pride Parade was noted.. Gill hosts Over the Rainbow dinners each month. The dinners allow senior gay and lesbians on the North Shore to enjoy food and fellowship.

Sean McDaniel, a religious studies teacher at St. John’s Prep, an advocate for the LGBTQ youth community at the school and on the North Shore, and one of the few “out” faculty and staff on campus. He’s a co-moderator of the school’s gay straight alliance.

The Rev. Susan Morrison, the former senior pastor at Holy Trinity United Methodist from 2005 to 2010, who advocated for rights and privileges of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons who were marginalized by the United Methodist denomination. The churches she served at became fully inclusive.

The awards are given each year in the name of King, the slain African-American civil rights leader whose sermon on Feb. 4, 1968, called “The Drum Major Instinct,” was given two months before he was assassinated. It carried a famous quote from King, who talked about the desire to draw attention to oneself as both instinctual and problematic: “Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace, I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”

HEATH, SENIOR and DISABILITY MATTERS

Information on Regional Seniors Event

Respite Retreat for Family Caregivers

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

9:30am-1:30pm

Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center

660 Great Pond Road

North Andover, MA 01845

Market Research Project to be undertaken by NSES

As have been discussed during recent board meetings, NSES will be proceeding with market research to determine the viability of developing a “village” concept  line of business. The goals for this research are, to solicit opinions about the value of such an endeavor, to identify the specific program components that would be most important to the older adults and their family members on the North Shore, and to get the word out that NSES is considering this concept.

The research will include a mail survey, three focus groups, and targeted one-on-one interviews.  Focus groups and interviews will include a combination of prospective members themselves and their “influencers” including professionals (physicians, attorneys, estate/financial planners, clergy, etc.) and adult children.

It would be very helpful if you could each recommend three individuals whom would be interested in taking part in either the focus groups or interviews.  You can also volunteer yourself.  If any of you wanted to participate,  you can sign up to assist.  Please also let us know if any reader of this report have access to an organization that might be willing to distribute the survey to their membership, either via email or through a newsletter.  We hope to recruit as diverse a group as possible and will be offering small incentives for participation in interviews or focus groups.  You can forward your suggestions directly to Judy Trerotola who is conducting the market research (goldotola@verizon.net).  You can also provide them to Eileen Lubas at The Longevity Connection [eileen@longevityconnect.org / (978) 539-8254].

Thank you for your interest in and support for this promising potential line of business for North Shore Elder Services and The Longevity Connection.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY ST JOHN”S PREP

To All Members of the Prep Community:

We are happy to announce that on Tuesday, January 22, we will introduce a new design for the Prep website. The new look is a "responsive" design that responds, or scales in size, to display equally well on desktops, tablets (in particular, the iPad), and smart phones. Responsive design is a new but growing trend, and we are excited to be on the leading edge of secondary schools to go in this direction.

We are making the move in conjunction with the start of the 1:1 Student iPad Program in September. For students and teachers, the responsive design will make it easier to access resources, create content, and collaborate on the iPad. For parents and alumni, the responsive design recognizes that more and more of you use tablets and smartphones when you visit the Prep online. Here are a few things to note about the new design:

•                    The site structure remains the same, with password protected Portals, as well as sections called About Us, Admission, Academics, School Life, Athletics, Alumni and Giving. This means that you will find information in the same places you always have.

•                    Perhaps most important to know: the MyPrep login button is now at the top right-hand side of every page. Log in as usual; your username and password are the same.

•                    Shortcuts to the calendar, faculty/staff directory and the bookstore also appear at the top right-hand side of every page.

•                    The font size is designed to be readable on devices both large and small.

•                    Spacing on calendar pages is bigger to make it easy to open individual events with the touch of a finger.

•                    Layouts in the password protected portals will remain the same for now. As we gain experience with the responsive design, we will introduce changes to the portals to improve their accessibility to iPad users. 

We expect the transition to the new design to be smooth, but there may be instances where a link is broken or a page doesn't display properly. If that happens to you, please contact Beth Forbes at eforbes@stjohnsprep.org so that we can fix the problem.

We hope you will find the new design easy to use and responsive to your needs in every way.

Best regards,

Christopher Butler

Director of Information Services

cbutler@stjohnsprep.org

Beth Forbes

Director of Communications

eforbes@stjohnsprep.org

           

           

INFORMATION PROVIDED  BY NORTH SHORE ELDERS ABOUT TWO NEW OFFERINGs THAT MAY BE INTERESTNG TO MANY INTHE REGION.   THE PROCEEDS FROM THE ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVITIES WILL NE USED TO SUPPORT MANY PROGRAMS PROVIDED TP NELP THE REGION

The first of these fundraising efforts will offer an ALL STAR wicked funny Comedy Tour featuring some of the funniest local comedians on April 27.2003.

The second of these events will be a presentation by two talented performers and impersonators that will present a two person show that will feature exceptional portrayals of two revered entertainers, Barbara Streisand and Frank Sinatra  to be he held on October 12, 2003

Both of these presentations will be offered at one of the premier entertainment centers in all of New England, The North Shore Music Theater.   We are pleased to help In promoting these two events at such a special location.   We are pleased that these important North Shore Institutions are both valuable members of the Essex Heritage Corporate Membership Program.   I also want to note that as a season ticket holder, the Theater is completely accessible to people with disabilities and handicapped seating in premium   locations are available.  Ticket orders are available now at North Shore Elder Services.  Contact them at the following address to order tickets  

Rhonda Gauthier

Director of Communications and Development

North Shore Elder Services

152 Sylvan Street

Danvers, MA 01923

978-624-2220

“Live your life and forget your age.”

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

Dr. Wayne Burton to Retire

Dr. Wayne Burton, the President of North Shore Community College to retire this July after a thirteen year term as the head of the College.  I have been privileged to work with Dr. Burton both at the Community College where he had a substantial impact and at Salem State College where he served as the Dean of the Business School moving to his present post.   A couple of years ago, Essex Heritage named Wayne a Heritage Hero, and his leadership will be dramatically missed in this region. Wayne has been a good friend of Essex Heritage, me personally and we wish him well in the future.

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS

NFL LOSSES SWIFT AND DEVASTATING

When a team goes as far in the playoffs as the Patriots did, a loss like last Sunday evening is a real ‘crash and burn’ and that loss qualified for that category.

TRANSFER OF ATTENTION TO THE BOSTON BRUINS

I may be a perfect example of a New England Sports fan and even though I still have a strong allegiance to our local professional football Team, it is critical to “move on.” After a bitter loss to Baltimore, I have a great deal of hope that the team will be back next year and will be stronger and more competitive after this year of experience. But life goes on, and as a local sports fan we jump from team to team, and we give thanks for the two wins and no losses start of the local Hockey team.

SLOT PARLOR IN DANVERS

I know that is very early in the game for a gaming license, but the Liberty Mall in Danvers seems to be not a good choice for a gaming location.   I believe that the services that would need to provide and the potential damage to teenagers that frequent that location, plus the traffic congestion caused make this potentially a poor location.   I know that there is still more to learn about the application and I will withhold any final conclusion until all the facts have been disclosed.