Memory lanes in Marblehead

This month, Liza and I took a detour from an invitation to a wedding in Chicago to travel in Maine and to visit Marblehead. While Tucker’s Wharf is real, Shanghaied’s mention of it is fiction. I have no idea if Tucker’s history goes back to 1810.

My history in Marblehead started in the summer of 1972, between my college years. Wanting to live near dear friends, I found a job caring for a 40’ sloop and taking her inexperienced owner sailing. To find myself working fifty years later on a story that starts in Marblehead - obviously, it left a strong impression on me.

My young self absorbed the place, but youth can be pretty oblivious. This time, my old self paid more attention to the history that suffuses Marblehead. I.E., the first ship commissioned for the continental army, the Hannah, sailed from Marblehead. But as much as Marblehead is historic, it is also a lived-in community, going about its daily life.

That summer so long ago, a family befriended young me when I needed friends. The Ray family was part of the impression Marblehead left with me. On this visit, I wish I’d been able to find and thank them again.