01907 Winter 2020 V3

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
Thor Jourgensen
Contributing Editors
Cheryl Charles
Steve Krause
Contributing Writers
Mike Alongi
Elyse Carmosino
Gayla Cawley
Daniel Kane
Steve Krause
Thor Jourgensen
Nancy Lusignan Schultz
Guthrie Scrimgeour
Ann Marie Tobin
Photographers
Olivia Falcigno
Spenser Hasak
Advertising Sales
Ernie Carpenter
Ralph Mitchell
Eric Rondeau
Patricia Whalen
Advertising Design
Trevor Andreozzi
Mark Sutherland
Design
Tori Faieta
ESSEX MEDIA GROUP
110 Munroe St.,
Lynn, MA 01901
781-593-7700 ext.1234
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01907themagazine.com
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
04 What's Up
06 The doctor is in
10 Faith's-eye view
12 House Money
14 Welcome home
18 COVID cohorts
INSIDE
20 Life saver
22 Labor of love
24 Standing tall
26 A fresh start
28 Quite a lady
30 Municipal marvels
TED GRANT
'At the crossroads of history,
literature and religion'
In the face of the ever-worsening COVID-19 pandemic, the town was able to celebrate something
positive in October — the return of students to school. Even if it was only part of the time.
Superintendent Pam Angelakis in August outlined her plan to start the year with remote learning, and transition
to hybrid on Oct. 26. Even though the news kept getting worse with regards to another coronavirus spike, Angelakis
stuck to her schedule. And she was ecstatic once the day came and students were back at their desks.
“I saw happy students, happy parents, and happy teachers,” she said as she cheerfully greeted students
outside Swampscott Middle School with principal Jason Calichman. Elyse Carmosino has the story.
Bishop Robert P. Reed is a jack-of-all trades. The Swampscott native is an author; is CEO of
ICatholic Media, which includes the massive CatholicTV network; is a television talk-show host; serves
approximately 68 parishes and schools as Vicar General Regional Bishop (West region); and is pastor at
St. Patrick and Sacred Heart parishes in Watertown.
It all began at the St. John's School, originally part of St. John the Evangelist parish on Humphrey Street.
"I think I knew I wanted to go into the priesthood when I was about eight years old," Bishop Reed
said. "I was impressed by the parish priests and that's where I first dreamed of being a priest." Anne
Marie Tobin has the story.
In 2019, "The Green Book," a movie written by Lynn native Brian Hayes Currie, won an Oscar for best
picture. One of Currie's friends is Nancy Schultz of Swampscott, Schultz who has written extensively on
historical matters, and about everything from the Salem Witch Trials to the "Green Book" to Harriet
Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and how she found connections between that book and the
Holocaust when she went to Poland to lecture.
Says Schultz, "I work at the crossroads of history, literature and religion."
Schultz is up this month with an essay about the Boynton Street home that was mentioned in the "Green
Book" for 15 years from 1939 through 1954. And Steve Krause takes a turn profiling Schultz in a second story.
This issue of 01907 hits the issue of diversity head on, with two other stories that touch on the subject.
First, Guthrie Scrimgeour has a story on Keli Khalib, co-founder of Swampscott Unites Respects
and Embraces (SURE), an organization founded in 2016 to celebrate all aspects of human diversity.
"Diversity doesn't just mean color," said Khalib. “People look at Swampscott and see mostly white faces.
And they often say there’s no diversity. And that isn’t true. Diversity means age, abilities, where you’re
from, socio-economic status.”
We also have Natasha Soolkin, regional director of the New American Center in Lynn, who emigrated
from the old Soviet Union 30 years ago. So she knows how difficult it can be for the immigrants and
refugees she works with to adjust to their new home in the United States. Gayla Cawley profiles her.
Deb Bogardus wanted to use Andrews Memorial Chapel 20 years ago for a service honoring her
late sister. What she saw when she opened the doors sparked a labor of love by more than a dozen
townspeople that endures today. Thor Jourgensen has the story.
Our 01907 also covers 01908. And for many, the thought of Nahant brings to mind hot days on the
beach, but for Calantha Sears the town means much more — everything in fact. Sears has spent nearly
a century in Nahant, calling it her home and leaving her imprint on the state's smallest municipality.
Daniel Kane has the story.
Finally, the Nahant Life Saving Station on Nahant Road has seen a lot in its 120 years of existence.
Now, the station is finding new life as an event venue. Mike Alongi has the story.
Read on.
COVER
Swampscott historian
Nancy Lusignan
Schultz stands in
front of a local home
that welcomed Black
Americans 70 years ago.
PHOTO BY
SPENSER HASAK