Herman R. “Joe” Morse, Jr. and Lillian A. “Tuddie” Morse

on

The family of Herman R. “Joe” Morse, Jr. and Lillian A. “Tuddie” Morse announce their cremation interment at Rochester Center Cemetery. “Joe” passed away peacefully on July 26, 2018 and “Tuddie” passed away peacefully on August 12, 2012.

“Joe” was well-known for his wonderful furniture restoration, repair, and chair caning. Before his retirement, he was a local machinist. A veteran of the Korean War, “Joe” was stationed in the state of Washington for two years, 1950 through 1952 and held the rank of Sargent with an honorable discharge. Prior to her retirement, “Tuddie” worked at Baldwin Brothers, Inc. and American Research & Management Company, both of Marion. She was an excellent homemaker, secretary, and an avid reader. Together they enjoyed working on their property and dancing to country music.

They are both missed for their love, generosity and kindness. A private grave-side interment will be held in early September.

Children include: Donna Lee Tufts and her husband Peter of Marion; Michael G. Thompson of Mattapoisett; Deborah Olival and her husband Thomas of Fairhaven; and Nancy Morse and her partner James Savaria of Fairhaven. Grandchildren include: Bruce A. Faulkner, III of Enfield, New Hampshire; Heidi A. Faulkner of E. Freetown; and Christopher Leduc of Fairhaven. One Great-Grandson, Gavin L. Machado, of E. Freetown. “Joe” leaves a sister, Althea Lawrence of Rochester. “Tuddie” leaves a brother, Joseph “Duffy” Clapp, of Rochester.

Anyone wishing to donate in remembrance of “Tuddie” and “Joe”, may make a donation to any of the following: The Plumb Library of Rochester, The Rochester Police, or the Rochester Fire Department.

 

Friends of the Plumb Library

on

To the Editor:

            We, the board of the Friends of the Plumb Library in Rochester, would like to thank all our volunteers who were so instrumental in the success of our first summer Tent & Book Preview Sale on Saturday, August 18. We could not have had such a positive outcome without you, our volunteers. You are very dear to us!

            And, a special thank you to Steve and Mo Sperry for donating a beautiful tent set up for our occasion. Without the shade from the tent, our afternoon would not have been so pleasant and successful. Plus, it was just beautiful and attracted attention!

            These fundraisers and our membership help us support all the Library’s children and adult programs. Without the funds gained from these events, we would not have such a fun lineup of programs.

            Now, onto our main Book Sale on Saturday, September 15th! Thanks, again and see you on the 15th!

Linda Medeiros, Sheryl Aguiar, Beverly Passantino, and Leith Patnaude

 

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wandererwill gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wandererreserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderermay choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wandererhas the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wandereralso reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.

Registration Open for MAC Dance Academy

on

MAC Dance Academy is a classically taught dance studio that fosters individuality and fun for little dancers. We are a low-key academy providing extraordinary dance instruction in the areas of ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, and gymnastics in a safe learning environment.

MAC is thrilled to announce that Teah Keogh (“Miss Teah”) has returned to the area and wants to bring her dance program back! Miss Teah is a classically taught dancer in the genres of ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and gymnastics. She taught second grade for 8 years and ESL for 2 years in the Old Rochester Regional school district and coached the ORR Dance Team for 2 years. Miss Teah ran MAC Dance Academy for 5 years before her move to Denver. Now she is back! Miss Teah’s goal is to keep the cost of instruction to a minimum and to make the learning valuable and fun!

The 2018 Fall program will offer two six-week sessions. Children may sign up for one or both weeks. Classes will be held on Mondays and are as follows: Adult and Me (age 2-4) 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm, Kinder Step (age 4-5) 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm, and Beginner (age 5-6) 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm. Session I will run from September 10 to October 15. Session II will run from October 29 to December 10 with no class Thanksgiving week. Classes subject to change or cancellation based on enrollment. Ages for class must be followed.

To register for classes, visit marionartcenter.org or stop by the Marion Art Center during normal business hours: Tuesday through Friday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm and Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. If you have any questions, please contact MAC directly at marionartcenter@verizon.net or 508-748-1266.

We look forward to having your children in our dance classes.

The Succulence of Summer

on

Biting into the soft ripened flesh of a locally grown peach is a summertime pleasure I look forward to each year. A quick rinse, a bit of rubbing to remove the downy coat peaches wear so proudly before the moment of truth – will it be sweet and succulent or mealy and dry. And what a reward when the result proves once again it is Nirvana from a tree. The peach is an explosion of juice and sweetness with that tiny hint of sour – a harvest for the soul.

Yet peaches aren’t the only perfect fruit one can enjoy, nay experience, this time of the year. Let’s not forget about the tomatoes.

I’m not sure when my love affair with the tomato first began, but assuredly it had to have been in my youth. Back in the 1950’s all fresh fruits and vegetables were primarily only available during their respective growing seasons. Mass production, while part of the farm industry by then, wasn’t on the scale it is today and very few grocery chains were importing fresh produce from southern countries during the winter season. No sir, we had to enjoy peaches and tomatoes, watermelons and zucchini, leafy greens and pole beans during their short growing season – summer.

My mother depended on local farms of all sizes to provide her family with fresh seasonal fruits and veggies. As the trucks rolled along the village streets of my tiny seaside home filled with produce picked that morning, she’d flag down the driver and gather in the riches from Earth. Tomatoes were one of her personnel favorites.

These were not merely red colored orbs, these were tomatoes packed with flavor – a flavor I have yet to experience again. These tomatoes weren’t cooked into a sauce or even sliced for a salad, these tomatoes were the main course, the entrée, the prima donna of the dinner table. These tomatoes would be the stars of her bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches.

After securing the red treasure, she’d send me to the store to get the bread. Second only to the tomato, the bread for these sandwiches had to be a fresh loaf of Wonderbread.

The soft, doughy enriched and bleached wheat slices baked in a factory located in New Bedford were a mainstay of our existence. They were breakfast before school, lunch during school, and – in the summertime – a participant in that sandwich unmatched anywhere else on earth: a BLT.

Ma would cut thick juicy slabs of beefsteak tomatoes while the bacon sizzled splendidly in the cast iron flying pan. Meticulous as ever, she’d keep the flame just right to minimize the fat splatter, her stove was a beacon of cleaning virtue bar none. The simmering result was bacon cooked to perfection. The smell was intoxicating.

On the table, she’d place the jar of mayonnaise, the absolutely necessary condiment, the shimmering plate of tomatoes, the cooling strips of bacon, along with the bag of bread, “Come and get it!”

Dad always got his plate first in deference to his position as the breadwinner, no pun intended, but he scanned his eye across the table noting the bounty he’d provided and, no doubt, taking pleasure in seeing his children fed.

I’d carefully build my sandwich. Avoiding the tougher end slices from the bread loaf as I preferred the spongy inner slices. Then came a slathering of mayo, followed by a crisp iceberg lettuce leaf positioned to cradle the tomato lovingly placed in its waiting embrace, and finally the smoky, salty bacon strips. Take that you Jambon Beurre! Touché!!!

We were a very causal family, not predisposed to sit at a dinner table, but instead we’d leave Dad at his post in the kitchen and bring our plates into the living room where Ma would have placed the TV tray tables, and where we’d watch the nightly news while eating supper.

From the first bite until the last, the only thing I remember are those sandwiches, not what Walter Cronkite was reporting, regardless of its importance. I was eating a summer BLT.

The combination of soft yielding bread, creamy mayonnaise, acidic and flavorful tomato flesh, and salty crunchy bacon blended slowly in the mouth of an eight-year-old connoisseur – is this not how a gourmand is created I ask you? And given that all these decades later one of my fondest childhood memories are the summer tomatoes of my youth prepared into BTL sandwiches by my mother, well it speaks volumes, does it not?

Today, my favorite sandwich remains a white bread BTL, although the bread most likely is sourdough or, I must confess, even a baguette.

From my three tomato plants I harvest my small crop of homegrown jewels. As I assemble my leafy greens and lemon tomato sandwich with mayo, I think of Ma and how much she taught me to appreciate simply good, fresh foods. While she was the Queen of all things frozen and canned, in the summer, she knew the few precious weeks of fresh fruits and vegetables had to be taken advantage of – maybe she hoped I’d remember.

This Mattapoisett Life

By Marilou Newell

 

Community Members Sought for Search Committee

on

The Rochester Board of Selectmen discussed Monday night the impending retirement of Council on Aging Director Sharon Lally who is expected to leave the Council effective the end of August 2019.

Chairman Greenwood “Woody” Hartley stated that the Board of Selectmen created a selection committee to seek applicants for the position of director of the Council on Aging. They are seeking three members of the community to be a part of the Director Selection Team. Letters of interest should be sent directly to Sharon Lally. Additionally, Council on Aging board member Ruth Philbrook submitted her letter of resignation from the council.

With a very light agenda, Hartley took the opportunity to answer questions he had received regarding the Chapter 61a tax abatement program run by the state. When a property comes out of Ch. 61a, Hartley said, the town has the opportunity to purchase the land. He has been asked why the town has not taken greater advantage of this opportunity. Hartley gave the parcel on the corner of Mendell and Rounseville Roads as an example, stating “[It’s] going out of 61a, it’s quite a few acres, but we didn’t even consider it because it is considered industrial because it has a solar array. In Rochester, we assess [this] land with solar on it at $250,000 a year, which makes that land worth millions of dollars. It would have been a nice piece of land, but not at that price.”

The board waited for an appointment with Lorraine Thompson for the use of the Pine Street property for a Lion’s Club/Fire Department Touch a Truck event, but she did not make the meeting. The board also briefly discussed the Town Hall and Annex hours of operation, but will take up the discussion again at their next meeting.

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for Monday, September 17, 2018.

Rochester Board of Selectmen

By Sarah French Storer

 

Sippican Historical Society

on

In 1998, the Sippican Historical Society commissioned an architectural survey of Marion’s historic homes and buildings. The survey was funded one-half by the Sippican Historical Society and one-half by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Due to the limits of funding, not all of the historic buildings were surveyed, but over 100 were catalogued and photographed. The results of the survey are in digital form on the Massachusetts Historical Commission’s website and in four binders in the Sippican Historical Society’s office (and at the Marion Town Clerk’s office).

Marion (Old Rochester) is one of the oldest towns in the United States, and the Sippican Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of documentation on its historic buildings. The Sippican Historical Society will preview one building a week so that the residents of Marion can understand more about its unique historical architecture.

This installment features 82 County Road. The Greek Revival home at 82 County Road is located in the area in North Marion that was called “Happy Alley.” Built between 1840 and 1855, it was owned in 1855 by Ezra S. Parlow, a miller who operated a mill on the pond across the street from this house. During the mid-1880s, Parlow served as treasurer of Marion’s Pythagorean Lodge, which was organized in 1861. The 1879 Marion map lists this home as owned by Nathan D. Parlow, who operated Nathan Parlow and Sons Grist Mill. In 1903, it was owned by Freeman F. Gurney, who resided at 202 Spring Street and operated a grocery store across the depot.

Practical 3D Printing for Adults

on

Curious about 3D printing? Want to learn how to create unique gifts or works or art? Join librarian and 3D printing enthusiast Elizabeth Sherry at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library to learn the practical applications of 3D printing for crafting and art projects, fashion, household repairs, gardening, gaming, homework help, and more. Learn about the capabilities of the library’s Ultimaker 2 3D printer and leave with practical knowledge of how to find, create, and personalize designs that you can print with our Ultimaker. See our amazing 3D printer in action and learn how you can turn your ideas and inventions into reality.

Two Sessions are available: Saturday,August 25from 11 am – 12:30 pm or Tuesday, August 28from 3 pm – 4:30 pm. Sign up at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library. Contact Librarian Elizabeth Sherry for additional information at esherry@sailsinc.org or call 508-758-4171.

St. Philip’s Episcopal Church

on

St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, next to the Town Beach in Mattapoisett, continues their 134 year tradition of visiting clergy from Massachusetts and beyond.

Services using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer are conducted at 8:00 am and 10:00 am each Sunday through Labor Day weekend.

The Rev. Jeffrey Cave, Honorary Assistant, Church of Our Saviour, Atlanta, GA, will officiate services on Sunday, August 26.

Come visit our historic chapel by the sea in Mattapoisett! All are welcome.

Meet Us at the Beach

on

Where did Jesus find his first disciples … at the beach! So, that’s where we will be too. Outdoor Worship, Picnic, and Games on Sunday, August 26at 10:00 am.

The First Congregational Church of Marion and St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church will co-worship at Silvershell Beach in Marion.

Come join in a fun and faith-filled summer experience of worship and community! Bring a lawn chair or a blanket. Bring a friend or a family! We will set up on the grass, and the entrance is on Lewis Street. We begin at 10:00 am with a spirit filled worship.

Following worship, we will share a potluck picnic lunch. And just for fun there will be a local ice-cream truck visiting offering complimentary ice cream desserts!

Doesn’t THAT make you smile? But that is not the only fun because we have Silly Olympics for all: A 3-legged race, sack race, water balloon toss, tug-of-war, and greased watermelon rugby in the shallow water!

Put it on your calendar now: Sunday, August 26 at 10:00 am. You don’t want to miss the fun.

Marion Awarded $93K Grant

on

A study proposed by the Town of Marion to assess the vulnerability of its wastewater infrastructure was one of nineteen projects to have been awarded a Coastal Resilience Grant from the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM). The Town received $93,660 to assess the risks from coastal flooding and storm surge to its pumping stations, and to identify what improvements are needed to reduce their vulnerability.

The Coastal Resilience Grant Program supports local efforts to increase awareness and understanding of climate impacts, and to plan for changing conditions related to coastal storms, flooding, and erosion. All eight of Marion’s pumping stations are located in a flood zone, and two are in the zone designated as most vulnerable. Analyses funded by this grant will compare the existing flood-level with future flood-level projections at each pump station to identify necessary upgrades to address storm surge and a heightened flood risk. Recommended upgrades may include elevating the pump station, raising its electrical components, waterproofing the structure, and modifying piping networks.

According to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Statewide and Major Basin Climate Projections, sea levels will likely rise between two and four feet by the year 2100. Over the same period, experts say there is a higher chance for extreme weather, including heavy precipitation events (which are already occurring 70% more often since the 1950s), and total winter precipitation could increase by as much as 34 percent.

The proposed study is part of the Climate Resiliency element in the 2017 Marion Master Plan. Addressing the vulnerability of the Town’s wastewater infrastructure was also identified as a high priority in the state’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program (MVP) assessment for Marion. Participants at the MVP workshops in May 2018 identified key hazards, vulnerabilities, and actions that the Town of Marion should take to reduce risks and build resilience.

For further information, please contact the Town Planner, Gil Hilario at 508-748-3513 or email, ghilario@marionma.gov.