Hawthorne Hotel's Flags of the Week ~~ September 1 through 7, 2008

Every day we change the flags on the front of the Hawthorne Hotel. Here is this week's schedule.

Monday , September 1 ~~ Indonesia and South Dakota
Tuesday , September 2 ~~ Iran and Tennessee
Wednesday , September 3 ~~ Iraq and Texas
Thursday , September 4 ~~ Ireland and Utah
Friday , September 5 ~~ Israel and Vermont
Saturday , September 6 ~~ Italy and Virgin Islands
Sunday , September 7 ~~ India and Delaware ~~ India is by Special Request

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Harvest Fest is THIS WEEK AND NEXT WEEK at the Hawthorne Hotel

BY SPECIAL REQUEST we have decided to hold this over through September 7.

Three times this year our chefs are producing a week of special menus focusing on all locally-grown and/or locally-sourced meat, chicken, fish, cheese and produce. The menus will change as the products are available, even within the week. Last night's selections are shown in the photos below. There are also wines available from Nantucket, by the glass and bottle, to go along with these items.

Be sure to make plans right away so you don't miss out on this wonderful opportunity to experience the fresh local ingredients, and our chef's creativity, here in Nathaniel's Restaurant. For reservations please call 978-825-4311.


This was the chef's amuse, a complimentary mini-appetizer of locally-grown orange cherry tomatoes with onion confit.

Eggplant 'moussaka' -- sliced local eggplant rolled around a lovely savory locally-raised ground lamb filling, with Bechamel sauce. A lovely appetizer, which I am hoping the chef's will consider serving in an entree-sized portion as well -- it was so delicious.

Pan-fried wild flounder, lemon-thyme butter, heirloom squashes and fingerling potatoes.

Char-grilled New England Family Farms top sirloin steak, heirloom garlic-mashed potatoes, grilled local sqush, and sauteed New England wild mushrooms, red wine and tomato butter sauce.

Fresh peach upside-down cake with vanilla ice cream. It was served warm, so the ice cream just slid right off, and I can assure you it was luscious.


Fried Green Tomatoes were served with chow-chow, a kind of pickle, all made from locally-raised ingredients.

This demi-portion of the line-caught striped bass with fresh shiitake mushrooms and pineapple basil and locally grown chard and legumes, served in a light tomato broth was exquisite. I just wished, in this case, that I would have ordered the full portion because it was SO GOOD!!

Yellow watermelon with summer fruit granite (a kind of fruit ice) was so light and refreshing. It was the essence of summertime.

A Hotel Named for a Famous Author Naturally Loves Books

So, when we received a guest comment card from a young guest who asked that we consider adding children's' books to our bookcases, my administrative assistant saw an opportunity and simply acting upon it. She knew that it was time to clean out her own children's' bookcases at home, and she brought in a huge box of those books to add to our library here in the Hawthorne Hotel.

After that she wrote a note to the little girl telling her what she had done. Below you will see that little girl's mother's email back to Christine.

Just a note of thanks to Christine.

You wrote to my daughter about adding children's books to your shelves and my daughter was thrilled that her letter produced action!

Thanks for the letter as well. You made her ( and our ) day.

We will be back.

Marie Bruggeman

I hope you enjoy this small story about a day in the life of the Hawthorne Hotel, and we hope to see you here.

Juli (and Christine)

Hawthorne Hotel Thanks Our Team Members

The balloon guy was a big hit with the small ones.

So was the spin art, especially for the creative kids.

The 'pie eating' contest was fun for all age groups. Here you see the winner of the youngest age category. She wisely chose a face painting that kept her mouth and cheeks out of play for the pie-eating contest. Now that is a smart girl!


Chef Ken wore goggles while he grilled, to keep the smoke from smarting. Another smart move!

Bobby ASKED me to take this photo of him chowing down on his burger. Now that is a guy-thing to do, since we would never expect a gal to do this!

Just chillin' was part of the fun.


The view of the water made a great backdrop.

Every year about this time we host a picnic for our team members and their families. This year the weather was perfect, and the food, games and fellowship was very enjoyable. I hope you enjoy seeing this other side of life at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Juli

Hawthorne Hotel Honors Manuel Pena as Employee of the Month

At our annual hotel picnic this week we gave Manuel his award as full-time employee of the month. Manuel works for our offsite catering division at PEM, but he also helps us out at the Hawthorne, and this is where he started with us 7 years ago.


Left to right are: Ramon Rodriguez, Kitchen Supervisor; Manuel; Steve Nelson, Executive Chef; Ken O'Keefe, Executive Sous Chef and Brooke O'Keefe, Offisite Catering Chef.



I snapped this photo of Manuel when he wasn't looking, because I thought it was a great backdrop, and he looked so relaxed and content.



We are so pleased to have such a terrific team working with us at the Hawthorne Hotel and Hawthorne Catering. I hope you enjoy learning a little bit more about 'us'.



Juli

Fall Harvest Week Starts Today in Nathaniel's at the Hawthorne Hotel

Here is the menu that our chefs have created with the locally available bounty of the late summer harvest in New England. This menu will be served in Nathaniel's from Tuesday, August 26 through Sunday, August 31. To enlarge the image, simply click on it.





For reservations, call Nathaniel's directly at 978-825-4311.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Hawthorne Hotel's Flowers with Brick

If you have been following our blog this summer you will know that I have a series of 'flowers with brick' photos that I have taken. The arrival just last week of our new flowers for the planter boxes prompts this latest entry in that series. Sunday was such a gorgeous day, and everything seems to look so much better on that kind of day. I hope you enjoy seeing these photos.

Juli

Hawthorne Hotel's Flags of the Week ~~ August 25 through August 31, 2008

Monday , August 25 ~~ Guinea-Bissau and Ohio
Tuesday , August 26 ~~ Guyana and Oklahoma
Wednesday , August 27 ~~ Haiti and Oregon
Thursday , August 28 ~~ Honduras and Pennsylvania
Friday , August 29 ~~ Hungary and Puerto Rico
Saturday , August 30 ~~ Iceland and Rhode Island
Sunday , August 31 ~~ India and South Carolina

There were no special requests for this week.

Juli

The Sunflowers are blooming at the Ropes Garden

If you are a frequent Hawthorne Hotel Blog reader, you will already know that I love the Ropes Mansion Gardens, located about 5 blocks south on Essex Street here in Salem. Right now there is a huge area of sunflowers in bloom. Here are some photos I snapped with my iPhone for you to enjoy.

Juli

Happy 44th Anniversary!

Here on the staircase leading to the Grand Ballroom at the Hawthorne Hotel, you see Pat and Bob Donahue of Weymouth, Massachusetts. They came to have a small celebration of their 44th wedding anniversary, because they had their wedding reception here, after a wedding at St. Mary's in Lynn, forty-four years ago this weekend. At the time they were from Winthrop. When they told me that one of their photos from their wedding was of them on these stairs, I offered to take a photo of them today. They were delighted, and here is the result.

One of the things that Mr. and Mrs. Donahue said was that it was so nice to see the Hotel being so lovingly and well-maintained, and not torn down for another strip mall someplace. That is one of the benefits of having an organization like the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Historic Hotels of America -- we celebrate and promote our historic nature, so that hotels like the Hawthorne can continue to survive and thrive for future 44th wedding anniversaries such as this one.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Thomas Makes More Contacts for the Hawthorne Hotel

Recently our corporate sales manager, Thomas MacDonald, went to the National Business Travel Association conference in California. He made a number of contacts, and thought the trip was very worthwhile, in spite of the earthquake on July 29.

Here are some photos:


Thomas with Kevin Maguire, President & CEO of NBTA



Left to right, from the Historic Hotels of America Booth: Leslie Ingiald, the Saint Paul Hotel; Thomas MacDonald, Hawthorne Hotel; Michael DiRienzo, Historic Hotels of America; Scott Grigelevich, The Lenox Hotel; Gary Kohler, the Hotel Whitcomb; and Beth Pollock, the Grande Colonial Hotel.

Left to right: Kyle Eager, Air China; Thomas; Elio Usalj, Air China, and Marcie Hintz, Air China.

Upcoming Wine Dinner Menu ~~ September 17, 2008

Our next wine dinner will be here before you know it. Now that Chef Steve knows what he will be serving, I am sure you will see it and want to attend this spectacular event. If you want a larger version of the menu, simply click on it.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Sundays in Salem -- Historic Walking Tours

Tracing the Path of the 1914 Salem Fire

Historic Salem, Inc.'s Sundays in September
2008 Walking Tour Series


Historic Salem, Inc.
978-745-0799,
www.historicsalem.org


Salem, MA...On June 25, 1914 a devastating fire ignited on Boston Street in the leather-manufacturing district of Salem, Massachusetts, and, over the course of two days, destroyed 1,376 buildings and left 18,000 people-almost half of Salem's 1914 population--homeless and many without jobs. Join Historic Salem, Inc. and historians Donald Friary and Margherita Desy as they trace the path of the fire and examine how this blaze shaped the city's economy and society over the past century. The path of the fire will be divided into three tours.
The General Alarm: The First Streets to go up in Flames
Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 1:00pm - Learn about the destruction of Salem's tanneries, and trace the path of the fire along the edge of the historic McIntire district. Then find examples of rebuilding in the then popular Colonial Revival style, incorporating fire-retardant techniques. This 90-minute tour will meet at the Walgreen's Parking Lot at the corner of Boston and Proctor Streets and conclude at the Broad Street Cemetery.

The Conflagration Strikes South Salem.
Sunday, September 21st at 1:00 pm - A high west wind on that June afternoon in 1914 carried sparks and embers across the Boston and Maine railroad tracks to South Salem. The resulting fires consumed not only the Naumkeag Mills and crowded tenements in the Point, but also elegant homes along Lafayette Street and boats moored in Salem Harbor. This 90-minute tour will meet at the Council on Aging Parking Lot at Broad and Winthrop Streets, and conclude at St. Joseph's Church on Lafayette Street.

The Fire Swallows Salem's Jobs: The Point, the Mills, and the Waterfront.
Sunday, September 28th, 2008 at 1:00 pm - Participants will learn about the French community that was hard hit by the fire, and will tour the former locations of the Naumkeag Steam Cotton Mills and the wharves on South River that that had employed so many in Salem. Join this tour to discover where the fire was finally stopped with a pre-emptive explosion and then imagine the enormous and heroic relief effort that began to feed, house, and clothe the refugees. This 90-minute tour will meet at the Fire Station, corner of New Derby and Lafayette Streets and conclude at Salem Common, where one of three tent cities accommodated the fire's victims throughout the summer of 1914.

Donald Friary, Principal of History for Hire LLC and Director Emeritus of Historic Deerfield, holds a Ph.D. in American Civilization. He led the 2007 Walking Tours as a convincing Reverend William Bentley. Margherita Desy, is the Historian for the Naval Historical Center Detachment Boston, working with USS Constitution. Prior to this, Margherita Desy worked for Historic New England's Phillips House in Salem as Curator and Site Manager. Both of these distinguished historians reside in Salem.

A suggested donation per tour of $5 for members and $10 for non-members for the Sept. 14th and 21st tours will contribute to Historic Salem's Preservation Mission. There is no charge for the Sept. 28th tour, which is being offered in conjunction with Essex National Heritage Area's Trails and Sails Weekend. For further information please call (978) 745-0799 or visit www.historicsalem.org.


###

Getting to Salem

Go car-free - Take the Salem Ferry or the MBTA Commuter Rail or Buses!

The Salem Ferry - A 45-minute high-speed catamaran connects Salem with Central Wharf, Boston, alongside the New England Aquarium. www.salemferry.com; 978.741.0220
MBTA - Take the Newburyport or Rockport lines from North Station or Bus 450/455/451/456/465/468. www.mbta.com

Tavern Specials

Two Dinners For $28.00

The Tavern at The Hawthorne Hotel

On Sundays, Mondays,Tuesdays and Wednesdays
From 5pm – 10pm

August Choices

Grilled Sirloin on Sourdough Bread
barbeque sauce, caramelized onions
Gorgonzola cheese, served with French fries



Tempura Shrimp
Orange-scented rice, broccoli,
sweet and sour dipping sauce



Vegetarian Pizza
zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella



Each Entrée served with a Small Mixed Green Salad
Or Cup of the Soup of the Day,

Chef’s Choice of Dessert

A nice THANK YOU email

Our customers simply say it best!

Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 7:13 PM
To: Kelly Lilly
Subject: Landers Baby Shower


Hi Kelly, I just wanted to let you know that everything went well with our shower yesterday. The food was delicious and all of your staff were very helpful with all our needs. I would highy recommend the Hawthorne Hotel to anyone planning an event! Thanks again! Marie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May we plan an event for you?

Juli

Kensington-Stobart Gallery at the Hawthorne Hotel

The following are photos that I took of a special exhibit of encaustic paintings on display at the Kensington-Stobart Gallery, here at the Hawthorne Hotel They are so unusual, I thought you might like to learn a bit about them, so at the bottom of this post is some information on the artist, as well as the process known as 'encaustic'.







Here you see Sandy Heaphy of the gallery showing me the 'encaustic art' show that is currently featured at the gallery. I had never heard of that particular art form, and was facinated to see it. These pieces are not only beautiful, but are also reasonably price.





Robin Luciano Beaty received her BFA from Massachusetts College of Art in 1998. Since graduating, she has held positions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as an art instructor, a professional illustrator, graphic designer and an assistant to an internationally known artist. In 2003, Robin began concentrating solely on her own art, working out of her studio in Newbury, Massachusetts, while traveling and painting extensively in Europe and Latin America. Three previous solo exhibitions, including her most recent “Wax and Wane,” in March, 2008, were widely popular and well-received. Represented in many private and corporate collections throughout the United States, her award-winning work can also be found in galleries around New England, numerous group and juried shows, annually at the prestigious Mass Art Benefit Auction and at the Newburyport Art Association, which she is a member of and recently won the “Hills Award for Excellence.”

Most recently, Robin has taken on a much more abstract and intuitive approach to her work, concentrating primarily on the ancient wax-based medium of encaustic paint, along with mixed media, vintage materials and found objects.

The encaustic painting process.

The word encaustic originates from the Greek “encaustikos” meaning, to heat or burn in. The history of encaustic painting dates back to the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians who first mastered the encaustic process as far back as the 5th century BC. Encaustic is an ancient painting medium that mixes molten beeswax with resin and dry pigments. Used in its molten form during the painting process, the paint is applied using brushes and is kept on a heated palette at 200 degrees. Each layer of the wax medium is allowed to cool and then fused using a heat gun or torch to create a lustrous enamel effect. Fusing serves to ensure that the different layers of wax are bonded together and will not flake apart later as well as creating a durable moisture resistant surface.

Its exquisite visual properties make it perhaps the most opulent paint ever known; It is also the most durable of all artists' paints, since wax is impervious to moisture and over time will retain all the freshness of a newly finished work. The wax surface of an encaustic painting is a protective finish, nothing needs to be added to preserve the paintings; they will not deteriorate, or discolor.

The encaustic medium remains one of the most difficult mediums to work with. It takes a great deal of patience and skill since the medium is unpredictable and hardens immediately upon contact. This is also the undeniable beauty of the encaustic process. Its spontaneity and versatile sculptural quality adds intrigue and dimension that can not be achieved with conventional artists’ mediums.

Hawthorne Hotel's Flags of the Week ~~ August 18 through 24, 2008

There were no special requests for flags this week. Here is the line-up for the flags that we will fly on the front of the hotel. Here, too, is a photo of the front of the hotel, clearly showing the flag of the USA on the roof.

Monday , August 18 ~~ Georgia and Nebraska
Tuesday , August 19 ~~ Germany and Nevada
Wednesday , August 20 ~~ Ghana and New Hampshire
Thursday , August 21 ~~ Greece and New Jersey
Friday , August 22 ~~ Grenada and New Mexico
Saturday , August 23 ~~ Guatemala and New York
Sunday , August 24 ~~ Guinea and North Carolina

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Whet your appetite for dinner in Nathaniel's

One of the comments we hear most often regarding dining in Nathaniel's here at the Hawthorne Hotel is how much our guests enjoy the fact that we offer demi-portions of many of our entrees. I enjoy it too, because that way I don't feel stuffed and I can have several courses rather than only an entree.

I hope you enjoy dining with us at Nathaniel's, and let us hear from you if you enjoy the demi-portion idea as well.

Juli


The chef's salad of the week, mixed baby greens, raspberries and spiced pecans, Mandarin oranges, raspberry vinaigrette and fresh goat cheese.

Grilled sea scallops with a nest of phyllo holding micro-herbs, white wine buerre blanc.

Demi-portion of spring vegetable stew with rouille, toasted sourdough bread, and a refreshing dry reisling. Outstanding!

Demi-portion of grilled New York strip loin, grilled spring onion, Vidalia mashed potatoes, sauteed fresh spinach, and red wine reduction.

Wedded Bliss at PEM

Here is a copy of, and a link to, a great review of the show, Wedded Bliss, which is now at PEM (the Peabody Essex Museum) located just one block from the Hawthorne Hotel. I thought it was a very apt review, and hope you enjoy reading it. More than reading it, though, I hope it prompts you to go see it. A great exhibit.

The review is in the Friday, August 15 edition of the Boston Globe. Use the link if you want to see some images that are included with the article.

Juli

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2008/08/15/bridal_party/?page=1

For more information on PEM, go to www.pem.org



ART REVIEW
Bridal party
Wedding objects from many cultures prove fascinating
By Sebastian Smee, Globe Staff August 15, 2008

SALEM - If you associate weddings with kitsch, with artifice, with almost pathological levels of optimism, relax: I'm not here to set you straight. But "Wedded Bliss," the tendentiously titled exhibition of nuptial art from across the globe at the Peabody Essex Museum, is not out to convert anyone, and it is about as far from the tackiness of a wedding industry trade fair as you could get.

The show opened in the spring but has struggled to attract audiences, which is a shame, since it is chock-full of delights. To some extent, the museum may have itself to blame. It erred, I suspect, not only with the chirrupy title, but with its decision to use a black-and-white studio photograph of a dreamy young bride to promote the show.

The image is attractive enough - it shows off a 1970 dress by Priscilla of Boston which looked fine to me. But what makes this show complicated, revelatory, and endearingly messy is precisely its distance from the air of celestial artifice promoted by photographs like this. Instead, "Wedded Bliss" features a wonderful array of objects earthily connected to weddings from dozens of disparate cultures, from the rough-hewn to the glittering, from slickly painted portraits to intricately hennaed hands.

The curator, Paula Bradstreet Richter, claims the show originated in lunchtime conversations with museum colleagues busy planning their weddings. She is to be commended for taking these discussions, and then the whole subject, so seriously. The show goes much deeper than makeup and confetti. It includes wedding cakes and imperial crowns, origami and gowns, dresses, caskets, chests, jewelry, textiles, paintings, photographs, fans, and even a Jewish wedding contract.

The premise is simple: Weddings inspire art. Most of this art is rich in tradition. After all, the business of marriage all over the world is steeped in custom, and though the variations are endless, the themes are the same.

But because weddings are also about individuals, much of what made it into "Wedded Bliss" is intensely intimate, private, even erotic. Consider, for instance, the small watercolor painted on ivory of two pearly white breasts surrounded by sensuous swaths of gauzy white fabric. The artist, surprisingly, was not some concupiscent male voyeur attempting to illustrate the word "nubile." Rather, she was Sarah Goodridge, the distinguished 19th-century Boston miniaturist and proud owner of these fine physical attributes. Because the painting descended in the family of the statesman Daniel Webster, whom Goodridge painted at least a dozen times, art historians have surmised that the painting was presented as a love token to the widowed Webster. Goodridge was 40 at the time.

Though they were engaged, Webster and Goodridge's intimate relationship did not, in fact, end in marriage. Neither did the impressive marriage proposal - a painted self-portrait framed in a silver locket - sent by an 18-year-old Benjamin West to his beloved, Elizabeth Steele. Steele kept the miniature but rejected West.

Other objects allude to the tension marriages create between private feeling (lovesickness, hankerings, etc.) and social convention. Most striking among them is a wooden busk for a woman's corset decoratively carved by Vermont's Ebenezer White in 1782. On this uncomfortably rigid device, intended to enforce good posture, is the following inscription: "IF U LOVE ME AS I LOVE U THEN I & U WILL MAKE 1 OF 2." Lovingly, the contraption embodies all that is bittersweet about marriage.

For me the true stars of the show are the textiles and dresses. Nothing in the exhibition - indeed in the whole Peabody Essex (and believe me, the competition is stiff) - is more beautiful than the 19th-century suzani from Uzbekistan. Suzanis (the word derives from the Persian word for needle) are simply embroidered hangings or bed coverings. This one, from the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, employs gorgeous floral motifs in rich red and dark green silk, with outbreaks of sky and royal blue, yellow, and orange.

What I love about it, apart from the color, is the free-form nature of its decoration. The larger rosettes near the edges of the cotton cloth should be uniform and evenly spaced, but the central one at the top has drifted amiably over to the right. Note, too, the delightful pattern-within-a-pattern in the bottom right corner of the inner rectangle.

The whole thing is ravishing. But what is its connection with weddings? Simply that suzanis were dowry gifts, intended both as an indication of the bride-to-be's wealth and embroidery skills, and a means of perpetuating tribal symbols and totems.

In a cosmopolitan spin typical of this exhibition, Richter has hung the suzani next to several entrancing tapestries from southern Sweden. Their designs are stricter, more geometrical, but the colors are dazzling, and the intended message the same.

The catalog includes a marvelous essay by the Italian photographers-cum-anthropologists Tiziano and Gianni Baldizzone, who've spent years observing and photographing wedding customs around the world (their vibrantly colored photos are included in the show). "Weddings," they point out, "represent important sources of work for craftspeople . . . whose specialist knowledge and creativity often make them responsible for ensuring that traditions are respected and followed. . . . They often enjoy the full respect of the community and the absolute faith of those families who entrust them with the organization . . . of their children's weddings."

A section on wedding attire highlights kimonos, tunics, robes, and bridal headdresses from China, Korea, Japan, India, and Indonesia. One of the finest items is a woman's hip wrapper from Java decorated with hand-drawn motifs applied with the wax-resist method (known as "batik tulis"), all of it overlaid with gold thread. Like so many Indonesian textiles, it combines a sense of exquisite restraint with extreme sumptuousness.

Restraint is nowhere to be seen in the wedding cake designed by masterful Danvers cake-maker Cile Bellefleur Burbidge, near the end of the show. But this all-white extravaganza, designed just last year, is hard not to admire, and its placement next to other wedding cake-related objects (a whimsical ceramic teapot by Maria Superior and a wedding cake-shape basket by Kahnawake Mohawk artist Mary Kawennatakie Adams) is apt.

These three related objects in turn provide the perfect setting for Christian Lacroix's "Wedding Cake Dress," a short, witty concoction decorated with light pink appliqued rosettes that mimic effects typical of wedding cake icing. Lacroix's invention is a reminder that even flat-out kitsch can be redeemed by a flirty little wink.

Sebastian Smee can be reached at ssmee@globe.com.

North Shore Music Theater is a great entertainment venue

When you come to visit us in Salem, and plan your stay at the Hawthorne Hotel, you may want to consider seeing a live theater production at the North Shore Music Theater. Here is some information about their current production:

North Shore Music Theatre’s production of THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE playing through August 31, 2008. For tickets and information www.nsmt.org or (978)232-7200



Developed in the Berkshires and a long-running hit on Broadway, this Tony® Award-winning musical comedy follows six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser. This tuneful, offbeat and at times heartwarming show offers audience members the opportunity (strictly voluntary) to become part of the action as on-stage spellers. So get out your dictionaries, and get ready for an evening filled with humor and heart.

I hope you enjoy your visit to the North Shore, Salem, and the Hawthorne Hotel.

Juli

Witches Cup Bicycle Race

Here is a link to a slide show of photos that I took of this great bicycle race around the Common last night. I had a view that no one else did, from the roof of the Hawthorne Hotel. In addition, the sky was spectacular tonight, so some of these photos of the hotel look like old-time postcards that had been hand-colored. I hope you enjoy the show.

If you are a rider and want any of these photos for yourself, or the press, feel free to right-click and copy whichever ones you want. If you wish to give me photo credits, please do so -- Juli Lederhaus.




Juli

100th Birthday Celebration at the Hawthorne Hotel

On Sunday Regina Gastonguay celebrated her 100th birthday with a big party in the Ballroom of the Hawthorne Hotel. Regina's niece, Alma Gallo, planned this event. Since it is not everyday that we get to host such an auspicious occasion, we snapped some photos of this for our blog.

No birthday party would be complete without a terrific toast.

Here you see Regina with the beautiful cake created just for this occasion. Do you think she likes pink?

Her friends and family signed in on a picture frame in place of a guest book.

I hope you enjoy seeing this slice of life at the Hawthorne Hotel. We certainly enjoy sharing it with you.

Juli

Witches' Cup Bicycle Race is Tomorrow on the Common

Okay, so I have good news and not-so-good news. The good news is that there is a world-class bicycle race happening on the Common tomorrow night, Wednesday, August 13. So if you are staying at the hotel, you will have a great front row seat to all of the action.

Unfortunately, that is also the not-so-good news, because if you are trying to get to the hotel during that time frame, it is going to be a little more difficult. The roads will be closed from 4 pm to 8 pm, with the first race going off at 5 pm. If you are coming to the hotel, please tell the detour police officer that fact, and they should be able to help direct you in a way that will not conflict with the race. We will have the parking lot attended to protect the spaces for our guests, so please just keep on coming and we will make you welcomed.

Here is a link to the May 6 Salem News article about the upcoming race:

http://www.salemnews.com/archivesearch/local_story_127224626.html

There was another story in today's Salem News, but it is not yet available on line. If you want to check on it yourself, you can go to www.Salemnews.com

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Our VIP of the Week

Here you see Jerry Simpson who was our VIP (very important Passport) guest of the week on July 14. Our Passport Club is for companies or organizations that send us a good deal of business every year. The VIP receives an award letter and dinner for two in either of our restaurants within the next 12 months.

If you think your company or organization might qualify for membership in our Passport Club, please contact Thomas MacDonald, the Club Administrator, at 978-825-4361. He will be happy to explain the requirements and benefits to you.

I hope to see you here (and maybe as our VIP of the week!)

Juli

Hawthorne Hotel's Flags of the Week ~~ August 11 through 17, 2008

This week we have special requests for several days, as you can see:

Monday , August 11 ~~ Jordan and Minnesota
Tuesday , August 12 ~~ Hungary and Colorado
Wednesday , August 13 ~~ Israel and Colorado
Thursday , August 14 ~~ Finland and Colorado
Friday , August 15 ~~ France and Mississippi
Saturday , August 16 ~~ Gabon and Missouri
Sunday , August 17 ~~ Gambia and Montana

I hope to see you here,

Juli

Our Neighbor, Marie Cardillo, of Sophia's Gifts, Wins Award

Our good friend and neighbor, Marie Cardillo, owns Sophia's Gifts of Artistry and Elegance, which is located right across the street from the Hawthorne Hotel.

The Salem Garden Club sponsors a competition each year for the best window boxes, and this year Marie won first place in the Business Category, for her lovely flower boxes.
Marie's boxes get a lot of shade, but she chose exactly the right kinds of plants to make her boxes beautiful. Marie's friend, Janice Charlton, helped her plan and plant her boxes this year. Janice is an avid gardner and member of the Salem Garden Club.

Congratulations, Marie!


When you come to visit the Hawthorne Hotel, be sure to stop by Sophia's and say hello to Marie. Tell her that Juli from the Hawthorne sent you. I'm sure it will make her smile.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Vintage Sailboats and Motor Yachts Show -- August 23 & 24

If you are coming to visit Salem on August 23 and 24, or just happen to live nearby, you may be very interested in this information:

Salem, MA... It's a glorious sight, equal in its own way to the "Tall Ships." A great variety of eye-catching vintage sailboats and motor yachts will be on view at Hawthorne Cove Marina in Salem, Massachusetts over the August 23-24 weekend.

These rare beautiful craft of yesteryear range from a 1900 courting canoe to sleek 1920s-50s mahogany runabouts and cabin cruisers, to sloops, sharpies, yawls and schooners. A special treat is getting to board the boats. Many proud owners give the public a personal tour of their boat, regaling visitors with fascinating tales of voyages, how they acquired their boat, and the joys and woes of restoring her.

Festival Coordinator, Pat Wells, says," although many of these craft are museum quality, they are real boats, in the water, and in use by their owners today."

Although the boats are the main attraction, the Festival features the New New Orleans Jazz Band, New Liberty Jazz Band and Three Sheets to the Wind, among other performers. A crafts market includes artists, print makers, ship modelers, woodcarvers, booksellers and purveyors of other interesting wares. The Blessing of the Fleet and Parade of Boats round out this festive weekend.

Wells says, " old favorites will be returning to the show, plus many new old boats we haven't seen before. We have invited APHRODITE, the celebrated torpedo-stern commuter owned by Charles Royce of Greenwich CT, and Billy Joel's tradition-inspired commuter VENDETTA. They might just come!"

Representing the epitome of luxury yacht building in America in the early 20th century, these supremely elegant, swift vessels whisked their wealthy owners in style to downtown offices in metropoli such as Manhattan and Detroit. "One of the neat things about the Festival," says Wells," is that boat owners meet old-timers who have known their boat in the past and can recount stories and history.

Last year, participant MATCHLESS, a 100-year old catboat owned by Peter Haney of Bourne, MA, was visited by a former owner who had her in the 1950s. TEASER, a 1935 sailboat owned by Dana Marcorelle of South Hamilton, MA, was visited by Rosamond Dennis, now in her eighties, of Salem, MA, who had loved the boat and sailed aboard her as a child. Her friend, Alice Bonney of Beverly MA, saw Teaser launched in 1935 and spent her honeymoon aboard her! Yachting historian and long-time Festival judge, Llewellyn Howland III of Jamaica Plain, MA, recognized SANDRALA, a 1940 42' Alden yawl owned by brothers, Dan and Doug Webb of Reading, MA. He had known her as a youth in Falmouth in the 1940s.

Wells says, "The Festival is about people as well as boats. Over and over again, the public has told us that what they like best is seeing the beautiful old boats and talking to their owners."

Owners of antique and classic sailboats, powerboats, runabouts and hand-powered craft are welcome to enter their boats. " Boats don't have to be in 'show' condition," says Wells; "we simply want to gather together the grand old craft and all those who love them."

Date: August 23-24, 2008 (Sat., 11 am-5 pm; Sun., 11 am-3 pm)

Place: Hawthorne Cove Marina, 10 White St., Salem, Massachusetts

Admission: $5.00, children under 12 free Information: 617-422-1703, 617-666-8530, http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0014Jz_WKmwb06yktT8ZwxPHX9_bK9_nMON4QFGJGl_7BaHxWcNrYhXx_iWks5emovnwTMSM7j483ZMGZI28hVdHaYT6SyblHjJ9zRkhmEtIgpqenn2O4qbrg==

Spoke and Hub Travel

What is spoke and hub travel, anyway? It when you stay in one place for a period of time, but make short forays into other places from where you are. Salem is a PERFECT place from which to do that, and the Hawthorne Hotel is the PERFECTLY LOCATED hotel!

Many of our guests have already discovered this, but in case you have not, here is the scoop.

1. Stay in Salem for a couple of days to see all that Salem has to offer, including the House of the Seven Gables, PEM (Peabody Essex Museum -- the oldest and 14th largest museum in the USA), the waterfront, the Friendship, the Salem Witch Museum, and some of the kitchy shops and other attractions that are a hoot.
2. After you have seen all Salem has to offer, take the train (commuter rail, MBTA) to Boston. It is only three blocks from the Hawthorne Hotel.
3. Walk around Boston, as it is a very walkable city. Start with a duck boat tour for a good orientation.
4. Take the ferry back to Salem (or simply reverse the thinking and take the ferry in and the train back.) Grab a pedicab back to the Hawthorne Hotel
5. Even including the ferry and train rides, you will have saved a LOT of money by staying in Salem, because our rates are nearly half what the same kind of hotel in Boston would charge.
6. You can visit Boston on a couple of days to see all there is there.
7. The next day -- rent a car, or drive your car, to the surrounding communities, such as Marblehead (be sure to stop in their town hall and see the Spirit of '76 painting -- one of the most famous in the world), check out the charming shops and seaside restaurants, and ogle the mansions out on the 'neck.
8. The next day, drive up to Essex, Rockport, and Gloucester.
9. On this final day, drive to Concord and Lexington to really get the feeling of the battles surrounding the war of independence.

None of these trips are any longer than 45 minutes driving time!

You will have the best vacation ever, get to experience a lot of different things, and never have to move from one hotel to the next.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Local Theater is the Best Theater

Just one block from the Hawthorne Hotel is the best movie theater in the Commonwealth of Masschusetts! So, if you or your family members just absolutely have to see the latest, greatest movies while you are visiting Salem on your vacation, or if you are here on business and want something to do in the evening, Cinema Salem is exactly the right choice.

The prices are the best around, they have REAL BUTTER on their popcorn, homemade cookies, and a lot of unusual snacks at their snack bar, all of which are reasonably priced. All this, and only a one-block walk from the Hawthorne Hotel.

I hope to see you here (or there).

Juli

Here is a copy of their newsletter for this week:


Recently I counted up the movies at a large nearby Cineplex, and found a total of 14 movies playing on the 20 screens. Of those movies, CinemaSalem was playing or had played nine of them. This illustrates the fact that we make good use of our three screens by bringing movies in and out quickly and efficiently.

A good example is this week. We were able to land STEP BROTHERS (R - 95 minutes) for a short run starting this Friday. The Philadelphia Inquirer critic loved it: "Full of riffy, improvised moments and a couple of jaw-dropping sight gags, the comedy follows a typical buddy-movie arc -- conflict and loathing giving way to bonding and brotherhood, or step-brotherhood in this case."

Returning for a second week is THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (PG13 -- 114 minutes). which the Arizona Republic gives a big thumbs-up: "Possibly the most fun Mummy yet -- call it The Uber- Mummy." Even the great Roger Ebert loved it: "Now why did I like this movie? It was just plain dumb fun, is why. It is absurd and preposterous, and proud of it." THE MUMMY will screen Friday-Thursday at (11:30 AM), (2:00), (4:30), 7:00 and 9:30.

If you follow box office tallies, you know that THE DARK KNIGHT (PG13 - 150 minutes) reached the $400m mark faster than any film in cinema history. Critics are bending over backwards trying to describe it's dark and mesmerizing appeal. Just read this rave from the Houston Chronicle: "This is not merely a Batman movie. It is not merely a comic-book movie. It is not merely gripping summer entertainment. It is, with Wall-E, one of the two best mainstream films to be released all year and far and away the most hypnotic chiller."

THE DARK KNIGHT plays Friday through Thursday at (11:45 AM), (3:15), 6:45 and 10:00.

Don't forget that a showtime in (parentheses) is a bargain matinee, allowing you to purchase an admission ticket for only $6! That's the best deal for first-run movies in the Boston area.
Thanks for supporting CinemaSalem!

Paul Van Ness

A Nice Thank You Note for a Class Reunion

Here is a very nice thank you that we received from the class reunion held here this summer for the MIT class of 1943. We greatly enjoyed hosting this class reunion, and it appears that they all enjoyed their time here.

Juli

A New Addition to Our Collection of Historic Memorabilia

Recently a friend told me about this postcard which he had discovered, and I subsequently purchased it for the Hawthorne Hotel's collection of memorabilia. It is a view that I had not seen as a postcard or other image before, and also showed some interesting historical aspects. For example, the old cars out front helps to date it for us (a friend thinks they were from around 1934 or so), and the space and building to the right edge tell a story as well.

At the far right edge you can see a bit of the Crowninshield-Bentley House, which is now located across the street from the Hawthorne Hotel. It was donated to the Peabody Essex Museum in the eighties, to make room for an expansion of the hotel's dining room. The addition is called Sophia's, and you enter it through Nathaniel's Restaurant. There are some old photos in the archives of PEM that indicate the house was at one time used as a shop, and if I remember correctly, it was a Joke Shop.

I hope you enjoy this look back in time, at the historic Hawthorne Hotel, here in Salem, Massachusetts.

Juli

"Lace Reader" Book Signing

Here is some information that might be of interest to you regarding the new book, The Lace Reader, which is set here in Salem, and has been getting great reviews all over the country. Consider this your invitation to:

Barnes & Noble
Peabody, MA
( behind the North Shore Mall)
Friday, August 15 at 7:00 PM
Presents an author talk and signing of
The Lace Reader
By Brunonia Barry

The action of the book takes place in Salem, MA and Ms. Barry leaves no stone or statue untouched in this mesmerizing novel about secrets revealed in pieces of Ipswich lace.
Special attraction: Complimentary Lace Readings
starting at 6:00 PM at Barnes and Noble by the
Staff of Artemisia Botanicals

Hawthorne Hotel's Flags of the Week ~~ August 4 through 10, 2008

Our usual habit is to fly the flags of the countries, and the flags of the states of the USA in alphabetical order. This week we have several special requests, as you can see:

Monday , August 4 ~~ Antigua and Barbuda and Ohio
Tuesday , August 5 ~~ Argentina and Oklahoma
Wednesday , August 6 ~~ Armenia and Oregon
Thursday , August 7 ~~ Germany and Maine
Friday , August 8 ~~ UK and Massachusetts
Saturday , August 9 ~~ Japan and Michigan
Sunday , August 10 ~~ Jordan and Micronesia

Want to know more about Antigua and Barbuda? Click on this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua_and_barbuda

If you have a special request, let us know by calling Shannon at 978-825-4323.

I hope to see you here.

Juli

An Olivia-the-Piglet Story, Part II

While Sean, Olivia's owner, was trying to check out of the Hawthorne Hotel this week, Frankie (a baby belonging to some other guests) was checking out Olivia. Olivia was a model of good hotel guest behavior until Frankie decided that Olivia would be good to ride on, and then Olivia started squealing in excellent pig-fashion. As soon as Sean picked her up, she quieted right back down, despite Frankie's interest in her tail.

Now that is a story you don't see on just any hotel blog!

BTW, The Salem News liked this story so much, they called and asked my permission to write about it in their "Heard Around Town" column that appears every Friday. here is the link to their story:

http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_221010804.html



I hope to see you here, and don't feel like you have to top this story.

Olivia the Pot-bellied Pig

As a pet-friendly hotel, we get many canines, and an occasional feline, but we have never had a porcine guest before, at least not to our knowledge. This week was a first, and here are photos of the most photographed animal in Salem this week, Olivia, the Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pig. In this first photo you see her with two of her owners, Sean and Keegan.


Olivia is currently 3-1/2 months old. She will grow to only about 75 pounds, the size of a medium dog. She is already litterbox-trained, but she hasn't gotten used to walking on the leash yet, so they have a baby carriage to transport her around. Ah, the life of a pig.

Now, I wonder if we need to develop a "piggie room service menu" to go along with our "doggie room service menu"?

I hope to see you here.

Juli

Tour of the Salem Marine Society

In the Lobby of the Hawthorne Hotel here in Salem there is a small framed photo of the Salem Marine Society, with a few words about our "Rooftop Treasure", and although it clearly says that the Marine Society is not open to the public, hardly a day passes when that someone doesn't ask how they can get up there to see this wonderful place.

Unfortunately it is a private club, definitely off-limits to the public, and therefore not available for our guests to visit. However, that doesn't mean that you cannot see it, because now, through the wonders of the Internet and a video camera that is simple enough for even me to use, we are able to provide this video tour of the Salem Marine Society for everyone to see. I love this juxtaposition of technology from 2008 that enables us to share history dating back to 1766.

I asked local historian, Jim McAllister, to be our tour guide for this five-minute tour of the tiny cabin on the roof of the Hawthorne Hotel that is home to the Salem Marine Society. I will also be posting a slide show tour as well, in case your computer doesn't do well with videos.

To view this video, simply click on it.


If you have problems seeing it here, go to our website, http://www.hawthornehotel.com/ and you will see a link to it right on our home page.

If video is not your thing, check out the slide show instead. You can get to it here:



We hope you enjoy the tour.

Juli