CP_MBHC_20231011_1_A01
IN THIS ISSUE
EDITORIAL
BIG WIN
Stirring the cauldron
MHS football gets on track against Masco
Page 6
OVERSEAS ADVENTURE
NONPROFIT ORG PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
Marblehead Pulitzer-winner reflects on Latvia trip
Page 10
PAID
MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25
Page 11
NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.
TM
October 11, 2023
|
VOLUME 1, ISSUE NO. 44
|
MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG
|
ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
SCHOOL NEWS
Committee votes to hold onto Coffin property Interim super vote delayed BY LEIGH BLANDER At its Oct. 5 meeting, the School Committee voted 3-2 to keep the old Coffin School property rather than return it to the town for possible use as housing. The committee also delayed a decision on a new
interim superintendent. Chair Sarah Fox said it would be “grossly irresponsible” for the district to give up the three-acre Coffin School property, especially given a recent state mandate that Marblehead create zoning rules that would allow nearly 900 new housing units in town.
“If we’re changing our bylaws at the town level to allow up to 870 new units, how in that same breath are we looking to diminish our infrastructure to a point where we will not be able to educate those people?” she asked. The law states that MBTA communities like Marblehead need to zone for denser housing but does not mandate that
»Select board chair responds, Page 7 that housing actually be built. The new zoning needs to be approved at Town Meeting in May, or the town could face financial penalties from the state. Committee member Jenn Schaeffner, who also sits on the
TREASURE HUNT
Affordable Housing Committee, said the town has already given up several school properties. “We’ve given up Roads and Story and other properties over time, and we’re a small town,” she said. “You don’t get that back. We don’t know what the future needs of our district are.” She continued, “We’ve seen SCHOOLS, P. A5
BEYOND THE WITCH CITY
‘Dive guy’ brings cell phone Could town transform back from the depths Salem gridlock into gold? BY WILLIAM J. DOWD
guy is Chris Ruhnke, who moved to Marblehead in February and took over ABC Diving. “When people drop their phones, I get a call,” Ruhnke said. “I like to come out. It’s a fun treasure hunt.” His greatest prize so far? A $3,000 tuna fishing rod that someone had dropped overboard, which he recovered. Ruhnke also does
With a projected record 1 million visitors flocking to Salem this October, the Witch City continues to grow as a Halloween hotspot. But its smaller neighbor, Marblehead, may see opportunities amid the revelry. As parking woes and massive crowds overwhelm Salem each October, are Marblehead businesses and officials missing out on ways to capitalize on the Halloween pilgrimages? Could Marblehead attract visitors seeking historical charm and a family-friendly experiences — without the headaches of overcrowding? “Marblehead is in a unique position to welcome people without it being as overwhelming as Salem,” said Xhazzie Kindle, Marblehead Arts Association director of operations. Kindle suggested improved transportation options like a trolley circuit between the towns. Combined exhibits and performances with arts associations in Salem, Swampscott and Marblehead could also entice visitors, she said. Screening the Halloween classic “Hocus Pocus” on an outdoor screen was another idea, playing off Marblehead’s connection as a filming location for the 1993 movie. For Siobhan Phelan, who owns the boutique All Chic at 152, October brings an influx of shoppers from Salem.
PHONE, P. A4
HALLOWEEN, P. A5
COURTESY PHOTO / TEDDY AND SOPHIE SCHLUETER
‘For the rest of my life, I’m in your debt.’ Ted Schlueter holds up his rescued cell phone next to diver Chris Ruhnke, who found it.
Rescue of device just another day at office for Ruhnke BY LEIGH BLANDER Ted Schlueter thought he was about to have a very bad day when he felt his cell phone slip out of his pocket, fall overboard from his boat and sink to the ocean floor in Salem Harbor over Labor Day weekend. “My heart was crushed,” said the Marblehead marketing executive. “I knew, ‘That thing’s gone.’ I said ‘crap’ — or worse words that I can’t
repeat.” Schlueter asked friends on a nearby boat if he could borrow a mask and then jumped in the water, hoping against hope to find the phone, which also held his license and credit cards. “I got 10 feet down and knew there was no chance,” he said. “The water was frigid, and I couldn’t see anything.” When he got back to his boat, his friends offered to call “a guy.” That
TEMPEST TALES
Marblehead has new ‘true native’ In heart of storm, first heartbeats resound
BY WILLIAM J. DOWD
COURTESY PHOTOS
Emily Sottile and Alex Barker stand outside their Front Street home, the historic Three Cod Tavern, where their new son, August, made his grand entrance.
BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
August Valentine Barker entered the world on a stormy night at home in historic Marblehead, cementing his status as a true native Marbleheader. The 7-pound, 19.5-inch baby boy was born at 9:36 a.m. on Aug. 18 to Emily Valentine Sottile and Alexander James Barker at the 300-year-old site that once housed the town’s original Three Cod Tavern. Due to the closure of Mary Alley
Hospital in the 1960s, most babies born to Marblehead families do not meet the strictest definition of being a town native. “He gets a special status by being born here,” said father Alex Barker. “He’s going to be one of the few kids in his firstgrade classroom, high school class, that can claim (to be) true ’Headers.” Barker and Sottile said they chose a home birth for their first child after watching the 2008 documentary “The Business of
August Valentine Barker, a “True ’Header” born amidst a violent storm in August.
Being Born,” which examines the medicalization of childbirth in America. “It just seemed like the gentlest way for the baby to BABY, P. A14