Alloway Remembers: Tales of Town and Township (A Publication of the Alloway Township Bicentennial Committee 1978)

Product Description

In the Preface Mae W. Allen writes, "What this history is will be quickly apparent to anyone reading it. We have quite simply gathered from books, from newspapers, from people who remember, and even from children who have asked questions and recorded the answers all the stories, factual or fictional, that committee members could collect and preserve. Because someone reading a book always knows more, we must point out that this history is not complete. Because someone else reading what we have presented is sure to feel that he knows better, we hasten to say that we are fallible. If errors occur, they will be admitted freely. The people who spot them and have authentic corrections should make their superior information known at once to our chairman. Because our contributions have come from many sources, there will be some duplications. There will even be some contradictions. It is our hope that readers will be stirred to discussions and that difference of opinion will shed light on disputed subjects. A somewhat similar book published years hence may then be more complete, more accurate, or better organized. Here we have made only a beginninga concrete effort to discover and to preserve knowledge of our areafact or legendwhich the celebration of our Bicentennial Year brought to our attention, material which we considered too precious to remain forever oral or eternally filed away where access is difficult. The recipe book, 'Once Upon A Time, Good Things from Long Ago' (for which we are indebted to Miss Frances Blackwood), has been repeated here in its entirety so that it may enjoy the merited benefit of a hard cover. May each reader find in this book something to enjoy, something of his roots, something to clear up a mystery, something of which he can be proudas a citizen of Alloway Township, an old and honorable community.

Average customer rating:

OK but not great.
GREAT Story...
Easy Read
Not bad, but didn't really grab me
I liked it better as I got into the book

The Last Days of Dogtown: A Novel
Anita Diamant
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0743225732

Customer Reviews:

OK but not great........2007-10-05

This book was OK, but not as great as I expected from the reviews. It doesn't really have much of a plot but is more a peek into the lives of the town's inhabitants.

GREAT Story..........2007-08-12

This was my first Anita Diamant book, and I absolutely loved it. I loved the flow of the story, and the diversity of the characters, and how many of them looked after one another, knowing that everyone else was against them.

Upon finishing this book, I googled Dogtown, Ma, and saw that it's only 2 hours from my house...so I'm in the process of trying to convince my husband to take a trip up there with me so I can see the now deserted little ghost town, along with Gloucester. While Dogtown was an actual town, gossiped to be inhabited by witches and prostitutes, this is a fiction book, based very loosely on what's know to be it's last days.

If you like somewhat historic novels with eccentric and down-on-their-luck characters, then you'll love this book. It opens in 1814 with the death of Abraham Wharf, and follows the dwindling residents of Dogtown for the next 30 or so years. While this was my first book from Ms. Diamant, it most definitely will not be my last. I highly recommend this :)

Easy Read.......2007-08-07

This is a easy book to read. The characters are interesting. Overall its a good book, but not a great book.

Not bad, but didn't really grab me.......2007-06-20

This book is a fictional imagining of what life must have been for the last inhabitants of Dogtown, a settlement outside of Gloucester, MA. Those inhabitants were mostly widows, single women, freed slaves, some shady male characters, and a couple of families. The town and townspeople are looked down upon as misfits, rogues, and, to put it bluntly, losers. The settlement is dying, literally.

I finished the book, and I thought it was OK, but only OK. I'm trying to figure out why it didn't grab me, and it's a struggle. Maybe it's because the characters do not always seem to deserve our sympathy -- they seem so over-the-top pathetic, eccentric, or victimized that you just want to shake them. Or maybe it's the way the characters are drawn -- sometimes they seem more like caricatures. Too many plot threads going on at once? Could be. Like I said, I can't quite put my finger on it.

Still, it's decent historical fiction, and it's got me looking forward to visiting the site of Dogtown, where you can hike and yes, bring your dog.

I liked it better as I got into the book.......2007-05-24

Although the book starts slowly, it got very interesting as I got into it and began to become involved in the lives of the characters. Very well written and I can encouraged others to read the book.

Rabbit Ears: Stories by Beatrix Potter: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, and The Tailor of Gloucester (Rabbit Ears)

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Rabbit Ears: Stories by Beatrix Potter: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, and The Tailor of Gloucester (Rabbit Ears)
Rabbit Ears
Manufacturer: Listening Library (Audio)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0739338714
Release Date: 2007-01-23

Book Description

Rabbit Ears Stories by Beatrix Potter combines three classic tales from the beloved children’s author--read by your favorite stars and featuring original music by some of today’s greatest artists.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit • The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher
Read by Meryl Streep • Original Music by Lyle Mays
In this first tale, the curious and disobedient Peter Rabbit learns that he should have listened to his mother’s warning about Mr. McGregor’s garden. In the second, Mr. Jeremy Fisher’s minnow-fishing trip turns into quite a surprising adventure.

The Tailor of Gloucester
Read by Meryl Streep • Original Music by The Chieftains
The tailor of Gloucester has no more silk thread thanks to his naughty cat Simpkin--but he promised to finish the mayor’s wedding coat by Christmas day! With the help of some special friends the tailor finds that a kind favor is often returned.

Surveying the Shore: Historic Maps of Coastal Massachusetts, 1600-1930

Average customer rating:

should be better
The perfect Christmas present for your uncle in Nantucket

Surveying the Shore: Historic Maps of Coastal Massachusetts, 1600-1930
Joseph G. Garver
Manufacturer: Commonwealth Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Cartography | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1933212276

Customer Reviews:

should be better.......2007-06-24

great book except that the maps are too small. I don't understand why all the maps needed to be orientated up, it means that most of the pages are 75% blank white paper and thus make the maps extremely small and hard to read. Kinda strange for a map book?

great book, but whoever was the layout editor should be fired...

The perfect Christmas present for your uncle in Nantucket.......2006-11-05

If you like maps, or if you like the history of the Massachusetts shore, you'll love this book by Joseph Garver. Eighty-nine map plates are each beautifully reproduced on a single 8x12 inch page, with a facing page--usually just one--that explains the map. Thus the book is not a detailed scholarly account of either the mapmakers or their subject. At the same time, the explanations are concise, elegant, and erudite, with wonderful pearls that explain how the maps came to be made and about what the maps can tell us of the changing history of the towns. It is more cohesive than Mapping Boston, and more accessible than McCorkle's New England in Early Printed Maps. Garvers is the reference librarian of the Harvard Map Collection, and it shows, both in the broad collection of maps he has located from ten different collections, and in the deep knowledge of mapmaking revealed in the text.

How to Build the Gloucester Light Dory: A Classic in Plywood

Average customer rating:

Classic, but not Complete
Sink your teeth into this one!

How to Build the Gloucester Light Dory: A Classic in Plywood
Harold Payson
Manufacturer: Wooden Boat Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Boating | Water Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0937822043

Book Description

A shop manual on building an exceptional rowing dory. Designe by Philip Bolger, this dory is fast, seaworthy and a delight to row. Simple plywood cosntruction.

Customer Reviews:

Classic, but not Complete.......2007-03-08

If you want to build a Gloucester dory, you need this book AND you also need to order the plans, at additional cost. I am sure that with this book AND the plans, you can build a Gloucester dory!

Sink your teeth into this one!.......2000-06-24

A great book! Payson goes into details that make boat building a successful venture even for the amateur. A must read and reference book for anyone wishing to build the Gull.

The Tailor of Gloucester (The World of Beatrix Potter)

Average customer rating:

Wonderful memories
Likewise
A classic for slightly older children

The Tailor of Gloucester (The World of Beatrix Potter)
Beatrix Potter
Manufacturer: Warne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0723247722

Book Description

To celebrate Peter's birthday, Frederick Warne is publishing new editions of all 23 of Potter's original tales, which take the very first printings of Potter's works as their guide. The aim of these editions is to be as close as possible to Beatrix Potter's intentions while benefiting from modern printing and design techniques.

The colors and details of the watercolors in the volumes are reproduced more accurately than ever before, and it has now been possible to disguise damage that has affected the artwork over the years. Most notably, The Tale of Peter Rabbit restores six of Potter's original illustrations. Four were sacrificed in 1903 to make space for illustrated endpapers, and two have never been used before. Of course, Beatrix Potter created many memorable children's characters, including Benjamin Bunny, Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddle-duck and Jeremy Fisher. But whatever the tale, both children and adults alike can be delighted by the artistry in Potter's illustrations, while they also enjoy a very good read. Because they have always been completely true to a child's experience, Potter's 23 books continue to endure.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful memories.......2007-04-11

These books are are so beautifully written and create an imaginative world for your child. I have wonderful memories of these tales from my childhood and love introducing them to my children. They are timeless!

Likewise.......2004-08-02

It would be almost impossible to pick a favorite of the Beatrix Potter books, but if I had to, this would be it. The story and the artwork combine to make a perfect children's (or adult's)book.

A classic for slightly older children.......2000-10-13

This is my favorite of the Beatrix Potter books, and I probably read all of them as a child. It's ideal for a slightly older child. A very sweet story of a tailor, his cat, and a group of mice who save his business when he is too ill to work.

The Gloucester Guide: A Stroll through Place and Time

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The Gloucester Guide: A Stroll through Place and Time
Joseph E. Garland
Manufacturer: The History Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lone Voyager: The Extraordinary Adventures Of Howard Blackburn Hero Fisherman Of Gloucester

ASIN: 1596290056

Book Description

Nowhere is past more prologue than here, writes the inimitable Joe Garland in this new thoroughly updated edition of his classic Gloucester Guide. Conceived an ocean away when North America was all wilderness, and driven for nigh four centuries by an obsessive pursuit of what Captain John Smith called a "treasure greater than gold," old "Glosta" famously reached a zenith as America's foremost fishing port, hit a trough as deep as its crest was high, and is now entering a new era in which its history forms the core of its resurgence. Complete with photographs documenting the changing face of this rugged old port, The Gloucester Guide is a handbook for those rambling the city's highways and byways as well as an unforgettable collection of historical vignettes and yarns to be savored fireside as the waves crash upon the shore.

Book Description

This is an account of the serial murders at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, based on interviews with relatives and friends of Fred and Rose West. The author broke the story of the killings in an article in The Sunday Mirror in March 1994.

Customer Reviews:

SICK! SICK! SICK!.......2006-09-12

what a sick family, I have read many true crime books but this is one that will stay with me forever. Not for the faint of heart.
Good writing on a very sick subject.

Fascinating and Terrifying but True!.......2006-07-25

I like this book because it has a family tree, a diagram of the house and useful information regarding location of the bodies. I just started this book and I find the writing to be pretty good. The author stays clear of his personal views until the end of the book. The story is horrifying to believe but reading the backgrounds of this unusual couple helps understand the crimes behind their union. They were unspeakable to say the least to include the murder of their own teenage daughter who wanted to escape. I remember watching a documentary aired on A&E with other surviving children. They knew that this didn't go on in other families and they envied families who had discipline and kept the x-rated stuff to the couples themselves rather than including their own children, strangers, and regularl visitors. The Wests' open sexuality actually probably caused more disturbances to the children who were affected most of all. They weren't loved as they should have been. They were beaten and abused physically, sexually, and emotionally. I wish the West children found solace and comfort now more than ever. They really lived in a a house of horrors beyound our imagination.

A Classic True Crime Title from Britain.......2004-07-01

This book is a classic true crime title. The case is extraordinary: an apparently ordinary and pleasant married couple, Fred and Rose West, molest, torture and murder a series of young women and girls -- including their own daughter -- bury the dismembered remains under their house, in the middle of the city of Gloucester, and continue living happily in said house for many years. The author, Sounes, broke the story as a reporter, and this is the big book on the case, which is very well known in England. Absolutely riveting and a big seller ever since published about ten years ago in the UK, though not so well known in the US. It will make your hair curl (if it doesn't already). A classic of the genre alongside Profession of Violence, Helter Skelter, and Killing for Company.

Howard's Happy Tale of Woe.......2003-01-25

Howard Sounes' book about the West Country's most infamous couple is an enlongated bubble gum, tabloid gossip article. Whilst I'm sure Sounes spent a lot of time researching the case and fingering through the many aspects of intricacies, the book does not delve anywhere as deep as the graves of the victims the couple butchered. The glossy account of the details is, however, intensified by the awful and very humbling circumstances in which the murderous pair grew up and met, but this has nothing to do with the author. There is minimal discussion or investigation as to the reasons why the pair undertook their Road to Hell by way of torture, ... voyeuristic prostitution, despite them being up there with the best of the serial killers. The plus point of the book is that it is written in a childish journalistic format and is thus very easy to read, almostunputdownable. The pair's heinous crimes are some of the worst I have read about and it is almost unbelievable that anyone could inflict these attrocities. For pure sensationalism and an easy introduction into the wonderful world of serial killers, this book hits the mark. But for those who want to question a little further and obtain explanations or theories as to why the necrophilliac, nymphomaniac, sadistic and self-centred pair committed such crimes, best give me a ring and we can discuss over a beer. Perhaps at a pub in Gloucester!!

Not So Good.......2002-06-28

I don't really see how you could call a book like this good anyway. But, I have read alot of true crime stories and I definitely thought this one is the worst. I don't feel it is very thorough. You read 4 chapters at the beginning ALL about the family history and then it just kind of jumps to everything happening. In my opinion it could have been written alot better.

Average customer rating:

Awesome!~
The Bad Book
LOVELY, LUMINOUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND LILTING RHYME
It's a keeper!

The Serpent Came to Gloucester
M.T. Anderson
Manufacturer: Candlewick
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0763620386
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Book Description

Drawing on a true story, an award-winning author and illustrator present a picture-book tribute to the beauty and mystery of the ocean, and to the mesmerizing creatures that may frolic there.

It came from the sea, from the lonely sea,
It came from the glittering sea.

In a small Massachusetts fishing village in August of 1817, dozens of citizens claimed to have seen an enormous sea serpent swimming off the coast. Terrified at first, the people of Gloucester eventually became quite accustomed to their new neighbor. Adventure seekers came from miles around to study the serpent and aggressively hunt it down, but the creature eluded capture. The Gloucester sea serpent was then, and remains now, a complete mystery.

Reviving the rhythms and tone of a traditional sea chanty, M.T. Anderson recounts this exhilarating sea adventure through the eyes of a little boy who secretly hopes for the serpent's survival. The author's captivating verse is paired with Bagram Ibatoulline's luminous paintings, created in the spirit of nineteenth-century New England maritime artists.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome!~.......2007-06-18

This book was a great read and the illustrations were spectacular! Will be giving this as gifts for sure!

The Bad Book.......2006-05-27

The book is about a serpent that came to Gloucester. Everybody is really scared and they're trying to hunt it down. When they were fishing they thought they saw it but they actually got a huge humongous trout. In the end it leaves and everybody is really sad because they liked seeing it jump around and have fun. It's the worst book in the whole world because it repeats all of the same words like sea and gloomy and dark, icy, terrible, and serpent. It won the Southerland awards and I didn't want it to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My whole class wanted for Leonardo the Terrible Monster to win, and it didn't, so the day wasn't too fun and a lot of other classes were bragging because they had all voted for The Serpent Came to Gloucester.

LOVELY, LUMINOUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND LILTING RHYME.......2005-08-05

It has been documented that in August of 1817 the residents of Gloucester, a small Massachusetts fishing village, saw a rather frightening sight - a gigantic sea serpent swimming off the coast. Evidently, these reports caused a bit of a stir as a number of people came to study this sea creature and others came in hopes of capturing it. All to no avail.

As told by M. T. Anderson in captivating rhyme this is the story of that serpent and of how the people in the village gradually almost became accustomed to their startling new neighbor. He begins with:

"It was on a day when the sun was bright,
When the limpets were thick on the rocks,
When the seagulls would squawk
And would talk and would fight
For the fish laid to dry on the docks."

Thus, Anderson is a bit of a Scherazade as he escorts readers through first the initial sighting by a young boy, next to the townspeople watching the serpent play in the water, and then to the men coming with weapons, singing "killing songs."

According to historical records, a Captain Rich came the closest by claiming to have harpooedn the creature but the serpent shook off the harpoon and swam away.

Bagram Iratoulline's illustrations are lovely, luminous, evoking the scenes of 19th century New England and the mysterious beauty of the ocean.

- Gail Cooke

It's a keeper!.......2005-06-10

Just what you hope for in a picture book! A beautifully illustrated tale told in mesmerizing rhythms that just beg to be read out loud. In the classic tradition of well-made books, the entire book--from concept to cover--is thoughtfully conceived and executed. All the pieces work together to create a memorable experience for readers young and old. The surprising fact that the story is based on historical events in Cape Ann, Massachusetts-revealed in an author's note at the back of the book-just adds to the wonder of it all. It's a keeper!

Average customer rating:

Eastern Point
Joseph E. Garland
Manufacturer: Commonwealth Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 188983307X

Book Description

This "Nautical, Rustical and More or Less Sociable Chronicle of Gloucester's Outer Shield and Inner Sanctum, 16061990" was first published in 1971 but has long been out of print. Now fully revised and updated by the author, with many new illustrations, this fascinating social history focuses on the place closest to Garland's heart, the peninsula forming one side of the harbor of Gloucester, Massachusetts, where his ancestors lived and which he has called home since 1959.

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