Yesterday we were saddened to hear of the death of Phyllis Arnold Wagner, the namesake of the fishing vessel Phyllis A. and the only daughter of Albert Arnold, the leader of the “Michigan Bears”. 97 year old Phyllis was on her way home to Gloucester and we are so sad that she did not make it. Phyllis loved the Phyllis A and we hope she would be pleased that we are working hard to get the vessel finished and back in the water. We send our sympathy and love to Phyllis’s family.

2 - September 2018

Please join us Saturday for our Maritime Saturday! This month we are working on our Phyllis A Genealogy Project and looking for descents of the “Michigan Bears”, the group of men who brought the gillnet fishing industry to the Atlantic Ocean from lake Michigan, in 1910. The Phyllis A was built for the leader of this group, Albert Arnold in 1925 and fished for the Arnold family for 75 years out of Gloucester Harbor, something done by no other fishing vessel. Many of the “Michigan Bears” fished on the Phyllis A, as did their descents, but we are looking for people from the members of the other “Michigan Bear” families, too. We would love to hear and record your family stories! Yours’s is a very important part of Gloucester and fishing history. The Phyllis A wants to make sure we document this history for generations to come. So, come for “mug up” and let us get to know you and your family story!

August poster

On August 5th the Gloucester Marine Railways, Corp. at Rocky Neck hosted our Lobster Bake. It was a great success thanks to volunteers Deanna-Fay and Steve Anaya, Deb and Wayne Berger, and Bill Cox. Ernie and Amy Pigeon welcomed our guests with the perfect music for a luncheon on the harbor!

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