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https://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/local_news/not-ship-shape/article_9fff7cce-8067-5246-ab43-5472af2635a1.html A response from our Vice President: The GDT headline reads “Not Ship-Shape; Museum shed built without Town approval” The article makes no mention of the fact that the museum applied for and was issued a Building Permit in October 2020 for the structure in question. Nor does it mention that it was not until the building was nearly completed, that the permit was determined to have been “issued without the required town reviews”. Also unmentioned is the fact that over the last 2 ½ months, the museum has been working with various citizens, town departments and dedicated volunteer commissions, through a blizzard of social media commentary, to clarify communications, meet requirements and bring the Timbershed project into conforming status. Lesson #1 - Just because you don’t see it coming doesn’t mean it isn’t. We really did honestly believe that standing up an attractive, temporary wooden building with no foundation on a parking lot that has been used for boat storage for the last several decades would not be offensive. Lesson #2 - Just because you know what you're doing, it doesn't mean that others do as well. Under pressure to complete the take-down of the 18th century hay barn and get the structural elements into our own care, we missed the absolute necessity to communicate our needs and intentions to our neighbors. Lesson #3 - Friends are everywhere. In what can easily become an ‘us-vs-them’ environment, it‘s important to remember that we all as individuals want to help someone, somewhere. (This one comes in especially handy when you're trying to get back to some much needed sleep.) When we think about the dozen volunteers who donated their time and material and worked doggedly through 16 winter Saturdays during a pandemic to tediously fasten local pine boards with removable bolts and screws to raise a beautiful, sturdy easily recyclable, much needed temporary home for what are irreplaceable, local historic artifacts; what choice do we have but to work to middle ground? Bringing the John Wise Avenue hay barn to the Museum’s historic shipyard site was (is) to be the very first step, the catalyst if you will, towards developing and acting on a site-wide plan to clean up, reinterpret and revitalize the Story shipyard element of the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum, hence the temporary nature of the timbershed. Once assessed and restored, the historic hay barn frame might very well become a keystone element of a new Waterline Resource Center at the shipyard. A project such as the above would require a continued coordinated effort and support from the community; working with countless folks, each bringing their own insights and talents to help shape the future and culture of our town and accomplish the task at hand. We really did think that’s what we were doing….see Lessons #1-3. Your’s working to do better, Dave Brown
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