Cape Ann Revisited
In 2022, I relocated from Boise, Idaho to Cape Ann, Massachusetts, so I could reacquaint myself with the community and do some volunteering on a local farm. It was all research for Ipswich, Mon Amour.
If you’re not familiar with the area, Cape Ann is located about 30 miles north of Boston. At its eastern tip is Gloucester, America’s oldest fishing port. When one of my grandfathers arrived in this country from Ireland at the age of 18, he set himself up in Gloucester because it reminded him of Salt Hill, his seaside home in the old country. He later moved to South Boston. After meeting his future wife, they bought a house in Dorchester, where I was born.
Virgilio’s Bakery on Main Street in Gloucester, MA
When I was in my 20s, I spent a couple of years living in Gloucester. It’s a tight-knit community with narrow streets and houses packed close together. Many of the residents are of Italian, Irish or Portuguese descent, and many families have a long tradition of making their living from the sea. It can be a very hard life, and I would put the people of Gloucester right up there with folks from South Boston when it comes to fortitude and grit.
Much of Cape Ann Was Unchanged
I was looking forward to my return in 2022. Before driving east from Boise, I made arrangements to rent a seasonal home on the outskirts of Gloucester. The small city was largely the same as it had been in those earlier years. When walking or driving through downtown, I could smell the fish cooking at Gorton’s Seafood. And Virgilio’s Bakery was still open. I stopped in there once a week for a half dozen Saint Joseph rolls and a few cannolis. There were small changes to Gloucester though. The place on Rogers Street where I used to do laundry back in the day is a now bank. And the grocery store in the same mall is a Walgreens.
Lobster boats in the harbor at Rockport, MA
After those early years in Gloucester, I spent a few more living in Hamilton, a quiet suburban town located next to Ipswich. As with Gloucester, I could spot a few things that had changed in Hamilton and Ipswich. But both places mostly remained the same. It was such a big difference having lived for so long out West, where cities and towns have been changing and growing, sometimes at an alarming pace.
An Education in Local Farming
Iron Ox Farm, where I ended up volunteering, was in Hamilton. I learned a lot in my time there by doing simple tasks, like pulling up pepper and tomato plants, cleaning onions after they’d dried, and planting garlic. It was also a chance to pick up tips from the young couple running the certified-organic farm, and from other volunteers.
Much of what I acquired made its way into Ipswich, Mon Amour and became Nora’s Mahoney’s education in regenerative agriculture. The manuscript was reviewed by Jamie Barrett at Marshview Farm, which is located just two miles from the fictional Boushay family farm. Jamie corrected mistakes in that early draft and provided helpful suggestions to make the farming scenes more credible.
The Sandpiper Bakery in Ipswich, MA
The Real Ipswich in Ipswich, Mon Amour
For research on Ipswich itself, I spent time in town at least once a week. The Gloucester home I was renting didn’t have a washer and dryer, so I would take my clothes to a laundromat on Central Street in Ipswich. More often than not, I’d end up in a conversation with a local while we folded our laundry. I’d also chat with people at Zumis and Sandpiper Bakery. At both spots, I’d grab a coffee and work away on my laptop.
Some of the well-known places in Ipswich were ones that I was familiar with from my early days living in Hamilton, like Russell Orchards, where I can never resists grabbing a couple of cider donuts. Some of those locales ended up as settings in Ipswich, Mon Amour. They’ve been fictionized to better serve the story, which is set in 2015–2016.
The barn store at Russell Orchards in Ipswich, MA
My eight months back on Cape Ann passed quickly, but it was enough time to do my research and meet lots of people whose anecdotes made their way, in one form or another, into the novel. I’m currently living in Sandpoint, Idaho. If there’s a follow-up to Ipswich, Mon Amour, I can see myself making that long drive east again.
If you’d like to read more about the research and writing of the book, check out these other posts:
Death and Mythology in the Novel
Scenes in Paris and Southern France
Limb Loss in Ipswich Mon Amour
Photo Credits
(cropped) Gloucester Fisherman Statue by Suraj Gattani on Unsplash
Virgilio’s Bakery in Gloucester, MA, by Dee on iStock
Sandpiper Bakery image from Instagram
Russell Orchards, Ipswich, MA by Ryan Harvey is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.