Grey Collins, Sophomore
What do you think about trading in your phones and Xboxes for a rock and a can? Because Marbleheaders Emma and Dave Dragan think that you should try it. Maybe we should all try to find some more joy in the simple things.
Dave, who works at the Marblehead Community Center, talked about how different being a kid is today and spoke about his own childhood experiences. “Kids today are into computers, we never had things like that. You want to go play, we’re playing in the woods,” said Dave. “We’re playing Can Off the Rock. You get a rock, you get a can, and you put the can on the rock. The idea is to grab your can and knock the other can off the rock.”
Dave grew up in Everett, Massachusetts and joined the Navy at seventeen years old. He later served in the Army and in the Army National Guard. Afterwards, he worked at General Electric in Lynn for about 35 years. He also later wrote instruction manuals for jet engines at Lockheed. He and his wife Emma eventually moved to Marblehead twelve years ago. Dave continues to work at the Community Center driving vans for the Marblehead Council on Aging.
“I used to love to go down by the railroad tracks and watch the trains, because back then you had these big steam locomotives,” said Dave about some of his favorite things to do as a kid. “I’d go out to Revere Beach, because back then you had amusement rides down there and everything. Roller coasters and ferris wheels.”
Emma grew up, went to school in Wakefield, Massachusetts, and worked in retail after graduating. “We would walk everywhere,” reminisced Emma about her high school years. “I sang and a lot of my friends sang. We did plays and we danced a lot. We used to have dances all the time. It would be a lot of fun.”
She also recounted her especially festive high school job. “I worked in high school part time… I worked for a tinsel company, and we made tinsel for Christmas trees.”
Emma and Dave met in a college psychology class fifty-four years ago after she refused to give him her answers. “She wouldn’t let me cheat off her,” said Dave. “I studied for those answers!” Emma added. But soon after, Emma’s car broke down, and Dave helped her out. They got married the following year and have been together ever since.
Dave and Emma both think that new technology has negatively affected kids today. Dave talked about how kids are less resourceful now than when he was a kid. They also thought that social media was negatively affecting kids by exposing them to too much content. “When I grew up, I didn’t have anything,” said Dave. “If we wanted something, we went down to the dump. We picked up old roller skates, put them on a two-by-four, and made a scooter out of them. Kids today are growing up too quickly, they’re not enjoying being a kid. They are exposed to too much stuff because of social media.”
Both Dave and Emma gave some advice to current high school students.
“I would say study, and still enjoy everything, and think about doing something for your fellow man,” said Emma. “That’s really important, that even when you get older you still should give something to the community.”
“Get into something that makes you happy when you go to work in the morning,” said Dave.
I’m not sure how well it will pay, but I think I’ll try to make a career out of Can Off the Rock.