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Bailey's Hill Gazebo Dedication Location: Bailey's Hill Gaebo
Everyone is invited to the dedication of the restored Bailey’s Hill Gazebo. Nahant children, 12 or younger are invited to enter the Art Exhibit and Contest! The theme is Things I like to do best in Nahant. Prizes will be awarded for the best work in various categories and age groups. Local Nahant artists will be judges forthe contest. After the dedication, award-winning art will be displayed at the Nahant Public Library. So, kids, use some of these summer days to create your art work and bring it to the Bailey’s Hill Gazebo by 8:00 a.m., on the day of the dedication. The Gazebo restoration is made possible through $8,000 in funds, raised by the Nahant Woman’s Club and a $10,000 Community Preservation Act grant. Work on the Gazebo is scheduled to begin in July. The dedication will also celebrate the 110th anniversary of the founding of the Nahant Woman’s Club. The Club is hoping there will be110 entries in the Children’s Art Exhibit and Contest! Bailey’s Hill Gazebo Rededication - Bailey's Hill Park, Nahant, Saturday, September 24, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Townwide celebration for rebuilt community gazebo. Music, food, and memorabilia. There will be people in period costumes, old-fashioned games such as "Hoops & Stick" and "Boot Throw," and a special exhibit of Boats in a Bottle. A Children's Art Exhibit with the theme "What I Like To Do Best in Nahant" will be held. Art entries should be brought to Bailey's Hill Park between 8 and 9:30 a.m. Sponsored by Town of Nahant and and Nahant Woman’s Club. For more information: 781-581-0075 or 781-581-5691. Bailey’s Hill Gazebo Rededication September 24 A town-wide celebration of the rededication of the the Bailey's Hill Gazebo will be held on Saturday, September 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The original dedication, in the Bicentennial Year of 1976, drew a crowd of 300 people in spite of strong winds and rain. The rededication is sponsored by the Town of Nahant and the Nahant Woman’s Club. Official ceremonies for the rebuilt gazebo will begin at 11 a.m., with festivities, music, food, period costumes, and the children’s art exhibit continuing throughout the event. Robert “Skip” Frary, Chairman of the Nahant Board of Selectmen, will cut the ribbon on the newly reconstructed Bailey’s Hill Gazebo. Calantha Sears will participate in the opening ceremony as outgoing president of the Nahant Woman’s Club. During her tenure, Calantha spearheaded three years of fundraising activities and organizational work necessary to make the Bailey’s Hill Gazebo project come to fruition. Musical Events After the ribbon cutting ceremony, Alex Moccia of Nahant will sing God Bless America. Other musicians who will entertain at the rededication include the Tony Barrie Band and the Village Voice Barber Shop Quartet. To complete the program, Baritone Don Wilkinson, a resident of Nahant, will sing the Star Spangled Banner and other patriotic songs from 1:45 to 2 PM. Children’s Art Exhibit and Contest An important part of the day is the children’s art show and contest. Winners will receive United States Savings Bonds, a tradition carried over from the Bicentennial children’s art exhibit. First place winners will also receive a gift certificate to School of Refrigerator Art classes by Carol Hanson. All children under 13 years old who live in Nahant are invited to submit art works. The judging, by well-known local artists Norman LaLiberté, Carolyn Jundzilo-Comer, and Carol Hanson, will be according to three age groups, with first prize winners and other awards in each group. Art entries should be brought to Bailey’s Hill Park between 8 and 9:30 a.m. on the morning of the festival. The theme of the contest is “What I Like to Do Best in Nahant.” Entries should be labeled on the back with name, age, and phone number. Some of the art show contestants may very well be children of winners of the Bicentennial show. Historic documents indicate that Skip Frary, now the Town of Nahant’s primary Selectman, was one of the Boy Scouts who ushered at the 1976 ceremony. Festivities for Families Families can have their portraits taken in vintage bathing suits, courtesy of the Vintage Bather cutouts on loan from Carol Hanson, director of the School of Refrigerator Art. Robert and Paul Wilson will be photographing the take-home photos. Games will include “Hoops and Sticks,” “Boot Throw,” and other historic games played in a simpler era. Period costumes will be worn by the Bishop family. Maurice Poulin will exhibit his boats in a bottle and Frank Clements will display some of his boat models. A silent auction will include works of art, and other items donated by Nahant professionals and businesses. Limited edition memorabilia will be on sale to commemorate the day. Citizens should bring a chair or picnic blanket and plan to stay for the entire event. Pizza, hot dogs, popcorn, soft drinks, and other refreshments will be available for purchase. Special thanks go to Kelley Greens for donating the pizza and to Larry Scaglione for donating hot dogs that will be sold pro bono by Shawn Canty from his old-fashioned hot dog truck. Town-Wide Participation Others who deserve special recognition for participation include the Nahant Board of Selectmen for their unfailing support and Town Administrator Mark Cullinan for his invaluable help in making this restoration possible. Architect John Falat of Nahant donated his time and expertise in designing the new, improved Bailey's Hill Gazebo, and Karen Falat worked steadfastly to move the project forward to the successful unveiling on September 24. Nahanter John Paula of JP Construction lowered the price of building the Gazebo by $1,000 and donated 50 hours of labor to the restoration. The Nahant Garden Club, which also participated in the 1976 Bailey’s Hill Park work, will do plantings and beautification for the 2005 event. The Nahant Department of Public Works will mow, trim and prepare the park for the festivities. Members of the Nahant Woman’s Club under leadership of Calantha Sears worked energetically to raise funds for both the reconstruction and the rededication. Marrit Hastings, current president, and Linda Jenkins, vice-president, together with the Nahant Woman's Club Board, have been major organizers of the rededication. The Gazebo celebration is also in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Nahant Woman’s Club. The Woman’s Club was instrumental in working towards building the original Gazebo. Special thanks go to the many residents and businesses who offered support and donations of time and funds for the rebuilding of the Gazebo and the rededication. A list of contributors to date and further information on the festival are included in the Gazebo insert in this issue of the Harbor Review. Please bring along your program on September 24th so you don’t miss a single event! Historic Notes: Fort Ruckman Bailey’s Hill, under the name of Fort Ruckman, was a military installation from 1900 to 1961. In 1948 the Fort was sold to the Town of Nahant, then promptly leased back by the Army, which closed the underground fortifications and constructed a series of barracks. When the area was returned permanently to the Town in 1961, Nahant was left with “piles of masonry and concrete rubble, open excavations and manholes, forlorn chimneys, wireless utility poles, rusting chain link fence, and, because of the dangerous rubble, a ‘No Trespassing’ sign,” according to a Nahant Woman’s Club report in 1976. The Nahant Woman’s Club decided to make Fort Ruckman its number one conservation project. A Fort Ruckman Committee was formed, consisting of representatives from the Nahant Conservation Commission, Nahant Woman?s Club, Nahant Garden Club, Nahant Recreation Commission, and concerned abutters. Volunteers, including the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, helped clean up the area, but the help of the Nahant Department of Public Works and a professional demolition team was necessary to remove and bury hazardous debris and fill excavations. In October, 1975, Nahant was awarded a grant to implement construction of the original Bailey’s Hill Gazebo and beautify the Park. The gazebo was ready for dedication in June, 1976. By 2005, after almost 30 years, time and weather had taken its toll, so it was necessary not just to repair but to rebuild the Bailey’s Hill Gazebo. There were two gazebos in the Relay Yard in the early 1900’s during the heyday of the Bass Point Amusement Park, but these gazebos were long gone when plans were made to construct the 1976 gazebo at Bailey’s Hill. Marine Science Center Open House Time: 10:00am - 3:00pm Eastern Location: Northeastern Marine Science Center
The Marine Science Center will have it’s annual Open House filled with activities for the whole family. Activities include tidepool, geology and history walks, hands on activities, and exhibits on current Marine Science Center research. Saturday, September 24th from 10:00am to 3:00pm. This event is free. www.marinescience.neu.edu 781-581-7370 x 338
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