The Gloucester Area Astronomy Club is once again meeting in-person at the Lanesville Community Center, on the second Friday of every month at 8:00 pm. We have a terrific program for our Friday August 13 meeting, with astronomer Dr. Seth Gossage from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, with a great presentation on starlight and what it can tell us.
In addition to discussing what light can tell us about a star’s properties such as mass and chemistry, Dr. Gossage will review next generation stellar models built to explore the effects of stellar rotation. Stars spin, and this is also a fundamental stellar property (alongside mass and chemical composition), which helps determine the evolutionary course of a star, and its light output for the entirety of its lifetime.
GAAC members meet at the Lanesville Community Center in the Lanesville neighborhood of Gloucester MA, at 8:00 pm on the second Friday of every month, for presentations, discussions and activities related to all facets of astronomy. There is no cost. These are fun meetings, with lots of friendly people, refreshments, and great, accessible talks by knowledgeable and entertaining folks. Come see us! No special knowledge or equipment is needed to have a great time. Meetings are also streamed live on our Facebook page. For more information on the club, see our website.
The Sawyer Free Library is excited to share that it has 8newly upgraded public computers which are now available to the public on the Main Floor of the Library. 1-hour sessions are available with a 2-hour daily limit.
Be sure to head to the Library to do some job hunting, explore the its online Gloucester history resources, research their vast databases, and much more!
Sawyer Free Library’s summer operating hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, Thursday 12 – 7:00 pm, and Saturday 10:00 am to 1 pm and 24/7 at sawyerfreelibrary.org.
For more information about the technology available and all the library’s programs and resources visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5501.
The Sawyer Free Library’s Job Seekers Summer Workshop Series continues through the summer. The workshops, presented by career counseling expert Gary Gekow, are free and accessible to those in the Gloucester community and beyond. Each offer practical advice and guidance to those looking to discover a new career path, gain new job skills, find jobs opportunities. Register HERE for the free classes!
To follow are the upcoming virtual classes:
The Importance of Linked In, Tuesday, July 27, 7-8:30 pm
Did you know that there are over 467 million LinkedIn users worldwide? The workshop will review best practices as they relate to online profile creation and managing one’s account. The class will also highlight the many additional usages of LinkedIn, including the importance of joining groups and getting others to offer testimonials.
Online Job Search and Resume Submittal, Tuesday, August 3, 11 am-12:30 pm & 7-8:30 pm
This workshop will analyze and discuss numerous online search strategies, including job alerts, job boards, job aggregators, and company employment pages. The group led by expert Gary Gekow will then discuss how to best utilize these websites for submitting one’s resume.
The Art of Networking, Tuesday, August 10, 7-8:30pm
Job fairs, corporate hiring events, Meetups, and other online social media platforms are just some avenues where people can promote their networking skills. While attending these events and dropping off a resume is a good start, deeper engagement is required in today’s job market. Learn from the career professional about networking strategies to better enhance your employment attainment prospects.
Adjusting to a Changing New Normal, Tuesday, August 24, 7-8:30pm
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major impact on employment issues and job search trends. This interactive virtual Zoom meeting will address a series of topics including, but not limited to working from home, remaining positive and productive amidst disruptions to everyday life, building relationships through collaborations, and taking advantage of free online tools.
The Job Seekers Summer Workshop Seriesis a part of the Sawyer Free Library’s recently launched Resources for Job Seekers Program. The program also features one-on-one resume sessions and a dedicated webpage, available in over 100 world languages, with extensive resources specially curated by Library staff and expert-led virtual workshops.
This program has been made possible through a federal Library Service and Technology Act (LSTA) grant awarded by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioner (MBLC).
Tour our institute’s laboratories with GMGI’s Donald G. Comb Science Director, Dr. Andrea Bodnar Take a deep dive into an exciting research topic at the core of our mission Connect with research scientists and engage in conversations about their cutting-edge research
July 29th How We Sequence a Genome and Why It’s So Important with Senior Research Associate Jennifer Polinski
August 5th Environmental DNA: the Breadcrumbs of Life with Senior Research Associate Tim O’Donnell
August 12th The Mighty Microbe: How the Tiniest Life Forms in the Ocean are Leading the Biggest Discoveries with Senior Scientist Matt Harke
Tours begin at 5pm, and presentations by scientists start at 5:30pm.This is a free event.
Space is limited at each event. RSVP today!
Please reach out to Ashley Destino with any questions. ashley.destino@gmgi.org 978.879.4575 ext. 106
Yes, you can become the envy of your neighbors by becoming the ultimate grill master!
All you have to do is join the Sawyer Free Library on Wednesday, July 21 from 2:30-4:30pm for a fun and informative live and in-person event and learn all you need to know about Summer Grilling from local Farm-to-Table Chef Justus Dunton.
Chef Dunton has worked in premier and starred restaurants from Boston to Costa Rica. He has created his own company, Dagger Board Hospitality that brings farm-fresh, hand forraged, and delicious food to our local community through his pop-up dinners and teaching programs.
Weather permitting, we will meet outside in the Sawyer Free Library amphitheater.
Get in on the summer fun at the Sawyer Free Library with ADULT SUMMER READING 2021: BOOK BINGO!
From now until September 1, 2021, those 18 and older can keep track of the books they read on the Sawyer Free Library’s downloadable custom bingo card by writing the title and author in the matching square.
Each completed horizontal, vertical or diagonal line enters you into a raffle to win $25, $50, or $75 Cape Ann Gift Certificates.
Sawyer Free Library’s summer operating hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, Thursday 12 – 7:00 pm, and Saturday 10:00 am to 1 pm and 24/7 at sawyerfreelibrary.org.
For more information about the “Summer at the Sawyer Free Library,” or to register for programs, visit: sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5501.
The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library is pleased to announce the restoration and conservation of its grand murals by renowned artist Frederick L. Stoddard (1861-1940) with the assistance of Howard Curtis (1906-1989). Located in the Library’s historic Saunders House, the murals were painted in 1934 as part of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration. Along with Gloucester’s City Hall, the Sawyer Free Library was a local beneficiary of the federal government program designed to create jobs for artists and bring art to public places and communities across the country.
“Restoring these significant WPA murals depicting Gloucester’s origins is not only our responsibility but our great privilege. They are community artistic treasures and historically significant features of the Saunders House,” said Mern Sibley, the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library’s Board of Trustees’ President. “This project will preserve these unique works for historic study and enjoyment by residents and visitors.”
Saunders House WPA Murals
The artists’ work, completed over 80 years ago, was done entirely in oil paint on the bare plaster wall, giving the murals an antique appearance, harmonizing with the age of the Saunders House constructed in 1764. Built by Thomas Saunders, a prosperous merchant and a Representative to the Massachusetts General Court, at the time, it was one of the grandest houses in Gloucester and Boston’s North Shore. It became the permanent home of the Sawyer Free Library in 1884 when Samuel Sawyer generously deeded it for a public Library.
The Library’s murals titled “Scenes of the Region,” depict maritime culture against a backdrop of the agrarian life that supported the early settlement of Gloucester. Filling the great space throughout the main stairway of the Saunders House, the murals capture the activity of the busy working harbor with views of the distant rocky shoreline, the city, Rocky Neck, and Ten Pound Island. They also feature a simplified representation of Dogtown Common and old “Whale’s Jaw,” along with other colorful scenes offering unique glimpses of what life was like in Gloucester’s early days.
“As stewards of our city’s library, we are committed to the Saunders House’s preservation, as it is still the anchor of the Sawyer Free Library, rich with history and purpose,” added Sibley. “It is appropriate that this mural restoration project is the first of many as we move forward in realizing a reimagined, renovated, and expanded Sawyer Free Library, one that is worthy of our heritage and our future.”
The Stoddard mural restoration will be done by local conservator Lisa Mehlin of Essex, MA, who holds a Master of Art Conservation, and has seventeen years of experience in the conservation of oil paintings for government agencies, private institutions, and individual clients in the U.S. and Canada. She most recently completed work on the murals in The Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens for the Trustees of the Reservations in North Andover.
The project will be completed in two phases with the first being consolidation, ensuring that all original mural pigment is still attached to the plaster. Phase two is the visual restoration process. After securing the pigment to the plaster, paints will be used to carefully tone back any white gaps where the paint flaked away, allowing the original design to shine through once again. The project is funded through Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library corporate funds.
The next phase in preserving and restoring Saunders House is anticipated to begin in early 2022, planned under the guidance of the Saunders House Stewardship Committee of the Library Board. The work will include, but not be limited to, stabilization of the building structure and restoration of the murals in the Anderson Room. Further renovation is planned to improve accessibility and upgrade building systems to support contemporary use by Library staff and the public.
For more information about the Saunders House’s mural project and the concept design for the 2025 Sawyer Free Library and Saunders House, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.
