Marblehead rekindles relationship with sister city in France

MARBLEHEAD – Marblehead’s relationship with its sister city, Grasse, France, got a boost Wednesday evening.Miriam Zuber, a new local resident who was born and raised in Paris, has stepped forward to be named as the town’s liaison to the city, the newest link in a story that began 23 years ago.Zuber told Selectmen she is very interested in reactivating the relationship.In an interview Thursday she said her family tree includes Americans as well as French people and that, combined with a passion for civic service, moved her in this direction.”When I was looking for a place to live on the North Shore I looked at Marblehead’s Web site and discovered that the town has a partnership with Grasse,” she said.”I’m interested in reactivating this because both these countries are my countries.”Zuber has already begun talking to the woman in charge of international relations for Grasse and the French consul in Boston and she plans to meet with Ann Marie Casey, the executive director of the Marblehead Chamber of Commerce.She is focusing on history and the arts, two areas that both communities are deeply involved in, and hopes to establish a committee to develop programs in those areas.”Some wonderful projects could take place,” she said.Former School Committee member Helaine Hazlett and former Selectman John Whipple attended the meeting with Zuber. Both were in office when the partnership began.”Grasse sought us out,” Whipple said. “They wanted a sister city in the United States and they were looking at Annapolis (Md.) and Marblehead. They chose us over Annapolis.”Whipple pointed out that Count DeGrasse, the naval hero that Grasse is named for, assisted America during the Revolutionary War. In 1989, the 200th anniversary of the count’s death, a statue of him was unveiled in Grasse. A bust of DeGrasse stands in the corner of the selectmen’s meeting room, under the painting of the Spirit of ’76.Selectman Judy Jacobi recalled Swampscott resident David Downs, who visited Grasse a year ago and attended a memorial service for Count De Grasse, which included American Naval Officers from the U.S. Mediterranean fleet.Downs said he frequently visits Grasse and would be happy to continue to foster the relationship with his sister city on behalf of the town. He gave Butler a book from the people of Grasse for the Historical Commission collection.