A Visit with Sheriff Frank Cousins
by Kathleen Downey
As sheriff of Essex County, Frank G. Cousins, Jr., traverses the physical and social landscapes of more than 30 cities, towns, and villages in Northeastern Massachusetts, helping officials from local law enforcement keep their communities safe. But the sheriff has also been instrumental in developing behavioral and educational programs to help rehabilitate criminal offenders, so that upon their release from the correctional facilities that house them, they can become positive, contributing members of society. His achievements have been recognized by high-ranking political dignitaries, who might be surprised to learn that Cousins’ impressive leadership was honed on a humble playground in Newburyport’s South End.
The Perkins Playground is where Cousins whiled away carefree days as a child, and it is where he developed his intuitive interpersonal skills that have served him so well in his position as sheriff. Sitting across the desk from Cousins in his office at the Middleton House of Correction, the Newburyport native South Ender recalls for me how his parents, his community, and the Perkins Playground instilled in him his ideals, his sense of civic duty, and the importance of listening to the perspectives of others.
Cousins speaks proudly of his father, a former merchant marine with a strong work ethic and a helping hand to his neighbors. And he speaks admirably, with an almost quiet awe of his mother, whom he recalls for me in an event that occurred in 1968. George Wallace, then governor of Alabama known for his racist epistles, was appearing at the Newburyport Post office to speak on his bid for presidency of the United States. “My mother forced me to accompany her to hear Governor Wallace speak,” Cousins says. “I didn’t want to go, and I asked her why we should want to listen to this person who doesn’t like black people.” Cousins pauses at the memory of this defining event in his life. He continues, “She said that we were going to hear the governor speak because our responsibility was to listen-to listen to his words so that we would know what he was saying and help stop any hate that might come from his words-and to hope that Wallace would change his ways.”
Recalling his boyhood, Cousins remembers the diversity of Newburyport. “There was a little bit of everybody during the 1960s: Irish-Catholic, Greek, Polish, Jewish, French-Canadian, about one hundred black families, the ‘Yankees’ on High Street, and the ‘Joppa-ites’ in the neighborhoods along the seawall-and we all got along.” Though the South End was the poor end of town, Cousin says, “As kids we didn’t know we were poor, so we didn’t worry. Instead, we played sports every day on the playground.” Much of the young Cousins’ childhood activities also centered on the water. He wistfully remembers lazy summer days when he would row his skiff out to Woodbridge Island, where he would dig for clams.
In addition to his demanding role as Sheriff of Essex County, Cousins also teaches criminal justice at North Shore Community College. And he helped to create the Youth Academy, a program that instills leadership and community spirit in young people-and brings students for a week of fishing on Plum Island each year. “It’s important to let young people know that public service is not self-service: they must give to their communities,” he says. Cousins likes to refer to a quote from author Toni Morrison, who writes, “Make a difference about something other than yourselves.”
When the sheriff is relaxing at home in Newburyport, you might catch a glimpse of him jogging down High Street, at the ice cream counter at Gram’s, or appreciating the view of the harbor from the vantage point of the seawall; or perhaps you will see him at his eight-year-old son Gardner’s baseball games, where the proud father cheers, just as his parents had cheered for him when Cousins was a young ballplayer.
Kathleen Downey is a contributing writer to Newburyport-Today if you are a “Townie” and would like to be interviewed by Kathleen, please let us know!
