Sippican Historical Society

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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 226 Front Street – Alumni House. The building at 226 Front Street, once the Headmaster’s House of Tabor Academy, is a Cape Cod cottage that was built in 1817. It was greatly enlarged by a Colonial Revival addition in 1849. The 1855 Marion map indicates that Peleg Briggs lived here. By 1903, it was the property of Miss J. Briggs. In 1937, it became the Headmaster’s House when Tabor Academy was moved to the waterfront. Headmaster Walter Huston Lillard lived here until 1942, when he left Tabor Academy to assist the war effort. His successor was James W. Wickenden. The Headmaster’s House became an important focus of the school’s academic life.

Rochester Tree Lighting Ceremony

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Rochester Town Hall presents its annual tree lighting ceremony on Monday, December 3.

Festivities start at 6:30 pm in front of the Town Hall at 1 Constitution Way.

All in attendance will be treated to holiday music by the Rochester Memorial School Band and Choir. Santa will be arriving to the event to join the fun. Following the ceremony, free refreshments will be available inside the Town Hall.

Marilyn P. (Pearce) Searle

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Marilyn P. (Pearce) Searle passed away, due to Alzheimer’s complications, on October 31, 2018 in Scottsdale, AZ. She was born on June 14, 1931 in Boston, grew up in Hyde Park and lived in Waltham, prior to being a longtime resident of her beloved Mattapoisett. Marilyn is survived by her daughter, Ellen Haddad (Michael) of Fredericksburg, VA, her son, Stephen Searle (Nanette) of Carefree, AZ, four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. A private memorial service was held on November 10th, at Desert Hills Presbyterian Church in Carefree, AZ.

ORR Honors Legacy of Retired Coach

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After 41 years, Polly Perkins Lawrence has retired, leaving the field as Old Rochester Regional High School’s beloved Varsity Field Hockey coach, and her position as teacher’s assistant in the classroom.

The impact that Lawrence left on ORR graduate Lauren O’Brien is as strong as the impact she’s made on the scores of other girls who played field hockey these past four decades; one that is lasting, based on dedication and selflessness, which is why O’Brien and the rest of those who Lawrence has coached honored her during this year’s Field Hockey Banquet with an award in her name – the Lawrence Legacy Award – which Lawrence presented to the first ever recipient, Carly Drew.

O’Brien sums up Lawrence’s legacy in one poignant Winston Churchill quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

“She inspires others around her to find their passion, give their time, and find ways to integrate their interests/skills with the needs of others in mind,” said O’Brien. “I was honored to have Polly Perkins Lawrence at my first banquet as head coach and to honor her commitment and service with the implementation of the Lawrence Legacy Award.”

The award will recognize one student each year,” O’Brien told The Wanderer on November 26 during a phone interview. “A selfless student athlete who dedicates her time to service and to commitment to the community.”

Naming this award after Lawrence, O’Brien said, is appropriate, given that Lawrence herself spent years serving the Tri-Town as an educator, coach, and supporter of students and parents.

“I played for Polly from 2006-2009,” O’Brien said. “Polly is someone who’s very humble. She dedicated her entire life and she spent all of her time helping kids, whether it was on or off the field and in the classroom.”

Lawrence never measured her success by how many wins she coached, said O’Brien.

“It was more about the relationships she fostered along the way. The staff, the players, coaches, referees,” said O’Brien. “She built relationships with all of the people she met in the sport.”

Lawrence has coached alongside JV Field Hockey Coach Kate Souza for over 30 years, who remains as head JV Field Hockey Coach.

O’Brien, who was raised in Rochester and now resides in Fairhaven. She attended the Field Hockey Banquet that was held on November 13.

By Jean Perry

BWAA Holiday Art Sale

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The Bourne Wareham Art Association (BWAA) will hold its Annual Holiday Art Show and Sale at the Wareham Historical Society Meetinghouse, 495 Main St., Wareham on Friday, December 7from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm and Saturday, December 8from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Featured is original framed artwork by local artists in oil, watercolor, pastels, graphics, and acrylics. Also photography, sculpture, painted metalworks, and craft items will be available for sale. A portion of all sales goes to the BWAA Annual Scholastic Art Awards Fund, which helps support young artists throughout our communities.

Rochester Democratic Town Committee

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The next meeting of the Rochester Democratic Town Committee is December 1, 2018 at 10:30 am in the Rochester Town Hall conference room.

We will be learning about ranked choice voting and discussing our efforts from this past year as well as planning for 2019 and 2020. All are welcome to attend and participate.

Citizens Commission

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To the Editor:

Question 2 on the ballot in the November 6, 2018 elections in Massachusetts called for the establishment of a Citizens Commission. This proposed law would be set up to consider and recommend potential amendments to the U.S. Constitution to establish that corporations (and other artificial entities) do not have the same Constitutional rights as human beings and that campaign contributions and expenditures may be regulated.

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a whole, more than 71% of those who voted cast their vote in favor of establishing such a Commission. Per a timeline determined from the full text of Question 2, the following activities will take place:

-In early January 2019, there will be a posting date of the opportunity to serve on the Commission (open to any resident of Massachusetts who is a U.S. citizen).

-By April 30, 2019, appointments of the 15 members to the Commission will be complete (3 each from the Governor, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Attorney General, the Speaker of the state House of Representatives and President of the state Senate).

-From early May to the end of December 2019, the Commission will meet to gather evidence and take testimony in researching the impact of political spending in Massachusetts and the possibilities of regulating such expenditures.

-The Commission will deliver its report by December 31, 2019.

-The Secretary of the Commonwealth will deliver the report in early January 2020 to the state Legislature, the United States Congress, and the President of the United States.

The Act so distributed will urge Congress to pass and ratify the recommended amendment(s).

Jack W. Dean, Chair of Citizens for Economic Justice, Mattapoisett

 

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.

Tabor Grad Competes in Cross-Country Nationals

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Tabor Academy graduate and former Tabor correspondent for The Wanderer, Julia O’Rourke, is going the distance as a cross-country runner at Bowdoin College, even coming in 15thplace out of 398 runners recently, a personal best for her at 2:25:39, qualifying her to compete in the NCAA DIII Cross Country National Championships as senior co-captain of Bowdoin College.

The national championship in Wisconsin on November 17 was O’Rourke’s last collegiate cross-country race. She finished 117thout of 279 and ran 6:04-minute miles for the 6k race, despite the bitter cold temperatures in the 20s.

O’Rourke was a cross-country and spring track runner at Old Rochester Regional Junior High School and at Tabor Academy under coach Kelli McSweeney. Her first race was the Marion Mile started by Chris Adams, the Tabor Academy track coach and Spanish teacher, while O’Rourke was still at Sippican School!

Cinderella Brings Magic to ORR

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The night of Thursday, November 29, will be one of magic at Old Rochester Regional High School (ORR). At 7:30, the curtain will rise and the premier of the ORR Drama Club’s fall production of Cinderellawill have audiences spellbound with magic faster than you can say bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!

Even on the night of Tuesday, November 27, the magicians who comprise the stage crew were busying themselves, not unlike the mice of the beloved fairy tale, sending the sounds of drills, pulling of curtains, and the sliding of sets from every direction. The actors were running around faster than Cinderella could run from the prince at midnight, and all along the encouraging words of ORR’s new Drama Club Director Gregory Silver conducted the choreography of the magical chaos that is all part of the preparation to knock your glass slippers off Thursday through Sunday, December 2.

It’s the dawning of a new day at ORR, a once-upon-a-time unfolding, if you please. Silver knows that the present moment is simply a continuance of picking up where the past left off and taking it into the future.

“We are maintaining history while putting a modern spin on classic theater,” says Silver during a moment of standstill as one group of actors swapped places with another group as the dress rehearsal commenced Tuesday night.

And where the magic lies is in what Silver calls his “five most important”: collaboration, communication, respect, technique, and vision.

“That’s how you put on a show,” Silver said. That’s where the amazement, enthusiasm, and talent figuratively turn silver into gold.

For this show, Silver said a lot had to do with reusing, rebuilding, and recreating as a team as the Drama Club moved forward this year. Which, of course, as Silver emphasizes, “At the end of the day it’s all about the students. It’s all for the students.”

Silver kept most of the production under tight wraps, not wanting to disclose too much of the surprise in store for the audiences. And as far as one could tell that night simply by looking around the auditorium, this show will be unlike any other at ORR.

This production of Cinderellawas arranged by Sally Netzel and is a classic retelling of the fairy tale with some modern twists. Victoria Kvilhaug stars as Cinderella along with Baylen Brunelle as Prince.

The show also features Jackie Barrett, Sarah Melloni, Kate Marsden, Bethany Cabral, Emma Blouin, Luke Couto, Sam Guillotte, Jillian Craig, Eddie Gonet, Andrew Steele, Elise Mello, Emma Williamson, and Marina Stephens, along with a full ensemble cast and crew.

They will welcome audiences on November 29, 30, and December 1at 7:30 pm, with a Sunday, December 2,  performance at 2:00 pm.

Tickets are $10 for students and senior citizens, and $12 for general admission. For reservations or information please call 508-758-6762.

By Jean Perry

ORRHS Term 1 Honor Roll

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The following students have achieved honors for the fourth term at Old Rochester Regional High School:

            Highest Honors, Grade 9:Edward Gonet, Isabella Hunter, John Kassabian, Amaya McLeod, Marc Pothier, Emma Thorell, Autumn Tilley; Grade 10:Stephen Arne, Benjamin Austin, Alexander Craig, Jordan Duarte, Rachael Fantoni, Sydney Feeney, Davis Fox, Rachel Foye, Isabelle Kelly, Madisyn Leavitt, Katelyn Luong, Rebecca Milde, Christian Noble Shriver, Evan O’Brien-Nichols, Serena O’Connell, Lindsey O’Donnell, Jonathan Pereira, Bessie Pierre, Daphne Poirier, Leah Scott, Evan Smith, Paige Sommers, Kathleen Tenerowicz, Jessica Vance, Emma Vivino, Emma Williamson, Rachel Zutaut; Grade 11:Emma Gabriel, Lilah Gendreau, Danielle Nutter, Rachel Perry, Mackenzie Riley; Grade 12:Elsie Buckley, John Harrison Burke, Julia Cabral, Jacob Cardwell, Ian Friedrichs, Sydney Green, Hanbyul Kang, Kelsea Kidney, Holden King, Rosemary Loer, Michaela Mattson, Alexander Murteira, Elisa Normand, Carly O’Connell, Kevin Ovian, Aidan Ridings, Harrison Riley, Ansley Rivera, Michael Stack.

High Honors, Grade 9:Jaelyn Allen, Amanda Armanetti, Matthew Curry, Jillian Ferreira, Colby Gross, Jake Louden, Sofia Martins, Maggie Nailor, Allison Ward, Jennifer Williams; Grade 10:Shelby Carmichael, Emma Carroll, Steven Carvalho, Carly Drew, Prosser Friedman, Maeve Geraghty, Meghan Horan, Molly Janicki, Tucker Nugent, Kennedy Serpa, William Stark, Kayli Vieira, Sophie Vigeant, Tyler Wadman, Lucy Zhang; Grade 11:Gabrielle Bold, Tova Brickley, Jack Cadden, Ian McCann, Alexa McLeod, Aidan Michaud, Cecilia Prefontaine, Eric Tippins; Grade 12:Samuel Austin, Jack Barrows, Danya Bichsel, Sara Campopiano, Marisa Cofone, Brielle Correia, Maya Doonan, Nicole Fantoni, Mariana Hebert, Tyler Kulak, Nolan LaRochelle, Jake Mourao, Claire Noble Shriver, Lauren Pina, Meghan Rebello, Jonathan Riley, Brett Rood, Robert Ross, Timothy Saunders, Gates Tenerowicz, Julius Wagoner, Caroline Walsh, Mariyah Wright, Lily Youngberg.

Honors, Grade 9:Jared Asiaf, William Baltz, Nathaniel Bangs, George Barry, Katelyn Bellemare, Erin Besancon, Brendan Burke, Corrine Camara, Palmer Clingman, Isabella Correia, Meredith Davignon, Quinn Davignon, Alice DeCicco-Carey, Emily DellaCioppa, Benjamin DeMoranville, Tiago Duarte, Adam Forrest, Kayle Friedlaender, Isabel Friedrichs, Hannah Furtado, Conner Garcia, Bailey Gosse, Taylor Green, Mia Hall, Brooke Hammond, Aiden Harrington, Samuel Harris, Isabella Hedges, Mia Hemphill, Faith Humphrey, Isabella Hunt, Emma Levasseur, Sean Lund, Keane MacGregor, Jamie MacKenzie, Jillian Martin, Drew Mastovsky, Isabelle McCarthy, Ethan McElroy, Lucas McElroy, Caroline Milam, Drew Miranda, Steven Morrell, Elijah Motta, Emily Murphy, Olivia Mydlack, Katherine Nilson, Tavish Nunes, Ethan Perez-Dormitzer, Victoria Perry, Sawichaya Phimolmas, Emilia Pinhancos, Apollo Prefontaine, Benjamin Preece, Maria Psichopaidas, Charles Richards, Natalya Rivera, Tess Roznoy, Stephen Sauerbrey, Julia Sheridan, Callie Tavares, Hannah Teixeira, Emma Thayer, Gabrielle Theodore, Michael Tobin, Tyler Trudeau, Maxwell Tucker, Angelina Vaughan, Joel Watters, Cameran Weaver, Klara Whalley, Mackenzie Wilson, Emma Wyman, Joseph Ziino; Grade 10:Taylor Amaral, Novalye Arruda, Claire Barry, Margaret Berry, Maya Blouin, Marisa Braga, Curtis Briggi, Elizabeth Bungert, Skylar Cardwell, Isabella Carrillo, Margaret Carroll, Mia Costa, Andrew Coucci, Jillian Craig, Cole Dennison, Mariana Ditata, Brielle Ducharme, Meaghan Dufresne, Joseph Dumas, Thomas Durocher, Reign Fernandes, Abigail Forcier, Christopher Gauvin, Charles Hartley-Matteson, Griffin Henriques, Stefan Hulsebosch, Mia Hurley, Jacob Jensen, Sean Lally, Jillian Langlais, William Lecuyer, Brianna Machado, Colin Mackin, Aidan McLaughlin, Luke Millette, Aidan Milton, Jason Motta, Samuel Noblet, Faith Oliver, Caroline Owens, Rachel Pina, Raegan Rapoza, Eren Salta, Elijah Silva, Caitlin Simpson, Sophia Sousa, Sadie Stanton, Tori-Rae Tripp, Mason Tucker, Reily Veilleux, Elizabeth Wiggin, Ryan Wilson, Samantha Winters, Alison Wright, Paige Zutaut; Grade 11:Erika Albert, Cole Ashley, Jacqueline Barrett, Hunter Bates, Meghan Berg, Sarah Besancon, Jonathan Borsari, Mary Butler, Charlotte Cole, Jackson Cote, Michelina Ditata, William Gauvin, Jack Gerard, Grace Greany, Hunter Hanks, Ruth Harris, Ryu Huynh-Aoyama, Nicholas Johnson, Grayson Lord, Kate Marsden, Stephen Marston, Ella McIntire, Elise Mello, Sarah Melloni, Alexandra Moniz, Luke Mullen, Allison Paim, Amanda Rapoza, Alexi Smead, Nicholas Snow, Sofia Sudofsky, Gracey Weedall, Emily Wilson; Grade 12:Gabriella Amato, Zoe Bilodeau, Emma Blouin, Lea Bourgeois, Marc Bourgeois, Michaela Braz, Adam Breault, Matthew Brogioli, Mary Brulport, Sophia Clingman, Noah Cunningham, Maddie Demanche, Jada Fields, Adrian Gleasure, Chandler Goulart, Lily Govoni, Genevieve Grignetti, Daniel Hartley, Madeline Hartley, Alex Henrie, Jordan Hoeg-Chick, Kristina Hopkins, Amelia Isabelle, Nikolas Ketchie, Logan King, Victoria Kvilhaug, Christopher LaBelle, Abigail Lacock, Tayler Lee, Grace Mastroianni, Samantha Nicolosi, Bryce Nightlinger, Geoffrey Noonan, Avery O’Brien-Nichols, Elsie Perry, Chelsea Peterson, Lily Poirier, Delaney Pothier, Ana Poulin, Owen Powers, Mia Quinlan, Janey Rego, Madeleine Root, Daniel Rottler, Michael Santos, Marlowe Simmons, Justin Smith, Ashley Soares, Delaney Soucy, Taylor Swoish, Robert Sylvester, Adam Sylvia, Caroline Thomas, Samuel Wiggin, Alexander Wurl.