YOUNG AT HEART
Senior surgeon scores in pickleball
IN THIS ISSUE
Page 10
FISH TALES
HOME RUN
Anglers Club hosts Wounded Warriors expedition
Marblehead singer wows crowd at Fenway
Page 3
Page 8
NONPROFIT ORG PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25
NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.
TM
AUGUST 13, 2025
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VOLUME 3, ISSUE NO. 38
FIRST WAVE 1
A homeowner on the Neck blocks access to a popular beach path. Page 1.
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MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG
2
Town loses $50K grant due to 3A noncompliance. Page 2.
Doc offers 3 Digital prescriptions for
internet safety. Page 5.
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ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
boats your student 5 Does 4 Twenty-four competed in last need to de-stress
weekend’s Corinthian Classic. Page 9.
before the first day of school? This might help. Page 11.
Five facts from this week’s Marblehead Current.
COVE LANE
Neck homeowner blocks access to popular beach pathway BY WILL DOWD A longstanding footpath to the ocean on Marblehead Neck is now the subject of a legal review after a neighboring homeowner moved to restrict public access, raising broader questions about the status of so-called “paper streets” across town. The path, known as Cove Lane,
runs between private homes off Kimball Street and leads to a small beach overlooking Chandler Hovey Park. Though narrow and grassy, Cove Lane has been used informally for decades by residents walking to the shore — and it appears on town maps as a traditional passageway. But in July, one of the
abutters — Gerald M. Shea, of 13 Kimball St. — filed a legal notice asserting his private ownership and warning that no public rights-of-way should be presumed. In the document, Shea stated his intent to block any claim of access “by custom, use or otherwise” by several named individuals and the general
public. The notice was recorded at the Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds on July 21 and posted on the property shortly after. Shea declined to comment.
Community response grows Joe Korzenik, a summer resident who lives on Waldron
Court in the Historic District, discovered the posted signs on July 30 while visiting what he calls his “favorite beach.” That evening, he posted photos and information about the restriction on Facebook to alert the community. For Korzenik, the issue COVE LANE, P. 6
UNDERWATER LIFE
Dentist finds meaning in daily deep dives BY WILL DOWD
COURTESY PHOTOS / RYAN PARK
Ryan Park, a Marblehead resident and free diver, stands in shallow water with a freshly speared tautog in hand. Park routinely dives off the North Shore without scuba gear, harvesting fish and lobsters by hand or pole spear.
Ryan Park slips beneath the surface of Fort Sewall’s waters at dawn, holding his breath for up to four minutes as he descends 30 feet into an underwater world most people never see. Armed with a 6-foot Hawaiian sling spear, the 32-year-old dentist has made these cold New England waters his second home. “Every time I’m in the water, it’s like, it’s extreme, it’s so divine, it’s so pure,” said Park sitting outside Mookie’s, struggling to find words adequate to his experience. “It’s almost like your soul has been purified.” Since moving to Marblehead in
late 2023, Park has immersed himself — literally — in the North Shore’s coastal ecosystem. What began as a solitary, self-taught fascination with free diving (without an oxygen tank) has grown into a daily ritual, a community service and a deeply personal form of meditation.
A pink sea anemone clings to a rocky crevice off the Massachusetts coast, captured by diver Ryan Park during an early morning descent on June 11. The anemone’s tentacles sway in the current, a reminder of the North Shore’s hidden biodiversity.
‘The Deepest Breath’
Park grew up in Niagara Falls, Canada, and relocated to Massachusetts to learn and practice dentistry, specializing in wisdom teeth extraction. But it was a Netflix documentary — “The Deepest Breath” — that transformed his relationship with the ocean and gave PARK, P. 6
A trio of tautog — also known as blackfish — lie beside a pair of sandals and a ruler for scale after a successful dive. The largest fish, weighing over 10 pounds, was taken by free diver Ryan Park in coastal Marblehead waters.
QUITE A GEM
95-year-old jewelry designer launches new business Shirley Rosen, 95, with her daughter, Val White, show off their rings at The Mariner. Rosen designed the rings and is selling them in a new business venture.
CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER
BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
BY LEIGH BLANDER Over her 95 years, Shirley Rosen has had many adventures. She owned the consignment shop Treasure Chest on Pleasant Street for 26 years. She’s a singer and a painter. She even worked as a clown. You might think she’d be slowing down… but you’d be wrong. Rosen, who lives at The Mariner, just launched a new business called Ring-a-DingDing. As CEO, she designs, makes and sells jewelry. “It was a surprise, really,”
Rosen said at a recent interview at The Mariner. “I designed this ring, and it just took off. Everyone’s wearing them.” Rosen will be selling her rings at the Marblehead Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Aug. 16, and at Bobbles and Lace, which is owned by her granddaughter. Rosen and her daughter, Val White, will also be meeting with the manager of the Salem Hospital gift shop soon to talk about a merchandise deal. Rosen created the ring at a monthly jewelry-making class at The Mariner. Her ring is made of
sterling silver beads with a gem stone, colored glass or shell. It takes her about 30 minutes to make each one. She is selling them at the Farmers’ Market for $15 each. (She sells them for a discounted $10 at The Mariner, where they are all the rage.) Rosen was born in Winthrop and moved with her husband, Stanley “Sooky” Rosen, to Marblehead when their daughters were little. Sooky was a professional musician with big bands in Boston and Shirley JEWELER, P. 6