FIRST-EVER ‘GLOUCESTER READS’ PROGRAM CONCLUDES WITH MORE THAN 1,000 PARTICIPANTS IN 2½ MONTHS OF EVENTS

The first-ever Gloucester Reads event sponsored by the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library attracted more than 1,000 participants, according to numbers compiled by the committee that oversaw the program that began on January 11, 2007 and concluded on March 28. Some of the high points:

• More than 300 O’Maley Middle School eighth-grade students read the selected book, “Lone Voyager” by Gloucester author Joseph E. Garland, as part of their studies. The students also took part in a morning of hands-on activities and a Readers’ Theater to introduce them to the book and the period in Gloucester’s history that it portrays. One hundred fifty copies of “Lone Voyager” were provided by the O’Maley Parent-Teachers Organization and are now a permanent part of the school library.
• “Lone Voyager,” which is the epic tale of a legendary Gloucesterman, also was used as a discussion topic in history classes at Gloucester High School involving more than 300 other students. Other students chose “Lone Voyager” as their book to fulfill an assignment to read and report on a biography.
• More than 70 people attended a “Community Reading” where 17 community figures read aloud key selections from “Lone Voyager” to a rapt audience.
• Nearly 80 individuals took part in two group events discussing the book at the Rose Baker Senior Center. One of these involved nine students from GHS and O’Maley who read selections from the book aloud. The second featured Garland, who discussed the story behind his book, first published in 1963 and still in print.
• Fifty copies of “Lone Voyager” placed on the shelves at the Sawyer Free Library were in constant circulation throughout February and March and from time to time all were checked out, requiring patrons to wait until a copy was returned, according to library director Roger Brisson.
• More than 100 people attended events at the Cape Ann Historical Museum, including a dance presentation, “The Spirit of Howard Blackburn,” staged by Carl Thomsen of Dancers Courageous, and two showings of the 1937 Oscar-winning movie, “Captains Courageous,” starring Spencer Tracy and Freddie Bartholomew. The Historical Museum also offered guided tours of its exhibits related to Blackburn and his time in Gloucester history.
• Nearly 170 people attended a photo slide show, “Blackburn’s America: 19th Century Daily Life in Photographs,” presented by Brisson at the library and again at Gloucester High School.
• A second photo show, “Howard Blackburn’s Downtown Gloucester,” produced and narrated by Prudence Fish and focusing on buildings and architecture in Gloucester during Blackburn’s time, attracted more than 80 viewers.
• A panel discussion, “The Inner Blackburn – a Medical and Psychological Profile of a Survivor,” led by Dr. Sydney Wedmore and Mitchell Cohen, a psychologist, attracted 70 people.
• That event was followed by a dinner at the Halibut Point restaurant, located in the building Blackburn built in 1900 to house his tavern and be his home. Featuring entertainment by Merrill Kohlhofer and the sea-chanty group “Three Sheets to the Wind,” this event attracted more than 60 people.
• Opening and closing events for Gloucester Reads held at the Sawyer Free Library together attracted more than 150 people. The first event, in January, featured Capt. Tom Ellis of the Schooner Thomas E. Lannon presenting the story of how his vessel was built, followed by Garland reading from the first chapter of his book. The second, in March, presented Michael McNamara and Sharron Cohen in dramatic readings that chronicled Blackburn’s lifetime.

Pleased with the widespread interest seen during this inaugural event, the Gloucester Reads steering committee, co-chaired by Assistant Library Director Carol Gray and  community member Val Babson, has agreed to begin planning for a repeat program in early winter 2008.
Suggestions for a book selection as well as volunteers for the committee are being sought. They may be sent to Roger Brisson, director of the Sawyer Free Library, by mail to 2 Dale Avenue, Gloucester MA 01930, or by e-mail to brisson@sawyerfreelibray.org or to Carol Gray, assistant director, at gray@sawyerfreelibrary.org. Please enter “Gloucester Reads” in the e-mail subject line. Other information about Gloucester Reads is also available at the program’s website, www.gloucesterreads.org.
Gloucester Reads is an outgrowth of a national movement, “One Book, One Town,” which began in Seattle, Washington, in 1998 and since has expanded to hundreds of cities and towns across the nation – communities as large as Chicago, and as small as nearby Manchester-by-the-Sea and Ipswich.
Other supporters of Gloucester Reads included the Gloucester Public Schools, the Schooner Adventure, The Cape Ann Historical Museum, the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, all of which staged activities or discussion groups centered on the book, and Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. the Cape Ann Rowing Club and Friends of the Sawyer Free Library, which provided financial support.

Press Contacts:   “Gloucester Reads” Chairman, Carol Gray,
(978) 281-9763
                           Sawyer Free Library, Roger Brisson, Director,
(978) 281-9763
                           Cape Ann Historical Museum, Elena Sarni,
(978) 283-0455
                           Schooner Adventure, Joanne Souza,(978) 281-8079
                           Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, Mary Kay Taylor (978) 281-0470
                           O’Maley Middle School, Ann Ziergiebel
(978) 281-1402

NOTE TO EDITORS: The “Gloucester Reads” logo is available in JPEG format upon request. Call Jerry Ackerman at (978) 283-1189. Interviews with Joe Garland can also be arranged. For graphic materials related to Blackburn, contact Roger Brisson or Tom Byers at (978) 281-9763.