ESSEX HERITAGE PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES
Trails and Sails Completed
By the time you read this posting, all of the festivities
of Trails and Sails 2012 are over and all of the visits have been
completed. We certainly hope that many of you had a chance to visit
or participate in one of the several hundred events offered in the thirty-four
communities of Essex County. For the most part, we experienced good and
temperate weather for this two-weekend festival. I have not
yet seen the final visitation numbers for all of the events yet, but I
anticipate that, as in the past years, the attendance will have grown.
When the reports are completed, we will provide a report on the participation
numbers.
We are incredibly thankful to all of the sites and the
wonderful volunteers that welcomed visitors to their sites as a part of this signature
event offered for the past 11 years by Essex Heritage to the residents of this
incredible part of the United States. The offerings during this festival
are varied and are designed to show off the region to the residents and regions
to this area. There are not many other opportunities like
this one around the country, and we are incredibly proud to be able to bring
these events to the three-quarters of a million residents of Essex County
Massachusetts. There were events that allowed the people to walk,
explore, paddle, hike, sail and generally enjoy this region. We hope you
enjoyed the weekends and if there was a venue that you missed because of time
or some other constraint, we encourage you to take the time in the future to
visit that location and savor Essex County. We want you to enjoy
this region all year round. To assist you in this endeavor, I
have made a commitment to provide a profile of a presenting site every couple
of weeks in this space to continue to showcase this wonderful part of the
country. So just in case you missed a highlight of the weekend festival,
you will have a chance to learn about locations through this site, and then
make appropriate plans to visit that location in person.
Essex
Heritage Annual Fall Meeting: Tuesday, October 30 – 8:00AM-1000AM
Join us for a morning of
engagement! Participate in this FREE, valuable networking opportunity that will
further connect you with the work of Essex Heritage and that of our partners.
The agenda will include updates on Essex Heritage activities and initiatives,
introduction to new Commissioners as the presentation of Essex Heritage's
Pioneer in Partnership (PIP) awards.
We hope you will be able to
join us!
This event is FREE and open to the
public The event is being held in the
Smith Barn at Brooksby Farm
38 Felton Street Peabody, MA
01960. It will start at 8:00 AM with
continental breakfast and the business meeting is from 8:30 - 10:00 AM.
ESSEX HERITAGE COMMUNITY
PARTNERS
Some of these events have previously been announced, in the
past, but it never hurts to repeat the announcements in case you missed the
announcement the first time.
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Friday, October 26, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
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Featured Partner Event
The Andover Historical Society Presents: Trials and Taverns: A Lecture with Dr. Emerson Baker
97 Main Street, Andover, MA 01810 (map it)
Puritan New Englanders viewed taverns as a necessary
evil. Travelers needed a place to stay and eat, and sessions of court were
sometimes even held in them – including the early hearings in the Salem witch
trials. However, they were also places where people could fall for the Devil’s
temptations. Taverns provided the setting for drunkenness, lechery, gambling,
idleness and even witchcraft. Salem State University historian Dr. Emerson
Baker will discuss the bewitched and debauched Quaker tavern at the center of
his book, The Devil of Great Island: Witchcraft and Conflict in Early New
England. All through the summer of 1682 a stone-throwing demon would
supernaturally assault the New Hampshire tavern, and there were links between
these events and witchcraft in Salem ten years later. Indeed, there are many
interesting connections between witchcraft and taverns in early New England.
Baker will also explore what early tavern culture was like. What were the
preferred alcoholic beverages and tavern games during the Salem witch trials?
Come join us for a drink and find out.
Refreshments and Socializing starts at 7:00-7:30, Lecture
7:30, 2 drink maximum.
Advanced reservations required. Essex Heritage and AHS Members $15; Non-Members $25.
To reserve, please contact (978) 475-2236
and let them know you are an Essex Heritage Member
Throughout October
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Featured Partner Event
The House of theSeven Gables Presents:
Spirits of the Gables
& Legacy of the Hanging Judge
115 Derby Street, Salem, MA 01970
Spirits of the Gables – Witness two families entangled by a curse in this
presentation of the novel performed in the mansion that inspired Nathaniel
Hawthorne to write The House of the Seven Gables.
Legacy of the Hanging Judge – Scenes from the Witchcraft Hysteria are reenacted in
this presentation performed in the rooms of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Birthplace.Spirits
of the Gables and Legacy of the Hanging Judge will both run on:
October 5, 6, 7
from 7:30pm - 9:30pm,
October 12,
13, 19, 20, 26, 27 from 7:15pm-11:00pm,
October 31 from
7:15pm-10:00pm.
Shows run
continuously and are each 35 minutes long. Rates:
- Legacy of the Hanging Judge: $15
- Spirits of the Gables: $15
- Combination Ticket: $27 (available for any two
performances on the same evening) Reservations
highly recommended.
Please call 978-744-0991, ext 104.
Saturday, November 3, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
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Behind the Scenes Tour of the Danvers Archival Center
Peabody Institute Library of Danvers,
15 Sylvan Street, Danvers, MA 01923. Join Historian
and Danvers Town Archivist Richard Trask for a special behind the scenes tour
of the Danvers Archival Center. The Archival Center houses a wonderful
and diverse collection of materials that relate to the history of Salem Village
and Danvers from the 17th century to the present, including many public,
church, and private records related to the witchcraft trials and life in Salem
Village. Learn about the significance of the Archival Center as our knowledgeable
host spotlights some of the valuable and historically important materials that
directly relate to our local, regional and national history. As seen in the
film Salem Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence, the tour will also
highlight some of the Archival Center’s rarely seen items and artifacts.
Reservations required. Essex Heritage Members $7; Non-Members $10. Please register online above or send checks to: Essex
National Heritage Commission, 221 Essex Street, Suite 41 Salem, MA 01970 or
call Essex Heritage at 978-740-0444 for questions and details. Event fees
sustain the Essex Heritage Membership program and support partner sites.
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Wednesday, November 7, 7:00 PM
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Featured Partner Event
The House of theSeven Gables Presents:
Strong Women at the Gables: Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, a
Notable Local Figure with International Connections,
115 Derby Street, Salem, MA 01970. Louise B.
Swiniarski, Education Department Professor at Salem State University, will
focus on Elizabeth Peabody: her work, friends, and the literary salon she
hosted on West Street in Boston. She will also discuss Elizabeth’s relationship
with her sister Sophia, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s wife.
Advanced reservations required. Essex Heritage and Seven Gables Members $10;
Non-Members $15. To reserve, please contact
(978) 744-0991 and let them know you are an Essex
Heritage member.
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Wednesday, December 12, 7:00 PM
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Featured Partner Event
The House of theSeven Gables Presents:
Strong Women at the Gables: An Orchestra at Her
Fingertips
115 Derby
Street, Salem, MA 01970. Pianist
Jacquelyn Schwab will perform vintage 19th century American parlor music,
including Stephen Foster and Civil War songs, hymns, spirituals, and ballroom
dances. Schwab is best known for her performances on Ken Burns’ Grammy
award-winning Civil War documentary, as well as the Emmy award-winning Baseball
and Mark Twain documentaries on public television. A folk and classical
improvisational pianist, she has a unique style that defies easy
categorization.
Advanced
reservations required. Essex
Heritage and Seven Gables Members $10; Non-Members $15. To reserve, please
contact
(978) 744-0991 and let them
know you are an Essex Heritage member.
REGIONAL NEWS
October in Salem
As time moves us closer to the
year-end holidays, the month of October and Halloween in Salem are upon
us. In this posting, I want to remind you of a cooperative film
premiered by Essex Heritage last October about the most recent scholarship on
the Witch Trials of 1692 in Salem. If you visit Salem this fall,
you should plan to visit the NPS regional Visitor Center and view this
film. The experience will make your visit to Salem that much more
meaningful.
Salem City Council to Make
Changes in Downtown Salem Parking Plans
The City of Salem has installed a
new traffic plan which has been in place now for a couple of months, and from
that experience the Council hopes to tweak the plan to make it better and more
efficient.
Newburyport Plans Waterfront
Up-grade
The Town of Newburyport has contracted
with a Providence, RI Architectural firm to produce a plan to re-order the
waterfront space in that community with more green space and make it friendlier
for residents. The plans include adding additional commercial space in
two buildings and a commitment to maintain 70 % of the current parking spaces.
The new buildings will include eating spots and shops on the lower level, with
residential space on the upper levels.
Local Community Bank Provides
Financial Gift to Stoneham Theatre
The local newspapers have reported
that the Stoneham Savings Bank and their partner financial institution, the Salem
Five Bank, have made a substantial $25,000 cash contribution to the Stoneham
Theatre that serves many of those reside in this region. We are
fortunate to have a theatre of this quality so close and handy.
Town of Wenham Updates
Recreation Plan
The Town of Wenham is organizing a
committee and seeking volunteers to upgrade the Town’s Open Space and
Recreation Master Plan for the community. If you have an interest in
participating in this effort send a letter volunteering to the Board of
Selectmen at the Wenham Town Hall.
Salem State University
Invitation
Salem State University President Patricia Maguire Meservey
cordially invites you to the Agganis
Forum with special guest speaker Julie Palen '89, entrepreneur and
business leader on Wednesday, October
24, 2012 at 6 pm at the Salem
State University Recital Hall on the Central Campus,
71 Loring Avenue, Salem,
Massachusetts. "My Wild Ride from Entrepreneur to Taking the Company
Public:
How
I started, What I Learned and What You Need to Know." Julie Palen
shares the success story of the evolution of her business from start-up to
public trade, a story that includes evolving
from a nanny to president of a mulit-million dollar company. Palen sold
Internoded Inc., a custom software development firm, to Tangoe, where she is
currently senior vice president of business development and mobile device
management. A sports movement and science graduate, Palen is now a proud alumna
on the board of advisors to the Bertolon School of Business.
Seating is limited,
reservations required
Please RSVP
by October 16, 2012 to Maria Rodriguez at 978.542.2426;
mrodriguez@salemstate.edu
Special Door Prize: One free MBA course at Salem State! All costs included. Must RSVP and be present to win. Approximate value $1,000.(Current Salem
State employees excluded from this drawing.)
COMMMUNITY HEALTH AND ELDER
AFFAIRS
North Shore Elder Services
North Shore Elder Services
re-affirms strategic objectives going forward and will offer public meeting.
North Shore Elder Services has recently adopted four strategic objectives
to drive its operation in the years ahead as follows:
1. Continue to provide publically financed core services that
are of high quality and effective as is possible within budget targets;
2. Extend relationships and services within medical and heath
sectors that are responsive to the
opportunities and challenges of national and state and national health care
reform initiatives.
3. Develop marketplace programs and services that
address the needs and demands of the broader population of older adults and
their families who are not necessarily eligible for publically-subsidized
programs and services which will facilitate their ability to function safely
and comfortably in spite of medical, physical and/or cognitive limitations and
which generate net income for the agency.
4. Identify and/or initiate opportunities for Collaboration,
Resource sharing for program expansion and/or enhancement with other
aging, disability, health and other related organizations
The Shore Elder Services are holding an annual public meeting at 9AM on
October 24 at the Hilton Double Tree Hotel (formerly the Coco Key Hotel) at
Ferncroft Drive in Danvers. At this meeting the objectives noted
above and other matters will be discussed.
The Town of Salisbury Senior
Center Plans Fundraiser
As a member of the advisory board
that helps to make policy at the Danvers Senior Center, it is always of great
interest to me what other Senior Centers in the region are doing. The
Salisbury Hilton Senior Center in conjunction with a friend’s group that helps
raise funding for the center offered a major fund raising event recently at Surf
Side Bar and Grill in Salisbury. Funds raised from a dance and
silent auction will be used to complete interior improvements at the Senior
Center. Fundraising programs like this one take place all
over the region as the Friend’s group raised funds for the center and allowed
the Town to allocate resources to other programs in the community with reduced
resources available in numerous towns. The more self-funding that can be
accomplished the better.
Medical and Disability
Issues
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Long-Term Care Insurance
Reform Passes the House
After many years of advocacy, the Massachusetts House of
Representatives has passed legislation updating regulation of long-term care
insurance (LTCI) this past Thursday. Barring any unexpected events it will go
to the Senate and then to the Governor for signing this week.
Long advocated by the Massachusetts Chapter of the
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the bill clarifies the
estate recovery waiver provision as valuing a policy at the time of purchase,
not the time of nursing home admission. As an incentive to encourage
seniors to purchase LTCI, Massachusetts provides those with policies
providing at least $125,000 of coverage protection from any claim for estate
recovery against their home.
However, MassHealth has long interpreted this provision
quite narrowly, only permitting the waiver if the senior still has $125,000
of coverage when she enters a nursing home. If she depleted the policy
paying for home or assisted living care before entering the nursing home, she
would lose the waiver. Since being able to pay for non-institutional
care is a prime reason to purchase LTCI, and one would think that MassHealth
would want seniors to stay out of nursing homes and off their rolls as long
as possible, it's position has always seemed perverse and
counterproductive.
The bill also incorporates consumer protection
provisions of the NAIC model long term care insurance regulation. In
addition, NAELA is named as a member of a working group to advise the
Division of Insurance on methods for stabilization of rate
increases. They have now (for the first rime) been included in a
legislative work group.
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Disability Issues
We have recently seen a number of
stories about people both in and out of this region. First
there was the story of Oscar Pretorius who ran in the recent Olympics and
showed what could be done with a handicap. Recently in the SALEM
NEWS there was a wonderful story about a Salem High School golfer who has
played quite well with only one leg. Will Parr, whose dad Mike has worked
closely with Essex Heritage in his role with the National Park Service in
Salem, has achieved much with a disability. He has been without a leg for
many years, but that has not held him back. The local TV recently showed films
of a young man who is a senior at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School who
lost a leg at birth and is now playing some of the most unbelievable soccer
with the assistance of a pair of crutches. So it is clear
that there are many role models out there who are setting great examples for
all of us.
PERSONAL
OBSERVATIONS
Election Day 2012
As many of you are digesting this
report Election Day 2012 is just ahead on November 6th.
Choosing the officials that will lead us nationally or locally is one of the
important responsibilities that we have as residents of this country, and we
urge you all to take advantage of this hard won opportunity and cast your vote
for the candidate of your choice. Election 2012 is not a lot different
from other elections in the past. There are important candidates
running for offices from the President to local leadership in your state and
community. It is not our place to endorse or otherwise speak out
regarding individual candidates, but Essex Heritage urges you, if it is at all
possible, to visit your local polling place and cast your all -important vote
this year.
National Football League
Referee Issue
It is certainly quite clear that
the National Football League has a controversy that will be most difficult for
them to solve. The replacement officials that they have put in
place at stadiums across the country have led to unhappy players, coaches and
fans as the decisions that they are handing down are unpopular with all of the
participants. No matter what decision they render it appears that
everyone is unhappy with his or her lack of consistency. The NFL has a
major issue of discussion concerning pensions with their normal game officials
and the resolution of that issue seems most important as the integrity of the
league is being called into question and a resolution must be attained.
As this presentation is prepared a resolution has been announced and the
regular officials are back “running” the games.
We Give Thanks Award
I am proud and pleased to serve on
the Board of Directors of the North Shore Elder Services representing the
residents of the Town of Danvers. I am even prouder of the
fact that the organization will be holding its annual We Give Thanks
Award that identifies people in this region that should be acknowledged for
their work. This year, my wife Marge Leonard will receive the NSES
Family Care Givers award for 2012. We are most appreciative of
NSES President Joseph Palmer who nominated her for this award. She is a
most deserving recipient for what she has done for me since my accident.
Without her commitment to me, I could not continue to my work in the
community. She will be sharing the stage on November 15th at Spinelli’s
Function Hall in Lynnfield with other prominent regional award winners like
State Senator Bruce Tarr, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, and Former Danvers
State Representative Jack King, Brian Cranney, and others.
The North Shore Elder Services, We Give Thanks Awards
Dinner will be held on Thursday, November 15th at Spinelli's Function Hall in
Lynnfield, MA.
