RCF Short, But Still Sweet

            As if the threat of the Triple E virus wasn’t enough to put a damper on the last weeks of summer, the Rochester Country Fair (RCF) was cut short this year due to the “high” and then later deemed “critical” risk of the mosquito-borne virus, forcing the RCF board of directors to cancel the activities […] Read more »

Thoughts on: When the Circus Came to Town

Every kid of a certain age dreamed of running away with the circus. Short of hopping on a train and sleeping with the elephants, I lived the next best thing … the circus was in my back yard!             In the late 1950’s, the Clyde Beatty Cole Brothers Circus visited Mattapoisett and for three days set […] Read more »

Another Successful Great Community Picnic

It was as if the evening had been specially designed for the event: warm gentle breezes, skies blue with icing of gauzy white clouds, a picture-perfect location by a harbor sporting a glorious glassy high tide. Yes, perfect in every way for an event that has become an annual gala – the Great Community Picnic. […] Read more »

Cape Verdean Heritage Explored

            On a recent sultry summer’s day, the vibrant and multi-layered history of the Cape Verdean Islands was explored when Candida Rose Baptista brought her presentation titled, Kabumeramericas, to the Marion Council on Aging. The story of the islands as told through music and Baptista’s research was rich with the emotional longings the Cape Verdean people […] Read more »

The Marsupial Opossum

Over 70 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed the entire Earth. Although now extinct, they once shared the same land with North America’s only marsupial, the opossum. The word opossum comes from the Native American word “apasum”, meaning white-faced animal. About the size of a full-grown cat, the opossum is even more adept at tree climbing. […] Read more »

Tri-Town Presents Another National Night Out

Now seven years strong, the Tri-Town National Night Out is one of the highlights of the summer.             Since 2013, the fire, police, and EMS departments of Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester have come together on the grounds of Old Rochester Regional to connect with the people of the communities they serve and offer them the chance […] Read more »

A Journey into the Drum Circle

            Drum circles have been a social and cultural form of communication and expression almost since the beginning of humankind. It can be theorized that the beating of the human heart once discovered by homosapiens inspired them to replicate that rhythmic sound. We’ll never know for sure when, where, or how drums and their verb ‘drumming’ […] Read more »

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in the Coffee Shop

            Back in the day – my day that is – the most important thing about summer was getting a summer job.              My parents were the children of subsistence fishermen, day laborers, shop owners, foragers; that is to say, people who worked hard to scrape together enough resources to survive. A work ethic deeply engrained by […] Read more »

Spring Street Intersection Discussed at Bike Path Hearing

On July 30 the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) held a hearing at which time the public was asked to give comment on the 25-percent design for a bike path that could one day link Marion to Mattapoisett and Wareham. Phase One, which was the topic of this hearing, would travel from the town line […] Read more »

Fun is in the Air at Super Duper Fun Fair

            When it comes to good old-fashioned fun, nothing beats the setting of the middle of Main Street during the First Congregational Church of Marion’s Annual Super Duper Fun Fair.             The event brings life and color to the village of Marion every year with its flower sale, colorful spines of the books stacked for the book […] Read more »