Despite a stellar New England pedigree and marrying into the same, Childe Hassam’s father – a hardware merchant – fell on difficult times in the late 1800’s. Young Childe was forced to drop out of school and apprentice for an engraver at 17. He then went on to become one of the leaders of American Impressionism. We have not been able to corroborate the incident referenced in Theresa Bernstein’s poem Gloucester is the Place to Be”…