Marblehead Patch Reader Comments of the Week

Here are some of our top reader comments from the past week. Click on the headlines below to read our full story.

---

VIDEO: Marblehead Celebrating Powderpuff Victory

shan: thank you for posting this video of our team I can safely say it was one of the best nights of our life I cannot describe the feeling in words I had when it was announced we won and we all ran and hugged each other so thank you for sharing our team spirit!! :)

Where Would You Put the Warwick Theater Marquee?

Joe Whipple Good heavens! One marquee or replica is surely enough. Give it back to Tom McNulty, if it won't go back on the building.

Resident Tells Police Causeway Needs a Fence

Petey Pancakes The real question is who is going to build this fence? And are we going with chain link or stockade?

Joe Whipple Years ago there was a fence on the harbor side of the causeway. Bill Baumrucker went to the Selectmen in the 1960's and asked them to remove it to improve the view. Over Jim Skinner's vehement objections, the Board agreed that it was useless and should be removed. A few years later, somebody who was speeding went over the wall and landed on the beach, with, as I recall, no serious injury. Apart from that, I don't recall anybody going over the fenceless wall.

Header Dad Joe,  I am assuming that the person that walked into the police station to request a fence be put up on the outbound side meant the cross walk side. As outbound must refer to outbound toward the Neck. I too have often been walking on the aforementioned crosswalk and had distinct nervousness and trepidation at the thought of a cell phone distracted driver not seeing the sharp left turn at the beginning of the causeway and thus losing control of their vehicle. I can easily imagine a car plunging into the sidewalk and heaven forbid if a person is walking in the sidewalk at that same time. Mark me down as someone else that strongly feel there should be a barrier between the road and the crosswalk especially at the beginning of the causeway where the sharp left turn is.  It is a catastrophe waiting to happen!

Peter Lake The fence on the harbor side was an eyesore, made from about 1" or 1.5" pipe with two horizontal rungs. Several people went right through it as though it wasn't there, so it served no useful purpose keeping speeding drivers out of the harbor. Without a fence I think drivers are more cautious.
Before the entrance to Devereux Beach was reconfigured, a speeding car crashed right into the hot dog stand that stood in the middle of the parking lot. The car was an odd British brand, made of fiberglass and burned fiercely. That entrance allowed cars driving from the Neck to go straight into the parking lot.

This Week in Marblehead History: 1918

Russ Patten Very interesting. I wonder how much a movie ticket was at the Warwick in 1918.

Letter to the Editor: 'No Ma'am?'

Krista Robbins I say this all the time "Attitudes are contagious, make yours worth catching!" Thank you for service to our country and standing your ground! Keep spreading the kindness!

Police Plan Crack Down on Peddlers at Holiday Events

Peter Lake Yes, those illegal balloon vendors must be rooted out and driven from our town. Children must not be allowed to buy bootleg fluorescent necklaces! What's our budget for tar and feathers?  The police must devote their full resources to this, as long as they're not needed to solve the recent sail-by shootings.

Susan Fader It is about time! I stopped participating years ago as an invited volunteer to do face painting during the street Festival. Outside, and other "pop-up" vendors, took up precious space available during the Street Festival. I was doing something I love for our community, but the dynamics took away from the goodwill and the unique qualities of the community Festival. At the time no action was taken to correct the matter. I am thrilled to see that the Chamber recognized the situation and made a stand. Hopefully going forward we will see more of this type of representation by them and others interested only in bringing a concern to someone's attention.

chip randall Does " Authorized Street Peddlers " mean non-resident fee paying peddlers? Santa Claus is all about money nowadays. I recall when the USS Constitution visited Marblehead in 1997 there were a slew of peddlers that were granted space ( Leased ) at the turnaround at the end of Front Street at the Fort and they complained to either the Board of Health or to the Selectmen, and the police shut the 12 year olds down for selling canned drinks.  Their parents got involved and they moved their stand back 15 +/- feet onto the Private Lane and kept on with them moving Cokes etc with a suggested donation to a college fund. They did very well for the time the Constitution was here. The three or four all went to college too. None of them majored in Government or law.

Betty Kennedy I think that banning 'outside' vendors is a bit over the top. They are not selling anything that is in direct competition with Marblehead vendors. Quality always trumps quantity and if a child has a 2.00 spending limit, they will opt for something they can afford. Remember back to your own childhood and how great it was to buy penny candy, a balloon etc. with your own money. If folks are buying items not being sold from local vendors, maybe they should provide those items that are in demand. Plus using the word 'peddlars' harkens back to a place that no one who knows anything about Marblehead history should revisit. Out original settlers were escorted out of Salem as being undesirable inhabitatnts. Are we going back to that? Hopefully not.

Sharon Thibodeau OMG - it's come to this! Ridiculous when police resources are used for this instead of speeding, pedestrian accidents, etc.

 Every Little Breeze Catering Instead of taking the information from the selectmans meeting out of context and making generalized comments about it... look at it this way. The Chamber of Commerce is looking out for everyone at these holiday events, especially the children, by asking that ALL vendors simply go through the proper channels and have permits to be there. It has nothing to do with money... its both safety and equality. The Police details are hired for these events to ensure safety. Shouldn't this include knowing that the food vendors have been ok'd by the board of health and other vendors have permits? It would be irresponsible of the Chamber not to make sure all aspects of these family events are safe.