This Week in Marblehead History: 1968

Every week, Marblehead Patch digs through the Marblehead Messenger microfilm archives at to find out what was happening on this week in local history.

In 1968:

Clubs Welcome Huge Fleet for Harbor's 80th Race Week: With boats beginning to arrive from all over New England and the East coast, Marblehead was busy this week preparing for the 80th edition of Race Week, which this year will attract nearly 500 sailing craft. The week extends from Saturday, July 27 to Saturday, Aug. 3. The town's four running clubs - Corinthian, Eastern, Pleon and Boston - are sponsoring races for 27 classes. Eastern Yacht Club will sponsor races on July 27, 28 and 29 and will kick off the gala week with a dinner dance Friday evening.

Board Rejects Barrier Along Neck Causeway: The proposal for a barrier along the Riverhead Beach stretch of the causeway to Marblehead Neck was unanimously turned down last night by the Board of Selectmen, who also voted to remove the present rail fence which was adjudged a traffic hazard in its present damaged condition.

Clerk Appointed: Mrs. Stella R. Kinsman was appointed deputy clerk for elections in Precinct 4 by the Board of Selectmen last night, replacing the late Harold Morris. Chairman of the Democrat and Republican parties will be notified of the vacancy for a deputy inspector in the precinct.

Fight the Litter Bugs!: Weekend beach parties often wind up with a litter of cans and rubbish that are the despair of town workmen. But last weekend at , a group of youngsters lent a helping hand by collecting hundreds of beer cans and artistically piling them up for collection. Among them were Paul McCauley, Alan Philips and Tom Livingston.

Board Argument on Hall Lavatory: Suggested improvements to the Spanish War Veterans Hall on State Street sparked off another verbal tiff amongst Selectmen at a meeting at last night. Selectman Thomas A. Jordan moved that the board consider including $1,735 in the budget of the Building Inspector in 1969 to provide for installation of a lavatory on the first floor of the hall, for the convenience of Senior Citizens using the building.

Family of Raccoons Pass in the Night: A rare sight was seen Monday night by Police Officer John Snow and Mrs. Snow as they drove along West Shore Drive about 10 p.m. As they were passing Lorraine Terrace they were stopped by the sight of a whole family of raccoons crossing the street. There were nine in the family and in single line completely blocked the road.

Were you a town resident in 1968? Do you recognize any of these names, events, or locations? Let us know in the comments section.