February/March 2011 News From the Essex National Heritage Area

Danvers, MA 01923
Please join us as we welcome spring at an evening celebrating the Endecott Pear Tree, the oldest living fruit tree in America, planted by Massachusetts' first Governor, John Endicott, almost 400 years ago!

Visit the Endecott Pear Tree and discover the history of the tree, a look back at the Endecott garden of that period, review the efforts of those who have worked to preserve the tree, and use this evening as an opportunity to order a scion of the Endecott Pear Tree. Reserve your seat and find out more here.

Abolitionists, Nurses, and Writers: Boston Women During the Civil
Wednesday, March 9
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
McKim Building - Orientation Room
Central Library
Copley Square
700 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
Bonnie Hurd Smith tells the stories of women from Boston who served as nurses, worked on sanitary commissions, raised funds, and cared for their wounded men. From Louisa May Alcott and Julia Ward Howe to Mary Rice Ashton Livermore, Boston women did their part during the Civil War and left behind a legacy of honor and service to our nation. Find out more here.

Punchard High
Wednesday March 16
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Andover Senior Center
Bartlet Street
Andover, MA 01810
Come to High Tea & History to learn more about Andover's first high school, and share a few memories of your own. Andover Historical Society newsletter editor Tom Adams will talk about the history of Punchard High. Punchard High was Andover's high school from 1901 to 1957. Memories of high school run deep. Find out more.

Historic Salem's Jump into
Spring Jazz Party
Friday, March 18, 2011
7:00 PM -9:30 PM
Hawthorne Hotel
Salem, MA 01970
Celebrate the launch of the Bowditch House interior renovations and much more! Tickets $25 HSI Members/$35 Non members and at the door
Tickets are selling fast- Reserve yours today! Call 978-745-0799 or purchase online here.

Essex Shipbuilding Museum Volunteer Day
Saturday, March 19, 2011
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Waterline Center
Essex Shipbuilding Museum
66 Main Street
Essex, MA 01929
The success of the Essex Shipbuilding Museum is due in large part to energetic and motivated volunteers and there is always a need for more. To recruit new volunteers and better motivate existing volunteers, Essex Shipbuilding Museum is having a Volunteer Day. Help plan resources for the day, please register in advance by email or call the museum at (978) 768-6441. To find out more click here.

Spring Boat Building Class

March 29th - April 30th

Lowell's Boat Shop

459 Main Street

Amesbury, MA 01913

Build a Lowell Dory while learning traditional boat building techniques at America's oldest working boat shop! This class teaches the beginning or intermediate boat builder the fundamentals of wooden boat building. Participants will build and launch a Lowell Dory.

Class is limited to 8 students and is five weeks long. For details click

here. For additional information, please call 978-834-0050.

Salisbury Coastal Trails Annual 5K Race
Sunday May 1, 9:00 AM

Friedenfels Road
Salisbury, MA 01952
Salisbury Coastal Trails and the Salisbury Parks and Recreation Commission are planning a 2nd annual 5K race. The race will be held on the Old Eastern Marsh Trail and will start and end at the trail entrance on Friedenfels Rd. The run will be easy and the trail is beautiful. You can sign up here.

Summer Adventure Program 2011
Cuvilly Arts & Earth Center, 10 Jeffrey's Neck Rd., Ipswich, MA 01938
Dedicated to the conservation of the earth's natural resources and promotion of ecological sustainability, Cuvilly Arts and Earth Center is offering 'Simply Keep it Local' (SKIL) Story Weavers Summer Adventure Program 2011 For Children ages 8 - 12 in four differently-themed consecutive weeks from July 11- Aug 5; designed to help children think about living locally and conserving the earth's resources. Enroll for one week or enroll for all. No two weeks will be exactly alike. For more information download a pdf, email or call (978) 356-4288; click here for more info.

Quick Links

Essex Heritage Events

Heritage Hero Award Dinner

Trails & Sails: 10 Years!

Essex Heritage is proud to introduce the Honorary Committee for the 2011 Heritage Hero Award Dinner, chaired by Kevin Bottomley, Chairman & CEO of Danversbank.

Plans to honor Dr. Wayne Burton, President of North Shore Community College, Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll and Danvers Town Manager Wayne Marquis are well underway, and we anticipate another entertaining evening. In April, look for an invitation in your mailbox or RSVP online.

Essex Heritage is grateful to regional and local businesses that have made an early commitment to the Heritage Hero Event through sponsorship and program ad patronage, and welcome your interest in all available opportunities to participate. We thank Danversbank, Eastern Bank, Salem Five, and Saugusbank, North Shore Community College, The Hawthorne Hotel, Hunts Photo & Video and Peabody Essex Museum.

Trails & Sails 2011:Your
Passport to Fun & Adventure
September 16-18 & September 23-25

There are many ways for heritage sites and business to participate in the Trails & Sails 10th Anniversary Celebration! This year, using a "Passport to Fun & Adventure" theme, we will encourage visits to 10 sites over two weekends in honor of our 10th Anniversary! Visitors with a passport validated at 10 sites will become eligible for a suitcase full of heritage goodies.

Help us design a special line-up of activities, and/or fill the suitcase with a sense of adventure!If you are a site, organization or business, event submission will begin on-line this month! If your sitecan contribute something fun to the suitcase of prizes - like free passes, a discount coupon, a membership, a map, a book, a logo'd hat or other promotional material, we'd greatly appreciate your participation. All contributors will get a special icon listing in the on-line and printed guide. Send your ideas for suitcase contributions to Emily.

Help Raise the Dough on March 31!

Help Essex Heritage raise dough for the 10th anniversary year of Trails & Sails! Just be sure to present this certificate when eating at Uno Chicago Grill in Swampscott any time between 11:30AM and closing on March 31 and Uno will donate up to 20% of your check to Essex Heritage's efforts to raise dough for Trails & Sails - a fun and easy way to support one of your favorite regional events. For more information and directions click here.

Along the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway

The 85-mile coastal route from Lynn to Newburyport

Byway Celebration Planned
Following a two-year planning process, municipal officials, regional stakeholders, and citizen-planners will celebrate completion of the byway's Corridor Management Plan at the Essex Heritage Annual Spring Meeting on Tuesday, April 12 at the fabulous new Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport. For more information about the annual meeting, read below or click here.

2010 Essex Heritage Photo Contest Winning image 'Red Barn at Appleton' by David Stone

Byway Beauty Captured
Images of several byway locations were among the 13 winners of the 2010 Essex Heritage Photo Contest. The photographs will be exhibited at the National Park Service's Salem Regional Visitor Center in Salem through December 2011. To see images click here.

Revolutionary War Era Wharf Discovered
Contactors excavating a waterfront site adjacent to the byway in Newburyport have unearthed a rare 18th century wharf. According to professional archeologists and local historians the wharf, which is thought to have been constructed between 1734 and 1756, has national significance. Read more click here.

Please send information about any upcoming events, activities, and happenings along the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway to Bill.

Essex Heritage Annual Spring Meeting

Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport

Photo by Robert Benson

Join us April 12!

Join us for a morning of

engagement at the beautiful Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport! Participate in this

FREE, valuable networking

opportunity that will further connect you with the work of Essex Heritage and that of our partners at this fabulous North Shore venue.

The agenda will include updates on Essex Heritage activities and initiatives, including the Coastal Scenic Byway, introduction to new Commissioners as well as presentation of special recognition awards, designed to recognize individuals and/or organizations that have shown leadership in building partnerships that preserve and enhance the heritage of the region. For more information and to RSVP click here.

Endecott Pear Tree Evening Celebration

Endecott Pear Tree courtesy of http://www.nsmc.partners.org

Please join us on April 13, 6 - 8 PM as we welcome spring for an evening celebrating the Endecott Pear Tree, the oldest living fruit tree in America, planted by Massachusetts' first Governor, John Endicott almost 400 years ago! This event will kick-off a new bi-annual lecture series sponsored by Mass General/ North Shore, Danvers Historical Society and Essex Heritage to promote healthy and ecologically friendly connections in our community and foster stewardship to ensure the longevity of the natural, historic and cultural treasures here in Essex County, MA.

Reserve your seat! Join us as we visit the Endecott Pear Tree and discover the history of the tree, look back at the Endecott garden of that period, review the efforts of those who have worked to preserve the tree, and use this evening as an opportunity to order a scion of the Endecott Pear Tree thanks to a cloning project undertaken by an Endicott Family member. For more information or to purchase tickets click here.

Thank you New Corporate Members!

This month Essex Heritage would like to extend special thanks to The Provident Bank, and Salem Five Charitable Foundation who joined Essex Heritage as a Sustainer Circle members. Thank you to Friends of Camp Denison, Inc. for becoming a Supporter Circle Member and for hosting a wonderful winter snow shoe event at their Conservation Area in Georgetown in February.

Your Essex Heritage Membership helps to support programs that enhance, preserve and promote the unique historic, cultural and natural resources within the Essex National Heritage Area. If you are thinking about supporting Essex Heritage, it is always a good time to join! To view all corporate members and learn about business, family or personal membership opportunities, and upcoming events please visit our membership page.

State of the Heritage Area Annie Harris, Essex Heritage Executive Director

Given the significant budgetary challenges facing our leaders in Washington it is fitting to provide an update to you, our stake-holders on the State of the Essex National Heritage Area. As we begin to see some signs of economic recovery, please be assured that Essex Heritage continues on a strong, steady track to grow community support for our work, and to supplement limited public funds with program revenues. These efforts are guided by a robust strategic plan, developed and adopted last May by the Essex Heritage Board of Trustees.

This year, in addition to offering support to preserve and promote heritage resources, Essex Heritage is piloting a small number of special projects that are designed to further our mission by connecting you to the resources of the region, strengthen our connection to the National Park Service and create a path toward sustainability. We will continue to report on these efforts individually, outlining the ways in which your membership investment and general support in Essex Heritage will realize a strong return for the heritage resources in our communities.

MA History Day Winners Announced!

Essex Heritage was pleased to once again support students participating in the Massachusetts History Day by providing awards to the 2011 winners of the Central Massachusetts Regional Competition which took place on Saturday, March 5. Part of National History Day, this contest encourages students to produce papers, projects, performances, and media presentations based on their own research. Students use documents and historical records to create their projects and as part of the History and Social Science Frameworks of MA. Long time supporter, and Essex Heritage Trustee Emeritus, Dick St. Pierre attended the competition to present the awards. The theme this year was Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences. Patrick Harrington and Brian Davis of St. John's Preparatory School won for their Senior Group Documentary titled, The Monroe Doctrine. Nora Duncan, Griffin Hoyle and Hope Milne of Masconomet Regional High School won for their Senior Group Performance, Tinker vs Des Moines: Debate Over Freedom of Speech in Schools - 1st Ammendment. Congratulations to all the students who participated!

Special Thanks to
New Corporate Members!

News from the Essex National Heritage Area is a monthly electronic newsletter for members, non members and site partners of Essex Heritage. Our mission is to raise the visibility of the Essex National Heritage Area and all its historical, cultural and natural resources, and promote our ongoing activities. Articles that are 150 words or less and fit the editorial scope of our newsletter may be submitted to Essex Heritage for publication. We reserve the right to select an article or portion of an article whose content is found appropriate and edit it for publication.