Issue Four Summer 2020

school with 4th, 5th and 6th-grade students observing and
learning. Other classroom teachers and distinguished guests
would be the judges. The audience would be completed
with proud parents looking on as their children vied for the
honor of delivering the Gettysburg Address at the Memorial
Day ceremony at Greenlawn Cemetery. Alas, not this
year. The five fantastic students were in the safety of their
homes delivering their speeches into a computer. Having
frozen half-way through my delivery in the 8th grade, I have
a keen respect for these young scholars. The tradition goes
on, but the final delivery will also be done virtually through
the dedication and talents of our Veterans, Town employees,
and incredible volunteers.
Gettysburg Address Competition, Johnson School
Incredible. According to Webster’s International Dictionary:
surpassing belief; too extraordinary to admit belief; fabulous.
This is a word I find myself using over and over these days.
Our incredible medical professionals, who courageously
walk into the fire of COVID-19; our incredible town workers,
who keep us functioning; our incredible residents, who
make masks, deliver meals, post inspiring messages on
wood, rocks, social media; the incredibly fun initiative of
putting stuffed animals in the windows for all to see and be
comforted by; and the incredible anonymous folks who do
what they can when they can. Which brings me to the point.
We Are Living History.
The Society’s initiative, We Are Living History, is the result
of being inspired by all the good that is being shared in Nahant,
which started with Seaside Pizza stepping in to keep
our valuable seniors fed when the COA temporarily lost the
use of their kitchen(and continuing to offer the general public
a change from the frozen or canned meals stocked up at
home). Then there is the Johnson School collaborating with
Anchor Food Pantry to keep our students fed with healthy
meals; the Council on Aging delivering meals and a bit of
socially distant social moments to our residents at home; and
on, and on.
In this time of uncertainty, of drastic changes to our personal
and professional lives, of some new-found chaos at home
with students out of school, and the unknown of how long
this will go on, we want to hear from you about how you are
getting through, coping, hanging-in. What kindnesses are
you witnessing around town? What do you want others to
know? What inspires you in this difficult time?
We might be the smallest municipality in the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, but we have an amazingly large
spirit. Not too long into this pandemic, the brilliance of our
kindness star shone. The acts of kindness and generosity
flowed through the town. I have room to highlight only
some of the memorable history being made, but please know
that the Society is aware of all that is being done. Just ask
our volunteer, Jane Kirkman, who is sifting through reams of
information as she works at home.
With the leadership of our social media guru, Susanne
Macarelli, the Society began our initiative by highlighting
the remarkable heart of Nahant. Our first Facebook post
naturally included a photo of Seaside Pizza taken way before
COVID-19 made its appearance. This inspiring photo was
shot by Karen Hosking, 2013 Smithsonian Magazine Finalist
for “The American Experience.” Our goal with this project is
to learn about the good that residents are seeing during this
dark time. We want to know what people are experiencing;
how they are feeling and coping during the unique event.
The response so far has been wonderful. People are reaching
out with stories of encouragement, inspiration, simple
thoughts and quotes, and hope for all. In my experience,
the younger generation and the more mature folks often have
different perspectives during times like these but one aspect
of our ‘new normal’ registers strong across the board. We
miss being able to see our friends and family.
I reached out to the 3rd and 4th grade teachers at the Johnson
School to get a youthful perspective of what life in the
COVID-19 episode is like for their students. I even Zoomed
with Mrs. Durant’s 3rd grade students, some of whom had
very mature questions for me.
Julianne wanted to know if this
was the same type of pandemic
as the Spanish Flu pandemic
in 1918-1920. Alex asked
if the Spanish Flu started
the same way as COVID-19.
With social media, and right
now so much time at home,
these young students are very
well informed. Mrs. Durant and Mrs. Shanahan assigned a
Social Studies task and asked the students to address specific
questions about how they are feeling, what do they miss
most, what do the NOT miss, and how are they spending
their time. Their answers did not disappoint. You may have
guessed that the majority of the students do not miss having
19 | Nahant Magazine