Gloucester's downtown Block Party last month was such a success, Block Party II is now on, approved unanimously by City Council earlier this week.

Weather permitting, the event is set to get rolling at 6 p.m. next Saturday, with Saturday, Oct. 18, as a rain date if necessary.

The scope of the encore edition will be broader, running from Pleasant Street to the Washington Street end of Main; the first block party was limited to the West End.

The event will once again feature al fresco dining, and organizers are encouraging diners to make reservations at the restaurants they hope to visit.

This expression of love of community and partying seems to be a tradition in the making, and it will be interesting to see whether the spirit carries through the winter and settles into a monthly block party. Given the spirits and energy of the founders, Janis Lufkin Shea, Joey Ciaramitaro, Vicki and Peter Van Ness, we're expecting the announcement of a big winter festival.

Details on downtowngloucester.com.

Big fishes, lots of them

There's a new master fisherman in town. His name is Russ Burgess, and he won both the striped bass and bluefish tournaments organized at Winchester Fishing Company for this season.

His 55.35-pound striper earned Burgess a $1,000 first prize and his 13.20-pound blue earned him another $750. The double victory was the first in the 13 years of Winchester's tournament.

The awards ceremony will be held tomorrow at noon at Winchester's, 12 Washington St.

In all, there are six prizes for adults as well as boys and girls in both striper and blue categories, but the public, even non-fisherpeople, are invited.

Burgess is based in Rangely, Maine, a town way off the beaten path, where he is an outfitter, running hunting and fishing trips in the great northern woods.

He operates a boat from the North Shore, is a native of Revere, and an appreciator of the fishing around here. "This is the greatest year I ever had," he told Talk of the Times.

He said he caught six bass heavier than 50 pounds this season, which continues for the next three weeks or so. The last bass typically head out near the end of October.

The idea of multiple 50-pounders is itself a sign that the bass fishery is growing to vitality unknown in modern times. The tournament for the first time had a second-place fish of more than 50 pounds. Collin MacKenzie's 54.85-pounder was that fish, and Mark Arsenault's third-place fish, at 49.95 pounds, was only a hair under.

Your own archives

Dating to the 1640s, the Gloucester Archives are an uninterrupted record of our community's essential history all the way back to almost the beginning. As such, the archives are among the most impressive in the not so New World.

And if anything, the archivists are even better, keeping order in the archives despite zero funding from the city and jury-rigged space in the damp and dark basement of City Hall that tends to turn documents into dust or mushrooms.

October is American Archives Month, and archivists Sarah Dunlap of the Gloucester Archives and Stephanie Buck of the archives of the Cape Ann Museum and Library are offering free advice to people on how to conserve and maintain their archives.

The archival consulting is scheduled for the Cape Ann Historical Museum Library next Saturday, Oct. 11, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and the archivists assure us that most people have archival material in their attics, basements and closets, but alas until the archival material is documented, organized and protected it really isn't archival material. It is more accurately called potential archival material or colloquially a mess.

If you aspire to having an archives instead of mess, get down to Cape Ann Museum Library next Saturday morning and bring some stuff for analysis and case studying (like Antiques Roadshow). The future and your families will appreciate the effort.

Honored veteran

The flag at the Veterans' Center will fly this week in honor of Vietnam veteran Vito Joseph Aiello. Born Sept. 19, 1941, the senior personnel sergeant served with Headquarters & Headquarters Company 98th Division (Training.) The sergeant first class served in Korea, Germany, Vietnam and the United States.

Aiello was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm (unit), the Meritorious Unit Citation, the Overseas Service Bar, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon (3), the Army Commendation Medal with a second Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Good Conduct Medal (sixth award), the Army Achievement Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer's Professional Development Ribbon (3), and the Marksmanship Qualification Badge M16 Rifle.

He retired from the U.S. Army after 21 years of service. He died Oct. 6, 2005.

The flag was requested to fly in his honor by his mother and sisters Maria, Joanna, Annette and families.

Anyone wishing to fly a flag in honor of a deceased veteran can call the Office of Veterans' Services at 978-281-9740.