Charlie Cullen
By Kathleen Downey
Provident Bank president Charlie Cullen was wearing his puffy white “poet’s” shirt—a signature garment to the uniform of town crier (Cullen’s alter ego during Yankee Homecoming week) when we spoke. He was between engagements, having “cried” the day’s announcements from his podium in Market Square earlier in the afternoon and now taking a small break, beneath the shade of a tree, on the grounds of Atria Merrimack Place before going inside to help crown Yankee Homecoming’s senior king and queen.
Charlie Cullen Singing with Friends at the Annual Link House Fundraiser
Civic blood runs through Cullen’s veins, and community pride infuses his deeds. Whether he is donning the uniform of town crier to raise money for Yankee Homecoming, acting as a “celebrity bartender” at Ten Center Street to raise money for local charities, performing song parodies on his ukulele at the annual Link House fundraiser, or fulfilling his less-frivolous role as bank president, Cullen’s commitment to community is unwavering.
“Helping my community makes me feel good,” Cullen says. He is all the more pleased with his contribution if he can help people to smile. His past civic roles include a term on the Newburyport Chamber of Commerce and the position of co-chairperson for the YWCA fundraising committee. His efforts on behalf of the “Y” were rewarded with the culmination of the facility’s new four-lane lap pool and a state-of-the-art warm water pool.
Cullen currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Anna Jaques Hospital. As chairperson for the hospital’s capital campaign, Cullen says, “Our community hospital is one of the most important resources we take for granted. But if we are to keep quality health care, we need to do our part as a community.” Technological renovations and room renovations that will allow for increased patient privacy are among the fundraising goals that Cullen is working towards.
I wondered where this 1969 graduate of Newburyport High School mined his inspiration to be so community-driven—and so unafraid to poke fun at himself. “Harry Truman,” Cullen tells me, matter-of-factly. “Harry Truman was self-taught and extremely well-read, but he had no college degree. Yet, through his plain-speaking manner, humility, brilliant war strategy, and his ability to make some very tough decisions, particularly about the atomic bomb, Truman proved himself a great leader.” Cullen reflects on his presidential role model and says, “Success is a life lesson; in part, it’s realized in what you don’t know – but you manage to get the job done nevertheless.”
James "Jim" Cullen is sworn in as a member of Governor Christian A. Herter's administration as a young Charlie, his brother Jay, and their mother Dorothy look on.
A love of politics runs in Cullen’s family. His father was a decorated World War II navy veteran who served in the administration of Massachusetts Governor Christian A. Herter. Cullen recalls his father’s swearing-in ceremony. The event was a family affair with Cullen, his brother Jay, and their mother Dorothy looking on as the governor administered the oath of office to James “Jim” Cullen. Cullen laughs when recalling the faux pas in protocol that he and his brother committed: instead of raising their right hand, like their dad, they raised their left. The sweet, indelible family memory is captured in a poignant photograph that was printed in the Haverhill Gazette.
As we wrap-up our interview, Cullen prepares himself to officiate the coronation of this year’s Yankee Homecoming royalty. He slips into his burgundy jacket, completing the period attire of town crier. I walk with him toward the lobby of Atria, and he shares with me that his father, who passed away last December, lived the last two years of his life at the senior assisted-living community. “My father loved it here,” Cullen says. We go inside where, it soon becomes apparent, his dad was much loved. Prior to proclaiming this year’s king and queen, Atria’s mistress of ceremonies tells the packed room of Atria residents and visitors that this moment for the town crier is bittersweet, because his dad had been one of their family—a much missed member of the Atria family. Cullen bows his head, then rings his hand-held crier bell to announce the coronation ceremony. The peal of the bell rings through the banquet hall, floats up through the elevated ceiling, and dissipates beyond.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
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!
