The latest from the Gang ... 

Seventeen riders showed up on a beautiful 10 day - sun shining, temperature perfect.  The ten 10 milers went by some lovely vernal pools on the 240 acers of land donated to Carlisle as conservation land by Mr Greenough.  The Greenough Pond may have been created by him to provide habitat for water fowl. While large (about 21 acres), it is fairly shallow, averaging only 2.1 feet deep.  In the vernal pool that we go by are a number of wood duck boxes.  Curious as to why I have never seen any wood ducks in that area, I asked a local bird watcher who told me “ they won’t come back to it if it is not cleaned out”.   The Mass Division of Fisheries and Wildlife takes care of the whole area.  A vernal pool  is a distictive type of wetlands devoid of fish so insects and amphibians can survive-like wood frogs, toads and salamanders.  The are very shallow and most dry up certain times of the year.

Patricia DR, Jim and Joyce F, Judith L, Don and Polly T, Judy T, Kathy W, and Mary W were the 10 milers
Gaile A, Allan G, Marlene H, Helgard Ki, Lanie O'C, Art P, Elizabeth B, Matt G rode 20 miles

The twenty milers had a wonderful ride as well.  Part of it went through the Great Brook Farm State Park. This 1000-acre park features more than 20 miles of trails, offering free guided walking tours on Friday mornings.  There's also an active dairy farm that offers free tours on weekends.

Then we came back and ate, drank and were merry.

A few stragglers come in as it wouldn’t be the same without them.
Dawn and Joe M, Ray G, Maryann D and Dan Y.

Mary W

Kara S, Maryann D, Judith L, Lisa S, Lisa L, Barbara M, Kimm S, Anne H, Marge C, Marie H and Gayle A. A  standing in front of a small house known as a "10 Footer" where a shoemaker and his apprentice worked many year ago.

Did you know that Lynn, Massachusetts, was the home of Marshmallow Fluff?

Also, Lynn was famous for shoe manufacturing and producing, Jet engines used in World War II via General Electric?  These were some of the interesting facts our docent, Gail Richardson, a retired Lynn school teacher, taught us on our tour of the Lynn Museum,

Eleven of us toured the museum and then had lunch in Nahant at The Tides Restaurant.  What a nice day!

Maryann D

Twelve TOHG members led by Neal S met to hike in the Reading Town Forest which includes about seven miles of trails. We walked three to four miles on a boardwalk through a swamp to the Ipswich River and then hiked along the river for about a mile. The picture of our group was taken along the river next to a beaver dam. This area is frequented by a variety of ducks and geese, though none were visible on our tour.

We viewed efforts on the part of the town to renew the red pine forest planted in the 1930s by the boy scouts. Areas of dead trees have been removed and are being replaced by native species, but most of the trails are still tree-covered and shady. You can find information about the Reading Town Forest on Google, though they describe only an inner loop trail of 1.9 miles. Maps are also available on the town website.

After the hike, some had lunch and some had breakfast at Half and Half located on Main Street in downtown Reading.

Neal S

On June 4 fourteen members of the TOHG walking/hiking group, a guest and two four-footed friends met at the parking lot of the Maudsley State Park in Newburyport for a 3.5 mile walk.  The weather was perfect with temperatures in the upper 60s with sunshine.  We started by wandering through the19th century gardens and old foundations and stopped to admire the plein-air paintings in progress by a group of artists who had set up easels along the path.  The first portion of the walk lead us through an area where the azaleas were in full bloom and the rhododendrons were starting to bloom.  We also spotted some pink Lady Slippers along the way.  We then followed the trail that lead along the edge of the Merrimack River to the Laurel trail which winds through one of the largest naturally-occurring stands of mountain laurel in Massachusetts although they were not yet blooming. The walk continued through the higher pine forest area and ended with a walk through a beautiful field.

Eleven of the group then had a great lunch at the Sea Level Oyster Bar in downtown Newburyport; and four followed that up with Gelato from the shop across the street.

Maredith P

Although the official weekend started Friday, May 31st; on Thursday there was an early bird lunch and bike ride along the Cape Cod Canal scheduled. But the weather Gods did not shine Thursday and so we settled for a wonderful lunch at Seafood Sam’s!  

The official activities kicked off on Friday with a bike ride from North Falmouth to Woods Hole on the Shining Sea Bikeway and the sun did shine for us! Friday evening, we held a well-attended Pizza Party with lots of appetizers, salads, snacks, desserts, and a variety of delicious pizza. It was great to see and hear lots of people chatting, laughing and just being together again.

Saturday, Alan led us on a bike ride and of course, along the way were stops for lunch and ice cream. Other groups opted for walking/hiking, golfing or shopping. Saturday evening after happy hour, members headed out for the evening to enjoy dinner at one of the many local restaurants in the area.

Both Saturday and Sunday mornings, TOHG members filled the breakfast rooms at the Bayside Resort with animated conversations and a lot of laughter. A HUGE thank you to all who helped set up and clean up after the pizza party and those who coordinated the bike rides, walking, hiking, golf, etc. I’ve said it before but it truly “takes a village” and the very popular weekend was another success because so many people pitched in to help and work together. It was another fun time with the Gang!

Debbie G

To our tireless hosts Debbie and Bob: thank you for organizing the weekend!

Four Gang members toured “The Finest Hours” rescue boat, CG-36500, at
Rock Harbor in Orleans.

A large group of TOHG members rode on the Cape Cod Rail Trail on Saturday from Harwich to Orleans where many members stopped at The Chocolate Sparrow for lunch and ice cream. However, a good number of our group heard that the food was even better at PB Boulangerie Bistro in Wellfleet so continued on there for a total of about 36 miles round trip.

Alan U

Bicyclists disembarking at the bistro.

On the Friday of our Cape Cod weekend many members of the Gang set out on a picture perfect day to bike on the Shining Sea Rail Trail from Falmouth to Woods Hole for about 21 miles round trip. Many of us stopped at the Marine Biology Lab cafeteria where we enjoyed an al fresco lunch on the plaza.

Alan U

Mother Nature had other ideas for our planned Cape Cod Canal Bike Ride on Thursday. Grey skies, wind, and rain forced a decision to cancel the ride and instead to enjoy a congenial lunch at Seafood Sam’s in Sandwich. Fortunately, the food was delicious and we had a great time together commiserating about the awful weather and looking forward to the prospect of a better weekend ahead!

Alan U

Golf on the Cape was once again played at Blue Rock Golf Course. This year we not only had the normal course hazards, but in the middle of the round, we had a heavy rain storm. It did not stop many in the group. We just played on and had a great time.

The group consisted of four tee times. The first group off the tee consisted of Carol B, Kathleen C and Paula A. The second group was Maureen S, Joan W, Maureen D and Linda MH. Our third group was Ines and Marco A, Dave A, Richard T. And the final group was Maryann D, Pete C, Bob B and Paul MH.

After the round, we had a great time sitting on the club house deck reliving the round over a beer. Fortunately, the deck was covered!

Paul H

On a very warm, sunny day, six members of the Hub Mystery Group met at the State House on Beacon Street. We then walked to our mystery destination at 55 Mt. Vernon Street, the Nichols House Museum. This Beacon Hill Townhouse, built in 1804, was designed by Charles Bullfinch. In 1855 it was purchased by Dr. Arthur Nichols and his wife Elizabeth for its location and architectural significance. The family was involved in the social, cultural and political activities of the time and wanted their three daughters to have the advantages of this area of Boston. The doctor had his office and practice on the first floor of the house and the family occupied the three floors above.
They traveled extensively in Europe and collected artwork, tapestries and furniture with which they decorated their home. This lovely house/museum also includes the handiwork of their three talented daughters. Rose, the oldest, took classes at MIT, was a successful landscape architect, writer, artist and suffragist. Marian, the middle daughter, graduated from Radcliffe, was very involved in local politics and loved driving. One month after the 19th amendment was passed she filed papers to represent her Ward in the MA Legislature. She lost the election, but is remembered as one of the first women to run for office in Massachusetts. Margaret, the youngest and only one to marry, enjoyed athletics and carpentry. She opened her own furniture business and taught carpentry in the North End. All of the women were suffragists and pacifists. The Nichols family had a summer estate in Cornish, NH as part of the artist colony of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the daughter’s “Uncle Gus.” When Rose died in 1960 she had already made arrangements for the house to become a museum and remain as it was when the family lived there.
After this delightful tour we walked down Joy Street to our favorite Italian restaurant for lunch.

Peg T