Boston Harbor, Summer and Fall - 2015

Teaching knots and pirate lore at Carson Beach, August 2015 Photo by: Joe Prezioso, SaveTheHarbor.org

At the beginning of this project, what I didn't know about the Boston Harbor would have filled several volumes. The history of the harbor is as rich and as varied as the centuries and the waves of people that created it.  This summer,  my usual work expanded as I was invited to be a storyteller for Save the Harbor, thanks to a grant from MassHumanities. The amazing activities available to the people of the Commonwealth on the beaches in and around our harbor blew me away. I was honored to be even a small a part of it. As I traveled from beach to beach,  I witnessed kayaking, fishing, swimming, surfing and all manner of environmentally sound engagement with natural life. All this activity peopled the shores as I told and exchanged stories as part of the Better Beaches summer crew of SaveTheHarbor/Save the Bay.org, Boston's premier, non-profit public interest harbor advocacy organization. Save the Harbor is directed by Bruce Berman, who leads and is supported by thousands of citizens, as well as scientists, civic, corporate, cultural and community leaders in a mission to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy. By the end of this month I will have visited and performed at beaches from Lynn to Hull and seen a lot of the great beaches that are closest to Boston in South Boston and Dorchester.

The wheelhouse of the Provincetown. Thanks, Captain Mark Aborn!

 USS Wyandot - circa 1966

This past Saturday,  I went on a cruise to Spectacle Island, one of the many Boston harbor islands that are now a National Park. Save the Harbor sponsors several of these great outings that are free and open to the public and draw hundreds of folk of all ages and stages of life.  I signed on as pirate Mary Read who sailed during the Golden Age of Piracy as 'Mark'. At the dock, our boat, the  Provincetown loomed high and as I looked up at the bridge, a fleeting wish to get to visit passed through my mind. Imagine my delight when less than 10 minutes later  I was invited to the wheelhouse of the Provincetown to use the PA system and announce my plans to share stories. What a blast! The last time I was in a wheelhouse was 1966. Our father, who was in the Merchant Marine had taken a job as the navigator of a ship bound for the South Pole. We went the Brooklyn Navy Yard where he had worked for years and for the first time actually boarded a ship.  We had lunch and spent the better part of a day exploring his vessel, the USS Wyandot. I remember we had the run of the bridge. Ever a geek, I was fascinated by all the controls and nautical paraphernalia. Confused by seeing two wheels, one metal and one wooden, we were told that the "old fashioned" wooden wheel was necessary due to the extreme cold the folks on the bridge would experience. I also remembered snagging some neat paper forms for "ice reports" which had descriptions and drawings of the many different forms of ice they would encounter.  That flood of memory receded as the Provincetown's whistle blasted and I got to watch as the captain smoothly moved the boat from the dock and we were underway in Boston Harbor! There is something about the way boats move that I just love.

Below decks on the Provincetown ( it was a chilly day) I interacted with people from all over Greater Boston and beyond, telling and listening to stories. One fellow was from LA where he was a water treatment specialist. He was interested in the story of Spectacle Island and had his own to tell about an LA landfill that now is a Botanical Garden.  Many families were on a boat or visiting a Boston Harbor Island for the very first time. The excitement level was high! Once at Spectacle Island we hiked a bit after sharing some stories from the summer programs.   I told stories about the islands and pirates at the Krystle M. Campbell Memorial Gazebo, a somber reminder of the tragedy of the everyday from a peaceful look out.  On the return voyage, I told more ghost stories and trivia about the islands, and the surrounding bay including: Bumpkin Island, Minot's Ledge, Deer Island Long Island, Thompson Island, Georges Island, Little Brewster Island and Nixe's Mate. Here are some of the questions I answered with stories. These are just the tip of the stories that inhabit the islands and harbor of Boston.

Q&A Trivia, Ghosts and Haunts: What Boston Harbor Island?
1.    Where is the Lady in Black said to roam?
2.    On what island is her body buried - where does the Lady in Scarlet moan?
3.    If you light a fire, during the winter,  the ghosts of hundreds of Native Americans will surround you? They died in 1676-77.
4.    On which island does a little girl call for “Shadwell!” and why?
5.    On a stormy night, you may hear the distant ringing of bell and a man’s voice cry “ Stay away!” in Portuguese? [Va embora!] (not an Island, but in the Harbor)
6.    Don’t respond to the cries of drowning boys off the shore of this island, they died 100s of years ago…
7.    He predicted the fate of what island when he met his own fate at the end of a hangman’s rope.
8.    The first hospital with ramps for the handicapped in 1902 on what island?

ICYM me all summer? I will be performing with an amazing line-up of storytellers at the Hull Life Saving Museum on October 29th 2015. Harbor Haunts is performed every other year around Halloween. Most of the stories will come from Edgar Snow's work. He recorded local legends of ghosts, pirates, storms and shipwrecks. The evening will include legends about Boston Light, A Lady in Black, The “Fantom” Fiddler and The Legend of Minot Light among others. The Lifesaving Station provides a great atmosphere for storytelling. I will tell the story of Ocean Born Mary.

On November 20th at 3:30pm I will perform a show for upper elementary ages in the Children's Room at the Winthrop Library in Winthrop MA . I appear in full costume as Mary Read telling stories about ghosts, heroes and pirates of Boston Harbor.

Thanks again to MassHumanities and all the crew at SaveTheHarbor/Save the Bay.org for inviting me on what has been a voyage of discovery, in my own "backyard." What I now know about this beautiful public resource could fill a book.

Raymond T. Dooley is the guy in the middle.

 

Magical moments: serendipity-sfx and storytelling

Magical moments: serendipity-sfx and storytelling

By Norah Dooley

The tent outside Boston Children's Museum was shady and cool and a small breeze blew through on the 90 degree Tuesday in July. The tent is beyond the Milk Bottle and just past the entrance to the Museum.  It is a lovely spot and across Fort Point Channel one can see and easily reference the Boston Tea Party Museum ship as the kind of ship pirates sailed on. You also can see visitors learn about some per-Revolutionary rabble rousing and drop reusable boxes of "tea" over the sides, on the hour.

"The passengers saw a long boat leave the pirate ship and quickly close the distance between the ships. "

Appearing as Mary Read, an 18th century, English born, cross-dressing, woman pirate,  I was at the Children's Museum to represent Save The Harbor/ Save the Bay and tell stories about our beautiful harbor, the sea and the Golden Age of Piracy. At one point during my two hour stint, I told the story of Ocean Born Mary.  Below is an excerpt and here link to a full version of the story that is similar to the one I tell.

 Ocean-Born Mary A Classic Tale of haunted New England

    The year was 1720 and the place was Londonderry, Ireland. A small sailing vessel called “Wolf” departed from the port, bound for the New World. Here, weary passengers and immigrants would have the chance to reunite with relatives from another Londonderry, this one in New Hampshire. But fate was not kind to this travelers, for as they neared the harbor of Boston in Massachusetts Bay, on July 18th, 1720, the ship was overtaken by a band of Spanish pirates. They scrambled aboard the vessel, seized jewelry, clothing and valuables and then, at the command of their captain, a buccaneer named Don Pedro, they prepared to murder everyone on board. Just as the pirates raised cutlass and pistol, Don Pedro ordered his men to stand down.

Beyond the terrified screams of the passengers, he heard another sound... the unmistakable wail of a baby. Below decks, Elizabeth Wilson lay abed, holding a tiny baby in her arms. The child has been born the day before.  Don Pedro found her and looked down into the face of the infant and sheathed his sword. He said he would save the Wolf and all on it if they would name the child Mary after his mother. Elizabeth agreed. And Dom Pedro took a cup of water and baptized her right there. Then he strode above deck.

"Stand down and harm not a hair on any head." Dom Pedro roared at his crew. " "Stand down  Save your shot. Sheathe your swords. To the boats! " He ordered his men off the Wolf and back to their ship. They left and all on the Wolf breathed again and pulled themselves together, glad to be alive.  But all too soon there was a cry ," They are coming back! " The passengers saw a long boat leaving the pirate ship and as the oars flashed it quickly closed the distance between the ships.  Don Pedro appeared on deck again, this time with a large package that he gave to Captain Wilson, "Mary's" Father.  Unwrapped it  revealed a bolt of beautiful, sea-green, silver threaded,  brocaded silk. "For her wedding dress!" he said and turned on his heel and left...

As I came to the moment in the story where the pirates return, I pointed across Fort Point Channel and... a long boat magically appeared! You can't make this stuff up. Coming from the Boston Tea Party Ship, with oars flashing in the bright noon sunlight, I found I was pointing at and narrating the movements of an actual long boat heading straight for our side of the channel. It was an exact replica of the picture in my head. This sure made it easy to explain to my young audience what a long boat was. In my 25 years of storytelling, it was the best serendipity-sfx I have ever experienced.

Storytellers and performers! I wonder what serendipity-sfx you have experienced during live performance ? Doorbells, thunder, loud knocking or a cry in the distance? Please feel free to share some in the comments below.

Norah Dooley, storyteller • Summer Schedule 2015

This summer appearing at various Boston Harbor beaches Photo: by Joe Prezioso Courtesy of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay

Summer time is usually a busy for me. Even more so this year. Not only am I transitioning out of the executive director role at massmouth.org  [See more here ]I am also really busy teaching [See more here] and performing for families and children. I am very grateful for the artistic challenges and the paying work. The summer started with a solstice performance for families at HubBub, an offshoot of the Boston Book Festival. It was a gorgeous day in Copley Sq. and fun to perform with Tony and Andrea.

with Tony Toledo and Andrea Lovett at HubBub on June 20th 2015

HubBub- June 20th Saturday, 12 noon in Copley Square Norah with Tony Toledo and Andrea Lovett.
Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay- I am, appearing as Mary Read, retired, cross-dressing 18th century pirate, near or, in Boston Harbor, or one of the beautiful islands. 10 -12 performances and workshops from July 2 - September 21st, 2015. Some details are:  July 25th- Hull Harbor Illumination - possible appearance
August 2nd- Boston Seafood Festival at the Fish Pier 10:30am-5:00pm August 8th- Family Fun Day at Tenean Beach in Dorchester from 9am-11am August 14th- STH Youth Beach Bash and Splash from 10am-2pm AUGUST 22 Saturday at 1pm • Princess and Pirate Parade at Winthrop Beach. Details TBA  Town Manager’s Blog or  Facebook August 29th- Dorchester Beach Festival from 12pm-8pm - my performance time TBA

READ BOSTON Storymobile: A rocking literacy program in the City of Boston. Each storyteller has 3 shows per day at various sites around the city of Boston at 10am, 11:15am and 1:15pm.  Listed below are a few readily accessed public sites and at the 11am show unless otherwise noted. See below and more info at Read Boston site.

• Mon   July 13 - Mattapan Library, 1350 Blue Hill Ave, Mattapan
• Tue    July 14 - Roxbury YMCA, 285 MLK Boulevard, Dorchester
• Tue    July 21 - Tierney Learning Center, 125 Mercer Street, South Boston
• Wed   July 22 - Kroc Center, 650 Dudley Street, Dorchester
• Thursday July 23 10AM TADPole Playground at the Boston Common, Boston
• Fri     July 24- 10AM Children's Quarters, 36 1st Ave,  and Charlestown Library, 179Main Street, Charlestown
• Mon  July 27 -  Salvation Army Learning Center, Dorchester
• Wed  July 29-  Billings Field, Centre Street and LaGrange Street, West Roxbury
• Fri     July 31- Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street, Mattapan
• Mon    August 3- 10AM Copley Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston Back Bay and 1:15pm Salvation Army 1500 Washington Street Library,  South End
• Wed    August 5 - Grove Hall Library, 41 Geneva Avenue, Dorchester
• Mon   August 10 - United South End Settlements, 48 Rutland Street, South End
• Wed   August 12 - 10AM Lower Mills Library, 27 Richmond Street, Dorchester
• Thurs August 13 - Connolly Library, 433 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain

1794 Meeting House, July 19th, Sunday at 4 pm New Salem MA -  storytelling with Norah Dooley and friends; Brendyn Schneider and Jannelle Codianni.
Phinehas Newton Library, Royalston, MA  July 20th, Monday at 10am in Royalston, MA -  stories from the flora and fauna of Royalston with Norah Dooley
All Star Show at Club Passim - July 20th The massmouth All Star Show features 5 minute long stories by winners from 6 years of story slams in Greater Boston. These All Stars are storytellers who were finalists or winners in Boston story slam finals (The Big Mouthoff) with a cameo by Norah.

Norman Rockwell Museum - August 6th, Thursday 5:30pm  Stockbridge MA  features short stories on the themes "like family" and "in a different light". Featured tellers are Ben Cunningham, Tony Toledo and Norah Dooley will also lead a short workshop and open slam, as story slams head west from  Greater Boston. 

Roast and Toast & other fun! SATURDAY AUG 8th 2015 in Beverly MA •  Write to Tony Toledo for details... Fanueil Hall - starting in June a storytelling series on Tuesdays at 10 am I am performing on July 7th, August 11th and October 27th.