More local news
Masconomo Park, Manchester-by-the-Sea, nearly submerged in early 2024 flooding.

Co-designing a Flood Resilient Masco Park

Residents got a taste of what is in store for certain areas of Town with the flooding that occurred this past winter.   While no especially large storm struck, extensive high waters flooded …
Harbormaster, Bion Pike, April’s MC speaker here with club President Kevin Delaney.

Harbormaster Bion Pike Featured at Manchester Club's April Meeting

At the Manchester Club’s April dinner, Manchester-by-the-Sea Harbormaster Bion Pike was the featured speaker and brought the membership up to date on various initiatives and state/federal …

MBTA Zoning Task Force plans second community forum for April 27

Residents of Manchester-by-the-Sea will get another chance to learn about the MBTA zoning requirements and ask questions of the Task Force at a community forum on Saturday, April 27. The forum …
New England Town Meeting Board Game, created in 1979 by Elizabeth Banks MacRury.

It’s Manchester Annual Town Meeting Time

The Annual Town Meeting (ATM) is set for next Wednesday, April 24.   All voters are asked to come to the Memorial School for the 6:30 p.m. start.   (Come early to avoid the rush and you can …
Girls Score & Achieve Goals at CAYH’s Bruins Academy
What happens on the ice each Sunday around 1 p.m. at Dorothy Talbot Rink in Gloucester may come as a bit of a surprise to some. It’s at that time every week that 40 young hockey hopefuls …
Cape Ann Fire and Police officers and MBTS Harbormaster Bion Pike (far left) trained at Masconomo Park last Wednesday morning on oil spill response.
Manchester Hosts Regional Oil Spill Response Training
Manchester Fire Chief Jake McNeilly, members of the Manchester by the Sea Fire Department and Manchester Harbormaster Bion Pike participated in training designed to improve the department's response …
Jen DeSimone: Running for Something Special
Successfully completing the Boston Marathon is a true accomplishment for many Cape Ann residents who run or walk those 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to downtown Boston.   T his year …
Sports
Congratulations to Nate Gardner on his 11th place finish in the Boys 55 Hurdles event at the MIAA Meet of Champions. Courtesy Photo
If any group has the experience to handle some of the high-level challenges in store for the Manchester Essex boys’ tennis team this spring, it’s this one. The Hornets lost three …
H ornet sailors jumped right into the cold water of Manchester Harbor on the third day of the season.   Following two days of pulling the boats off the racks, stepping the masts, and …
The third time wasn’t necessarily the charm for the Hornets. This one was the biggest matchup of the season between the Manchester Essex and Georgetown girls’ basketball teams: the …
The Manchester Essex basketball team—a squad that has lost all of one game this season—was down by two at the end of the first quarter in their tournament game against Frontier Regional. …

Gloucester Stage Brings Together Art, Activism, Community in Three Days of Climate Action Plays This Weekend

A three-day performance festival will take place this weekend in the name of climate change at the Gloucester Stage Company.  Called Water's Rising: Festival of New Climate Action Plays , the …

Senior Nite for Varsity Boys Basketball

Monday night the Hornets held Senior Night for the boys’ basketball team.   The seniors honored their parents for the support they provided during their athletic careers.   Kneeling, …

Thanks for 2024 MBTS ATM Success

I write to thank the nearly 400 voters who made time to attend the Annual Town Meeting last week.  Although the warrant contained only 21 articles, many involved important decisions for the town …

Winslow Homer’s “Eagle Head”: More Than Meets the Eye

“Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts (High Tide)” by Winslow Homer was called “grotesque” when it debuted in New York City in 1870, described as “one of the most unsettling romantic paintings of the nineteenth century.”  Today it hangs in NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

When the artist Winslow Homer came to paint on Cape Ann in 1869, he arrived as a busy commercial illustrator for popular magazines of the day.  Over the next eleven years, spending …

Obituaries
David Frederick Hall Jr.
David Frederick Hall Jr., beloved husband, father, grandfather, and uncle, passed away peacefully at the age of 83, surrounded by his loving family, on March 24.  David was born on May 14, …
Dorothy A. (Margulis) Pike
Dorothy A. (Margulis) Pike, age 88 of Manchester by the Sea, entered Eternal Rest on April 10, 2024. Dorothy was born in Boston, daughter of the late Mollie & Mac Margulis.  She owned …
Ruth M. Fusco
Ruth M. Fusco, 89, passed away April 6, 2024 at her home in Manchester in the presence of her loving family.   Born in Revere, she was the daughter of the late John V. Sullivan and Jenny …
Ron Mastrogiacomo
Ron Mastrogiacomo, a longtime resident of Manchester-by-the-Sea, died Monday after a short illness.  Ron was loved deeply by his family, friends and colleagues. His sense of humor is legendary …
Jan M. (Conroy) Anderson
Mrs. Jan M. (Conroy) Anderson 79, of Manchester, beloved wife of Carl A. Anderson Jr., passed away unexpectedly on March 28, 2024 while vacationing with friends. Born in Salem, she was the …
Lifestyle

Step Into History: Eric Pape’s Masterpieces on Display at Hammond Castle Museum

Right now the Hammond Castle Museum in Magnolia is offering a trip through time and artistry with its latest exhibition, “Gertrude Cawein at Hammond Castle Museum.”   Running …

Dreams and Dances’ at Annisquam Village Church

Music brought violinists Scott Moore and Erica Pisaturo together in the first place, performing together every day on tour. And music is how they continue to spend most of their time—when …
Cape Ann Blossoms (2023) image of Augustus W. Buhler (1853-1920), Shoving Off. C. 1907. Oil on canvas, Gift of Dr. Bernard S. Cohen, 1979. [Accession # 2199]. Floral Arrangement by Joni Pesola of Danvers Garden Club.

Cape Ann Blossoms Returns to Cape Ann Museum May 4

Just in time for the beginning of spring, Gloucester's Cape Ann Museum is bringing back its popular Cape Ann Blossoms event on Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Floral …

Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras Schedule Auditions for 2024-2025 Season

The Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras (NMYO) will hold open auditions for local Cape Ann and North Shore young musicians to join its ensembles in the 2024-2025 concert season. For those …

It’s Fantasy and Mythology with Cape Ann Symphony on Sunday, April 14 at Crowell Chapel

The Cape Ann Symphony’s 72nd season is in full swing, and on April 21 the group will reprise one of its most popular programs, the intimate and scaled down “Musicians Unleashed” …
Home and Garden
PETS & PEOPLE

Pet Insurance: Navigating a Slew of (Important) Questions

Every year we see an increasing number of patients with pet health insurance at the Manchester Animal Hospital.  The common question is, “Is it worth it?” ...

Spring is finally starting to be sprung.  Those brave spring bulbs are sticking their skinny green necks out, and so far all I’ve wanted to do is wrap a scarf around them—but they …
Pets and People

Pain in Pets

Nobody wants to see their dog suffering and in pain, writes Dr. Larry Lamb of Manchester Animal Hospital.  However, sometimes it can be very difficult to know for sure whether your dog is in pain.  …

Books

Manchester Library Notes | April 26

Maria Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, authors of

A lot is happening this week at the Manchester by the Sea Public Library, including a meeting of the Mystery Book Club, a plant swap, meditation, children's programs and more.

Columnists

It’s all in How You Finish That Counts

Colors are back after a long love affair with cool whites and greys.  And part of that is the opportunity to lean into new finishes in fixtures, like rubbed bronze, brass, and yes, gold.

I   don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s the wild west out there when it comes to the finishes we find on hardware, bathroom fixtures, and lighting.   Where we used to …

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Around the web
How bird flu virus fragments get into milk sold in stores, and what the spread of H5N1 in cows means for the dairy industry and milk drinkers
The discovery of fragments of avian flu virus in about 20% of milk samples from stores in initial testing across the U.S. suggests that the H5N1 virus may be more widespread in U.S. dairy cattle than previously realized. …
How the pretzel went from soft to hard – and other little-known facts about one of the world’s favorite snacks
The pretzel, one of the fastest-growing snack foods in the world, recently crossed a billion dollars a year in sales. It has its own emoji, comes in flavors like pumpkin spice, mocha and banana, and is now available as an aromatherapy scent. …
Antoni Porowski's tips for creating a yard-to-table garden
(BPT) - Have you ever grown salsa in your garden? What about potato salad? You can, with spring’s hottest culinary trend called "yard-to-table." It brings farm-to-table home and is about …
The 20 greatest Best Picture nominees that don't get enough credit
Casino Bonus CA looked at all films nominated for Best Picture and narrowed the list to those that didn't win and had under 50,000 votes on IMDb.
20 hit songs you may not know were written by music icons
Stacker compiled 20 hit songs between 1960 and today that were written by someone other than the singer, using various sources.