Nahant residents not as old as street directory would lead one to believe

NAHANT – There are a lot of Yankee Doodle dandies in town if the annual street list is correct.According to the 2009 annual street directory, there are 108 current residents in town who were born on July 4, 1776.Selectman Richard Lombard, who is not one of the residents listed as 234 years old, said the secret of longevity in town has been well kept until now.”We found the Fountain of Youth at Bailey’s Hill,” he quipped. “You have to go partake of the secret water supply up there once a month.”In the town directory, the date of birth listed for Nectar Place residents Pamela Avedisian and Gary Dicicco is Dec. 31, 1775, which would make them the oldest living residents in town, or on the planet, if the information were correct.Avedisian and Dicicco are in addition to the 108 residents with July 4, 1776 listed as their birth date.Interestingly enough, many of those same residents share “no name” as a first name.The street list is produced by the town clerk’s office and the Board of Registrars. Chairman Susan Branga said she has not seen the directory and referred calls to the town clerk’s office.Town Clerk Peggy Barile said information for the street list comes from the annual town census and if a resident does not fill out their date of birth, July 4, 1776 is entered by default.”The system will not allow us to leave that field blank,” she said. “You have to enter a date of birth in order to continue. If someone does not fill out their date of birth we enter July 4, 1776.”