SALEM — There is a lot of behind-the-scenes drama swirling around the old Ropes estate in North Salem.
If you've forgotten, that's the magnificent, 19th-century house on Felt Street between Greenlawn Cemetery and the North River. It fell into disrepair after years of neglect and was scooped up last fall by a developer.
Neighbors are very concerned about saving the house and about what else will be built on the 1-acre lot. They are just as concerned about saving four or five large trees that are among the finest in all of Salem. There is a 100-year-old copper beech in the front yard that would be the pride of any arboretum.
The developer has agreed to preserve the 1897 Queen Anne house but wants to split the property into three lots so he can make money on the deal.
He needs variances to do that and was before the Zoning Board of Appeal on Wednesday night hoping to get approvals. After much discussion and pleas from the audience, the board continued the matter until next month.
The intriguing part of this story is that a possible buyer has emerged for the house. He is a well-known landscape architect — we will protect his privacy for now — who lives locally and, according to many folks, would be the ideal buyer. He wants the house for his home.
The real estate deal is complicated, however, so nothing is certain.
But the neighbors, and the trees, are rooting for the buyer with the green thumb.
Hare today
Got a call from a friend who couldn't believe we were running a story about a guy named Hare who stole a head.
It was kind of a strange story. A local guy, William Hare, was arrested around 1 a.m. Sunday for allegedly beheading one of the ice sculptures put up for the Salem's So Sweet festival.
A lot of questions have been raised about the admissibility of the frozen evidence.
Word has it Hare is asking for a summer trial.
Fat Tuesday
If you've given up food for Lent and plan to fast for 40 days on nothing but water and Wheat Thins, we suggest you get counseling.
If that fails, we suggest you stuff yourself on Tuesday night — right before Ash Wednesday — by going to a really great event at Cafe Polonia, 118 Washington St.
They are holding their first-ever paczki-eating contest at 7 p.m.
Have you ever heard of a paczki (pronounced punch-kee)?
It's a Polish doughnut, stuffed with strawberries, raspberries, prunes or other fruits, and traditionally eaten on Fat Tuesday. They're delicious but filling, so eating more than two is a challenge akin to swallowing a bowling ball.
Cafe Polonia, the city's Polish restaurant, has teamed up with Coffee Time Bake Shop, one of the city's great bakeries, in this fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club.
To enter — there is no fee — call Cafe Polonia at 978-745-0045 or email them at darek@cafepolonia.com.
Did we mention there's $100 in cash prizes?
Radio legend
Many people in Greater Boston — and beyond — mourned the death last week of Dave Maynard, the WBZ radio legend.
Our condolences go out to Debra Crosby, who runs A Quest Actor's Studio in Salem. Debra is Dave Maynard's stepdaughter and even had the legendary host of "Community Auditions" appear on her own "Talent Quest" TV show.
Missionaries II
A few weeks ago, Tabernacle Church commemorated the 200th anniversary of the first Christian missionaries leaving America for foreign lands. They left in 1812 from Derby Wharf following a service at Tabernacle.
The First Baptist Church is celebrating the same event this weekend because the two most famous missionaries in the Salem group, Adoniram and Ann Judson, became Baptists as soon as they arrived in India.
First Baptist will hold a service Sunday. On Monday, there will be a 1:30 p.m. re-enactment of the departure from Derby Wharf.
Up to 300 people from around the country are expected to attend, including students from Judson College in Alabama and Judson University in Illinois.
Hall of Fame
The School Committee has extended the deadline to Wednesday to apply to serve on the Salem High School Hall of Fame Committee.
If you're interested, send a letter stating your background and reasons for wanting to serve to the Hall of Fame Committee, P.O. Box 48, Salem, MA 01970.
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