GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA

News

Town Talk: Essex Seafood hosting breast cancer benefit event

Town Talk
Cameron Kittle
Published: June 27, 2009

Geneva Beaudry, a Wenham resident, has put together a fund-raiser slated for Wednesday at Essex Seafood from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. to benefit the Boston Breast Cancer 3-Day Series, where thousands of men and women will walk 60 miles over three days to raise money for the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Howie and Debbie Lane, the owners of Essex Seafood, have promised to donate 15 percent of their sales on July 1 to support Beaudry and her team for the event. Beaudry has worked at Essex Seafood periodically since 1998 and is a longtime friend of the Lane family.

Beaudry and three friends have formed the "Cape Ann Takes a Stand" team for the event in Boston, which will be held July 24-26 as the first of 15 Breast Cancer 3-Day Series across the country this year.

"I wanted to make a personal difference to help fight the disease," Beaudry said. "I know I'm accomplishing this by helping ensure funding is available for important research, education and community health programs."

Beaudry hopes to raise $9,200 ($2,300 per team member) and has been training for nearly six months to prepare for the three-day trek.

You can contact Beaudry to make a donation or ask for questions or details by e-mailing her at genevabeaudry@gmail.com or phoning her directly at 978-886-3575.

Children's book at town libraries

Kay Thorpe Bannon, a local Cape Ann children's author, has written a new book called "How Gimble Gopher Tortoise Found a New Home" — and she hopes to do readings at the Manchester and Essex public libraries over the summer.

The details haven't been arranged yet, but Bannon said she did readings of her two previous books, "Yonder Mountain: A Cherokee Legend" and "Curious One: A Cherokee Story," a few years ago when they were released in 2002 and 2003, respectively.

The newest book is a 38-page, full-color story about a gopher tortoise who has lost his home to construction and goes off to look for a new one with other animals who have been uprooted.

"I have always been interested in habitat preservation and animals, and when we moved to Venice, Florida for six months, I met this gopher tortoise ambling up my driveway one day and I found that his burrow was taken away," Bannon said. "Anytime something sort of troubles me, it just comes out as a story."

Bannon is a retired professor from Gordon College in Wenham, where she taught special education classes and was the chair of the early childhood and special education division.

"How Gimble Gopher Tortoise Found a New Home" also comes in a teacher's guide edition, with activities for students aged preschool through middle school. The retail price is $12.95 and can be ordered online at www.gimblegophertortoise.com.

Art exhibit at Manchester Town Hall

Juni Van Dyke, a local artist from Manchester, has made four large drawings that will be shown at the Manchester Town Hall starting on July 1 as part of the Manchester Arts Council regular display inside the building.

"Every two months, a Manchester artist has a chance to exhibit their work in a town hall space," said Julia Chamberlain, a member of the Manchester Arts Council in charge of coordinating the art in Town Hall. "Anybody who comes through town hall gets to look at the work."

Van Dyke's work will be at Town Hall throughout July and August. She is a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Tufts University. Her work is represented by the Jane Deering Gallery with locations in London, Santa Barbara, Calif., and Annisquam.

"I would like to be a musician," Van Dyke writes of her work. "In the meantime, the visual arts are my best hope for making music, and for connecting to the music of my life. The medium for these works on paper are pastel, graphite and oil stick; familiar landscapes, ever an inspiration."

Chamberlain said she would classify Van Dyke's work as "fairly abstract." She also mentioned that Van Dyke teaches art to senior citizens up in Gloucester.

The exhibit is sponsored by the Manchester Arts Council. Manchester residents interested in exhibiting at the Town Hall may call Chamberlain at 978-526-7940.

Cameron Kittle covers Manchester and Essex and compiles Town Talk each week. To submit an item for Town Talk email Cameron at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com.

Photos