New Arrivals at the Museum Store

There is a wide array of wonderful gifts and goodies available at our fantastic Museum Store at The Gables. Of course, one of the main reasons to visit our store has nothing to do with buying anything...One of the must-see sights at The Gables is our beloved Maine Coon cat mascot, Dusty, who can be found - nearly every day - snuggling on the wrapping paper in the shop:

One of this blogger's favorite items available for sale are the "Banned Book" bracelets! Each has a specific tile exclaiming "I Read Banned Books" for the rebel in all of us!

Another great item that just arrived this week are custom made House of the Seven Gables ceramic mugs:

Here is a little background on the mugs:

The mugs are very hefty and feel good in your hands, as you would imagine a handcrafted mug would!

We hope you will visit us here at The Gables soon! Thank you for your virtual visit today.

The Melopoiea Event was a smashing success...

Many, many thanks to the performers last night: 

 - Ann Tucker, singer & vocalist

 - John Tavano, guitarist & composer

 - Alfred Nicol, poet & reader

 - Rhina P. Espaillat, poet & reader\

This is just a small sample of the delightful music that we heard last evening. 

We hope to invite this group of artists back in the fall for our annual gala. They are not to be missed!

Thanks to all who attended!

And thank you for your virtual visit today.

Settlement House Update

The Settlement House is looking great again! After about a month of intensive labor, the masons at Avico have replaced hundreds of bricks and mud, and have restored much of the northern side of the building.

The first part of the process was to rip down all of the bricks and cement filling and get down to the undamaged underbelly of the building. Note the cement blocks at the top being cover over with new bricks and mud...

The next steps are to fit the bricks precisely so that the corners match up perfectly...

The corners of the building are the some of the most labor intensive areas.

The nearly finished product is impressive. They took time to even "age" the bricks so they would not be so glaringly different than the rest of the building which was erected in 1806/07.

The Salem Prep School that inhabits The Settlement House is on vacation this week, and they have settled in nicely to the area. The kids attending there are very appreciative that they have a building with a gymnasium and kitchen for their enrichment. 

Spring plans including possibly putting in a vegetable/herb garden, 

as well as beautifying the Settlement House with pretty annuals and some perennials!

We are glad to have them as part of The Gables' site!

Thank you for your virtual visit today. Hope to see you at The Gables soon.

The "New" House of the Seven Gables Book

As this blogger was looking around The House of the Seven Gables' Historic Landmark District, I found myself inside the Museum Store, exploring the amazing array of goodies and wonderful books found inside.

I had not been in the store for some time, as I had been away during holidays and generally would shop in the store for great gifts for my friends and family.

Well, to my surprise and delight, I found a new hardcopy version of Hawthorne's "The House of the Seven Gables" on display prominently upon walking into the store and being greeted by one of the lovely workers there. I asked about this beautiful hardcover book and she told me that The Gables had a new edition printed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of The Gables in 2010!

It is a facsimile of the 1913 version which featured a special introduction by Caroline O. Emmerton, the founder of The House of the 7 Gables museum, and creator of our mission of preservation, education and social service.

Additionally, there is a foreword by our Executive Director, Anita Blackaby. Blackaby explains, "A hundred years later, The House of the Seven Gables is a National Landmark Site because of Miss Emmerton's passion for education, preservation and people. She influenced the social and political fabric of her era, leaving a legacy that endures to the present day. As we celebrate the anniversary of her accomplishments, we strive to continue her work for generations to come."

In the upcoming days we will feature some of Emmerton's thoughts when she published her edition in 1913 and will also show you some of the turn-of-the-century photographs featured in this special book.

You can order your copy for the history buff in your family or anyone who is interested in that era and the story of the witchcraft hysteria...There are a wealth of extras in this edition of The House of the Seven Gables novel that add depth and reality to Hawthorne's story.

Call us at 978-744-0991 to get your copy today!

Thank you for your virtual visit to our blog! Hope you'll come back soon.

Dusty and The 7 Gables

Dusty, The 7 Gables' most trusted mascot, has been making the rounds almost daily here onsite!

As the days get a bit longer, and the weather more mild, Dusty, the enormous, soft, purring Coon Cat, can almost always be found - for at least a time - lounging on the wrap we use to secure your gifts at the Museum Gift Shop! Here are a couple shots of Dusty in action a couple of days ago:

You may have heard of having the "life of Reilly?" Well, here at The Gables, it's definitely something to aspire to have the life of Dusty! We love him!

The weather continues to be mild and oh, so nice for walking around Salem's many interesting museums, restaurants and shops. Today it's nearly 50 degrees and very spring-like. Many spring bulbs in our garden have already started to emerge. February, it seems, is the new April in Massachusetts this year!

Here's the seaside garden on a recent sunny day:

The lawn still has a green tint!

Thank you for your virtual visit again today to our blog. Hope to see you soon.

More on the Melopoeia Event at The 7 Gables

In the last post regarding the upcoming Melopoiea event on February 21st, we explored the rich biographies of the two featured poets who will be reciting their love poems. We also will be welcoming a classical guitarist and a vocalist who will be singing love ballads.

John R. Tavano is a teacher, composer and guitarist with a wide repertoire of styles ranging from Renaissance and Baroque to Flamenco as well as Contemporary. Tavano has several recording of his own music including "La Gitana" and "Avila" released in 2003 and 2007, respectively, as well as past performances of "Melopoiea" in 2009 with the poets who will be featured at The Gables' event.

Tavano has performed throughout New England and Europe as a member of the Boston Classical Guitar Society, staff musician at The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and also as a member of The North Shore Musicians Association.

The vocalist we will be hearing, Ann Tucker, has been a featured soloist throughout the North Shore. She performs many classical pieces by Handel, Mendelssohn, Vivaldi, Bach and Mozart as well as Brazilian Bossa Nova, paying homage to her Brazilian roots. She has also worked with many musicians creating varied programs ranging from Spanish music all the way to songs from The Great American Songbook.

Tucker has studied voice with Dorothea Pliatska and Martha Peabody, and currently studies with opera tenor, Neal Ferreira. She received her BFA from Miami University of Ohio and studied music at the American University of Beirut, the University of Mexico and the Escola Panamericana de Arte in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

We cannot wait for this event and the beauty of song, poetry and music together.

Hope you can join us!

More on Melopoiea Event at The Gables

Melopoiea, quite simply put, is the making of lyric poems or music...

The event on February 21st from 7pm-9pm will feature two amazing poets, a classical guitar / mandolin accompanist as well as a vocalist, Ann Tucker, performing 18th century love ballads.


The celebrated poets are Rhina P. Espaillat and Alfred Nicol. Espaillat has an amazing career as a writer, and her bio reads like a book itself! Here are excerpts: 


"Espaillat has published poems, essays, short stories and translationg in numerous magazines and over fifty anthologies, in both English and her native Spanish, as well as three chapbooks and eight full-length books, including three in bilingual format..."


"Her honors include the Wilbur Award, the T.S. Eliot Prize in Poetry, the Robert Frost "Tree at my Window" Award for Translation, the May Sarton Award, a Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award from Salem State College, and several prizes from the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Culture."


Needless to say, we are enthralled that she will be performing some of her works for us on the evening of the 21st.


Alfred Nicol, the second celebrated poet also has an impressive background. His poems have appeared in Poetry, The New England Review, Dark Horse, First Things, Atlanta Review, Commonweal, The Formalist, The Hopkins Review and many other literary journals and anthologies.


His honors include "...the first Anita Dorn Memorial Prize, the Richard Wilbur Award, the Academy of American Poets Prize at Dartmouth, hwere he studed with Sydney Lea and Richard Eberhart, and participated in the fabled "Thursday Poets" Workshop...He is also a member of the Powow River Poets since 1999, ...and edited The Powow River Anthology, published in 2006.

More on our musicians and vocalist next week!

Thank you for your virtual visit to The 7 Gables today! 

Hope you can come to this amazing event!

More about the Melopoiea event at The Gables!

More information on the musicians and poets will be featured this week.

Thank you for your virtual visit!

The Settlement House Scoop!

 

In November of 2011, The House of the Seven Gables (7 Gables) responded to a Request for Proposal by the Salem Public Schools’ Superintendent, Stephen Russell, Ed. D. to lease the Gables’ Settlement House. Their desire to lease this property from the Gables stemmed from their need for a new location for the Salem Prep Program.

Russell highlighted the benefits of the Settlement House with the following bullet points:
   - “Salem Prep students will benefit from attending school in their neighborhood area.
  - The Derby St. location will be easily accessible for parents wishing to participate in and contribute to the program. 
  - The Settlement Association will receive revenues that can be used to preserve the building.
  - Joint programs that are already underway between the Gables and the Salem Public Schools will grow and prosper.”

Salem Prep is a special program for young adults up to 22 years of age. It is a highly structured, intensive, therapeutic learning environment for students with a history of social/emotional and behavioral disabilities who have experienced difficulty learning within a large public high school. There is a very high teacher to student ratio so the students have extra care and attention.

Mayor Kimberly Driscoll was a huge proponent of the  move to the Settlement House and wrote to Anita Blackaby, the Executive Director. In the letter, she expresses “…It is my hope that leasing this space will provide the Settlement House with another opportunity to positively influence adolescents through the Salem Prep program. Moreover, I think it will open the door for even greater collaboration between our City, our schools and The House of the Seven Gables.”

After much consideration, the Board of the 7 Gables agreed that Salem Prep would be a great addition to the Gables’ family and would be an additional way to pay homage to Caroline Emmerton's original mission to support programs which serve Salem's immigrant population.

Blackaby exclaimed, “The Gables' museum is the first of its kind in the country dedicated to social service work, and this year we are proud to have the Salem Prep Program in operation at The Settlement House. After a year of funding several offsite youth programs around the North Shore last year, we are thrilled to have almost thirty students back onsite!”

An additional aside for our Historic Derby Street Neighborhood Association neighbors...There will be a meeting in the Seaman's Visitor Center at 7pm, Monday, February 13th. All are welcome to come and learn about the Salem Prep program, as well as the construction and brick work that has been on-going on the Turner Street side of the Settlement House...

Thank you for your visit to the blog today. Please let us know if there are any concerns or questions you'd like addressed in this blog or at the upcoming meeting. Please leave your comment here or feel free to email: sevengablesblogger@gmail.com

"New" rooms at the Gables

Though The House of the Seven Gables is still the very same historic building, the inside exhibits are probably not as you last saw them! Curator, Alan Collachicco, has changed things up significantly in the interior rooms...

Featuring authentic, period furniture, objects d'art, fabrics and wallpaper, the 7 Gables has a fresh look! Collachicco has breathed new life into our beautiful landmark, and we are very excited for our visitors to see the amazing changes.

Below are a few views of the new exhibits and objects on display:

Thank you for your virtual visit today! We hope to see you here at the 7 Gables soon!