The photo exhibit juxtaposes Wallace’s portraits of individuals living with dementia with a photo of the subject at a younger age and a brief narrative of who they are as people.
The goal of this body of work is to de-stigmatize those living with dementia, use empathy as a means for connection and understanding, and tell a more complete story of those living with the disease and its effect on their families and loved ones.
Trained as a journalist, Wallace has been a portrait photographer and storyteller for two decades and has a deeply personal connection with dementia.
As his website outlines, his approach is to depict the whole story to give viewers the courage to act in ways large and small. He believes the artist must not be afraid to show not only the fear, loss, and despair, but also the love, connection, dignity, and powerful humanity that always remain—in the subjects, care-partners, families, and communities. According to Wallace, this is the path to evolve the narrative and have a positive social change.
This is the first event in the Library’s five-part free educational series on dementia and healthy cognitive aging, Of Sound Mind: A Series on Dementia.
All are welcome to attend. Registration is not required, although face masks are mandatory for those attending. For more information about the event or other Sawyer Free Library offerings, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.
The five- part free educational series on dementia and healthy cognitive aging kicks off in February
Beginning in February, the Gloucester Lyceum and the Sawyer Free Library, is kicking off an educational series on dementia and healthy cognitive aging. Of Sound Mind: A Series on Dementia will feature local experts in the field of cognitive aging who will explore current dementia research, discuss methods of keeping your brain healthy, and ways to understand better and support people experiencing and caring for those with the disease.
“We hope that this important series, which is free and open for all to attend, will help to foster community conversation and support around dementia and this burgeoning health crisis,” said Sawyer Free Library Director Jenny Benedict.
The five-part series will take through May at the Sawyer Free Library located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. All events are free and open to all to attend. SeniorCare, Inc. will have trained volunteers on hand to share resources and answer questions following each event.
Of Sound Mind: A Series on Dementia presented by the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library
Of Sound Mind: A Series on Dementiaschedule includes:
Saturday, February 5, 2:00 pm: Photographer Joe Wallace speaks on his series, “The Day After Yesterday: Portraits of Dementia”
Joe Wallace will speak about his powerful photo exhibit “Day After Yesterday: Portraits of Dementia” on display in the Library’s Matz Gallery through February.
The exhibit juxtaposes Wallace’s portraits of individuals living with dementia with younger photographs of the subjects and a brief narrative of who they are as people. This body of work aims to de-stigmatize those living with dementia, use empathy as a means for connection and understanding, and tell a complete story of those living with the disease and its effect on their families and loved ones. Trained as a journalist, Joe Wallace has been a portrait photographer and storyteller for twenty years. Like many, Joe has a deeply personal connection with dementia.
Thursday, March 10, 5:30-7:00 pm: Steps to Managing Memory, Alzheimer’s Disease, & Dementia with Dr. Andrew Budson
Based on his award-winning book, Dr. Andrew Budson will explain how individuals can distinguish changes in memory due to Alzheimer’s versus normal aging, what medications, diets, and exercise regimes can help, and the best habits, strategies, and memory aids to use, in seven simple steps. He will also discuss his newest book, including how caregivers can manage issues with memory, language, vision, behavior, driving, incontinence, sleep, and more.
Andrew E. Budson, M.D. is Chief of Cognitive & Behavioral Neurology, Associate Chief of Staff for Education, and Director of the Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, Associate Director for Research at the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Professor of Neurology at Boston University School of Medicine, and Lecturer in Neurology at Harvard Medical School. He is also the Medical Director of the Boston Center for Memory, located in Newton, Massachusetts.
Saturday, April 9, 2:00-3:00 pm: Ten Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s with Alzheimer’s Association MA/NH Chapter
Alzheimer’s and other dementias cause memory, thinking, and behavior changes that interfere with daily living. Learn about common warning signs of Alzheimer’s and what symptoms to look for in yourself and others, as well as tips for approaching someone who is experiencing changes in their memory, the benefit of early detection and diagnosis, and more.
Saturday, May 7, 2:00 pm: Presentation by Dementia Friends
Dementia Friends is a global movement changing how people think, act, and talk about dementia. By helping everyone in a community understand what dementia is and how it affects people, each of us can make a difference for people touched by dementia. The presentation will share five key messages about dementia and a bit about what it’s like to live with dementia to help community members understand dementia and the small things they can do to make a difference for people living with dementia.
Saturday, May 21, 2:00 pm: Book Talk with author Siobhan McDonald on her picture book Hilda’s Story: New Bedford, Massachusettsan interactive read-aloud designed for entertainment, understanding, comfort, and connection with people living with dementia.
Artist, teacher and author, Siobhan McDonald is passionate about helping seniors with memory loss to connect with loved ones and caregivers through conversation and sharing their personal stories. Learn how providing visual arts workshops to seniors with memory challenges inspired her interactive book Hilda’s Story: New Bedford, Massachusetts.
All presentations are free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Face masks are mandatory for those attending. For more information about the event or other Sawyer Free Library offerings, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.
The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation will host it 6th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration, live on Zoom, on Monday, January 17th at 2:00pm. Please preregister at http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org
The Racial Climate in Gloucester, What Lies Ahead will be the focus of the 2-hour program, including including findings of a new community survey. The keynote speaker will beBrianSaltsman, Director of Student Diversity and Inclusion at Alfred University in upstate NewYork.He is a leading advocate of addressing community issues between dominant and marginalized racial, ethnic or economic sectors as allies, a process known as “allyship.”
The invited presenting organizations are:
The Gloucester Racial Justice Team, reporting on a survey that assessed how much people of color “feel like they have a sense of community and belong in the city, including how race and ethnicity play a role in their daily lives,” according to GRJT spokesperson Gail Seavey.
The North Shore Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which most recently has focused on racism issues within Danvers High School athletic teams. A branch leader will discuss the North Shore branch’s activities across a region stretching from Lynn to New Hampshire.
The Diversity and Equity Committee of the Gloucester 400th Anniversary Celebration, which is researching narrative stories that accurately depict racial and ethnic relationships since European settlement began displacing the native, indigenous Pennacook-Abenaki peoples. This will include years of slave ownership and maritime commerce in the global slave trade.
A video of this program with be available onthe Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation’s YouTube channelafterwards. The Foundation is a nonsectarian, federally-recognized nonprofit, organized to promote the preservation and community programming of the historic 1806 Meetinghouse on Middle Street, home of the first Universalist Church in America. Tax-deductible donations are welcome andmay be made on thewebsite, or by check to “GMF” at 10 Church Street, Gloucester, MA 01930.
TheSawyer Free Librarywill host award-winning author and journalist Ted Reinsteinon Saturday, January 8, from 2:00-4:00 pm. He will speak about his book, Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier, on the Main Floor of the Library located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester, MA.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Copies of the book Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier will be available. Face masks are mandatory for those attending.
In Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier, Ted Reinstein tells the story of the little-known heroes who fought segregation in baseball. From communist newspaper reporters to the Pullman car porters who saw that black newspapers espousing integration in professional sports reached the homes of blacks throughout the country. It also reminds us that the first black player in professional baseball was not Jackie Robinson but Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884 and that for a time-integrated teams were not that unusual. And then, as segregation throughout the country hardened, the exclusion of blacks in baseball quietly became the norm, and the battle for integration began anew.
Before Brooklyn by Ted Reinstein
Reinstein is an award-winning, longtime reporter for Boston’s celebrated nightly-newsmagazine, “Chronicle.” He is the author of three previous books, including New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories (Globe Pequot Press), selected by National Geographic Traveler in 2014 as a “Best Pick.” Ted is a native of Winthrop, Massachusetts.
For more information about the event or other Sawyer Free Library offerings, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.
The Sawyer Free Libraryis pleased to welcome Marisa Hall as its newest Children’s Librarian.
“I am beyond pleased to welcome Marisa Hall, with her innovative thinking, boundless enthusiasm, and love of working with children, to our dedicated and talented staff at the Sawyer Free Library,” stated Jenny Benedict, the Library Director. “Marisa is so approachable and friendly. I know that our young patrons and their families will welcome her warmly.”
Marisa brings her extensive experience of creating and implementing programs and community outreach events designed to catch the attention and meet the needs of the library’s younger patrons to her new position at the Sawyer Free Library. With expertise in STEM/STEAM concepts and practices, she will also be developing new innovative programs for children and teens of all ages.
“I’ve been so inspired by the Sawyer Free Library community and my warm welcome to Gloucester that I can’t wait to jump in and start working with the library’s young patrons,” said Marisa Hall on her new role. “I’m looking forward to getting to know even more of the community through my Saturday story-times and STEM programming in the new year.”
Marisa comes to Gloucester from New York, where she most recently served as the Senior Children’s Librarian New York Public Library’s Riverside branch for over four years. She has been recognized with numerous professional awards and certifications for her work in library services and received her M.L.I.S. with a concentration in School Media and Youth Services from Rutgers University and a Bachelor’s of Arts from the University of Delaware.
As a part of the Middle Street Walk festivities, this Saturday, December 11th, professional Conservator, Lisa Mehlin, will be leading 15-minute tours of the Saunders House’s historic WPA Murals that are currently being restored at the Sawyer Free Library. She will speak to both their history and the conservation process.
The grand murals located in the Saunders House, completed in 1934 by Fredrick L. Stoddard and Howard Curtis as a part of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration, are currently being restored by the Sawyer Free Library. Titled “Scenes of the Region,” the murals depict maritime culture against a backdrop of the agrarian life that supported the early settlement of Gloucester, capturing the activity of the busy working harbor with views of the distant rocky shoreline, the city, Rocky Neck, Ten Pound Island and also a simplified representation of Dogtown Common and old “Whale’s Jaw.”
Learn more about the murals from conservator Lisa Mehlin. Fifteen-minute tours will be available from 10:00-12:00 pm. Registration for a time slot is required at sawyefreelibrary.org.
The Sawyer Free Libraryis excited to be hosting the 2021 Middle Street Walk Gingerbread Contest on Saturday, December 11. All gingerbread houses are welcome, but this year the Library is offering a special “Samuel Sawyer Award” for the best gingerbread creation representation of a historic Gloucester building. Top prizes for the Historic Gloucester Gingerbread Houses include $100 and $50 Cape Ann Chamber Gift Certificates. All Middle Street Walk Gingerbread House entries will be displayed at the Sawyer Free Library located at 2 Dale Avenue throughout the day. Open to all ages, for more information including contest rules and to register, go to sawyerfreelibrary.org
Enter Historic Gloucester Gingerbread Contest at Library
As a part of the Middle Street Walk festivities, the Library will also have activities for all ages throughout the day celebrating the theme “Where the Past is the Present.” To follow are the highlights:
An exhibition of “Then and Now” photographs of Middle Street, including some buildings that are standing today. Archival photographs from Cape Ann Museum are juxtaposed with current photos of identical spots on Middle Street. Illustrating the side-by-side pictures will be a short description of the history of specific buildings with highlights including St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Unitarian Universalist Church, American Legion, Saunders House, and 57 & 87 Middle Street.
Tours of the historic Saunders House WPA Murals with restorationist, Lisa Mehlin. The grand murals completed in 1934 by Fredrick L. Stoddard and Howard Curtis as a part of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration are currently being restored by the Library. Titled “Scenes of the Region,” the murals depict maritime culture against a backdrop of the agrarian life that supported the early settlement of Gloucester. Learn more about the murals and their restoration process from conservator Lisa Mehlin. Fifteen-minute tours will be available from 10:00-12:00 pm. Registration is required. Register HERE.
From 10:30am -12:30pmJazz Guitarist Steve Lacey will be playing jazz standards from the early 20th century to accompany the historic exhibits at Middle Street Walk.
The Children’s Library will host children, their families, and caregivers at 10 am for a morning of fun with craft-making inspired by nature. Then at 12noon, all are invited to join a special presentation of Curious Creatures, an engaging introduction to live and exotic animals from around the world where you can learn about the animals, their habitats, biodiversity, and conservation. Both events are open to children of all ages.
All Sawyer Free Library Middle Street Walk activities are free and open to the public to enjoy. The Library is located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester and will be open from 10 am – 5 pm. For more information and to register, go to sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.
Sawyer Free Library will present “Trout on the Edge: with Peter Johnson” on Saturday, December 4 from 2- 4:00pm on the Library’s Main Floor. Open to the public. Registration is not required.
Peter Johnsen will share details about his explorations around the world documenting the biological diversity of salmon fish as well as the diversity of the people connected to these fish. The Trout on the Edge project documents salmon species that are at the edge of extinction and explores what salmon diversity means to humans and how lessons learned from these species applies to conservation of all biological diversity in general.
Registration is not required, however masks are for all attending. For more details, go to: sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.
A SYMPOSIUM IN THE GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH, 2-5:00 PM, WITH VIDEO SIMULCAST ON YOUTUBE
This event, part of an annual series hosted by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation on topics of civic concern, will concentrate on what is happening in our communities and around the country now. More information and video link at: http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org
Before our last Summer Series concert we heard an impassioned talk by Congressman Seth Moulton about our responsibility for the safety and resettlement of people from Afghanistan in New England. The Symposium will take a broader view, hearing from members of several organizations who have assisted new arrivals from many countries for a long time. Of equal importance, some presenters are individuals who have been through the immigration or refugee experience themselves. They will gather for a round table discussion in the last segment, addressing questions submitted from the audience, helping us to understand how best to offer our support.
The historic (1806) Meetinghouse, home of the Gloucester Unitarian-Universalist Church, is located on the green at the intersection of Middle and ChurchStreets. A lift to the Sanctuary level is available just inside the 10 Church Street door. It is a free event – all are welcome. Your safety is important to us. Masks are required inside the building and seating is staggered to encourage social distancing. We request that the audience be vaccinated or have had a recent negative Covid test. Refreshments will be available at break times outside near the front entrance.
SYMPOSIUM PRESENTERS:
Elsabel Rincon, Founder and Executive Director of The Welcome Immigrant Network in Salem, and recipient of the Peter J. Gomes Service Award
Alexandra Weber, Chief Institutional Advancement Officer for the International Institute of New England in Boston
Andy Allen, Director of Adult Education at Wellspring House
Francis Mpfuranziza, who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo during the ethnic violence
Blanca Martinez, an immigrant representative from the Essex County Community Organization (ECCO) in Lynn
Rev. Rona Tyndall, Pastor, West Gloucester Trinitarian Congregational Church, UCC, and organizer for Allies of Our Afghan Allies
Rev. Alice Erickson, Gloucester resident who has been active for many years in the process of resettling refugees
Melissa Buchanan, ESOL Coordinator for the Wellspring Adult Learning Center
Cape Ann Community 