History

March 21st Bach Birthday Concert

~ chasnaz

This concert, performed by Heinrich Christensen on the 1893 Hutchings/Fisk pipe organ with the Jubilate Chamber Choir directed by Mary Jodice, is the fifth in a series celebrating the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was born on March 21st, 1685, and is considered the greatest composer of all time. This musical offering for the Cape Ann community is made possible through the generosity of H. Woody Brock.
The concert features selections from Clavier-Übung III, sometimes referred to as the German Organ Mass, a collection of compositions for organ published in 1739, based upon Lutheran chorales (harmonized hymn tunes), which will be sung a cappella by the Choir. The collection of pieces is considered Bach’s most significant and extensive work for the organ, containing some of his most musically complex and technically demanding compositions for the instrument. It opens with the majestic Prelude in E-flat and concludes with a monumental triple Fugue known as the “St. Anne,” depicting the Trinity in a glorious combination on the “organo pleno,” pulling out all the stops! Organist Heinrich Christensen is the Music Director of King’s Chapel, Boston.
The concert will be held on Friday, March 21st at 7:30pm in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, located at the corner of Church and Middle Streets (GPS 50 Middle Street). Parking is available on the green. The admission for the event is $35 General, $5 Students (all ages), under 12 free. An elevator is available from the side door at 10 Church Street. For more advance ticket purchases and more information please visit: http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

~ Hammond Castle Museum

2:00 – 2:30 Refreshments
2:30 – 3:30 Presentation
3:30 – 3:45 Q&A /Program Conclusion

Join us for a captivating afternoon as we celebrate the artistry and innovation of John Hays Hammond Jr.’s extraordinary pipe organ. As the third-largest pipe organ in a private residence in the U.S., this 8,000+ pipe marvel is a masterpiece of engineering and music. This special presentation will be led by Peter Kennett, Vice President, Board of Directors at Hammond Castle Museum and Organ Restoration Team Lead, and John Roper, Deputy Team Lead and the Plenum Organ Company. Together, they will guide you through the rich history of this iconic instrument.

Discover the fascinating origins and history of the pipe organ, tracing its journey through John Hays Hammond Jr.’s two Gloucester residences. Learn about the innovative contributions of Hammond and other renowned organ designers and tonal experts, each bringing their unique vision to the instrument’s evolution. Peter Kennett and John Roper will explore the intricate details of the organ’s older components, sourced by Hammond from various locations, and share the story of the significant additions and changes made over the years.

Admission: $15. Hammond Castle Museum Member savings apply.
Proceeds from this program will support the ongoing restoration efforts at the Museum.

RESERVE YOUR SEATS HERE!

Saturday, February 15th: The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation Presents Kory Curcuru’s film series, “Timeline: Cape Ann.”

~ chasnaz

”Curcuru’s docuseries, “Timeline: Cape Ann”, produced for 1623 Studios, focuses on the history,culture and heritage of Cape Ann.  This event will present eight of Curcuru’s shorter videos,telling the story of Cape Ann’s unique history in jewel-like form, from the “first boss-lady,”Abigail Trask of Manchester-by-the-sea to Rockport’s long celebrated but little understood“Paper House,” actually a much more complicated tale than just a house of newspaper. Curcuru will be guiding the audience with his exciting style of storytelling.  The films will be shown on a big screen, in collaboration with the Cape Ann Community Cinema, in the Meetinghouse.  This will be a highly entertaining celebration of Cape Ann’s quirky, singular history.  

The film showing will be held on Saturday, February 15th at 7:30pm in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, located at the corner of Church and Middle Streets (GPS 50 Middle Street). Parking is available on the green. The admission for the event is $20 General, $5 Students (all ages), under 12 free.  An elevator is available from the side door at 10 Church Street. For more information please visit:  www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

Sawyer Free Library to Host Local Author Kristin Czarnecki on Feb 6

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library will welcome Kristin Czarnecki, Executive Director of the Rockport Art Association & Museum, on Thursday, February 6 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm, for a special evening as she reads from her new memoir, Encounters with Inscriptions. The event will be at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester. Registration is required at sawyerfreelibrary.org. 

When Kristin lost both her parents within nine months, she sought solace in books—but not just any books. In Encounters with Inscriptions (Legacy Book Press, October 2024), she reflects on the volumes her parents had inscribed and gifted her over the years, an array spanning novels, short stories, poetry, nature writing, cultural criticism, and even a cookbook. As Kristin revisits each cherished title, she explores her grief, the complexities of childhood and family, and the rewards of a life spent reading. She recalls falling in love with poetry, contemplates how the Troubles in Northern Ireland shaped her adolescence, reflects on the legacy of her mother’s feminism, and comes to know her father better through an author he loved. Ultimately, these pages reveal how the power of literature can inspire, confound, soothe, and surprise us.

Kristin Czarnecki is also the author of a memoir, The First Kristin: The Story of a Naming, and a chapbook, Sliced. Her creative nonfiction, poetry, literary criticism, and book reviews have appeared in numerous publications. Kristin holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati and was an English professor for many years at Georgetown College. From 2015 to 2020, she served as President of the International Virginia Woolf Society and remains on the Virginia Woolf Miscellany editorial board. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

This event will be moderated by Heather Atwood, an artist, a home cook, and a writer/producer who also lives here in Cape Ann. Additionally, The Bookstore of Gloucester will be on-site during the event to sell copies of Kristin’s books.

To register, go to the calendar page of sawyerfreelibrary.org. Space is limited. Questions, 978-325-5500.

Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Event 2025

~ chasnaz

GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE, MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr. BIRTHDAY EVENT 2025
The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation proudly presents its ninth annual
Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday event. It will be held on Monday, January 20th
at 2:00pm in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, located at the corner
of Church and Middle Streets (GPS 50 Middle Street). An elevator is available
from the side door at 10 Church Street. No charge for admission but freewill
donations are gratefully received. For more information please visit:
www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org


This year’s program will honor Dr. King by featuring the work being done by two
local groups to reckon with history. Afterward, there will be a discussion about
how vernacular history gets written, “how the word is passed.” The program
will open with a recording of Martin Luther King, Jr. reading segments of
“Letters from Birmingham Jail.”


Joe Rukeyser from the Cape Ann Slavery and Abolition Project will present
recent research on abolition. Melissa Dimond of Wellspring House will follow
with that organization’s work on the Freeman Family, the prominent Black
family who called the Wellspring House home for over 100 years. Then Michea
McCaffrey, co-chair of the Gloucester Racial Justice Team, and Dick Prouty,
founder of TownGreen and board member of the Gloucester Meetinghouse
Foundation, will lead a discussion on critical points made by author Clint Smith
in his book How the Word is Passed. (It is not necessary to have read the book.)
The Paul Revere Bell in the Meetinghouse tower will be rung at the end as
people disperse onto the newly restored green.

ABOUT THE GMF: The mission of the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation is to preserve the historic
1806 Meetinghouse, home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, as a civic hub,
entertainment venue and community gathering center. The GMF is a 501(c)(3) corporation modeled on
a similar nonprofit that preserves Boston’s famous Old North Church.

Gloucester Meetinghouse Symposium, Saturday, November 16th 2-4:00pm: “U.S. Democracy in Crisis. How did we get here and what can we do about it?”

~ chasnaz

The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation is proud to present author and journalist Colin Woodard speaking on the future of democracy. His book, “American Nations,” explains how our country’s regional, cultural and ideological differences can be largely explained by patterns set by early settlers, where they emigrated from, and what kind of societies they established.

Woodard will be referencing this work regarding the polarization we have experienced in the last ten years, the threat that holds to democracy, and the rise of groups trending towards authoritarianism. Following Woodard’s presentation, a panel of local educators and activists will join him, discussing ways that our republic, governed by the people, has been threatened and what can be done to preserve it.

● Kerry Herrmann, Rockport Middle School Civics and History Teacher.

● Steve Mott, Professor of Sociology at Massasoit Community College-Brockton Campus, MA.

● Michea McCaffrey, Co-Chair of the Gloucester Racial Justice Team, Gloucester Human Rights Committee Member, Activist

We invite the community to attend this free civic event in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, located on the green at the corner of Church & Middle Street (GPS 50 Middle Street). Event parking is available on the Green and also in the parking area behind Trinity Church. An accessible side entrance with an elevator is at 10 Church Street. Please join us for an incredibly relevant and important conversation, no matter what are the results of the current election.

Save the Date for Sawyer Free Library Annual Meeting on November 13th – All are invited!

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library Corporation will be hosting its Annual Meeting on Wednesday evening, November 13, 2024, at the Gloucester Stage located at 267 East Main Street in Gloucester from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. with corporators sign-in beginning at 6:00 p.m.  All are invited!

The evening will allow the community to come together and celebrate the Library’s achievements, learn about its finances and engage with the Library’s board members and staff. There will also be an update on the 2025 Sawyer Free Library building project. Refreshments will be served.

The meeting is open to the public, but only corporators can vote. For more information, please visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.

Author Talk with Alice Markham-Cantor: The Once & Future Witch Hunt

~ Sawyer Free Library

Join author Alice Markham-Cantor at the Sawyer Free Library on Tuesday, October 29 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm as she discusses her book, The Once & Future Witch Hunt, which investigates the Salem witch trials and their lasting impact.

Past and present collide in this page-turner investigation of Salem’s irrepressible question: How could this have happened?

In 1692, Martha Allen Carrier was hanged as the “Queen of Hell.” Three hundred years later, her nine-times-great-granddaughter, Alice Markham-Cantor, set out to discover why Martha died. As she chased her ancestor through the archives, graveyards, and haunted places of New England, grappling with what we owe the past, Alice’s connection to Martha led her to a shocking truth: witch hunts didn’t end in Salem.

Extensively researched and and compulsively readable, told through alternating fiction and non-fiction chapters, The Once & Future Witch Hunt does not treat Salem as a cautionary tale. It treats Salem as an instruction manual—not on how to perform witch hunts, but how to stop them.

The author talk is taking place at Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street. Registration is not required. All welcome. Questions? Contact: lsvensson@sawyerfreelibrary.org.

SILENT MOVE EVENT FEATURING ‘ALICE IN WONDERLAND’ and ‘TOLL OF THE SEA’ on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2024 WITH PIPE-ORGAN MAESTRO PETER KRASINSKI

~ chasnaz

The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation presents sonic artist and maestro of the pipe-organ Peter Krasinski accompanying two silent film classics, ALICE IN WONDERLAND (filmed on Cape Ann in 1915!) and the TOLL OF THE SEA (1922) on Saturday, November 2 at 7:30pm at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church on Middle Street. Accessible side entrance at 10 Church Street.

This annual classic silent movie event is great fun for the whole family, presented in collaboration with the Cape Ann Community Cinema.  Maestro Krasinski is world-famous for his brilliant, improvised accompaniment of silent films and will perform on the mighty 1893 Hutchings/Fisk pipe organ in our historic Meetinghouse.

Admission:  $15 General, $5 Students, Under 12 free.  Tickets at the door or online with more info at:  www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

Bring your family, friends and neighbors!

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE SPONSORS OF OUR AUTUMN-WINTER-SPRING SERIES!

Boston Light with Lighthouse Keeper Sally Snowman at SFL on Thursday, October 10

~ Sawyer Free Library

Join us at the Sawyer Free Library on Thursday, October 10, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm for an engaging presentation on Boston Light, America’s first established light station, which has been guiding ships since 1716. Located on Little Brewster Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor, Boston Light remains an active Coast Guard-maintained aid to navigation. However, its distinction as the “last manned Coast Guard light station” in the country is coming to an end with the upcoming retirement of its 70th keeper, Sally Snowman.

The event will feature a PowerPoint presentation showcasing photos from Boston Light’s remarkable 307-year history, along with personal anecdotes from Sally’s tenure as a 21st-century keeper. Sally Snowman, Ph.D., an educator, author, and the official USCG historian for Boston Light, has co-authored two books with her husband, Jay Thomson: Boston Light: A Historical Perspective (1999) and Boston Light: Arcadia Images of America (2016). Sally is also the author of the children’s book Sammy the Boston Lighthouse Dog (2005).

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about Boston Light’s rich history and hear firsthand accounts from its last keeper before this chapter in maritime history closes.

The event will take place at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street, Downtown Gloucester. Registration required at sawyerfreelibrary.org.