MARBLEHEAD — Scriptwriters hate it when movie stars change their lines — here's a movie about changing lines.
And it will be filmed partially here in Marblehead.
Cohasset-based and Marblehead-born film producer Susan Gardner Bryant has asked the selectmen for permission to film in Abbot Hall for a documentary on the topic of gerrymandering, a not-altogether-savory political practice that was invented by Marbleheader Elbridge Gerry in 1810.
Then-Gov. Gerry rewrote the congressional district lines in Essex County creating a form that stretched from Salisbury to Chelsea, while avoiding places like Danvers, Beverly and Gloucester.
When painter Gilbert Stuart saw it, he thought it looked like a salamander.
"Gerrymander," quipped a newspaper editor.
Stuart drew the "gerrymander" — the claws include Marblehead and Salem — and the word has stuck ever since, signifying the rewriting of district lines to benefit the party in power.
For her part, Bryant wants to come to Marblehead on the Fourth of July to film Gerry's bust at Abbot Hall and to talk to Marbleheaders.
"It's more exciting to be on the streets of Marblehead," she says.
Local historian Don Doliber is quick to note that Gerry gets a bad rap. He was an early patriot, supporting the American Revolution, as well as a signer of the Declaration of Independence and, shortly after he created his namesake creature, vice president of the United States.
"He did a lot," Bryant recalls. "I can't remember how many elections he won."
Of course, it's easier if you draw the lines.
A van for a band
The Jessica Prouty Band — formed around the 15-year-old Marblehead songbird — is keeping its calendar full.
It was in Salem a few weeks ago and will be in Swampscott this weekend. It's going to Maine and New Hampshire this month and Vermont, Connecticut and Maine after that. (Look out, Rhode Island!)
Band members Prouty, Cody Nilsen, Cam Pelkey and Andy Covino all won full scholarships to train at the Berklee College of Music's summer program. They decided to, ahem, band together.
No wonder Prouty's mother was searching for a big van to move the band around. They'd outgrown two other vehicles.
"Yikes, who would ever have thunk it?" Katherine Prouty asked on Facebook. "Kids and gear don't fit in the Ford Freestyle and the Subaru anymore."
Tough but fair
She's Assistant Principal Kathleen Duff, and she had a quick answer when it was suggested recently that punishments mandated in the school handbook might not be tough enough.
"Ask the kids," she said, "they think I'm the most strict, the meanest and nastiest."
Duff wants punishments that leave room for turning up the heat.
"You handle it well, Kathleen," observed Superintendent Paul Dulac.
She recently brought the handbook up to date with several changes. One — barring clothing with depictions of weapons or violence — seems appropriate in an era of horrific school shootings.
Duff made the change after a student arrived "wearing clothing with all kinds of guns on it."
But does it go too far? Would the handbook bar clothing depicting, for example, the "Spirit of '76"?
"We all try to be reasonable," she said later. "You have discussions about it."
Duff came to Marblehead from Peabody High two years ago.
She says of her approach to the kids, "We all make bad choices. And we learn from it."
A few never seem to get the message and spiral into bad trouble. But Duff has been gratified when some of the most difficult return, sometimes long after graduation, and say, "You were always fair. .... I'm sorry. I know I was a pain."
Painted ship on painted ocean
"Seaside Painters of Marblehead" will get a showing throughout July at the Abbot Public Library.
The artists are from June Waterman Lincoln's class and will have an opening reception on Sunday, July 12, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Each week features different elements of the seaside, from harbor or ocean scenes to quaint street houses, gardens and flowers.
The class includes Darcy Marsh, Fran Seymour, Andrea Young Clark, Betsy Alles, Nathalie Binney, Arlene Wahn, Jill Hoffman, Dorothy Staples, Chris Kimball, Margie Santry, Mary Louise Lyness, Ruth West, Liz Ayer, Gwen Bleakley and Calla Knip.
Staff writer Mike Stucka contributed to this report.
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
