By Mary Geyer

45 minutes north of Boston is the small beach town of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Characterized by rocky beaches, blue harbors filled with boats, lighthouses, and a plethora of historical buildings, the charm of Marblehead draws many in.

Marblehead has a rich history; the land for the town was purchased in 1684 from the Naumkeag tribe. The town was originally recognized for the abundance of fish and lobster in its surrounding ocean, marking it as a fishing town and important port. The ocean was a key part of the economy, as well as an attraction that caused many fishermen to move to Marblehead. The many harbors in and around it gave the town a crucial advantage during times of naval warfare during the Revolutionary War. Water was and always will be a crucial part of life to those living in Marblehead.

My father Rory Geyer and I (at two years old) on the Marblehead Harbor. Photo courtesy of Rory Geyer.

During the ten years I lived in Marblehead with my parents and brother, we fell in love with the town. None of my family is originally from or ever lived close to Marblehead or its surrounding areas. We moved there shortly after I was born. Despite the differences from where my parents had grown up, Goochland and Virginia Beach, we were all, for the most part, very happy with the lifestyle we lived. Harsh winters, salty roads shortening the life expectancy of cars, and roads constantly in disarray proved to be challenging and put a damper on everyone’s mood during the colder months. I remember one year, 2015, we got so much snow that my dad and I had to go outside to dig paths for my dog to walk through. We made igloos, ramps for sledding, and castles, since we were out of school for several days because of the snow. Although my mom was not thrilled with the weather, the snow provided me with some of my fondest childhood memories.

One part of Marblehead that sets it apart from other places is the way it is divided into different neighborhoods with creative names. Old Town is characterized by colorful old houses, as well as narrow and sometimes cobblestone streets. Some of the houses in Old Town date back to the 1600’s and are identified by oval wooden plaques with the date of construction on them. The oldest house is the Ambrose Gale House. According to the Salem Witch Museum website, “Ambrose Gale lived here in 1692. Gale, his daughter, Charity (Gale) Pitman, and Sarah Doddy testified against Wilmott Redd, the only Marblehead woman to be hanged for witchcraft in 1692. Today the house is privately owned.” 

Marblehead harbor, aerial, with Marblehead Neck in foreground and harbor filled with sailboats. Photo credit: iStock user Essentials collection.

Another part of town is known as The Neck. To reach The Neck, one must cross a long bridge that boasts a beautiful ocean view on either side. The loop around The Neck is three and a half miles long. When I was in 5th, 6th, and 7th grades, I ran around the Neck loop as part of a program called “Fit Girls” for middle school girls. It is a fairly small peninsula, but it features some of the most extravagant homes in the area. These multi-million dollar homes almost always overlook the ocean and are accessorized by tennis courts and large blue swimming pools. This is in stark contrast to the small houses in Old Town, just a short drive away.

In such a small town, local businesses become important spots for socializing, strengthening the sense of community, and they are vital to the town’s economy. These local businesses also help attract tourists. One particularly exciting moment for Marblehead was when Adam Sandler decided to film his 2020 movie Hubie Halloween in the town and even enlisted the help of locals as extras. Various scenes in front of key Marblehead buildings only offered the town more publicity.

The Barnacle is known as an iconic landmark restaurant in town. It is owned by local man Jay Sahaigan, whose son, Carter Sahaigan, I attended school with. It is the only restaurant in the area with its own lobster boat, and an article from local newspaper Marblehead Current described how they use it: “Sahagian goes out on his lobster boat almost every day and brings his catch back to The Barnacle’s kitchen. ‘We are ocean-to-table,’ he said.” If you ask any local in Marblehead, they will identify The Barnacle as one of the most popular local spots.

The Barnacle restaurant. Photo credit: Toby McGuire.

Another local business that exemplifies Marblehead’s close knit community is Mud Puddle Toys, owned by Cassie Watt. Hearing about a lack of materials that local public school teachers were provided with, Mud Puddle Toys supported teachers with 5,000 dollars worth of supplies and other toys as a generous one-time donation in December 2023. This toy store has long been recognized for their generosity. Editor Leigh Blander for Marblehead Current points out, “This isn’t the first time Mud Puddle has donated to teachers and schools. Watt says she gave $150 wobble boards to every school in town, along with $700 worth of dolls and books to the Brown School.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, many of these small businesses were negatively affected and unable to remain open. One of these businesses that was forced to close was Mayflower Cleaners, a local dry cleaning company that was used by many, including my mother, Shelby Geyer. After opening its doors 87 years ago, the financial impacts of COVID-19 were too great, and owner David Schleri was forced to shut down. During an interview with the Marblehead Current, Schleri said, “since COVID, people don’t need dry cleaning as much. ‘Times have changed, especially with the pandemic. There’s remote work, Zoom meetings, and an increase in casual wear. The bills keep going up, and fewer people are coming in.’” Schleri decided to move away and made a point of commenting that he would miss Marblehead and the people in it.

Also affected by the pandemic were the local public schools. The terrific public school system for the town of Marblehead draws many young families to the town. Unfortunately, a lack of resources and difficulty coming up with in-person education solutions led to the public schools being fully or partially closed until March 2021. Students learned remotely, much like in many other areas of the country that year.

One teacher who provided insight into what it was like teaching during this challenging time was my 7th grade English teacher, James Schaffnit, who continues to teach at Marblehead Veterans Middle School. “It was difficult, because the expectations would change almost weekly at first. At first it was: we’re going to come back in two weeks. And then we were initially told we weren’t going to assign any work while the kids were at home. Two weeks quickly came and went, and we had to start adapting with lessons and assignments online.” With the students quarantining in their homes, the teachers were not physically with them to monitor if work was being done, as well as the mental wellbeing of the students. Schaffnit described teacher meetings where specific students’ names would be brought up and strategies to keep them motivated would be discussed. 

James Schaffnit in 2010. Photo courtesy of the Wicked Local.

Eventually, students began to return to the school in a rotation to “keep the number of bodies in the buildings lower.” Half of the students would be in person Monday and Wednesday, the other half Tuesday and Thursday, and everybody would be virtual on Friday. This lasted until around March 2021, when the school returned to fully in-person instruction. Even though everyone was happy to be back at school, Schaffnit explained that it still wasn’t an ideal situation: “I don’t know if it was any better, because there were still so many rules on the table. We were definitely all masked up. We all got a mask break twice a day, we wiped down desks and chairs with sanitary wipes after class. At that point, I started to get a little frustrated, because I would go out to eat at a restaurant, and I was allowed to take my mask off at the table, but the students weren’t allowed to take their masks off at their desks.”

COVID-19 also had a noticeable impact on certain fundamental academic skills. Schaffnit described that, as an English teacher, he noticed a negative difference in his students’ writing abilities and ability to manage their time. He said, “One thing I noticed in particular was students just having an ability to know what it means to be a student. Like how to meet a deadline, and turn in work on time, and checking the rubric for an assignment.” In addition to teachers like Schaffnit noticing differences, tools such as standardized tests provided further evidence that COVID-19 was negatively impacting students in the town of Marblehead.

My father Rory Geyer and I (six years old) on Preston Beach in Marblehead. Photo courtesy of Rory Geyer.

The standardized test known as MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System), administered to Massachusetts public school students every year, had shown a frightening downward trend in academic performance in public school students for the years 2021 and 2022, However, the scores in 2023 showed vast improvement and that the academic slide had been halted. An article in Marblehead Current points out “The Department of Early and Secondary Education also released district accountability ratings for the first time since the pandemic. The accountability ratings look at areas including achievement, student growth, graduation rates, chronic absenteeism and more. Marblehead scored ‘meeting or exceeding targets.’” Excited by the news, several faculty members working for the public schools shared that they believed things were well on their way to normalcy again: “‘This is a great indication that we have really hard-working teachers who are helping our kids get back to pre-pandemic learning levels,’ said MHS Parent Council Organization Co-Chair Dr. Melissa Kaplowitch.”

Although there is still much work to be done, Marblehead has proved its resilience to such major events and setbacks such as COVID-19. This has only continued to encourage people to move to the town. Most noticeable are the number of families moving out of populated and larger cities such as Boston to Marblehead as an escape from city life and the pandemic and its restrictions.

With its incredible history, scenery, and sense of community, Marblehead provides an incredible environment for anyone who lives or visits. However, it takes a very specific type of person to thrive in the town and fit in with the local activities, such as boating, fishing, and surfing. In addition to this, harsh weather conditions, long winters, treacherous ice and snow either toughen those that live there, or push them away. The town of Marblehead shaped my life, my mentality, and who I am as a person, and I believe most others who live there feel the same.

Featured image credit: Eyal Oren via New England.com.