Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School’s 4th Quarter Honor Roll for 2018 included:
– Grade 10 High Honors Bethany Davis of Marion
– Grade 11 High Honors Delaney Gosse of Marion
– Grade 11 High Honors Christopher Rogers of Marion
ConCom Breezes Through Agenda
The members of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission breezed through five public hearings in 30 minutes on June 25.
First up was a Request for Determination of Applicability filed by Kenneth Yokel for property located at 94 Fairhaven Road. After handing over a thick stack of abutter notifications, affectionately referred to as “green cards” by the commission, the applicant’s request for permission to pave an existing gravel driveway received a Negative Determination (no Notice of Intent required). The Yokels had previously sought and received guidance from the commission on best practices during the paving phase in harmony with the Wetlands Protection Act.
Dan Bungert filed a Notice of Intent application for property located off River Bend Lane. Carmelo Nicolosi of Charon Associates, Inc., represented Bungert as he discussed the construction of a single-family home with driveway planned for construction. Nicolosi shared that a percolation test had been completed in 2009, that erosion controls were planned during the construction, and Conservation Agent Elizabeth Leidhold had confirmed the wetland flagging. One small blip in the hearing surfaced when it was learned that the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program office had not yet responded to a request for their input on construction impact to wildlife in the area. The hearing was continued until July 9 awaiting their response.
Jon Connell of Field Engineering representing Manuel Palomo, 117 Mattapoisett Neck Road, came before the commission with a Notice of Intent filing for the construction of a garage. Palomo received permission with the issuance of standard conditions.
A Request For Determination of Applicability filed for Susan Fine, 20 Silver Shell Avenue, for the installation of a concrete block patio space received a Negative Determination.
And last item on the easy-breezy agenda was a Request for Determination of Applicability filed by Peter and Ellen Fitzpatrick, 21 Shore View Avenue, to increase the footprint of an existing pilings by four inches to accommodate a small structural change to the home received a Negative 3 Determination.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission is scheduled for July 9 at 6:30 pm in the town hall conference room.
Mattapoisett Conservation Commission
By Marilou Newell
Drama Holds Banquet, Names 2018-2019 Shows
On June 24, the ORR Drama Club held their end of the year banquet outside for the very first time. Normally, the banquet is held at the school’s auditorium, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, the event was held at the house of Lisa Cardoza. Cardoza is president of Friends of Old Rochester Drama, more commonly known as F.O.R.D.
Students performed their Cabaret acts, as that event had also been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. Julia Melloni gave a lovely performance of “Party Favor” on her ukulele, followed by Olivia Guillotte happily singing “Walking at Midnight”. Seniors Jack Roussell, Alice Bednarczyk, Bella Rodriguez, Ethan Mort, and Noah Paknis performed “Yellow Submarine”, with Roussell on guitar, bringing the entire club into a sing-along for the chorus.
Due to technical difficulties, Melloni gave an impromptu comedy act while waiting for performer Grace Stevens. Stevens, singing “Cabaret”, reminded the club she had sung in every Cabaret since freshman year and wanted to sing “Cabaret” from the musical Cabaretat Cabaret her senior year. Juniors Michaela Mattson and Victoria Kvilhaug sang a duet of “Little Talks” with Kvilhaug on guitar.
After the wonderful Cabaret acts, club representatives Katie Maclean (co-president), Lauren Gonslalves (vice-president), and Julia Melloni (treasurer) gave out the Senior Superlatives, which every senior received. The awards were for attributes like Biggest Appetite, Most Talkative, Highest Voice, etc.
Posters were handed out, and director Paul Sardinha congratulated all of the seniors who won F.O.R.D. and other drama-related scholarships.
Helen Blake, lovingly referred to as ‘Mama B’, is celebrating her 25th year of doing costumes for the club. In honor of this, Sardinha and Cardoza sang “Do You Love the Drama Club?” to the music from Fiddler on the Roof’s“Do You Love Me?” with Sardinha on piano. They presented Blake with a bouquet of flowers and tearful hugs, wishing her many more years of creating costumes for her beloved drama club.
To her kids, Mrs. Blake said fondly, “You don’t realize the power you have for someone in the background who can’t do what you do.”
Sardinha also reminded everyone of next year’s fall production of White Christmas. The show will include a very large orchestra and quite a bit of tap dancing. Also announced was the spring show, Anything Goes.
“It will be a huge production we are doing next year, so everyone better be ready to start working and have a ball,” said Sardinha.
Get a ticket as soon as they are available because the shows sell out fast for this drama club, especially the musicals.
The club decided on next year’s representatives: Nolan LaRochelle and Grace Mastroianni as co-presidents, Michaela Mattson as vice-president, Victoria Kvilhaug for treasurer, along with reps Alexander Wurl and Amaya Bell.
“As co-president, I look forward to working with our amazing drama reps and with all the students to make the club awesome for next year,” LaRochelle stated.
The new representatives were knighted by their predecessors, with Melloni standing in for Maclean’s co-president Chris Savino, who was unable to attend the banquet.
Pictures were taken, and the Drama Club ended the year with anticipation and excitement over what the next year has in store for them.
ORR Update
By Grace Mastroianni
Marion Natural History Museum Yard Sale
A wide variety of fun, nature-themed objects – large & small, indigenous crafts from all over the world – from baskets & tools to dolls, as well as ethnic jewelry. We will also have many books about Nature, field guides to seashore, seabirds, stars, flora & fauna, maritime narratives, and novels; as well as New England History and Lore. Donations to the Marion Museum of Natural History Yard Sale of nature-related themes are gladly accepted. All of these items will be priced for kid-sized wallets, so get there early for the best selection. Date:July 7from 10 am – 4 pm at the Museum, which is located on the second floor of the building we share with the Marion Town Library at 8 Spring Street, Marion, MA. All proceeds to benefit the Marion Natural History Museum, a 501 C 3 nonprofit organization.
Sippican Historical Society
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 125 Allen’s Point. Until as late as 1890, Allen’s Point was a remote, undeveloped part of Marion. By the mid-19th century, Allen’s Point was part of Henry D. and Stephen Allen’s holdings. Their homes were located on the west side of Point Road, near its intersection with Cross Neck Road, but they no longer exist. The Allens were farmers. Henry D. Allen was one of Marion’s first three selectmen in 1852-1854. At some point between 1855 and 1879, the Allens sold Allen’s Point, the West Drive area, and other tracts south of Point Road to George Delano. The lovely summer estate of Edward M. Clark at 125 Allen’s Point Road was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Coolidge and Carlson. It was built in the early 1900s. Among Coolidge’s best-known works were Byerly and Randolph Halls (at Radcliffe and Harvard respectively), dormitories at Wellesley College, and the Bates College Library in Lewiston, Maine. This home is of the finest example of Tudor Revival domestic architecture in Marion. Outbuildings include a stable, garden house, and boat house. Edward M. Clark commissioned the Boston landscape architect Arthur A. Shurcliff, a student of Frederick Law Olmsted, to design the south garden and the estate’s grounds. His best-known landscape work was in Colonial Williamsburg. Clark sold the property to Richard Hoyt, whose daughter, Virginia Peirson, inherited the property from her parents.
Florence R. (Dexter) Vossahlik
Florence R. (Dexter) Vossahlik, 78, of Mattapoisett died June 28, 2018 peacefully at Forestview Nursing Home after a long illness.
Born in Mattapoisett, the daughter of the late Chester and Beatrice (Vossahlik) Dexter, she lived in Mattapoisett most of her life.
She was formerly employed as a hairdresser.
Ms. Vossahlik was a graduate of Fairhaven High School, Kinyon-Campbell Business School, IBM School and LaBaron Hair Academy.
She enjoyed knitting, crocheting, drawing and playing cribbage.
Survivors include 3 sons, David Rogers of Onset, Robert Rogers of Mattapoisett and Michael Rogers and his wife Pamela of Plymouth; a daughter, Diane Merlo of Mattapoisett; a brother, John Dexter of Marstons Mills; 3 sisters, Janice Southworth and Diane Baron, both of Fairhaven and Janet Raymond of Marion; 11 grandchildren, Jeffrey Rogers, Christopher Rogers, Zachary Rogers, Victoria Rogers, Nathan Rogers, Katherine Rogers, Allison Rogers, Megan Merlo, Kelly Merlo, Matthew Merlo and Kristopher Merlo; and many nieces and nephews.
She was the sister of the late Patricia Tapper, Calvin Dexter, Shirley Houck, Daniel Dexter, Susan Fink and Chester Dexter, Jr.
Her visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, July 10th from 4-8 PM in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the charity of one’s choice. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
Elizabeth Taber Library
Outside Yoga: Please bring your yoga mat and join us outside of the library for a free yoga workout with Kathy Bliss. This yoga series will run for four Mondays at 10 am: June 25– July 16. To register, please call the library at 508-748-1252.
Books at the Beach: If you find yourself at Silvershell Beach this summer without something to read, don’t fear – the Library is coming to you! Our traveling library will be at the beach on Thursdays between 2-3 pm on July 5–August 23with books to check out and even some to purchase. This program is in partnership with the Marion Recreation Department.
Thank You to Mattapoisett ExciseTax Payers
To the Editor:
I, Freemin Barer, wish to thank all the Mattapoisett ExciseTax Payers who make the Mattapoisett Educational Fund available to Mattapoisett students. This year I was the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship to help with educational expenses at Bristol Community College where I am studying Environmental Sciences and Computer- Aided Design. This fund is supported by Excise Tax Payers who donate to the 2 funds (Scholarship and Educational) through a tear off sheet at the end of their Excise Tax bill. Once again, thanks to all who have made those funds possible.
Freemin Barer, 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 greater 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/or 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.
The Intricate Art of Scrimshaw
If one had asked me – a young college student not particularly knowledgeable in nautical history – what scrimshaw was before the Sippican Historical Society presentation at the Marion Music Hall on June 21, I would have chuckled, and a bit dumbfounded, guessed, does it have something to do with the grim reaper, or is it perhaps some eerie implement used in decapitation?
Upon entering the Marion Music Hall Thursday night, I gazed upon the Claflin scrimshaw collection, heard the talk of whaling, and put all the pieces together. This wasn’t a fireside ghost story retelling, but rather a celebration of ‘Old Rochester’s’ roots to Tri-Town’s traditions, art, and folklore.
Frank McNamee, president of the Sippican Historical Society, began his lecture by giving a brief overview of the history of whaling in Marion and the surrounding area. He soon eased into the art of scrimshaw, dishing out fun facts including how often many scrimshaw artists remained anonymous in their day and age and that scrimshaw art was primarily created between the 1830s and 1850s.
He also spoke of the day the historical society first came across William Claflin’s scrimshaw collection, which turned out to be a very fun adventure for those involved. He retold the tale with enthusiasm, explaining how, a year and a half ago, the historical society’s museum curator Pete Smith asked McNamee if he knew of a William Claflin on Delano Road who had in his possession a very fine collection of scrimshaw.
He went on to describe how Claflin wanted to donate his father’s scrimshaw collection to the Sippican Historical Society on three conditions: the scrimshaw was to be displayed in his father’s 19th century cabinet, the scrimshaw was not to be sold under any conditions, and there was to be a bronze plate installed in his father’s name. At first, McNamee confided that he was very skeptical, but nonetheless agreed to go check out the collection.
When McNamee entered the Claflin house on Delano Road, he was blown away. In the 19th century cabinet lay over 100 pieces of scrimshaw, including intricate whale teeth art, meticulously designed pie crimpers, baleen corset stays, and much, much more. Of course, upon viewing the stunning collection, the two men from the historical society hastily agreed to Claflin’s conditions to honor Claflin, Sr. After all, even though the scrimshaw would never be sold, Claflin, Sr. purchased pieces that are now worth over thousands of dollars for only “eight, ten, and twenty dollars,” in the 1930s and 1940s, said McNamee.
McNamee then proceeded to show some pictures from the collection and explain their history and importance. Many of the whale teeth are around six to eight inches long and hold quite extravagant images. These images include a magnificent variation, ranging from nautical whaling scenes to breathtaking portraits of women to serene nature scenes.
With so many pieces of scrimshaw art, the Claflin collection is quite the historical smorgasbord. Some of the more valuable and impressive pieces even contain detailed images of towns, elaborate drawings of women in elegant dresses, and polychrome decorations, including scenes of Native Americans on horseback, and Napoleon and the French Army crossing the Swiss Alps. McNamee explained that many of the images were copied by sailors from newspapers and books they would read while on their whaling ships.
McNamee went on to show pictures of the more ornate utilitarian scrimshaw pieces, which included pie crimpers, clothespins, baleen corset busks, and even a tool the whalers used for scooping water or rum.
All-in-all, the Claflin scrimshaw collection turned out to be quite the treasure for the Sippican Historical Society. Moving forward, they look to honor the late collector, William Claflin, Sr., by displaying the collection for locals to come and admire and maybe even learn a little bit about their hometown history.
So, while I wasn’t completely wrong in my first impression that scrimshaw may hold and display an eerily ghost-like past, I now know just how historically relevant and truly interesting scrimshaw is to the southeastern coast of Massachusetts.
By Caleb Jagoda
Marion Official, Wife Face Charges of Fraud
A Marion official, his wife, and a retired Carver official now face embezzlement allegations in a civil suit filed by the Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District on June 22.
Former Executive Director of the CMWRRDD Ray Pickles, his wife Diane Bondi-Pickles, and retired Carver Health Agent Robert C. Tinkham Jr. are accused of embezzling $838,457 of public money over a five-year period in a lawsuit that charges Pickles et al. with nine different counts, including Fraud, Conversion and Civil Theft, and Civil Conspiracy.
According to documents The Wanderer acquired from the Plymouth Superior Court on Friday, June 29, “Pickles, without the [CMWRRDD] Committee’s authorization, withdrew more than $295,548.00 of the District’s funds for his own personal use … including $113,321 in unauthorized checks and more than $150,000 in cash withdrawals from 2016-2018 and $31,227 in mileage reimbursements from 2012-2017.”
Those withdrawals, the complaint states, had no supporting purchase orders, bills, receipts, or other documentation to prove their legitimacy.
Pickles also allegedly reimbursed himself $13,793 in fuel costs for fuel he used for his personal boat.
The complaint states that the civil action stems from the misappropriation of public funds from the CMWRRDD “by its former consultant and his wife, [Tinkham], and fictitious corporations they created to defraud the citizens of Carver, Marion, and Wareham, by embezzling public funds for their own personal use.”
Under Moss Hollow Management Corporation, listed under Bondi-Pickles, Pickles paid himself an additional $281,909 between July 1, 2012 and January 2018, in addition to his salary.
Moss Hollow, also named as a defendant, was involuntarily dissolved by the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division on June 30, 2017 for an unstated reason, but Pickles continued to make payments to himself via the defunct corporation, says the complaint.
Tinkham, who was assigned to perform inspections of the Carver landfill that was under Pickles’ management, is accused of conspiring with Pickles “to personally convert more than $262,000.00 of the District’s funds for his own personal use from 2010-2018.”
His two companies, 33-35 Wareham Street, LLC, and 33-35 Wareham Street, are also listed as defendants.
“Acting together, the defendants conspired to engage in a scheme of fraud intended to obtain undeserved compensation, payments and benefits from the District,” it states in the complaint. “In repeatedly presenting unauthorized claims for payments of public funds, the defendants defrauded the District into paying undeserved compensation.”
The complaint was signed by Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson and filed by the CMWRRDD’s attorneys.
The same day as the filing, a Justice of the Superior Court approved two motions for ex parte orders against the six defendants.
An ex parte order essentially froze the real and personal property interests of the defendants, with a total amount of $838,457 attached to each defendant before being served the complaint, and another ex parte order for trustee process put a hold on the Eastern Bank and Mutual Bank accounts of the defendants, and holds any pension payments from the Plymouth County Retirement Board.
“There is a clear danger that the defendants, if notified in advance of the District’s request, … will withdraw the funds or credits from the hands or possession of the trustee and remove from the Commonwealth or will conceal them,” wrote the Justice in the order.
Furthermore, the Justice wrote that the Court found “a reasonable likelihood that the [CMWRRDD] will recover judgment.”
A June 28 preliminary injunction hearing was not held as scheduled “at the defendant’s request,” documents state, and will be rescheduled.
Pickles et al. could be ordered to reimburse the district the full amount in damages and even three times the actual damages, in addition to interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees.
Also, as it states in the court documents, the investigation is ongoing and further misappropriations could ultimately be discovered.
The CMWRRDD is poised to begin an extensive forensic audit of the last six years during Pickles’ tenure. The last time Pickles filed an annual audit of the district was in 2012.
On June 29, Dawson confirmed during a phone conversation that an unspecified government agency was at the Town House earlier this week requesting documents for an investigation, suggesting imminent criminal charges.
Pickles was fired by the district on January 29, 2018 after nearly 45 years as the executive director. He was the executive secretary (town administrator) for the Town of Marion from 1972 until his retirement in 2001. Pickles is still the town clerk for the Town of Marion, the town administrator for the Town of Gosnold, Massachusetts, used to serve in Marion on the Board of Assessors until 2018, and was once the building commissioner and zoning enforcement officer.
*The printed version of this article that will appear in the July 8 edition of The Wanderer will include additional in-depth information.
By Jean Perry
