There will be a changing of the guard, so to speak, for the tall ships of the Boston Tea Party Ships Museum — and it will be in Gloucester on Monday morning.
After months of undergoing restoration at Gloucester Marine Railways on Rocky Neck, the tall ship Beaver will be launched from the railways Monday at high tide, pegged for between 11 and 11:30 a.m.
Once the Beaver hits the water, its place will be taken at the railways by the Tea Party Museum’s second ship, the Eleanor.
Lauren Black of Conventures Inc. in Boston, said the overhaul of the Beaver has included new frames, hull planks, deck, a new bow — and even a new stern, while the Eleanor is set to be fitted and restored with a new hull.
The work on the Eleanor will set the stage for both vessels — each historically accurate to the boats that were unloaded in the historic Boston Tea Party — to make the sail to Boston Harbor to their resting place at the Boston Tea Party Ships Museum in the Fort Point Channel.
The third tall ship, the Dartmouth, will begin its construction in June and join the museum in 2013.
The Boston Tea Party Ships Museum, located on the Congress Street Bridge, is set to open June 25, and will eventually house all three vessels that replicate the colonial-built ones used on the historic Tea Party night of Dec. 16, 1773. The museum will also feature one of the only two existing tea crates that were thrown overboard into Boston Harbor 239 years ago, The Robinson Tea Chest.
Peace via J Street
A pair of Gloucester residents have signed onto the efforts of a new Jewish-based chapter looking to make a difference on a global level.
Gloucester residents Shoshana Madmoni-Gerber and Michael Gerber were among those who signed onto a letter that, published as a full-page ad in the Jan. 5 edition of the Jewish Journal, served as the launch of a group called J Street North Shore.
The open letter is signed by leading members of the Jewish community from across the North Shore, including the Gerbers.
J Street North Shore, and its regional parent, J Street Boston, are part of the grassroots network of J Street, a national organization that advocates from within the American Jewish community for active U.S. engagement in bringing about a negotiated two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“We are delighted by the commitment of members of the North Shore Jewish community to engage in this important advocacy and outreach work and we welcome the creation of J Street North Shore,” said J Street’s Northeast regional director, Melanie Harris. “This is a significant complement to the advocacy work that we do across the Greater Boston area, throughout Massachusetts, and in Washington.”
J Street — with over 180,000 supporters nationwide and a Rabbinic Cabinet of over 650 — bills itself as a political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans to advocate for vigorous U.S. leadership to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Anyone seeking more information may contact northshore@jstreet.org
In memory of Ute
A week ago tonight, during the much anticipated Patriots football game, classical pianist Clemens Teufel of Germany drew a crowd of 225 (out of a 330-seat house) — not bad for a rising musician.
The concert presented by Rockport Music at the Shalin Liu Performance Center was dedicated to the memory of Ute von Haller, the wife of Count Jochen von Haller. Ute was born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1943, though she would became a longtime resident of Boston’s Back Bay and Gloucester’s Eastern Point.
She was a member of the Eastern Point Yacht Club, the Cape Ann Garden Club and the Goethe Society of New England.
Teufel made his Rockport debut with a program featuring Bach, Beethoven, Schumann and Debussy.
Honored veteran
The flag at the Veterans’ Center will fly this week in honor of World War II veteran Noel B. Aptt.
Born Dec. 30, 1909, he entered the U.S. Army on July 9, 1943, and was discharged Nov. 4, 1945.
A blacksmith, the technician fourth grade served with 687th Engineer Base Equipment. He served in Center Europe, Normandy, Northern France, and Rhineland.
Aptt was awarded the European African Middle Eastern Service Medal with four Bronze Stars, and the Good Conduct Medal.
He died in November 1958.
The flag was requested to fly in his honor by the Office of Veterans’ Services.
Anyone wishing to fly a flag in honor of a deceased veteran can call the Office of Veterans’ Services at 978-281-9740.