4 minute read
Caring for Marblehead’s great outdoors
BY ELAINE LEAHY
Maybe it’s because I’m a fan of author Nevada Barr’s mystery novels featuring national park ranger extraordinaire Anna Pigeon that I came to volunteer with the Marblehead Conservancy. Over the years I’ve enjoyed living vicariously through Anna as she explores beautiful parks around the country. So when I learned that the Marblehead Conservancy had a Trails Crew Committee, I decided to give it a try. I was going to be an “amateur ranger” right here in Marblehead, just like Anna! (Minus the mystery and crime
Baker
From P. A6 y’know. What if ... what if the Red Cross didn’t have a lot of red in it? Just a thin band of red at the bottom.” nnn
Art director Russ Veduccio designed a grabber: Against a dramatic black background, the cross shape all emptinesswhite ... save a thin band of red at the bottom. The agency donated thousands of blood drive posters to the American Cross, I was awarded Best of Show in the Boston Art Directors Show, and the idea won national acclaim.
Outside the box has been my operative M.O., from the getgo and throughout my abundantly creative freewheeling life. In the lifestyle sense, I’ve mostly managed to avoid or escape confining corporate, societal and behavioral boxes.
In the realm of ideas, I’ve had the fun of creating from an inspirational vantage point somewhere between left field and da Vinci, along with the occasional perspective of Mark Twain fighting, of course.)
Founded in 2001, the mission of the Marblehead Conservancy is to protect, acquire and enhance Marblehead’s natural resources for the benefit and enjoyment of the public. With five miles of trails on 165 acres of land, its focus involves maintenance and improvement of trails and keeping areas accessible and safe, both now and in the future.
My first day on the volunteer job I was greeted warmly by Conservancy President Bob French, Trail Committee Chair Don Morgan and a group and street savvy old pal Killer Kane departing Maddie’s chapel of spirits together at 1:37 a.m. of dedicated men and women, all with smiles and a very welcoming attitude. Every Wednesday and Saturday, the group meets in front of their tool shed at Robinson Farm to discuss what areas need
You’d think that the anti Catholic prejudice that assured my spending the first 13 years of my life without an after(parochial) school friend to my name would’ve cramped my style plenty much. To the contrary, compadres.
The 1940s was what I call The Golden Age of the Imagination — the amazing confluence of three idea charged golden ages: The Golden Age of Comic Books, The Golden Age of Hollywood Movies, and the goldenest of the golden, The Golden Age of Radio, the “theater of the mind” — wellspring via powerhouse dramas, true crime programs, westerns and soap operas when I was home sick of a thousand voices, a thousand personas, 10,000 insights into the way people think and what moves them.
Needless to say, in a sense, I was missing out on a lot. Other kids were happily being kids in organized afterschool activities, sports, scouts, lessons.
But in the grand scheme of things, they were prepping for life in the “box,” while I was storing up a colordazzled confetti of ideas for my future career as ... guess what ... an idea guy.
Better yet, make that, “a attention, and who would like to volunteer for each task.
Jobs might include planting new shrubs and trees, spreading wood chips, clearing invasive species, cutting back and happily ever after, outsidethebox idea guy.”
(To be continued.)
Bob Baker is a creative resource in Marblehead whose memoir-in-progress is “Outlucking Gatsby: From Greenwich to The Green Light.”
TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD
The Marblehead Conservation Commission will hold a VIRTUAL (zoom) public hearing beginning at or after 7:00 P.M. on April 13, 2023 on an application filed by Scott Patrowicz, P.E., Patrowicz Land Development Engineering (applicant) on behalf of Ralph M. and Frances M. Roberto, Trustees of The Cliff Nominee Trust (owner), for repairs to a portion of an existing seawall, site work/landscaping at 22 Cliff Street (Map 112, Parcel 21) in an area subject to the Wetlands Protection Act and the Marblehead Wetlands Protection Bylaw This hearing will be held remotely in accordance with Governor Baker ’s March 12, 2020 Order Superseding Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law G.L. c.30A, section 18, and the Governor ’s March 15, 2020 Order imposing strict limitation on the number of people that may gather in one place. Request to make an appointment to review plans and information by emailing: engineers@ marblehead.org. For any questions, please call (781) 631-1529. Details on how to access the hearing remotely via the internet will be posted on the meeting agenda at least 48-hours prior to the hearing. The link to the agenda is: https://www.marblehead.org/conservation-commission Brian LeClair Chairman Marblehead Conservation Commission pulling weeds, mowing lawns, removing trash and debris, building stone steps and sealing and repairing wooden bridges and boardwalks. Being a member of this group has pushed me outside of my comfort zone in many ways. For example, before joining the trails committee, I had never operated a lawn mower! Knowing a boy when I was young who had an unfortunate accident with his toe and a lawn mower really had made an was responsible for dropping the eggs, as families gathered around a chalked out bullseye on the parking lot pavement.
Gray released the eggs one by one from atop the town’s ladder engine, which reached approximately 35 feet in height.
“It’s a fantastic way to bring the community together and encourage children to think creatively,” said Gabriella Pardy, who attended the event with her husband, Chris, and their children, Lorenzo and Luca. “We had a blast.”
Spectators watched intently as some eggs splattered on the ground, while others remained intact.
“Participants whose eggs survived received a medal and an
‘eggcellent’ certificate,” Strobel explained. “All participants were awarded an eggdrop medal.”
Cara Crandals, 10, proudly holding her certificate, stood next to her younger brother, Fletcher, 7, after the event concluded.
“I placed the egg in a cardboard box and covered it with popcorn,” Cara described, adding that she also modified small Polar Spring bottles to provide additional cushioning for her egg. Fletcher’s egg sadly did not survive the fall, but he resolved to return next year with a new strategy.
