01945 Spring 2019

Stone & Compass | Marblehead Little Theatre | Food and fashion 

Dr. Corine Barone goes the extra 

SMILE 

$5.00 | SPRING 2019 | NO. 4

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02 | 01945 

A publication of Essex Media Group 

Publisher 

Edward M. Grant 

Chief Executive Officer 

Michael H. Shanahan 

Directors 

Edward L. Cahill 

John M. Gilberg 

Edward M. Grant 

Gordon R. Hall 

Monica Connell Healey 

J. Patrick Norton 

Michael H. Shanahan 

Chief Financial Officer 

William J. Kraft 

Chief Operating Officer 

James N. Wilson 

Community Relations Director 

Carolina Trujillo 

Controller 

Susan Conti 

Editor 

Roberto Scalese 

Contributing Editors 

Cheryl Charles 

Emma LeBlanc Perez 

Contributing Writers 

Bill Brotherton 

Gayla Cawley 

Bella diGrazia 

Thomas Grillo 

Thor Jourgensen 

Steve Krause 

Bridget Turcotte 

Photographers 

Spenser Hasak 

Owen O’Rourke 

Paula Muller 

Advertising Sales 

Ernie Carpenter 

Ralph Mitchell 

Patricia Whalen 

Advertising Design 

Trevor Andreozzi 

Mohamed Diop 

Design 

Mark Sutherland 

ESSEX MEDIA GROUP 

110 Munroe St., 

Lynn, MA 01901 

781-593-7700 ext.1234 

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01945themagazine.com 

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER 

You know the drill 

I don’t get the whole hate-the-dentist thing. For some, it begins during childhood when a trip to the 

dentist is on par with being forced to eat turnips at Thanksgiving, and carries through adulthood. 

Given that my diet is about 97 percent sugar, I have no idea why I even have teeth; so I view my dentists 

— Drs. Vilia Mori and Don Feldman — as superheroes, modern-day Annie Sullivans. Miracle workers. 

Dr. David Samost got me through childhood, and Dr. Mori has taken it from there. And Donnie Feldman is 

a special kind of toothsayer. He’s the orthodontist who equipped me with braces when I was . . . wait for it . . . 

50 years old. 

There’s an explanation. Rich Holbrook, the retired chairman and CEO of Eastern Bank, showed up at 

a meeting of the Lynn Business Partnership wearing braces. I waited weeks to ask him why, assuming 

something horrible prompted it. But when I finally did, his answer was magnificent. “I decided,” he said, “I 

didn’t want to wake up at 50 with crooked teeth.” 

OK. Good enough for me. A few weeks later, I was Dr. Feldman’s oldest patient. (I’ll forever appreciate 

his staffs immediately ushering me into his office when I had an appointment to spare me the indignity of 

sitting in his waiting room with a bunch of 13-year-olds. Or to keep Chris Hansen from assuming me a 

candidate for “To Catch a Predator.”) 

A year (and a lot of grief from my friends) later, I had straight teeth. 

And my dentists did it without the help of an alpaca — unlike Dr. Corine Barone, who graces the cover 

of this, the fourth edition, of 01945. She and her husband, orthodontist Dr. Michael Cognata, have an 

office overlooking Redd's Pond that features a mechanical horse and a "dinosaur" dentist's chair. The 

whole idea is to make kids feel comfortable. 

They've always been geared to the unusual when having their fun. For 25 years, "Doc," their miniature 

horse, roamed around their yard. Now, they have a Dutch Friesian horse, Brahm, who occupies a barn in 

Marblehead during the summer (and winters in Ipswich) — and not one, not two, but three alpacas. 

While the closest I want to come to an alpaca is a sweater, Thor Jourgensen’s cover story is bound to 

make you smile. 

Elsewhere, we have a couple of stories of noteworthy historical significance. Abbot Hall is expected to undergo 

a major renovation this spring, with nearly $9 million in funding approved for upgrades and restorations. It was 

built in 1876 and added to the National Historic Register in 1974. Gayla Cawley has the details. 

And where, exactly, did the U.S. Navy originate? There could be many answers to that question, 

including what has always been a healthy debate between Marblehead and Beverly over which community 

served as the birthplace of the Navy. For what it’s worth (nothing), I say Marblehead. But that’s because I 

live here and am publisher of 01945, not 01915. 

Anyway, see Steve Krause's story. 

Robert Goodwin and Julie Kiernan are the founders of Stone & Compass, and their mission is to bring 

people from around the world together to learn about each other. Nineteen teens from Marblehead will be 

off to various locales this summer for some additional education. Read Bill Brotherton's story. 

Elsewhere, Thor reports that the Marblehead Little Theater, which is more than 60 years old, is little 

in name only, with a slate of shows that is extremely ambitious; Bill is back with a story on shared 

office space; Gayla Cawley writes about how the town is battling opioids; Bella diGrazia reports that 

high school kids have enabled National Grand Bank to branch out; and we have the latest in fashion, 

Marblehead-style. 

All that, plus food. 

Be sure to brush after digesting it all. 

INSIDE 

04 What's up 

06 Stone & Compass 

10 Style 

12 House Money 

14 A tooth fairy tale 

18 Wading into naval history 

22 Bouquets 

23 Little in name only 

26 Art of scotch 

28 Office ours 

30 Opioid task force 

32 Branching out 

34 Abbot overhaul 

TED GRANT 

COVER 

"Dr." Ava Pouladian, 7, 

of Marblehead pretends 

to examine Sophia 

Julien, 8, of Swampscott 

as the Tooth Fairy, Dr. 

Corine Barone, looks on. 

PHOTO BY 

Spenser Hasak 

Help save the last 

undeveloped headland 

between Boston and Gloucester 

East Point, Nahant. A rugged finger of land that juts out into the Atlantic surf. Beloved by visitors for its soaring 

cliffs and spectacular views that stretch for miles in every direction, it is an important habitat for migratory birds, 

home to wild animals, butterflies, bees and other pollinators. 

Today, East Point is under threat from Northeastern University (NU). For decades the University has operated a 

small Marine Science Center at East Point, with an unobtrusive campus that integrates neatly within this quiet, 

residential community and the state’s smallest town by land area. 

As part of an aggressive expansion program, NU now plans to construct a 60,000 square foot building at East 

Point, a structure nearly twice as big as the largest existing building in tiny Nahant. Parking lots for hundreds of cars 

will further scar the land, traffic will increase greatly, and the burden on public infrastructure is one Nahant cannot 

sustain. Not only will unique natural habitat be destroyed, but the character of our town will forever change. 

The concerned citizens of Nahant have come together to preserve this precious and wild open space. In an open 

letter, 1,700 residents, representing 60% of the adult population, asked Northeastern to reconsider its expansion 

plans, to no avail. 

We need your help. 

If this permanent loss of the North Shore’s open space concerns you, please write to Ralph C. Martin, Senior Vice 

President and General Counsel for NU at r.martin@northeastern.edu, or call his office at 617-373-2157. 

Thank you for your support. 

Visit our website www.KeepNahantWild.org to learn more. 

Keep Nahant Wild Movement is a part of The Nahant Preservation Trust, Inc., an all-volunteer, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) 

qualified-charitable organization. 

Photo Credit: Dave Morin


Hey April! What's Up? 

A blossoming good time 

WHAT: A small pop-up exhibit of floralthemed 

works by local artists from the 

Marblehead Arts Association. Bring your 

appetite and bring your friends for an 

evening of food, flowers, and art. 

WHERE: The Landing Restaurant, 

81 Front St. 

WHEN: April 2, 5-9 p.m. 

For your future family 

WHAT: Julianna Thibodeaux, a local 

writer, will share tips and tricks for jotting 

down your memories for your future family 

or future generations of Marbleheaders. 

WHERE: Marblehead Museum, 

170 Washington St. 

WHEN: April 4, Noon-1 p.m. 

Me, thee, and Bill Staines 

WHAT: Katherine Rondeau opens up for 

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folk artist Bill Staines. 

WHERE: me&thee coffeehouse, 

28 Mugford St. 

WHEN: April 5, 8 p.m. 

Paint it, live 

WHAT: Join solo exhibitor Lynne Schulte 

in the dining room gallery and observe her 

live painting from a still life that relates to 

her exhibit, “At Water’s Edge.” 

WHERE: Marblehead Arts Association, 

8 Hooper St. 

WHEN: April 6 and April 13, 10 a.m. to 

2:30 p.m. 

Gallery Chit Chat 

WHAT: Join Pat Dunbar for a tour of her 

watercolor solo exhibit in the Schrage gallery. 


8 Hooper St. 


| Located next to Banana Republic 

WHAT'S UP 

Color me Marblehead 

WHAT: Join local artist Tracy Finn for 

an adult coloring night. She will lead a 

workshop where attendees will have the 

opportunity to use a variety of materials 

to create their own piece of Marblehead 

art. 

WHERE: Marblehead Museum, 

170 Washington St. 


An evening with Ronny Cox 

WHAT: Hollywood legend Ronny Cox, 

known for his acting and vocal skills, 

will appear with special guest Radoslav 

Lorkovic. He's held roles on "Nashville," 

"Robocop," "Star Trek," "Beverly Hills Cop," 

and "Deliverance." 




Celebrating new talent 

WHAT: Explore the work of eight artists 

who will present handcrafted work that 

will be for sale in the Artisan Shop. 


8 Hooper St. 


Music with Martyn 

WHAT: According to BBC Radio 2's Bob 

Harris, vocal performer Martyn Joseph gives 

the best live music experience. In a slew 

of reviews, he is applauded for his lyrical 

intelligence. 




Mixing it up 

WHAT: Join solo exhibitor Eleanor Fisher 

as she demonstrates how she incorporates 

mixed media and texture techniques into 

her glass shard paintings. It will be an 

interactive demonstration with opportunities 

for attendees to try out her methods and 

materials. 


8 Hooper St. 

WHEN: April 28, 3-4:30 p.m. 

Summer at the J Camp 

is the place to be this summer! 

AMAZING CAMPS FOR TODDLERS TO TEENS! 

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SPRING 2019 | 07 

Husband and wife duo Robert Goodwin and Julie Kiernan are the co-founders of Stone & Compass. 

PHOTO: SPENSER HASAK 

One Sunday evening in mid- 

February, Robert Goodwin 

and Julie Kiernan stood in 

front of a group of high-school and 

college students and their parents at the 

Work Loft in downtown Marblehead. 

The married co-founders of Stone & 

Compass, a non-profit organization 

born in 2012 out of their dream to bring 

people from around the world together 

to learn about each other through 

community-engaged international travel 

or by building sustainable projects, were 

about to surprise 19 Marblehead teens 

with the news they'd be spending much 

of their summer in such countries as 

Bulgaria, Bosnia and Serbia to work on 

development projects. 

Students away at college participated 

via technology, their phones lined up 

on a shelf. The young interns' projects 

include building a community center 

in Bulgaria, working on a solar project 

for low-income residents in Mexico, 

promoting agriculture work with youth 

in Dominica, finding solutions to food 

insecurity and renewable energy in 

the Azores, and running the first-ever 

study-abroad program with the Maasai 

in Kenya. 

Goodwin and Franco Zuccoli, 

director of outreach, were able to raise 

the funds to send the 19 interns abroad 

thanks to many generous donors in 

Marblehead and throughout the U.S. 

We all have the ability to make a 

difference. The smallest thing can transform 

a society and 

community. When 

you do a selfless act 

and do not expect 

anything in return, it's 

invigorating 

Stone & Compass has 27 projects taking 

place in 13 countries, Goodwin said. 

Some 50 Marblehead kids have traveled 

abroad in the past. 

"People here in Marblehead realize 

they can make a difference. We all have 

the ability to make a difference. The 

smallest thing can transform a society 

and community. When you do a selfless 

act and do not expect anything in return, 

it's invigorating," said Goodwin. 

The student interns and their 

assignments: Anna Tyrell and Maeve 

Caldwell, Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia, 

— Robert Goodwin 

Bulgaria; Jack Maniaci, Rei Newman 

and Tara Caldwell, Bulgaria; Julia 

McGrath and Malachy McAdams, 

Serbia; Annie Hollister, Kenya; Hana 

Carter, Eila Sullivan and Carter 

Murray, the Azores; Callie O’Neill, 

Italy; Andrew Dearborn and Olivia 

Benson, Bulgaria; Gabriella Mark 

and Chloe Rieckelman, Mexico; Ben 

Jarrett, Bulgaria and Romania; Meryl 

Hollister and Ava Ulian, Dominica. 

Murray, Sullivan and Hana Feingold 

will also be going to the United Nations 

to talk about their Stone & Compass 

BY BILL BROTHERTON

08 | 01945 SPRING 2019 | 09 

experience in front of the general 

assembly. 

Goodwin believes in helping others, 

just as he was handed a lifeline during a 

low point in his life. A 14th-generation 

Marbleheader — his forebears include 

members of the Goodwin and Peach 

(Peaches Point, Peach Highlands) 

families — Goodwin overcame 

overwhelming odds. He dropped out 

of high school and lived on the streets 

of Boston for several years, until a 

benefactor gave him guidance and a 

second chance. 

"I was a rambunctious, outgoing kid. 

But at 15, I fell by the wayside. All tried 

to help me; I resisted," he said. "I was 

kicked out of high school and eventually 

became homeless in Boston. I would go 

on to meet a wonderful man, who put 

me back on the straight and narrow." 

Goodwin earned his GED and took his 

first college class at age 20. He entered 

a program for disadvantaged youth at 

North Shore Community College and 

"fell in love with education," going on to 

earn multiple degrees, work as a teacher, 

write and publish several books, and 

create many businesses in various fields. 

"I wake up every day and feel I am 

the luckiest man in the world," he said. 

Julie Kiernan and Robert Goodwin take part in a ribbon cutting ceremony in Bulgaria. 

COURTESY PHOTO 

"Not a day goes by that I don't cry tears 

of happiness." 

Kiernan, his partner in life and 

business, is a professor of Theatre & 

Speech Communication at Salem 

State University. She creates and runs 

the youth programming at Stone & 

Compass, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that also 

runs eco-tours and popular "Eat Your 

Way Through Italy" wine-and-cheese 

trips. All profits are reinvested into youth 

programs and its global sustainable 

projects, she said. 

Eight years ago, Goodwin threw 

a dart at a map of the world. It hit 

Bulgaria, so that was where Goodwin 

and Kiernan would focus their efforts. 

They had $9 in the bank. What if that 

dart landed on Siberia or Antarctica? 

Did Kiernan question whether she had 

married a lunatic? 

"Oh, I thought I married a lunatic 

long before eight years ago," she said, 

with a laugh. 

"When we got married, we decided 

we would try not to live someone else's 

dream. We are two individuals who had a 

dream and followed it. … Rob came back 

from Bulgaria and said, 'Yeah, I think we 

should do the project there.'" 

The couple moved from California to 

Marblehead, so their son, Cole, now 12, 

could be born here, the 15th generation 

of Goodwins. They live in a modest twobedroom, 

one-bath home, said Kiernan. 

Last year, Stone & Compass, 

through a donation from an "amazing" 

Marblehead man, was able to acquire 

a theater and building in Stolat, 

Bulgaria. The organization brings youth 

from Marblehead and surrounding 

communities to Bulgaria and connects 

them with Bulgarian youth. Together, 

they create a place that serves the local 

community and international students 

alike. 

Plans include rebuilding the theater 

to make it operational for use as a 

showcase for international art, drama and 

music programs; adding an intercultural 

library and a community center; creating 

a museum; and implementing a free 

health clinic. Their Stolat Cultural 

Center will be renovated this summer to 

help revitalize the local economy. 

Goodwin and Zuccoli are now 

focused on raising $50,000 for 

the theater project at the Bulgaria 

educational and cultural center that 

opened in 2014. 

If you would like to help out or learn 

more, go to www.stoneandcompass.com. 

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"Ecco" soft white sneaker. $150 

PHOTOS BY SPENSER HASAK 

Put away the snow boots; warmer weather is upon 

us. Sneakers are in and sandals are still a must-have 

for the season. Whether it's a dress or a power suit, 

sneakers add a relaxing touch to any look. Sandals 

made to look good with almost anything mean we are 

one step closer to summer. 

Shoe Galley, 46 Atlantic Ave., is a great option for all 

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"Eric Michael" tan 

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HOUSE MONEY 

A peek inside 

232 Ocean Avenue 

SALE PRICE: $2,750,000 

SALE DATE: December 7, 2018 

LISTING PRICE: $3,195,000 

TIME ON MARKET: 

188 days (May 1, 2018) 

LISTING BROKER: 

Brian Skidmore, Sagan Harborside 

Sotheby’s International Realty 

SELLING BROKER: 

Jack Attridge, William Ravies Real 

Estate & Home Services 

LATEST ASSESSED 

VALUE: $2,533,800 

PREVIOUS SALE PRICE: 

$2,500,000 (2014) 

PROPERTY TAXES: $27,922 

YEAR BUILT: 2000 

LOT SIZE: 1.78 acres 

LIVING AREA: 3,273 square feet 

ROOMS: 10 

BEDROOMS: 4 

BATHROOMS: 3 

SPECIAL FEATURES: 

Contemporary shingle-style home 

on Marblehead Neck with water 

views. The sun-drenched home 

includes a chef’s kitchen, a covered 

porch, a second-floor deck, a two-car 

attached garage, and a private beach. 

Source: MLS Property Information Network. 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOEL GROSS PHOTOGRAPHY


A 

TOOTH 

FAIRY 

TALE 

BY THOR JOURGENSEN 

There's a simple reason why pediatric 

dentist Dr. Corine Barone raises alpacas, 

dresses as the Tooth Fairy, and marches in 

town parades. 

"If you're not having fun, you're not living," she said. 

Barone and her husband, orthodontist Dr. 

Michael Cognata, maintain a practice 

at 210 Humphrey St. and another in 

Middleton. Cognata also has a Boston 

practice. 

Their offices are devoted to 

customer service — note the 2018 

Marblehead Chamber of Commerce 

Business of the Year award they 

received — but the doctors are also big 

on having fun. 

Outfitted with a colorful, cozy waiting 

room, a mechanical horse, and a "dinosaur" 

dentist's chair, the Humphrey Street practice 

is designed to make kids feel comfortable. 

Like the couple's Marblehead Neck 

home, the office overlooks a pond. 

Barone and Cognata have a 

combined 66 years of professional 

experience between them, 

but their love for Marblehead 

and their involvement in town 

life extends well beyond their 

practices. 

More than a few Old Town and 

Neck residents remember Doc, the 

couple's miniature horse who enjoyed wandering from 

their former backyard down to Redd's Pond for some 

leisurely grazing. 

Doc lived for 25 years and is now immortalized, 

along with the couple's assorted other animal 

friends, in a painting occupying a place of honor 

in their Brown Street library. 

Barone delights in donning a floor-length 

pink gown and visiting schools to talk about 

Drs. Michael Cognata and Corine Barone 

PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK AND OWEN O'ROURKE 

A dinosaur-themed exam chair at Drs. Michael Cognata and Corine Barone's Marblehead practice. 

Dr. Corine Barone wears a Tooth Fairy dress to make 

her patients feel at ease. 

dental hygiene. She is an Easter 

celebration staple in town, appearing 

in Seaside Park where she tosses out 

toothbrushes to kids. 

Cognata is a member of Glover's 

Regiment, the Revolutionary War reenactment 

organization replete with 

period uniformst. 

"We've done massive events, 

including crossing the Delaware (River) 

in exact replicas (of what) Washington 

used. It was surreal," Cognata said. 

Married for 34 years, the husband 

and wife are active in town. She is a 

Marblehead Rotary Club member and 

he is involved in the Rotary Club of 

Marblehead Harbor. 

"Marblehead has such a sense of 

community and people who really care 

and appreciate others," Cognata said. 

High atop a hill, their Brown Street 

home borders the Marblehead Neck 

Wildlife Sanctuary and is surrounded 

by five acres of property they assembled 

to provide room for a barn, stables and 

room to wander for their animals. 

They imported Brahm, their Dutch 

Friesian horse, from Holland. The 

horse winters in Ipswich, returning to 

DENTISTS, page 17 

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DENTISTS, continued from page 15 

Marblehead in the summer to occupy 

a barn with two stalls and topped by a 

copper-covered cupola. 

"My passion is preservation of 

open space. We tend not to embrace 

preservation as much as we should. If the 

Colosseum was in the United States, they 

would have knocked it down," she said. 

Alpacas Bella, Pumpkin and Sammy 

spend time between a small barn and a 

pen. Caring for animals is an extension of 

Barone's youth on Long Island, where she 

grew up surrounded by ducks and horses. 

Always a lover of costumes and 

initially interested in fashion design, she 

gravitated to medicine, earning degrees 

at Tufts and Harvard. 

Cognata grew up behind Everett 

Square and attended Boston College High 

School. His father, Joseph, was a dentist 

and a boyhood passion for science made 

it easy for Cognata to pick dentistry as a 

profession and specialize in orthodentry. 

He opened an Everett practice in 

1982 and set up shop in Swampscott on 

New Ocean Street several years later. 

Barone set her sights on opening their 

Marblehead practice in 1991. 

"I knew there wasn't a pediatric 

Dr. Corine Barone with Sammy and Bella, two of her three alpacas. 

practice in town," she said. 

The couple lived in Old Town in the 

late 1980s and early 1990s when the late 

Doc made his forays around Marblehead. 

Their participation in town events 

and organizations and their practice 

still leaves them time to travel aboard, 

including trips sponsored by charitable 

organizations to Honduras and Moldavia 

where they provided dental care. 


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Whitehill, N.Y., claim that the 

Continental Army, under the command 

of Benedict Arnold (one and the same), 

was a launch point for naval amphibious 

maneuvers on Lake Champlain. At the 

time, though, the Army and fledgling 

Navy were not part of the same 

organizational effort, the way they are 

now, which is why some naval forces 

were called "George Washington's 

Navy." 

So, the question isn't so much "where 

was the birthplace of the U.S. Navy" as it 

is "how many of them were they?" 

All of the above comes from a 

document produced by the Naval History 

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Wading 

into 

naval 

hist ry 

First things first. On Oct. 13, 1775 

— six months after the first shots of 

the American Revolution were fired 

in Lexington and Concord — the 

Continental Congress adopted a 

resolution to acquire two armed vessels. 

That proclamation represents the first 

seed of what is now the United States 

Navy. 

This would seem pretty definitive. But 

the question has persisted for almost 250 

years: even though the Navy was born 

out of legislation adopted by a group 

of revolutionaries (the Declaration of 

Independence would not be signed for 

another nine months) in Philadelphia, 

where did it actually, physically, begin? 

Shortly after the original vote, the 

Continental Congress established a naval 

committee, which directed the process of 

building the first ships of the new Navy, 

and prepared the rules and regulations 

that governed its administration. 

The purchase and fitting of the first 

four ships of the Continental Navy took 

place in a port of Philadelphia, which 

would be a logical place to pick as the 

Navy's birthplace, with Oct. 13, 1775, 

BY STEVE KRAUSE 

as its birthday. That's the U.S. Navy's 

position, at least. 

Other communities, Marblehead 

being one of them, have other ideas. 

The Navy also recognizes the roles other 

cities and towns played in its creation, 

as well as the American Revolution in 

general. But it does not recognize any 

individual community as the official, and 

only, place of origin. 

Thus, several locales besides 

Philadelphia lay claim to being the 

"birthplace of the Navy," including 

Maine, Rhode Island, Beverly and 

Marblehead. 

For example, Providence, R.I., claims 

it's the location of the first call for 

the establishment of a Navy. Maine's 

assertion is that the seizing of the 

British Royal Navy schooner Margaretta 

occurred in its waters. 

Both Beverly and Marblehead have 

similar claims: that they were the sites 

from which small schooners George 

Washington used in the autumn and 

winter of 1775-1776 to harass British 

transport ships originated. 

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and Heritage Command in 2017. 

Now, let's get into the specific claims 

of both Beverly and Marblehead, because 

they involve the same schooner — the 

Hannah. 

In the early fall of 1775, the Hannah 

was the first ship Washington, who was 

named commander of the Continental 

Army in June of that year, used in 

skirmishes to hound British supply 

vessels. It was modified and launched 

in Beverly, which is why that city has 

claimed the Navy's birthplace. 

But not so fast, Beverly. 

The Hannah was owned and 

operated by Marblehead residents, 

according to Peter Stacey, a volunteer 

for the Marblehead Historical 

Commission. 

"It was Marblehead men and 

Marblehead ownership," Stacey said. 

Perhaps in an effort to concede the 

many historical origins of the U.S. Navy, 

the sign in Beverley commemorating the 

city as "the birthplace of the American 

Navy" has been changed to one claiming 

it as Washington's naval base in 1775- 

1776. 

Besides, even though the Hannah 

was launched from Beverly, it was 

comprised of Marbleheaders, said 

Aquathin Greater Boston 

Water Purification Systems 

national archivist Trevor Plante. 

"The Hannah was owned by a man 

from Marblehead, its contractor was from 

Marblehead, it was leased to Washington, 

and it was outfitted as an armed vessel in 

Beverly," Plante said. 

If you're following along, 

this excursion happened before 

the Continental Congress even 

commissioned a Navy, which happened a 

month later. 

When Washington took command of 

the Continental Army in 1775, British 

forces controlled Boston. At the time, 

Washington was short of ammunition 

while England's could be easily fortified 

via the sea even though the rebels had 

cut off supplies via land. 

It is suggested, according to 

documents provided by the Marblehead 

Historical Commission, that either 

Col. John Glover or John Marley, both 

Marbleheaders, may have suggested 

to Washington that he create his own 

navy by converting charter boats and 

manning them with soldiers from several 

New England regiments. These included 

fishing schooners and small merchant 

ships. 

The first of these was the Hannah, 

a fishing schooner, owned by Jonathan 

Glover of Marblehead. Washington put 

Nicholas Broughton, one of the captains 

of Col. Glover's Regiment, also from 

Marblehead, in command of the Hannah. 

Broughton, in turn, manned the vessel 

with 38 men who were also part of the 

regiment. 

Washington told Broughton to seize 

British warships and transports carrying 

supplies. Broughton launched the 

Hannah from Beverly on Sept. 5, 1775, 

and the excursion was successful. As a 

result, other ships of a similar nature 

were chartered and manned with local 

troops and met with resounding success. 

When the British finally evacuated 

Boston on March 17, 1776, the modified 

expeditionary forces had captured 35 

vessels. 

In addition, Marblehead played a role 

in two of the bigger naval battles in the 

early part of the Revolution. Manley's 

Lee captured the British transport 

Nancy off Cape Ann, which had a 

veritable treasure trove of ammunition; 

and in May 1776 James Mugaford, on 

the armed schooner Franklin, captured 

the British transport Hope, laden with 

gun carriages, 1,000 carbines, 1,500 

barrels of powder and other munitions, 

all of which were invaluable to the 

Serving the North Shore since 1972 

patriots, who were constantly running 

out of supplies. 

When Congress finally established a 

formal Navy, Manley and Samuel Tucker 

of Marblehead were given commissions 

and ultimately became commodores. 

In the Battle of Long Island in 

August 1776, Washington's troops were 

saved from almost certain annihilation 

or capture when Glover's fishermen 

snatched his entire force of 9,000 men 

and ferried them across the East River in 

the dead of night. 

In the end, 22 naval vessels were 

named for Marblehead men. But by the 

close of the revolution, the town was 

impoverished. And according to town 

records, there were 459 widows and 

854 orphaned children. There are 600 

American Revolution veterans buried 

in the ancient cemetery on Old Burial 

Hill, which was established in the 

1600s. 

The only logical conclusion one can 

reach is that the impetus behind the 

establishment of the U.S. Navy — from 

conception to action — came first from 

Marbleheaders who joined forces with 

George Washington's army to keep the 

British from rearming and crushing the 

American Revolution in its infancy. 

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PHOTOS BY SPENSER HASAK 

April showers bring 

May flowers 

But, if you live in 

Marblehead, you can get 

your floral fix anytime. 

Two of Marblehead's 

unique boutiques show us 

their versions of a spring 

bouquet to help distract 

from the unpredictable 

New England weather. 

Theatre is 

Little in name only 

BY THOR JOURGENSEN 

With origins dating back to the 

1950s, Marblehead Little Theatre 

(MLT) has attracted aspiring thespians 

ages 4 to 90 to its stage productions, 

childrens and teen actor programs and 

playwrights group with an enduring 

motto: "If you have an idea, become 

involved." 

Board of Directors President Steve 

Black said those words underscore a 

philosophy that is rooted in an allvolunteer, 

constantly changing group of 

casts, stage hands, theater supporters and 

audiences who have come to love and 

support the organization. 

"One of the biggest things is we 

want to bring in new people. It's not an 

insider's club," Black said. 

In 2018, the theater staged 18 

productions from September through the 

summer season, including seven stage 

shows. Tickets are $25 and expenses 

are carefully watched and managed, 

beginning with costs associated with 

royalties paid to show creators. 

"We have no debt. The reality is 

everything is more expensive than it was 

10 years ago," facilities manager Andrew 

Barnett said. 

The theater seats 90 with a "black 

box" design allowing productions to stage 

actors and place the audience wherever 

the director wants. 

"It's immersive," Black said. 

Production and rehearsals are 

underway to stage "Jesus Christ 

Superstar" from April 5-14. 

The music and drama audiences will 

enjoy during the spring production has 

roots in months of planning. 

Preparations for "Jesus Christ 

Superstar" grew out of a planning 

committee discussion in January 2018 

to choose productions for the upcoming 

season. Once the committee settled on a 

play, members turned their attention to 

determining if the copyright privileges 

to producing the play were available. 

With the rights to produce in hand, 

the committee focused on assembling a 

creative team — typically composed of 

six people — to get to work. 

By December 2018, the team was 

ready to audition a cast for "Jesus Christ 

Superstar." 

"If you start the process any later 

than six months before a production, you 

are late," said executive producer Emily 

Black, who is married to Steve Black. 

A former high school actor with music 

training, she melded corporate event 

training with her love for acting. 

Rehearsals for "Jesus Christ 

Superstar" will span seven weeks and 

are held three times a week in the 

evenings. Rehearsals for different parts 

of the musical are grouped around cast 

availability. 

"It's like putting a puzzle together," 

Steve Black said. 

Rooted in a 1955 initiative by the 

Women's Club of Marblehead, MLT is 

one of the oldest community theaters in 

the country, said Steve Black. The theater 

THEATRE, page 35 

Flores Mantilla, 164 Washington St. $150 

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- dusty miller 

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- Bells of Ireland 

- Hyacinths 

- Fuji 

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- mini succulent 

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- "Beatrice 

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garden roses 

- parrot tulips 

- Hyacinth 

- Helleborus 

- Viburnum 

- sweetpea 

Above, Marc Menard, and Lou Schoenthal, right, move 

equipment at Marblehead Little Theatre. Below, Bill Smalley 

helps move chairs. 

PHOTOS: OWEN O'ROURKE

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The art of scotch 

The Marblehead Arts 

Association hosted its fourth 

annual "Art of Scotch" in 

February, giving attendees a 

chance to sample the best of 

the Highlands and moors. 

Nestled between the art 

galleries inside King Hooper 

Mansion, tasters were given 

three flights of Whisky (no 

"e," please; that's for Irish 

and American grain mash 

alcohols) to try over the 

course of a meal. 

PHOTOS: 

SPENSER HASAK 

Nicholas Delegianis, left, and James Regis, both of Marblehead 

From left, Jason Iovanna of Boston, Peter Tarpinian of Marblehead, and 

Paul Brzozowski of Swampscott 

From left, Eleanor Fisher and Dennis Treece of Lynn, and Peggy 

Schrage of Marblehead 

From left, David Balabon of Swampscott, Marcia Strouss of 

Swampscott, and Paul Kotakis of Beverly 

Douglas Harris of Swampscott enjoys the Art 

of Scotch fundraiser.


Kathy Wilder 

One of the open spaces in Work Loft. 

BY BILL BROTHERTON 

More of us are working from home 

than ever before. Recently released data 

from the U.S. census shows that 5.2 

percent of Americans — 8 million — 

worked remotely last year. 

That doesn't surprise Noelle LeBlanc, 

who, with her husband John Harrison, 

owns and operates the Work Loft, a 

co-working community on Spring Street 

that rents office space to entrepreneurs 

and other independent business 

professionals. 

"We fill a need," said LeBlanc, who 

moved with her hubby and two boxer 

OFFICE 

Blake Jackson and Work Loft owner Noelle LeBlanc chat 

at the Work Loft in Marblehead. PHOTOS: PAULA MULLER 

OURS 

dogs to Marblehead in 2011. "Because 

sometimes, working from your kitchen 

table or garage or basement just doesn't 

work." 

LeBlanc and Harrison had worked 

in the high tech field in Amsterdam, 

Germany and Belgium, before settling 

in Marblehead. Both worked from 

home, which can be a solitary, isolating 

experience, LeBlanc said, adding, "I 

worked remotely and I'd be in my 

sweatpants all day some days." 

LeBlanc said she and her husband 

opened the Work Loft on a hunch, 

correctly assuming there were many local 

professionals who were in the same place 

Blake Jackson 

Mike Rozinsky and Virginia Spell 

they were — no brick-and-mortar office 

to go to every day. "Being here frees you 

of distractions, and the energy we can 

draw from each other is amazing," she 

said. 

Let's say you have a client coming 

to town, and rather than meeting in 

the Starbucks across the street or the 

living room of your home, this open, 

inviting space is a viable option. Don't 

feel like commuting into the city when 

it's snowing? The Work Loft offers day 

passes. While the kids are in school, 

many moms and dads get business done 

here without distractions like laundry 

and meal prep. 

"A lot of people are not familiar 

with the concept of co-working. It's an 

open, flexible workspace," said LeBlanc. 

"We created attractive, functional 

areas to support various work styles 

and preferences. It's a bright, fresh 

environment with comfortable seating, 

plenty of natural light, and the support 

of a community of entrepreneurs, 

freelancers, and local professionals." 

There's comfy seating where one can 

read a newspaper, have a cup of coffee 

and take a break. There are shared tables 

that offer the flexibility to work side by 

side or sit together and collaborate. There 

are personal tables, even raised tables, 

where workers can stand rather than 

sit. Need a quiet, private place to make 

a call? There are five sound-insulated 

phone rooms. There's a conference room 

for meetings. And there's a kitchen area. 

There are printers, copiers and 

lightning-fast internet. There is coffee, 

snacks and baked goods, too. But there 

are no trendy foosball tables or Nerf 

blasters. "The people who come here are 

professionals, mostly from Marblehead. 

They are generally 35 to 65 years old and 

they have work to do." 

That doesn't mean the Work Loft is 

all work and no play. 

The walls are painted comforting 

colors, and feature wonderful 

photographs by Fletcher Boland, who 

rents space here as well. Relaxing music 

( Jamie Cullum, John Mayer, Diana Krall) 

via Pandora plays on a large TV. And 

although the space is often library-quiet, 

business-related conversations do take 

place. 

Blake Jackson, owner of a 

Marblehead-based internet technology 

company, said he is much more 

productive working here than in his 

home office. "I've worked at home for 

15 years, but I've found I get more done 

here. Plus, there's a community of likeminded 

professionals here and there's a 

camaraderie that I like." 

Mike Rozinsky, a prescient cofounder 

of WorkTable, a small-butinnovative 

co-working space that opened 

on Washington Street in 2015 and was 

acquired by a large company about a year 

later, these days uses the Work Loft as 

the business address for his management 

consulting firm. "I make many more 

connections in the community here. Plus, 

there's something about getting out of 

the home, and away from the to-do list. 

The family sees you and thinks 'Daddy's 

home. We can play with Daddy.' But 

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Daddy has to work. Out of sight, out of 

mind is accomplished here. And I get a 

lot of work done." 

April 1 will mark the second 

anniversary of the Work Loft, the former 

site of a Talbots clothing store and a 

pilates studio. "We opened on April 

Fools' Day," said LeBlanc, with a laugh. 

"It was snowy and cold. We held an open 

house, and people signed up on that very 

first day." There are now approximately 

150 members, but not all use the space 

at the same time. LeBlanc said space is 

always available. A day pass costs $30. 

A private office costs $595 per month. 

Full-time access to any open space is 

$275 per month, and there are numerous 

other part-time and full-time flexible 

membership options. A manager is onsite 

during business hours, Monday-Friday 

from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

The couple bought the building and 

a total rehab began in November 2016. 

LeBlanc handled the design and look. 

Harrison worked with the contractors 

and supervised the reno. 

"I'd never done a project like this. My 

job was to decorate … everything. It was 

quite an undertaking," said LeBlanc, who 

has created a beautiful space. 

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NOT-SO-SIMPLE 

TASK: 

FORCE 

OPIOIDS 

OUT 

BY GAYLA CAWLEY 

Some may think of Marblehead as an 

affluent, picture-perfect community. But 

the opioid epidemic is one that affects all 

ages and social classes. 

"It's hard not to be touched by this 

in some way," said Marblehead Police 

Chief Robert Picariello. "No community 

is immune to this problem. This is a 

problem that touches anywhere." 

Two years ago, the town became more 

aggressive in fighting its growing opioid 

overdose issue. 

Picariello and former Town 

Administrator John McGinn started 

talking and got a group together after 

realizing many town departments were 

affected by the opioid crisis, each coming 

at it from a different angle. The decision 

was made to coordinate their efforts so 

there wasn't any approach missing on 

how to tackle the issue. 

Out of that came the formation of 

the Opioid Task Force, also called an 

Opioid Working Group, made up of first 

responders, town and school officials, and 

social workers. 

Efforts started small with 

information on overdose risks, 

prevention and response disseminated 

on the town's website, along with 

providing resources on where to seek 

help. 

In 2017, the group's first year, a 

short film meant to encourage the safe 

use and disposal of drugs and keeping 

Marblehead Police Chief Robert Picariello is a member of the Marblehead Opioid Task Force. 

PHOTO: SPENSER HASAK 

them out of the hands of children was 

shown in a widely attended public forum. 

The screening was followed by a panel 

discussion, which included experts on 

opioid addiction, a person in recovery 

and a parent who had lost a child to 

addiction. 

The group has since grown, partnering 

with more schools. Hidden in Plain 

Sight, an educational program run in the 

town's schools, is an interactive display 

No community is 

immune to this problem. 

This is a problem that 

touches anywhere. 

— Police Chief Robert Picariello 

for parents and adults that shows how 

various common household items, or 

those easily ordered online, can be signs 

of drug use. 

The group has also enlisted Dr. 

Ruth Potee to speak publicly about 

why people get addicted in terms of 

the physiology of the brain, as a way of 

focusing more on education. 

What may have the most impact, 

though, is the follow-up overdose 

response work police and the group's 

local recovery coach, Maureen Cavanagh, 

founder and president of Magnolia New 

Beginnings, does with overdose victims, 

according to Picariello. 

The day after an overdose, two 

police officers and Cavanagh will 

visit the person's home to touch base 

and offer services to "try to break the 

cycle." Sometimes people may feel 

uncomfortable talking with police, but 

Cavanagh may have more success. She 

often talks about her own experience of 

having a daughter who battled opioid 

addiction, Picariello said. 

"We don't go back for the purpose 

of anything legal," Picariello said. 

"We're going back to try to help. I 

think that's what police departments 

have recognized in a lot of ways. We're 

trying not to arrest our way out of this 

problem, but get people the help they 

need. We want to deal with the sources, 

the people who are selling, but a lot of 

people are just getting addicted from 

prescriptions. A broken wrist … can be 

the beginning, so it's brutal." 

Since the group's formation and 

efforts in town, statistics show drug 

overdoses and deaths have declined, 

which aligns with a 4 percent statewide 

decline in opioid-related overdose deaths 

in 2018. 

In 2016, there were 26 opioid overdoses 

in Marblehead, four of them fatal. In 2017, 

there were 19 overdoses, 16 from opioids, 

and four were fatal. Last year, the town saw 

13 overdoses, 11 from opioids, with one 

fatality, according to Picariello. 

In addition, police reported the vast 

majority of overdoses last year were not 

from repeat offenders. 

Mindsets are changing, the police 

chief said, as doctors are prescribing 

differently and patients may not be as 

keen to take a prescription of opioids for 

pain medication. Narcan, or naloxone, 

the lifesaving overdose drug, is also 

carried by police and firefighters. 

"Certainly, statistically, the numbers 

are dropping," Picariello said. "I don't 

want to, in any way, declare victory. I'm 

hoping it has to do with education. 

This problem has been attacked from so 

many different angles … I think it's the 

awareness that's the big factor. I think 

people are getting smarter about it."

PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK 

STUDENTS BANK 

ON NATIONAL GRAND 



Janice Skalaban, the course instructor. 

"When they come in at first, they are 

definitely afraid of the money," Martin 

said. "But by the end of the semester, 

they're running and gunning with it." 

The biggest wake-up call for students 

is participating in the budget challenge. 

It gives them an estimated monthly 

budget, a chosen career path, and hits 

them with pop-up emergency costs, like 

car accidents or residential flooding. 

"I think it's important to have skills 

like writing checks and handling money," 

said Dalia Loughlin, a senior at the high 

school. "Next year, when we go away to 

college, we will need those important life 

skills to get through on our own." 

Jim Nye, president of the bank, said 

given all the current electronic banking 

opportunities, like mobile bank apps and 

Venmo, a mobile payment service, most 

kids do not know how to "do something 

as simple as writing a check." 

"As parents, we don't do a great 

job preparing our kids for real world 

situations," Nye said. "And the schools 

don't either." 

Every year, at the end of the course, at 

least one lucky student gets the opportunity 

to work for the bank over the summer. 

Nye said continuing the collaborative 

curriculum keeps National Grand a 

community bank and puts Marblehead 

students first. 

"There are so many classes in school 

but if you really want to have something 

you can apply to your everyday life then 

take this class," said 12th-grader Ben 

Gansenberg. "We're lucky to have an 

actual bank in the school, that's such an 

added bonus." 

Marblehead High School senior Nicole Klemm fills 

out a bank slip as she works at the National Grand 

Bank branch inside the school. 

APERICENA 

MEANING: 

Pre-dinner drinks accompanied by great food. 

Marblehead high schoolers have been 

banking on a unique curriculum for 17 

years. 

National Grand Bank's only branch is 

in the halls of Marblehead High School. 

Not only does the branch provide 

student access to an ATM and financial 

center, it's part of an elective curriculum 

that teaches them the basics of banking. 

"This class was a reality check for 

me," said Kyle Saulnier, a senior who 

took the class last year. "It got me ready 

for life and the real, adult world." 

In 2002, when the new Humphrey 

Street school was built, the bank made 

a deal to get some allotted space for a 

full-service branch. Joan Stomatuk, a 

retired business education teacher, came 

up with the idea. 

She said she was inspired after seeing 

a similar initiative at the Hamilton- 

Wenham Regional High School. 

"I was just so delighted to do 

something out of the ordinary," 

Stomatuk said. 

The elective course called 

Fundamentals of Banking has an 

annual influx of students eager to apply, 

according to Laura Best, vice president 

of the bank. Writing checks, counting 

money, and learning how to balance a 

budget are the essentials Marblehead 

students take away from the class. 

Matt Martin, business development 

director of the bank and manager of the 

high school branch, works closely with



Abbot 

overhaul 

BY GAYLA CAWLEY 

PHOTO: OWEN O'ROURKE 

he historic Abbot Hall is 

expected to undergo a major 

renovation this spring. 

Nearly $9 million in 

funding has been approved 

for the upgrades and restoration by 

Town Meeting and was subsequently 

passed in a townwide debt exclusion 

override vote. 

It became clear renovations to the 

whole building were needed when 

the town redid the distinct Abbot 

Hall tower in 2015, substantial work 

that cost $2.4 million, an amount 

that triggered a requirement to make 

the structure ADA (Americans with 

Disabilities Act) complaint, according 

to town planner Rebecca Curran 

Cutting. 

Work will include repointing the 

building's brickwork, slate replacement 

on the roof, replacement of the historic 

ridge, rebuilding the southwest chimney, 

installing a replica chimney at the 

southeast gable, installing floor sheathing 

and new windows, replacing broken 

granite posts, rebuilding granite site 

walls, installing geothermal wells and 

replacing the heating system with a new 

heating, ventilation and air conditioning 

system. 

The town is going back to the 

original look of the outside of the 

building, which had lawn right up 

to the brick of the structure with no 

exposed foundation. Plantings will be 

taken out from around Abbot Hall 

for a more polished look, according to 

Curran Cutting. 

Abbot Hall was built in 1876 in the 

Romanesque Revival architectural style. 

The Washington Street building was 

added to the National Historic Register 

in 1974. 

Some may find it unique that the 

building is called Abbot Hall rather 

than Town Hall, as its function 

dictates. The Old Town House, a yellow 

building facing State Street, served as 

Marblehead's original town hall before 

Abbot Hall and houses two museums 

today. 

When Abbot Hall was constructed, 

the building was named after the person 

who donated the funds for it, Benjamin 

Abbot. 

"It's a major project," said Curran 

Cutting. "It's one of Marblehead's icons 

and we own it and it's incumbent upon 

us to maintain it and upgrade it as 

needed." 

THEATRE, continued from page 23 

was incorporated in 1973 as a charitable 

organization and had no permanent 

home until 1999 when it moved into the 

School Street site. 

"We performed where we could find 

space. It was very Judy Garland-y," 

Barnett said. 

A Marblehead resident, Barnett traces 

his involvement in MLT to his children, 

Jeremy and Nicholas, who participated 

in shows. 

"It was a big, town-wide affair with a 

lot of people involved," he said. 

In as much as MLT thrives off 

community support, its survival and 

success has been built on the backs of 

active town residents who are committed 

to the theater. 

Doug Hill and Virginia "Ginny" 

Morton were prime movers in the 

acquisition of the School Street 

building over a three-year period. The 

purchase eventually was settled on with 

a restriction on the building's use for 

theater. 

In 2006, the theater produced "Our 

Town," and an expanded fundraising 

effort eventually raised $1.6 million, 

mostly from community donations, to 

add full fire suppression and an elevator 

to the building. Charles Gessner, who 

was chairman of the board of trustees at 

the time, spearheaded the effort. 

Steve Black got involved a year later 

when he directed music for the "Wizard 

of Oz" production at the Marblehead 

Middle School performing arts center. 

"I've always been attracted to musical 

theater. This is the local hotspot for that," 

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he said. 

Former president of MLT's artistic 

board of trustees Janet Sheehan asked 

Black to launch a full-fledged summer 

drama program in the School Street 

theater even as renovations were 

underway. 

"We had to hide pieces of the 

elevator," he said. 

By 2009, the theater began 

consolidating shows in School Street in 

part to avoid expense associated with 

outside productions. 

"The velocity of the organization 

began to shift to doing shows inside the 

building," Barnett said. 

Morton and Lynda Johnson 

developed a children's theater program 

with three seasons of productions for 

5-12-year-olds. 

Steve Black said participants in the 

program have come back as young adults 

to produce plays. 

The theater also has a playwrights' 

group. 

The theater's focus has evolved, said 

Black, into putting together productions 

offering theater-goers the "experience 

people have come to enjoy for decades." 

The theater reinforced its ties 

to Marblehead last year by hosting 

the Ginny Awards, a program held 

Sept. 22 in Abbot Hall that honored 

outgoing trustee members and past 

MLT participants who have gone on to 

theatrical success. 

Black said children who got their first 

drama experiences through MLT have 

since returned to the organization. 

"They've come back and they are now 

producing," he said. 

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