01907_Summer_2019 WEB

SUMMER 2019 | VOL. 4 NO. 3 

We like Mike 

ALSO 

In Swampscott's wheelhouse 

● 

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LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER 

TED GRANT 

02 | 01907 

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 

Photographers 

Spenser Hasak 

Owen O’Rourke 

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 

Subscriptions: 

781-593-7700 ext. 1253 

01907themagazine.com 

Good-guy edition 

Our 01907 cover boy is a good guy. Everyone likes Mike. 

There's a reason. He’s the son of Joann and Dick Lynch. Being a good guy is in Mike Lynch’s DNA. 

I encountered Dick Lynch professionally early on in my career. As low man on the Item Sports 

Department totem pole, I drew the worst assignments. One was to cover the monthly meeting of the 

Northeastern Conference athletic directors. It was one of Dante’s lesser-known rings of hell. But one guy 

made it tolerable. Dick Lynch. 

Dick was the Danvers AD at the time, and he and his brethren would discuss such riveting matters as 

the following year’s field hockey schedules. Recognizing the agony on my face, he grabbed me one day and 

told me to show up in time for lunch (meetings were at the old Commodore Restaurant on Route 1A in 

Beverly) and he’d tell me everything I’d need to know to write a coherent story. 

And as nice as he was (he died April 15 of last year), Mrs. Lynch might be even nicer. We’d talk after 4 

o’clock Mass on Saturdays at St. John’s in Swampscott, and when she worked at my doctor’s office. I never 

met a more pleasant woman. 

So Mike Lynch had no choice but to be a good guy. But I did put that to the test once. 

Mike and I are of the same vintage. We graduated college (he Harvard, me BC) and began our careers 

the same years. A few years into those careers, we covered the first game of Doug Flutie’s senior season, 

BC at Alabama, in Birmingham. Remember: He was the TV guy, I was the newspaper guy. One of us had 

a rental car and the other . . . was me. Anyway, we drove to the game together. As was the norm in those 

days, we got to the stadium hours in advance. We parked and were walking toward the stadium when I 

decided I didn’t need the sports jacket I was wearing, so I asked Mike for the keys so I could put my jacket 

in his car. We were to meet in the press box a short time later. 

Somehow, I got distracted and didn’t get to the press box for hours. There I found one very upset Mike 

Lynch — because locked in the car with my jacket was the equipment Mike needed to do a pregame remote. 

That’s a story for another day. But one last story for today: Mike Lynch does not wear socks. The one 

exception is with sneakers, but even then it’s only those little ankle things (look carefully at the cover 

photo; you’ll see them). So he’s a good guy with sometimes-cold feet. Steve Krause has the story. 

Evidently, good guys are plentiful in Swampscott. Another is also featured in this edition of 01907: 

James Dawson, of Small Wheels on Humphrey Street. 

Guys like James (phenomenally mechanical) can spot guys like me (phenomenally not) immediately. He 

knows I don’t know the first thing about cars, but he doesn’t take advantage of my obvious stupidity. 

My friend Fahey ridiculed my lack of mechanical sense by suggesting every vehicular ailment called for 

a new “framus.” Don't bother looking it up; it doesn't exist. And to his credit, James Dawson has never 

charged me for a new framus. Thor Jourgensen has the story. 

Also in this edition . . . 

The Seaside Cooperative Garden group is out to get families involved in planting, growing and 

harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables. Bill Brotherton has the details. 

Time flies at Phillips' Clock Shop on Essex Street. George C. Phillips III, with the help of his wife, 

Marilyn, sell and repair clocks of all shapes and sizes. Thor again has the details. 

Krause is back to talk about James Pearse, the fine arts director at Swampscott High, who will conduct 

his 19th summer theater clinic at the school beginning July 2. 

For these, plus an update on the status of plans for a new elementary school, as well as real estate, style, 

and food — read on. 

04 What's up 

06 Swampscott's wheelhouse 

10 Style 

12 House Money 

14 Lynchpin of Boston sports 

18 Seaside garden takes root 

INSIDE 

20 Standing the test of time 

22 Local flavor 

24 Taking center stage 

28 Studying future schools 

30 Home is where the value is 

COVER 

Mike Lynch sits on 

the set of his annual 

Thanksgiving football 

program. 

PHOTO PROVIDED BY 

Mike Lynch


What's Up 

for Summer? 

Farmer's Market 

WHAT: The annual market will feature 

a wide variety of produce, meats, 

fish, breads, flowers and crafts from 

farmers, food producers, and artisans 

from around Massachusetts and 

nearby New England states. 

WHERE: Town Hall front lawn 

WHEN: Every Sunday, 

from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., until October 

Nature and Life Inspirations 

WHAT: A free photography gallery 

with works from Charles Kaufman and 

Gretchen Lally. 

WHERE: Reach Arts, 89 Burrill St. 

WHEN: June 15, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 

June 16, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. 

Sail Away with Painting 

WHAT: Greg Maichack is back by 

popular demand. His program this year, 

“Sail Away”, will teach you to make light 

luscious pieces of art as you develop 

(or begin) your pastel painting skills 

with this new two-hour workshop. 

WHERE: Swampscott Public Library 

WHEN: June 17, 6:30 – 8 p.m. 

A Sip of Tea and a Nice Read 

WHAT: A daytime book club that will 

be discussing "The Alice Network" by 

Kate Quinn over cups of tea. 


WHEN: June 18, 1 – 2 p.m. 

Woof Woof and a Book 

WHAT: Kids can come and read to 

Kasha, a miniature American Eskimo 

dog. Children learn more effectively 

because when a dog is "listening" the 

fear of failure is removed. 


WHEN: June 20, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. 

WHAT'S UP 

Simple Sounds 

WHAT: A flute and guitar concert, 

with a graduate of the Boston 

Conservatory and another from the 

Osaka College of Music. 


WHEN: June 20, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. 

Mary Poppins Comes to Town 

WHAT: Mary Poppins, everyone's 

favorite Nanny, will be visiting us for a 

program of stories, songs, and games 

for children of all ages. 


WHEN: July 9, 2 – 3 p.m. 

Juggling with a Laugh 

WHAT: Bryson Lang is a talented 

juggler with a fast-paced, energetic, 

and interactive comedy juggling show 

perfect for all ages. 


WHEN: August 6, 2 – 3 p.m. 

The crew largely in charge of the customization on Swampscott Fire Department's newest addition, "Big Blue" Engine 21, from left, Chris Drinon, Chief Kevin 

Breen, Capt. Graham Arher, Todd Seligman, and Deputy Chief James Potts. 

PHOTOS: SPENSER R. HASAK

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In Swampscott's 

wheelhouse 

BY THOR JOURGENSEN 

James Dawson is the owner 

of Small Wheels on Humphrey 

Street in Swampscott. 

PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK

SUMMER 2019 | 07 

I 

n an age when mechanics rely on 

computer diagnostics to repair cars, 

James Dawson applies a liberal 

dose of common sense every time 

he opens a hood in his Humphrey 

Street shop. 

Located in Swampscott since 

1987, Dawson and his fellow 

mechanics are familiar sights for 

town residents and commuters 

who drive by the shop and its little 

lot full of sporty and exotic vehicles. 

The site of a Packard car dealership 

in the 1920s, Small Wheels is one part 

labor of love, one part source of pride for 

Dawson, a Salem resident and Newtown, 

Connecticut native. 

On a spring week day, Dawson and 

his crew were working on a Saab in need 

of an engine rebuild, a Jaguar XKR with 

a balky convertible roof, and a BMW 

with an oil hose leak. Working with a 

measured pace and patience, Dawson 

decoupled the faulty hose connection 

and talked about a love for cars dating 

back when he was 16 and built a car 

with parts from 1959, 1960 and 1961 

Renaults. 

Dawson lived in Marblehead from 

1970 to 1975 and ran his former Salem 

shop from 1970 to 1987. Dubbed the 

Everything has to be very precise 

-James Dawson 

From left, Dave Lantych, owner James Dawson, and Arber Theodhor wrestle with a SAAB engine as they 

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Bug Inn, the shop's name ran afoul with 

lawyers for automaker Volkswagen who 

lay claim to the nickname for the Beetle 

car line. 

"I had to go to federal court because 

it was a foreign company," he said. 

Forced to change his business name 

in a hurry, Dawson picked Small Wheels 

and repainted his sign. 

Open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 

Dawson and mechanics Arber Theodhor 

of Salem, Dave Lanytch of Peabody and 

Bob Ansell of Swampscott repair five to 

10 cars a day. 

Dawson boasts of having a century 

of car repair experience in his shop but 

there are jobs that still challenge and vex


his crew. He likes the test of working on 

carefully-crafted Porsches. 

"Everything has to be very precise," 

he said. 

One customer owns a 1966 Morgan 

and Dawson is still searching for the 

parts he needs to work on it. He said 

"doggedness" has helped him survive 

in the changing world of automobile 

manufacturing and repair. 

When another customer complained 

her car wouldn't start, Dawson ran a 

compression test, checked the spark 

plugs and noticed moisture on them. 

Once he managed to start the car, water 

and oil geysered from the engine. That's 

when the driver acknowledged pouring 

water into the car's oil pump thinking it 

was the radiator. 

Although a valued service mechanic 

at a large car dealership can make a lot 

of money, Lawson's advice to young 

mechanics who want to open a small 

shop is to get the right education and 

buy the right tools. 

He likes working on all cars but what 

does Lawson drive? Answer: A 1987 

Porsche Turbo 944. 

"A decent 944 will blow off (Porsche) 

911s like there's no tomorrow. It'll do 

165," he said. 

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STYLE 

LET'S GO 

BY BELLA diGRAZIA 

PHOTOS BY SPENSER HASAK 

TO THE BEACH! 

The best part about living on the waterfront is the unlimited access 

to the ocean. If you are going to spend your summer with 

your toes in the sand and getting your tan on, you'll 

need the essentials. Grab your beach blanket, sunglasses and 

a hat, and don't forget to do it with some style. Thankfully, the 

boutiques that line the streets of Marblehead and Swampscott have 

just what you need.


Chic Streets Boutique, 434 

Humphrey St., Swampscott 

C 

A) Large straw tote bag with 

aztec print, $150 

B) "Just Beachy" 

bikini bag, $68 

C) Quay, light 

mirrored 

sunglasses, 

$55 

E 

B 

F 

D 

G 

Seaside 

Allure, 9 

Pleasant St., 

Marblehead 

A 

D) Lilly Pulitzer 

kaleidoscope coral flip 

flops, $38 

E) Top it Off rainbow tassel 

sunhat, $28 

F) Lilly Pulitzer "Lexy" gold and 

pink sunglasses, $48 

G) Top it Off rainbow pom pom white 

scarf, $28


HOUSE MONEY 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HYDREN PHOTOGRAPHY


A peek inside 

59 Winshaw Road 

SALE PRICE: $1,050,000 

SALE DATE: April, 30, 2019 

LIST PRICE: $1,050,000 

TIME ON MARKET: 120 days, 

October 16, 2018 

LISTING BROKER: 

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Estate & Home Services, Lexington 

SELLING BROKER: 

Karen Butt, William Raveis Real 

Estate & Home Services, Lexington 

LATEST ASSESSED 

VALUE: $972,700 

PREVIOUS SALE PRICE: 

$927,500 (2013) 

PROPERTY TAXES: $15,563 

YEAR BUILT: 1964 

LOT SIZE: .31 acres 

LIVING AREA: 3,984 square feet 

ROOMS: 11 

BEDROOMS: 5 

BATHROOMS: 3 full, 1 half 

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pool, and a guest house. The home 

contains a mix of European finishes 

mid-century features including slate 

floors, wood walls, and a hidden bar 

in the dining room. It has a walk-out 

lower level family room with an au pair 

suite, paneled library, zen room, and 

seven car garage. 

Source: MLS Property Information Network.


LYNCHPIN 

of Boston sports 

BY STEVE KRAUSE 

MMike Lynch has always said he's been 

fortunate to work where he grew up. 

"I don't have to Google 'Havlicek 

stole the ball,'" he says. "I don't have 

to look up Carlton Fisk's home run, 

or when the ball went through Bill 

Buckner's legs. I lived it." 

He also doesn't have to read books 

or hear stories to educate himself about 

the days when Swampscott was the 

focal point of high school football in 

Massachusetts. He lived that, too. 

He is the oldest son of one of the 

town's legendary coaches — Dick 

Lynch. He played three sports (football, 

basketball and baseball) for the Big 

Blue, and has parlayed his time on the 

town's playing fields by carving a niche 

as perhaps the Boston area's preeminent 

authority on high school athletics. 

He announced in May that he is 

going to step back as head sports anchor 

at WCVB-TV. He's not retiring from 

sports broadcasting, but he's ready for a 

little less of a load at this point in his life. 

His last day as chief anchor is Aug. 15. 

"I'm healthy," he said. "I still have 

a lot of energy for what I do. But 37 ½ 

years is a long time. I started at Channel 

5 on Final Four weekend of 1982." 

Lynch says he has no grandiose plans, 

and stresses that he's not going anywhere 

anytime soon either. 

"In this job," he said, "there's never a 

time when you're not working. It's allencompassing. 

I get up in the morning 

and the first thing I do is check Twitter 

to make sure I haven't missed anything. 

And it's also very difficult to hit the


'pause' button when you cover four 

teams that are always contending for 

championships." 

He gave an example of what his day 

can be like. 

"I'm on the air at 4 p.m., and again at 

5," he said. "Then I'll be on at 6 and 7. 

Then the Bruins play at 7:30, and I'll be 

on again for the 11 o'clock news. 

"So what I'm doing is hitting the 

'pause' button," he said, "so I can do 

some things I wouldn't have time to do 

otherwise." 

Lynch graduated from Swampscott 

High in 1971, and three years later — 

while at Harvard University — he began 

broadcasting in 1974 for the old WLYN 

in Lynn as a color commentator for high 

school games. 

He's never lost the connection 

has to his roots. When he arrived at 

Channel 5, he began the weekly "High 

Five" segments that feature high school 

athletes, and his annual Thanksgiving 

night show where he provides extensive 

coverage of all the day's football games 

is can't-miss TV. He still plans on doing 

both in his new capacity at the station. 

Lynch was the starting quarterback 

for the Big Blue in 1970 after being Peter 

Beatrice's understudy the previous season. 

One thing about 

him was that he 

understood the 

moment. 

— Frank DeFelice 

Mike Lynch 

interviewing 

Tom Brady and 

Bill Russell. 

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"I looked at that team in the summer 

and felt we'd be lucky if we were 

5-5," said Frank DeFelice, a defensive 

coordinator on that team. "But we were 

9-1, and it was on account of him that 

we were. He might not have been the 

fastest player, or the quickest, or the 

biggest, or might not have had the best 

arm. But I'll tell you this: He was the 

smartest. That's what stood out in my 

mind." 

Lynch rubbed elbows with players 

such as Tom Toner, Billy Adams and 

Dick Jauron, who went onto have 

professional football careers. Jauron was 

even the NFL's Coach of the Year in 

2001. 

Lynch played both football and 

basketball under his father's tutelage, and 

got a firsthand glimpse of his father's 

legendary toughness. 

"He thrived very well under his 

father," said DeFelice. "He was the 

quarterback on the football team, where 

his father coached the backs; he was 

the point guard on the basketball team, 

where his father was the head coach; and 

he played baseball for me." 

As a basketball player, Lynch caught 

the wrath of his father firsthand a few 

times. 

"If we had a bad practice, or I had a 

bad practice, he used to make me walk 

home from the high school (which, 

in those days, meant walking from 

Greenwood Avenue all the way down to 

the very bottom of Banks Road, where 

he lived). If we had a good practice, he'd 

drive me home." 

But, said Lynch, his father always 

felt that his greatest trophies were the 

success stories of the players he coached. 

After a year at Phillips Exeter 

Academy, Lynch went to Harvard, where 

he played football. In 1975, he kicked 

the winning field goal in the Harvard- 

Yale game. If anyone had been looking 

for a portent of things to come, they 

needed to go no further back than 1969, 

when, as a junior at Swampscott, he 

kicked a last-second field goal to beat 

Marblehead, 15-14, on Thanksgiving and 

kept what was then a 27-game unbeaten 

streak alive. 

"Well, he was clutch," said DeFelice. 

"One thing about him was that he 

understood the moment." 

After a stint on the radio, Lynch 

joined Channel 5 in 1982. 

During his career at Channel 5, 

Lynch says he has seen many changes. 

The biggest, he said, is the technology.


"Everything right now is instant," 

he said. "You have a big story now, it's 

on Twitter instantly. The business is so 

mobile. 

"When I started, and went to spring 

training, we'd have to ship a tape back to 

Boston. We'd get to the airport at 1 p.m. 

and hope it got back to Boston in time. 

Now, it's instantaneous." 

Lynch also transcends broadcast 

eras at Channel 5. When he started, the 

station was a powerhouse. 

During his years at Channel 5, Lynch 

was voted Massachusetts "Sportscaster of 

the Year" by the National Sportswriters 

and Sportscasters Association in 1985- 

1991, 1999, 2003 and 2006-2012 for 

a total of 16 times, the most honors of 

anyone in the history of the award. In 

1987, SportsCenter 5 won the United 

Press International Award for "Best 

Sports Reporting" in the country. 

Still, he often saw himself as the junior 

executive in an office full of all-stars. 

"I worked with Chet Curtis, Natalie 

Jacobson and Dick Albert," he said. "In 

that equation, I was the insignificant 

right fielder. I have worked with some 

great people." 

It's safe to say he can take his place 

among them. 

Mike Lynch, 

above, stands with 

weatherman Harvey 

Leonard, and anchors 

Ed Harding and Maria 

Stephanos. 

Left, Lynch sits with 

Channel 5's 1980s 

news team, including 

weatherman Dick 

Albert, and anchors 

Natalie Jacobson and 

Chet Curtis. 

PHOTOS PROVIDED 

BY MIKE LYNCH 

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Seaside Garden 

takes root 

The Seaside Cooperative Garden on Humphrey Street is nearing completion with 21 raised beds for planting. 

PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK 

BY BILL BROTHERTON 

If you ask kids "Where do vegetables 

come from?" the answer will likely be 

"from the grocery store." 

Members of the Seaside Cooperative 

Garden group are out to change that line 

of thinking, and to get families involved 

in planting, growing and harvesting fresh 

fruits and veggies. 

On May 18, the non-profit group and 

Bertram House of Swampscott hosted 

a groundbreaking celebration at the 

garden site on Humphrey Street. There 

are 21 raised beds on the twisty-turny 

90-feet-by-62-feet plot adjacent to the 

senior living community. The land design 

is by Bradford Design Associates of 

Marblehead. 

"We hit the jackpot, when Bertram 

House generously and graciously offered 

to provide the space for the garden," said 

Sarah Koch, the garden group's president, 

who added that a land-use agreement 

is in place for three years. "It's a highly 

visible spot, next to the football field and 

near police headquarters. Lots and lots of 

people will drive by and see it." 

Ellen Taintor, director of Community 

Relations at Bertram House, said 

everyone there is thrilled with the 

"blossoming" partnership. Residents and 

their families will also have access to the 

garden, where multiple generations can 

learn about conservation and composting 

while working side-by-side. 

Currently, 33 households are members of 

Seaside Cooperative Garden, a 501c(3) nonprofit. 

The annual fee per household is $175. 

Koch said the group sprouted after 

a Facebook post in mid-2017 asked 

"Would anyone be interested in starting 

a community garden?" The response was 

overwhelmingly positive, so she, Sierra 

Munoz, vice president, and others set the 

ball in motion. 

The group's mission is to bring 

members together in the shared effort of 

growing and harvesting fresh produce. 

While tending the garden, members will 

collaborate and, through experiential 

learning, improve gardening skills and 

create a connection to their food. With 

each harvest, a share of fresh produce will 

be donated to a local food pantry. The 

garden is family-friendly and open to 

Swampscott area residents of all ages and 

abilities. It includes hand-built raised 

beds of corrugated steel roofing panels 

and wood that will hold local compost, 

organic vegetables, herbs, and fruit. 

"We are a true co-op," said Koch. 

"We all work in the same garden, and 

everything is done together. We learn 

from each other." Koch grew up in tiny 

Chester, N.H., on 20 unfarmed acres. 

She, her husband and two children moved 

to Swampscott three years ago. "Oh, yes. 

The kids will be in the garden," she said. 

John Picariello, the garden's 

construction manager, grew up in town. 

"I was born in an Italian neighborhood, 

way up the hill on Eastman Avenue, the 

higher you got the more Italian it got, 

where everyone grew vegetables as a 

necessity. It was competitive; who could 

grow the biggest, the tastiest, the best. 

"My grandmother, Jennie Picariello, 

would make me go out to the garden to 

pick vegetables. Some of my happiest 

memories are talking with her. She


Seaside Cooperative Garden President Sarah Koch, center, speaks about her vision for the garden as 

construction manager Joe Picariello and vice president Sierra Munoz look on. 

always told me I had a green thumb." 

Carrots were left in the ground and 

covered with leaves over the winter, 

added Picariello. "I'd shovel 2 feet of 

snow, move the leaves, and dig out the 

carrots. Boy, they tasted good. The ground 

was warm. It was like a root cellar, which 

we had in the house as well." 

"There's tremendous interest in 

gardening in this community, and in Lynn 

and Marblehead. People want to do it, but 

there's not always space or the knowledge. 

Here, we can all learn to grow vegetables 

and reap the benefits," said Picariello. 

Picariello maintains an 8-foot-by-16- 

foot raised garden at his home on Carson 

Terrace, which yields lots of tomatoes, 

lettuce, cucumbers, beets, carrots, string 

beans and broccoli. 

"And all the neighbors benefit," he 

said, then smiled. 

"I'm excited to learn from John and 

other seasoned gardeners," said Munoz, 

who lives near the high school and has 

a small, rocky backyard. "I grew up in 

Wisconsin, with my hands in the dirt and 

looking for tadpoles," she said. Her children 

Emmett and Eleanor will likely follow suit. 

Little Eleanor can be seen on the group's 

Facebook page wearing a "I (heart) veggies" 

onesie and surrounded by seed packets. 

(The group's Facebook page is fun. 

One post says "Pollen: When flowers 

can't keep it in their plants." Another 

says "When you realize EARTH and 

HEART are spelled using the same 

letters, it all starts to make sense.") 

"I want my kids to know where food 

comes from. Kids see us planting seeds, 

then watch vegetables come out of the 

ground; maybe they'll even eat some 

right then and there," said Munoz, a 

two-year Swampscott resident. 

Koch, Munoz and Picariello agree 

Seaside Cooperative Garden is a team 

effort by members, volunteers, the town 

and its Public Works department, and 

numerous benefactors who have helped 

make the garden a reality. 

B. Good hosted a fundraiser in April, 

and support has come from For the Love 

of Swampscott, the First Church of 

Swampscott, a woman on Puritan Road 

who gifted the group with unused pavers, 

and many others. Meninno Construction 

cleared the land and donated sod and 

loam, much of it coming from where the 

dog park now sits. GVW Inc. provided 

materials to build the raised veggie beds. 

Moynihan Lumber contributed fencing 

and posts, to keep critters away from 

the veggies. Seedlings were started by 

Brandy Wilbur, STEM coordinator for 

Swampscott Public Schools, and her 

Green Scholars students, using donated 

High Mowing Organic Seeds. Bertram 

House will install an irrigation system 

and a small shed will be provided so 

volunteers don't have to constantly lug 

shovels, rakes and the like from home. 

From small things, big things 

someday come. And Seaside Cooperative 

Garden is just getting started.


Standing 

the test 

of time 

BY THOR JOURGENSEN 

ime marches on to the tick-tock 

T cadence of dozens of clocks 

crowding the shelves and display floor in 

Phillips' Clock Shop, where George C. 

Phillips III labors with patience and love 

surrounded by large and small timepieces. 

With help from his wife, Marilyn, in 

running the business and companionship 

provided by the couple's pug, Bingo, 

Phillips labors on timepieces of all kinds, 

from an ornate Zappler clock the size of 

a cigarette lighter to grandfather clocks 

costing as much as a new car. 

The Phillips sell and repair all manners 

of timekeeping devices and extol the 

virtues of watches and clocks as gifts and 

keepsakes in an age when a quick glance at 

a mobile device tells most people the time. 

"We don't plan on retiring. We love 

the clocks. It's relaxing listening to them 

at night," said Marilyn Phillips. 

George Phillips considered himself 

mechanically-inclined even before he 

married Marilyn and started learning 

about clocks from his father-in-law. An 

East Boston native, he attended Boston's 

North Bennet Street School and worked 

at the former Jordan Marsh department 

store in Boston where he eventually 

landed a job in the clock department. 

"I opened my own little shop in 1974 

in Winthrop," he said. 

The Phillips moved to Swampscott to 

enroll their three children in local schools 

PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK 

and opened their Essex Street store in 

1995. Their business is a mix of clock 

sales and watch and clock repairs that has 

survived changing consumer tastes. 

Chelsea Clocks, the nautical-themed 

creations that George Phillips said almost 

every American president has received as 

a gift, remain popular sales items. 

Grandfather clocks (known in the 

trade as hall or tall case clocks) are 

enduring acquisitions that younger 

customers are eyeing and buying in order 

to balance or accent a hallway or main 

room in a new house. 

With their ornate gilding and 19 

types of wood incorporated into their 

construction, grandfather clocks get their 

name from a song that referred to the 

solemn timekeepers in a stanza. 

Pocket watches may sound like 

leftovers from the 19th century, but the

We don't plan on retiring. We 

love the clocks. It's relaxing 

listening to them at night. 

— Marilyn Phillips 

George Phillips is the owner of Phillips' Clock 

Shop with his wife, Marilyn. 

ornate timepieces are favorite gifts with 

younger buyers purchasing the watches 

for groomsmen gifts. 

"Millennials are interested in them," 

said Marilyn Phillips. 

Her husband doesn't just sell clocks 

and watches: he is a 51-year member of 

the National Association of Watch and 

Clock Collectors, and pores over the 

intricate mechanics of tiny timepieces 

with the aid of small, glasses-mounted 

magnifying lenses called "loupes." 

Known in the clock trade as a 

horologist, Phillips' love of clocks 

includes the history of timekeeping, 

including his knowledge of Boston 

Watch Company in Waltham. 

Customers like Julia Babushkina of 

Nahant have come to appreciate Phillips' 

attention to detail and refusal to let even the 

most exotic watches defy his repair skills. 

Intent on preserving the Soviet-era 

watch bestowed on her father in the 

1970s, Babushkina took the watch with 

its inscription made out to her father to 

Phillips, who assessed the type of repairs 

it would need and the necessity to obtain 

the right parts. 

Undeterred, Babushkina and her 

son tracked down a watch similar to 

her father's and they plan to bring it to 

Phillips to provide repair parts. 

"We get a lot of challenges," he said. 

With more than 300 pocket watches 

The selection of pocket watches for sale at 

Phillips' Clock Shop in Swampscott. 

in his collection, Phillips can trace the 

origins of American watch production 

to the first 19th-century factory in 

Waltham, and he talks with pride about 

his Zappler clock, made in 1820, with its 

ornate craft work and tiny pendulum arm. 

His personal watches are a Rolex 

Presidential and an Omega Stainless Steel. 

"That's the kind James Bond wears," 

he said. 

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LOCAL FLAVOR 

Sipping on Summer 

BY BELLA diGRAZIA 

PHOTOS BY SPENSER HASAK 

It's hot, the sun is shining, and you need 

something sweet to cool you down. Drink a glass 

of red sangria, the perfect daytime adult beverage 

that anyone can make. The best thing about this 

recipe is you can customize it to your own taste. 

Sip it on your couch or on your deck.

Here are our six steps to making sangria: 

1) Fill a gallon-sized pitcher halfway with Sprite. 

2) 5 cups of Carlo Rossi Cabernet Sauvignon 

3) 1 cup of Mathilde Pêche liqueur 

4) 1 cup of Stoli Razberi 

5) 1 cup of Bacardi Limon 

6) Blackberries, oranges, peaches, apples and limes roughly cut 

*For best results, let the sangria sit overnight and add one cup of Sprite the following day.* 

You can find any of the above ingredients at: 

• Vinnin Liquors, 371 Paradise Road 

• Swampscott Farmer's Market, 22 Monument Ave. 

• Whole Foods, 331 Paradise Road


Taking 

center 

stage 

BY STEVE KRAUSE 

James Pearse freely admits the 

obvious when discussing education and 

the arts in Swampscott and everywhere 

else. 

"Most of us are not going to grow up 

making a living on the stage," he says. 

"But there are so many other take-aways, 

so that really doesn't matter." 

Pearse is in his 23rd year in Swampscott, 

and one of his signature activities is the 

summer workshop at the high school. It is a 

six-week class that begins July 2 and meets 

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 

a.m. to 1 p.m. 

James Pearse is the drama/arts director at Swampscott High. 

PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK


It ends with a production, between 

45 minutes and an hour, that'll be 

put on at the high school auditorium. 

This year, it'll be an adaptation of 

"Seussical," the musical based on 

material by Theodor Seuss Geisel, 

better known as "Dr. Seuss." 

Pearse is the high school's director of 

fine arts, choral director, drama advisor 

and music teacher. 

He believes the summer workshop 

goes beyond teaching kids from grades 3 

through 9 the ins and outs of theater. 

"It's a way for kids to learn everyday 

skills," he says. "In school, especially 

as you go along, you need presentation 

skills. I think our kids who have gone 

through our program have an advantage 

in these situations. 

"Also," Pearse said, "you see some 

kids develop a sense of confidence, and of 

being self-assured." 

The workshop, which Pearse conducts 

with the help of Kathryn Thomas, head 

of the Swampscott English Department, 

focuses on singing, acting and dancing. 

Most of the children who take part are 

Swampscott residents. Members of the 

current high school drama club also help 

coach the kids. 

"The thing that's really nice about this 

is we catch kids who are young and in a 

lot of cases they stay with us all the way 

through," he said. "It's a great way to get 

them started." 

The result is that "I think we are 

recognized in town for having a good 

program," Pearse said. "I think for the 

size of the school, we have an amazing 

program. This is largely thanks to the 

students themselves. They've been 

amazing. The teachers too. They are 

fantastic." 

Pearse picks his shows based on what 

they're about, and how much fun they 

will be for the performers. And he feels 

he can't go wrong with "Seussical," and 

Dr. Seuss. 

"It offers different things for people 

to do," he said, "and it gets everyone 

involved. We have kids who are just 

happy to be on stage doing something. 

For a lot of kids, maybe this is the first 

show they've ever been in. So they're 

happy just to be up there." 

"Seussical" is built around "Horton 

Hears a Who," one of Seuss's 

many children's stories. However, it 

incorporates themes from several others, 

including "The Cat in the Hat" and 

"Green Eggs and Ham." 

The workshop began 19 years ago 

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at the old high school on Forest Street 

where, Pearse said, "we're singing and 

dancing, in the summertime, with no air 

conditioning. We had fun, though." 

The kids Pearse instructed over the 

years have gone on to take part in music 

groups, spring concerts, and drama 

productions. Sounding somewhat like 

Richard Dryfuss in "Mr. Holland's 

Opus," Pearse says "I am always blown 

away by how much progress kids have 

made, how great they sound. It happens 

every year. There's no way of replacing 

any of that in your life." 

Pearse earned his degree in music 

education from Ithaca College in New 

York. He taught in the upstate region 

before earning a Master's degree in 

vocal performance at the New England 

Conservatory of Music in Boston. 

"That was my original plan," he 

said. He then studied for his doctorate 

in choral conducting and was all set 

to teach college. But he found his way 

to Swampscott, starting at the Stanley 

School, got involved in drama, and never 

left. 

"I'm happy teaching high school," he 

said. "All things considered, it's a pretty 

rewarding life." 

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STUDYING SWAMPSCOTT'S 

FUTURE SCHOOLS 

BY 

GAYLA CAWLEY 

The consensus among town and 

school officials is the town needs a new 

elementary school, but what's up in the air is 

how many grades and students it would serve and 

where it would be. 

Last year, Town Meeting members approved a $750,000 study 

to determine the best option for the new school. The vote followed 

the district's acceptance into the Massachusetts School Building Authority 

(MSBA) program for the replacement of Hadley Elementary School, which was 

built in 1911 and is the oldest school building in town. 

As part of the effort for a new elementary school, the town has formed a 22-member School 

Building Committee, made up of town and school officials including Town Administrator Sean 

Fitzgerald and Superintendent Pamela Angelakis. 

"The condition of our buildings are such that the average age of our elementary buildings is over 90 years old 

and (they were) built at a time when special education wasn't a consideration," said Suzanne Wright, school committee 

member and chairwoman of the school building committee. 

"We've been really creative about where we house different programs and how we move them around. Our building isn't 

enhancing our education at all. (Their) age and educational space is inefficient, ineffective and inadequate." 

The committee will examine why a 2014 vote for districtwide elementary school failed and look at four options for a 

new school. 

The town could renovate or rebuild Hadley as a K-4 school, which would house 390 students. That would be the least 

expensive option and would require the smallest site. But grade levels would not be educated together, space would not be 

created at an overcrowded Swampscott Middle School and fifth grade would not be included at the elementary level, which is 

a district priority. 

Another option is to build a single elementary school for half of the district's students in grades K-5, which would house 

590 students and create space at the middle school. Disadvantages are that not all grade level students would be educated 

together and half of the district's elementary students would remain in outdated buildings.


Building an upper elementary level 

3-5 school for 565 students would keep 

those students together, create space at 

the middle school and move fifth grade 

to the elementary level. But students 

in grades K-2 would not be educated 

together and students would have to 

transition to an additional school during 

their K-12 education. 

For those first three options, Stanley 

and Clarke Elementary schools, which 

are outdated themselves and also feature 

teaching and learning taking place in 

hallways, would have to remain open and 

would need to be renovated or rebuilt in 

the future. 

A fourth option resembles the 

districtwide consolidated elementary 

school that failed a townwide vote in 

2014. A single K-4 elementary school 

for the entire district would house 

900 students and keep all grade levels 

educated together. 

Although fifth grade would not be 

moved to the elementary level with 

the fourth option, Wright said space 

could be created at the middle school 

if administration offices and prekindergarten 

move from SMS to Clarke 

or Stanley schools. But school officials 

say it's the most expensive option and 

would require a large site for its potential 

location. 

Wright said the search is on for a 

project manager, and the 12-18 month 

feasibility study will kick off in the 

fall. The study will determine the best 

option, which will be voted on by the 

School Committee and MSBA, a quasiindependent 

government authority that 

helps fund the construction of school 

buildings, in the fall of 2020. 

The project would come before Town 

Meeting for a vote on funding in the 

spring of 2021 and it would be voted on 

the MSBA that winter. Approval would 

also require approval by a townwide 

ballot vote, with construction not 

expected to be completed until 2023 or 

2024. 

Much of the effort, Wright said, is 

around community outreach, both to 

learn why the vote failed in 2014 and 

determine what needs to happen to 

get it approved this time around. Scott 

Burke, a member of the school building 

committee, who presented on the four 

options at this spring's Town Meeting, 

said "failure is not an option." 

"If the vote fails, the MSBA will 

likely not allow us into the process for a 

long time," Burke said. 

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HOME IS WHERE THE VALUE IS 

BY THOMAS GRILLO 

If you purchased a home in 

Swampscott a decade ago, give your 

neighbor a high-five. 

Since 2009, the median price for 

a single-family home has swelled by a 

whopping 46 percent. A house that cost 

$395,500 in 2009 is likely to fetch $577,750 

or more today, according to The Warren 

Group, the Boston real estate tracker. 

Claire Dembowski, a real estate sales 

agent at Re/Max Advantage Real Estate 

with more than 40 years experience 

selling homes in town, said it's easy to 

down. But we have quality schools, 

there's good parental involvement, and 

excellent sports programs." 

Consider these numbers from last 

year's MCAS test scores. Among 10th 

graders, 97 percent scored proficient or 

advanced in the English exam, 89 percent 

in science, and 90 percent in science, all 

well above the state average, according 

to the Massachusetts Department of 

Elementary & Secondary Education. 

Swampscott High School boasted a 

graduation rate of 94 percent last year 

while nearly 86 percent of its graduates 

219 housing permits. The Hanover 

Vinnin Square apartment complex on 

Paradise Road comprised 184 of those. 

But it did not include any affordable 

units, according to Swampscott Housing 

Production Plan. 

The 2016 survey said of the 353 

proposed units in the pipeline over the 

next few years in nine developments, all 

are market rate. 

The state has required a minimum of 

10 percent of the community's housing 

be affordable with deed restrictions since 

the Dukakis administration in the 1970s. 

$600K 

$550K 

MEDIAN PRICE 

$500K 

$450K 

$400K 

$350K 

2009 

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 

Source: The Warren Group 

YEAR 

see why Swampscott is a good value. 

If you follow the MBTA train line from 

Boston north, you run into what she calls 

the "second ring" of desirable communities 

including Cambridge, Somerville, 

Medford, Melrose, and Malden, which 

have also seen tremendous growth. 

"Swampscott is the third ring because 

the trains come through here," she said. 

"We have always been well-positioned 

because there are four ways to get to 

Boston: by car, bus, commuter rail and 

the Blue Line from Wonderland." 

The buyers coming to Swampscott, 

she said, are new parents from Boston, 

Cambridge and Somerville who are seeking 

more space, a backyard, and better schools. 

"I always say, we are not the top when 

it comes to schools," she said candidly. 

"We are not Weston, Wellesley, Wayland, 

or Lexington. We are the next group 

enrolled in a college or university. 

The town has two real estate markets, 

Dembowski said. The first are homes 

priced from $300,000 to the $800,000, 

the rest is the $1 million plus market, 

which is quite different, she added. 

"There are fewer higher priced homes 

and they don't sell as fast," she said. 

At press time, there were 23 singlefamily 

homes for sale in Swampscott on 

the MLS Property Information Network 

priced from $415,900 for a six-room 

Colonial on Humphrey Street to $8.3 

million for a five-bedroom, 11,444-squarefoot 

Tudor Colonial on Puritan Lane. 

Ten of the homes listed are priced at 

$1 million or over. Only four are listed 

below $500,000. 

Finding an affordable house in 

Swampscott is a challenge, say brokers. 

Between 2005 and 2014, the town issued 

Of Swampscott's 5,795 units, only 212, 

or less than 4 percent, meets the criteria, 

according to the Department of Housing 

and Community Development. 

A goal listed in the survey is to provide 

seniors with greater housing options. 

One project that could be a partial 

solution is transforming the shuttered 

Machon Elementary School into homes 

for elders. B’nai B’rith Housing, a 

nonprofit that builds affordable homes 

for seniors, has failed to get the funding 

to do the conversion for 38 affordable 

units on Burpee Road. 

Brokers say housing in all price ranges 

for all ages is needed to bring relief. 

Swampscott buyers are a demanding 

clientele, they want good grocery stores, 

shops, and medical services, say agents. 

"We are very privileged," Dembowski 

said. "It's a very good quality of life."

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