'Never Off Watch': Daniel G. McPherson Harbormaster Building Dedicated

BEVERLY, MA — The man credited with transitioning the Beverly harbormaster building from its former home inside of an old McDonald's into a modern and professional rescue operation that is a model on the North Shore was honored with the dedication of the city's harbor hub in his memory.

The Daniel G. McPherson Harbormaster Building was dedicated during a ceremony in which friends, officials and former proteges gave an emotional tribute to the man who served the city for 27 years before his death in 2022.

The dedication was announced at a City Council meeting in May 2023.

"Things don't usually go too wrong when it's sunny and 70 degrees," Salem Harbormaster Capt. Bill McHugh said. "More often, incidents on the water occur during inclement weather and periods of darkness. Anyone who calls the water their workplace knew that Dan was monitoring Channel 16 day and night. I am pretty certain he slept with the radio speaker next to his ear.

"He was always ready to go and bring his 'A' game when he heard that recognizable panic in a boater's voice."

McHugh shared the story about a distress call that came in when McPherson was on vacation in Ireland and how McPherson called him when his Salem crew was responding to the boat taking on water and told him that his Beverly crew would be on the way to help.

"He never divulged how word of the call reached him abroad," McHugh said. "But that was Dan — never off watch."

The Medford native was a political science major at Salem State University who came to Beverly where he was a youth soccer coach and teacher as well as a tireless servant and mentor to both those in Beverly and off its shore.

"At this moment I am proud to say that everyone here is part of McPherson's Navy," Beverly Police Sgt. Erik Abrahamson said. "If you know, you know. This day we are here to celebrate all things Dan, who was so many things to so many people.

"He was a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a boss, a mentor, a friend and a coach, and so much more."

(Scott Souza is a patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)