Cheryl Byrne - Marblehead Current

11 Feb

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: A valentine to a long marriage

Cheryl ByrneColumns, Opinion, Virginia Buckingham

All apologies to Hallmark but my husband David and I don’t exchange Valentine’s Day cards anymore. We didn’t make a conscious or even neglectful decision to stop doing so – no, “Sorry honey I forgot this year” or “these commercialized holidays are stupid” commentary underscored our reasoning. We had no reason at all, as far as I know. And if you wake up to pink paper hearts on February 14 th , I’m neither judging nor jealous. It’s totally great to be wooed that way.…

20 Jan

Marblehead Author Tonya Walker dishes on ‘mean girls’ and her book

Cheryl ByrneArt

Marblehead author Tonya Walker is launching her book, "Slim and the Notorious Mrs. Churchill," this month. The novel is a work of historical function that offers readers a glimpse into the glamorous and treacherous social world of New York and Paris in 1958. This story will resonate with fans of Ryan Murphy’s recent award-winning television series, “Feud: Capote Versus the Swans.” Set among the wealth, ambition and shifting alliances of postwar high society, the novel centers on Pamela Churchill, the notorious mistress to millionaires. At…

14 Jan

FOOD 101: My first beef Wellington

Cheryl ByrneFood

I’ve never made beef Wellington. This refined entrée’s popularity rose and fell with the Gilded Age. Julia Child revived it in “Mastering the Art.” A whole generation of mid-century hostesses made it the core of fashionable dinner parties. Creating this showpiece is time-consuming, labor-intensive. And now it’s back. When Current editor Leigh Blander emailed a query about 2026 goals and resolutions, I’d already been mulling the culinary challenge. Just because it was there. (Like Kilimanjaro.) I analyzed recipes from Julia to James to Gordon. As…

14 Jan

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Meet Mabel of Marblehead

Cheryl ByrneBusiness, Local News

The following is an interview with Erin Spinucci, owner of Mabel of Marblehead, conducted by Discover Marblehead. This business brings women together through curated events, insider experiences and a lifestyle of inspiration — rooted in community, creativity and a deep love for small-town local. To learn more about Mabel of Marblehead, visit mabelofmarblehead.com. Tell us about Mabel of Marblehead. Mabel of Marblehead is a concierge, community and collaboration company that curates experiences and connections for women. We host events and workshops, design special moments, and…

14 Jan

Marblehead native’s debut book uses mythology to reframe women’s modern experiences

Cheryl ByrneArt, Top Stories

Emily Marcus Gong was knee-deep in teaching Latin in Washington, D.C., when a former passion started bubbling to the surface. She had graduated with a degree in classics and thought of herself primarily as a teacher. Although she had always loved writing, she did not take a creative writing class until the final semester of her senior year in college. She was hooked. She applied to and was accepted into the Master of Fine Arts for Poets & Writers program at UMass Amherst, graduating in…

13 Jan

OBITUARY: Harvey Alan Brand, 84

Cheryl ByrneObituaries

Harvey Alan Brand passed away on Jan. 11, the day before his 85th birthday, following a stroke. The first child of Sarah (Caplan) and Sanford Brand, Harvey was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, and raised in Albany, New York. He graduated from RPI with a degree in electrical engineering and was president of his fraternity. Harvey married Carol Cohen in 1965 and they raised two children, Alex and Alicia, in Marblehead. He enjoyed a long career, initially in defense contracting and later for the Federal Department of…

27 Dec

Check it out: Marblehead’s most-read books of 2025

Cheryl ByrneAbbot Public Library, Entertainment, Top Stories

The end of the year brings no shortage of lists — best of, most memorable, even worst. Among the most anticipated are the book lists highlighting what readers loved (or didn’t) over the past 12 months. Two of Marblehead’s most book-friendly spots — Abbot Public Library and Saltwater Books — shared what readers were drawn to in 2025. Abbot Public Library Director Kimberly Grad offered insight into the community’s reading preferences, sharing the library’s most popular titles across age groups. Children Three titles from Dav…

24 Dec

CUZNER IN NATURE: Hooded merganser looks majestic in Joe Brown’s Pond

Cheryl ByrneAnimals, Columns, Cuzner in Nature

By Rick Cuzner The fall and winter months are a great time to search for ducks and water fowl. I see a lot of hooded mergansers in both local ponds and estuaries. The marsh down in Forest River is an excellent place to see them. Along with the Hoodies, I often see harlequin ducks, pintails, longtails and an assortment of others.spiders for protein, often catching them in mid-air or plucking them from spider webs. The Marblehead Current is proud to partner with photographer Rick Cuzner,…

17 Dec

LETTERS: Pride alone does not fund schools or pave roads

Cheryl ByrneLETTERS, Opinion

To the editor: With 2026 fast approaching, I expect that Marbleheaders will soon begin to have a more rigorous and honest conversation about how we fund our town and the services we rely on. It is encouraging to hear town leaders, led by Finance Director Aleesha Benjamin, publicly acknowledge the need for a general override in 2026. For years, Marblehead’s operating costs have grown faster than revenues due to the constraints of Proposition 2 1⁄2, which caps annual property-tax increases. Over time, that structural imbalance…

17 Dec

LETTERS: Resident seeks info on dog that bit his Siberian husky

Cheryl ByrneLETTERS, Opinion

To the editor: If you were walking your dog on the Hawthorne Pond trail in Marblehead at approximately 3:40 PM on Dec. 11, please contact me. My dog lost a piece of his ear and had to have stitches. Unless I can establish that the dog who bit him was currently on rabies shots, my 2-year-old Siberian husky will have to do an extended quarantine and will miss his beloved twice daily playtime at the dog park with his best buddies. I can be reached…