Catch playoff soccer action Friday & Saturday at Hull High
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Two MIAA tournament soccer games will be played at Hull High this weekend.
Boys: Friday, 3 p.m. vs. Saint John Paul II
Girls: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. vs. the winner of Matignon/Frontier Regional
The boys team has made the tournament for the first time since 2009! Pictured are, in the top row: Coach Leonard, Matt Angellis, Sasha Green, Sean Walsh, Robby Casagrande, Thomas Brasil, Jonah Whelan, Ryan Maher, Nick McDonald, Connor Hipp, Max Day, Oliver Szabo, Teddy Hipp, Jack Burke, Coach O'Callaghan. Bottom row: Dillon Simpson-Sliney, Will Noonan, JT Gould, Christian Truglia, Max Lofgren, Sam Szabo, Nate Tiani, Asher Herrmann and Sam Tuchmann. Photo by Jennifer Whelan.
Undefeated Pirates to host tournament game on Friday, 11/4
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TO BUY TICKETS FOR FRIDAY’S GAME, CLICK HERE!
MR. TOUCHDOWN. The Hull Pirates football team traveled to the Cape this past Saturday and defeated St. John Paul, 26-6 to improve its record to 8-0. The Pirates open the first round of the Division 8 tournament as the top seed, hosting Narragansett Regional at 7 p.m. on Friday, 11/4, at Finlayson Field at Hull Gut. Buy tickets online at this link: https://tinyurl.com/3cp23c73. This photo is from the team’s win over Sharon, as quarterback Luke Richardson connects with Austin Bongo for one of two touchdowns. [Photo courtesy of Jason Gagne]
Responding to neighbors’ complaints, Hull police arrest 3 for Fort Revere vandalism
/Three women were arrested at Fort Revere Park on Tuesday afternoon and charged with vandalizing the walls of the historic fort with spray paint and markers.
TAGGED. Following up on a neighbor’s complaint, Hull Police arrested three women for vandalizing, or ‘tagging,’ the walls of Fort Revere on Tuesday. Charged with vandalism were, from left, Rachael Rose of Kingston, Sierra Luca of Middleboro, and Tayla Charlebois of Middleboro. [Photos courtesy of the Hull Police Department]
Police discovered that the women had drawn pumpkins and painted several words on the concrete bunkers, including one of their names and the F-word.
Rachael Rose, 24, of Kingston, Sierra Lucas, 23, of Middleboro, and Tayla Charlebois, 20, of Middleboro admitted to causing the damage and were arrested and charged with vandalizing property, according to Hull Police Chief John Dunn, who said his department is cracking down on vandals at the park.
At about 12:40 p.m., a Telegraph Hill neighbor called police to report seeing three women with spray paint. According to a report filed by Officer Daniel Dunn, the women at first told officers they “were going to” paint the walls of the fort, but had not done so. After being questioned, one of the women opened her backpack and showed the officers three cans of paint and four markers, and the trio admitted to the vandalism.
The three women are due in court on Dec. 6.
“The Hull Police Department would once again like to reiterate that we have a zero-tolerance policy for anyone found to be vandalizing Fort Revere Park,” Dunn said in a statement. “The park is a community space that is open and welcome to all, however, that does not mean people are allowed or should be defacing the property. Anyone discovered to be vandalizing the park and its bunkers will be arrested and charged.”
-- Christopher Haraden
Research of century-old genealogical link prompts visitor to ask, ‘Why Hull?’
/By John J. Galluzzo
Genealogy brings people together in unexpected ways.
FAMILY TIES. Candy Perry and her husband traveled from Florida to trace the steps of her ancestor, inventor Henry O. Peabody, who lived in Hull in the early 1900s. Her trip included a visit to his former home on Allerton Hill, where the current owner gave her a tour. [John Galluzzo photo]
Candy Perry, born in Washington, D.C., now a Florida resident, reached out to the Hull Historical Society with an information request. Did anybody in town know the name of Henry Oliver Peabody, a man who lived in Hull, ever so briefly, at the beginning of the 19th century?
The quick answer was that yes, he had appeared in The Hull Beacon on three occasions:
“June 5, 1903: Henry O. Peabody, the inventor of famous breech loading rifle, with his sister, will summer with his niece Miss H. M. Sawyer at Allerton, Winthrop Avenue.
“July 3, 1903: Henry O. Peabody died suddenly Monday morning at his summer home at Allerton of apoplexy. He was aged about 77 years. Mr. Peabody was the inventor of a rifle. At the opening of the Civil War, Mr. Peabody was at work in a gun factory in Springfield. He gave up his position at that time and devoted himself to perfecting an improvement in the gun then best known. A company was formed and the new rifle was sold to the Turkish government. As a result of his success Mr. Peabody made about $1,000,000. He was unmarried, and his Boston home for many years was at 35 Pinckney St.
“Oct. 23, 1903: Mr. Peabody, the inventor of the Peabody gun, that is having his will contested, has lived on Allerton Hill some years. Both Mrs. Hennian and Mr. Sawyer have each in turn kept his house and yet he did not seem to care for either, according to his will.”
Beyond that information, there was not much more to know about Peabody’s life in Hull. Although online sources say that he was born in town, that was not the case; he was born in Boxford. According to the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds, he purchased Kenton Avenue Lots 145-146 from William B. Mitchell on Jan. 23, 1902. There was an existing house on the lot in 1895, but there is evidence that a new house was built on the lot in 1900, two years before Peabody bought the land.
Witnesses to the sale of the property to Peabody were William and Anne Litchfield. Dr. Litchfield owned the lots on the 1895 map of the town. A later owner expanded the house, but vestiges of the house that Peabody summered in – ever so briefly – still remain encased on the enlarged home. Today the address is 25 Winthrop Ave. In Peabody’s time, according to the Registry of Deeds, the house was technically on Kenton Avenue.
That was enough for Candy. She and her husband, Randy, booked a trip to Hull, and Plymouth, as she decided to explore her Mayflower ancestry at the same time. And Boston. Henry owned two homes there, too.
They arrived in Hull on Oct. 18 and the Hull Historical Society treated them to a tour, starting at the Hull Public Library and heading for 25 Winthrop Ave. Candy’s question was “Why Hull?” That answer was simple. In 1902, Hull was the place to be for Boston businessmen in summer, a sunny, breezy, smog-free escape from the city, reachable by both steamboats and trains. The home Peabody purchased, near the top of Allerton Hill, had a tremendous view of everything from Hull Bay around to Boston Light.
Candy was content to take pictures, but Randy wanted to knock on the door. After all, they had traveled all that way, he said, “now or never.” The owner, David Kazemi, answered, confused at first, but was pleased to learn about the past owner of the house who, aside from his rifle also invented some ice skates and a “honey extractor.” David, himself, had only owned the home for a year and a half. “What attracted you to it?” Candy asked.
“The view,” David said, without hesitation. The unexpected host welcomed Candy and Randy into the home for a tour.
Two more stops awaited. At the base of Allerton Hill, near the northeastern corner, is a memorial stone and marker commemorating the Pilgrims’ arrival to the Boston Harbor area in the fall of 1621. With Candy’s five separate lines of Mayflower ancestry and relationships to eight different Pilgrims, it only made sense to stop. Then, it was onto Fort Revere.
HENRY O. PEABODY [Photo courtesy of the Hull Historical Society]
The view from Telegraph Hill and the fort afforded some perspective. There was the house, on Allerton Hill. Sure, it’s bigger now than it was in 1902 when Peabody purchased it, but in 1902 there were fewer houses on the hill and no trees whatsoever. Peabody would have looked back and seen the fort active at that time. The water tower was built in 1903. He bought the house in January 1902. Joshua James died in March 1902. Did Henry Oliver Peabody ever meet the famous lifesavers, or see him and his men drilling in their lifeboat in front of the lifesaving station? Alas, probably not. It was a summer home. But, we may never know for sure.
Much more remains to be discovered about Henry Oliver Peabody. He never married, and left his fortune behind for the creation of a school for girls in Norwood. His house in Hull was not left in his will, but instead sold by trustees of his estate on June 13, 1907, to Enos D. Sawyer (probably the “Mr. Sawyer” listed in the Oct. 23, 1903, Hull Beacon article).
Henry Oliver Peabody blew through town quickly – ever so briefly – but certainly added some fascinating color to the town’s history. Candy and Randy spent even less time in Hull, but left with the answer to their question, “Why Hull?”
As generations of Hull residents, year-round and summer, have always known, the answer is another question: “Why anywhere else?”
Hull man arrested on prostitution, drug charges after police search condo
/Hull Police arrested a 54-year-old man on drug and prostitution charges after a search of his beachfront condominium on Friday.
Armin Erbsland was arrested on Friday and faces numerous charges, including sex trafficking and drug possession. [Hull Police photo]
Armin Erbsland of 45 Hull Shore Drive is charged with trafficking of persons for sexual servitude and engaging in sexual conduct for a fee in addition to possession of crack cocaine. Police reported finding 11 grams of crack cocaine inside a glass container, various glass pipes, “multiple open clear glassine corner baggies as well as copper wire that are consistent with drug paraphernalia,” and an iPhone.
According to the police report filed by Detective Andrew Reilly, at the police station Erbsland “made spontaneous utterances about how he ‘does not pay for sex, but provides hotel rooms for girls and gives money on cash apps when the girls are down on luck and need money.’” He also told police that he gave $50,000 “to those girls;” when asked how many, “he stated ‘God a lot. I don’t even know their names,’” according to the report.
Police did not indicate where the sexual crimes are believed to have taken place, although the search and arrest were part of an ongoing investigation with the Norwell Police Department. Bail was set at $5,040 and Erbsland was arraigned at Hingham District Court. The police department said the investigation will continue. Officers asked anyone with information about this situation – or anyone who needs assistance – to call the police department’s non-emergency line, 781-925-1212.
Hull teen’s jujitsu fundraiser fighting to ‘Tap Cancer Out’
/By Victoria Dolan
When he’s not being homeschooled or hanging out with his friends, Hull teen Robby Warford participates in a unique extracurricular activity – raising thousands of dollars for cancer through jujitsu.
ROBBY WARFORD
Involved in martial arts since he was four, Warford has participated in many tournaments, including “Tap Cancer Out,” which aims to raise $250,000 annually to support cancer-fighting beneficiaries. He started fundraising for Tap Cancer Out around five years ago and typically raises between $6,000 and $7,000 each year.
So how does he do it?
“I talk to people,” Robby said simply. The Warfords have fostered close bonds with their neighbors, and he often goes door-to-door asking for donations and handing out fliers.
“A lot of it is face-to-face interaction,” explained Warford’s mother, Gwen Floyd. “He has a lot of support right in our neighborhood.”
This year, Warford has raised almost $6,000 out of his goal of $7,500. With several weeks left in the fundraiser, he’s hoping to meet or exceed this goal, saying, “it’d be great if I could get even more.”
Warford has his own motivation to work toward this goal.
TAPPING OUT. Hull’s Robby Warford is nearing his fundraising goal of $7,500 to fight cancer in the ‘Tap Cancer Out’ event, a jujitsu tournament that raises thousands of dollars for the cause each year. [Photos courtesy of Gwen Floyd]
“A lot of my family members have passed away from cancer,” he said, which is what caused him to “want to raise money to help fight cancer.”
The impacts of his efforts are clearly visible. Floyd has a friend in the cancer community who receives benefits from organizations similar to the ones that benefit from Tap Cancer Out donations.
“The fundraising is not just for research, it’s for benefits,” explained Floyd, which “helps families” and can “make a world of difference.”
As the top children’s fundraiser in the Tap Cancer Out Massachusetts Open tournament last year, Warford has learned many lessons from the time he’s spent fundraising.
“It taught me to appreciate people, friends, neighbors, and family,” he said. “It taught me to care about other people and help them.”
Warford will compete in the Tap Cancer Out BJJ Open in Danvers on Nov.19 If he’s not going door-to-door for donations, you can find him at the dojo, working on homeschooling activities, playing chess, or outdoors with his friends.
To find out more about Tap Cancer Out and to support Warford’s effort with a donation, visit wecan.tapcancerout.org/fundraiser/4127073.
Member’s move out of town creates vacancy on the Hull Redevelopment Authority
/By Carol Britton Meyer
Hull Redevelopment Authority Vice Chair Robert DeCoste resigned his position as a board member effective Oct. 17, leaving a vacancy to be filled in the near future.
In a letter to the select board, DeCoste said he has purchased a home outside of Hull and will be moving.
After the board acknowledged receipt of DeCoste’s letter, Town Manager Philip Lemnios said that HRA Chair Bartley Kelly would be submitting a letter to the select board informing them of the resignation.
“This will kick off the process [of naming a replacement],” Lemnios said. The remaining four members of the HRA – Kelly, James Tobin, Henry Dunn, and Dennis Zaia – will make the appointment jointly with the select board.
Select board Chair Jennifer Constable provided The Hull Times with information about how the town fills vacancies in response to an inquiry.
According to state law, the remaining members of the board are required to notify the select board within a month of the vacancy. Presuming that is done, the remaining board members and the select board, after one week’s notice, would fill such a vacancy by roll-call vote.
However, if a board were to fail to give notice of the vacancy within the required 30 days, the select board would fill such a vacancy, and the remaining members of the other board would have no role in the process.
In this case, though, Kelly intends to notify the board, which means a replacement will be named in a joint meeting.
Marching forward: Revival of Hull’s dormant American Legion post to serve local veterans
/By Carol Britton Meyer
Hull veteran Jim Richman is in the process of reactivating the Oscar Smith Mitchell American Legion Post #140 so that Hull will have an all-inclusive organization for veterans of all branches of the service.
The Mitchell Post formed in 1919 and was once headquartered in what is now the Anne M. Scully Senior Center, when it was known as the Veterans Building. The charter is still active even though the post has been inactive for many years.
SOLDIERING ON. Oscar Smith Mitchell, the first Hullonian killed in World War I, is the namesake of American Legion Post #140, which is in the process of being revived by a local veteran. [Photo courtesy of the Hull Historical Society]
Mitchell, the son of John and Esther Mitchell of Hull Village, was the first Hull soldier who lost his life in the service of his country during World War I, and a plaque commemorating him still hangs on the wall in the building at 197A Samoset Ave.
Richman has already been appointed commander of Post #140 by the district American Legion. Having a commander in place is required before a post can be revived.
“I’m in the process of doing that now,” Richman told The Hull Times. The timeframe is not known at this time.
Richman has two main reasons in mind for restarting the group. First, the American Legion is open to all veterans, whereas the Veterans of Foreign Wars is limited to those who fought overseas, and second, the Hull VFW post is planning to merge with the post in Hingham.
Richman feels that bringing Post #140 back to life will help fill the gap that will be left if that occurs.
Hull VFW Post Commander Kevin Beck told The Hull Times that both the Hingham and Hull posts will be voting in the near future “on whether to merge as a single post due to declining VFW membership.”
Richman said the goal is “to ensure that there’s a formal organization for Hull veterans to call their own.
“We’re looking for veterans to join this revived post from any branch of the service, including the Coast Guard,” he said. “This includes anyone who has served their country in any capacity in times of war or peace.”
In the meantime, Richman recently created an American Legion Post 140 Facebook page that already has 18 likes and 19 followers. The page offers helpful information for veterans, including upcoming events and other news.
In addition, Post #140 has a charter for a Sons of American Legion Post that Richman would also like to revitalize.
SAL members include males of all ages whose parents or grandparents served in the U.S. military and were eligible for American Legion membership.
“The American Legion provides life-changing assistance and guidance for veterans, military personnel, and their families and communities in thousands of ways,” Richman said.
Wellspring prepared to offer help as economic uncertainty grows, holidays approach
/By Carol Britton Meyer
Wellspring Multi-Service Center continues to provide life’s essentials to those in need – from food and clothing to education and services – which is especially appreciated during the current challenging times of high inflation, soaring costs of food, gasoline, and utilities, and other uncertainties.
The social service agency also is preparing for the upcoming holiday seasons and colder winter months with food programs, fuel assistance, and supplies available in the thrift shop.
What used to be “just” a food pantry, Aunt Dot’s Kitchen, has expanded to include a certified kitchen that supplies the Wellspring food truck that visits local fairs and festivals to not only provide free food but also to get the word out about what Wellspring offers as part of its community outreach effort.
This past summer, Wellspring hosted a summer lunch program for students, “taking the food truck to Park & Rec so anyone could get a free meal free of charge,” Wellspring President and CEO Vinny Harte told The Hull Times.
Aunt Dot’s Kitchen, located at 814 Nantasket Ave., is open to residents of Hull, supplying fresh and non-perishable food and basic personal-care items to those experiencing food insecurity. Transportation is available to and from the pantry on Mondays, with food delivery available to clients’ homes on Fridays. The pantry is open on Wednesdays for walk-ins.
The thrift shop “is fully loaded, with everything donated by members of the community,” Harte said.
It’s the ideal place for clients and the general public to stock up on gently used clothing, furniture, jewelry, household and seasonal items, toys, books, art, and more, all at reasonable prices.
Selections for the holidays range from Halloween costumes to Thanksgiving and other holiday decorations, “with every dime benefitting Wellspring’s many programs,” Harte said.
“We tell people to come back in an hour if they don’t find what they’re looking for, because we get new donations every hour,” he added.
Wellspring also offers assistance with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), fuel assistance, and other applications year-round.
The adult programs, geared toward independence and self-sufficiency, help clients get back on their feet or expand their skill set in preparation for finding employment or a better job. Wellspring is also a HiSET (high school equivalency credential) testing site, with access to career guidance at the on-site Sprout Center for Jobs while working toward achieving HiSET or participating in the high school diploma program in partnership with the Hull Public Schools. Transportation to classes is available.
Coming soon are a culinary program offering suggestions for meals that can be prepared with food supplied by Aunt Dot’s Kitchen, and a chef program where members of the community can volunteer to prepare their favorite meals and specialty food items to share through the food truck.
“The overall goal is to continue preparing food in our kitchen, load it onto the truck, and take it directly to people in need,” Harte said.
Looking toward the holidays, Wellspring extends a helping hand to Hull families and seniors who are experiencing financial, health, or other challenges, including gifts and meals.
Chef Paul Wahlberg of Alma Nove restaurant in Hingham continues to provide about 120 to 150 free Thanksgiving meals. Details about these programs will be available soon.
For further information about how to take advantage of all of Wellspring’s programs, visit wellspringmultiservice.org or call 781-925-3211.
