01907_Fall_2019
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From<br />
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FALL <strong>2019</strong> | VOL. 4 NO. 3 | $5.00
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LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER<br />
TED GRANT<br />
A publication of Essex Media Group<br />
Publisher<br />
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Chief Executive Officer<br />
Michael H. Shanahan<br />
Directors<br />
Edward L. Cahill<br />
John M. Gilberg<br />
Edward M. Grant<br />
Gordon R. Hall<br />
Monica Connell Healey<br />
J. Patrick Norton<br />
Michael H. Shanahan<br />
Chief Financial Officer<br />
William J. Kraft<br />
Chief Operating Officer<br />
James N. Wilson<br />
Community Relations Director<br />
Carolina Trujillo<br />
Controller<br />
Susan Conti<br />
Editors<br />
Bill Brotherton<br />
Thor Jourgensen<br />
Contributing Editor<br />
Cheryl Charles<br />
Contributing Writers<br />
Bill Brotherton<br />
Gayla Cawley<br />
Bella diGrazia<br />
Thomas Grillo<br />
Thor Jourgensen<br />
Steve Krause<br />
Bridget Turcotte<br />
Photographer<br />
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<strong>01907</strong>themagazine.com<br />
04 What's Up<br />
06 Wonder Women<br />
10 Bleeding Big Blue<br />
11 Boats + Beer = Fun<br />
12 House Money<br />
For Pete's sake<br />
Not that I’m unbiased, but I think this is a pretty good edition of <strong>01907</strong>. Knock-out cover and<br />
stories with punch. I am saddened, though, that one of my favorite Swampscotians won't get to read it<br />
and call me afterward to meet at Starbucks so he could tell me what he did and — especially — didn’t<br />
like about it.<br />
Peter McNerney died on Aug. 19. I got to know him first as a client in my earlier iteration as a<br />
public-relations consultant, and eventually as a verbal sparring partner. He, like I, loved the debate.<br />
Peter was a former Wall Street guy who had a variety of interests — stocks and bonds, model<br />
railroads, music, and chess among them. And politics. I particularly enjoyed those conversations<br />
(arguments, actually; we rarely, if ever, agreed, which is why we bothered to get into it in the first<br />
place). I loved his many philosophies, including one comparing the brain to the U.S. Senate: 51-49 is<br />
sufficient to make a decision.<br />
Of all things, what brought us together were red-light cameras — those things attached to traffic<br />
lights that record drivers running red lights. He worked for a company that sold them and they hired<br />
my company to open doors. He had me convinced that they would make roads safer (and ultimately<br />
cure me of speeding through yellow lights — probably while texting). Try as we did, we got nowhere<br />
with local officials on the cameras. He eventually left the company and I went back to seeing yellow as<br />
an invitation — if not a command — to accelerate.<br />
Godspeed, Peter.<br />
This is what he missed in this edition . . .<br />
Anna O'Brien isn't normally a fighter, but when the opportunity came for her to honor her late<br />
mother-in-law, she didn't hesitate. The 5-foot-5-inch O'Brien is gearing up for Haymakers for Hope's<br />
"Belles of the Brawl" boxing match in Boston Oct. 9. The 31-year-old Swampscott High alumna is<br />
fighting in honor of Josephine ( Josie) Racki, who died in October from a cancerous tumor in her brain.<br />
Bella diGrazia has the blow by blow.<br />
For 10 years, Burke's Tumbling Academy on Elm Place has been the place to go for gymnastics<br />
lessons, cheerleading classes and physical fitness programs.<br />
You'd hardly recognize the place these days. Owner Jen (Burke) and husband Rob DeMagistris<br />
have nearly completed a major expansion that will double the facility's space to 15,000 square feet,<br />
utilizing the space left vacant when Paradise Gym closed last fall.<br />
Bill Brotherton has the story.<br />
Chloe Smith, an equestrian, is settling into her freshman year at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, where<br />
she will be riding horses as part of the equestrian team. She'll be riding Frankie, her 11-year-old horse.<br />
Brotherton also has this story.<br />
Joan McCormack, Erin Calvo-Bacci and Ashley Pezzano took different paths to success, but each<br />
woman faced financial challenges, sexism and other barriers on the road to accomplishment.<br />
Gayla Cawley chronicles their journeys.<br />
Not that the entire edition is about women; it also includes stories about a couple of unique guys.<br />
In the early 1970s, Nahant's Bob Risch started the Grand Pram, motivated by the reality that many<br />
of the beachgoers he spent summer days sunbathing beside often disappeared after Labor Day.<br />
Bridget Turcotte has the story.<br />
And if you attend any Swampscott High football games this fall, be sure to keep one ear tuned into<br />
Roger Volk. This is his 20th year doing the public-address announcing for the Big Blue.<br />
Steve Krause writes about the voice of Swampscott High football.<br />
For these, and our usual array of food and fashion tips and real estate news, start reading.<br />
I don’t know if Peter would’ve liked this edition. But the conversation would’ve been more fun if he hadn’t.<br />
INSIDE<br />
15 Brawling Belle<br />
18 Trail Tale<br />
20 Tumbling Forward<br />
22 Mac Attack<br />
24 Leaf Keeper<br />
26 Horse Sense<br />
28 Suds of Summer<br />
30 Carry & Clutch<br />
31 Market Growth<br />
COVER<br />
Anna O'Brien prepares<br />
for her Haymakers for<br />
Hope bout, in the fight<br />
against cancer.<br />
PHOTO BY<br />
SPENSER HASAK<br />
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02 | <strong>01907</strong>
04 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
FRESH • TIMELESS • LUXE<br />
WHAT'S UP<br />
Inaugural PorchFest<br />
WHAT: Spend the day listening to<br />
a variety of local musicians on the<br />
porches of your Swampscott neighbors.<br />
WHERE: Olmstead/Monument Avenue<br />
area<br />
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 14, noon-6 p.m.<br />
Cold-weather blues<br />
WHAT: Dr. David Mischoulon, professor<br />
of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School<br />
and director of Depression Clinical &<br />
Research Program at Mass General, will<br />
discuss Seasonal Affective Disorder,<br />
light therapy lamps, and ways to beat<br />
the cold-weather blues.<br />
WHERE: Swampscott Public Library<br />
WHEN: Monday, Sept. 16, 6:30-7 p.m.<br />
Photo Credits: Cory Silken<br />
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Acting out<br />
WHAT: Participate in fun theater games,<br />
talk about elements of theater, and<br />
enjoy a staged reading of a one-act play.<br />
WHERE: ReachArts, 89 Burrill St.<br />
WHEN: Four sessions, Sept. 24 and 25,<br />
Oct. 1 and 2; 7 to 8:30 p.m.<br />
Sleepy Hollow's Lost History<br />
WHAT: Christopher Rondina, author<br />
of "Legends of Sleepy Hollow: The Lost<br />
History of the Headless Horseman," will<br />
discuss his new book, his research, and<br />
the story behind this fascinating story.<br />
WHERE: Swampscott Public Library<br />
WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 3, 7-8 p.m.<br />
Harry Potter Halloween Party<br />
WHAT: Participate in a sorting<br />
ceremony, Quidditch on the lawn,<br />
themed snacks, and wandmaking. All<br />
ages invited.<br />
WHERE: Swampscott Public Library<br />
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 26, 10:30 a.m. to<br />
3:30 p.m.<br />
Spooky fun<br />
WHAT: A free, not-so-scary haunted<br />
house to celebrate Halloween. For ages<br />
9 and older.<br />
WHERE: ReachArts, 89 Burrill St.<br />
WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 31, 6-9:30 p.m.<br />
C<br />
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06 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 07<br />
BY GAYLA CAWLEY<br />
They have enjoyed seeing their businesses<br />
grow, but for three local female entrepreneurs,<br />
success has not come without challenges.<br />
"The biggest challenge when you're<br />
self-employed is your work-life balance. It<br />
takes so much time and energy to develop a<br />
business," said Dr. Joan McCormack, owner<br />
of Atlantic Hearing Care. "As women, we<br />
always try to do everything ourselves, and<br />
finding the right people as you grow can be<br />
really challenging. I think it's important not<br />
to be afraid to take some risks and learn from<br />
your mistakes."<br />
McCormack, Erin Calvo-Bacci and<br />
Ashley Pezzano took different paths to<br />
success, but each woman faced financial<br />
challenges, sexism and other barriers they<br />
surmounted on the road to accomplishment.<br />
McCormack, 64, of Swampscott, opened<br />
her business in 2007, and has seen it grow to<br />
the point where she needed to add providers<br />
and secure a bigger space to better serve<br />
patients.<br />
The audiology practice's patient volume<br />
has tripled since it opened, necessitating a<br />
recent move to a new location in Vinnin<br />
Square. Atlantic Hearing<br />
Care has an additional office<br />
in Peabody.<br />
In 2017, McCormack<br />
launched the North Shore<br />
Hearing Foundation, a 501<br />
(c)(3) nonprofit that provides<br />
hearing aids to people<br />
struggling financially to buy<br />
the devices.<br />
Risk and hard work led<br />
McCormack to success.<br />
McCormack decided to<br />
strike out on her own after<br />
working for 25 years in the<br />
audiology field. She attributes<br />
her success in part to that<br />
professional experience. But<br />
networking was also huge:<br />
She joined the Lynn Area<br />
Chamber of Commerce soon after opening<br />
and often reached out to others for advice.<br />
Hiring the right people was crucial, she said.<br />
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK<br />
Dr. Joan McCormack is the owner of Atlantic Hearing Care, the audiology<br />
practice she started in 2007.<br />
WONDER<br />
WOMEN<br />
MEET FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS<br />
WHO OVERCAME CHALLENGES<br />
AND THRIVED
08 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 09<br />
"I think it's always a risk when you open up<br />
a business — it's a financial risk," McCormack<br />
said. "Obviously, you want to be successful and<br />
you want to make sure you're using your time<br />
and energy in the best way possible to grow<br />
and maintain your business."<br />
Calvo-Bacci, 48, got her start in 2003 by<br />
taking over Chocolate Truffle, a retail store<br />
in Woburn that she eventually sold. She then<br />
rebranded the manufacturing company Bacci<br />
Chocolate Design into its current incarnation,<br />
CB Stuffer, which has an online retail<br />
component and sells its products in specialty<br />
stores across the country.<br />
CB Stuffer is known for its peanut butter<br />
cup, which is the largest in the market and<br />
available in some 18 flavors.<br />
Sixteen years ago, Calvo-Bacci was a young<br />
mom itching to go back to work. When she<br />
saw the opportunity to take over the Woburn<br />
store, she thought it would be easy. But its<br />
location was terrible and the store was losing<br />
money.<br />
The awful site was a mixed blessing. She was<br />
able to connect with another female business<br />
owner in the building who taught her the value<br />
that mentorship could bring. Her success is due<br />
to connecting with other women, she said.<br />
Three years after starting in Woburn, she<br />
moved to a better location in Reading. A year<br />
later, she launched Bacci Chocolate Design<br />
in Swampscott. That evolved into CB Stuffer,<br />
named after husband and business partner<br />
Carlo Bacci, the company's Peanut Butter<br />
Production Chief and the most important<br />
person in her life.<br />
Making enough money to pay the bills and<br />
keep the business going was a major challenge.<br />
It took years for the couple to see a profit and<br />
reap the rewards. Calvo-Bacci remembers the<br />
stress financial difficulties brought.<br />
"There were many days when I really didn't<br />
know how we were going to be able to get<br />
through the night, how bills were going to be<br />
paid," Calvo-Bacci said. "I'm proud that we're<br />
actually still here, still around and actually<br />
successful."<br />
She worked to meet payroll even as business<br />
slowed during summer months, an off-season<br />
for chocolate sales. She faced the choice of<br />
laying off staff and running the store herself to<br />
cut costs or selling the Reading store. Calvo-<br />
Bacci chose the latter. That's when she started<br />
CB Stuffer.<br />
Financial challenges weren't the only ones<br />
Calvo-Bacci stared down and conquered.<br />
When she was breaking into a maledominated<br />
field of manufacturing, she found<br />
that some men didn't take her seriously,<br />
comparing the experience to a young girl<br />
walking into the advertising agency on the TV<br />
show "Mad Men."<br />
Erin Calvo-Bacci is the owner of CB Stuffer, which has<br />
an online retail component and also sells its products in<br />
specialty stores.<br />
Calvo-Bacci recalled attending a trade show<br />
for manufacturers in Atlanta, where she sought<br />
advice and insight from professional men, but<br />
was instead met with stares and dismissive<br />
comments such as "Aren't you cute."<br />
"There weren't many successful women<br />
chocolate manufacturers at the time," Calvo-<br />
Bacci said. "It was really challenging for me.<br />
That's why it's so important for me to pass it<br />
on to (and help) other women. Now, times are<br />
changing, but we still have a long way to go."<br />
Pezzano, 28, also struggled with not being<br />
taken seriously early in her career, saying that<br />
was why she left her position as an assistant<br />
manager of cosmetics at Nordstrom. She said<br />
she felt unsupported and underappreciated by<br />
the older, male store manager.<br />
She decided two years ago to partner with<br />
her mother, Laurie Pezzano, who for 12 years<br />
has owned Lincoln's Landing, a restaurant<br />
on Humphrey Street known for its delicious<br />
breakfasts.<br />
Before making the switch, Pezzano worked<br />
as a business account manager at Wayfair Inc.,<br />
where she managed her own accounts and did<br />
well.<br />
"I wanted to take that a step further and<br />
do that with my family, with something that<br />
was more of my own," said Pezzano. "I always<br />
had entrepreneurial tendencies throughout my<br />
career."<br />
The move was a natural transition for<br />
Pezzano because she had always been involved<br />
with the restaurant, waitressing there during<br />
high school and continuing to work on nights<br />
and weekends while employed at other jobs.<br />
Laurie started out at Lincoln's Landing as a<br />
waitress as well and decided to buy the place<br />
when the owner became ill.<br />
"THERE<br />
WEREN'T MANY<br />
SUCCESSFUL<br />
WOMEN<br />
CHOCOLATE<br />
MANUFACTURERS<br />
AT THE TIME.<br />
IT WAS REALLY<br />
CHALLENGING<br />
FOR ME.<br />
THAT'S<br />
WHY IT'S SO<br />
IMPORTANT<br />
FOR ME TO<br />
PASS IT ON<br />
TO (AND<br />
HELP) OTHER<br />
WOMEN."<br />
Ashley Pezzano said she was attracted to<br />
the familiarity and family-like atmosphere of<br />
the restaurant, where she gets to interact with<br />
customers and build relationships with regulars.<br />
Pezzano said she and her mother have<br />
been able to enjoy the success of the business<br />
during the last few years, citing the exciting<br />
accomplishment of celebrating their 12-year<br />
anniversary.<br />
The milestone was especially rewarding<br />
because they had to overcome a lot of obstacles.<br />
Her mother, the restaurant's head chef, was<br />
diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago,<br />
leaving them scrambling to find help.<br />
Unable to find a good cook meant Laurie<br />
had to work throughout her chemotherapy<br />
and radiation treatments. Thankfully, she's in<br />
remission now.<br />
With her mother in charge of cooking,<br />
Pezzano focuses on the business side.<br />
When she became a joint owner, she<br />
focused on revamping the menu and restaurant<br />
decor and worked to increase the restaurant's<br />
presence on social media. She hired people who<br />
were customer-friendly, and intentionally kept<br />
the waitstaff all female.<br />
"(We) had financial and health challenges.<br />
It's important to have a good team around you<br />
and keep going forward," Pezzano said.<br />
She'd advise other female entrepreneurs to<br />
follow their passion and take a risk. Starting<br />
a business is a huge financial gamble, but it's<br />
important to keep at it, she said.<br />
"Even if you fail, you're going to feel<br />
Breathtaking water views<br />
good knowing that you took that risk," she<br />
said. "You're always going to see some type<br />
of challenge and you just have to keep going<br />
forward."<br />
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK<br />
The daughter/mother team of Ashley and Laurie Pezzano co-own Lincoln's Landing in Swampscott.<br />
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10 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 11<br />
Volk bleeds<br />
Big Blue<br />
Boats<br />
+ =<br />
FUN<br />
Beer<br />
BY STEVE KRAUSE<br />
BY BRIDGET TURCOTTE<br />
Roger Volk may be a red-blooded<br />
American, but when the subject of<br />
Swampscott High football rolls around, that<br />
color changes.<br />
Says Volk, proudly, "I bleed Big Blue."<br />
This fall, Volk will celebrate his 20th<br />
season behind the microphone at Blocksidge<br />
Field doing the public-address announcing.<br />
Ever since he took over for Peter Sack back<br />
in 1999, the press box at Blocksidge has<br />
been his little piece of heaven.<br />
"It's my favorite thing to do," he says.<br />
Volk is a multi-faceted man. Though he<br />
lives on Littles Point, Volk is just as well<br />
known as a member of the Lynn business<br />
community for more than 50 years. A<br />
certified public accountant (or, as he likes to<br />
say, "charismatic, personable accountant),"<br />
he has counted among his clients and<br />
friends the late Johnny Pesky and pro<br />
wrestler Walter "Killer"Kowalski.<br />
His offices on the second floor of the<br />
Seaport Landing complex on the Lynnway<br />
are festooned with posters, plaques and other<br />
memorabilia depicting a lifetime of being<br />
both a sports fan and an active participant in<br />
the Swampscott High School football legacy<br />
(even if he didn't play for the team himself).<br />
He is the embodiment of the expression that<br />
ends with "be an athletic supporter."<br />
He's also what you might call a super<br />
sports fan. He has attended a Red Sox<br />
fantasy camp in Florida (he even suffered a<br />
muscle pull while he was down there) and<br />
proudly displays the baseball card the camp<br />
produced for all the participants, with Volk<br />
decked out in a Red Sox uniform and cap.<br />
This isn't his only association with Major<br />
League Baseball. His son, Jeffrey (he also<br />
has two daughters, Elaine and Melissa), is<br />
a vice president in charge of digital media<br />
for MLB, and one of the perks for that, at<br />
least as far as Volk is concerned, is that he<br />
was able to get into last year's World Series<br />
games in Los Angeles.<br />
Mostly, though, his work as a PA<br />
announcer at Blocksidge Field leaves him<br />
with such enthusiasm that he routinely<br />
springs for<br />
halftime hotdogs for the<br />
Big Blue staff as well as any writers who<br />
cover the games.<br />
"It's just something I decided to do," he<br />
says. "I felt that anyone who comes to one<br />
of our games deserves a hotdog. It creates<br />
a happy work environment. And I like a<br />
happy work environment."<br />
So, most Saturdays in the fall (save for<br />
the ones he spends in Florida) are spent at<br />
the field, with grandson Jacob Atzanman as<br />
his spotter.<br />
He's been a fan of the Big Blue from the<br />
time he was a child.<br />
"In elementary school, I never missed a<br />
game," he says. "I was one of those guys who<br />
would play touch football in the end zone."<br />
Former Big Blue star Bobby Carlin was<br />
his brother, Ken's, best friend, and that's how<br />
he began to take an interest in the team.<br />
"I looked up to him," Volk says.<br />
That association, and that love, stayed<br />
with him. Volk, now 75, was the president<br />
of his senior class at Swampscott, and<br />
developed a friendship with the late Stan<br />
Bondelevitch.<br />
"He used to talk with me about football<br />
all the time," Volk says. This was in the early<br />
1960s, when Bondelevitch, and the team,<br />
was just beginning to fashion the legacy<br />
that made Swampscott one of the most<br />
celebrated football programs in state history.<br />
Volk has put his imprint on other aspects<br />
of Swampscott sports too. He says he was a<br />
player in the first-ever season of Swampscott<br />
Little League when the field was back at<br />
Phillips Park.<br />
"I was on the Indians," he says. "Andy<br />
Holmes was my manager."<br />
Volk has never lost that zeal for the Big<br />
Blue legacy.<br />
"It's the kids," he says. "They have so<br />
much enthusiasm, and they provide so much<br />
excitement."<br />
Volk used to act as Sack's substitute<br />
when the former principal doubled as the PA<br />
announcer, and when Sack stepped down, he<br />
PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK<br />
was the natural choice to take his place.<br />
Along the way, he has formed some<br />
definite opinions about the program.<br />
"The kid who impressed me the most,<br />
since I've been doing this, has been Michael<br />
Walsh (a quarterback from Swampscott<br />
who graduated in 2012).<br />
"He was so good," Volk says. "Both he<br />
and A.J. Baker (the governor's son) have<br />
stayed friends with me over the years."<br />
He grew to like Steve Dembowski, who<br />
coached the Big Blue to an EMass Division<br />
3 Super Bowl championship in 2007.<br />
"I think he's the best coach in the (North<br />
Shore) area for the time he was here," Volk<br />
says.<br />
And speaking of that Super Bowl,<br />
Volk says one of his biggest thrills was<br />
to emcee the celebration back at the<br />
school auditorium after the team defeated<br />
Medfield, 22-6, at Gillette Stadium.<br />
"It was a big thrill," says Volk. "A lot<br />
of players who helped put Swampscott<br />
on the map were there: Todd McShay<br />
(ESPN broadcaster), Mike Lynch, and<br />
even Dick Jauron."<br />
Mostly, Volk loves to have fun.<br />
"I'll let you in on a secret," he says.<br />
"Some of us enjoy having fun."<br />
Along with his Red Sox fantasy camp<br />
experience, he did a Celtics camp too.<br />
He remembers Red Sox camp vividly.<br />
"It was in 2003, and my coach was Rich<br />
Gedman. It was a 'bucket list' thing," he<br />
says. "I remember the thrill of going into the<br />
locker room and seeing my name up there.<br />
"We played for a solid week," he says. "I<br />
remember getting to bat and facing Dick<br />
Drago. He threw me a pitch, and I asked<br />
'Did he throw it yet?' when it was already in<br />
the catcher's mitt."<br />
Watch for Volk this fall when the Big<br />
Blue tees it up. And if you stick around, you<br />
might even get a hotdog.<br />
Summer after summer, dozens of<br />
Nahant residents set out to row alongside<br />
their neighbors in an annual competition<br />
that celebrates the companionship of the<br />
town.<br />
But they might be surprised to learn<br />
how the tradition started.<br />
In the early 1970s, town resident Bob<br />
Risch started Nahant's Grand Pram. He<br />
realized that many of the beachgoers he<br />
spent his summer days sunbathing beside<br />
often disappeared after Labor Day.<br />
"A friend of mine, Wayne Hanson,<br />
and I would spend the summer at Short<br />
Beach like most of the town," said Risch.<br />
"We needed something to wrap up the<br />
summer."<br />
And so the Grand Pram was born.<br />
This year's Pram was held July 13.<br />
In its first year, 10 contestants lined<br />
up about a dozen feet from the shore<br />
with their prams. The small, box-shaped<br />
boats are popular in town. Contestants<br />
lifted up the boats and ran toward the<br />
water. Two participants jumped into each<br />
boat, with one crew member rowing to<br />
an anchored lobster boat, captained by<br />
Bill Mahoney.<br />
"A pram was not easy to row because<br />
of the blunt end," said Risch. "That was<br />
the idea. It sounds easy, but when you<br />
run into the water, the waves slap you<br />
back."<br />
Contestants had to row around the<br />
lobster boat, catch a can of beer thrown<br />
by Mahoney and drink it. They had to<br />
finish the beer before returning to land<br />
and carrying the boat back to the starting<br />
point.<br />
"We made yellow slickers and that<br />
was the first-place prize," he said.<br />
"People would break their neck to get<br />
that slicker and wear it around town."<br />
The event quickly grew to include<br />
about 100 contestants. Now, it draws<br />
hundreds of people with multiple races,<br />
including<br />
a modified version for<br />
children under 12, a kayak race and<br />
paddle board race for ages 13 and up, and<br />
the traditional Grand Pram for ages 21<br />
and older.<br />
Lifejackets are required for all<br />
racers. The event has been moved to the<br />
Town Wharf. This year, there was also a<br />
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NAHANT HISTORICAL SOCIETY<br />
cookout<br />
and a rubber ducky regatta. Funds raised<br />
through the event go to the Nahant<br />
Sailing Program.<br />
"The race, just like it was in the<br />
start of the '70s, is for the fun and<br />
companionship of the town," said Risch.
12 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
HOUSE MONEY<br />
A peek inside<br />
19 Mostyn St., Swampscott<br />
FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 13<br />
SALE PRICE: $1,375,000<br />
SALE DATE: July 9, <strong>2019</strong><br />
LIST PRICE: $1,495,000<br />
TIME ON MARKET: 77 days,<br />
listed April 23, <strong>2019</strong><br />
LISTING BROKER:<br />
William Raveis R.E. & Home Services,<br />
Team Toner & The Proper Nest<br />
SELLING BROKER:<br />
William Raveis R.E. & Home Services,<br />
Lubeck Rausch Team<br />
LATEST ASSESSED<br />
VALUE: $1,289,900<br />
PREVIOUS SALE PRICE:<br />
$937,000 (2011)<br />
PROPERTY TAXES: $19,606<br />
YEAR BUILT: 1850<br />
LOT SIZE: 0.51 acres<br />
LIVING AREA: 3,870 square feet<br />
ROOMS: 13<br />
BEDROOMS: 4<br />
BATHROOMS: 3 plus 1 half<br />
SPECIAL FEATURES:<br />
This 1850 Colonial has been updated<br />
with new shingles, restored maple<br />
floors, heating converted to highefficiency<br />
gas, and central air installed.<br />
All this just steps to the beach.<br />
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MAREK BIELA, BOSTONREP
14 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 15<br />
BELLE<br />
of the<br />
B RAW L<br />
Anna O'Brien joins the<br />
fight against cancer …<br />
in the boxing ring<br />
Anna O'Brien fights in<br />
Haymakers for Hope on<br />
October 9.<br />
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK<br />
Anna O'Brien isn't normally a fighter,<br />
but when the opportunity came for her<br />
to honor her late mother-in-law, she<br />
didn't hesitate.<br />
The 5-foot-5-inch Swampscott<br />
native is ready to put down her<br />
notebooks and pens and take a step<br />
back from her life as a dedicated special<br />
education teacher. She is gearing up for<br />
a battle.<br />
O'Brien is fighting in Haymakers<br />
for Hope's "Belles of the Brawl" boxing<br />
match in Boston October 9. The 31-yearold<br />
Swampscott High School grad is<br />
fighting in honor of Josephine ( Josie)<br />
Racki, who died in October from a<br />
cancerous tumor in her brain.<br />
"It was a very traumatic situation,"<br />
O'Brien said. "She was diagnosed when<br />
I was eight months pregnant. Our<br />
daughter, Bryce, was going to be her first<br />
grandchild. After being so good with<br />
other people's grandkids, Josie was so<br />
excited to have her own."<br />
The first week of Josie's radiation<br />
was the week Bryce was born. "She<br />
wasn't with us mentally after that,"<br />
O'Brien said.<br />
Given this was her third battle with<br />
cancer, having already beat it twice,<br />
O'Brien said she and her husband, Greg<br />
Racki, had hopes Josie would be able to<br />
fight a little longer. She held on until<br />
the baby was 5 months old but died on<br />
October 18 at age 70, seven months after<br />
her diagnosis.<br />
"There were days that I would look<br />
at my husband, unable to tell if his face<br />
was full of joy or horror," said O'Brien.<br />
"Emotions were no longer what we were<br />
used to. His mother was dying and his<br />
daughter had just started living."<br />
O'Brien said she learned about<br />
Haymakers for Hope, a charitable<br />
organization that gives people the<br />
opportunity to fight back against cancer,<br />
in 2014, after she saw a close friend fight<br />
in "Belles of the Brawl."<br />
Her heartbroken husband, who<br />
BY BELLA diGRAZIA<br />
"AFTER WE LOST<br />
JOSIE, THAT'S<br />
WHEN I REALIZED<br />
SHE WAS MY<br />
REASON TO FIGHT.<br />
spent months splitting his time between<br />
appointments at Mass General Hospital<br />
for O'Brien and the baby and Dana-<br />
Farber Cancer Institute for his mom, is<br />
what prompted her to register for the<br />
match.<br />
"After we lost Josie, that's when I<br />
realized she was my reason to fight," said<br />
O'Brien. "She was always my reason."<br />
O'Brien will compete, with 30 other<br />
SHE WAS<br />
ALWAYS<br />
MY REASON."<br />
— ANNA O'BRIEN
FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 17<br />
women, in three two-minute rounds<br />
during the boxing event at the<br />
House of Blues.<br />
O'Brien was required to set up a<br />
donation page and raise $7,500. But<br />
she decided to take it a step further.<br />
O'Brien swung big and made her<br />
donation goal $25,000. Every penny<br />
that's donated will go to Dana-<br />
Farber.<br />
Not only is she fighting for<br />
Josie's legacy, she said she is fighting<br />
to turn all the pain from the past<br />
year into something positive. With<br />
four months of training completed,<br />
O'Brien said the hours-long training<br />
sessions, five times a week, have<br />
become therapeutic.<br />
If she didn't have a 15-monthold<br />
baby and a husband waiting for<br />
her at home, she would be in the<br />
gym training seven days a week, she<br />
said.<br />
"Anytime I'm having a hard time,<br />
I think of her and everything she<br />
went through," O'Brien said. "I'm so<br />
glad to be raising this money in her<br />
honor."<br />
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18 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
Bygone rail line has its<br />
share of tales to tell<br />
Assistant Town Manager/Public<br />
Works Director Gino Cresta cuts his<br />
way through thick plant growth on<br />
the former Swampscott-Marblehead<br />
railroad right of way.<br />
PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK<br />
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Engage your<br />
imagination and stand<br />
on Walker Road or<br />
Paradise Road by the<br />
Public Works yard<br />
and you just might<br />
hear steel wheels click clacking along a<br />
railroad track.<br />
Abandoned in the early 1960s<br />
and built in the late 19th century, the<br />
former rail spur that ran just up from<br />
the present site of the commuter rail<br />
station on Pine Street across town to<br />
Marblehead still leaves its imprint on<br />
Swampscott.<br />
The bridges are long gone but<br />
their ghostly abutments still loom<br />
over Stetson Avenue, Paradise Road<br />
and Walker Road where 38-year<br />
resident David Downes appreciates the<br />
overgrown swath of land passing his<br />
backyard where trains once chugged.<br />
"There's a quietness to it," Downes<br />
said.<br />
After decades of existing as a<br />
wooded and weed-choked reminder<br />
BY THOR JOURGENSEN<br />
of yesteryear, the rail spur became a<br />
town debate topic in 2017 when Town<br />
Meeting approved a plan for a local<br />
bike and walking trail along the old<br />
spur's path. The state gave Swampscott<br />
$100,000 in June to pay to construct<br />
the trail's first half-mile segment.<br />
Resembling a jungle in late summer<br />
with its shoulder-high overgrowth, the<br />
trail during cooler weather has served<br />
over the years as a shortcut for kids<br />
walking home from school.<br />
"A lot of kids enjoyed it. I always<br />
hear them laughing and talking,"<br />
Downes said.<br />
Town native and Assistant Town<br />
Manager and Public Works Director<br />
Gino Cresta remembers when the<br />
disused railbed was the place where<br />
middle school disputes got settled.<br />
"Someone would say, 'Meet you on<br />
the tracks' and the whole school would<br />
come out and watch," Cresta recalled.<br />
As a boy, town historian Lou Gallo<br />
rode the spur, rolling out of the main<br />
station at Pine Street and making<br />
stops at Phillips Beach station near<br />
the intersection of Humphrey and<br />
Salem streets and Beach Bluff near<br />
Mostyn Street. The train crossed into<br />
Marblehead with a stop in Clifton<br />
before rolling into downtown.<br />
"If we were going to go to<br />
Marblehead, we would take it," Gallo<br />
said.<br />
He said the spur initially served<br />
Swampscott and Marblehead<br />
neighborhoods populated in part with<br />
summer estate owners who walked<br />
from their homes to the spur for a ride<br />
down to the main rail line and a trip<br />
into Boston.<br />
"When automobiles became big, it<br />
went out of fashion," Gallo said.<br />
Once the rails and the bridges were<br />
torn out, the spur became a ghost of<br />
itself. The Paradise Road abutment<br />
remains its most visible feature with a<br />
weathered plaque commemorating the<br />
Paradise Road bridge's completion in<br />
1938 as part of a federal public works<br />
project.<br />
The abutment also has an infamous<br />
past. Fifteen-year-old town resident Henry<br />
E. Bedard Jr.'s murder remains unsolved<br />
since his body was discovered under leaves<br />
on Dec. 17, 1974 between the spur and the<br />
end of nearby Suffolk Avenue.<br />
The site where the body was found is<br />
within easy shouting distance of Norfolk<br />
Avenue homes. A coroner ruled Bedard<br />
was bludgeoned to death probably on<br />
Dec. 16 at the spot where his body was<br />
found and police found a baseball bat<br />
at the murder scene. Cresta said one of<br />
the people to last see Bedard alive said<br />
the teen cut through the Public Works<br />
yard and climbed the embankment to the<br />
spur. The Bedard murder remains a topic<br />
of town speculation and Cresta recalled<br />
how it struck fear in townspeople.<br />
"There's a lot of stories out there. It<br />
seems crazy in this day and age that it<br />
hasn't been solved," Cresta said.<br />
Carved through a high stone ledge,<br />
the spur's Walker Road section has been<br />
encroached upon by abutters over the<br />
years. Downes hopes the flowering tree<br />
growing along the spur abutment at<br />
Walker Road by his property will not fall<br />
to an axe or earth mover once rail trail<br />
work begins.
20 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
G Y M<br />
Renovation innovations transform<br />
Burke's Tumbling Academy<br />
For 10 years, Burke's<br />
Tumbling Academy on<br />
Elm Place has been the<br />
place to go for gymnastics<br />
lessons, cheerleading<br />
classes and physical<br />
fitness programs.<br />
You'll hardly recognize<br />
the place these days. Owner Jen (Burke)<br />
and husband Rob DeMagistris have<br />
nearly completed a major expansion that<br />
will double the facility's space to 15,000<br />
square feet, utilizing the space left vacant<br />
when Paradise Gym closed last fall.<br />
Construction began in late winter.<br />
Work was nearly done in mid-August,<br />
just in time for kids returning to their<br />
back-to-school routine. A grand opening<br />
will be held this fall.<br />
Jen and Rob can't wait to show off the<br />
D A N DY<br />
BY BILL BROTHERTON<br />
improvements and additions.<br />
For instance, consider BKids: a minitown<br />
in one large room that resembles<br />
Swampscott where kids can use their<br />
imagination and creativity.<br />
There's a grocery store<br />
with plastic food, there's<br />
a restaurant that serves<br />
make-believe brick-ovenpizza,<br />
a post office where<br />
kids can write and "mail"<br />
letters to Santa or Auntie<br />
Sue, and more.<br />
"It's about child<br />
development," said Rob.<br />
"It's a space where kids can<br />
use their imagination, where<br />
kids can have fun at a music<br />
class or a Lego class while mom is at a<br />
45-minute spin class."<br />
Jen DeMagistris<br />
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK<br />
Daniel Angelov, 5, of Boston,<br />
and Ariella Katz, 8, of<br />
Marblehead, take to one of<br />
the trampolines in the gym of<br />
Burke's Tumbling Academy.<br />
Jen envisions monthly programs<br />
where a postman can bring his truck<br />
down and talk about what his or her job<br />
is like, or a doctor can come to the BKids<br />
"hospital" and talk about<br />
bones.<br />
Then there's a<br />
ginormous state-of-the-art<br />
new gymnasium sporting<br />
the most up-to-date<br />
gymnastics equipment. A<br />
few of the young gymnasts<br />
have tried it out and called<br />
it awesome.<br />
The initial BTA space<br />
will be a beehive of<br />
activities as well. BCycle<br />
offers high-energy indoor<br />
spin classes. Kickboxing is offered four<br />
days a week, run by two women who<br />
moved over when Paradise Gym<br />
closed.<br />
Jen, who spent most of her<br />
childhood in Swampscott except<br />
for brief stops in Chicago and<br />
Atlanta, said "It's so important to<br />
me to be in Swampscott. It's all<br />
about family in Swampscott. It's<br />
a special place. Most of my staff<br />
started with me when they were<br />
about 5 years old and now they're<br />
20. They are my family. They<br />
know how we are here. Maddie<br />
Cleary, our cheerleading coach,<br />
moved here from Alabama in the<br />
seventh grade. We did cheering<br />
together."<br />
Rob, who grew up in the<br />
spread-out Massachusetts town<br />
of Westford, agreed. "Swampscott<br />
and Marblehead, generations have<br />
lived in these towns. We were<br />
excited when the opportunity<br />
came to stay in Swampscott and<br />
expand right next door. … We<br />
were worried we wouldn't be able<br />
to find space in Swampscott. We<br />
didn't want to move.<br />
"You walk in here, and there's such<br />
energy. You feel it right away. Everyone<br />
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Gymnastics has always been<br />
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performed in competitions. While in<br />
Horizontal Board<br />
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high school, armed with one tiny<br />
mat, she taught gymnastics to a<br />
couple of neighborhood kids in<br />
her parents' basement. As a high<br />
school junior, with the blessing<br />
of her parents (Tom and Mary<br />
Burke), she started a summer<br />
gymnastics camp in the backyard<br />
of their house on Parsons Drive.<br />
She had 50 students by summer's<br />
end.<br />
During senior year at<br />
Swampscott High, after applying<br />
to Suffolk University, she steeled<br />
up her courage and told her<br />
parents she wanted to delay<br />
college and open her own gym<br />
business. "I was crying. I told<br />
them, 'I don't want to go to<br />
college. I want to do gymnastics.'<br />
Most parents would say, 'No.<br />
You have to go to college.'<br />
They supported me. My father<br />
said, 'What's the worst that<br />
can happen? You'll fail and can<br />
always go to college later.' But<br />
I think he knew it was going<br />
to be successful." Jen did go to college,<br />
Marian Court, anyway. While she ran<br />
GYM DANDY, page 25<br />
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FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 21<br />
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22 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
LOCAL FLAVOR<br />
FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 23<br />
Mama's Mac n' Cheese<br />
Coastal Dining<br />
BY BELLA diGRAZIA<br />
PHOTOS BY SPENSER HASAK<br />
The start of fall is also the start of stuffing-your-face-with-comfort-food season.<br />
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84 Wharf St.<br />
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Things You Need:<br />
1 lb. medium-size shell pasta<br />
3 T. butter<br />
2 T. flour<br />
2¾ cup whole milk<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
½ T parsley flakes<br />
16 oz. cheddar cheese, cubed<br />
1/8 cup merlot red wine<br />
7 crumbled Ritz crackers<br />
handful of breadcrumbs<br />
Things To Do:<br />
1. Cook shell pasta in salted boiling water (al denté)<br />
2. Melt butter in a separate saucepan on low heat<br />
3. Blend flour into the butter; continue to stir until smooth<br />
4. Add milk, raise temperature to medium/high, continue<br />
stirring until it bubbles and thickens<br />
5. Add salt, pepper and parsley flakes<br />
6. Slowly stir in cubed cheese on a low/medium temperature<br />
7. Add wine<br />
8. Continue stirring sauce for 10 minutes (or until it's<br />
smooth & creamy)<br />
9. Combine cheese sauce and the al denté shells in a<br />
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10. Crush crackers and sprinkle on top<br />
11. Sprinkle a handful of breadcrumbs on top<br />
12. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (cover it for<br />
the first 20 minutes)<br />
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188 Essex St., Lynn • 781-595-8953<br />
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Paradiso Ristorante • 15 Railroad Ave., Swampscott<br />
781-581-7552 • paradisoristorante.net
24 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 25<br />
GYM DANDY, continued from page 21<br />
A DAY IN THE LIFE<br />
This warden's inmates<br />
have bark but no bite<br />
BY THOR JOURGENSEN<br />
Gene Gardiner nudges rotted<br />
bark off a beech tree and the look<br />
on his face tells you he thinks the<br />
tree behind Town Hall has clearly<br />
seen better days in its almost 200-<br />
year lifespan.<br />
"I'm sure it's infected," he<br />
announces. Tree warden for 20<br />
years and the senior employee<br />
in Swampscott's Department<br />
of Public Works by virtue of<br />
his almost 35 years on the job,<br />
Gardiner has sap, not blood,<br />
running through his veins.<br />
His father, James, worked as<br />
a tree surgeon with Dodge Tree<br />
Service in Wenham before going to<br />
work for the town of Swampscott.<br />
He taught Gardiner everything<br />
about trees from stump to trunk to<br />
branch to leaf.<br />
"I followed in his footsteps,"<br />
Gardiner said.<br />
He helped his father out on jobs<br />
involving cutting down or pruning<br />
trees, but quickly learned after being<br />
hired by the town that tending trees is a<br />
dangerous job that does not abide mistakes.<br />
This tree behind Town Hall is on a long<br />
list of trees on public property that Gardiner<br />
periodically checks on and trims and prunes.<br />
The town commissioned a tree study<br />
in 2016 focusing on 2,926 roadside trees<br />
and ranking trees' health, designating some<br />
for pruning and labeling others as priority<br />
removals.<br />
The survey identified 72 different<br />
tree species in Swampscott with maples,<br />
especially Norway maples, cherry trees and,<br />
surprisingly, pear trees leading the pack.<br />
There's also a purple beech tree, a<br />
Mimosa tree and a couple of Japanese black<br />
pines.<br />
PHOTO | OWEN O'ROURKE<br />
Town Tree Warden Gene Gardiner oversees 2,926 roadside trees, some<br />
in need of pruning or cutting.<br />
The survey found that fewer than 10<br />
percent of the trees are in poor enough<br />
health to warrant chopping them down. But<br />
20 percent of the trees are ranked in poor<br />
condition and need monitoring and pruning.<br />
The study's lengthy conclusion includes<br />
tree maintenance and planting ideas for<br />
Gardiner and Public Works to pursue.<br />
Iron-clad rules of the trade underscore<br />
safety first: Never walk under a tree when<br />
someone is cutting in it; tie off limbs<br />
properly before cutting them, and gauge the<br />
direction in which a tree is going to twist<br />
before it falls.<br />
"When I first started the job, a piece<br />
from a stub I was cutting took out a<br />
window," Gardiner said.<br />
Gardiner's main job as warden is to<br />
handle work orders filed by town<br />
residents with the Public Works<br />
office on Paradise Road and clear<br />
away trees and limbs downed during<br />
storms.<br />
His first job in responding to<br />
a work order is to make sure the<br />
tree is on public property. Making<br />
that determination can occasionally<br />
be tricky and his arrival on a town<br />
street can easily set off a chainreaction<br />
of tree tending requests.<br />
"We'll go down the street and<br />
do a work order and someone will<br />
come out say, 'Can you do this too?'"<br />
he said.<br />
Town tree care received high<br />
marks from resident Annette Levitt,<br />
who appreciates efforts to keep trees<br />
like the stately red oaks towering<br />
over Thomas Road in good shape.<br />
"I love them. They're so graceful<br />
and magnificent," she said.<br />
Gardiner likes doing the work<br />
he learned from his father and<br />
spending his work days in what he<br />
calls "my outdoor office" even when<br />
storms mean facing the elements in all of<br />
their fury.<br />
Gardiner draws the line at climbing into<br />
a Public Works bucket truck with its 55-<br />
foot height reach during extreme weather.<br />
"If it's real cold I don't go out unless it's<br />
an emergency," he said.<br />
Responsibility for town trees has made<br />
Gardiner an expert in trees like the aging<br />
beech next to Town Hall and a variety of<br />
other town trees, including maples and<br />
cherry trees, as well as ginkgos and London<br />
plane trees.<br />
If he has any say in the matter, the beech<br />
still has a few more good years.<br />
"We've been pruning it over the years, so<br />
we'll see," he said.<br />
Jameson DeMagistris fills up his tank as he plays in the BKids play area.<br />
her business she completed a two-year<br />
program.<br />
It was kismet, when two women<br />
from A Performing Arts Academy<br />
dance studio in Salem offered her space<br />
to rent. She jumped at the chance and<br />
soon had more than 100 gymnastics and<br />
cheerleading students. Then, 10 years ago<br />
at age 22, she opened Burke's Tumbling<br />
Academy (BTA), which today has a<br />
clientele of more than 1000 ranging in<br />
age from 2 months to adult. This year's<br />
summer camp saw 1500 kids have the<br />
time of their young lives weekdays from<br />
8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.<br />
Four years ago, the DeMagistris'<br />
first child, Jameson, was born. They saw<br />
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK<br />
firsthand the struggles moms and dads<br />
have to squeeze in a workout. "For us,<br />
starting a family gave us the perspective<br />
of how busy life is," said Rob. So,<br />
they paired childrens activities with<br />
parents workouts under one roof but in<br />
different rooms. It was, and is, hugely<br />
successful.<br />
"It's amazing how it's grown," said<br />
Jen. "I started out as a single woman.<br />
It's amazing how I and my family have<br />
grown. I would not have been able to<br />
do it without Rob and my parents and<br />
my instructors. When we started I told<br />
everyone, 'Don't call me your boss. We're<br />
all in this together.' And that's how it is<br />
and will always be."<br />
Callie Doucette, 4, of Nahant, left, and her sister Madison, 5, have fun in the grocery store of the new<br />
BKids play area at Burke's Tumbling Academy.<br />
The Weight Loss Center<br />
of the North Shore<br />
offers a comprehensive,<br />
physician-managed,<br />
one-on-one approach<br />
to weight loss that is<br />
individualized to<br />
each client.<br />
123 Pleasant Street, Suite 105<br />
Marblehead, MA 01945<br />
781-797-0935<br />
www.WeightLossCenterNS.com
26 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 27<br />
Chloe Smith of Swampscott<br />
rides her 11-year-old Warmblood,<br />
Frankie, at Pine Tree Equestrian<br />
Center in Beverly Farms.<br />
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK<br />
WILD ABOUT HORSES<br />
CHLOE SMITH IS GALLOPING TOWARD A STABLE CAREER<br />
with the muck tubs, "but I also get to feed<br />
and brush the horses. … and I get lots of<br />
hugs." She said she is responsible for half of<br />
the costs, with her parents paying the rest.<br />
After two years at Swampscott High<br />
School, Smith switched to TECCA, an<br />
online high school that allowed her to<br />
spend more time at Pine Tree, training and<br />
taking care of horses. "I was motivated to<br />
get my school work done, so I could come<br />
to the barn. Through the entire school year,<br />
I was able to ride horses every day," she says.<br />
"When I was at Swampscott High, I could<br />
come here only on Sundays."<br />
Chloe has always loved being around<br />
horses. "I was turned on to horses at age<br />
five," she says. "I'd visit my grandma<br />
(Ramona Young) in Florida and go to<br />
summer camp, where I'd get to ride all the<br />
time. Every year I'd plead with my parents,<br />
'Can I please go to summer camp again?' "<br />
Before Frankie arrived on the scene,<br />
Chloe rode a big Arabian named Beemer,<br />
and stable horses Duke, Cecil and Calypso;<br />
the latter two are still at Pine Tree, where<br />
they frolicked in a field and playfully<br />
nuzzled during our visit.<br />
Frankie has a competitive background,<br />
says Chloe. He excels at English events,<br />
such as dressage and show jumping.<br />
"Frankie is a great jumper," she says.<br />
He's also "very low-key with a goofball<br />
personality, a go-with-the-flow guy. Give<br />
him carrots and he's happy."<br />
Just then, Frankie moves closer to Chloe,<br />
stares at her and stands on one leg. "He's<br />
doing what I call 'the Flamingo.' He lifts<br />
his leg to beg for treats."<br />
"I WANT TO<br />
HAVE A BARN<br />
OF MY OWN<br />
SOME DAY.<br />
I'M SERIOUS ABOUT<br />
IT. HAVING THAT<br />
BUSINESS DEGREE IS<br />
VERY IMPORTANT."<br />
— CHLOE SMITH<br />
"I want to have a barn of my own some<br />
day. I'm serious about it. Having that<br />
business degree is very important," says<br />
Chloe, who adds that neither of her parents<br />
are riders. "But they always come to see me<br />
ride (in competitions). They support that I<br />
do it."<br />
BY BILL BROTHERTON<br />
hloe Smith pulls a carrot<br />
from her pocket and offers it to<br />
11-year-old Frankie, her new<br />
horse and best buddy.<br />
He's a handsome fellow, this brown-andwhite<br />
Warmblood Paint gelding who stands<br />
16.2 hands tall (one hand is equal to four<br />
inches).<br />
"He's very photogenic," says Chloe,<br />
rubbing Frankie's chin one sunny July<br />
morning at Pine Tree stables in Beverly<br />
Farms. She and Frankie are still getting<br />
acquainted. It's been only three weeks since<br />
Chloe and her parents, Jim and Abbe Smith<br />
of Puritan Road, brought Frankie here from<br />
Dover, N.H.<br />
Frankie will be joining Chloe at Sweet<br />
Briar College in Virginia, where she's a<br />
freshman. A member of the equestrian<br />
team, she's pursuing a business degree and<br />
working toward her barn management<br />
certification. "Frankie will be a snowbird,"<br />
she says, with a smile. The two will return to<br />
Pine Tree during summer break.<br />
Chloe's worked here for a decade. She<br />
says the equestrian center's owner, Sue<br />
Denoncour, is wonderful, allowing her<br />
and several other young women to work<br />
in the barn to offset the cost of boarding,<br />
instruction and the like. Chloe has to deal<br />
725 Summer St. #2, Lynn, MA 01905<br />
Telephone: 781-913-8461<br />
Email: ALEX@privatejewelsfitness.com<br />
www.privatejewelsfitness.com
28 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
1 2<br />
3<br />
GIVING BACK<br />
tap1. 1. Jill McEntee and Dan Pye,<br />
both of Swampscott, enjoy the<br />
Swampscott Beer Garden with<br />
Bent Water Brewing Co. July 20<br />
at Fisherman's Beach.<br />
2. Birdface provided the soundtrack for a day<br />
of fun to benefit Swampscott's Fish House.<br />
3. From left, Jon Weingart of Waltham, Chris<br />
Gioiosa of Swampscott, and Mike Covino<br />
of Swampscott enjoy the Swampscott Beer<br />
Garden.<br />
Let us lead you home.<br />
Local Experts with Global Reach.<br />
4. Kelsey and Eddie Donovan of Swampscott<br />
enjoy a beer along the beach.<br />
5-6. Beer, fun and goodwill were on tap at the<br />
Swampscott Beer Garden.<br />
7. Amy Pritchard of Woburn, left, and Deb<br />
Stern of Arlington are all smiles with their Bent<br />
Water brews.<br />
saganharborside.com<br />
4 5<br />
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK<br />
6 7<br />
300 Salem Street, Swampscott, MA 781.593.6111 | 1 Essex Street, Marblehead, MA 781.631.8800
30 | <strong>01907</strong><br />
STYLE<br />
FALL <strong>2019</strong> | 31<br />
Farmers market<br />
grows in popularity<br />
BY GAYLA CAWLEY<br />
Guadalupe Designs' black petite "Galapagos" basket<br />
handmade from palm trees<br />
Available at Kat's Boutique, $170<br />
CARRY<br />
Monserat De Lucca "Vidal"<br />
gray suede crossbody bag<br />
Available at Chic Streets Boutique, $140<br />
in<br />
STYLE<br />
BY BELLA diGRAZIA | PHOTOS BY SPENSER HASAK<br />
If you must lug around all your valuable items every day, make<br />
sure they're in something that reflects your creative self.<br />
Whether you're into crossbody bags, satchels, woven baskets, or<br />
tote bags, there are millions of styles to choose from. Handbags<br />
are your most vital accessory, so head to any of these boutiques<br />
and find the one that speaks to you.<br />
FIND YOUR HANDBAG AT:<br />
CHIC STREETS BOUTIQUE, 434 HUMPHREY ST.<br />
KAT'S BOUTIQUE, 212 HUMPHREY ST.<br />
Hammitt "Daniel" black leather<br />
satchel with strap<br />
Available at Chic Streets Boutique, $525<br />
Guadalupe Designs' cream<br />
woven "Alamo" basket<br />
Available at Kat's Boutique, $195<br />
Hammitt "Nash" pine-cone-colored<br />
crossbody/belt clutch<br />
Available at Chic Streets Boutique, $165<br />
Hammitt "Tony" black metallic crossbody bag<br />
Available at Chic Streets Boutique, $215<br />
Neva Opet black leather bucket bag,<br />
handmade from Atlanta, GA.<br />
Available at Kat's Boutique, $95<br />
For the eighth year in a row, getting<br />
down on the farm doesn't mean going<br />
very far in Swampscott.<br />
People of all ages flock to the Town<br />
Hall lawn each Sunday during the<br />
summer and fall months to choose from<br />
a selection of fresh produce, pastries, fish<br />
and coffee while relaxing near the ocean.<br />
Moving from the farmers market's<br />
first location at Swampscott High<br />
School a few years ago has made a world<br />
of difference in terms of its growth in<br />
popularity.<br />
"When we are at the high school, it<br />
was less attractive as a destination," said<br />
Danielle Strauss, the town's recreation<br />
director, who organizes the market.<br />
"Now it's a destination. People are just<br />
coming here to meet where there's a cool<br />
breeze and a good view instead of being<br />
on the parking lot at the high school."<br />
A low point in the market's operation<br />
a few years ago prompted its change<br />
in location. A big drop in attendance,<br />
mirroring low participation for similar<br />
markets throughout the state at the time,<br />
made the town's vendors uncomfortable.<br />
It was then that Strauss and other<br />
organizers knew they had to make a<br />
major change.<br />
"That's what really did it for us,"<br />
Strauss said.<br />
The move immediately triggered the<br />
market's resurgence. Today there are<br />
30 vendors participating every week<br />
compared to 12 to 15 prior to the move.<br />
There is also a long waiting list of people<br />
who want to sell their products.<br />
Strauss said hundreds of people<br />
frequent the market each week, not only<br />
to shop, but to socialize, relax and listen<br />
to music.<br />
PHOTO | PAULA MULLER<br />
Cecilia Nicholson, 3, of Swampscott wears her favorite hat and makes a starfish at a craft booth at<br />
Swampscott’s Farmers Market.<br />
They may come for the vegetables,<br />
but the crepes and Bundt cakes also draw<br />
a crowd. Attendees are always on the<br />
lookout for the knife sharpener, a vendor<br />
who sharpens knives and blades for yard<br />
tools, Strauss said.<br />
"I just think that it's been such a<br />
great community success story that has<br />
really brought so many people together<br />
on a Sunday afternoon," Strauss said.<br />
The Swampscott<br />
Farmers Market runs<br />
each Sunday from the<br />
second week of June to<br />
the last week of October,<br />
from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.<br />
We offer Tai Chi<br />
and Qi Gong for Health,<br />
Wellbeing, and Fitness.<br />
781-581-8887<br />
ecohen@humanharmonies.com<br />
Vinnin Square Plaza, Swampscott, MA<br />
www.humanharmonies.com
Lynn Auditorium<br />
On Sale at the...<br />
LynnAuditorium.com 781-599-SHOW