Marblehead receives new pedestal for ship bells

MARBLEHEAD – Wayne Butler of the Marblehead Historical Commission led an historic unveiling Wednesday evening.Butler led the selectmen through their first look at the new polished wood pedestal in the center of the first floor hallway at Abbot Hall. Built from polished wood by Bill Kuker, using materials supplied by the Tower School and Blue Anchor Woodworkers and finished by Scott Campbell of John W. Campbell & Son, the new pedestal is more than twice as large as the old one.It has to be. The old one supported the ship’s bell from the USS Marblehead that served in World War II, a bell the town owned for the past 50 years or so.The new one supports that bell and the ship’s bell from the USS Marblehead that served in the Spanish American War and World War I, the bell that was discovered in the basement of a Maritime Museum in San Francisco by UMass student Chris Benning in 2005 and transferred to the town in February.”We wound up with it,” said Butler. He called the new pedestal “a beautiful piece of furniture,” and told the crowd how he noticed it was placed slightly off-center and fixed it. Selectmen and a small crowd of admirers gave the new furniture a round of applause.The unveiling may have capped a great autumn for Butler.Two weeks ago F. Carlton Siegel gave the town a handmade replica of the Marblehead Light Tower, which selectmen turned over to the Historical Commission.Butler brought Swampscott resident David Downs to the same selectman’s meeting and Downs reported on his recent trip to Grasse, France, Marblehead’s sister city, where he attended a memorial service for Admiral De Grasse, which included American Naval Officers from our Mediterranean fleet.The people of Grasse have expressed interest in having more communication and exchange with Marblehead. Downs said he frequently visits Grasse and would be happy to continue to foster the relationship with the sister city on behalf of the Town. He gave Butler a book from the people of Grasse for the Historical Commission collection.Butler concluded the presentations by presenting the Selectmen with a Marblehead Pin naming them as “Honorary Volunteers” for the Historical Commission.