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IN THIS ISSUE
HISTORY
SPORTS
THEATER
Funeral march set for Saturday
Swim, dive teams remain undeafeated
MLT debuts its latest comedy
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PAID
MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25
NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.
TM
January 25, 2023
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VOLUME 1, ISSUE NO. 9
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MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG
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ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
Longtime tailor dies just one month after retiring BY LEIGH BLANDER Charles Katsoulakos, a beloved tailor in Marblehead for 55 years, passed away on Jan. 15, one month after retiring. He was 96 years old. Katsoulakos was reluctant to retire. There was only one thing he was looking forward to. “I have a chair in the trunk of my car and I will go to Devereux Beach and sit there,” he said. In an interview with the Marblehead Current right before he reitred, Katsoulakos said
he had served “hundreds and hundreds” of customers over the decades. He saw dramatic swings in fashion, but never had a favorite style. “For me, it doesn’t make a difference. I’ll narrow the legs or shorten the hemline to modernize.” He enjoyed working on prom and wedding dresses the most. “Those beautiful dresses, I love seeing them,” he said. Many of his customers sent him photos of themselves wearing the outfits he altered.
One day last fall, a woman came in to pick up a jacket Katsoulakos had repaired. “It’s my son’s jacket,” she said to him. “He doesn’t even wear it anymore, but I want it to last forever.” She left with a smile on her face. Katsoulakos grew up in Athens, Greece, and spoke with a thick accent. He left school when he was 14. “The Germans and Italians occupied the city, and the schools closed.”
CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER
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Longtime Marblehead tailor Charles Katsoulakos in his shop just before retiring. He passed away on Jan. 15.
ZONING
Planning Board finalizes ADU proposal
Dynamic duo
Members put rental restriction decision in voters’ court BY WILLIAM J. DOWD
dry cleaner to take over. “I reached out to a lot of people. No dry cleaner is booming right now.” He does not plan to reopen anywhere else. Stephanie Doliber Lynch worked at Mayflower for 15 years and said she’s “sad to see it go.” So are Mayflower’s customers, who came to pick up their clothes for the last time. Doliber
Marblehead Town Meeting will now decide the fate of a zoning proposal that proponents say could help some seniors age in place, create affordable housing opportunities and add to the local housing stock. Planning Board members have been working on the zoning proposal for months, aiming to regulate the construction and use of accessory dwelling units in Marblehead. ADUs are small living quarters that sit on the same property as single-family homes and are often called “in-law apartments.” Planning Board members have reached agreement on nearly everything contained in the zoning proposal, including the following provisions: » restricting single-family homes to a one ADU per property; » requiring the owner of the single-family to occupy either the ADU or the primary residence; » providing one parking space for each ADU must be provided; » prohibiting the units from being separated and sold; and » banning short-term rentals. Yet, at the Planning Board’s Jan. 17 public meeting, there was a lack of consensus on whether to incorporate a rent-restriction provision in the Town Meeting proposal. As it stands, the proposal would cap the monthly rent of ADUs built for affordable housing at no more than 70 percent of the fair market rent in Marblehead, based on the number of bedrooms, as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is currently $1,986 for a one-bedroom and $2,399 for a two-bedroom. “The only thing that I’ve maintained is if we don’t have restrictions, there is no way we are going to create affordable housing,” said Planning Board member Barton Hyte. “It’s just not going to happen. I’m telling you, it’s impossible.” Member Andrew Christensen joined Hyte in supporting some rent restrictions, while Edward O. Nilsson, Robert Schaeffner
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COURTESY PHOTO
Photographer Rick Ashley stands in the Hooper Mansion amid his new exhibit, ‘Michael,’ which features images taken of his brother-in-law with Down syndrome. At right is a creation modeled after David’s ‘The Death of Marat,’ which earned a spot in the National Portrait Gallery.
Ashley, brother-in-law with Down syndrome team on striking images BY KRIS OLSON Nearly five decades ago, Marblehead photographer Rick Ashley quickly forged a tight bond with his brother-in-law, Michael. There was a memorable trip to Disney World. Other times, they would just hang out. But that Michael, who has Down syndrome, would come to serve as the centerpiece of a series of images that would gain national acclaim is
something of a happy accident. Residents can see many of those same images on display in the Larrabee Gallery at the Marblehead Arts Association through Feb. 26. The project with Michael began when Ashley learned from his neighbor, accomplished photography editor, author and publisher Dennis Curtin, of a new way to transform a digital photograph. You could email the digital file to China, where it would be given to art school
students. Before you knew it, you would receive back a canvas bearing the brush-stroked version of the original image. “I thought that was a spectacular idea,” Ashley said. But what kind of image would translate best to the canvas, Ashley wondered. He settled on an image of Michael as the archetypal author, sporting a tweet jacket and holding a pipe. That first “Michael” piece is among those now hanging at the MAA. Ashley said that he was so pleased with that first painting, he went a ASHLEY, P. A8
Longtime dry cleaner closes BY LEIGH BLANDER Mayflower Cleansers on Atlantic Avenue closed its doors Friday, Jan. 20, after 87 years in business. Several dry cleaners have closed in town recently, leaving only one remaining. “I’ll miss Marblehead. The people in Marblehead are nice,” Mayflower owner David Schleri told the Marblehead Current. “It’s a sad
BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
moment.” Schleri, who lives in Beverly, owned Mayflower since 2004. He says since COVID, people don’t need dry cleaning as much. “Times have changed, especially with the pandemic. There’s remote work, Zoom meetings and an increase in casual wear. The bills keep going up and fewer people are coming in.” Scherli said he tried to get another