Essex National Heritage Area
Tom Leonard, President, ENHC

Tom Leonard,
President Emeritus, ENHC

Tom Leonard writes a monthly column for the community newspapers in the Essex National Heritage Area. This is a reprint of this month's column.
tleonard
at essexheritage.org.

Columns
All in a Day’s Work at Essex Heritage

What a wonderful part of the country we live in, and every day I marvel at how much goes on this region that we call home. Essex Heritage’s seventh annual Trails and Sails weekend has taken place, and it certainly turned out to be a wonderful success. This year’s event saw more sites participating, more events being offered, and most importantly, more residents enjoying what was offered.

We have been enjoying some wonderful fall weather, and as October begins and we are truly moving into autumn, the experiences that make Northeastern Massachusetts such a great place to live, work and play are so very evident. We can still spend our weekends out of doors, enjoying this time of year. I hope that some of you find the time to take a walk in the woods or even hike along the wonderful shoreline that shapes this region. Apple picking season is in full swing, area golf courses are busy and in wonderful shape and every weekend we can sample athletics from every home town scholastic and youth football and soccer teams. Our top notch professional sports teams, like the Red Sox and the Patriots are once again in the middle of hotly contested championship races, and that makes the season only that much more exciting. There certainly can not be a better place anywhere in this country than right here, right now than in this part of New England.

Essex Heritage Helps Make this Region So Special

There are many Essex Heritage programs that have had remarkable impact on the region and we will continue to do all in our power to keep those programs current and growing. The programs offer a little something for everyone, and what is accomplished by the Essex Heritage staff is all in a days work.

Partnership Grant Program

The Essex Heritage Partnership Grant Program has provided over 250 outright grants totaling $1.5 million allowing projects that might otherwise never been undertaken to be completed. Those projects collectively have seen an additional investment of $15 million in resources into the region.

Alternative Transportation Initiative

Work on the Border to Boston, 28 mile bicycle and pedestrian path that will connect eight communities in the region has recently taken a giant step forward due in part to the influence of Essex Heritage, and the collaboration of officials at many levels. This initiative is based on the need to consider alternative methods of transportation in the near term.

Working On Education Programs

Over the last couple of years, Essex Heritage has secured $2 million in Teaching American History Grants, bringing a fresh new approach to teaching Essex history to 115,000 school children all across the region. The seminars and summer institutes that have been offered provide new material and a different perspective to hundreds of teachers from school districts from every corner of the region.

Themed Brochures Created and Distributed

In the last year alone Essex Heritage has created and published 30,000 themed guides that focus on increasing cultural tourism in the area. The guides have been widely distributed and as a direct result, more and more residents and visitors to the region have been exposed to all that is special in the area.

Themed Brochures Created and Distributed

In the last year alone Essex Heritage has created and published 30,000 themed guides that focus on increasing cultural tourism in the area. The guides have been widely distributed and as a direct result, more and more residents and visitors to the region have been exposed to all that is special in the area.

EssexHeritage.org Expanded

The website, www.essexheritage.org annually draws almost one million inquires from residents and visitors alike. The website provides a wonderful resource to prospective visitors and helps engage the 738,000 residents of the region as they learn new ways to discover the rich heritage resources that Essex Heritage works so passionately to preserve.

Working Collaboratively with the National Park

Essex Heritage worked with our senior partner; the National Park Service to promote the grand re-opening of the recently restored Saugus Iron Works National Historic site. The updated site has become much more visitor-friendly, experiencing a weekend opening that saw 2000 visitors, with visitor levels staying at a high level throughout the year. Essex Heritage also participated in the extension of the Friendship Sails Tour, as the NPS ship this year traveled from Duxbury Harbor on the southeastern coast of Massachusetts to Booth Bay Harbor in Maine.

We look forward to hearing from any of you at any time who have questions or suggestions and we would welcome the chance to speak with you in person to point out why we believe as our mission outlines, it is important to preserve the historical, cultural and natural resources of this region for the future.