MARBLEHEAD — Amid the salty sea air and hallowed history of the American Navy’s birthplace, the Scurvy Fellows Indeed Band is filling the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2005 with harmonies of sea shanties on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. as a part of fundraising efforts to save Marblehead’s historic Glover House.
All donations will go to Save The Glover!, a local non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve the historic home of revolutionary war hero, General John Glover, said VFW Post Commander Ronny Knight.
According to Save The Glover!, Glover is credited with ferrying Washington’s troops across the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776.
The site, located in Vinnin Square, sits in Marblehead, Swampscott, and Salem. It was also home to General Glover’s House Restaurant and has been vacant for about 25 years, according to Larry Sands, a member of Scurvy Fellows Indeed and captain of Glover’s Marblehead Regiment, a revolutionary war reenactment group.
Sands said the house and site were at risk for demolition in the past after permits were obtained by a development company to build approximately 140 residential units on the property.
However, the Town of Swampscott put a construction hold on the site after discovering it was home to a historic building.
“I think they were led to believe, in part of the initial discussions, that the building was too far gone to save, and therefore it needed to be bulldozed,” he said.
After the construction hold, the original developer backed out of the project after the historic significance became clear, Sands added.
Another developer later made plans to construct on the property; however, Sands said they are “amenable” to leaving the building at its current site and leasing the building to Save The Glover! with a 99-year lease at a rate of $1 per year — so long as Save The Glover! raises the appropriate funds to restore and maintain the building.
The new developer plans to move forward, likely building three buildings with around 140 residential units. The buildings will not interfere with the Glover House as the land will be set aside from the construction, Sands said.
He added that preserving historic sites like the Glover House is important because “it is a testament to the history that our towns have. And I think also, it gives people a sense of what things were like back during revolutionary times and how important towns like Marblehead and Salem were to the fledgling nation.”
So far, Save The Glover! has raised around $500,000 toward its goal of $2 million, Sands said.
Knight said the event is a part of the VFW’s community service efforts, and he was inspired to host the event after speaking with Sands at a previous event.
Besides a night filled with songs anchored in history and maritime tradition, the event will feature a “split-the-pot raffle,” Girl Scout cookie sales in the lower bunker, and T-shirt sales from leftover stock from the Army-Navy Watch Party.
The T-Shirts and flyer for the event were designed by Kevin Rockett and Bernadette McDermott of Marblehead Graphics. A portion of T-shirt sale profits will go to Save The Glover!
Admission to the event is free and will be a great opportunity to “shake off those winter blues,” Knight said.
“You get to see some great entertainment, learn a little bit more about the history, and you’re helping out something that they’re trying to totally preserve,” he said.
Knight added, “As the VFW, we just feel very, very proud that we’re trying to help this out, (and) maybe get more people’s attention towards their fundraising activities for it.”
