Seth Gitell has a primer on the Beverly/Gloucester rivalry (highlighted by Beverly parade floats mocking the teen pregnancy crisis in Gloucester), and other class tensions between towns in Massachusetts:
I can think of several other places in the region where a few miles means a major difference in income. Start where I grew up, Hull. Hull is bordered by Hingham, a former target of derision of the Globe’s Metro Editor, Brian McGrory. Nearby is Cohasset, an even wealthier town. Class was an essential part of the sports rivalry between Hull and Cohasset. Self-described “rich kids” from Cohasset even vandalized a portion of Hull’s sea wall adjacent to the high school after a football victory. There’s also the Winchester-Woburn divide.
I grew up in Malden, where there was a heated rivalry with next-door Medford -- which was only slightly more affluent but still mocked by my classmates as some kind of haven for the nouveau riche. At the time, Beverly and Gloucester were indistinguishable in my mind; both were part of ritzy, horsey Cape Ann. But every once in a while, we're reminded that just about any two neighboring communities in Massachusetts are, in fact, militantly distinguishable from each other.
The reports I read said Beverly Farms -- is that right? Beverly Farms is indeed ritzy
Posted by: Mr Punch | July 10, 2008 at 04:19 PM