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DNB Newsletter - December 2009
This Month's Newsletter Sponsor
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> It's Party Time!
> A Santa’s Village of helpers decorates downtown
> Windows give Downtown an Enchanted Village Feeling
> Second Annual downtown Holiday Stroll a Success
> Shopping downtown is the place to be!
> Member-to-member discounts!
> Is it Homer or Betsy? Or even Crybaby?
> Downtown Beat
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It’s Party Time!
On December 16, the Board of Directors and staff of Downtown New Bedford, Inc. invite DNB, Inc. members and friends to attend a Holiday Social from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at Cork on 90 Front Street. It’s a time to kick back, relax and enjoy. The appetizers are complimentary. The bar is cash. There is no agenda, no meeting. It’s just social.
We have had a great year in downtown New Bedford and at Downtown New Bedford, Inc. in 2009. We have started new initiatives; worked long, hard hours with the help of staff, board of directors and volunteers; and solved problems big and small. Our downtown is humming with success compared to others nearby.
There will be other initiatives in 2010 and new problems to solve. But not on the evening of December 16.
For those of you who can’t attend, thank you for your help and support throughout 2009, and have a very happy holiday season.
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A Santa’s Village of helpers decorates downtown
It has taken a whole Santa’s village of city workers, merchants and volunteers to decorate downtown New Bedford for the holidays this year and to hang fresh laurel on the lamp posts in the Historic District.
With no budget for new decorations or repairs this year, the city planned to make the traditional wreath of lights on the Washingtonian lampposts go further by putting them on every other lamp with holiday banners on the in-between poles. That would give more of central downtown a festive feeling. The problem with this plan was that the holiday banners were in a state of sorry disrepair. Penny Brewer of Brewer Banner Designs donated $190.00 to repair nineteen banners. The remaining fifty or so were machine washed at a city fire station and then line dried by Kenneth F. Blanchard, Superintendent of Parks and Public Places. Ken Blanchard has also directed the placement of the decorations on the Washingtonian lamppost located in the central business district.
Last year there were lights on the lampposts in the Historic District, but lack of funds meant that there was no fresh laurel or red bows. Without laurel, the Historic District just wasn’t the same. Not even close. Fund raising to make sure we would have laurel this holiday season started early in the year. There are 200 poles to decorate, and each costs about $24.00 including lights. A frivolous expense? We found out last year that it wasn’t. The funding goal was achieved just in time to order the laurel.
A pair of donors, Mr. & Mrs. Terrence Lewis, volunteered to purchase 200 matching sets of new white lights for the poles, which, as it turned out, was not as easy to accomplish as it sounded. DNB, Inc. learned that holiday lights are distributed from a central location in the summer and that each Lowe’s store has only a certain number of sets of identical lights allocated to it. You can’t walk into Lowe’s and say, “I’ll have 200 sets of lights, all alike, please.” Gathering 200 sets in one place would take time. Two weeks in fact.
Danny Allendale took on the project with efficiency, professionalism and great customer service. Jim Hardy and Isaac Vianna helped as well. Bobby Couto picked up the supply of Christmas lights from eleven different Lowe’s stores including one in Rhode Island and delivered them to the DNB, Inc. office.
DNB, Inc. Director Diane Nichols
and Bob Trahan.
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The laurel has long been supplied by Bob Trahan of the Potting Bench on Ashley Boulevard. He drives to New Hampshire to pick up the laurel supply, already cut according to our exacting specifications. The Potting Bench crew ties each red bow by hand and then delivers the laurel and bows to Custom House Square early in the morning on Laurel Day.
Teams of volunteers, both experienced and, new spread across the historic district with stepladders, maps and bags of laurel and bows. It takes a little over an hour, and the historic district is transformed.
The volunteers from the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center have been hanging laurel for years. “It’s the least we can do to give back to the city and to DNB, Inc.,” says John Ford, FAAMA, Director of Facilities at the Health Center.
Thank you List – 2009 Holiday decorations
Laurel and Red Bows Donations:
| Artworks!
Beauregard, Burke & Franco
bejeweled
Bruce Spooner Financial Services
Carter’s Clothing
David G. Sullivan
E. J. Pontiff Real Estate
Fiber Optic Center
First Church of Christ, Scientist
Greater New Bedford Com-
munity Health Center
HallKeen Management Co.
Law Offices of Eric Jaikes
Law Offices of Robert F. Murray
Mathieu & Mathieu
Mary Louise Nunes, CPA
Moby Dick Specialty
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Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Baker
Mr. & Mrs. Terrence Lewis
New Bedford Credit Union
New Bedford Port Society
New Bedford Whaling Museum
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
Outlook EAP
Peter DeWalt
Purchase Street Ventures
Rachel Day
Sarah C. King
St. Anne’s Credit Union
Tara L. Pacheco
The Bedford Merchant
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Thank you for Lighting the Historic District
Mr. & Mrs. Terrence Lewis
Thank you to Lowe’s for discount and collecting light supply from 11 stores.
Thank you to City of New Bedford’s DPW Crew.
Thank you to volunteers who decorated the Historic District on December 1st.
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Windows give Downtown an Enchanted Village Feeling
Come to Downtown New Bedford not only to shop and eat, but to browse the holiday windows too!
Downtown New Bedford is filled with beautiful, original and well thought out Holiday Windows. The windows are so well done that they easily won out over the rain in capturing the attention of the three contest judges. The windows entered in the second Annual Holiday Window Contest were carefully surveyed by the judges, recording their comments on damp clipboards.
All of the participants in the window contest are winners for taking the time to make their storefronts attractive and inviting customers to enter, adding to the Downtown Holiday Village streetscape. The refurbished Enchanted Village at Jordan’s Furniture may be beautifully done, but we have our own real, live enchanted village right here in Downtown New Bedford. All the windows attract a step inside and see what is beyond the front door.
First place winner in the contest is Vetu at 143 Union Street, who captured this award for its big city look. Stop by. It takes a while to take in the entire display.
Second place went to the Celtic Coffee House, new to our Historic District at 42 North Water Street, for their natural decorations.
Third place is Solstice at 102 William Street, who has filled its small storefront windows with highly imaginative and original use of their products.
The honorable mentions went to two businesses that incorporate the city itself into their windows. TL6 The Gallery, 100 William St., places New Bedford into “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and Elaine’s Home of the Black Whale, 772 Purchase St., combines her New Bedford product line into a stylish display.
Other windows in the “must look” category are:
- The Bedford Merchant, 28 William St., beautiful ornaments.
- Moby Dick Retail, 27 William St., model ships in the windows that get dusted every day.
- New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, beautiful look and
feel to the whole museum with special mention of the Moby Dick window at the Research library on Purchase St.
- Michelle Carr Photography, 36 North Water St., enchanting photos.
- Salon Lola, 165 Union St., just look at those haircuts.
- Calico, 173 Union St., style, style, style.
- Lumina Images & Sound Xplosion 761 Purchase St., two new businesses worth looking at.
- Arthur Moniz Gallery, 22 William St., original art work.
- On a Roll, 149 Union St., inviting and attractive.
- The Doll’s Closet/Chrystal Garden/Green Lantern, 772 Purchase St., filled with interest.
- Artificial Marketplace, 104 William St., retro all the way.
- Navio Artisans Collective, 65 William St., a wonderful collection, adapted to New Bedford.
- bejeweled, 26 Centre St., beautiful window boxes with native greens.
- 2nd Story Studio Gallery, 96 William St., interesting photos.
- Blush Beauty Bar, 29 Centre St., excellent use of color.
More, just about everywhere you look!
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Second Annual downtown Holiday Stroll a Success
Just how smart was DNB, Inc. to plan the holiday stroll for two days this year rather than the one of last year? Very smart indeed, considering that Saturday the 5th was a rainy, three umbrella day and Sunday was a perfect sunny holiday spirit day, although chilly.
That’s not to say that people didn’t come out on Saturday, because they did. Saturday was a good day for families with small children who came to see Santa and who came to decorate cookies and keepsake ornaments in several locations throughout the downtown. Many of these ornaments will be hung for years, hung with stories about when they were made. In the Bristol Building, besides providing kids with the opportunity to make ornaments and gift bags, Smiles Mentoring held a contest to choose the best holiday card from many their students had made. The rule for the card was that each had to contain non-commercial wishes. The posted cards formed a mural of wishes for family unity, for peace, for parental health, for pets and for freedom from gangs. These wishes are reminders of the true holiday spirit.
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There were other reminders of the non commercial holiday spirit in other locations in entertainment provided by our young people. The New Bedford Youth Symphony Orchestra was in a perfect setting in the Seamen’s Bethel. The Showstoppers performed at Citizen’s Union Bank. The Southcoast Youth Jazz Combo performed in the Whaling Museum auditorium, and the New Bedford Ballet Company performed at the Zeiterion. Not only are the kids impressive, the family support they receive from the audience is too.
It was a good day for photos with Santa (Joe Arruda), taken by Michelle Carr in her shop. Proceeds from the sale of Santa photos go to the New Bedford Baby Project. For more about this, see Michelle’s blog. http://www.blog.michellecarrphotography.com/
It was a good day for drinking hot chocolate sitting by the fire at the Celtic Coffee House.
Café Arpeggio’s all day open mike entertainment was a popular destination too.
It was a good day for listening to music throughout the city.
Grinches are supposed to be grumpy. Having wet feet made for a strolling Grinch with perfect grumpiness.
It was, frankly, not a good day for window shopping. But the weather may have prompted some people to enter shops they otherwise would have bypassed. Merchants were generally pleased with their sales on Saturday, in spite of the weather.
It wasn’t the best possible day for Santa to light the giant tree on the steps of the New Bedford Free Public Library. But it was a day to thank the city counselors for their decision to sing one verse of “We wish you a Merry Christmas.” Miss New Bedford and the New Bedford High School Marching Band performed with gusto. It was remarkable that so many people turned out for the tree lighting, because by then it was not only raining and windy but also dark and getting colder. Still, the holiday spirit prevailed over the weather.
Saturday the 6th was cold and sunny, drawing more people into the city. Performances had bigger audiences. Even early in the afternoon merchants were reporting more brisk sales than the day before. There was a line outside to have photos taken with Santa.
The antique fire engine had full loads Saturday.
Santa enjoyed having a dry suit on Sunday because, good sport that he was, he and Mrs. Santa (Jen Arruda) had gotten pretty wet in the ride from Michelle Carr’s studio to the library in the back of the antique fire truck on Saturday and even wetter during the tree lighting ceremony. Still, being wet didn’t stop Santa from greeting people with his customary Ho! Ho! Ho! during his ride up the street. Although Santa has magical powers of flight with reindeer, the magical powers don’t extend to staying dry in the rain.
Even though we will wish for two days of perfect weather for next year’s holiday stroll, bad weather is a good way to reveal the true spirit of the holidays and the people celebrating them.
Happy holidays to all!
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Shopping downtown is the place to be!
The pace is relaxed. It’s uncommercial. The service, often directly from the business owner or artist, is personal. There are lots of places to take a break and have a snack or meal.
It is a great place to bring kids to shop for their friends, teachers or family. As little as a dollar will buy a nice gift at Moby Dick Retail or the Ocean Explorium.
At the other end of the price range, you can splurge on a painting at Crowell’s or have an unforgettable photo portrait taken at Michele Carr’s studio. You can spend a good amount on an Arthur Moniz original work of art that you family will keep forever. But you can also buy a package of cards there for $7.50.
The gift choices expand all the time. In compiling this downtown alphabetical shopping list, we forgot to go to so many places on the first day that we had to go back out the next day. Even with that, we have probably missed a few good gift locations. At TL6 The Gallery, they figure they have gifts for just about all the letters of the alphabet. It’s like that at Bedford Merchant too.
Following is just a small taste of what’s available in the $50.00 and under range.
- A -
- Accessories, Calico, Elissa Paquette, 173 Union Street, (508) 999-4147, www.shopcalico.com
- Albums, Converse Photo Supply, 10 North 6th St., (508) 992-3910, www.conversephoto.com
- Angel Pups, Bedford Merchant, 28 William St. (508) 997-9194, www.bedfordmerchant.com, $3.95
- Artwork, Arthur Moniz Gallery, 22 William St, (508) 997-8644, www.arthurmonizgallery.com
- B -
- Bags, Vetu Gifts & Fine Consignment, 143 Union Street ,
(508) 990.VETU, www.vetugifts.com
- Beads, The Doll’s Closet and Crystal Garden, Green Lantern Shop, Yarn Place, 772 Purchase St., (508) 993-9420
- Belts, men’s and women’s, The Bay and the Cottage, 89 N Water St # 2, (508) 991-4500 www.thebayclothing.com
- Bookends, Elaine’s Home of the Black Whale, 772 Purchase Street, (508) 999-2166, www.theblackwhale.com
- Boxed, custom ballpoint pens, Navio Artisans Collection, 65 William Street, (508) 558-1922
- C -
- Candle shades, Henry & Silva, 106 William St., 508-994-2502
- Cards, Arthur Moniz Gallery, 22 William St. (508) 997-8644, www.arthurmonizgallery.com, $7.50 and up.
- Coffee by the pound, Costa Rican, Sumatran, others; Green Bean, 740 Purchase St, (508) 984-3300, $9.50
- Contributions, any amount, United Way of Greater New Bedford, 105 William Street, (508) 994-9625, www.unitedwayofgnb.org
- Cribbage Board, Arthur Moniz Gallery, 22 William St, (508) 997-8644, www.arthurmonizgallery.com, $27.98
- Custom Calendars, Alphagraphics, 827 Rockdale Avenue,
(508) 991-2121, www.newbedfordprinting.com
- D -
- Dresses, Calico, Elissa Paquette, 173 Union Street, (508) 999-4147, www.shopcalico.com starting at $38.00
- E -
- Erupting Volcano with dinosaur, VETU Gifts & Fine Consignment, 143 Union Street , (508) 990-VETU, www.vetugifts.com, $5.25
- F -
- Facials, Haircuts, Manicures, LaBaron Hairdressing Academy, 281 Union St, (508) 996-6611, www.labarononline.com/new_bedford.cfm, under $10.00
- Felt Birds, Artworks!, 384 Acushnet Ave, (508) 984-1588, www.artworksforyou.org
- Fine Arts Paintings, Alison Wells, Cummings Building, 96 William Street, 774-526-6550, AHA! Nights and by appointment
- G -
- Gardeners Hand Therapy, Whaling Museum Gift Shop, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, (508) 997-0046, www.whalingmuseumstore.org, $14.95
- Gift Packs, No Problemo , includes 2 hot sauces, t-shirt & 10.00 gift certificate, 813 Purchase St, (508) 984-1081, $35.00
- Glass Jewelry, Artworks, 384 Acushnet Ave, (508) 984-1588, www.artworksforyou.org
- Glass Ornaments, Navio, 65 William Street, (508) 558-1922, $25.00 and up
- Glass Plates, reverse process, Henry & Silva, 105 William St., (508) 994-2502, $15.00 and up.
- Gloves, The Bay and The Cottage, The Bay and the Cottage, 89 N Water St. # 2, (508) 991-4500, www.thebayclothes.com
- Goat milk soaps, TL6 The Gallery, 100 William St, (508) 992-8100, www.tl6thegallery.com
- Gypsy, New Bedford Festival Theater, 5 Dover St # 104, (508) 991-5212, www.nbfestivaltheatre.com, tickets $25.00 and up
- H -
- Haircuts, manicures, LaBaron Hairdressing Academy, 281 Union St, 508.996.6611, www.labarononline.com/new_bedford.cfm, under $10.00
- Hats, dressy, women’s, Celia’s, 800 Purchase St., (508) 994-3833
- Hot sauce, habanero lime or Cayenne pepper, No Problemo, 813 Purchase St, (508) 984-1081, 6.00 each or 11.00 for a twin pack
- Holiday cards, JMC Creations, Cummings Building, 96 William Street, (774) 930-6449, AHA! Nights and by appointment
- Holiday dips, Whaling Museum Gift Shop, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, (508) 997-0046, www.whalingmuseumstore.org, $2.95
- Holiday ornaments, Bedford Merchant, 28 William St. (508) 997-9194, www.bedfordmerchant.com
- Holiday pies, Café Arpeggio, order ahead, 800 Purchase St., (508) 999-2233, www.cafearpeggio.com, $15.00
- I -
- Immune tonic, Navio, 65 William Street, 508-558-1922, $17.99
- J -
- Jewelry, All tastes, all prices, many locations: TL6 The Gallery, bejeweled, The Bay and the Cottage, Bedford Merchant, Vetu, Converse, Navio, Judith Klein Gallery, Artworks, Celia’s
- K -
- Khakis, Carter’s Clothing, 55 William St., (508) 993-8221, $24.95
- L -
- Levi’s, Carter’s Clothing, 55 William St, (508) 993-8221
- Lion tamers, Solstice Skatingboarding, 102 William St., (508) 994-8675, www.solsticeskateboarding.com
- Lip slip and lip scrub, Blush Beauty Bar, 29 Centre St.,(508) 991-2272, www.blushbb.com, $24.00 each
- M -
- Mermaid Magnets, Moby Dick Retail, Corson Building, 27 William Street, 508-996-1114, www.mobydickretail.com, $4.95
- N -
- Natural Sea glass and Sterling silver earrings, bejeweled, Centre St., (508) 990-1300, $36.00
- Natural Dyes, Dyer Maker, Rhonda Fazio, Cummings Building, 96 William Street, 508-669-6815, AHA! Nights and by appointment
- New Bedford photos, Second Story Studio and Gallery, 96 William St., 508-264-3152, by appointment
- O -
- Oatmeal, Steel Cut Irish; Celtic Coffee House, 42 North Water St., (508) 992-1004, www.lynndwane.com/welcometothecelticcoffeehouse , $10.00
- Order a surprise lunch for a friend, free delivery, purchase from Destination Soups, 141 Union St. (508) 991-7687, www.destinationsoups.com
- Original Art, Studio 5, Suzanne D. Carey, Cummings Building, 96 William Street, 508-542-3770, by appointment
- P -
- Pins, Ocean Explorium at New Bedford Seaport, Union Square,
174 Union Street www.oceanexplorium.org, $1.00
- Plush Orca, Ocean Explorium at New Bedford Seaport, Union Square,
174 Union Street www.oceanexplorium.org, $6.00
- Polished Shells, Moby Dick Retail, Corson Building, 27 William Street, 508-996-1114, www.mobydickretail.com, $.75 and up.
- Q -
- Quartz crystals, The Doll’s Closet and Crystal Garden, Green Lantern Shop, Yarn Place, 772 Purchase St., (508) 993-9420
- Queen, Ellery Mystery Magazine, Artificial Marketplace, 104 William St., (508) 997-4509
- R -
- Retro Fittings, Artificial Marketplace, 104 William St., (508) 997-4509
- S -
- Santa Suits, Elaine’s Home of the Black Whale, 772 Purchase Street, (508) 999-2166, www.theblackwhale.com/whale/
- Scarves, Men’s and Women’s, The Bay and The Cottage, 89 N Water St # 2, (508)992-5700, www.thebayclothes.com
- Sea creatures, Ocean Explorium at New Bedford Seaport, Union Square, 174 Union Street, www.oceanexplorium.org
- Socks, The Bay, 89 N Water St # 2, (508)992-5700, www.thebayclothes.com
- Special Presents, JMC Creations, Cummings Building, 96 William Street, (774) 930-6449, AHA! Nights and by appointment
- Symphony Tickets, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, 684 Purchase Street, 508-994-2900, www.nbsymphony.org starting at $20
- Sweaters, Calico, 173 Union St. (508) 999-4147 www.shopcalico.com, $28-48
- Skateboards accessories, Solstice Skateboarding, 102 William St., (508) 994-8675, www.solsticeskateboarding.com
- Sterling Silver Starfish necklace , bejeweled, 26 Centre Street, (508)990-1300
- Sparkling Diamond cut Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings, bejeweled, 26 Centre Street, (508)990-1300, 26.00
- T -
- Textiles, Pottery, Jewelry, Judith Klein Art Gallery, 752 Purchase St., 508 965-7396, www.judithkleinart.com, under $50.00
- Time, take a friend to lunch, take a child or senior shopping or to a play or the symphony
- Toys, North Woods Gift Store, Buttonwood Park Zoo, 508-991-4556, www.bpzoo.org, $1.00 and up
- Travel Brushes, Blush Beauty Bar, 29 Centre St.,(508) 991-2272, www.blushbb.com
- U -
- Unpretentious, Understanding service, everywhere!
- V -
- Vases, TL6 The Gallery, 100 William St, (508) 992-8100, wwwtl6thegallery.com
- Video transfers, Converse Photo Supply, 10 North 6th St., 508-992-3910, www.conversephoto.com
- Vintage clothing, Calico, Elyssa Paquette, 173 Union Street, (508) 999-4147, www.shopcalico.com, prices vary
- Vinyl Records, Artificial Marketplace, 104 William St., (508) 997-4509
- W -
- Wallets, Celia’s, 800 Purchase St., (508) 994-3833, $36.00
- Wind Chimes, TL6 The Gallery, 100 William St., (508) 992-8100 www.tl6thegallery.com
- Wine, Travessia Winery, 760 Purchase St., www.travessiawine.com, $13-$16 per bottle, custom wine gift baskets from $20.00
- Wrapping paper, holiday supplies, Rite Aid Pharmacy, 824 Purchase St., (508) 992-2422
- Y -
- Yankee Soy Candles, Bedford Merchant, 28 William St. (508) 997-9194, www.bedfordmerchant.com, $6.99 and up
- Yarn, The Doll’s Closet and Crystal Garden, Green Lantern Shop, Yarn Corner, 772 Purchase St., (508) 993-9420
- Yuletide Spirit, Tickets to the New Bedford Preservation Society's Holiday House Tour (December 5 or 6) www.nbpreservationsociety.org, tickets $19 in advance; $23 at the door. Purchase downtown at Elaine's.
- Z -
- Zable Sterling Jewelry, Converse Photo Supply, 10 North 6th St., 508-992-3910, www.conversephoto.com
- Zeiterion Tickets, The Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, 684 Purchase Street, (508) 994-2900, www.zeiterion.org
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Is it Homer or Betsy? Or even Crybaby?
The generous downtown spirit is abundantly clear during the holiday season as volunteers decorate the city for the holidays and donate to their favorite causes. But it’s not just a holiday spirit. It goes on all year round. Take the story of Homer.
We don’t remember exactly when the injured young seagull showed up. We just know it was sometime in the summer. It wasn’t that we noticed it all at once. It was that after a while we noticed it had been there every day for a while, perched at the peak of a plywood ramp kids use for skateboarding in a lot on William St. We noticed it had a bad wing and couldn’t fly.
Within a few weeks the bird had been named by at least three people. Homer by one, Betsy by another and Crybaby, a good non-gender specific name, by a third person who had been watching it since it was a hatchling. Soon several people were feeding it, maybe not the best thing to do.
Homer (we will use that name to narrow it down to one) had been around for a while by late August. It was here through September, present during for the DNB, Inc. Chowder Festival and throughout Bioneers by the Bay, making it through several torrential rain storms too. Homer was well fed at least some of the time, dining on sardines and canned oysters.
Homer got around. He was in front of the Standard-Times building on the day of the Chowder Festival, in the Carter’s parking lot when they were painting the mural and in Custom House Square from time to time. He seemed to be careful when crossing streets. He got quite tame, not a normal condition. As one person observed, when you see a seagull hopping along next to you, it’s usually not a healthy bird.
From time to time he would disappear for a few days, but would then be back on his favored plywood perch. He was almost always there on Monday mornings.
As cold weather approached, we were wondering what to do for our feathered friend. It didn’t seem like even a well fed injured seagull had much of a chance of living through a cold winter. We made phone calls, but never seemed to find exactly the right kind of help. The person who had been watching him since he was a hatchling thought about building a winter shelter.
Suddenly Homer disappeared. He was gone for one week, not unusual, but then for two weeks and more. We began to think the worst.
It turned out that Homer had known exactly where to hop for help. He hopped to Wing’s Court, where he was spotted by animal lover Liz Circharo from The Green Bean who called her friend Pam Holmes. Pam is the president of The Coalition for Animals
of Greater New Bedford and an experienced animal rescuer and advocate.
Pam Holmes went to Wings Court with two friends, a towel and a box to capture Homer and take him to the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable. She said the gull didn’t appear to be in pain and had perhaps adapted enough to the injury to do well. The capture was observed by a half a dozen protective seagulls on the ground. They watched but did not attack.
At this moment we do not know the status of Homer, Betsy, Crybaby, or even whether Homer or Betsy was the more appropriate name, but Pam assures us that our young seagull friend reached absolutely the best place for care.
Since injured seagulls are a common sight in downtown New Bedford during nesting season, we asked Pam for some tips:
First, we should have looked for help sooner. Delaying meant that the seagull’s injuries had longer to become infected, and of course it had longer to develop further injuries, even inflicted by other gulls trying to eat its food.
If you spot an injured bird, the first line of defense is to call someone for help. Local resources include Pam’s Coalition for Animals: www.coalitionforanimals.com.
We can also call New Bedford Animal Control emergency number: 508-991-6350, e-mail emanuel.maciel@newbedfordpd.com.
Or we can call Cape Wildlife at 508-362-0268, or by e-mail at capewildlife@hsus.org.
The Zoo, the Animal Rescue League and Demarest Lloyd Memorial State Park are not resources for injured wildlife, and they will refer you to other agencies.
There are a lot of other resources on the Internet, but not all are current and updated
It may be that you have to transport an animal to care. All agencies and city departments that deal with animal rescue are faced with overwhelming needs and reduced staff. If you have to transport the animal, go about it in a quiet and relaxed way so as not to stress the animal further. Bring friends to help corner and cover the animal. Once the animal is cornered, cover its head and put it in a box with good ventilation, and transport to help.
Another mistake we made was to think of our seagull as a semi-pet. “They are not pets,” Pam says. “It’s not fair to the animal to try to make it into a pet.” Unless it has such a severe injury that it can’t be returned to its natural habitat, releasing it back to the wild is the goal or rehabilitation.
Seagulls are scavengers, and ours was probably was well nourished by the oysters and sardines, but people make a lot of mistakes in trying to feed injured animals foods that are not appropriate. Everyone has a mental picture of a kitten lapping from a bowl of warm milk, but giving any stray animal a bowl of cow’s milk could do more harm than good.
It’s also a good idea not to feed a stressed animal. If you have the animal in hand, the first thing to do is to warm it, not feed it.
Maybe these tips will help us next summer when another Homer/Betsy/Crybaby turns up.
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Downtown New Bedford, Inc. announces new member benefit:
Member-to-member discounts!
Downtown New Bedford, Inc. has initiated a new member benefit, special discounts for members at area businesses. Your ID or business cards are all it takes to enjoy the advantage of these discounts offered exclusively to DNB, Inc. members by your fellow members. Members to date follow. Watch for more in upcoming editions.
Calico
173 Union Street
508-999-4147
www.shopcalico.com
10% off
Celia's Boutique
800 Purchase Street
508-994-3833
10% off
Converse Photo
12 No. Sixth Street
508-992-3910
www.conversephoto.com
Buy one enlargement,
get one same size free!
5 X 7 up to 12 X 18
Crowell's Fine Art and Framing
382 Acushnet Avenue
508-992-5231
www.crowellsfineart.com
10% off custom framing – not valid in
conjunction with other discounts.
Judith Klein Art Gallery
752 Purchase Street
508-965-7396
www.Judithkleinart.com
10% off
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Arthur Moniz Gallery
20-28 William Street
508-992-6050
www.arthurmonizgallery.com
20% off newly framed orders and
10% off already framed items in gallery and all prints
New Bedford Harbor Tours
Waterfront Visitors Center-
Fisherman's Wharf
508-984-4979
$2.00 per Adult and Senior ticket
$1.00 per Child ticket
The Standard-Times
25 Elm Street
800-445-7482
www.southcoasttoday.com
7-day home or business delivery for $1.99 per week
Thompson Farland, Inc.
30 North Water Street
508-717-3479
www.ThompsonFarland.com
10% off land surveying and engineering services (not to exceed $500.) |
SPECIAL LIMITED TIME OFFERS FOR DNB, INC. MEMBERS ONLY!
Bristol Community College
Non credit courses for DNB, Inc. members offered by BCC Center for Business and Industry. Receive a 15% discount if you register and pay before Dec 21st 2009. Fantastic training opportunity, discounted for DNB, Inc. members only.
Click here for a list of ourses offered. Contact for more information or to register: Carmen Aguilar Dean, Center for Business and Industry – Phone 508-678-2811 ext. 2264 or www.bristolcc.edu/cbi
Zeiterion Theatre
Join us for Downtown New Bedford Inc. Night at the Z!
February 27, 2010
Ballet Folklorico of Mexico
All DNB Inc. members are invited to join the excitement of Ballet Folklorico of Mexico - an exuberant fiesta of music, spectacular costumes, and dance - a feast for the senses! DNB, Inc. members will receive $10 off the $35 tickets (limit of 2 tickets per person – purchased at the Box Office) when you show your business card as a DNB, Inc. member.
No Problemo, the restaurant partner, is offering a 20% discount the night of the show when you show your ticket. |
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Lauren Daley is the new
Downtown Beat Writer
DNB, Inc. would like to welcome Lauren Daley aboard as the new writer of the Downtown Beat, beginning in January. Lauren is a fine writer and knows the downtown well. She will be great as the newsletter writer. She already does a lot of press for AHA! Avid readers will be familiar with her writing style from her weekly book column in the Standard Times. Welcome Lauren!!
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Welcome new Member!
The Waterfront Grille
www.waterfrontgrille.com
36 Homers Wharf
New Bedford, MA 02740-7245
(508) 997-7117
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Judith Klein Art Gallery
celebrates first anniversary
Congratulations to Judith Klein of Judith Klein Gallery. She is celebrating her first anniversary at her gallery at 752A Purchase Street. To mark the anniversary, she is having a special show that will run through Jan 2. Stop in and see her. It’s a great spot for holiday gifts. www.judithkleinart.com
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Tax deduction time can be Secret Santa time too
Fund raising is a daunting task for all non-profits and takes valuable time away from them as they do their regular work. Downtown New Bedford is fortunate that so many regular donors contribute to DNB, Inc., to the Symphony, to the Explorium, to the United Way, to the Whaling Museum and many more.
Why not drop a tax deductible check in the mail to one or more of these organizations before the end of the year without even being asked, just because you are thankful that they are here and thankful for what they do? It will go further than a solicited donation because it hasn’t cost the organization anything to get it.
It’s is guaranteed mood elevator to give a donation to someone who hasn’t asked. A variation on the Secret Santa. |
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Thank you from Sally
As I close out the last Downtown Beat I will be writing, I want to thank DNB, Inc. and all of our readers for the opportunity to do this job for so many years. I will miss it, although you still may see me behind the camera!
~ Sally Spooner |
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