NEWBURYPORT — Local residents of all ages took a deep dive into what makes the U.S. Coast Guard Station Merrimack River tick on Thursday during the station’s annual open house.
The open house, which is part of Yankee Homecoming festivities, packed a lot of activities and sights in four hours.
From a table detailing Coast Guard history to boats parked outside that visitors could explore, the open house had everything, with the Coast Guard pulling out all the stops to welcome locals.
“We just put all this out to welcome the city of Newburyport, and let them see what the local Coast Guard does,” Jason Roberts, the officer in charge at the station, said.
The event also served as a chance for community members, like Diana Giard who attended the open house with her children, to learn about the Coast Guard’s duties.
Giard said she viewed the event as a chance to expand her knowledge about this branch of the armed forces.
“I didn’t really know what to expect, but I decided that it might be really fun to see what some of our military men and women do,” she said.
The open house also gave Coast Guard personnel a chance to interact with community members, something that Roberts said he enjoys year after year.
“It’s awesome,” he said of being able to converse with community members. “Especially when the bad weather goes away and we get sun out. It’s really good for the kids too, they get some exposure to what the Coast Guard does, and they may have never even heard about it,”.
The event even brought in Coast Guard members from outside the Merrimack River station, like Sonalice Ellis, a petty officer from Coast Guard Recruiting Office Boston, who manned a table and spoke with attendees.
“We’re just giving back to the community, giving out freebies, talking to kids about what the Coast Guard does, and if they have aspirations about being in the Coast Guard, how to get there,” she said.
Ellis also said she was glad to be there and explained that the open house gave her a chance to engage with everyone from young kids to Coast Guard veterans.
“You’re able to see kids of all ages, see people of all ages who have either been in the Coast Guard before, been in the Navy, or been in any other branch,” she said.
Similarly, Commander Timothy Jones, chief of response at Sector Boston, said he was happy to be in Newburyport and see how engaged the community was during the open house.
“It’s a proud moment to see the community come out and support the local Coast Guard station and see what we do day to day to keep the community safe,” he said.