Several times each year I lead a teachers' professional development program in Hull Village. We started today atop Telegraph Hill, at Fort Revere Park, and ran a loop down through the town. I talked for about three hours. I obviously can't fit it all in here.
So, let's go with themes. How about the founding of the country? We cover the visit of the Pilgrims to Hull in 1621, and the early families recognized in the cemetery at the bottom of the hill. I always stop at the memorial marker of the Reverend John Prince, and today there was a twist. One of his descendants was in the crowd of teachers. She stepped up to help tell the tale.
We talk about the industrial revolution and the way it brought Hull from tiny fishing outpost to summer playground for the rich and famous. We threw around the names of the U.S. presidents who had their direct impact on Hull - Cleveland, McKinley, Coolidge, Kennedy and Lincoln - and we talked about bossism and controlled politics of the early part of the twentieth century. Hull was a hotbed for it.
We visited the library, the historical society and several points in between. We talked about Floretta Vining, the irascible editor of the Hull Beacon who once proopsed in print that all men over 60 years of age should be put to sleep. We discussed Melvin Ohio Adams, member of the Hull Yacht Club, who was also Lizzie Borden's defense attorney. And we remembered Bernice James De Pasquali, the coloratura soprano born in Hull who once sang with Enrico Caruso at the Metropolitan Opera House.
I hope that the teachers found at least some of what I said interesting. If nothing else, I hope they enjoyed the walk through history, and a beautiful little town.
Time: 179 minutes.
New species: None.
Stranger hellos: 6 (332).
What else is happening: led a walk at the Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield; did a five-minute radio spot on Ray Brown's Talkin' Birds on WATD 95.9 FM; worked on the pool; magazine and book work deep into the night.