11.30.22 - Volume 1, Issue 2

Joe Brown’s Puddle?

Are droughts speeding up the disappearance of Marblehead’s ponds?

BY WILLIAM J. DOWD

Marblehead resident Bette Keva walks her neighbor’s dogs a lot through the town’s conservation lands. Over the past couple of months (especially during the summer), she noticed the shallow water levels in Marblehead ponds and bodies of water.

To convey just how bad the water

level had gotten, she once suggested Joe Brown’s Pond should be renamed “Joe Brown’s Puddle.” She shared photos depicting the pond’s water level from the Barry Road entrance and from the Browns’ home and tavern.

“From the view, you can see just how dried up the pond is,” she said. “The ground was showing from the middle of it.”

Keva said she saw similar conditions in Steer Swamp, noting a trail entrance that is usually underwater was “completely dried up.”

“Several streams throughout the 48-acre woods are either completely dried up or muddy ground,” she said.

The Marblehead Conservancy, through a partnership with the Marblehead

Conservation Commission, cares for the town’s conservation lands. The Conservancy’s deeply dedicated corps of volunteers that carries out the upkeep know the green spaces intimately.

“The Conservancy’s job is keeping Marblehead conservation areas and trails

Longtime moderator dies at 82

Spiess remembered for fairness, wit

BY WILLIAM J. DOWD

Gary Spiess, the town moderator who led Marblehead Town Meeting with dexterity, fairness, and a quick wit for 16 years, died on Friday, Nov. 25. He was 82.

The cause of Spiess’ death was not readily available, but it comes just months after he decided not to run for a 17th term as town moderator, opening an elected office that for nearly 60 years had been held by only two men, Spiess and Steve Howe.

“It is sad to think that he will not be at Town Meeting as a citizen, instead of running the show,” said Marblehead Select Board member Jackie Belf-Becker. “Gary Spiess was a wonderful man.”

Voters elected Spiess in 2005 as Howe’s successor after Howe had served as town moderator for 42 years, from 1963 to 2005.

BY KRIS OLSON

His counterpart—retired National Grand Bank employee Laura Best— knew what to expect.

But she kept quiet, not wanting to spoil the surprise for Bruce Whear.

“When we came around the corner and could hear the roar of the crowd, it was like a kid coming up the tunnel at Fenway Park and seeing the Green Monster for the first time,” Whear

says of his maiden voyage across Marblehead Harbor aboard the Sea Hooker, captained by Barnacle Restaurant owner Jay Sahagian, as “Santa’s special assistant.” “It was that big of a deal.”

But just because Whear knows what to expect in his fourth turn as Kris Kringle’s Christmas Walk consigliere does not mean he relishes it any less.

A performer since he was a child, Whear notes that he has stood in front of crowds as large as 1,100 people on a cruise ship. But nothing he has experienced is

quite like being hit with that first tidal wave of youthful energy coming into the town landing.

“It was unbelievable,” Whear says.

While Whear is relatively new to his role with the Marblehead Chamber, he is not totally unfamiliar with the red suit and white beard.

Whear says he has now served as “Santa’s helper” for more than 40 years—dating back to his late teens. He is something of a natural for the role, and he now knows he is not the only one.

Spiess was what some might consider Howe’s Town Meeting “wing man.”

“Steve had me as his ‘assistant town moderator’ for a number of years,” Spiess told the Marblehead Current in June. “And I didn’t have much choice when I ran: Steve came up to me and said, ‘I want to retire, but I won’t retire unless you run for moderator.’”

But Spiess still needed to get his wife’s approval to run.

“She was like, ‘Why not?’” Spiess said with a chuckle. “So, I got the green light right there.”

Spiess took his stewardship of Marblehead

PHOTO BY EYAL OREN/WEDNESDAYSINMHD.COM

Members of Glover’s Regiment start the annual Thanksgiving Day game with a bang at Piper Field, and the Magicians took things from there, cruising past rival Swampscott, 48-7. See more in Sports, Page 13.

N

Photos from resident Bette Keva depicting Joe Brown’s Pond, showing just how low water reached during the summertime drought.

SPIESS, P. A4

SANTA, P. A9

CURRENT PHOTO WILLIAM J. DOWD Gary Spiess, who served as town moderator for 16 years, died on Nov. 25.

Farmers’ Market season closes

BY WILLIAM J. DOWD

It’s a wrap: Marblehead Farmers’ Market season closed Saturday, and bundled-up regulars come out one last time. The season runs 26 Saturdays from the third week in May to mid-November.

“This is the extended season - which begins around Halloween,” said Stephen Fowler, the Marblehead Farmers’ Market manager. “What you have left are your hardcore farmers and regulars. People are coming and getting out.”

At the height of the Farmers’ Market attendance, some 1,200 people show up. During the summertime, the Farmers’ Marketwhich is staged in the back of Veterans Middle School - can have a big block-party feel.

“There is a portion of people who don’t even really shop. The Farmers’ Market is more of a social thing,” Fowler said. “People drink coffee. Listen to music. They talk.” The Farmers’ Market is a dog lovers’ paradise, too.

Marblehead Farmers’ Market was founded in the late 1990s and has grown into one of the most successful in the Bay State. It’s one that other Farmers’ Markets have modeled theirs off.

“I’ve been managing it for about five years now,” said Fowler. “It’s pretty much run by me and a couple of volunteers. We’re always looking for more volunteers.”

Vendors and attendance suffered during and after the COVID pandemic.

“We shrunk a little,” Fowler said, “but we’re growing back up.”

On any given Saturday this season, folks could buy beef, pork, organic herbs, maple syrup, baked goods, crepes, flowers - all the while they could enjoy coffee and have their knives sharpened.

Maura Desfossess and Rijk Gupta of Anything Grows market offerings are eclectic. The pair just bought the Salisbury farm, and 2022 marked their second season.

“We grow a mixture of vegetables, cut flowers and fruits,” Gupta said. “We have some chickens and hope to expand to meats.”

Their produce is grown on about five acres of their 10-acre farm. Gupta said they have a loyal customer base in Marblehead.

“The volume of sales is easily double any other market,” he said. “The customers here know our product. They want flowers. They want organic vegetables.”

He added, “They are health conscious and a lot of them are cooks.”

Hamilton-based Iron Ox Farm joined the Farmers Market three years ago.

“We are an organic diversified vegetable farm,” said Stacey Apple. She said they are a community-supported-agriculture outfit, that they sell vegetables on-site, and travel to

several Farmers’ Markets.

“This year we had an excess of tomatoes and peppers,” she said. “So we made canned tomatoes and hot sauce that we sell as an aside now - so that has been new.”

She loves her Marblehead regulars.

“They come every week, keeping the market strong,” said Apple. “People buy a week of groceries. They are coming and buying $30, $50 just here alone - it really sustains ups.

The Farmers’ Market supports more than just farmers: Creatives, nonprofits, musicians, and small businesses - like Meg Wasmer, the co-owner of Beverly-based Copper Dog Books.

“It’s a big misconception that bookstores are dead when Barnes and Nobles and Borders lost about two-thirds of their stores,” she said. “And we’ve regained, in the past five years, about half of the independent bookstores that were lost.”

Copper Dog Bookstore is a 1,800-squarefoot bookstore. She laments “The Spirit of ‘76” bookstore closure. The idea of opening a Marblehead bookstore, she said has crossed her mind, but “we are not second-location ready yet.”

She sees their farmers-market participation

as filling a void, even if it’s only a three-hour window on Saturdays.

“It’s definitely worth coming to,” she said. “The summer was a little slower than last year, saleswise, but it’s definitely worth it.”

She added, “Plus people don’t expect to see a bookstore at a Farmers’ Market, so that’s kind of cool.”

According to Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration, over 7,200 farms in Massachusetts keep approximately 491,000 acres of land as open space and produce over $475 million in agricultural goods each year.

“Massachusetts ranks fifth in the nation for direct market sales with over $100 million annually, which accounts for 21.1 percent of the state’s total sales of agricultural products— the highest proportion in the country,” the governor’s office wrote when Massachusetts celebrated National Farmers’ Market Week in August. “Additionally, there are approximately 216 summer and fall farmers markets and another 37 winter farmers markets in communities across the commonwealth.”

We want your news

The Marblehead Current welcomes submissions from the community.

Email is strongly preferred to info@marbleheadnews.com, but press releases, letters to the editor and other announcements can also be sent by mail to 217 Humphrey St., Marblehead, MA 01945.

Photos are encouraged, but care must be taken to ensure the images are good enough quality to reproduce in print. Generally, the original .JPG file produced by a smartphone or digital camera will be fine, but photos copied down from websites will not.

Submissions should include a

daytime phone number, in case our editors have any questions.

The deadline for submissions for publication in our print edition is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, one week before the edition in which you hope to see them appear.

If submissions arrive after

that deadline, the Current will make every effort to post timesensitive announcements to our website, marbleheadcurrent.org, as soon as possible.

For further information, please contact managing editor Will Dowd at wdowd@ marbleheadnews.org.

NEWSROOM

Managing Editor - Will Dowd  wdowd@marbleheadnews.org

Consulting Editor - Kris Olson kolson@marbleheadnews.org

Staff Reporter - Leigh Blander lblander@marbleheadnews.org

Sports ReporterJoe McConnell jmcconnell@marbleheadnews.org

CONTRIBUTORS

Tristan Ashlock Linda Bassett

Scot Cooper Laurie Fullerton Mark Hurwitz

Brenda Kelley Kim John Lamontagne Pam Peterson Chris Stevens Linda Werbner

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Gene Arnould Jessica Barnett Ed Bell James Bryant - President Virginia Buckingham - Secretary Kate Haesche Thomson

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Kathryn Whorf

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Marion Warner Greely

FOUNDERS Jessica Barnett Ed Bell  Leigh Blander  Will Dowd David Moran Kris Olson

ADVISORS

Francie King Donna Rice

Marblehead News 217 Humphrey St.  Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945 910.781.8658 info@marbleheadnews.org www.marbleheadcurrent.org

Marblehead Current is published every Wednesday by Marblehead News Group, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It is mailed to all homes and businesses in Marblehead, MA 01945.

DONATE

Help us deliver sustainable local journalism. As the year-end approaches, please consider including the Marblehead Current in your philanthropic giving. To make a taxdeductible donation, https:// marbleheadcurrent.org/donate/ Please direct questions to info@marbleheadnews.org.

ADVERTISE

Advertising is available on our website and in our weekly printed newspaper. To learn more, contact our Director of Community Relations, Marion Warner Greely, at mgreely@marbleheadnews. org, or visit www. marbleheadcurrent.org/ads.

VOLUNTEER

Join us. We invite you to help support our effort to establish and maintain a free press for a strong community. To get involved, visit www.marbleheadcurrent. org/volunteer.

REACT

We’re standing by to listen to your ideas. Please drop us a line and let us know what you would like to see in your community newspaper. Send your thoughts to info@marbleheadnews.org.

Photos by Nicole Goodhue Boyd

Clark Farms Rya Distaso sorts apples during the last Marblehead Farmers’ Market of the season Nov. 19.

CO-CHAIRPERSONS

Jessica Barnett     Ed Bell

‘The volume of sales is easily double any other market’

Matt Ely plays with his daughter Autumn, 2, at the last Farmers’ Market of the season Nov. 19 behind the Veterans Middle School.

Nick Cloutman of Cloutman Farms sorts gourmet mushrooms for sale.

Jeanne Denning shops for fresh produce at the season’s final Farmers’ Market.

Shoppers pick fresh veggie and fruit during the last Marblehead Farmers’ Market of the season Nov. 19.

Town turns to McGinn once again

BY WILLIAM J. DOWD

John McGinn, the town’s former administrator, just can’t seem to quit Marblehead - or maybe Marblehead can’t quit McGinn?

Either way, the retired administrator has returned as a consultant and will help the town crunch and report numbers as the budget season gets underway. The Peabody resident possesses a history of stepping up when Marblehead finds itself in a tight spotparticularly around budget and Town Meeting seasons.

McGinn became town administrator after his predecessor, Jeff Chelgren, resigned in 2014. At the time, he was nearly a decade into a finance director tenure; he never saw himself in Abbot Hall’s corner office until the Select Board members approached him.

Even when he retired some four years later, he agreed to stay a few weeks more, so he could help his successor, Jason Silva,

‘The stairway to net zero’

BY WILLIAM J. DOWD

Sustainable Marblehead supplied a small audience gathered in the Unitarian Universalist sanctuary and those on Zoom with a “think globally, act locally” primer on ways to mitigate their carbon footprint and save money.

Lynn Bryant, the former Sustainable Marblehead executive director, moderated the two-hour presentation given by Marblehead Light Commission Vice Chair Lisa Wolf and Mark Adams, chair of the nonprofit’s Green Homes and Buildings Working Group.

In opening remarks, Bryant and Wolf painted a dire portrait of the adverse effects that human-induced climate change has had on the world.

“In the news this week, the press was given a draft of the United States National Climate Assessment - a detailed look at the current and future consequences of global warming here in the United States,” said Bryant. “This assessment is released every four years, and the current report will officially be released next year. The draft stated that the United States has warmed 68 percent faster than the Earth as a whole in the past 50 years.”

That increase has spawned more and more extreme weather: Heat waves, heavy rainfall, droughts and wildfires.

“In this country, we’re relatively sheltered from the worst effects of climate change,” said Wolf as she projected a National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration chart that shows the number of billiondollar climate disasters in the United States since 1980. “But the economic impact in terms of loss and damage from natural disasters is growing.”

Climate change’s economic cost

In 1980, the United States had three climate disasters that cumulatively cost $100 billion. In 2020, the country experienced 22 climate disasters that cumulatively cost half a trillion dollars.

“We often hear the arguments that our choices here in Marblehead ultimately have little impact on the global climate,” said Bryant. “Real change can begin at the local level - and in fact that local change often begins with the individual.”

She added, “Yes policy, collaboration, and commitment to following science are essential at local, state, and national levels- but we can use the power of our choices to make a difference right here.”

Wolf pointed to three overarching ways in which society can eliminate fossil fuels: electrifying everything, creating energy efficiencies and de-carbonizing power supply.

On the latter, she said 43 percent of the Marblehead Municipal Light Department’s existing power portfolio falls under the non-emitting generated power - hydro, wind and nuclear. The utility company anticipates expanding the portfolio’s non-emitting sources to include “offshore wind, community-scale solar in Marblehead and elsewhere and community-scale battery eclectic storage.”

Bryant said a movement to net zero on a local level is currently being pursued.

“Our Marblehead Green Committee is a collaboration

as the town entered - or nearly entered - budget season.

Naturally, the Select Board called on McGinn, who agreed to come out of retirement in January and served as interim town administrator until the Select Board found Silva’s permanent replacement, Thatcher Kezer, the former mayor of Amesbury. McGinn led Marblehead through the Town Meeting season, and Kezer subsequently took over.

For several weeks, a protracted search for a permanent finance director has proven quite difficult.

“We’re still searching for a finance director. We had a pool that we interviewed. We had a lot of good candidates,” Kezer told the Select Board. “We, unfortunately, lost a couple of very strong candidates that are withdrawn for various reasons.”

The search faces “a tough marketplace for municipalities” with regard to finding department administrators.

“We are going to keep the search open and look for the exact right person that we want here in Marblehead,” Kezer said “So the effort continues.”

And so the town finds itself without a finance director as Marblehead enters budget season. On Wednesday, Nov. 16, the Select Board opened the 2023 town warrant, an indicator that the slow march to Town Meeting has begun. The next Town Meeting will be a consequential one, as the warrant is expected to feature a permanent Proposition 2 1/2 override.

The town is once again turning to McGinn.

“He has agreed to work on a part-time basis to ensure critical finance reports are accomplished to provide additional assistance as needed through the budget development process,” Kezer told the Select Board. “Additionally, he knows where all the information is maintained, providing efficiency in completing tasks.”

of town elected and departmental leadership and Sustainable Marblehead - with an unprecedented dedication to charting a path to net-zero carbon emissions in our town by 2040,” she said.

The average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world, according to the Nature Conservancy. Globally, the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons.

“Heating our homes is the single biggest carbon producer in our lives,” Wolf said, adding that homes warmed by oil and natural-gas on average produce between four and seven carbon tons annually. “Converting your oil-heated home to a heat pump can reduce carbon emissions seven times. Converting gas to a heat pump could reduce your emissions 4.7 times.”

The stairway to net zero

One out of every five homes built before 1980 is properly insulated, and in Marblehead, there are a lot of homes built before that time. Adams said 44 percent of the total carbon emissions in Marblehead come from homes.

“Home weatherization is the most cost-effective way to reduce carbon output and energy bills,” said Adams. “Improved weatherization also provides fewer temperature fluctuations.”

Costs can deter people from taking action, but Adams walked the day’s audience through discounts, tax breaks and subsidies to finance green transitions. Many of the decisions should not be carried out on impulse; they require proactive measures and planning (check out the “Save Energy, Save Money, Protect the Plan” section of Sustainable Marblehead’s website: https:// www.sustainablemarblehead.org/). Adams encouraged Marblehead Municipal Light Department customers to call NextZero at 888-333-7525 to schedule a free in-house energy audit.

“By investing in green upgrades, we can lower our emissions, save on energy bills and make our homes more comfortable,” Adams said. “Green upgrades will increase the value of your home.”

Adams said a good starting point is a home audit.

“[The] audit report will cover insulation requirements plus benefits from upgrading appliances and hot water heaters,” said Adams. “[The report] will also provide guidance on available rebates.”

Wolf said a simple step to significantly save money and

reduce carbon emissions involves no out-of-pocket costs. It’s called flattening the peak: Spreading out electricity usage - not using it at times when everybody is using the most amount of electricity.”

“Leveling your load is a really important concept to start adjusting your habits around,” said Wolf. “What it basically means is shifting your electricity use from peak demand hours, which is generally from about 5 to 8 p.m. on the weekdays to times that are not 5 p.m.to 8 p.m. on the weekdays.”

Another reason to chart a net-zero path: Costs to warm homes - especially those that use liquified gas and heating oil - during the winter months continue to rise.

The United States Energy Information Administration forecasts the highest energy costs in a quarter century. Heating costs nationwide are set to go up as much as 28 percent over the 2021 season.

Sustainable Marblehead offers a primer on ‘the stairway to net zero’

Lynn Bryant, the former Sustainable Marblehead executive director, Marblehead Municipal Light Commission Vice Chair Lisa Wolf and resident Mark Adams present ways for people to mitigate their carbon footprint and save money.

transition. Now, when Silva resigned 1o months ago with very little explanation, the Select

Board was caught by surprise. Both Chelgren and Silva, for whatever their reasons, resigned

Former Marblehead finance director and town administrator John McGinn.

Festival Chorus to feature Christmas journey

The 42nd annual Old North Festival Chorus Christmas Concerts — presented each year as part of Marblehead’s Christmas Walk — will take place on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of the historic Old North Church Meeting House, 35 Washington St., Marblehead.

Highlights of the December 2022 Festival Chorus Concerts — for chorus and full orchestra — include:

“Missa in Angustiis (Lord Nelson Mass)” by Franz Joseph Haydn; » “A Musicological Journey Through the Twelve Days of Christmas,” by Craig Courtney; and arrangements of seasonal music for chorus and orchestra with audience participation.

Featured soloists include Holly Cameron, soprano; Gabriela Fagen, mezzo-soprano; Frankie Campofelice, tenor; and Michael Galvin, bass.

The Old North Festival Orchestra, soloists and 70-voice chorus will be led by Maria van Kalken, minister of music at Old North Church, who celebrates her 34th season as director of the Festival Chorus.

The Festival Chorus gathers

Spiess

From P. A1

Town Meeting, “the purest form of democracy,” very seriously.

As the town’s legislative body, Town Meeting is charged with three major duties: setting the salaries of elected officials, voting to appropriate money to run the town, and approving the town’s local statutes, which are called bylaws.

“To be town moderator, understanding town meeting law is essential: To know when someone can seek an amendment, to know how to keep order–these are attributes that are critical,” former Marblehead Select Board member Harry Christensen said. “Gary knew town meeting law well, and very rarely did he seek an opinion from town counsel.”

Throughout his tenure, Spiess said he had tried to ensure citizens’ petitions got a full and

Pond

From P. A1

Old North’s Senior Choir together with enthusiastic singers — amateur to professional — from many neighboring communities in Marblehead.

Each season, the Festival Chorus welcomes new voices while maintaining a devoted ensemble from previous years; this season’s Chorus totals over 100 participants.

Encouraged by a love for

fair airing at Town Meeting, working with sponsors to make sure their language passes legal muster.

“I don’t want [a petitioner] to get shut out of Town Meeting because of some mistake they made in their application,” he said.

“The challenge I have with citizens is simply making sure they’re acceptable as formed, so I’ve spent a lot of time sort of being the intermediary between town counsel and the petition sponsor.”

To Spiess, the key ingredients to a successful Town Meeting were “respect for our fellow citizens, sticking to the topic under discussion, no personal attacks, and knowing when you’ve said enough.”

Higher education brought Spiess, who grew up in Wauseon, Ohio, and St. Louis, to New England. He attended Dartmouth College on a football scholarship, graduating in 1962. He then graduated from Harvard

music and a reputation as the North Shore’s most spirited and talented volunteer choirs, the Festival Chorus & Orchestra has been lauded for its outstanding performances of major choral works each year.

Director van Kalken holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from the Oberlin and New England Conservatories of Music, primarily under the tutelage of the late Yuko Hayashi

Law School in 1966.

Spiess was a corporate attorney, served on the Marblehead Zoning Board of Appeals and coached youth soccer for many years.

Select Board Chair Moses Grader said Spiess had an ability to read the direction of Town Meeting debate. He understood Marbleheaders valued brevity, and when debate became redundant, Spiess would say, “I think we’re getting to that point where everything has been said, but not everyone has said it yet.”

“He kind of was that classic Marbleheader in the sense that he didn’t beat around the bush,” Grader said. “He told you what he thought, but he was also very generous and caring.”

Belf-Becker agreed, “His Town Meetings were tight and to the point.”

Grader said Spiess worked to create a welcoming Town Meeting where citizens could

open year-round,” said Conservancy President Robert French. “We are around most ponds and are familiar with changes.”

Eutrophication what?

French, a 30-year resident, said he has never seen the water levels in Marblehead ponds as low as they have gotten in 2022.

“The simple answer as to what’s wrong is the drought, possibly enhanced by lower-than-normal precipitation over the winter,” said French. “However, there is another issue with most of these ponds, literally an underlying one: Eutrophication with the accompanying filling of a pond.”

Eutrophication occurs when “excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water – frequently due to runoff from the land – causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.”

French said most of Marblehead’s ponds are not that deep; water gives the illusion of depth. Over decades and decades, the accumulation of organic material – debris, leaves, fish waste and dead algae – mostly through runoff that flows into a pond that has no exit plays a part in its disappearance (which French says will happen to some ponds in the distant future).

Bob French took the two photos of Hawthorn Pond in Sept. 22 and the second one on June 20, 2006. “The latest photo shows how shallow the pond is. A comparison of the two shows

how the alien invasive, phragmites, has grown across the background, effectively shrinking the size of the pond. Phragmites and other plants will grow where the water is shallow. It has taken sixteen years for the overgrowth to do what you see here.”

“Once it does build up, the ponds don’t take all that much to dry out. The pond muck attracts vegetation – as a nutrientrich food source and a place to anchor their roots.

“As the water gets shallow enough, you can see excessive growth of vegetation,” said French. “Droughts only speed everything up.”

The loss of amphibious life

French said the Conservancy members have seen a certain degree of the eutrophication effect in Marblehead take hold, depriving

and the late Donald Teeters, and has amassed an education abroad in Amsterdam and Pistoia, Italy.

Tickets for Festival Chorus performances are priced at $30 and may be purchased in advance at Arnould Gallery, 111 Washington St., and Crosby’s Marketplace, 118 Washington St. Tickets may also be purchased online. Finally, tickets may be reserved in advance by calling

feel free to weigh in.

“Running a good Town Meeting was very important,” said Grader. “But I will tell you he really respected the whole process, including the importance and courage that it takes for people to stand up and speak, and he certainly encouraged that.”

Spiess said he would have stepped down as town moderator sooner, but then COVID-19 arrived. Spiess decided he would see Town Meeting through a once-in-acentury pandemic, planning with public safety and elected officials to stage an outside town meeting in the Veterans Middle School parking lot.

John McGinn, the former town administrator and finance director, worked with Spiess for several years. He noted Spiess’ diligence and fairness.

“He always wanted not only to understand each of the articles

781-608-2782.

While ticket buyers are encouraged to wear masks at these public performances, masks are optional.

The Old North Festival Chorus is supported in part by a grant from the Marblehead Cultural Council as administered through the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Old North Church is accessible for the physically impaired.

on the Town Meeting warrant but also wanted to understand both sides of every issue covered by the various articles,” he said. “The town has lost a great deal of institutional knowledge with Gary’s passing, but more importantly, the town has lost a leader who always worked to make Marblehead a better place.”

Like others, his successor, Marblehead Town Moderator Jack Attridge, pinned the descriptor “gentleman”to Spiess’character.

“I would usually run into Gary down at Barnegat and the last few times, we would share ‘Mr. Moderator’back and forth,”said Attridge. “Gary would almost always be on foot and always with Betsy, their dog, and any other family member who happened to be in town.”

He added, “Gary will always be remembered as fair and balanced with a bit of humor.”

amphibious animals of oxygen. The Marblehead Conservancy got a good first look at the vegetation issue that the effect spawns when Joe Brown Pond neighbors complained about an invasive species a little over a decade ago.

“It was covering the entire surface,” French said. “What we found 6 to 8 feet of muck underneath the water.”

He added, “That type of build-up of muck makes anything that needs oxygen to live in the water die.”

Years before, Joe Brown’s Pond teemed with life.

“We use to have fish and frogs in the pond,” he said. “They are all gone.”

Don Morgan, a Marblehead Conservancy member, said the low water levels presented challenges for Marblehead animals that rely on the ponds for water and habitat.

Some residents whose homes abut ponds and wooded areas resorted to putting bowls of water out during the summertime.

He also mentioned the adverse effects that the drought has had on a Conservancy endeavor, its attempt to turn the Lead Mills into a pollinatorfriendly native wildflower meadow.

“We’ve lost quite a few shrubs and wildflowers,” he said.

However, the drought has had one silver lining, according to Morgan.

“Babbling Brook in Steer Swamp has very steep embankments, so it is difficult for us to climb down to remove branches and other junk which ends up in it, disturbing the flow, without falling in,” he said. “The brook is now so low that we have been able to get them out over the last few weeks.”

Bob French took the two photos of Hawthorn Pond in Sept. 22 and the second one on June 20, 2006. “The latest photo shows how shallow the pond is. A comparison of the two shows how the alien invasive, phragmites, has grown across the background, effectively shrinking the size of the pond. Phragmites and other plants will grow where the water is shallow. It has taken sixteen years for the overgrowth to do what you see here.”

COURTESY PHOTO

For the 34th season, the 70-voice Old North Festival Chorus will be led by Maria van Kalken, minister of music at Old North Church.

BY LISA CONTI

Nancy Archer Gwin of Marblehead knows all too well how stressful and difficult life can be for a family with a seriously ill child, and how palliative care can help. Four years ago, her grandson, Henry, died from a brain tumor when he was just two years and nine months old.

Gwin visited her son Rob and his family at their home in London many times during Henry’s illness. Rob and his wife chose hospice for their son after he had long hospital stays and doctors determined the tumor was not treatable. Gwin was impressed by the care and support Henry and his family received from two agencies in the U.K., and she never forgot it.

When Gwin became co-president of the Marblehead Rotary Club earlier this year, she submitted ideas for community support projects that are important to her. One was to help families of children who have a serious illness. Long before her grandson’s hospice experience, she had volunteered for Hospice of the North Shore (now Care Dimensions). She called Care Dimensions, which is contracted by the state of Massachusetts to operate a pediatric palliative care program for families in Essex County. The program provides physical, emotional, social, and spiritual support for children who face a progressive, life-limiting condition, and for their families.

“I know how helpful it can be for a family with a seriously

ill child to have support, and I wanted to learn how our Rotary club could bring that support to local families,” said Gwin. Pediatric Palliative Care Program Manager Maureen Burge suggested the club donate 25 Thanksgiving meals and she provided a list of needed items – everything from turkey to side dishes to dessert.

“Members of our Rotary club have been so generous with food and monetary donations,” said Gwin. She thanked Maria’s Gourmet for donating pies, Boston Yacht Club (where the Rotary club holds its meetings) for providing turkeys at cost, Marblehead Farm Direct Coop for carrots and potatoes, and Whole Foods for dinner rolls and fresh fruit. Rotarian Linda Sullivan helped assemble the

Thanksgiving bags, which Gwin called “a true group effort.”

Care Dimensions staff delivered the meals to 25 families it serves in the Pediatric Palliative Care Program.

“The families are so grateful to everyone who made this

Thanksgiving a happy and memorable one,” said Burge. “Care Dimensions is thankful we were part of this event that truly represents the spirit of giving.”

To learn more about Care Dimensions’ pediatric services, visit: http://bit. ly/3TTWTJ3.

Marblehead Rotary Club Members Linda Sullivan and Nancy Archer Gwin (fourth and fifth from left) present some of the 25 Thanksgiving meals the club assembled for families of children in Care Dimensions’ Pediatric Palliative Care Program. Gratefully accepting the donations from Care Dimensions are Bethany Beers-Mullen, CEO Stephanie Patel, MD, Maureen Burge, Caitlin French, and Angela MacMannus.

Photo by Rob Kipp

ANCHorS AND SAILS

Words matter

BY BRENDA KELLEY KIM

“Words matter, and the right words matter most of all. In the end they’re all that remain of us.” —John Birmingham

This quote is what I would call “preaching to the choir” because who could possibly disagree that words matter? Perhaps they aren’t all that will be left of us after we’re gone, but what we say in this life will be a huge part of our legacy. Do writers have a monopoly on knowing what to say and how to say it? Trust me; we don’t. My father started out as a chauffeur and wound up running his own construction company. He wasn’t a writer, but he was known for always knowing exactly what to say. He could come up with the right words for almost any situation, written or spoken.

It’s an old family legend that when he was running for the school committee in Nahant, his opponent gave a long speech about the fact that he had children in the school system, so he was the better candidate. At the time, my father was unmarried and childless. After a good forty-five minutes of this candidate talking about how fatherhood made him a good choice, he finished up. My dad stood up for his turn and said, “Procreation is not a pre-requisite for public office, in case anyone was unclear about that.” Then he sat back down and didn’t say another word. He won the election in a landslide that hasn’t been seen since.

Whether in the news, politics, or just around the dinner table, the words we use are important, but so is the delivery. If something is worth saying, it should be said in such a way that it lands with whoever hears it. Knowing your audience is important; if it’s your turn to give the holiday toast this year in front of fifty relatives, it might be wise to avoid politics or current events. This time of year is stressful enough without stirring up a hornet’s nest of resentment and anger because Uncle Bob still thinks a cabal of secret reptile people living in a cave stole the 2020 election. Best to keep your hopes and dreams to general good wishes for health and prosperity without getting into the recession and inflation discussion with Aunt Margaret, who thinks her coffee can full of cash is safer in the cupboard than in a bank.

Words should make sense too, which might seem obvious but hear

LeTTerS PoLICY

Whether in the news, politics, or just around the dinner table, the words we use are important, but so is the delivery. If something is worth saying, it should be said in such a way that it lands with whoever hears it. Knowing your audience is important.

me out. Having spent a couple of years writing marketing materials for corporate clients, nowhere is there more ridiculous vocabulary and sayings than in a business meeting. Phrases like “Move the needle,” “low hanging fruit,” and “drill down,” only make sense if you are somehow excavating a rainforest and need to know how far you’ve gotten. None of that applies to sales, marketing, and branding. If I hear, “put a pin in it,” one more time, it’s entirely possible that I will put a pin in someone’s eyeball, and that would be a career killer. So why do businesses think they need to use a catchy tagline? In one meeting, I heard an executive say, “We really need everyone to come to the table on this. All hands on deck should be peeling back the layers of the onion, thinking outside the box, and coming up with best practices to improve top-line numbers and maximize their incentives.” There was no box, no onion, and we were not on a boat. It would have taken way less time to say, “You all better start figuring out how to sell these widgets if you want a year-end bonus.” It’s simple, but it says it, you know?

Everyone should have a voice in their community; that’s how we grow and connect with others. Our words come out of us; we are responsible for them. So whether it’s around the table having a coffee with friends (I’m looking at you all in the window of the Muffin Shop) or a social media post, or a letter to the editor, choose your words carefully. Make them count by leaving out tired old phrases that are meaningless and using words that encourage others to listen. It’s not hard, I promise.

We are delighted Brenda Kelley Kim has agreed to write a regular column for the Marblehead Current. She is a familiar voice to ‘Headers as the former longtime Marblehead Reporter columnist. She is the author of “Sink or Swim: Tales from the Deep End of Everywhere.” She resides in town with her family and a snorty pug named Penny in a tiny cottage by the sea.

We want to hear from you

The Marblehead Current loves to get letters to the editor. There are just a few rules you need to know.

Generally, letters should not exceed 500 words. The Marblehead Current reserves the right not to publish submissions over the word limit and may instead return the letter to the writer for editing.

Letters must include:

1. The author’s name. Unsigned letters and form letters will not be published.

2. The name of the street the author lives on in Marblehead. Only the street name will be published next to the author’s name — not their full address.

3. For every letter, we will need an author’s daytime/cell phone number

(not for publication) for verification purposes.

4. If letters seek to introduce into a discussion purported facts that are not commonly known, writers may be asked to provide the source for those purported facts.

5. Letters must be received by 5 p.m. Wednesday to be published in the following Wednesday’s print edition of the Marblehead Current. Letters will be published to our website at the earliest opportunity, after verification.

Email submissions to info@marbleheadnews.org.

While the Marblehead Current will make every effort to let writers have their say, it reserves the right not to publish letters.

everYTHING WILL be oKAY

The power of ‘And’

BY VIRGINIA BUCKINGHAM

In these divisive times, I find myself searching for that place on the human Venn diagram where we can connect, find common ground, calm anger down. I try to visualize what else besides the Venn circles overlapping would be a good symbol for mutual respect, which is essential to compromise, such as bridges or handshakes, when I see it literally right in front of me. The ampersand, symbol of that simple grammar bridge, “and.” Like much of my most loved home decor, the wooden ampersand that sits on top of my bookcase near my writing desk was purchased at Home Goods. Its prominent place in my favorite room acts as a nudge, reminder, guide to something I learned long ago – “and” is a superior bridge to understanding and connection than “but.” Here are some examples. The recent spate (upon recent spate) of shootings, at schools, at clubs, grocery stores, elicit the responses you would expect – horror, fear, anger, resolve to do something to stop the next one. Lately, though, they have also elicited this – a condemnation of those whose response is to offer their “thoughts and prayers.” You can differ on how, and yes even whether, gun control is the answer to the scourge of gun violence, passionately so. And you can offer and accept thoughts and prayers in a compassionate, authentic, meaningful way. Why can’t both be respected? How does demeaning a sincere prayerful response get us any closer to compromise?

I found the recent jack-ass move by the governor of Florida to trick migrants into flying to Massachusetts appalling. Human beings shouldn’t be used as political gimmicks. And I recognize the frustration of states which deal with thousands upon thousands of migrants while many, wellremoved geographically, lecture about their approach to handling the stream of families stressing public resources. We are a nation of immigrants and our border is failing. Can we pick up where President George W. Bush and the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, left off, use “and” to forge a compromise on

immigration reform?

The issue of abortion, in my view, also deserves the grace of “and.” I am prochoice. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision will, I hope, ultimately result in the federal and state codification of access which most Americans, polls show, support. And, while I believe it’s a woman’s right to control health decisions about her own body, I also respect the sincerely held moral belief that the decision to abort does not belong to the woman alone.

One more for today. Recent studies have shown that the decision to close down schools during the height of the pandemic had a disastrous impact on learning. I think keeping schools closed as long as we did was a mistake. And I think educators and leaders did the best they could making decisions in the face of a 100-year pandemic. Now let’s determine the best way to help students make up lost ground.

I can think of plenty of actions and issues where “And” has no place, racism chief among them. Also, offering the respect of “and” doesn’t imply agreement with the opposing view. “And” recognizes the legitimacy of the opposing view. Without the recognition of legitimacy, compromise is impossible.

I grew up on the New York Yankees side of the Red Sox/Yankees divide in Connecticut. My dad was a devoted Yankees fan from childhood. Yet, when he had grandchildren who loved the Red Sox as much as he did his Bronx Bombers, he started rooting for both teams. In the nursing home where he spent his final months, he even kept a quirky hat, decorated with the two teams’ emblems. I’m not suggesting you root for the Yankees and the Red Sox. I know that would be a bridge too far. I’m just saying consider using the “and” when possible. You may just start opening doors and closing divides.

Virginia Buckingham serves on the Marblehead Current Board of Directors. Buckingham is formerly the chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Port Authority, chief of staff to two Massachusetts governors, deputy editorial page editor for the Boston Globe and author of “On My Watch A Memoir.” “Everything Will Be Okay” is a weekly column.

Ready to

We rebranded and now we are being matched! Starting today through Dec. 31, the Marblehead Current – Marblehead’s only non-profit, independent newspaper –is participating in NewsMatch, an Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) initiative to financially support and sustain nonprofit community journalism.

As a nonprofit, we do not have a media parent company funding us – or dictating our community coverage. Our newsroom is right here in Marblehead, staffed by veteran local journalists with over five decades of combined experience covering our town. We depend on individual donations, which are tax-deductible, modestly-priced advertising and sponsorships, also taxdeductible, and support from foundations through INN and others.

Any individual donation made today through the end of year will be matched dollar-for-dollar by INN up to $1,000. And recurring donations will be matched 12 times, also to the $1,000 limit. So, if you make a one-time donation of $100 today, that is $200 for the Current. A monthly recurring donation of $10 ($120 per year) is $240 for the Current.

Our NewsMatch goal is to raise $15,000 from donations for a total of $30,000 with the match. Every dollar raised will

go directly to supporting independent journalism – to paying for freelancers to add to the depth of our coverage, to our new print edition coming to your mailbox soon and to our digital news site.

Since 2005, more than 2,000 local newspapers have closed around the country, eroding vibrant coverage about local government, business, sports and the arts. These closures have resulted in “news deserts” where citizens no longer can count on being up to date on important stories in their communities. We don’t want that fate for our town.

After Gannett took over the Marblehead Reporter in 2019, slashed resources and bare minimum local coverage ensued. Former editors and journalists from the Reporter got together and vowed to not let Marblehead become one of those news deserts. The idea for a non-profit, sustainable, newspaper was born. Local leaders, like Jessica Barnett and Ed Bell, got involved, and the Current became a reality.

Two newspapers got Marblehead through its first 150 years. Our mission is to provide Marblehead with objective, independent news for the next 150. Will you help us by supporting the Current and get matched today? Donate here: www. marbleheadcurrent.org/donate

The mystery behind the town’s Paul Revere letter

BY MARK HURWITZ

I recently visited Abbott Hall to vote in the recent election and decided to check out the Selectman’s Room and look at some of the town’s historic documents displayed on the walls of the room.

One of the documents that caught my eye was a letter Paul Revere wrote to Jon Glover, Esq., the brother of General John Glover of Marblehead. Revere’s letter is dated Nov. 15, 1787.

He reached out to Jon Glover about his interest in the town’s cannons.

Though best known for his “Midnight Ride” and silversmithing, Paul Revere also established New England’s first foundry in Boston in the 1780s.

Looking for surplus cannons left over from the American Revolution to purchase, Revere visited a number of towns, including Marblehead. He made four trips to Marblehead and later wrote to Jon Glover.

In his letter, he shared his concerns that another interested party had reached out to the governor of Massachusetts and suggested to him that since the cannons in Marblehead were the property of the Commonwealth and not Marblehead, the governor should sell the cannons to him.

Paul Revere and the unidentified interested party wanted to “recycle” the cannons at their foundries and turn them into other types of metallic objects such as firebacks and window weights.

In his letter to Jon Glover, he wrote:

“When I was last at Marblehead, I took notice that there were a great many old cannons at different places, which appear to me, to be good for nothing but the old iron,”

He then asks if he can purchase the cannons from the town and asked if an article could be written into the Town Meeting warrant that would authorize the town to sell them to him only:

“As I am in want of iron for the furnace which I built in Boston, I should be glad to purchase them, I should be willing to give as much for them as anybody. I believe the highest price delivered at Marblehead, would be __ hundred, if you will be good enough, when your town is to be called together, to get an article inserted in the warrant, for that purpose you will oblige.”

After reading the original letter on display, I realized that there was a faded

word or symbol next to the word hundred in the letter that I couldn’t read.

I reached out to the town and asked if they might know what the word/symbols in the letter were and what they might mean.

After I was informed that nobody knew, I decided to solve the mystery for myself and share it with the town.

A few years ago, I read a biography on Paul Revere by Robert Martello entitled “Midnight Ride, Industrial Dawn: Paul

Revere and the growth of American Enterprise.” His book focused primarily on Paul Revere’s work in metallurgy.

I looked him up on the internet and found his contact information. I emailed him a copy of Revere’s letter with the mystery word/symbol and asked for his best-educated guess.

He kindly returned my email with a possible answer.

“Around 1787 when this letter was written, Revere was still using pounds, shillings, and pence as his monetary units. My best guess is that this mystery phrase is 4’/Pr Hundred which probably translates as 4 shillings per hundred.

I assume this means he will pay four shillings for every hundred pounds of cannon weight.”

Martello also mentions, in his email, that, in 1787, Revere was only working with iron, and iron is referenced in the letter. He was hoping to melt down these cannons and re-cast them into the many different iron goods that he produced and sold. His work in bells and cannons came a few years later, and for those the metal was bronze.

Unfortunately, the town has no record of selling the cannons to Paul Revere and Robert Martello didn’t know either. One mystery ends and another begins.

Local experts share tips on beating holiday stress

BY LEIGH BLANDER

‘Tis the season for togetherness, joy, love and giving. But for many, it’s also the season for stress, anxiety, sadness and loneliness. The American Psychological Association says nearly 40 percent of Americans experience higher stress levels during the holidays. Only eight percent report feeling more joy.

“The holidays with all the hustle, bustle and expectations can increase stress for many of us,” said Dr. Melissa Kaplowitch, member of the Marblehead Mental Health Task Force and Salem State professor.

At the Marblehead Counseling Center, clinicians always see a boost in patients’ stress this time of year.

“We do have a lot of people coming in and talking about the holidays,” said Marie Ouellette, MCC’s chief clinical officer.

“Some people worry about not getting enough time off from work to get everything done. Others worry about finances. Stress comes in all areas, from all directions.”

The majority of people struggling with holiday stress are women, according to Ouellete.

“They’re often responsible for most of the holiday shopping and preparations,” she said.

“There’s a fear of not beng able to please everybody and make everybody happy. They’re trying to meet everybody’s expectations and their own expectations to make a perfect holiday. There’s no such thing.”

Holiday stress can trigger several physical symptoms, including “headachces, inability to sleep, exhaustion and stomach upset,” Oullette said. “It really hampers the holiday spirit.”

Oullette and Kaplowitch offered several tips and strategies to help relieve stress this season. They include:

Ask for help: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed,” Kaplowitch emphasized.

“If you’re in charge of holiday

meals, try to have people bring things. People feel like they have to do everything on their own, which creates stress,” Oullette said.

Practice self-care: “Deep breathing, taking a walk or even a hot shower or bath can provide relief quickly,” Kaplowitch said.

“Having a buddy, be it a partner, friend of other trusted loved one to call upon, can also help to reframe a stressful moment.”

Oullette encouraged people

to get plenty of exercise and sleep this time of year. “You have to have some down time. You have to find balance.”

She also recommended deep breathing and using apps like Calm.

Avoid too much togetherness: “Family time, especially when extended family is involved, can be overwhelming,” Kaplowitch said. Oullette suggested limiting family gatherings to manageable periods of time

that will feel special to you and your family.

Be honest about your feelings: “There can be trauma and conflict within the family system,” Oullette warned. “Be aware of that ahead of time and try to deal with it. Stay away from subjects that cause conflict.”

Many people feel increased loneliness around the holidays.

“Try to reach out to friends, get connected to the Council on Aging if you’re older, ” Oullette recommended.

“Build that support system throughout the year, so that in times like this you can call somebody. Don’t refuse help. Take advantage of what the town has to offer.”

People who are grieving a recent loss can also find the holidays especially challenging.

“No one can take away your grief,” Oullette saiud. “Sit down and talk about your memories. I find that even in my own family, missing my parents, it helps to talk about the memories that make us laugh. So we focus on that.”

If possible, Kaplowitch urges people to focus on the good in their lives. “Remembering to reflect on the positive can set the tone for the holiday season. Be good to yourself.”

For more information about the Marblehead Counseling Center, visit https://www. marbleheadcounseling.org/. To learn more about the Marblehead Mental Task Force, go to https://marbleheadcares. org/.

MARBLEHEAD CURRENT PHOTO / WILLIAM J. DOWD

A high-resolution photo of Paul Revere’s signature on a letter that he wrote to the town on Nov. 15, 1787.

An Paul Revere advertisement in an unidentified 18th-century newspaper.

BY WILLIAM J. DOWD

Spirit of ‘76 should be in full service on or before Dec. 5.

“That’s the hope,” said Marblehead Fire Chief Jason Gilliland, standing in Marblehead Fire Department headquarters’ bay area early last week. And no the fire chief isn’t talking about the massive painting in Abbot Hall’s Select Board Room - rather the town’s newest firefighting apparatus: A 2022 Enforcer Pumper. The fire engine is named after the iconic painting.

The fire chief had “Spirit of 76” detailed in blue on the front of the fire truck where flashing lights reside. On the rear of the apparatus, one will find Archibald Willard’s ‘Spirit of ‘76.’

A driver made the journey from the Pierce factory in Appleton, Wisconsin to Marblehead behind the wheel of the “Spirit of 76.”

“It was about a 1,500-mile trek,” said Gilliland. “It was a good period to break in the engine.”

When in commission, the “Spirit of 76” will become Engine 1 - and its predecessor, Engine 2.

According to the Pierce factory and the fire chief, Engine 1 and Engine 2 are duplicate models with minor changes and include the following.

• Enforcer aluminum cab

• 13.38” galvanized frame rails and cross members

• Pierce TAK4 independent front suspension

• Pierce command zone multiplex system, with wireless transmission of

vehicle prognostics and diagnostics

• Stainless steel battery boxes

• Cummins 450 horsepower engine

• Stainless steel 152-inch body

• 500-gallon water tank

• Galvanized water tank cradle

• Low hose bed

• Waterous single stage 1500 gallons per minute pump

• Galvanized pump house substructure

• Low crosslays

• Pierce Husky 12 foam system

• 500-gallon water tank

• 25-gallon foam tank

• Whelen LED emergency lights and pioneer scene lighting,

• Harrison 3.6KW with 200-foot cord reel

Marblehead voters OK’d up to a $750,000 debt-exclusion override under Article 32 on the 2021 Marblehead Town Meeting warrant to purchase a fire truck.

“The vote was reaffirmed in June of 2021, when voters overwhelmingly [passed]…a debt-exclusion override to borrow $620,000 for the new pumper truck and other related equipment,” Gilliland wrote in the 2021 Marblehead Town Report.

Before the fire truck arrived in Marblehead, Gilliland flew to the Pierce factory to inspect the fire truck. And Peirce regularly sent him photos as their autoworkers assembled the town’s pumper truck.

The fire department turns over trucks based on a replacement schedule in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association. The life expectancy of a pumper truck is 15 years.

detialed on the back of the Marblehead Fire Department’s newsest firefighting apparatus.

THURSDAY, DEC. 1

4:45 p.m.: Marblehead High School a cappella group at TQM Wealth Partners (122 Washing ton St., Suite R)

5 p.m.-8 p.m.: Annual Wish List Party at Jambu Jewelry (38 Atlantic Ave.)

5 p.m.-8 p.m.: Holiday Mini Market & Refresh ments at MacRae’s (108 Washington St.)

5 p.m.-8 p.m.: Holiday Sip & Shop at Scribe Paper & Gift (84 Washington St.)

5 p.m.-8 p.m.: Holiday Sips, Snacks & Shop ping at Tory’s Jewelry (106 Washington St.)

5 p.m.-8 p.m.: Sip & Shop at All Chic at 152 (152 Washington St.)

5 p.m.-8 p.m.: Sip & Shop at Blue Lobster Company (67A Front St.)

6 p.m.-8 p.m.: Holiday Preview Shopping & Refreshments at Abbey Studio Calligraphers (84 Washington St.)

6 p.m.-8 p.m.: Holiday Party at Seaside Allure (9 Pleasant St.)

FRIDAY, DEC. 2

11 am-5 p.m.: Holiday Mini Market & Seasonal Treats at MacRae’s (108 Washington St.)

3 p.m.-6 p.m.: Gingerbread Festival at Jer emiah Lee Mansion (161 Washington St.)

4:30 p.m.: Marblehead High School a cappella group at TQM Wealth Partners (122 Washing ton St, Suite R)

5 p.m.: Beverages & Treats at Sagan Harbor side Sotheby’s International Realty (1 Essex St.)

5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.: Festivities & Tree Lighting at National Grand Bank Parking Lot (across from 91 Pleasant St.)

5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.: Solar-powered, mason jar, tea-light craft at Sustainable Marblehead booth at National Grand Bank Parking Lot (across from 91 Pleasant St.)

7 p.m.: Lobster Trap Tree Lighting with Glov ers Regiment at Mud Puddle Toys (1 Pleasant St.)

SATURDAY, DEC. 3

9 a.m.: Hot Chocolate & Holiday Sweets Stand at MCCPS (17 Lime St.)

9 a.m.-3 p.m.: Christmas Fair at Our Lady Star of the Sea (80 Atlantic Ave.)

9 a.m.: Hot Chocolate & Cookies at Blue Lob ster Company (67A Front St.)

9:30 a.m.: Santa arrives by Lobster boat at The Landing (81 Front St.)

10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Gingerbread Festival at Jer emiah Lee Mansion (161 Washington St.)

10 a.m.-5 p.m.: Artisan’s Market at Abbot Hall (188 Washington St.)

10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Holiday Gift Expo at the Masonic Temple (62 Pleasant St.)

10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Heart of Christmas Fair at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church (26 Pleasant St.)

10 a.m.: Hot Cider & Crafts at Coldwell Banker (2 Atlantic Ave.)

10 a.m.: Refreshments & Sweets at MAHRI (156 Washington.)

11 a.m.: Hot chocolate & cookies at Mariner Marblehead (31 Atlantic Ave.)

11 a.m.-5 p.m.: Holiday Mini Market & Sea sonal Treats at MacRae’s (108 Washington St.)

11 a.m.-5 p.m.: Giveaways & Refreshments for Kids & Adults at Sweetwater & Co. (33 Atlantic Ave.)

11:45 a.m.: Christmas Walk Parade

Noon-3 p.m.: Open House & signature cock tails made by Bubble Bar Boston at Living Swell Marblehead (34 Atlantic Ave., Suite C)

1 p.m.-3 p.m.: Living Nativity & Petting Zoo at Our Lady Star of the Sea (80 Atlantic Ave.)

1 p.m.-3 p.m.: Take a photo with Santa at All Chic at 152 (152 Washington St.)

1 p.m.-3 p.m.: Harry Christensen & Richard Santeusanio book signing at Arnould Gallery (111 Washington St.)

1:30 p.m.: Photos with Santa at Compass (46 Atlantic Ave.)

2 p.m.-4 p.m.: Live Music with Molly Williams and the Shooting Stars at Abbot Hall (188 Washington St.)

8 p.m.: Festival Chorus Holiday Concert at Old North Church (35 Washington St.)

SUNDAY, DEC. 4

10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Artisan’s Market at Abbot Hall (188 Washington St.)

10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Holiday Gift Expo at the Masonic Temple (62 Pleasant St.)

11 a.m.-3 p.m.: Gingerbread Festival at Jer emiah Lee Mansion (161 Washington St.)

Noon-2 p.m.: Dog photos with Santa at CCPAWS (52B Atlantic Ave.)

Noon-5 p.m.: Holiday Mini Market & Seasonal Treats at MacRae’s (108 Washington St.)

Noon: Hot chocolate & cookies at Mariner Marblehead (31 Atlantic Ave.)

1 p.m.-3 p.m.: Take a photo with Santa at All Chic at 152 (152 Washington St.)

1 p.m.-3 p.m.: Harry Christensen & Richard Santeusanio book signing at Arnould Gallery (111 Washington St.)

2 p.m.-4 p.m.: Live Music with Molly Williams and the Shooting Stars at Abbot Hall (188 Washington St.)

7:30 p.m.: Festival Chorus Holiday Concert at Old North Church (35 Washington St.)

Christmas Walk, an overview

BY KRIS OLSON

All your favorites will be back, plus there will be a few new twists when the Marblehead Christmas Walk returns this weekend.

The “marquee” events will again include a pair of Friday night tree lightings, first in the National Grand Bank parking lot on Pleasant Street and then a tree constructed out of lobster traps outside of Mud Puddle Toys on Washington Street, with sea chanteys led by Glover’s Regiment providing musical accompaniment.

Then on Saturday morning, Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive by lobster boat at town landing on Front Street, and by the time the North Pole couple are finished greeting their adoring fans, it will be time to start the annual Christmas Walk parade at 11:45 a.m.

Starting late Thursday afternoon, businesses will be offering holiday cheer and special events, the Lee Mansion will allow visitors to peruse the entries in the Marblehead Family Fund’s Gingerbread Festival, houses of worship will host fairs and open houses (see page 21), and the weekend evenings will be capped with the Old North Church Festival Chorus’ annual Christmas concerts (see Page 4).

Matthew Martin of National Grand Bank will be back to emcee the Friday night festivities in the bank parking lot, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. and once again feature performances by local school choruses and other special guests, according to Marblehead Chamber of Director Katherine Koch.

Doing the honors of lighting the tree will be the Chamber’s Rey Moulton Person of the Year, Brian Wheeler.

Wheeler reiterated that it is a “tremendous honor” to be in the company of the award’s previous winners, who have contributed so much to the vitality of the community. For his tree-lighting duties, Wheeler said he will be enlisting the help of some neighbors.

When it is suggested that his longtime service overseeing the musical performances that are a staple of the Marblehead Festival of Arts might come in handy if there are technical difficulties with the tree lighting, Wheeler joked that would be overstating his abilities as an electrician.

“I’m well versed in flipping switches, however,” he said.

Wheeler will be back for the parade the following morning, riding in style in a red Cadillac provided by Rent the Classics. If the weather cooperates – and the long-range forecast looked fair enough as of this writing – it should be a “really exciting day,” Wheeler said.

But the Marblehead Christmas Walk does not just give you one tree lighting. New Mud Puddle Toys owner Cassie Watt inherited from former owners Sam and Kristen Pollard the tradition of erecting a lobster trap tree outside the business and said there was never any question whether it would endure.

Long before she even thought about owning the toy store, Watt enjoyed bringing her own children to the lobster trap tree lighting, she explained.

The tree’s traps are being donated by the Little Harbor Lobster Company, Watt added.

“I’ll be very excited to sing sea chanteys along with Glover’s Regiment,” she said.

Santa From P. A1

Whear says he has developed a skill for picking fellow members of the North Pole fraternity out of a crowd, even in summertime. There is just something about their aura and personality, he says.

“There should be more [Santa’s helpers] in the world,” he says.

But one of Whear’s first forays in the role around 1980 went less than perfectly. His girlfriend at the time, an elementary school teacher, made him aware of the school’s need for a helper to accompany Santa on his visit.

Whear raised his hand, and all was going well. But then one of the children exclaimed, “Look! Santa has sneakers on!”

Ever since, Whear has made sure that Santa shows up in his proper boots.

For about eight years, Whear had helped to ensure the jolly old soul was there to greet children at the former Goodale Orchards, now Russell Orchards, in Ipswich.

The setting was idyllic, according to Whear. Santa would be seated in a barn near a fireplace, and children would be paraded in to be read stories and offer up their wish lists.

Still, nothing quite compares to Marblehead’s lobster boat ride, something he may not have fully appreciated when fellow Marblehead Little Theatre veteran and past Santa right-hand man Ron Amon offered to pass the candy cane to Whear a few years ago, he acknowledges.

“Now, I’ll do it until someone takes it away,” he says.

Knowing that many may never have his special vantage point on one of the Christmas Walk’s signature events, Whear describes what he sees and hears during his journey.

In addition to the throngs at the landing itself, when you look up to the

After Santa and Mrs. Claus make their annual arrival by lobster boat and spend a couple of hours greeting wideeyed children on Saturday morning, it will be time for the Christmas Walk parade at 11:45 a.m.

The parade lasts for about an hour, with the route traveling from Front Street to State Street and then Washington Street, up to Five Corners and then up Atlantic Avenue as far as Gerry Street, then up Gerry to Pleasant Street before terminating at the National Grand Bank parking lot.

Veterans Agent David Rodgers said he had 20-plus groups from youth sports leagues, schools and other local organizations signed up to march as of the weekend before the parade, with other groups welcome to join the procession right up until the last minute.

As in previous years, the parade is expected to include several vintage vehicles driven by members of the Old Car Club, Rodgers added.

If you work quickly, there may also be time to sneak a late entry into the Gingerbread Festival. The Marblehead Museum, which will be open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, has been distributing Masonite boards for gingerbread house building, and drop-off for entries at the Lee Mansion is from 10 a.m. to noon or from 3 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1.

Judges will award honors in the following categories: Ages 5 & Under, Ages 6-10, Business, Traditional, Creative, Marblehead and School.

If you would rather just view than build, the Gingerbread Festival exhibit will be open in the Lee Mansion from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Creations can then be retrieved from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4 or from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5.

Online registration for the Gingerbread Festival is strongly encouraged at mhdfamilyfund.org.

right, you can see dozens of kids up at Fort Sewall, ready to make a mad dash back down to the landing once the boat comes into view.

In the condominiums to the left of the Barnacle, back porches are littered with people, perhaps enjoying a little brunch.

When Santa and Mrs. Claus begin to shout, “Merry Christmas!” and other greetings, their voices can be heard above the din and reverberate off the houses. The acoustics also make it possible to engage in call-and-response singing of holiday favorites.

Whear recalls with a laugh last year’s well-intentioned attempt to incorporate COVID-19 precautions into Santa’s landing. The plans called for children to remain penned into a roped-off area for “socially distanced” photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

The ropes did not stand a chance.

Whear says that, once the barrier collapsed, he and Best exchanged a quick glance and decided to keep on keeping on, helping Santa and Mrs. Claus to go with the flow.

Despite helping dozens of kids get their photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus—a few drooling or sneezing—he never got sick, and neither did Best, as far as he knows, a minor Marblehead Christmas miracle.

Whear says he could not have a better partner than Best, and is a bit sheepish that his guy, Santa, gets more than his fair share of the children’s adoration.

“The big guy gets all the attention,” he says.

Often, however, Mrs. Claus and Best are the ones helping soothe children who have gotten nervous waiting in line and want to abort the mission before having their photos taken.

By selling Wire 4 Hire, his Salembased electrical contracting business, Whear has freed himself to pursue his passions—primarily his production company, Silly Theatre Productions— and take jobs that bring him joy.

On that front, serving as the Marblehead Chamber’s Santa’s helper is a “corker,” he says.

“I hope I have a good run,” Whear says.

COURTESY PHOTO

After their trip across the harbor by lobster boat on Saturday, Santa and Mrs. Claus, ably ‘assisted’ by Bruce Whear and Laura Best, will eagerly greet families like John and Dee Vigneron, their daughter Chrissy O’Neill and her husband, Brian, and their twins, Patrick and Catherine.

COURTESY PHOTO

New Mud Puddle Toys owner Cassie Watt has upheld the tradition of erecting a lobster trap tree outside the business.

9-1-1 dispatcher will honor veterans with holiday wreaths

BY LEIGH BLANDER

Longtime Marblehead 9-1-1 dispatcher Teresa Collins is leading a campaign to place holiday wreaths on the graves of nearly 2,000 veterans at Waterside Cemetery.

Collins is working with the nonprofit Wreaths Across America. So far, people have sponsored 200 wreaths. Each wreath costs $15.

“The theme of this year’s mission is to find a way to serve,” Collins told the Marblehead Current. “What more can you ask of Americans than to find a way to serve their town or city or country… for people to step up, see an opportunity and a need. This is a way I can continue to serve my community.”

Collins has been a 9-1-1 dispatcher in town for 25 years.

“For me, it’s super important to find positive things in the community, to balance it out,” she said referring to the stresses of her work.

Collins has been involved with Wreaths

Across America for about a decade. Every year, she rides her motorcycle in a convoy of trucks packed with wreaths from Maine to Arlington Cemetery. “We stop for teaching moments – at schools and outside city and town halls — to talk about Wreaths Across America’s mission, which is to remember, honor and teach. It’s just been really great.”

Collins decided to bring Wreaths Across America to Marblehead in January.

“I asked myself, ‘This is Marblehead, Massachusetts. Why don’t we have this in our town, which has such a deep military history?’”

Collins worked with the senior citizens at the local ElderAct Club to pore through documents for the 19,000 people buried at Waterside Cemetery and identify those who were veterans. “It took months and months and months of research,” she said.

Since it’s the first year in Marblehead, Collins knows she probably won’t be able to put wreaths on all 2,000 graves, but she hopes to at least get enough for the 37 graves in the GAR (Grand Army

of the Republic) lot and 179 graves in the section deginated for vets. Two families have already sponsored wreaths for the GAR lot.

The wreaths will be placed Saturday, December 17, and Collins is looking for volunteers. The Marblehead Scouts have signed on to help.

“The public is welcome to come and lay wreaths. It’s a way to serve your town,”

Collins said.

Wreaths Across America started in 1992 at Arlington National Cemetery.

Last year, volunteers placed 2.4 million wreaths in 3,100 locations nationwide.

For more information and to sponsor a Marblehead wreath, click https://bit. ly/3TLktHE. You can also follow Collins’ Wreaths Across America campaign on Facebook.

Forever Marbleheaders’ project to remember hundreds of MHS teachers

BY LEIGH BLANDER

If you attended Marblehead High School, you may have wondered what ever happened to some of your favorite — and not so favorite — teachers.

The group Forever Marbleheaders has launched a campaign spotlighting educators at Marblehead High from 1950 to 1980. It’s getting a lot of attention.

Members of Forever Marbleheaders, from left, Marge Gallo Armstrong, Dan Dixey, Bill Goodwin and Maureen Graves Anderson.

“People are having fun participating,” said Maureen Graves Anderson, a 1980 MHS graduate who is leading the MHS Teachers Project, which is posted on Facebook. “People like sharing memories; it has value just for that. It’s been fun to see the arc of a teacher’s career sometimes, to see what they did.”

Graves Anderson is a founding member of Forever Marbleheaders, a group of 30 current Marblehead residents and people who grew up in town but moved away.

Graves Anderson has lived in Maine for more than 30 years, for example. One of her co-founders, Dan Dixey, is an 11th-generation Marbleheader who moved to Maine 17 years ago.

For the MHS Teachers Project, Graves Anderson, with help from a few volunteers, has researched more than 100 people who worked at MHS during 1950-1980, scouring through yearbooks at Abbot Library and online, and looking at editions of the old Marblehead Messenger.

Nan Dumas, a member of the MHS class of 1976, and still lives in town, is helping.

“I do genealogy and have subscriptions to Ancestry.com and AmericanAncestors. org,” she explained. “I love Marblehead history. I feel like it becomes part of your DNA when you grow up here.”

Graves Anderson, whose own mother taught chemistry at MHS, posts a teacher’s photo with a brief description and, typically, a link to their obituary. Then, she encourages folks to share memories.

“I’m a historian by hobby,” she laughed.

So far, she has posted about 160 teachers out of 300 she has identified. She is only posting teachers who have passed away, or ones who are still living and give their permission.

Perhaps the earliest teacher she has identified is Buela Church, who taught “commercial,” or business, starting in 1914. She retired in 1962.

Industrial arts teachers and coaches seem to be the most popular, Anderson Graves said.

“All the guys are writing in about loving their shop teachers, like Mr. DeCastro,

Mr. Fabiszewski and Mr. Russell,” she said. “They’ve gotten the most comments.”

There’s also Bob Roland, who coached hockey from the ’60s to the ’80s, and Herm Hussey, a math and social studies teacher who coached football from 1947 to 1977.

Coach Tremaine Robarts, at MHS from 1935-1969, was in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” for scoring a touchdown his first game of high school, prep school, college and in a professional league.

Rod Pickard coached in the ’70s and ’80s. Peter Marin remembers him.

“My old futbol coach — Really enjoyed playing for him,” Martin wrote about Pickard on Facebook. “Some of my best memories in high school were from that team. He granted my delusion that I should move to middie — should have stayed on back line.”

English teacher Deborah Caulkins also received a lot of comments.

”One of the best teachers I ever had, and a delightful friend too,” wrote Merry Tufts. “She even came to our wedding. I used tools she taught me in college. She was TOP NOTCH. A wonderful person thru and thru. RIP Mrs. C!”

Anderson has

teachers

interesting

“Most

men back then,

Another thing that “cracked me up,” Graves said, was seeing the MHS matron listed in yearbooks up to 1980.

“The matron was in charge of the girls

bathrooms, making sure girls didn’t smoke and that they followed the dress code, making sure their dresses weren’t too short,” she said.

Holding on to childhood

So why is this project resonating with so many people?

“Marblehead is kind of special in terms of history,” Graves Anderson said. “Everyone in Marblehead feels that the history of Marblehead is theirs. They own it.”

People want to remember simpler, happier times from their childhoods, Dixey said.

“Marblehead was such a tight-knit community,” he said. I’ll be 70 next year, which means I grew up in the late ’50s and ’60s. Everybody knew everybody else. We didn’t lock our doors. A lot of people just want to hold on to that childhood that they had.”

Forever Marbleheaders meets monthly in Maine. In 2020, it published “Forever Marbleheaders: Memories of Growing Up in Marblehead 1930-1980,” a book of personal essays by residents.

For more information about the group, contact Graves Anderson at ergomaine@ gmail.com.

noticed some

trends from all her research.

math

were

and science was mostly men. English was mostly women. For gym, they had men and women teachers. Gym was not co-ed for a long time.”

COURTESY PHOTOS

Members of Forever Marbleheaders, from left, Marge Gallo Armstrong, Dan Dixey, Bill Goodwin and Maureen Graves Anderson.

Authors hope you can help crack case Teacher’s unsolved murder has long fascinated

former official Christensen

BY KRIS OLSON

The exchange between former Marblehead Select Board member Harry Christensen and the lawyer-turned-author began cordially enough.

The author had already written one book about a Massachusetts murder and told Christensen that he was toying with the idea with making the killing of Marblehead elementary school teacher Beryl Atherton his next subject.

“Don’t bother,” Christensen told him. “My book is already well underway.”

Technically, that was not untrue. After giving countless lectures about the shocking crime over years, Christensen had essentially written the book about the still-unsolved crime that shook the serenity of his hometown in 1950. The only problem was that it lived mainly in Christensen’s brain.

Enter Richard Santeusanio.

The former Danvers school superintendent, Santeusanio was Christensen’s “boss” in Christensen’s prior professional life as a special education teacher, and nearly 50 years later, Christensen now refers to Santeusanio as “my best friend.”

Santeusanio, who retired in 2015 after serving as the coordinator of the reading certificate program at MGH Institute of Health Professions, had done some publishing in the education field, and the

LIbr A rY HAPPeNINGS

two friends had kicked around the idea of collaborating on an Atherton book over the years.

But they got a needed jolt from the thought that someone else might tell the story that had held Christensen’s fascination for decades – to the point where he made an annual ritual of surveilling the scene each year on the crime’s anniversary, hoping the killer might show up, too.

“That got us motivated,” Santeusanio says. “From then, we really started researching in earnest and moving ahead with it all.”

Their book seeks to do more than merely recount Atherton’s demise. Rather, if Santeusanio and Christensen have their way, the book is just the first step in

creating a crowd-sourced cold case unit.

All of the clues are laid before the reader – the autopsy report, the minute details of the murder scene, the victim’s background, and the collective wisdom of the townspeople who might have known something or seen something.

The main thing that has always stumped investigators is the motive for Atherton’s murder, though the brutality of the crime suggests a crime of passion, rather than something like a botched robbery.

There is also one big clue that points to someone known to Atherton being the murderer: the apparent murder weapon, a bone-handled bread knife, was returned to its rightful place in a chest of drawers in the kitchen.

Santeusanio and Christensen do conclude by offering three of their own theories of who committed the crime. But they are open to – and even excited about – the possibility that some set of fresh eyes might take the

investigation off in a whole new direction.

In fact, it has already happened.

“My next door neighbor just stopped me to tell his theory, which has nothing to do with any of ours,” Santeusanio says.

Even Christensen has revised his view of the likeliest suspect over the years. In his talks, Christensen tended to allude coyly to the idea that he had a main suspect whose name he would keep confidential until the person was no longer alive.

Now, after reviewing all of the research he had done since 1972, including notes that he had taken during interviews at coffee shops and gas stations with “anyone who was willing to talk with me about it,” he has changed his tune.

The easiest way readers can share their theories is by clicking the “Contact Us” link on murderinmarblehead.com, Santeusanio adds.

Atherton, a fifth-grade teacher at Glover School, was 47 years

old and weighed only about 100 pounds when she was murdered.

“Everyone thought she was very shy and very provincial,” Christensen says.

But there was another side to Atherton, who never married but did date – even some married men – hoping for a proposal that never came.

As is recounted in the book, these were the days when you needed an operator’s help to complete phone calls. Known as the “Hello Girls,” the operators were intrigued enough to periodically listen in on her phone calls, Santeusanio says.

“But the Hello Girls unfortunately did not help the police at all,” he says.

Christensen, who in addition to the Select Board held a seat on the town’s Retirement Board until health issues made getting up to Abbot Hall difficult, says he misses being a town official, having long viewed it as an extension of the service he provided his country.

“But old age and my Vietnam wounds have just curtailed that for me,” Christensen says. “So it was the perfect time for me to be able to meet with Richard, my best man, and my best friend, to get this done – finally!”

Christensen and Santeusanio will be signing copies “Murder in Marblehead” at Arnould Gallery, 111 Washington St., during the Christmas Walk from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 and Sunday, Dec. 4.

December schedule at Abbot Public Library

Harvard Art Museums (coming soon)

» The House of the Seven Gables*

New digs

The Abbot Public Library has temporarily moved into the Eveleth School, 3 Brook Road, as their Pleasant Street building undergoes a multimillion renovation. Library hours are the following:

» Monday: 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m.

» Tuesday: 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Wednesday*: 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m.

Thursday: 12 p.m.-6 p.m.

Friday: 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

» Saturday: 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

» Sunday: Closed

*Please note: the Children’s Room will close at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Returns are accepted inside the library in the blue Library Return bin near the main desk or, if the library is closed, outside our main entrance in the black Library Return bin. Book donations are only accepted on Book Donation Days.

For updates on the Renovations, please visit abbotlibrary.org/news/ renovation-news.

Sign up for the library’s newsletter at tinyurl.com/Abbot-News.

Fines no more

Abbot Public Library is now fine free. Visit https://abbotlibrary.org/about/ general-info/ to find out more about borrowing materials and getting a library card.

Tech and misc. things

The library offers Book Club Kits, Chromebooks, Hotspots, and more in our Library of Things. Visit https:// abbotlibrary.org/what-we-offer/library-ofthings/ to learn more.

Need to use a copier?

Abbot Public Library doesn’t charge a fee per page, but it does ask that patrons contribute what they wish at the time of copying. Funds will be donated to The Friends of Abbot Public Library.

Get your museum on

Visit abbotlibrary.org/what-we-offer/ get-a-museum-pass to reserve passes and promo codes for the following regional museums:

» Boston Children’s Museum

» The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston*

» Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum* (new!)

Museum of Fine Arts Museum of Science

» New England Aquarium (now a digital promo code)

» Peabody Essex Museum

» Trustees Go Pass* (new)

Zoo New England*

Patrons without access to the internet may reserve a pass/promo code right at the main desk or by calling (781) 631-1481, though some passes may require an email address in order to be used. Passes with an asterisk must be picked up at the library.

Courageous aging

Fridays, Dec. 2, 9, and 16, 3 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

“Are you getting older and need a place to process what really matters to you, who matters to you, what has given you purpose and meaning in life, what you feel good about having accomplished, what you feel grateful for, what you regret, what you feel passionate about, and what you would you like to be doing going forward?” writes library staff.

“If so, please join us for this 5-week program facilitated by Dr. Mark Nickolas, a licensed mental health counselor, and Carol O’Brien, MSW.”

Open Lab

On Mondays, Dec. 5, 12, and 19, Drop-in 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m., the library will have open lab hours.

“Do you have a question about your computer, smartphone, or tech gadget?

Do you want time to practice where someone can help if you get stuck? Every Monday, join a staff member for one-onone help with your device. For attendees who are unable to transport their device, there will be Windows laptops available.

Drop by the Program Room anytime between 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.,” writes the library. Registration is not required.

Volunteering at Abbot Public Library

On Tuesday, Dec. 13, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m., learn about new volunteering

opportunities for adults at Abbot. Attendees will get an overview of potential positions, expectations, and how to begin the application process. Stop by the Program Room at Abbot Public Library at Eveleth School, 3 Brook Road, Marblehead on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. to learn about the Volunteer Program. No registration is required.

Friends of Abbot Public Library winter book sale

Friday, Dec. 10, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. » Saturday, Dec. 11, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sail Away Book Shoppe, Abbot Public Library at Eveleth School

Stop by the Sail Away Book Shoppe at the Abbot Public Library at Eveleth School, 3 Brook Road on Friday, Dec. 10 and Saturday, Dec. 11 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. for the Friends of Abbot Public Library’s Winter Book Sale. Find good deals on books and other items for all ages. All proceeds go toward Abbot Public Library’s programs and services.

Nutcrackers: A Colorful History

On Thursday, Dec. 1 at 11 a.m., the Abbot Public Library will partner with the Tewksbury Public Library for a virtual presentation led by art historian Mary Woodward on the colorful history of Nutcrackers spanning from the political changes of Communist-era Germany to a Russian ballet and American G.I.s which helped inspire the charming and colorful creations we enjoy today. To attend via Zoom, please register in advance for this meeting here: tinyurl. com/APL-Nutcrackers. After registering, patrons will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. This event is sponsored by the Friends of Abbot Public Library.

The Nature of Winter with the Mass Audubon

On Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 11 a.m., the Abbot Public Library will partner with the Tewksbury Public Library for a virtual presentation led by Patti

Steinman, the Education Coordinator for Mass Audubon’s Connecticut River Valley Sanctuaries, on how to discover the seasonal mysteries and dyna.m.ics of nature during wintertime. She will provide ideas and resources for observing, appreciating, and supporting wildlife near home this winter. To attend via Zoom, please register in advance: tinyurl.com/ APL-Nature-of-Winter. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. This event is sponsored by the Friends of Abbot Public Library.

The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas

On Monday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m., the Abbot Public Library will partner with the Tewksbury Public Library for a virtual presentation led by Brial Early, the author and podcaster of “Christmas Past,” on the evolution of ancient and modern Christmas traditions and their origins from happy accidents, cultural histories, criminal capers (including tomb raiders and con artists), and their generationsold narratives. To attend via Zoom, please register in advance for this meeting here: tinyurl.com/APL-ChristmasTraditions. After registering, patrons will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. This event is sponsored by the Friends of Abbot Public Library.

Apply to become a library volunteer

Abbot Public Library application period: Tuesday, Nov. 15 - Thursday, Dec. 15

wwMake-It, Take-It Craft

On Thursdays, Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, children can come to the Children’s Room anytime between 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. and make a craft to take home.

Storytime Yoga with Lindsey Kravitz

For kids aged 18 months - 4 years old, children and caregivers are invited to join Lindsey for Story Time Yoga on Tuesday,

All events and programs take place at the library unless specified otherwise in the briefs below.

Christensen

Santeusanio

The cover of ‘Murder in Marblehead: Who Killed Beryl Atherton?’ by Harry Christensen and Richard Santeusanio

Good gravy

BY SCOT COOPER

Both the Marblehead and the Swampscott football teams came to their traditional Thanksgiving Day clash with chips on their shoulders, having seen their dreams of repeating as Super Bowl champions dashed earlier this month.

But only the Magicians were able to take out their frustrations once play started, as they walloped Swampscott, 48-7, Thursday morning at Piper Field.

The Magicians got three touchdowns from junior Chris Dewitt, one on a pass from quarterback Miles O’Neill, one on a 37-yard interception return and the final one another defensive gem late in the fourth quarter, when Dewitt pounced on a Big Blue fumble in the end zone to put an exclamation point on an easy win.

“To close the season with a win like that is great for the team, great for the seniors,” Dewitt said. “We all worked really hard to get to this point. The defense got at it today; the offense got at it today; everybody was doing their part. It was great, a great win. It is always good to beat Swampscott.”

O’Neill opened the scoring in the first on a 4-yard run, and he hit Shane Keough and Zander Danforth for two more scores.

It was a very good day on both sides of the ball, said Magicians coach Jim Rudloff.

“I think the kids were ready to play today,” Rudloff said. “We came out with good energy. Sometimes, we come out overly so, overly aggressive, but we did very well today. We got things going right away.”

The Big Blue, who lost starting quarterback Zack Ryan on the Dewitt pick-six, got an 8-yard touchdown pass from freshman Jack Spear to Elijah Burns in the third quarter, but it was too little, too late, as the Magicians were still up big, 41-7.

Rudloff said that beating Swampscott any time is nice, but this one certainly helped after his team’s playoff loss to Milton.

“The way this game went certainly takes a little of the sting out of the Milton game,” Rudloff said. “We went out with a win. It doesn’t erase the Milton game, but it helps. It’s a good way for this season to end, especially for the seniors, who have been part of something pretty special here.”

Senior running back Eddie Johns was glad his team responded after a very frustrating playoff loss to Milton.

“It was awesome to go out and kill those guys, always good,” Johns said. “We had two weeks to prepare, and we made the most of it, watching a ton of film to get ready, and it paid off.”

Rudloff said that three of his big guns, Danforth with a broken collarbone, Connor Cronin with a torn meniscus and Shane Keough with a torn ACL, competed hard on every play in every game despite their injuries, and are due for some medical attention in the near future.

Running back Eddie Johns was among the seniors who ended their Marblehead High playing careers with a win.

PHOTOs BY EYAL OREN / WEDNESDAYSINMHD.COM

Zander Danforth turns towards paydirt as the sidelines and stands erupt. Danforth and his Marblehead teammates cruised to an easy victory in their annual Thanksgiving Day game against Swampscott.

Junior Chris Dewitt found three different ways to get to the end zone on Thanksgiving: a pass reception, an interception return and this fumble recovery, which accounted for Marblehead’s last touchdown.

Junior quarterback Miles O’Neill ran for one touchdown and passed for two more in the 48-7 win over Swampscott.

Zander Danforth, Jake Scogland and the rest of the Magicians had plenty to celebrate on Thanksgiving morning.

Root for the home team

Saturday, Dec. 3

Time Sport

9 a.m.

Opponent Location

Varsity wrestling (scrimmage) vs. Montachusett Regional Voke Tech

At Montachusett 11 a.m.

Girls ice hockey (jamboree) vs. Newburyport At Pingree 2 p.m. Girls ice hockey (jamboree) vs. Austin Prep At Pingree 8 p.m. Boys ice hockey (scrimmage) vs. Concord-Carlisle

At Edge Ice Arena, Bedford Sunday, Dec. 4

TBD Girls ice hockey (jamboree) vs. TBD At Pingree 4:40 p.m.

Boys ice hockey vs. St. Mary’s-Lynn

At Essex Sports Center, Middleton Monday, Dec. 5

5 p.m.

Girls basketball (scrimmage) vs. Mystic Valley At MHS Wednesday, Dec. 7

TBD Girls basketball (scrimmage) vs. Malden Catholic

At Malden Catholic Thursday, Dec. 8

2:30 p.m.

At O’Brien Ice Rink, Woburn 4 p.m.

Boys ice hockey (scrimmage) vs. Woburn

Girls ice hockey vs. Medford

At LaConte Rink, Medford 6:30 p.m. Girls and boys swimming/diving vs. Peabody

At Lynch-van Otterloo YMCA Saturday, Dec. 10

8 a.m.

At Wayland High 3:20 p.m.

Wrestling (quad) vs. multiple schools

Girls basketball (jamboree) vs. Melrose

At Lynn Classical 3:30 p.m.

Girls ice hockey vs. Masconomet

At O’Keefe Center, Salem State 4 p.m.

At St. Anselm College Sunday, Dec. 11

2:30 p.m.

Boys ice hockey (scrimmage) vs. Bedford

Girls and boys indoor track vs. Swampscott

By the numbers, Rudloff sets new standard for excellence

Marblehead football coach leads Magicians to 128 wins in just 14 seasons

BY JOE MCCONNELL

The Jim Rudloff Era started in 2009, and it marked the rebirth of the Marblehead High School football program.

That year, the Magicians came into the EMass Division 3 Super Bowl game at Gillette Stadium against Bishop Feehan with a 10-2 record. They were the Northeastern Conference Small Division champions, before going on to beat Rockland, 21-12, at Lynn’s Manning Field on Dec. 1 to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in the history of the program.

They then lost to the Shamrocks by the narrowest of margins four days later on Dec. 5, 12-6.

Despite the loss at Gillette, the Rudloff philosophy was now in full swing. Everybody wanted to wear the Marblehead red-andblack uniform. The Marblehead Youth Football League suddenly became the farm system for more success at Piper Field.

Here are some fun facts from that inaugural 2009 season: Marblehead averaged 30.1 points per game, while giving up just 14.1.

Marblehead’s biggest lineman was Ben Koopman (6-2, 268-pounds).

Quarterback Hayes Richardson was a dual threat. He was credited with 17 touchdown passes, while running for the

same number.

Offensive lineman and linebacker Matthew Evans and running back and linebacker Evan Comeau were Rudloff’s first Marblehead captains, and 15 seniors made up the varsity roster.

In 2010, the Magicians took a step back with a 5-6 record, but they returned to their winning form in 2011 under the direction of Rudloff as a Division 2 team with an 8-3 record. They lost to Wakefield in the EMass semifinals, 7-6.

The Marblehead boys also ended up 8-3 in 2012. They returned to Division 3 in 2013, and were 9-2 overall, but Tewksbury spoiled their dreams that year in the playoffs.

In 2014, they were 10-1. They began the playoffs by pummeling Somerville, 42-26, but then came Tewksbury again, and for the second year in a row they couldn’t get by the Redmen.

In 2015, Marblehead was 10-2. They were the top seed in Division 3, but NEC rival Danvers surprised them in the Northeast title game, 13-6.

During the Super Bowl year in 2016, the Magicians amassed a 10-1 record, only to lose to Falmouth in the Division 2A game at Gillette, 34-13.

As a Division 4 team in 2017, they were 10-1 overall, 2-1 in the playoffs. The Magicians defeated Wakefield (28-14) and Wilmington (24-17) before losing

to host Melrose (28-20) in the North sectional finals.

Marblehead was 9-2 in 2018, but dropped to 6-4 in 2019, which included a win over Swampscott on Thanksgiving, which began the historic 23-game winning streak.

During the 2020 COVID year with the season taking place in the spring, the Magicians went 7-0. Masco was the fourth game on the schedule, and they were able to upend the rival Chieftains, 35-19. The triumph was Rudloff’s 100th of his Marblehead coaching career, in just 128 games.

The Magicians won three more games that season, and 15 more in 2021, including beating North Attleboro in the Division 3 Super Bowl game to complete another undefeated season with an 11-0 record.

Rudloff’s 2022 squad won its

first three games before losing to non-league Peabody, 40-7, to snap the winning streak at 23.

They then won their next five games, plus the playoff opener against WhitmanHanson, before host Milton staged a second half comeback in the Division 3 quarterfinals, 24-20, to knock the defending Super Bowl champions out of the playoffs. But they quickly put that heartbreaker behind them to rout Swampscott on Thanksgiving, 48-7.

For the record, that’s 128 wins in just 144 games for Rudloff in 14 seasons along the sidelines. It’s an achievement that has put

At New Balance Track, Boston

Marblehead football on the alltime map of great teams in the state.

Over the years, when football fans hear names like Everett, Brockton and St. John’s Prep, they synonymously link them to the sport of football. Now, in this millennium, Marblehead is among that elite group, largely due to one man, who can be counted on to faithfully lead his team to double-digit wins every fall with no end in sight.

Rudloff has built a football culture in Marblehead, and athletes at the earliest age are attracted to it, because they all want to play for him someday.

Basketball ‘Friends’ to host Tip-Off Night Attractions

include Celtics mascot, 2008 trophy

The Friends of Marblehead Basketball will host a Tip-Off Night in the gym at Marblehead High School from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.

Girls and boys in grades four and up are invited to register. The $20 admission includes an event T-shirt.

The event will feature a high-flying

dunking performance from Boston Celtics mascot Lucky the Leprechaun, who will also bring with him the team’s 2008 NBA Championship trophy, with which photos may be taken.

Attendees can also meet and play with the boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball teams, challenge their teachers to a

shooting contest or win the coveted title of “Best Foul-Shooter of Marblehead.”

Dr. Timothy DiFrancesco, owner and operator of TD Athletes Edge, former trainer of the Los Angeles Lakers, will also host an interactive session on conditioning and nutrition.

Raffle prizes will include game tickets

and NBA jerseys.

Co-sponsors of the event are the Marblehead Girls Travel Basketball League, Marblehead Youth Basketball Association and Marblehead Recreation and Parks Department.

For more information, email Friendsofmhdbasketball@gmail.com.

PHOTO BY EYAL OREN/WEDNESDAYSINMHD.COM

Football coach Jim Rudloff led his team to a win on Thanksgiving Day over Swampscott, his 128th victory in 14 years at the helm of the Marblehead High program.

Marblehead is now among that elite group, largely due to one man, who can be counted on to faithfully lead his team to double-digit wins every fall with no end in sight.

Marblehead School of Ballet collecting winter coats, pajamas

SUBMITTED BY MARBLEHEAD SCHOOL OF BALLET

The Marblehead School of Ballet (MSB) celebrates its annual Community Appreciation Week with special activities from Friday, Dec. 2 through Thursday, Dec. 8. The MSB and the North Shore Civic Ballet’s drive continues to collect winter coats and pajamas to help neighbors in need this season now through Saturday, Dec. 10.

“For 51 years, the Marblehead School of Ballet has been a part of the community. We thank everyone for supporting us all these years.

Throughout Community Appreciation Week, we welcome newcomers to the Marblehead School of Ballet’s family. During the holiday season, we ask the public to think of people less fortunate suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic by donating a new or gently used winter coat for people of all ages or brand new pajama sets for children ages zero to six to our collection drive,” said Paula K. Shiff, Director of MSB.

During community appreciation week, the MSB celebrates the holiday season and offers several special promotions

Anton’s Cleaners will clean the coats free-of-charge. The cleaned garments will be distributed through the Coats for Kids Partners Distribution Network to a range of organizations, including Massachusetts Community Action Programs, Salvation Army,

available to the public. On Saturday, Dec. 3, catch the Marblehead School of Ballet in Marblehead’s annual holiday parade. After the parade, a Musical Theatre class will be taught from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. at the school by famed dance instructor and entertainer Karen Marie Pisani, the former Dance Captain and a performer in the National Touring Company of A Chorus Line under the direction of Michael Bennett. The class will be presented free-of-charge for children, teenagers, and adults.

A second promotion, Tell a Friend, is open to new students to attend any class from Dec. 3 through Dec. 8.

Interested dancers or parents may also arrange a complimentary consultation with Shiff to discuss their dance plans and interests, while also learning more about the school’s history, classes, customized teaching and opportunities. New students must register in advance

to receive the discount rate by calling 781-631-6262 or contacting msb@ havetodance.com.

For a class schedule, visibit.ly/3guxJmB. New students must pre-register before attending a class at https://bit.ly/ MSBAccountRegistration. Parents and guardians, who are considering dance training and opportunities for children and teenagers, are welcome to contact the school for additional information at 781-631-6262.

Winter coat, pajama drive

The MSB and the North Shore Civic Ballet, a not-for-profit dance company providing performances and arts education to the greater Boston community for 48 years, are holding a winter coat and pajama drive to help our neighbors experiencing hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations of new or gently used warm

winter coats for children and adults, without broken zippers, rips, tears, or stains are welcome. The drive is also collecting new pajamas for children, zero to six years of age, which will be given to Lynn Economic Opportunity.

Anton’s Cleaners will clean the coats free-of-charge. The cleaned garments will be distributed through the Coats for Kids Partners Distribution Network to a range of organizations, including Massachusetts Community Action Programs, Salvation Army, Women’s Lunch Place, DCF, and Catholic Charities. The new pajamas will be given to Lynn Economic Opportunity, a nonprofit in Lynn, Massachusetts, to distribute to children in need. This agency is one of the largest providers of early education and care in southern Essex County, working with children and families.

Bring your winter coats and pajamas to the dance studio, located at 115 Pleasant St. in Marblehead, now through Saturday, Dec. 10. Donors must contact the school at 781-631-6262 or e-mail msb@havetodance.com first to arrange a date and time to drop off a donation.

Jeremiah Lee Mansion to host annual Gingerbread Festival

The Jeremiah Lee Mansion will host the annual Gingerbread Festival from Dec. 2-4, in partnership with the Marblehead Family Fund. Marbleheaders can submit their Gingerbread house creations for awards in a variety of categories, including Most Creative, Best School Group, and Most Marblehead.

“We’re excited to bring back one of Marblehead’s most beloved holiday traditions,” said Jarrett Zeman, the museum’s associate director.

The gingerbread houses can be viewed Friday, Dec. 2 from 3- 6 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 4 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., as part of the Marblehead Christmas Walk. Admission is $5 per person, or $20 per family.

For more information on submitting your Gingerbread house, please visit the museum’s website at www. marbleheadmuseum.org. The Gingerbread Festival is generously sponsored by Marblehead Rotary Club, Marblehead Collision, National Grand Bank, Copper Dog Books, and the Mottola and Turkanis Families.

COURTESY PHOTO / MARBLEHEAD SCHOOL OF BALLET

Marblehead School of Ballet student Victoria Lottatore shows the winter coats people donated to the 2021 drive.

COURTESY

PHOTO / PETER A. SMITH Students practice at the arts and dance at the Marblehead School of Ballet.

Gingerbread houses can be submitted in a number of categories.

Holiday spirit comes to the Jacobi Community Center

All programs and events are held in the Judy and Gene Jacobi Community Center unless otherwise stated in the individual briefs below. Questions should be directed to 781. 631.6225 or email: councilonaging@ marblehead.org

‘Enjoy coffee with a cop’

Enjoy coffee with a cop Tuesday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.

“While it is Chief Dennis King’s priority to join, be assured someone from the Marblehead Police Department,” writes COA staff, “there will be a cop here to discuss community concerns or just life in Marblehead.”

In-stitches boutique

Get an early start on shopping for the holidays! A pop-up-like boutique of sorts will be in the Council on Aging between Monday, Nov. 28 and Thursday, Dec. 1 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be a large selection of handmade knitted and crocheted items. All proceeds support the COA.

Blood pressure clinic

Drop-in blood pressure clinic on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Muscle conditioning

Senior muscle conditioning with Kim on Mondays and Fridays. No class on Friday, Nov. 25. Cost: $3

Zumba classes

Zumba gold classes are held on Wednesdays at noon. “A lower intensity, Latin and world-music inspired dance fitness class for all abilities.”

Parkinson’s fitness

Parkinson’s fitness class is free on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. “Specifically developed for folks with Parkinson’s Disease, but appropriate and beneficial for all. Class combines focus on strength, mobility and balance. This program is paid for by the generosity of the Friends of the Council on Aging.”

Indoor curling

Indoor curling began Monday, Nov. 14. The activity takes place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 2:45 p.m. “Come and enjoy an indoor sport with a mixed group of fun, friendly men and women. Experience is not necessary. Instructions on how to play the game and learn the rules will be available at every session.” Yearly fee: $15. Contact pbibbo@aol.com with questions.

Line dancing

Kate Hoffman teaches line dancing on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The first hour is focused on beginners, however, all are welcome and encouraged to participate. Cost: $5

Strength and stretch session

The Council on Aging offers a strength and stretch session on Mondays at 11:3o a.m. and Thursdays at 11 a.m. Cost: $3.

Grab-n-Go lunches

Grab-n-Go lunches are offered on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at the Council on Aging. This program is

reLIGIoN

offered through “AgeSpan,” formerly known as Elder Services of Merrimack Valley & North Shore. Pick up time is from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Reservations for both programs must be made the Thursday before by calling 781.631.6225.

Weight training class

A weight training class is held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8:45 a.m. Cost: $3

Yoga class

A yoga class is held on Mondays at 9 a.m., Wednesdays at 8:3o a.m. and Thursdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m.

Quilting class

Learn how to quilt class on Thursdays at 10 a.m. Cost: $5 per class.

Cribbage

Cribbage is held on Tuesdays. Doors close at 9: 30 a.m.

Get a senior Charlie Card

People who are 65 years or older are eligible for reduced MBTA fares with a senior Charlie Card. These cards are valid for 8 years. Call Nadine Lepick, 781.631-6225, Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. to ask questions or make an appointment to process an application. Cards can also be reloaded with cash on any bus.

Gingerbread house decorating

The COA and the Recreation and Parks departments have teamed up for a gingerbread house decorating activity on Wednesday, Nov. 30 from 3:15 - 5:15 p.m. Cost: $22

“Grab a few friends and create your masterpiece,” the COA writes. “Bring your grandchildren and enjoy a funfilled afternoon creating memories. All materials are provided.” Register by calling 781.631.0528

Scam presentation

On Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 10 a.m., Marblehead Police Lt. David Ostrovitz and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department assistant Maurice Pratt will present on scams, supplying statistics, some common scams and prevention measures. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP by Friday, Dec. 2.

The COA book club

The COA book club convenes on Friday, Dec. 9 and Wednesday, Dec. 28 from 2 - 3 p.m. Meredith Reardon is the book club’s volunteer coordinator and will be keeping everyone updated with schedule changes. The club is currently reading “The Personal Librarian,” written by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

Lunching at the COA

Lunch is offered on Tuesdays at noon for $3. This program is prepared at the Council on Aging in the Judy and Gene Jacobi Community Center’s commercial kitchen. The generosity of the Friends of the Council on Aging offsets the cost of lunch.

Chair yoga

Gail Perry Borden teaches chair yoga on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. Cost: $3.

Upcoming day trips

The following upcoming day trips are planned as follows: Dec. 6, Paul Anka, Danversport, $74 per person Dec 6 - 7, Christmas Prelude, Kennebunkport, Me. $349 per person double occupancy

Dec 16- 19 Country Christmas in

Nashville, Tenn.

All day trips must be paid for in full at time of registration. Deposits are required on all overnight trips at the time of registration. Checks payable to Best of Times. Because most of our trips require a great deal of walking and staffing is limited, all travelers must be able to attend to their own needs independently or bring their own escort for assistance. Call Janice 781. 631-6225 for more details.

Need help with heating costs?

The Home Energy Assistance Program at North Shore Community Action Programs, Inc. helps income-eligible households pay their winter heating bills even if the cost of heat is included in their rent. If their gross household income falls within the limits shown in this chart, they may qualify for payment towards your winter heating bills. In addition, eligible National Grid customers may qualify for a discount of up to 32% off their electric and gas bills, too.For more information about Home Energy Assistance, call: (978) 5318810 or email: fuelassistance@ nscap.org.

Need a lift?

The COA offers transportation services to both in-town and out-of-town medical appointments and in-town errands such as the hairdresser, bank, to vote or to the COA for programs and/or lunch. Weekly grocery shopping trips to Crosby’s & Market Basket and bimonthly trips to the North Shore Mall are also available. Transportation runs Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. To schedule a ride, call us at 781..631.6225

Movie days

The Council on Aging will screen “White Christmas,” a 1954 classic starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Allen, on Friday, Dec. 16. Movie starts at 10 a.m. Hot chocolate and pastries to be served. At 1 p.m., the COA screens the 2022 version of “A Christmas Story,” in which Ralphie returns as a grown up. Movie gets underway at 1 p.m. Cookies and eggnog to be served. RSVP by Dec. 13 by calling 781. 631.6225.

On Friday, Dec. 30, the COA will screen “When Harry Met Sally,” a romantic comedy starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. Movie starts at 10 a.m. - with coffee and donuts served. At 1 p.m., the COA will screen “See How They Run,” a mysterycrime movie starring Sam Rockwell and Adrien Brody. Popcorn and drinks will be served. RSVP by Tuesday, Dec. 27 by calling 781. 631.6225.

Holiday social

The Friends of the Council on Aging are hosting a holiday social on Thursday, Dec. 8 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Refreshments will be served. A craft fair will be staged

during the open house. RSVP by Friday, Dec. 2.

Caregiver support group

A newly established caregiver support group will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 30 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

“We have designed the time specifically for those who would like a break from a busy day of perhaps working outside of the home only to resume caregiving in the evening or being at home all day with your loved one. This will be a time reserved for you. Make arrangements for family or a friend to stay with your loved one for 90 minutes,” writes COA staff. “Come and meet people who are walking in the same shoes as you. Eat dinner uninterrupted. Our goal is to enhance our coping skills through mutual support and share information and resources.”

Flying Solo

The COA’s social worker, Sharon Doliber, has formed “Flying Solo,” a group designed specifically for people who live alone. The next group meetup is Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 1:30 p.m. Scrambled chefs appetizer / recipe swap. Can be an appetizer, dessert, side dish, or something from your holiday memories. Doliber will supply drinks, paper goods and doggie bags.”

Participants are encouraged to bring a memory from the holidays. To RSVP, call 781.631.6225

ELIGIBILITY:

» Must be 60 years or older

» Must be owner (or spouse of owner) and occupy the Marblehead residence for which the abatement will apply

Income must not exceed $51,528 for a senior household of one person or $69,824 for a senior household of two; only one volunteer abatement per household per year

There will be 30 openings for 2023

Applicants must complete conflict of interest training, and pass a C.O.R.I. check. The department head, the Council on Aging Director and the applicant must agree on placement.

Placement is also based on qualification, availability, location and physical limitation. If there are more applicants than openings, acceptance will be based on both financial need and the suitability of an available placement. 2023 volunteer hours must be completed by Oct. 13, 2023.

The rate will be credited at the $15 per hour state minimum wage. The town will issue a W2 form for federal income tax purposes. Applications will be available starting in December on the council on aging website at www.marblehead.org and at the Council On Aging. Please address questions to Lisa Hooper, the executive director of the Council on Aging, at 781.631.6225.

Music program

The Council on Aging will hold a music program on Wednesdays - Dec. 7 and Dec. 21 from 11 a.m. to noon. “We’ll have some singalongs, including “Golden Oldies,” 60s, show tunes, hymns, folk tunes, “sea shanties” just about anything,” organizers write. “If you play a musical instrument, bring that along, (Triangles and kazoos count).”

Houses of worship service schedule

CATHOLIC

OUR LADY STAR OF THE SEA

» 85 Atlantic Ave. 781-631-0086

Regular Mass Schedule

Saturday Vigil: 4 p.m.

» Sunday: 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m.

» Every weekday (Monday-Saturday): 9 a.m.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST 134 Elm St.

» 781-631-3868

» Sunday Church Service: 10-11 a.m.

» Sunday School (open to children and young people under the age of 20): 10-11 a.m.

Wednesday Testimony Meeting: 7:30-8:30 p.m.

» Reading Room (in church building): Tem porarily closed

17 Pleasant St.

781-631-9343

Worship Gatherings: 10 a.m. Sunday

» Prayer Gatherings: 1 p.m. Thursday

» Men’s Bible Study: 6 a.m. Friday

CONGREGATIONAL

OLD NORTH CHURCH, THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST IN MARBLEHEAD

» 35 Washington St.

» 781-631-1244

EPISCOPAL

CHURCH OF ST. ANDREW, EPISCOPAL

» 135 Lafayette St.

» 781-631-4951

» Regular Sunday services (Rite II of the

Episcopal liturgy): 8 a.m., spoken service; 10 a.m., musical service ST. MICHAEL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

» 26 Pleasant St. 781-631-0657

Sundays: Holy Eucharist, Rite II, 10 a.m.; in-person and online on church’s YouTube Channel

» Wednesdays: Morning Prayer, 9:30 a.m. on

Facebook Live

First Sundays: Choral Evensong (Septem ber through May), 5 p.m.; in-person and online on church’s YouTube Channel

JEWISH

TEMPLE EMANU-EL, REFORM CONGREGATION

» 393 Atlantic Ave.

» 781-631-9300

» Shabbat: Friday, 6 p.m., in person and on Facebook Live

Torah Study: First and second Saturdays of month, 10 a.m. on Zoom

» Temple Sinai, Contemporary Conservative Synagogue

» 1 Community Road 781-631-2762

LUTHERAN

CLIFTON LUTHERAN CHURCH

» 150 Humphrey St.

» 781-631-4379

Weekly worship service: Sunday, 10 a.m., live stream on Zoom

METHODIST

ST. STEPHEN’S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

» 67 Cornell Road 781-631-2756

St. Stephen’s is open for Sunday morning worship. Every Sunday, they have traditional worship at 10:30 a.m. with Sunday School for all ages at 9:15 a.m. On first Sundays, the congregation has a community breakfast at 8:30 a.m, a family worship service at 9:15 a.m. and traditional worship at 10:30 a.m.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF MARBLEHEAD 28 Mugford St.

» 781-631-1215

» Sunday service is at 10:30 a.m. and on Zoom: bit.ly/3EIRKiF All persons attending a regular Sunday Service in person are asked to wear masks in the sanctuary.

The wild turkeys of Marblehead

Wild turkeys are ubiquitous across Marblehead. No space appears to be off limits as photos from a Marblehead Current call-out show. They keep an active lifestyle during the day. At night, the birds often fly to roost in and on trees, fences, roofs and the occasional car. The wild turkey was named the state’s official game bird in 1991. Massachusetts native son – Ben Franklin - admired the turkey, as “a bird of courage” and respectability. “British guards who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on,” he wrote. In contrast, the American bald eagle, the Founding Father believed, had a deficiency in moral character: “He does not get his living honestly,” he wrote. “[He] is too lazy to fish for himself.”

COURTESY PHOTO / TOM DURAT

Turkeys roosting in a Beverly Avenue tree.

COURTESY PHOTO / SUSAN STONE

A wild turkey hanging out on Broughton Road.

COURTESY

PHOTO /MARGARETTA SIMPSON

Turkeys passing a Bay View Road home.

COURTESY PHOTO / KIMBERLY CROWNINSHIELD

A mug shot of a wild turkey on Rowland Street.

COURTESY PHOTO / RICK CRUZNER

Getting up close to wild turkey on Stonybrook Road.

COURTESY PHOTO / MARY STEEVER ZENDA

Wild turkeys outside the Judy and Gene Jacobi Community Center.

COURTESY PHOTO / KIMBERLY CROWNINSHIELD

A wild turkey takes to a path off Rowland Street.

COURTESY PHOTO / GRETCHEN JENKINS LANGTON

Turkeys past a pumpkin outside Naugus Avenue home.

Staff Spotlight: Sports Director Garrett Coler

SUBMITTED BY THE LYNCH-VAN OTTERLOO YMCA

When the Y and the Boston Celtics join forces to support kids and create a program that helps them develop their basketball skills as well as their teamwork and sportsmanship, it is a winwin situation. When it is spearheaded by Garrett Coler, it is even better.

Garrett has been with the Lynch/van Otterloo Y since 2017 and during his time has played a critical role in developing sports programming that encourages kids to reach their potential while making friends, having fun and feeling part of something special. The Y is pleased to announce that Garrett will now oversee the sports programs for the entire YMCA of the North Shore association of seven locations (Marblehead, Gloucester, Beverly, Haverhill, Ipswich, Plaistow, NH, and Salem). He will bring his contagious enthusiasm, love of all sports and commitment to youth development to this new role to expand sports programming across all Ys, reaching more children and families.

Taking over for Garrett locally will be Nick Harshaw. The Y is pleased to elevate Nick’s role to Sports Director

- he has been a member of the staff since May. Nick has his degree in Sports Management from Gordon College and has years of experience coaching youth sports at a variety of levels.

Since 2019, the Lynch/van Otterloo Y has offered a unique partnership with the Celtics to give local kids the opportunity to stay active, engaged and having fun while learning valuable life lessons about being part of a team and supporting others. There is still time to get in the game! Participants learn new skills, are part of an “official signing day” and have fun with Lucky the Leprechaun. The two programs include: Ages 6 – 14

Teaching fundamental basketball skills with an emphasis on a healthy player/coach development based on the core values of what it means to “BE A CELTIC.”

10-week program (now throughFebruary 18)

Starters: Ages 6 – 8 | Size 5 ball, 8-foot hoop

Allstar division: Ages 9 – 11 | Size 6 ball, 9-foot hoop MVP Division: Ages 12-14, regulation size ball and hoop

One-hour practice, one-hour game

m A rbLeHe AD m USeU m

During the final week, participants are re-evaluated to measure improvement Celtics Game Watch Party at the Y with Lucky the Leprechaun and more Celtics personalities

Jr. Celtics is just one of many winter programs available to members and the overall community. Learn more at https://www.northshoreymca.org/ jr-celtics-youth-development Jr. Celtics Rookie Hoops Ages 3 – 5

Rookie Hoops focuses on skills and drills and basic motor functions, but also has a tremendous emphasis on listening, discipline, social emotional skills and group play. This is a perfect landing spot for a first basketball experience! 10-week program (December 3February 18) Ages 3 - 5 | six-foot hoop Jr. Celtics Youth Development League

If basketball isn’t what you are looking for this winter, you can try dodgeball, Gaga, Nerf, gymnastics, Sharks Swim Academy, tumbling, archery, martial arts and more! And, membership includes access to hundreds of group exercise classes, yoga and aquatics fitness classes.

There is so much to do this winter at the Y so come in from the cold to a warm, welcoming environment to feel connected and active all winter long!

The Y offers meaningful membership where you can share in a mission to strengthen the community, every single day. The Y provides lifesaving swim lessons to approximately 2,000 children per year, affordable housing for more than 500 people across the North Shore, childcare and camp for more than 6,000 children, and a reduced senior membership for more than 4,000 active older adults. Not a member? Come in for a tour and see all the wonderful things available at your local Y or reach out to Jane Rizza rizzaj@northshoreymca.org.

About the YMCA

The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits, strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. For more than 160 years, the YMCA of the North Shore has been the foundation of the community. It serves more than 40,000 members and program participants in 25 cities and towns across the North Shore and into Southern New Hampshire.

Historian to give Charles Dickens lecture

The Marblehead Museum will host historian Susan Wilson on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m., for a lecture on how Charles Dickens brought Christmas back to Boston.

Cottage Gardeners to screen ‘The Gardener’ on Dec. 13

Cottage Gardeners of Marblehead and Swampscott will be showing the movie, “The Gardener” on Dec. 13.

The public is invited to attend free. Please come at 12:30 p.m. to the Jewish Community Center (4 Community Road, Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945) for light refreshments in the Weiss-Kirstein Right Room. The movie will start at approximately 12:45 p.m. According to organizers, Frank Cabot was a major force behind establishing the Garden Conservancy. He was an awardwinning horticulturist, garden designer and philanthropist, who in 2009 at the age of eight-four opened his worldrenowned twenty-acre garden “Les Quatre Vents,” located in La Mainale, Quebec.

Please RSVP to Sara Ewing@ sewingjccns.com

Ms. Wilson, the official historian of the Omni Parker House Hotel, will trace the history of Christmas celebrations, which were discouraged and banned in

SU bmISSIoN PoLICY

You’re the boss

colonial Boston. Wilson will explain how Christmas finally began to be embraced in the mid19th century, and how Charles Dickens’ arrival in 1867 — when he stayed at the Parker House for 5 months and became Boston’s biggest celebrity — really added fuel to the yule log. Dickens’ visit culminated in the first public reading of A Christmas

Carol in America, at Boston’s Tremont Temple. This lecture can be attended in person at 170 Washington Street or via Zoom. Tickets are $15 for museum members and $20 for the public. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the museum’s website at www. marbleheadmuseum.org.

mILeSToN eS

Social news policy

Have you recently gotten a promotion or a professional honor?

Are you a new business getting ready to swing open your doors to welcome the public?

Is your business engaged in a charitable endeavor to support a local nonprofit?

We want to hear about it.

Submissions by email to info@marbleheadnews.org are strongly preferred, but submissions may also be sent to 217 Humphrey St., Marblehead, MA 01945.

Photos are encouraged, but care must be taken to ensure images are of good enough quality to reproduce in print. As a rule, the original .JPG file that is produced by a smartphone or digital camera will be fine; an image copied down from a website will not.

Generally, the Marblehead Current will not publish what are, in essence, “free ads” — sales pitches that seek the exchange of money for goods or services, unless such announcements have some independent news value — for example, when a product is novel or unique.

To share this type of information, we encourage you instead to contact our director of community relations, Marion Warrner Greely, at mgreely@marbleheadnews.org to inquire about our advertising rates.

If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ marbleheadnews.org.

Have you recently become a parent — or a grandparent?

Gotten married, or engaged? Turned over one of those magical “round numbers” on your personal odometer?

For Marblehead residents and natives, The Marblehead Current publishes life announcements — weddings, engagements, milestone birthdays and births. We offer this service free of charge to the community, but ask that you consider a suggested donation of $25. Please submit all announcements well in advance — or soon after — the life event occurs… using the forms that can be found on our website, at marbleheadcurrent.org/announce. We also accept and publish obituaries. Generally, we work directly with funeral homes to coordinate this.

If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ marbleheadnews.org.

Garrett Coler with Celtics’ mascot, Lucky the Lephrechaun and Jr Celtics Rookie stars.

Y mCA UPDATe

Omni Parker House historian Susan Wilson

The Marblehead Current is pleased to be supplementing its coverage of public meetings with Observer Reports provided by volunteers from the Marblehead League of Women Voters. To learn more about the League and its activities, see my.lwv.org/ massachusetts/marblehead.

Fair Housing Committee, Nov. 21

At the Oct. 17 meeting, Select Board Chairman Moses Grader made a presentation to the committee informing them that the Select Board (SB) would be reorganizing the Fair Housing Committee.

The purpose of the reorganization is to strengthen the FHC by having town officials serve on the board, broadening the committee mandate, empowering them to put initiatives into action, and enhancing communications and interactions with other town boards/ committees.

On Nov. 16, the Select Board voted to reorganize the Fair Housing Committee as follows:

The committee would be comprised of nine members

Representing the town would be Select Board member Erin Noonan, Marblehead Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer, and Town Planner Becky Cutting, an individual representing the Marblehead Housing Authority (Teri McDonough), the Disabilities Commission (Katie Farrell) and the Task Force Against Discrimination (Deacon Joe Whipple). (All three are serving as current members of the FHC.)

Three continuing members of the FHC (Dirk Isbrandtsen, Debra Larkin, and Mimi Hollister)

Extended discussion revolved around which of the three current members would continue to serve as voting members of the FHC. The three members not continuing as regular members of the FHC would focus on advocacy and community outreach and would vote only in the absence of a regular member.

Kurt James and Bob Neuss both offered to serve as alternate members. Frank Evans was voted the third alternate member.

(Kurt James serves on the Housing Production Plan Implementation Committee, along with FHC members Dirk Isbrandsten and Teri McDonough.)

Additional discussion focused on the roles of the FHC and the HPPIC going forward. Erin suggested that the HPPIC schedule a meeting for December to discuss where each committee might focus their efforts. The 25 strategies of the HPP to increase affordable housing should be reviewed and a determination made as to where each committee would direct their efforts. (The HPPIC has not met since October 2021).

Coordination and communication between the FHC, HPPIC, and the Planning Board (PB) is critical to successfully advance options for affordable housing in Marblehead.

Community outreach and education must be a focus to garner citizen support for affordable housing projects.

ECCO (Essex County Community Organization), Harborlight Community Partners and Cathy Hoog from the Salem Housing Authorities will all be valuable resources and community partners in furthering the efforts of these committees.

Discussion about the role of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund included the suggestion that it act as the “banker”

for proposed affordable housing projects. Questions remain as to how the AHTF would grow their funds and how these monies would best be utilized.

Members weighed in on the Planning Board’s public meeting on Accessory Dwelling Units as a possible way to increase affordable housing units in Marblehead. Katie highlighted the need to bring accessibility of ADUs into the conversation while the Planning Boad is still in the process of developing a warrant article on the matter.

While the cost of making ADUs accessible may be prohibitive in many situations, Katie suggested that at the point of permitting, members of the Disabilities Commission could be brought in for recommendations as to how to enhance accessibility.

At the end of the meeting, Lou Meyi, a frequent attendee at FHC meetings and a self-described “adjunct contributor,” praised committee members and reminded them of the many accomplishments of the FHC over the years.

- BONNIE GRENIER

Marblehead Board of Health, Nov. 15

Ruth Ferguson (president of the board of the Marblehead Counseling Center), Ron Grenier (board member) and Terri McDonough (director of the MCC) came before the Board of Health asking for ARPA funds that the Select Board had awarded to the BOH for mental health services.

Ferguson introduced herself as living in the town for 40 years, has been an MCC board member for six years and became president on July 1. Grenier joined the board in July, too.

Before discussing the request for funds, they were asked to talk about the circumstances and experiences at the MCC over the past few years.

Foremost, the demand for services has way exceeded the capacity. The Hobbs Center needed many repairs and changes to meet its needs. These included many outdoor repairs, making the building ADA compliant (there are many clients who are older or disabled), reconfiguring the first floor so the entrance was there, and changing space on the first floor for clinical offices. These all cost about $80,000, money that was drawn from the MCC endowment.

Then COVID hit, which led to a shutdown of the building and even more people in need of services. Information technology had to be upgraded with further investment in telehealth capabilities and training.

Now the center is open, but the demand has continued to increase. The center is

continuing to operate in a hybrid model (in office and remote). With the huge demand for trained clinicians and the competition stiff, it has been difficult to hire and retain staff.

The MCC has had to be creative about the issue: allowing greater flexibility in the work environment, moving to have more fee-for-service clinicians, etc.

Since operating expenses are almost twice revenue, the MCC has been looking at insurance providers who remit for services - each company has a different rate. (MassHealth is actually one of the higher ones, and the MCC has a lot of MassHealth patients.)

Fundraising campaigns have been successful in the past, but there is always concern about the long run.

A board member was concerned about other building repairs, specifically the boiler and the roof. It is unclear whose responsibility this is: The town owns the building, but the MCC has a “lease” that stipulates repairs to the building. (This will be investigated further.)

Another concern expressed: A waiting list for services. The number is approximately 200, with 70-80 percent Marblehead residents (the reimbursement from out-of-town clients helps the finances of the MCC), and all clients under 20 Marblehead residents. Previously, the list had been 300, but was reduced with more hires.

A third question concerned the building capacity. This varies depending on the continued use of the hybrid model. No one is discussing giving up the hybrid model. Clinicians can use telehealth from the center or elsewhere. The building does not seem to be a constraint. (Of note, there have even been some home visits, and thoughts about visits at the school.)

A fourth question was whether there was a psychiatrist at the MCC. Yes, so prescriptions can be written. (Also of note, the MCC has a person on-call 24 hours a day, who can identify urgency and level of care needed.)

Another question concerned what the wait periods are. All referrals are triaged with Marblehead residents taking priority, and it depends on the clinician’s schedule.

At this point, the discussion turned to the ARPA requests from the MCC. (ARPA funds have a number of constraints and criteria. One constraint is that the funds can’t be used for salaries.)

The request fell into three existing needs: 1. Insufficient and inadequate technology and related equipment and software, request $50,000; 2. Expansion of clinical office space and building repairs, request in total $55,000; 3. Highly competitive environment for hiring and

retaining mental health professional, request $40,000 for a bonus pool.

The BOH was awarded $200,000 to be distributed for mental health services. (A fact that is not often recognized is that Marblehead town support for a mental health counseling center is unique, and the residents of Marblehead are very fortunate. Many other towns do not have this valuable resource.)

The BOH unanimously is supportive of the MCC. They will look at the request and also see if there are any other mental health services they might fund.

Grenier said that the MCC needs the funds soon, and has had for the past 18 months. The MCC has only gotten through this through donors.

Not related to the ARPA request, a brief discussion was held about the funds MCC does get from the town. The BOH gives the MCC $60,000 each year. Would they like more? Yes.

The MCC will return in January as the budget is being created with a detailed request.

-THOMAS KRUEGER

Marblehead Finance Committee, Nov. 14

The Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Schedule: FinCom will send out a request to all town departments to submit their proposed FY24 budgets the week of Dec. 12.

Select Board will review the collected budgets in early January

State of the Town Meeting: Jan. 12

Fin Com liaison meetings: January –March 3

Full FinCom review and approval of all budgets in meetings scheduled for Feb. 13, Feb. 27, March 13 and March 27

Public hearing on the 2023 town warrant: April 3

Town Meeting: May 1

The Fiscal Year 2023 Town Meeting Article 44 (Open Meeting Law Compliance) Study Committee: Pat Franklin Fin Com/Article 44 liaison

The committee was formed to report on and calculate the costs of implementing the requirement that all Marblehead public meetings be hybrid ones.

It has identified six possible locations for use by groups subject to open meeting laws: Mary Alley building, Abbot Hall, the Jacobi Community Center, Abbot Public Library (including its interim location at the Eveleth School), Marblehead High School, and the Marblehead Municipal Light Department.

In the spirit of brainstorming for the committee’s liaison, Pat, FinCom members discussed possible costs including one-time infrastructure needs for each location, equipment/technology costs, periodic maintenance of equipment and software, training, identifying, and paying staff to facilitate/manage the technology at meetings, costs of video recordings and their storage, etc.

Just a few of the many reflections expressed by FinCom members included the possibility of having tech-savvy MHS students get involved in facilitation; of the need to consider folding costs into the FY24 budget process; of the concern that it would be problematical to expect to have July 1, 2023, as a starting date if the new warrant is approved at Town Meeting.

There was also considerable discussion about adopting requirements for open meetings, which might exceed Massachusetts law. What would the implications be?

-KATHARINE REDMOND

The Merry Mixers have a toyand-supply drive underway this holiday season.

The organization recently received a wish list from Salem Hospital and the Behavioral Health Family Resource Center, and is now hoping local residents will help fulfill those wishes.

The wish list can be found at merrymixers.org or by scanning the QR code found here.

Purchased items or gift cards can be dropped off at donation boxes at the following Marblehead locations:

» JCC of the North Shore

» Brown School

» Seaside Nursery School

» Ocean Breeze School

» Pint Size & Up

» Marblehead Parenting Village Pharmacy Compass Real Estate Marblehead Police Department

» Mud Puddle Toys

» Dance Studio 21

» Children’s Workshop.

For over 70 years, the Merry Mixers have been raising funds to support and enhance care for children across the North Shore. In recent years, the organization has helped raise funds for the Pediatric Emergency Department, Pediatric Psychiatry Unit and

Special Care Nursery at Salem Hospital, the North Shore’s largest health care provider.

The Merry Mixers also fully funded Salem Hospital’s Behavioral Health Family Resource Center and outdoor play space.

The rise in mental health patients due to the COVID-19

pandemic has strained hospital’s resources, the group notes.

“The Merry Mixers’ support and donations are imperative this year to the health of our local children,” the group says.

For more information, email merrymixers@gmail.com.

Baker signs election changes into law

BY BOB KATZEN

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: THERE WERE NO ROLL CALLS IN THE HOUSE OR SENATE LAST WEEK. THIS WEEK, BEACON HILL ROLL CALL PRESENTS A POST-ELECTION LOOK AT LEGISLATIVE ACTION FROM 2022 THAT CHANGED THE STATE’S ELECTION LAWS. HERE ARE THE FIVE KEY IMPORTANT 2022 VOTES ON ELECTION LAWS.

ELECTION LAW CHANGES (S 2924) House 126-29, approved and Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a conference committee version of a bill making permanent the mail-in and early voting options used in Massachusetts in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The House and Senate had approved different versions of the bill and a conference committee hammered out a compromise version which did not include the controversial section allowing same day voter registration that was in the Senate version but not in the House one.

The measure requires the secretary of state to send out mail-in ballot applications, with return postage guaranteed, to registered voters before each presidential primary, state primary and biennial state election. It also allows registered voters to request a mail-in ballot for all elections in a single calendar year.

Other provisions include reducing the registration blackout period from 20 days prior to an election to 10 days; electronic voting options for voters with disabilities and military service members; allowing a voter with disabilities to request accommodations including an accessible electronic ballot application, ballot and voter affidavit that can be submitted electronically; ensuring that non-felons who are incarcerated and are currently eligible to vote are provided with voting information and materials to exercise their right to vote; and requiring the secretary of state to conduct a comprehensive public awareness campaign to publicize the new voting and registration options.

(A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.)

Former Rep. Lori Ehrlich had already resigned from the House before this roll call took place

REPLACE SAME DAY REGISTRATION PROPOSAL WITH A STUDY (H 4359) House 93-64, approved an amendment to a measure that would implement same day registration (SDR) that allows people to register to vote at the polls on Election Day and on any of the early voting days prior to the election. The amendment would replace SDR with a requirement that Secretary of State Bill Galvin complete a study that would analyze the cost of the proposed policy

Holiday closures

Municipal offices and buildings will be closed in observance of the following holidays:

» Saturday, Dec. 24: Christmas Eve

» Sunday, Dec. 25: Christmas Day

» Monday, Dec. 26

Monday, Jan. 2: New Year’s Day

Household,

hazardous waste-collection day

The towns of Marblehead and Swampscott, in collaboration with ACV Enviro will be hosting an alternative program for residential pick up of household hazardous waste on Dec. 7 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. instead of coming to a drop-off site, the waste collection is coming to you. To sign up for a pickup, fill out this form: bit.ly/3AENzlc For questions or classification on pick-up service, contact: mobilehhw@acvenviro.com

Acceptable items:

» Oil paint, paint thinner, lacquers and wood stianers

Latex paint

Oils

» Gasoline, lighter fluid, kerosene and other fuels

» Antifreeze

to the state, cities and towns and what it would take for local city and town clerks to implement SDR. Under House rules, the approval of the study amendment prohibits a roll call vote on the straightforward establishment of SDR.

Supporters of SDR said that the study is simply a tactic by SDR opponents to delay the implementation of SDR and also avoid a direct vote on SDR itself.

Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton), the sponsor of SDR, said it is an important tool that Massachusetts can use to increase voter access to the polls. “In 2021, we had one day of overlap when voters could vote early and register. There was not a flood of applications; just a few more people across the state who were able to exercise their civic duty. That small data point shows that this can work and [this roll call] vote shows that support for same day registration, already popular with voters, is growing amongst legislators as well.”

Some supporters of the amendment to replace SDR with the study by the secretary of state said the House should not implement SDR without having sufficient facts on its effects. Others expressed concerns about the ability of cities and towns to implement SDR rules without disruption.

Former Rep. Lori Ehrlich was still a member of the House but did not vote on this roll call

PROOF OF VACCINATION (H 4359) House 31-127, rejected an amendment that would prohibit any city or town from requiring that a voter show proof of vaccination as a condition of entering a polling place to vote or to register to vote.

“If any voting location required a vaccination, then a sizable portion of the population would be prevented from entering the facility to exercise their constitutional right,” said sponsor Rep. Peter Durant (R-Spencer). “Since statistically the majority of people not vaccinated are minorities, a major constituency this bill sought to protect, any vaccine requirement would not only be unconstitutional, but would also be seen as an effort to suppress the minority vote.”

Amendment opponents said this is a solution in search of a problem. They noted that voters are not being asked to show proof of vaccination.

(A “Yes” vote is for the amendment banning cities and towns from requiring voters to provide proof of vaccination. A “No” vote is against the ban.)

Former Rep. Lori Ehrlich was still a member of the House but did not vote on this roll call

REQUIRE VOTER ID (H 4359)

House 32-126, rejected an amendment that would require voters to show a federal or Massachusetts picture identification at their polling places in order to be allowed to vote. The state would also be required to establish a waiver of the fee for obtaining the ID for

indigent persons.

Supporters said it is illogical that all voters are not required to show identification prior to voting and noted that 24 other states have laws requiring IDs. They argued that people cannot cash a check, rent a car, fly on a plane or even enter some government buildings without showing an ID.

Opponents of the amendment said it would disenfranchise thousands of voters including people who do not have a current address because they are in a homeless shelter or domestic violence facility. Other opponents said there have been no widespread reports of voter fraud in Massachusetts.

(A “Yes” vote is for requiring a voter ID to vote. A “No” vote is against requiring it.)

Former Rep. Lori Ehrlich was still a member of the House but did not vote on this roll call

RAISE PENALTIES FOR VOTER FRAUD (H 4359)

House 32-126, rejected an amendment to a current law that imposes up to a $10,000 fine and/or up to a 5-year prison sentence on anyone who knowingly engages in any type of voting fraud including illegally registering to vote; illegally voting or attempting to vote; voting more than once; and aiding and abetting a person who is illegally voting. The amendment would raise the fine to up to $20,000.

“Maintaining the integrity of our elections is of paramount importance and is not a partisan issue,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading), the sponsor of the amendment. “Expanding the existing financial penalties for those individuals who knowingly attempt to engage in voting fraud will provide a strong deterrent to help prevent this type of illegal activity.”

“We’re in agreement,” said Rep. Dan Ryan (D-Charlestown), the House chair of the Elections Laws Committee. “Of course we all want safe and secure elections. That’s why we are here … there are safeguards already in place, in Massachusetts General Law, to prevent such fraud and abuse of our electoral system. And study after study has also shown that election fraud is not as prevalent as some might think it is, or as folks purport it to be. So therefore $10,000 seems like an appropriate deterrent to election fraud. So I ask for a ‘No’ vote on the amendment, as what is in place is currently working.”

Former Rep. Lori Ehrlich was still a member of the House but did not vote on this roll call

Former Rep. Lori Ehrlich was still a member of the House but did not vote ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL ALLOW PHARMACISTS TO GIVE INSULIN IN AN EMERGENCY (S 691) – Shipped off to a study committee was a

bill that would permit pharmacists to issue insulin to patients in emergency situations, which is described as an event in which authorization for the dispensing of insulin may not be readily obtained from a doctor or other practitioner. The pharmacist would be limited to providing the insulin every six months per individual.

“In Massachusetts, it is unconscionable to think any person living with diabetes could lose their life because they are rationing insulin or unable to access this life-saving medication,” said sponsor Sen. Anne Gobi (D-Spencer). “I look forward to refiling this legislation. Data shows that diabetes is on the rise in our communities. The time to take action is now.” Gobi also noted that many states currently have similar laws.

PROHIBIT REVOCATION OF PROFESSIONAL LICENSES (H 5195) –The House and Senate gave final approval to and sent to Gov. Baker legislation that would repeal current state laws which create professional licensure consequences for anyone who defaults on their student loan. Under existing law, a borrower’s state-issued professional or occupational certificate, registration or license can be suspended, revoked or cancelled if the borrower is in default on an education loan.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

“Governor-elect Healey and I are thrilled with the engagement we’re seeing from people across the state who want to contribute to our administration and help us move Massachusetts forward. We are carefully reviewing every application and idea submitted to us, and we strongly encourage people to keep them coming. We also continue to do outreach to local, state and federal officials, business groups, advocacy organizations and other key stakeholders to make sure we are reaching the best talent.”

—-Lieutenant Governor-elect and Transition Chair Kim Driscoll on the hundreds of people applying for jobs in the new administration.

(Those who are interested in joining the Healey-Driscoll administration should apply at www.HealeyDriscollTransition. com Those who would like to submit their ideas for the new administration can also do so there).

“These awards will help equip Massachusetts sheriffs with the resources they need to treat substance abuse among inmates. Our ability to address the opioid crisis relies on the availability of services to those struggling with addiction, and we see high need among those who are incarcerated.”

—- Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito on the administration’s awarding $243,000 in federal funding that will be distributed to Massachusetts sheriffs, allowing them to deliver substance use treatment to incarcerated individuals across the state as part of continuing efforts to address the harm of substance use disorder while ensuring safety in cities and towns.

of Public Works

Lead acid (automotive) batteries

Pool chemicals

Cleaning products

» Unacceptable items

» Lightbulbs

» Ammunition, explosives and road flares

Friable asbestos (ex. insulation) Syringes

Got volunteerism?

The following is a list of vacancies on appointed town boards, commissions and committees. Anyone interested in serving on one of these boards or committees should submit a letter of interest and a resume to the Select Board, Abbot Hall, 188 Washington St. or email to wileyk@ marblehead.org. Please call Select Board’s office, 781-631-0000 for more information.

Two, one-year vacancies, Marblehead Old Burial Hill Oversight Committee

» One-year vacancy, Marblehead Affordable Housing Trust Fund

» Three-year vacancy, Marblehead Design Review

One-year term, Marblehead MBTA Advisory Board

» One-year term, Marblehead Advisory Board

» Five three-year, staggard terms

Marblehead Cultural Council One-year vacancy, Marblehead Forever Committee

» One-year term, Marblehead Task Force Against Discrimination

Animal shelter accepting volunteers

Volunteers are always needed to help with the feeding and caring of abandoned animals housed at the Marblehead Animal Shelter, 44 Village St. Friends of Marblehead Abandoned Animals (FOMAA), a nonprofit organization, was formed for this purpose. To volunteer, call 781.631.8664.

Marblehead employment opportunities

Application deadline: Until filled

» Finance director, the Marblehead Finance Department

» Senior clerk, the Marblehead Assessors Office

Local inspector, Marblehead Building Department

» Special laborer 1, Marblehad Water Deparmtent

» Mechanic, Marblehead Department

Special laborer 1, Marblehead Department of Public Works

» Heavy equipment operator, Marblehead Public Health Department

» Treasurer, tax collector, Marblehead Finance Department

Assistant harbormaster, Marblehead Harbormaster Office

Application deadline: Thursday, Dec. 1

» Children’s library assistant, Abbot Public Library

» Library page, Abbot Public Library, Two volunteer positions at, Marblehead Historical Commission

For an employment application, visit: bit.ly/3i9ct6j. Return the completed form to the department with the job opening or per instructions on the job description. To read job descriptions, visit: bit.ly/3EukHxr

Volunteer at the Public Health Dept.

Residents may volunteer to serve on the Marblehead Recycling Committee, which is appointed by the Board of Health. The committee promotes recycling through articles in local media. The Swap Shed is another place where volunteers can help. Volunteers are also needed to sell facility stickers and to check cars for up-to-date stickers as they enter the transfer station.

All’s ‘fair’ during Christmas Walk

BY KRIS OLSON

In addition to local businesses, a number of Marblehead houses of worship will welcome visitors for fairs and other special events during Christmas Walk weekend.

Here is an overview:

The annual Christmas Fair at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 in the church’s Parish Center, 80 Atlantic Ave.

Enjoy tasty food and unique, artisanal Christmas gifts created by local artisans and crafters, and enter raffles for hotel gift cards and a “giant” lottery tree, among other prizes.

During the fair, the church will also have a “Living Nativity,” with a real animal petting zoo between 1 and 3 p.m. on Dec. 3.

From 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Grace Community Church, 17 Pleasant St., will host its open house in the Fellowship Hall, with treats and warm hospitality.

The annual Christmas Fair at St. Michael’s Church, 26 Pleasant St., which will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. will include the church’s traditional bake table, jewelry table, wreaths and greens, beads and our online silent auction.

Visitors can also bid in an auction that is already underway online. The online bidding will close at midnight Dec. 2, but in-person bidding will continue during the fair.

The auction, which features more than 50 items, benefits the church’s ongoing mission activities, worship services and operations.

The Unitarian Universalist Red Bow Fair will also welcomes visitors between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3 at 28 Mugford St.

Organizers invite you to shop for wreaths for your door, save money by visiting a room full of white elephant treasures, treat your loved ones to inexpensive books and best sellers, try fair trade olive oil, take part in a dollhouse raffle, or enjoy the Sweets and Treats table of homemade baked goods.

There will be a host of children’s activities, including a chance to talk with Mrs. Santa, beginning at 11 a.m.

The Red Bow Fair Café features delicious lunches and is open from 11 to 2 p.m.

STATe HoUSe N e WS Serv ICe

Songs of Sinatra at center of Follen Angels’ return

International cabaret and jazz recording artists The Follen Angels will joyfully return to Marblehead Little Theater with what they say are hip, new arrangements to celebrate music with lyrics that tell stories of Frank Sinatra and friends at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3.

The Follen Angels will bring their unique styling to such tunes as, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”, “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”, “How High The Moon”, “New York, New York,” “My Way” and many more.

The Angels also dive into the lives of the iconic artists who originally brought these songs to life.

The Follen Angels’ last East Coast Tour included taking center stage at the renowned “Metropolitan Room” in New York City, Knickerbocker Café in Warwick, Rhode Island, and Holiday Inn, Brookline.

Over the years, they have filled concert halls and radio airwaves, and brought enthusiastic audiences to their feet from Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, Acton Jazz Café, Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge, Don’t Tell Mama’s in New York City, Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Columbia Station in Washington, D.C., and other outstanding

venues. Their six CDs represent a range in style from Gershwin and Cole Porter, Broadway showstoppers, to 1970s pop.

The Follen Angels include Hildy Grossman on vocals, Shinchi Otsu on piano, Kenneth W. Dantzig on drums, Rick Stone on sax/clarinet, Mike Ball on bass and special guest Milt Reder, a composer and guitarist featured in the music of “Sex in the City.”

The Angels guarantee you’ll have a smile on your face and be humming a tune for the rest of the night.

Tickets are limited, and previous Follen Angels shows have sold out.

There are three ways to purchase tickets: An advance discount ($35) on the first 50 tickets is available by calling Prime Time Promotions at 800-418-7771.

Tickets ($38) will be available at Arnould Gallery and Framing, 111 Washington St.

On the night of the show, remaining tickets ($40) will be available at the Marblehead Little Theater box office.

Audience members will be required to wear masks.

For more information, visit theFollenAngels.com.

group’s Dec. 31 deadline.

He also wanted to find out whether the commission could award its $100,000 haul to “a third party” that could “take forward” the commission’s slow-moving work after its deadline passes.

Vice Chair Brittney Walley called it “not the ideal situation that I would want,” and Curtin said it left the commission “between the rock and the hard place.”

SAM DORAN/ STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

The state commission tasked with making changes to the state seal and motto is newly awash in cash, but members on Tuesday were stuck mulling over how to spend it -- and how to wrap up their work -- with less than seven weeks until the panel is set to disband.

For decades leading up to the panel’s creation in 2021, advocates argued that the state’s current imagery represents violence and oppression toward

indigenous people. The 18th century seal portrays an indigenous person on a shield. The crest above it, which is also the state’s military crest, features an arm holding a sword. The motto is roughly translated from Latin as “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.”

The State Seal Commission has slogged past statutory and internal deadlines, including its original October 2021 due date to report back to lawmakers. And while the Legislature has kept it alive through multiple extensions, the latest push to extend the commission to March

2023

The conference committee that produced that bill did grant $100,000 to the group, which confused commissioner Donna Curtin of Pilgrim Hall Museum.

“Getting the funding but not getting the time really baffles me. It doesn’t seem to make any sense whatsoever,” Curtin said.

Co-Chair Brian Boyles said it was “a unique position, in a series of unique positions this commission has been in.”

Boyles, the executive director of Mass Humanities, said the panel has “very little time” to spend the funds, and said he has outstanding questions about the money including whether it must be spent by the

State Archives Executive Director Michael Comeau cautioned that the commission might not be able to handpick an institution, but would need to abide by state procurement laws and put spending out to bid, which could be a “hurdle that’s too high to climb.”

“Given the tight timeframe, if we float out the RFP ... do we have enough time, just vis-a-vis the state procurement laws?” he asked.

Kate Miller, an aide to commission member Rep. Antonio Cabral who has been providing staff support to the commission, said that was another question she’d be researching.

Miller also referenced a continuing “behind the scenes” effort to secure yet another deadline extension. But if that

The Follen Angels include Hildy Grossman on vocals, Shinchi Otsu on piano, Kenneth W. Dantzig on drums, Rick Stone on sax/clarinet and Mike Ball on bass. On Dec. 3 in Marblehead, they will be joined by special guest Milt Reder, a composer and guitarist featured in the music of ‘Sex in the City.’

Beginning at 11 a.m., ‘Mrs. Santa’ invites children to share their holiday wish lists with her at the Unitarian Universalist Red Bow Fair, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3 at 28 Mugford St.

FooD, Cr AFTS, FUN

was snuffed by lawmakers in the economic development bill approved at the beginning of the month.

Wednesday, Nov. 9

7:51 a.m. Solicitors reported on Tucker Street.

7:57 a.m. Caller lodged a complaint related to traffic on Maple Street.

10:50 a.m. A stuck truck was reported on Heritage Way.

11:02 a.m. Workerreported having gotten threats on Tedesco Street and Leggs Hill Road.

2:07 p.m. Caller reported that there was a scooter parked on Woodfin Terrace.

2:08 p.m. Caller on Spring Street reported having received annoying phone calls.

3:13 p.m. Two vehicles were towed after an accident on Humphrey and Birch streets.

7:46 p.m. Officer spoke in the police station lobby with woman to whom he had spoken before regarding an ongoing landlord-tenant issue. Woman explained that the landlord constantly turns off the lights to the common area, bangs on walls and ceilings, and tampers with the building’s internet connection while she is home.

Woman also stated that on Saturday, the landlord had lit a bundle of “smudge” and left it burning on the inside back wooden staircase to her neighbor’s apartment. Officer asked woman what “smudge” was, and she replied it was some type of voodoo incense used to ward off evil spirits.

Thursday, Nov. 10

11:10 a.m. Tree branch was reported down on Smith and Pleasant streets.

1:05 p.m. Officer assisted with bus that had gotten stuck on Front Street.

2:38 p.m. Officer assisted at scene of minor vehicle crash on Pleasant Street.

5:50 p.m. Suspicious activity reported on Atlantic Avenue.

9:19 p.m. Brief power outage reported on Richard Road.

11 p.m. Investigated report of hit-and-run on Pleasant Street.

Friday, Nov. 11

7:56 a.m. Speeding cars reported on Dartmouth Road.

10:13 a.m. Caller on Mohawk Road lodged complaint related to the construction of the Mariner.

11:50 a.m. Officer assisted at scene of minor two-vehicle accident on Front Street.

Seal

From P. A21

12:25 p.m. Walk-in to police station lodged complaint about cars speeding in the area of Prospect Street.

4:36 p.m. Officer was dispatched to Colgate Road for a report of a stolen credit card. Woman explained that her ex-boyfriend had stolen her credit card and that he had just refused over the phone to give it back. However, while the officer was on scene, woman called ex-boyfriend to ask if she could get the card back, and he immediately agreed and said he would leave it where she could pick it up. Officer spoke with man to confirm the plan and informed the woman about the process for obtaining an abuseprevention order, though she stated that she was not in fear of her ex-boyfriend.

Saturday, Nov. 12

7:37 a.m. Power outage reported on Humphrey Street.

10:13 a.m. Limb leaning on wires reported on Lafayette and Maple streets.

9:10 p.m. Tree branch reported down on Stramski Way.

Sunday, Nov. 13

9:31 a.m. Low wire reported on Pleasant Street.

3:02 p.m. Caller reported cone in the road on Lee Street.

3:44 p.m. Blocked drain reported on West Shore Drive.

Monday, Nov. 14

10:30 a.m. Officer investigated report of vandalism on Atlantic Avenue.

10:51 a.m. Walk-in to police station reported having been scammed out of a pair of $50 Steam digital gift cards after offering them for sale on Facebook’s Marketplace. Man had expressed interest in the cards and sent a fraudulent email depicting a “Venmo escrow” payment to her email. Woman stated that she felt the conversation she was having with man was fishy but sent him photos of the numbers on the back of the cards anyway, even after not seeing money in her Venmo account. Since having retrieved the codes, man had left the conversation and had not replied to any of woman’s requests or demands for payment. Officer advised woman to report the Facebook account associated with the man as a

scam, while he planned to create a report for documentation.

10:53 a.m. Officer assisted at the scene of two-vehicle accident on Baldwin Road and Pleasant Street.

2:16 p.m. Caller reported ladders set up in the street on Jersey and Sewall streets.

2:24 p.m. Officer was dispatched to Farrell Court to take a report of identity fraud. Woman reported she had gotten a letter from Bank of America denying an account she had allegedly tried to open. Woman reported that she never opened up an account with Bank of America and had already notified the FTC, credit reporting agencies, and her bank. Woman also called Bank of America; however, they were unable to provide her with any information. Officer advised woman that she had done everything required to report the fraudulent activity.

5:48 p.m. Suspicious activity reported on Birch Street.

Tuesday, Nov. 15

11:45 a.m. Caller reported having received annoying phone calls.

12:58 p.m. Investigated report of past hit-and-run on Creesy Street.

12:59 p.m. Cell phone caller on Mugford Street reported having received annoying phone calls.

1:51 p.m. Officer spoke in police station lobby with woman having issues with her next-door neighbor, who is is generally hostile towards her. Woman explained there had been several incidents, including blowing leaves at her and onto her property on multiple occasions. Woman said she was certain that neighbor had vandalized her lawn by killing a long strip in her her grass, of which she showed the officer pictures. Woman said there have also been multiple occasions where the neighbor had been standing nude in her window, after neighbor had told her that she did not want to see her in the nude. Officer advised woman that she should consider investing in a home surveillance system. He also explained how a no-trespass order works and how to apply for one. He also advised her that she should document all past incidents.

1:56 p.m. After dispatcher

doesn’t happen, the group ceases to exist on Dec. 31.

Part of the push for extending the commission into March centered on the idea that the report should be laid before lawmakers during the session when they would potentially act on it. The commission’s deadline falls three days before the adjournment of the current General Court.

As for what the commission will have to show for more than a year of research and discussion, members appeared to diverge on how they want to spend their remaining six and a half weeks -- and their new budget.

Boyles said in August that the $100,000 budget they were seeking would include money for initial design work, though some commissioners zeroed in Tuesday on conducting public surveys or hearings.

Walley said she would like to see the commission employ a research center to conduct some sort of statewide survey “before time is up” if they do not receive another extension.

Elizabeth Solomon of the Massachusett Tribe said she thought “it’s going to be very hard” to spend money responsibly “with a month and a half, and holidays coming up.”

“If we want to come up with something that is really helpful, then we need to really brainstorm on that, and if we don’t, then I think we need to think of foregoing the money,” Solomon said.

Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Leonid Kondratiuk tried to refocus the conversation on “deliverables.”

When the Legislature created the commission in early 2021, it directed that the group “shall” recommend a “revised or new design” for the state seal and a “revised or new motto,” along with “recommendations for an educational program on the history and meaning of the seal and motto.”

“I just want to remind the commission, one of the deliverables -- to use that good word -- is that we’re supposed to submit a new design of the seal,” Kondratiuk said. “And so, you know, Plan B could be -- if we don’t do the survey -- perhaps we could go to a graphics designer and just put some of the things that we’ve recommended over the last couple of weeks into a design.”

Commission member Micah Whitson said he had gotten some initial pricing from designers, but “designers have backlogs, and so the designers that I’ve picked, or that we may be looking for, may not have time to execute this in six weeks” and that the goal “may not ... be possible.”

Now 13 months past the original deadline, members have been spitballing ideas for a new design.

Around eight commissioners took part in an internal survey to begin sketching out possible imagery for the seal and words for the motto, and their thoughts were shared in a spreadsheet during Tuesday’s meeting. But even that effort appeared behind schedule.

Around half of the members still had not filled out the survey, and after Boyles emailed another link to the form in the middle of the meeting, the commission sat in several periods of silence while members worked on writing down their overdue responses.

learned of the incident from the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, officer reached out to resident who had been scammed out of $360,000 to ask if he wanted to report the crime to Marblehead Police. Man said he had made a report to the F.B.I. using the Internet Crime Complaint Center as well to his financial institution, but he agreed that it would be a good idea to have it documented with his local police department, too. Man explained that he had been put in touch with someone whom he believed was from the Social Security Office because he was told someone had used his Social Security number to open and use credit cards under his name. In order to fix the problem and protect his money, he was told to wire transfer $30,000 from his account to a New York bank. In addition, he was asked if he had any IRAs, which he did. He was told he needed to transfer that money as well, so he transferred an additional $330,000 to a bank out of China. He provided the phone numbers from which the scam calls had originated.

3:09 p.m. Officer spoke with resident who had been out of the country who reported that he had learned upon his return that someone in Florence, Italy had used his ATM card repeatedly, racking up more than $8,600 in charges. Man was advised to notify the credit agencies and his banks and cancel the card.

5:15 p.m. Officer went to Orchard Street to speak with woman whose credit card had been compromised. Woman had noticed several charges on her statement that she had not made. She had reported the fraud to the credit card company, which was investigated. Woman added that her reward points had been accessed and used as well. She was advised on how to handle the matter.

Wednesday, Nov. 16

7:02 a.m. Flooding reported on West Shore Drive and Jersey Street.

3:18 p.m. Caller on Tufts Street made a report related to “improper videos.”

7:12 p.m. Officer filed a report after a two-vehicle crash involving two Toyota RAV4s, one a 2014, the other a 2011, on Mooring and Bradlee roads.

The ideas already submitted include geographic features like the Great Blue Hills, the Berkshire Mountains, and the Atlantic Ocean; flora like the Eastern White Pine, cedar tree, and mayflower blossom; fauna, such as a chickadee, turkey, Northern Right Whale, or codfish; and human figures such as a colonist or indigenous person (which appears on the current seal).

Other ideas on the spreadsheet included “Indian Feather,” “Scripted Massachusetts Constitution,” “Graphic of state shape,” a quill pen, a rising sun, and an image of the State House’s Golden Dome.

The motto brainstorming produced one idea with four votes -- “Equality” -- followed by several concepts tied for second place: “Education,” “Commonwealth,” “Justice,” “Liberty,” and “Peace.”

Other concepts on the drawing board included “Imagination,” “Industrious,” “Ingenuity,” “Resiliency,” -- and “Hope,” which was claimed by Rhode Island as its motto as far back as 1664.

Boyles set a Friday deadline for members to offer input. Ideas that receive more than one vote will then be compiled into a second internal survey for members to rank their preferences. Boyles said work on that survey would start no later than Monday and be wrapped up by Nov. 30 “at the latest.”

Back in August, Boyles laid out a timeline of goals that Indian Affairs Commissioner Jim Peters called “very ambitious.” That included an October deadline for work on an RFP and outreach to initial designers.

At a September subcommittee meeting,

Thursday, Nov. 17

10:23 a.m. Hitchhiker reported on Beacon Street.

10:25 a.m. Officer went to Atlantic Avenue, where salon owner played for him an angry voicemail message that he had received from the owner of an HVAC business, who stated that he was going to leave bad reviews for the local man’s business across all available platforms, which local man believed to be a case of mistaken identity. Salon owner said that when he called the HVAC business owner back, the man threatened to come down to Atlantic Avenue and “straighten him out,” and that he would “get him.” Officer advised local man about harassment prevention orders as well as no-trespass orders. Salon owner asked that officer call the HVAC business owner, who apologized and told him that he was having a bad morning and had been frustrated by being unable to make an appointment for his daughter. HVAC business owner claimed that when the salon owner called him back, the salon owner was the one being confrontational and seemed to be trying to bait him into a fight. Officer explained to HVAC business owner that he was not welcome at the salon and advised him to stay away from salon owner to avoid any further incidents. He stated that he understood and that he had no plans to go to the business.

12:16 p.m. Officer could not locate vehicle accident reported on Atlantic Avenue.

4:29 p.m. Caller on Monroe Road reported scam.

7:43 p.m. Officer assisted with disabled vehicle on Humphrey Street.

10:45 p.m. Water main break reported on Barnard Street and Red Frank Lane.

Friday, Nov. 18

10:12 a.m. Officer spoke by phone with woman who initially believed she may have given $20 to a Marblehead High School Boosters fundraising scam. But she would call back later to report that she had done further investigation and determined that the solicitation had been legitimate.

11:57 a.m. Officer investigated

members voted on three specific questions to be included in a UMass Poll survey, including a multiple-choice option asking which broad category the respondents would like to see featured on the seal -- such as the depiction of a human figure, natural resources, or geometric shapes.

The director of UMass Poll, professor Tatishe Nteta, afterwards told the News Service that “we have no formal relationship with the commission other than an interest in following their work and the corresponding discussions of the future of the seal.”

UMass Poll did include one seal question on its October survey, but not the multiple-choice prompt that commissioners had hoped would focus their design brainstorm.

The poll asked whether respondents support or oppose “replacing the state’s seal and flag, which shows a colonist’s arm brandishing a sword above an image of a Native American.”

Out of 700 respondents, 30 percent “strongly” opposed replacing the seal and flag, while 23 percent strongly supported the change. Ten percent “somewhat” opposed it, 12 percent somewhat favored it, and 25 percent did not pick a side.

Before adjourning Tuesday, commissioners also went down a brief tangent about the seal’s color scheme, which highlighted some confusion over what the commission’s product is going to be.

Whitson said seals should ideally be one color -- the current seal and flag is blue, white, and gold -- and he also mentioned that the state has differing “official” colors, which are blue, green, and cranberry.

report of two-vehicle accident involving a dump truck on Humphrey Street and Ida Road.

12:12 p.m. Officer met at police station with woman who had received an email from “Amazon” informing her that there was an issue with her account, which she now realized was a scam. She stated that she then emailed back and forth with a person she thought was from Amazon customer support, giving the person her name, address, Social Security number and date of birth, along with the information on two of her debit cards. Once she realized this was a scam, she had contacted her banks to make them aware and had not lost any money, though her personal information had been compromised. She was advised to contact the credit agencies to set up a fraud alert. She was advised on how to report identity theft to the FTC and to monitor all of her accounts for any signs of fraudulent activity.

1:06 p.m. Wire reported down on Lincoln Avenue.

11:15 p.m. Officer spoke to man who reported that he had just been “sucker punched” in the head by a man known to him at the Riptide Lounge on Pleasant Street. Man said that, when he turned around to fight back, a group of unknown patrons had escorted him out the front door. Man said his hand had been injured in the scuffle and that he feared the hand had sustained structural damage that would affect his work as a mechanic, but he declined medical attention.

Officer advised man to seek a complaint at Lynn District Court and that Marblehead Police would document the incident.

Man’s friends told officer that, as soon as they had walked into the Riptide, the alleged assailant had engaged them in conversation their reading glasses, but being not interested in the banter, they walked away. The alleged sucker punch happened a few minutes later. Neither of the friends had seen exactly how the man’s hand had been injured. Officers tried to locate the alleged assailant but were unsuccessful.

The Riptide does not have cameras, and officer wrote that an employee and other patrons “were not helpful” in providing additional information.

Saturday, Nov. 19

6:12 a.m. An elderly person was given a ride home to Clifton Avenue.

1:28 p.m. Disabled vehicle reported on Lafayette Street.

1:45 p.m. Water problems reported on Joel Road.

2:22 p.m. Officer went to Lincoln Avenue to investigate a report that the HVAC system of a home had been vandalized. Officer confirmed that it was clear that someone had unscrewed the system from its mount it was on and placed on some recycling bins with the wires still attached. Homeowner told officer that she had been in California, and her nextdoor neighbor had discovered the HVAC unit on the ground earlier in the day. Woman had then called her plumber to have him take a look. Plumber said it seemed like someone had unscrewed the unit from the house in an attempted to steal it. Officer then asked woman if the Ring camera on her home captured anyone in the area. Man did say a man trying to deliver a pizza had come to the door the day before, but that was the only activity she had on the camera. She was advised to share with police any other information she or her plumber determined after looking into the situation further.

9:57 p.m. Investigated disturbance reported on School Street.

Sunday, Nov. 20

12:12 p.m. Officer assisted with disabled truck on Humphrey Street and Charlotte Road.

2:50 p.m. Tree branch reported down on Cedar Street.

3:17 p.m. Tree branch reported down on Humphrey Street.

Monday, Nov. 21

9:05 a.m. Report taken after incident on Village Street.

12:52 p.m. Officer filed report after vehicle crash on Rowland Street.

1:35 p.m. Officer spoke in police station lobby with man who had had a $5,000 forged check from his business account cashed at

a credit union branch in Lynn.

Man had been able to close the account and was not held liable for the withdrawal. Check had been made out to a Lowell man. Officer was given a copy of the check, which had been doctored to show a different business address, authorizing signature and check number. At about 1 p.m., man had received a call from the same teller at the credit union branch in Salem who had helped him create a new account, who explained that she currently had a woman at her window trying to cash another check against his closed account.

Man asked the teller to get her identification and that he would go the police station to file a report. The teller was unable to tell man anything about what happened after that, other than she had contacted the credit union’s security department.

Officer asked man if any checks he had authorized had gone missing or never made it to their final destination, and he replied that, to his knowledge, none were missing. The only thing he could think of was that in order to open up a business account with Home Depot, he had to provide a blank check for their records. Officer advised man that he would pass this information along to detectives, who would also be following up with the credit union, in the hopes that they had obtained the woman’s identification or had video of her.

2:23 p.m. Caller reported that a water spigot had been left on, on Lee Street.

3:16 p.m. Caller reported that there were a pair of 2-by-4s in the road on West Shore Drive and Lorraine Terrace.

4:06 p.m. Disturbance reported on Pitman Road.

6:24 p.m. Disturbance investigated on Stratford Road. 8:26 p.m. Two officers were dispatched to Cressy Street to investigate dispute, which had prompted both parties to call police. Man explained that he had met woman at an AA meeting and had been her roommate since September.

Man explained that, in lieu of rent, he had been letting woman use his car. Man said the evening’s argument had begun because woman had been smoking in the vehicle and had allegedly left a cigarette burn

on the vehicle’s upholstery. But man was also upset that she had resumed drinking at a Beverly lounge earlier in the evening. Man said that, when they got home, he had gone out to walk his dog, and woman would not let him back inside the apartment. Man explained that everything he owns is inside that apartment and that he did not just want to barge in, as he does have keys, and instead wanted to play it safe by calling the police to assist. Officer then joined conversation with woman, who was already speaking with another officer. Woman explained that she had allowed man to live there for a month, and she now wanted him to leave. Officers explained to woman “numerous times” that, because she had allowed man to live there, he had the same rights to the apartment as she had, an answer that the woman did not like. She continued to insist that she wanted man to leave, that he does not pay rent, and he is “being a punk.” Officers and woman talked “in circles” for almost an hour before officerin-charge was called to scene. The situation was eventually resolved after woman was advised that she would needed to go through the eviction process with the man, and/or she could go to Lynn District Court and speak to the Domestic Violence Unit to see if she would be eligible for a restraining order. Both parties were advised to keep to themselves for the night. Officer planned to report the incident to North Shore Elder Services, as the woman felt she was being taken advantage of due to her age.

Tuesday, Nov. 22

9:20 a.m. Officer filed report after vehicle crash on Atlantic Avenue.

2:39 p.m. Officer went to speak with woman who reported that she had just been assaulted by an older gentleman on Carol Road as she was walking back to her vehicle after picking up her two sons. Her friend had alerted her that their children had just been yelled by a woman, the man’s wife, about the boys playing on a tree in front of the woman’s home, but on town property. As mother was speaking with the wife about what had happened,

the husband allegedly came out of the house and grabbed her wrist forcefully and also “shouldered” her when he was walking. Officer spoke with the couple, and woman explained that she had gone outside to speak with the two boys because she felt that it was unsafe for the boys to be playing on the tree. By then, thetwo boys were in a vehicle. She knocked on the door, and the boys opened up the door for her. Woman said she explained her concern to the boys and went inside. Mother had then knocked on the door, and wife went outside to speak with her. The husband explained that this was when he went outside to join the conversation and also take a picture of mother’s vehicle, as he was going to call the police about this matter. Man stated that, as he was walking, the boys’ mother had stepped in front of him and then raised her hand. Man said he did not know what she was about to do, which is why he grabbed her wrist. He said they then separated, and he went to go take pictures of her vehicle. Man later came into police station to provide a statement with his version of the events.

2:58 p.m. Officer went to Powder House Court and spoke with woman who explained that she had been dealing with ongoing harassment from her neighbor. Woman stated that today, she had been walking behind the building in the alleyway and saw her neighbor cleaning up leaves, so she turned around to avoid any contact with her. Woman said that, as she was walking away, neighbor began to yell at her to get off the grass, calling her a bad name. Officer explained the process for obtaining a harassment prevention order and was also advised to report the incident to the Housing Authority.

5:18 p.m. Officers investigated report of an assault on Access Road.

5:29 p.m. Officer responded to minor accident on Pond Street.

6:46 p.m. Officer went to Pond Street and spoke to woman who said she had gotten a notification from Apple that she had been “air tagged.” Officer advised her to contact Apple to see if they could give her any information and shut the tag off.

Dr. Barbara Anne (Baute) Dowd, 93

Dr. Barbara B. Dowd of Marblehead, formerly of Reading, died at home, surrounded by her loving family, on Nov. 23, 2022, affter a prolonged illness.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, on Oct. 31, 1929, Barbara was the second child of the late Dr. Joseph Andrew Baute Jr., a general practitioner, and Helen Rose (Brueckner) Baute, who was a nurse. She was raised in East Greenwich and graduated from James T. Lockwood High School in 1947, where she was class valedictorian and a member of the Rhode Island Honor Society.

Barbara went on to earn her bachelor of science degree from Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia, Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1951 and then to medical school at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital in Philadelphia.

It was there that she met Dr. Thomas John Dowd, whom she married two days after their graduation from medical school in 1955.

SU bmISSIoN PoLICY

Ahead of her time, Barbara was one of only four women who began the program, where she and one other woman graduated four years later with a class of 90 men.

After an internship at Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and junior internships at Kent County

How to place an obituary

The Marblehead Current publishes obituaries online for free and in its print edition for a flat fee of $200.

Submissions or inquiries should be sent to notices@ marbleheadnews.org.

Submissions should include the name of the funeral home serving the deceased’s family, along with a daytime phone number for a person to contact, in case we have any questions about the obituary. Photos, preferably in JPEG format, are welcome. Photos should be of high enough quality to reproduce well in print. Generally, an image file created by a digital camera or smartphone will be fine; images copied from websites will not.

Hospital in Warwick and Roger Williams General Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, Barbara specialized in pediatrics.

In 1965, she and Tom settled in Massachusetts to raise their growing family and enter private practice. The husband-and-wife team took care of patients of Dowd Medical Associates in Reading for more than 30 years.

Dowd Medical Associates grew into a multi-partner practice and is still providing pediatric and gynecology services. Barbara was on the staff of Winchester Hospital in Winchester and affiliated with other area hospitals.

Prior to retirement in 2000, Barbara and Tom moved to Marblehead. From there they took every opportunity to explore the New England coastline on their sailboat, “Cigogne.” A nod to the couple’s medical career, “cigogne” is the French word for “stork”; the dingy was named “Bebe.”

Their sailing adventures included completing the 363-nautical-mile Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race in 1995, where they placed fifth in their class.

Barbara and Tom also traveled as much as they could, embarking on adventures at home and abroad until Tom’s health failed in 2017.

Continuing on her own, Barbara kept a vibrant colorful flower garden, wrote two children’s books, “Adventures of Harry Hawk” and “Whiskers Makes His Rounds,” and was a prolific artist, holding local exhibits of her paintings. Her delightful dog, Lily, kept her company during the pandemic.

All who knew and loved Barbara will

miss her.

Barbara is survived by her six children and their families, Anne Dowd; Katherine and Arthur Muller; Mary Beth and Brian Trubitt; Thomas Dowd; Nancy and Gary Holt; and John and Elizabeth Dowd.

She also leaves behind 10 grandchildren with their spouses and four great grandchildren: Joseph and Amanda Muller, parents of Sylvia and Mckenna Muller; Kelsey and Alex Rospos, parents of Wilder Rospos; Rebecca Trubitt and Paul Rogers, parents of Cassandra Rogers; Katherine Trubitt; Graham and Alison Holt; Kevin and Helin Holt; and Sean Holt; as well as Isabella, Peter, and Nicholas Dowd.

Her brother, Dr. Robert E. Baute, his wife, Barbara B. Baute, and family, also survive her. Her brothers, Joseph A. Baute and Dr. Peter B. Baute, precede her in death, but their families survive her.

Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, Dec. 2, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Eustis & Cornell of Marblehead, 142 Elm St.

Her funeral Mass will be held on Friday, Dec. 3 at 11 a.m. at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, 85 Atlantic Ave., Marblehead. Burial will follow at Waterside Cemetery, 294 West Shore Drive, Marblehead.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her name to Boston Children’s Hospital Trust 401 Park Drive, Suite 602, Boston, MA 02215 or to the Abbot Public Library Foundation, P.O. Box 1409, Marblehead, MA 01945.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy for the Dowd family may be shared at eustisandcornellfuneralhome. com.

Winslow

Winslow is a striking Tabby. His fur has wonderful gold flecks scattered throughout his coat and he has this wonderful big round head. He seems totally chill and relaxed. He came to the shelter when a cat rescuer noticed him in her yard. After feeding him for several months and gaining his trust she brought him in to get him off the streets and into a loving home. Feel free to stop by during adoption hours and meet him.

Winslow is up to date with routine shots, house-trained and neutered. If you are interested in Winslow, please fill out an application at marblehead–animal-shelter.org, and you will be contacted.