On a Hull beach, human waves of love drown out hate
HULL — There are all kinds of waves. They come in all shapes and sizes. They can be small and fairly placid, but can quickly become dark and monstrous, threatening to wash you away.
So when waves of hate start to flow in, how do you combat them? With waves of love.
And how best to do that? Get right down onto the beach near the waves and spell out exactly what you mean.
On warm summer days, Nantasket Beach attracts a diverse group of people enjoying the beauty of the sand and sea. On Oct. 16, residents and visitors threw out a huge welcome mat to the world at large.
About 300 people turned out on a lovely autumn afternoon to “Take a Stand in the Sand,” and they joined together to spell out HULL FOR ALL on Nantasket Beach as an overhead drone run by resident Al Coombs captured the scene.
The event was sponsored by the Hull No Place for Hate Committee. In 2000, the
Hull Select Board, at the request of many in the community, embraced the No Place for Hate program, which was started by the Anti-Defamation League, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and numerous regional and statewide community and religious organizations.
Among those down on the sand last Sunday was this writer, who has been coming to Hull frequently for more than 60 years for a variety of reasons and felt it might be time to do something more significant than defending my lunch from a relentless seagull.
And so, I enlisted as a volunteer to be part of the letter “U.” Among my lettermates was Marty Cohne, 72, of South Easton, who has been spending his summers in Hull since he was a baby and quickly fell in love with the place. It turned out we were neighbors growing up in Randolph.
“My grandfather bought our house here in Hull on T Street for $2,700 in 1936 and I’ve been coming here ever since,” he said.
Longtime Hull residents such as Pam Wolfe, a founding member and current treasurer of the committee, said the town has changed in recent years. But in one important way, it has not.
“There are retirees coming in and rehabbing and winterizing the older summer cottages and we’re getting professional people who work in Boston who take advantage of our great transportation,” she said. “But I think they also come here because they feel the welcoming vibe. In Hull, we help each other. We don’t spread hate or hurt in the world.”
Valerie Carlson, the committee’s vice chair and an organizer and spokeswomanperson for the event, said strong support came from every corner of the town, with many groups registering online as teams. Businesses donated money, food, and support services; service organizations such as the Nantasket-Hull Rotary Club got involved; neighborhood groups such as the “C Street Gang” came aboard.
For Marg Whelan, one of the founding members of the No Place for Hate Committee, last Sunday was a family affair. She was accompanied by her sister-in-law Misty Whelan and Misty’s 9-year-old son, Trent.
“In today’s world, it’s more important than ever for all generations to learn to be welcoming,” Marg said.
“It’s important to teach children to stand up and speak out when they see something wrong,” said Misty.
Last Sunday was a chance to send a message, but it was also more than that. It was a chance for residents and visitors to this seaside town of about 10,000 to meet and greet each other and enjoy food, fellowship, and music. It was a chance to build bonds of friendship and in the process, strengthen the community as a whole.
Last Sunday wasn’t the first beach party the Hull No Place for Hate Committee organized. In 2001, more than 600 people showed up to form the message “HULL IS NO PLACE FOR HATE” on the beach.
A local pilot and photographer captured the moment, which inspired another edition in 2002. More than 1,200 people from all around the South Shore stood on the beach to spell out “THE SOUTH SHORE IS NO PLACE FOR HATE.”
Margie and Gil Peters were early members of the committee who helped organize both events. Margie Peters credited the late Sumner Goldberg, a World War II veteran who served the town as a veterans’ agent, with the idea.
Goldberg talked about a morale-boosting activity during the war where members of the platoon would spell out the platoon number and a photographer in a plane above took pictures.
“Our version was a huge hit and a huge source of pride for the town,” said Margie Peters. “The picture the photographer took from a plane was made into a postcard, and everyone in the town wanted one.”
In 2002, cities and towns around the South Shore joined forces with Hull and sponsored different letters in the message.
“I hate heights, but I got up in the cherry picker from the utility company and was overwhelmed at seeing 1,200 people working together,” said Margie Peters.
Gil Peters said all of the work the committee has been involved in through the years delivered the same message. “Whenever there’s been an act of hate — a swastika, or something else — we’ve spoken up and said the same thing: This is our town and we won’t tolerate it.”
“Events such as ‘Take a Stand in the Sand’ help the town forge a sense of strength and identity,” said Celia Nolan, the committee’s secretary, who organized social media for the event. “Making Hull a welcoming place is the responsibility of everyone in town.”
Hull’s No Place for Hate Committee’s colorful logo, designed in 2019 by graphic artist Sue Petersen, includes a rainbow, sun, ocean and beach, in addition to symbols for various religions and groups of people, including the disabled and the gay and transgender communities.
Taken together, the slogan on the logo says something that the committee — and those spelling out “HULL FOR ALL” last Sunday – can agree on.
Hull: “A Place in the Sun for Everyone.”
‘In today’s world, it’s more important than ever for all generations to learn to be welcoming.’
MARG WHELAN, a founding member of Hull’s No Place for Hate Committee