5 things you didn’t know …
… about Swampscott Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald By CYRUS MOULTON 1. He has North Shore connections, including with Swampscott. Fitzgerald is a lifelong resident of Peabody, now living within a half mile of where he grew up in South Peabody. His brother is a Peabody Police officer, and his mother still lives in the city, as […]
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Scene in Swampscott
Nearly 500 people turned out for the town’s inaugural First Night celebration at Swampscott High School. The 11th annual Polar Bear Plunge was held on Jan. 1 at Fisherman’s Beach. The 2017 plunge benefitted the Swampscott Public Schools’ newly-created Swampscott Integrated for Transition (SWIFT) and Harbor programs, as well as the Russell J. Hopkins Children’s […]
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Ocean inspired: Jewelry designer connects art and life to the sea
Jewelry designer Sandra Gronstra sorts sea glass outside her Swampscott studio. By STACEY MARCUS It seems like Sonja Grondstra was destined to be connected to the sea. The Swampscott jewelry designer collects pieces of sea glass from the nearby shores to create stunning handcrafted necklaces, bracelets, rings, pendants, earrings and pins that are featured in […]
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Talking the business of football
Carl Kester, a 1969 graduate of Swampscott High, is pictured (top left) with his Big Blue teammates; in his senior portrait; and on the football field (front row, far left). By STEVE KRAUSE The first thing you need to know about W. Carl Kester, George Fisher Baker Jr. professor of business administration at Harvard […]
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The Season of Giving
Marill and Tom Demakes (far left); (top row) Jo Ann Simons; Mary and Joel Abramson; (bottom row) Jonathan, Olivia, Sandra, Zoe, Susan and Jeffrey Brudnick; and Jessica Black, James Odorczuk and Emy Black. How many times have we heard it’s better to give than to receive? For a number of Swampscott residents, it’s not just […]
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Home for the holidays
Mary and Joel Abramson in the living room of their Swampscott home. By STACEY MARCUS While most people were in the supermarket shopping for delicacies for Thanksgiving in the middle of November, Mary and Joel Abramson were gearing up to spend more than 100 hours transforming their beautiful home into a twinkling winter wonderland. The […]
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Spirit of giving passed from generation to generation
Jessica Black, second from left, with daughter Jorja, husband James Odorczuk, daughter Jayla, mother Emy Black and son Jaden were honored by Cohen Hillel Academy at its annual gala. By LEAH DEARBORN When Jessica Black asked her mother about what first inspired her father, Stan Black, to become involved in philanthropy, she got a response […]
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Giving from the heart
Jeffrey and Susan Brudnick, pictured with their son Jonathan and his wife, Sandra, and daughters Olivia and Zie, gather at the Aviv long-term care and rehab center in Peabody, which is named in their honor. By LEAH DEABORN Swampscott’s Jeffrey Brudnick doesn’t like to take much credit for the donations he’s made to the North […]
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Jo Ann of Arc
Jo Ann Simons pictured outside of Northeast Arc. She has served as the nonprofit organization’s CEO since January 2016. By BILL BROTHERTON When Jo Ann Simons graduated from Wheaton College with a bachelor’s in urban studies in the mid-’70s, she was unsure of her career path. “You had two choices: make money or make a […]
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Like a good neighbor, Demakes is there to answer the call
Marill and Tom Demakes. By PAUL HALLORAN The list of organizations that benefit from the generosity of Tom Demakes is long, yet the focus is fairly narrow. And that’s just the way he wants it. Youth. Education. Lynn. That about sums it up.
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