Forever Marbleheaders: Memories of growing up in Marblehead, Massachusetts

By Forever Marblehead

Marblehead is a special place. It holds on to you. When the Old Timers Society produced the Hollyhocks to Hot Top books,we didn't realize what a treasure they were. In their postscript to the book they said, " Perhaps you remember a bit of Marbleheadiana which history will treasure. We urge you to write it, or being very up-to-date, ta

• Language: English
• Publisher: Forever Marblehead
• Release date: Jun 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781087872384

Book preview

1

Introduction

Forever Marbleheaders: First row Warren Perry,  Andrea Tucker Merrifield, Joanne Faney Hobin, Maureen Graves Anderson.  Second Row:  Dan Dixey, Barb Hazell Perry, Chris Brown, Bill Conly, Irene Conly, Norm Brown, Bill Goodwin 

Photo by Dan Dixey, 2017

The group, Forever Marbleheaders had their first meeting in March 2016 at the Goodall Library in Sanford ME.  It was started by a group of Marbleheaders, who mostly  live in Maine.  We began by sharing our memories of Marblehead, and very quickly the idea for a book began to form.  We all loved the Hollyhocks to Hot Top books and used them for our inspiration. We meet monthly and our only qualification for membership is that you attend a meeting in person.  Members range in age from 30's to 90's, uptown, downtown, Clifton and Neck.  We began to share summaries of our meetings on Facebook, and found a large audience.  Everyone has memories of Marblehead, but sometimes no two people agree on those memories. We hope this book inspires you to share yours.

Jack Attridge

Michael Attridge

Wayne O. Attridge

Chris Brown*

Norm Brown

Patty Burke Pederson

Bill Conly

Irene Conly

Dan Dixey

Lea Doliber Phipps

Dave Fallon*

Joanne Faney Hobin

Marge Gallo Armstrong

Bill Glass

Bill Goodwin

Pam Gorman Oppelt

Maureen Graves Anderson 

Nancy Simpson Graves

Gayle Griffiths Fraser

Barbara Hazell Perry

Larry Hardwick

Steve Hutchings

Rob Magoon

Warren Perry*

Joyce Suchanek Elliot

Kathy Sweet*

Andrea Tucker Merrifield

Will Williams

Judy Wolfgram McNaught

Sue Wolfgram Carroll

* Deceased

Forever Marbleheaders: Maureen Graves Anderson, Rob Magoon, Andrea Tucker Merrifield, Wayne Attridge

Photo by Maureen Anderson, September 2017

Forever Marbleheaders: Lea Doliber Phipps, Maureen Graves Anderson, Barb Hazell Perry, Norm Brown, Mike Attridge, Andrea Tucker Merrifield, Wayne Attridge, Bill Glass, Will Williams, Bill Goodwin

Photo by Dan Dixey, January 2020

Forever Marbleheaders - we even met by Zoom during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Photo by Maureen Graves Anderson, 2020

2

Greetings

Maureen Graves Anderson

Greetings between ‘Headers are unique to our town.   At our Forever Marbleheaders meetings, the questions have been raised:  How many greetings are there?  What are their origins?  How old are they?  Many tell tales of being in far off lands, being greeted by Whip or Down bucket.  Jean Eldridge remembers it being used in 1945, Norm Brown remembers using Whip in 1947, and Joanne Faney Hobin remembers using it in 1988 at Disneyland.  My story is about my own failure to use the greetings.  In 2020 before the pandemic hit, I was in a restaurant in North Conway, NH where I met up with childhood friends.  We had many laughs.  At one point, an exasperated woman came over and asked if we were from Marblehead.  We were surprised that she knew. She said she had been at the next table randomly shouting Whip but we never responded.  In my defense, we were so wrapped up in each other’s company, that we never heard a thing anyone else said.  She overheard us talking about Devereux Beach, Girdler Road, Gatchell’s Pit, and Grace Oliver’s.  She was a Header!

Whip – The earliest mention in the Marblehead Messenger is 1957. At about that time, several wrote that it was an old greeting between Marbleheaders.  I found one mention in the 1920’s where two people in Florida greeted each other with a well-known greeting.  Was it Whip or something else?  There are several alternatives for the origin of Whip.  Dan Dixey did some research and came up with this: A version of the origination of the word Whip is that it alludes to a certain salve that Peter Cortee used when shoeing horses in his blacksmith shop on what is now Essex Street. This salve, first called whipping salve later gained some renown for its medicinal qualities.  Peter Cortee, 1846-1926 had a blacksmith shop on Essex Street for many years, although earlier the shop was on Goodwin’s Court.  He lived on Lindsey Street.  Others claim that the origin of Whip comes from the children’s game of Whip, where children hold hands and run along while the leader tries to fling them off with a whip motion.  Many recall playing this whip game while ice skating.  However, this game is not unique to Marblehead nor does it explain how it became a greeting between Headers.  In Road’s History and Traditions of Marblehead, he mentions a 1714 report that described the militia two companies of poor, smoke-dried, rude, ill-clothed men, trained to no military discipline but that of Whipping the Snake.  Perhaps the feisty Headers adopted that insult as a badge of honor?

Down Bucket/Up For Air/To Hell I Pitch it  – First mention in Marblehead Messenger is 1943, but many claim its origin is far older.  Before the days of indoor plumbing, a bucket or chamber pot was used.  In the morning, the lady of the house would dump it outside. Before it was pitched, she would call out Down Bucket.  If a passing person replied Up For Air, she would wait until that person had passed by and then pitch the smelly contents, with the call To Hell I Pitch It.

Molly Waldo/Bodgo – Earliest mention in the Marblehead Messenger is 1929.  This call, Bodgo and response, Molly Waldo were used by passing ships.  This helped identify the ships as being Marblehead vessels.  Supposedly, this dates back to the time of the Revolution.  My research shows it MAY be a corruption of the Jersey dialect, Jerriase.  Many sailors and merchants came from the Channel islands of Jersey and Guernsey.  Bodgo sounds remarkably like bonjour in Jerriase, and as such is a simple greeting.  Molly Waldo is more difficult but possibly a corruption or Where are you headed

Rock’Em – First mention in the Marblehead Messenger is 1902.  This derives from the rallying cry of boys to throw rocks at interlopers, most notably from Salem.  The full saying was Rock ‘Em Around the Corner" and meant the rock barrage would continue until the Salemites retreated.  Over time, it lost its literal call for throwing rocks, and became more of a greeting or rallying cry at sporting events. The Marblehead Messenger in 1945, reports it was used as a Marblehead greeting between soldiers and sailors in WW11.

3

Abbot Library

Andrea Tucker Merrifield

Doris Ohm, circa 1958

Photo by Andrea Tucker Merrifield, circa 1958

As a child, I loved to read. Doris Ohm, who worked at Abbot Library and later became the chief librarian, was one of my parents’ close friends. She made sure I had beautiful hardcover books for Christmas and my birthday. My first library was Abbot Hall, the wonderful room with the imposing painting, The Spirit of 76. That’s where the children’s room was located. I was in awe and hushed to silence every time I walked in. Across the hall were the stacks where the adult books were kept. In 1954 the library moved to its present location on Pleasant St. I was 8. I vaguely remember moving books hand over hand. The new library was a wonder for me. The children’s room was located in the lower level and entered through the courtyard. On a Saturday morning I would often load up the basket on my bike with books I had finished and take off for most of the day. I lived on Jersey St., right at Shepard St. and had many routes I could take. Usually I would go through Abbot St. and work my way through Bowden and Bessom onto Pleasant St. and on to the library. This was before the old Junior High was built on Village St. The land behind my parents’ house between Jersey and Village St. was unused pasture land so there was no short cut to the library that way. Entering the library, I had favorite sections.

Right next to the stairs there were orange-bound biographies. They were probably suited to a third or fourth grader and I read every one. I would check that shelf first to see if there were any I hadn’t read. Lincoln, Washington, Clara Barton, Jane Addams, all became my friends. I also loved the Landmark books about American history. After choosing some books, I would scan the magazines. I sometimes had my own subscription to American Girl, the Girl Scout magazine, but Boys’ Life, the Boy Scout one, was one of my favorites. I liked the comics and there was always a story about the bravery of one special scout. Sometimes I would begin reading my new books right there at one of the desks. No comfy chairs in my memory. I think those would come later. Then the librarian would check out my books, putting a rubber-stamped due date in the back of each one. I had two weeks to read them. Four books was the limit, although I think you could get an extra one if it was non-fiction. New arrivals had to be back in a week. A two cent a day fine was charged for each day they were late.

When we entered Junior High—7th grade—we could go upstairs to the youth room. It was the front room with the bay window. We often met there to study and very quietly socialize. We also had the run of the library at that point, free to enter the stacks and use the grownups reference books

The school, our churches/temples, the Y, the library, the Warwick and of course the harbor. We had it all.

4

The Mourning Ring

Dan Dixey

This story begins on August 22, 1737, when John Dixey, living on Naugus Head, passed away at the age of 85. John Dixey was born in Marblehead in 1652, baptized in 1657, and was the son of Thomas Dixey, who ran the Marblehead to Salem Ferry beginning in 1644. John was a ferryman and a deacon, and he was the person responsible for the name Naugus Head when he first called that section of Marblehead Nogg’s Head in a court deposition in 1709. John had no children so John’s nephew, William, who also lived on Naugus Head was the administrator of John’s estate in 1737. Among the expenses, itemized and listed, in the Probate Records were various funeral expenses and the purchase of fourteen engraved gold mourning rings. In colonial days, they often wore mourning jewelry to honor a deceased relative and to act as a constant reminder of the life of a loved one. Payment of 27 pounds, 12 shillings was made to Thomas Skinner, a local silversmith who made the fourteen rings, engraved them and stamped his mark, TS, on them. The engraving, inside the ring, read JD OB 22 Aug 1737 AE 85 TS (JD = John Dixey, OB 22 Aug 1737 = died August 22, 1737, AE 85 = age at death 85 years, TS = silversmith mark of Thomas Skinner).

 It is unknown who the rings were given to, but no doubt many went to family members that were still living on Naugus Head.

We fast forward to May 28, 1949, on Naugus Head. A resident, John Griffiths, was working in the garden next to his house on Naugus Avenue. While digging in the dirt John found a shiny object. He picked it up and wiped it off and realized it was a gold ring. The 1737 date inside the ring piqued John’s interest, so he contacted both the Marblehead Historical Society and the Essex Institute in Salem. After a little research they were able to identify this ring by the inscription, and sure enough it was one of those mourning rings made by Thomas Skinner in 1737. John Griffiths, being a collector of old things, put the ring in a small plastic case and packed it away. He also put with the ring a newspaper article from the Wakefield Daily Item from June 8, 1949, telling the story of John’s find and its historical significance to Marblehead.

Years passed and John mentioned the ring to his daughter, Gayle Griffiths Fraser, but never showed it to her. He found the ring before Gayle was born, so by the time he told her about it, the ring was tucked away in a safe place and not easily located.

In 1984 my wife, Susan Burke Dixey, and I purchased a house at 2 Kenneth Road and moved to that beautiful neighborhood with water views. The following year I started research on the Dixey family tree, knowing very little about my family’s deep connection to Marblehead. I worked from my desk in a finished room in the attic with a window looking out at Salem Harbor and also overlooking Naugus Head. From my research I learned that my 9th great grandfather was Thomas Dixey and that he ran the ferry from Marblehead to Salem starting in 1644 and that the ferry landing on the Marblehead side was right outside my window. I found old maps showing all the Dixey properties on Naugus Head and the rough locations of the houses. Naugus Head became our favorite walking route and we pushed baby carriages around Naugus