By Jill Lawler—
At the annual staff appreciation reception for the ConVal School District, Dublin residents Mike Elkavitch and Tim Clark were among the retirees recognized. However, a surprise appearance by Steve Baldwin represented the most unusual Dublin connection.
Steve, who is retired after serving as Hancock’s police chief, recently felt drawn to stop at Streeter’s in Marlborough to check out their metal-detecting equipment. As someone who had spent his career chasing down clues, he was immediately intrigued by the possibilities of looking for treasure.
Armed with a trowel, a colander and his metal detector, Steve started wading at the Women’s Club Beach where he very quickly got a strong reading that he was near gold. Scooping down six inches into the muck, he came up with an object that was covered with years of accumulation. Jackie Hobbs cleaned it off where they detected the letters “PHS,” the year 1965, and the initials “M.M.W.”
With the help of Kate Westcott at CVHS and an old yearbook, Steve was surprised to learn that he had discovered the high school ring of his Dublin neighbor, Marsha Whitney.
For her part, Marsha explained that she lost the ring almost as soon as she got it. It had been lurking under the sand of the Women’s Club Beach for 47 years waiting for this odd coincidence to reunite it with its owner.
Jill Lawler, retired ConVal English teacher, works as a consultant for the National Writing Project in New Hampshire.