Newburyport postcard, Plum Island Haystack, press image to enlarge.
It’s fall in Newburyport, and there are still farmers who in the marshes around Newburyport and Newbury will create the iconic haystacks. I know the readers of the Newburyport Blog enjoy old Newburyport postcards, and this one of the Newburyport marsh scene with the haystacks is so wonderful.
First it was learning about the Happy Chickens blog, and now learning about a blog about dogs – “Walking with Dogs in Greater Newburyport, (off leash experiences in the Newburyport area),” by Kim Kudym. Kim’s blog is an an exploration of the area’s gorgeous places that can be shared with a canine friend. How fun!
Indian Hill Reservoir in West Newbury, courtesy of Kim Kudym, press image to enlarge
And how fun not only for dog owners, but anyone who would like to explore the area, with dogs, children, family, friends or just on your own. Very cool!
Woodsom Farm in Amesbury, courtesy of Kim Kudym, press image to enlarge
Kim has started to post photos of outings in various places. Woodsom Farm in Amesbury, and Indian Hill Reservoir in West Newbury – and they just want to make you go out there and start exploring!! There are also many Newburyport favorites including Cooper North Pasture and the Little River Nature Trail Newburyport, to name a few.
Woodsom Farm in Amesbury, courtesy of Kim Kudym, press image to enlarge
A great addition to the Newburyport blogosphere!! Thanks Kim!!
A friend and I were talking yesterday, and they asked me what did I think of the new NRA’s proposal for Newburyport’s waterfront.
And I said, “I don’t know.”
And they said, “I don’t know.”
We’ve both lived in Newburyport for over 30 years and watched the ongoing NRA waterfront saga.
We both agreed that for the “Citizens for an Open Waterfront” (COWs as they have often been referred to over the many, many decades that this has gone on) having an open waterfront is a religion. And there are many, many folks in town that I know, like and respect very much, that feel fervently that nothing ever should be built on that piece of property.
Mayor Holaday was elected some 3 years ago over James Shanley in part because she was for an “Open Waterfront.” She won, and I thought at the time, Ok we can finally get on with that idea.
But the “new” idea proposed by then candidate James Shanley (now chair of the NRA, appointed by governor Deval Partrick), of having limited building on the NRA parcel to pay for the open space has gained, yup, traction.
I got out the old photo I have courtesy of the Historical Society of Old Newbury, or as it’s known in Newburyport as “The HIST,” of the NRA lots, c 1920, way before Newburyport’s Urban Renewal took place (click image below to enlarge), and there is no open space at all in what once existed before the bulldozers came in the late 1960s.
NRA land c. 1920, courtesy of the Historical Society of Old Newbury, press image to enlarge.
And my friend and I compared it to the new proposal by the NRA (click image below to enlarge), and we both agreed that there was a fair amount of open space, and that it looked reasonable.
NRA plans, 2012, courtesy of the NRA, press image to enlarge.
NRA plans, 2012, courtesy of the NRA, press image to enlarge.
NRA site plan, aerial view, courtesy of the NRA. Press image to enlarge.
NRA site plan, aerial view, courtesy of the NRA, press image to enlarge.
I guess the question now is, “What is considered open space on Newburyport’s waterfront’s NRA lots?” Lots and lots of open space, or open space, but less open space, with a plan to pay for it (and a park would be wicked expensive).
And for me, will this NRA saga finally be resolved, which I would like a lot, or will it never be resolved in my lifetime, and continue to be a Newburyport political third rail? Hang on to your hats, we’ll find out.
A couple of more images, courtesy of the NRA, for clarification:
NRA lots, aerial view, courtesy of the NRA, press image to enlarge
An aerial view of the NRA lots as they are today, courtesy of the NRA. Press image to enlarge.
Boundaries of the NRA land, courtesy of the NRA. Press image to enlarge.
Delineation of the property boundaries, of the NRA, the Waterfront Trust and the Ways to the Water as well as an approximate low water mark. Courtesy of the NRA, press image to enlarge.
To see the entire presentation of the new plans for the NRA lots, given at the Firehouse on September 12, 2012, press here (takes a while to load).
Rose and Fence © Mary Baker
I remember exactly where I was on 9/11, just like everyone else in America.
It was a bluebird day, much like today, and I was walking on my way to vote, it was voting day, when I met someone I knew on talking on their cell phone looking perplexed and confused and shaking their head. And then I remember walking down to the Tannery to pick something up, and everyone in the shop being completely silent, everyone was looking straight ahead and not saying a word.
It wasn’t until I got back home to my studio that I found out what was happening and then watching on TV seeing the unthinkable. New York City is where I was born and raised, seeing the collapse and the lower part of Manhattan being engulfed. Luckily my family was located. It was 3 months before I could semi function after that. The country was utterly traumatized.
I always have thought as an artist, that subconsciously painters and other people in the arts work through traumas, and it wasn’t until after I painted a series of paintings, that I realized that they were about 9/11. The 2 paintings here are 2 of what turned out to be a series. 2 fence posts, or columns, reminiscent of the twin towers, with life growing between them, showed up over and over in the paintings that I did in the years that followed, as America recovered from the anguish of that day, and started to bloom once more.
Yellow Roses © Mary Baker
These roses and fences were found and can still be found in the South End of Newburyport, in Newburyport’s Historic District.
Here is Kathleen O’Connor Ives’, Katy Ives’ win for the Democratic primary election for Massachusetts State Senator for the First Essex District by the numbers:
Newburyport
Coco 212
Ives 1701
Manzi 125
Amesbury
Coco 163
Ives 552
Manzi 86
Salisbury
Coco 90
Ives 225
Manzi 87
Merrimac
Coco 90
Ives 146
Manzi 51
Haverhill
Coco 1734
Ives 511
Manzi 697
North Andover
Coco 391
Ives 382
Manzi 305
Methuen
Coco 730
Ives 511
Manzi 1855
Our very own Kathleen O’Conner Ives, our Katy Ives WINS the Democratic Primary election for Massachusetts State Senator for the First Essex District!!
YEH!!!
Kathleen O’Connor Ives of Newburyport 4,065 votes
Timothy Coco of Haverhill 3,264 votes
Bill Manzi of Methuen 3,277 votes
Source, The Boston Globe
Katy with Mike Costello
Katy Ives with Mike Costello, Massachusetts 1st Essex District State Representative on election night with the election totals!!
Boiled Lobsters
The best, safest, gluten free takeout food in Newburyport is from David’s Fish Market over the bridge in Salisbury (one of the best seafood markets ever).
David’s Fish Market has been a family owned and operated business for over 50 years. It was started by Arthur David and is now run by his grandson Gordon Blaney.
David’s will boil you a lobster or lobsters, and it doesn’t get any fresher or any better. The lobsters can be hot or cold. Just give them a 2 hour notice (and remember to pay by cash or check, no credit or debit cards).
My favorite is cold lobster, one of my mother’s most loved meals, served with gluten free Hellmann’s mayonnaise and a little lemon, or a really good sauce/dip I recently came up with.
Sauce/dip for cold lobster:
Cook frozen chopped spinach, which is wicked healthy (microwave works great), drain and remove as much moister as possible (I use paper towels).
For one serving: 2 Tablespoons of cooked chopped spinach and mix with 2 Tablespoons of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, which is gluten free. A few drops of gluten free Tamari Sauce (possible alternatives to Tamari sauce – soy sauce or worcestershire sauce). That’s it, for some reason this combo is amazing.
And going to David’s is fun. You get to go over the Merrimack River on Rt 1 and it’s an old time fish market where you can see the fresh fish coming in and being prepared in back, like being filleted kind of prepared. You know it’s fresh. And if you live in Newburyport and the surrounding area, or are coming to visit, it’s a place not to be missed.
When I first moved here 30 some years ago, there used to be at least 3 independent local fish markets, David’s is the last one standing, and it’s awesome.
If you take a look at Kathleen O’Connor Ives and any of her running mates, whether Democrat or Republican, Katy Ives stands out. A twinkling star in the midst of “same old, same old.”
The Amesbury Candidate Debate
And taking a look at the photo of Katy and her husband Jeff, I was struck by something. Sometimes women candidates have support from their husbands, some enthusiastic, some grudging, but looking at Katy and Jeff there is something different. It’s a whole new generational different.
Jeff is the man behind the woman, literally in the photo of them together. This is a whole new generational “thing.” It transcends feminism. It’s as if a woman running for public office is not only not an issue, but not even on the radar screen. For 100’s of millions of women who have worked and been ambitious in their various fields, this is what they would like from their spouse. And the photo doesn’t lie, it’s how Jeff and Katy actually are.
Katy and Jeff
This is a new political verity, this is what generations of women have wanted. It may be why consensus building is so natural and second nature to Katy. It may be why members of the Newburyport City Council, progressive or conservative trust her. It may be why she does what she thinks is best for her constituents, and often surprises people with her independent Newburyport City Council vote.
This is the sort of human being, a shining human being, that I would like to see as my new Massachusetts State Senator for the First Essex District.
So vote this Thursday, September 6th. And if you do not know where to vote press here.