Portsmouth

William Marvel to Speak at Portsmouth Athenæum

by

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 — William Marvel, whose column appears in the Gazette, will speak Thursday, June 9th, at the Portsmouth Athenæum, on the topic, “New Hampshire to Normandy: The First Cruise of the Kearsarge,” in conjunction with the Athenæum’s current exhibit, “Fire on the Water: Portsmouth’s Kearsarge Sinks the Deadly Confederate Raider Alabama.” In his talk Mr. Marvel will describe “the ship, the origin of the name of the ship, the history of the ship itself, the first crew, and certain members of the crew. It will be an exercise in trying not to bore an audience with the relatively boring experience of the …

Read more

Sail Portsmouth 2011

by

Friday, May 27, 2011 — Our Newsreel Division strolled down to the new wharf on Bow Street this morning to film the arrival of the barkentine Gazela Primeiro, which will be in town until Monday as the centerpiece of Sail Portsmouth 2011. The little tug seen pulling ahead of her from about :12 to :24 is Bob and Natalie Hassold‘s Tug Alley Too. The low-slung vessel with the tall, raking mast, visible from :25 to :31, and again towards the end of the clip, is the gundalow Captain Edward H. Adams, under tow. Finally, the big gray fireboat is the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s tug U.S.S. …

Read more

Men At Work

by

Men At Work from NewHampshire Gazette on Vimeo. Wednesday, May 11, 2011 — Normally quiet Penhallow Street has been a scene of intermittent chaos since last fall, as contractors and city workers have worked to re-route various subterranean utilities, but yesterday took the cake — and the cookies, and the sandwiches, and the soup. Ceres Bakery closed early so these boys could make way for a spiffy new granite step.

Faulkner was Right

by

Monday, April 25, 2011 — “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” — William Faulkner (1897-1962) Sometimes it’s not very far away, either. Today, workers for Bourassa Construction, placing new stormwater drains at the intersection of Hanover and Bridge streets, unearthed a few lengths of wooden water mains.

Bank (Fraud) of America Day

by

Monday, April 18, 2011 — About twenty Portsmouth residents turned out at noon today to denounce the Bank of America for its failure to pay taxes. A passerby, referring to bogus paperwork used in foreclosures, suggested that their sign should be modified to read, “Bank Fraud of America.” One sign below reads, “This sign cost more than Bank of America paid in taxes last year.” This shy gentleman’s sign reads, “Hey, Hey, I’m the B of A — Guess Who Pays My Taxes Today!” Somehow that artwork seems vaguely familiar …

Time for a S-t-r-e-t-c-h

by

Saturday, April 16, 2011 — Frequent visitors will note that we have widened this gizmo. Among other things, we can now run wider photos. So, let’s. Below: the eagle at the southern end of Memorial Bridge. Below: The Shipyard from Prescott Park. Below: The Kang Yao loads scrap iron at the State Pier.