PULLING DOWN A HOME

Sometime your can't move a house. It is a tragic waste to see a new or historical house demolished, especially when it is your home.

MOVING A HOUSE

Moving a housing, even under the best of conditions, is no easy task. Imagine what it would take to move a house through a neighborhood with narrow streets. Sometimes its might not be feasible to even try to move the house.

RECKONED ONLY A YEAR AT A TIME

I read an old saying that “Marblehead reckoned only a year at a time.” Exactly what that meant to early Marblehead is retold in many of its historical stories.

Alex de Tocqueville (1805-1859) said the Europeans navigated the oceans with prudence. They would set sail in good weather, put into port if there were any problems, roll-up a portion on canvas at night, and record sightings of land. However the Americans, as typified by the Flying Cloud out of Marblehead, were a different lot. Tocqueville felt that  “the American neglects these precautions and braves these dangers. He weighs anchor in the midst of tempestuous gales; by night and day he spreads his sheet to the winds; he repairs as he goes along such damage as his vessel may have sustained from the storm,.. The Americans are often shipwrecked, but no trader crosses the seas so rapidly.” He regarded the actions of these mariners as “a sort of heroism.” (Lord and Gamage, 1972).

However, early Marblehead was not an easy life. It was the ocean that gave it life, and the fishing them their living.  To cut the harshness the “keg’ was too often used for its healing powers.

This “healing” would clash with the public peace. Governor Winthrop would later record, “We kept a court.” And the Puritan tenets of the early court brought a quick and firm response for those who were seen to have abused the use of the “hot water” [beer].

Well, Thomas Gray was caught drinking to excess. The punishment of the court was severe. For his actions the court ordered in 1631 that his “house att Marble Harbor shalbe puld downe, & that noe Englishman shall here after give houseroome to him or entertaine him.”

It is told through town records that Thomas Gray may have been Marblehead’s first welfare recipient. Fortunately for many Marble headers, “empathy for a fellow townsman who was in trouble or wronged was as much a part of them as the swearing and brawling and cussed resistance to outside authority.” (Lord and Gamage, 1972).

WHAT FOR SALE?: Local Farmers Markets

I heard about this poet in Seattle, named Meredith Clark, who writes poems for customers she meets at her local Farmers' Market. My friend thought it was a "nifty" idea [his words not mind], and I agree.

I just happen to live in a community that has one of the best Farmers' Market on the North Shore. Yes, the Marblehead Farmers' Market. You can read about it at http://www.marbleheadfm.com/index.htm.  I noticed that the applications are now on line for this season [June 12 to October 23, 2010] markets.

If you have a chance this season, I highly recommend dropping by the Middle School on a Saturday morning. I can't think of many better ways of starting my day. Until than you just have to be content viewing this video clip of the Marblehead Farmers' Market [courtesy of YouTube and mhlee2020]. Enjoy!

A Brief Tour of MARBLEHEAD, MA

I thought you might like a brief tour of Marblehead, MA. The following video clip, dated in February of 2009, was posted on YouTube courtesy of Coldwell Banker.

HOW I BECAME A MARBLEHEADER

Like many folks before us, how we became Marbleheaders, was a matter of choice.

In 1977, my family included my wife and our two sons ages 6 and 8. We were looking to move to Massachusetts, and as it happen, we were sailors. Naturally, we were attracted to Marblehead, which of course is a beautiful community located on the Atlantic Ocean.

We were delighted to be able to buy a house overlooking the bay from Bubier Road. My family and I moved to Marblehead from Minneapolis in 1977. Our new home was built in 1907 by the developer of the amphibious airplane and we became the third owner. At that time the property provided views of Bakers Island and Manchester by the Sea, to the North East and Boston to the South. We originally had 180-degree views of the harbor and ocean, but because of tree growth in the abutting Seaside Park, and other changes in the neighborhood, our views were altered dramatically since that time.

The neighborhood was a wonderful setting to raise a family. Now, 2010, my family is grown and I am the only one remaining on Bubier road. I now live in a house I built on the adjoining property. That is a story that you may have heard about. In any case, I will tell you more about that in future postings.

For now, enjoy your families and our community.