Court Merrigan - Marblehead Current

29 May

MY MARBLEHEAD FIRST TIME: Hidden gem unveils a dad’s bittersweet reflections

Will Dowd0 CommentsColumns, Court Merrigan, Opinion

For beginnings, you start at the start. Like when we came to Marblehead. From my vantage point in Wyoming before we came here, Marblehead was a mere dot on a Google map, somewhere close to where the land ended. The first time I saw this town was from the front seat of a moving truck, maneuvering down Pleasant Street, almost comical in its narrowness after Wyoming's wide boulevards. It seems like a blink of the eye now, but 2,000 miles of driving that U-Haul, took…

08 May

MY MARBLEHEAD FIRST TIME: Time and tide … getting caught on Crowninshield Island

Will Dowd0 CommentsColumns, Court Merrigan, Opinion

If there is one observation I have about the East, it is this: There sure are a lot of trees here. In Wyoming, go for a drive and you'll see vastly more prairie goats than trees. Prairie goats are more commonly known as antelope, and there are more of them in Wyoming (512,000) than people (480,000). They sprint at high velocity across the plains, unimpeded by trees or much else. You can routinely spot them at a distance of a mile or more, and the…

20 Mar

MY MARBLEHEAD FIRST TIME: ‘Ski the East’ lives up to atypical hype

Will Dowd0 CommentsColumns, Court Merrigan, Education, Opinion

I’ve been noticing “Ski the East” bumpers stickers since I got here. Now, there are no corresponding “Ski the West” bumper stickers I’ve ever seen. Folks generally agree that the skiing in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, et al, is pretty OK. So, I thought the slogan seemed oddly rah-rah, almost Midwestern in its enthusiasm. Like the zeal displayed by Cawker City, Kansas, home of the World’s Biggest Ball of Twine. Having been there, I can confirm, that is one giant ball of twine, and they are…

21 Feb

MY MARBLEHEAD FIRST TIME: This landlubber experiences frostbiting

Will Dowd0 CommentsColumns, Court Merrigan, Opinion

On a farm or ranch out on the High Plains, when something goes wrong and you’re the one standing there, you fix it. Like the time the cattle broke the fence up on the ranch in Prairie Center, Wyoming, and my dad and I spent two frozen days tracking them down. Or the time I got a pickup stuck in a snowdrift in below-zero temps, with two kids in back and one small shovel. There’s no cavalry on the way, no AAA or Helpdesk. You…

03 Jan

MY MARBLEHEAD FIRST TIME: A new year with plenty of horizons

Will Dowd0 CommentsColumns, Court Merrigan, Opinion, Uncategorized, Viewpoints

When we told people we were driving back home for Christmas, we generally got one of two reactions: ”You’re driving all the way to Wyoming?!!? How far is that, even?” and “You’re driving that whole way in the Mini??” The view from the sixth hole COURTESY PHOTO / WAYLON MERRIGAN Friends, I can report the answers were: Yes, 1,989 miles. And yes. Two adults, two teenagers and two dogs did indeed go the whole way in my partner’s red Mini Cooper, aka the Red Baron.…

29 Nov

MY MARBLEHEAD FIRST TIME: ‘Private’ street guide leaves unanswered questions

Will Dowd0 CommentsColumns, Court Merrigan, Local News, Opinion

I have in my possession papers titled “Private Edition of the Ancient Streets and Ways in Marblehead,” dating from 1937, expanded in 1971. A kind and anonymous soul gave them to me. In keeping with the aforementioned injunction to privacy, I will not quote from the document directly, even though a number of the author’s scurrilous observations are highly amusing. And I will not reveal the author’s identity. As it turns out, Google Maps knows about Prospect Alley, but why it was once also known…

25 Oct

MY MARBLEHEAD FIRST TIME: A hunt for a harvest leads to a cranberry bog

Will Dowd0 CommentsColumns, Court Merrigan, Opinion, Top Stories

Nearly a year into my Marblehead sojourn, I think harvest is the time of year I miss being back home the most. That time of year when a whole year's worth of planning and sweat come together in a few glorious weeks, and all that matters is bringing in the harvest. Crimson carpets of cranberry fields evoke bittersweet memories of harvests past. COURTESY PHOTO / COURT MERRIGAN Harvest is when you find out if you come up snake eyes or money ahead. Did the yields…