The discovery of ‘Marblehead Ocean’

BY BOB BAKER

As an idea guy who’s lived in Marblehead for over 50 years and whose main gig is branding, it’s amazing I didn’t set about getting “Marblehead Ocean” on the map — literally — years ago.

The lightning struck as I was rambling thoughts on Marblehead Light and trying to find an image that embodied the proud heritage of that iconic iron tower. The image-defining question I’d been asking myself was, “What bespeaks Marblehead in a bigpicture symbolic sense?”

Subtly implicit “Marblehead Ocean” answers came back in volleys. For openers, a tiny cove in Marblehead was a veritable spawning ground for the fishing industry in this country. You get a hold of Hugh Bishop and Brenda Bishop Booma’s book “Marblehead’s First Harbor” and get ready for a jaw-dropping ride.

Back then in the 1600s, Marblehead boasted more fishermen than Gloucester, for Linc Hawkes’ sake!

By 1809, as many as 116 fishing schooners from Marblehead were braving hundreds and hundreds of round-trip miles of storm-crazed ocean to work the North Atlantic’s murderous Grand Banks … on a twice-yearly basis!

That’s a bunch of Marblehead Ocean we’re talking right there. Crippling injuries and loss of life to the crews on those schooners away for long stretches of time were forever taking their toll on the homefront extension of Marblehead Ocean. But the women of Marblehead were as ingeniously adaptable and selfsufficient a breed as the men.

What’s more, in 1816, they created a marvelous institution of outreach and charitable assistance, the Marblehead Female Humane Society, to assist the sisterhood of the oceangoing then and Marblehead families to this day — a story well told in Robert Booth’s “Women of Marblehead,” yet another glorious rendition of Marblehead Ocean.

If it weren’t for Marblehead’s

Letters To The Editor

STEAM fair article exhibited gender bias

To the editor:

My child participated in the recent STEAM fair at the Brown School. She loves science and is quite the foodie. While it would mean a tight timeline and my assistance as an already overloaded parent, I was wholeheartedly in support when she exclaimed, “I want to participate!”

We went onto the website that very night. “Objective for your project and title?”

“I want to create a healthier energy drink that has less sugar and no caffeine. My title is Energy Drink 2.0.”

How she came up with the idea, I have no idea. I got out every ingredient I could find for her to consider. She began, “Coconut water and spinach to start.” “Too green…kids will never drink that! Let’s add strawberries to make it pink!”

“Oh no, it turned brown. Let’s add blueberries and make it purple!” “It’s not sweet enough, I’m going to add a little honey. Now, it’s too thick and coconut

Silva

From P. A6 speak. Whether they know a lot about town government or next to nothing.

(It must be noted that both types of speakers really do love speaking. And speaking.)

Consider this, if nothing else: In a town of nearly 20,000 residents, just 300 voters are considered a quorum of the town’s 16,232 registered voters.

Therefore, the way our Open Town Meeting works, when 300 voters have seated themselves in the auditorium, that is considered enough voters to make monumental decisions about the way the town is zoned, the structure of its policies, and how its schools, town employees and town services are funded. Again: whether they choose to be informed or not.

Year to year, attendance at Town Meeting fluctuates depending on how “popular” (or unpopular) warrant article proposals seem to be. Sometimes, thousands of voters

John Glover and his regiment of steel-nerved sea warriors, we’d all be speaking British today. During the Revolutionary War, time after time, in battle after battle and rescue after rescue, Glover and crew extended Marblehead Ocean to the banks of the Delaware and back.

As Patrick K. O’Donnell says in his page-racing paean to Marblehead, “The Indispensables,” “The Marblehead men bested the greatest naval power on earth … creating the first American navy, which would serve as the origins of the U.S. Navy.”

Thus, by way of the U.S. Navy, Marblehead Ocean spans the world. And another kind of world: “World Capital of Yacht Racing” is a large claim for a small town. But to set the stage, this town of 20,000 brinespeckled citizens has a postcard view of 2,000 or so stilettohulled boats, a forest of masts spearing the horizon of a harbor rimmed with yacht clubs and confident homes.

Sailors from Marblehead Ocean have won enough silverware in regattas around the world to overflow Fort Knox — including the granddaddy of them all, the America’s Cup. Marblehead sailors are vying for more silver in the elite Resolute Cup sponsored by the New York Yacht Club in Newport this summer.

Maddie’s Sail Loft is an aspect of Marblehead Ocean known as “the most popular sailors’ bar in the world.” And maybe beyond. Years ago in the National Enquirer, in the course of a supposed “Interview With an Alien’’ whose spaceship landed outside Alamogordo, New Mexico, Joe Alien (or whatever his name was), asked, “Is the Assassin still pouring in Maddie’s there in Marvelhead?” (For all their technical acumen, aliens are notoriously bad spellers.)

*** I got Marblehead Ocean notarized right away (May 6) as a form of registration. Getting it certified by the WCO (World Confederation of Oceans), included on world maps and in international media along with the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern oceans might not happen overnight, I can only assume. At least a couple of months, I’d assume (heh, heh). flavored, I’m going to add water.”

But as discovered here, Marblehead is understood as synonymous with, one-toone with, inherently native to, historically, physically and culturally true to the “ocean.” The symbolic identity, the iconic image, our Marblehead light tower should proudly embody is ocean. The color for ocean is blue — Navy blue for Marblehead, birthplace of the American Navy, would be appropriate. The tower is currently brown, drab institutional brown. Has been that color for the most part since the tower was built in 1896. That is supposedly its “traditional” color, but it honors no other “tradition” than that was the color (Prince’s Metallic Brown) specified by the Coast Guard in 1896. Appropriate for the birthplace of the American Army — not Marblehead. Marblehead’s true color: Navy blue. Bob Baker is a fan of Mark Twain, Sara Murphy, Patrick Mahomes and peanut butter.

When she finished, I used a recipe app to check her work. She had indeed created a drink that was healthier, had less sugar, no caffeine, and more calories (energy) than Gatorade. She was so proud.

Every night she worked on the project, never complaining. The night before the event, she was still finishing up, glueing her poster together and mixing up another batch to serve as samples. She conquered her anxiety to present her project in a packed auditorium, even convincing some reticent kids to try it.

She saw a reporter interviewing a boy and taking his photo. “Why am I not getting interviewed?” “There are a lot of projects here and only so much space in the newspaper.” As I looked around, I was proud of these kids who chose to do this extra work, outside of school. The breadth of projects was admirable. I felt the palpable excitement and the reverence of the attendees. I rejoiced seeing an even mix of all genders participating.

In your recent article covering show up to support — or oppose — a proposal they feel passionate about.

But no matter whether topics are hot or cold, the business of the town can be decided by the majority (sometimes a two-thirds majority) of just 300 people. And, yet again: whether they know anything about the topic or not.

There were some hot issues this year, primarily a vote on whether the town should override the restrictions of Proposition 2 1/2 to avoid major cuts in town services. The vote, on Article 31, was taken on Tuesday night, when 764 people attended and voted in favor by secret paper ballot. (More on that later.)

Following that vote, as often happens, the folks who were most interested in the override left. So, by the time Article 44 came up, to change Select Board terms from yearly to staggered, three-year terms, only 545 voters remained in the auditorium. A major change in an electoral tradition of nearly 400 years was passed, 280 in favor, 265 the event, I was shocked and disappointed to see my child’s efforts reduced to the reference, “with projects ranging from a girl who concocted a sports drink to another who studied the osmosis of gummy bears.”

Never in the article was anyone referred to as “a boy” but rather by their grade level and their given name. Why would my child’s gender be more important than her name, displayed proudly on her poster board right below the title?

While eight traditionally male names were mentioned, included in four photos and their projects detailed, only one traditionally female name was mentioned and the child was photographed. Journalists need to be cognizant of gender bias. Female efforts in the areas of science, engineering and mathematics should be celebrated. Seeing my child’s effort reduced and discounted and gender disproportionately represented struck me at my core. I appeal to you, as well as your readers, to leave gender bias in the past and do better in the future.

Alastar Connor Cloutmans Lane

opposed. That’s a majority of just 15 votes. Majority ruled.

Then there was Wednesday night. Because the entire warrant wasn’t completed Tuesday, the Town Meeting was continued for a third night. There were just six articles left. Those of us who arrived at 6:45 needn’t have worried about finding a parking space — there were plenty. We sat in our seats and waited — and waited — until that arbitrary 300 voters, a quorum, had finally arrived. Sorry, but there’s nothing “pure” about this form of democracy. It’s haphazard. It puts the fate of the many in the hands of too few who are too often uninformed.

My version of pure democracy?

The sanctity of the secret ballot box. A legally registered voter, given a ballot with two or more choices, makes her decision, marks the ballot indicating that decision and turns it in, the secrecy of her choice secure. She may or may not be informed, but she has (one hopes) done her dithering in private. Why do you think so many groups of

Kudos to new town moderator, assistant

To the editor:

I would like to congratulate Moderator Jack Attridge and Assistant Moderator Cindy Schieffer on their debut Town Meeting. This was not an easy one to start with as it featured 50 + articles and an override. Along the way there were a few unexpected twists and turns to say the least. But they kept it going through three nights and got the business of the town done. It is worth saying, by law, moderators have quite a bit of unilateral power. But I commend Mr. Attridge’s conservative approach to his first meeting and not over reaching. While this led to some grumbling about early vote calls and adjournment, in the end those were decisions of Town Meeting members. This was the right approach for a freshman moderator. I look forward to next year’s Town Meeting.

Jim Zisson Mound Road

nine voters requested a secret paper ballot on several warrant articles this year? Because they understood the safety and sanctity of secrecy.

One answer to this unwieldy form of government? The representative town meeting. In this form, the voters in a town select a slate of town meeting members whose diligence and/ or opinions they respect to represent them at their town meeting.

Members are expected to be prepared and honorable, and if voters are displeased with the way they carry out their duties, the representatives can be voted out.

This is admittedly a minority opinion. Of the 292 towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the vast majority follow the open town meeting/ select board/town administrator form of government. Fewer than 50 towns use a representative town meeting/select board/ town administrator form of government. Swampscott, our neighboring community, has a representative town

‘What’s up with the Tree Department?’

To the editor:

I was pleased to see our tree warden helping with the Sustainable Marblehead tree planting efforts. Giving guidance and helping volunteers planting along Cornell and Dartmouth Streets is commendable.

I’m not pleased that two phone calls to his office, one in midJanuary and again on February 17, were a disappointing waste of time.

The messages left with the office worker asked that some of the newly-planted trees along Atlantic Avenue’s commercial zone be pruned.

During the second call, I was told the project was “on the list” of things to be done.

Given the simple task required to nip off the shoulder and eye level sprigs would be a max of five to 10 minutes, I politely offered to do it.

What’s up with the Tree Department? Who is steering the ship?

LETTERS, P. A9 meeting, which probably isn’t an argument in my favor.

I concede that this is an argument whose time has yet to come. Sadly. There may be signs of hope for our current unwieldy form. Occasionally, a local civic group will hold a forum or course about how our town government works. One such lecture series started May 15, sponsored by the town of Marblehead and the estimable League of Women Voters (those smart women you see counting hands at Town Meeting).

Clearly, only a fraction of the multitudes who could benefit from this course will attend, even though the series will be a hybrid of in-person at Abbot Public Library and streaming. But maybe that especially whiny person who kept asking all those very uninformed questions might decide to learn a bit about our town. Fingers are crossed. Crankily.

Marblehead resident Jo Ann Augeri Silva, a retired journalist, author, public relations professional and educator, was an editor of the Marblehead Reporter.