The fourth annual Old Rochester Boys’ Soccer Alumni Game will be held on November 24 at 1:00 pm at Old Rochester. Alums from all eras and of all shapes and sizes are welcome to participate. The Alumni Team is 3-0 and is looking to continue their dominance.
In the art of quilling, all it takes is a little bit of glue, a lot of thin strips of paper, and a healthy amount of patience to create something beautiful and unique.
As usual, the Mattapoisett Free Public Library offered up more than books on Saturday, November 4, in its downstairs lecture room turned craft room for the day.
Children’s Services Director Jeanne McCullough knows a thing or two about quilling, a.k.a. paper filigree. She did a lot of quilling, she said, “B.C.”
“Before children,” said McCullough, when she would spend hours upon obsessive hours getting into quilling projects. Now she is passing on the basics of that skill to others who have a little bit more time to enjoy it.
The art of quilling is the careful twirling of thin strips of paper into tiny curly-Qs that are then glued at the end to keep them from unraveling and attached to other “teeny tiny toilet paper rolls,” as McCullough described them, to make a larger cohesive shape, such as an animal, flower, landscape, or anything else the imagination can spin out. You’re really only limited by your supplies and the patience you can muster up to see your creativity through.
McCullough led a group of about ten kids of at least fourth-grade age (younger kids likely lack the attention and fine motor skills) step by step with her homemade quilling tools (a thin wooden dowel with a clipped wide-eye needle at the end). With the paper strips stuck neatly to the end of the little “fork,” the group began their chosen “recipes” from quilling books offered at the library.
“Hold it steady with your fingers to make one nice even roll,” said McCullough. And watch out for those “tornados” that can result from the unsteady spiraling out of the paper strip.
Once the little rolls were finished, McCullough and the kids carefully dotted the end with a touch of glue from the end of a toothpick and let it dry on some parchment paper so it doesn’t stick.
The ‘quiller’ can control the tautness of the paper roll, and pinch it at different points to make shapes other than circles, and even add different colors to the rolls by gluing different paper strips together at their ends and continuing to spin.
It looks easy enough, but with practice it can become second nature, McCullough said.
The quilling supplies and books containing quilling project ideas will remain out and on display for anyone to use at the library’s STEAM center.
“So now you can sit and quill ‘til your heart’s content,” said McCullough.
So come chill out and ‘quill out’ at the Mattapoisett Library. Happy quilling, everyone!
By Jean Perry
Judging by the turnout on Wednesday night, the Mattapoisett Historical Society Museum’s photography workshop series is a hit with the local community.
Board President Jen McIntire introduced Deb Fraine, the first of three in a series of local photographers, noting that the impetus for the workshops is an effort to “…keep the museum vital and relevant.”
Fraine first met McIntire while selling her photographs at the Historical Society’s Annual Holiday Craft Fair. Fraine describes her approach to photography as rather relaxed, and pictures often are a result of luck, not skill, saying, “I walk around town with my dog, and it keeps me in the moment. Pictures tell a story.”
Fraine, who works as an occupational therapist, stated, “Working in healthcare is so fast-paced; this slows me down.” She thinks anyone can be a photographer in this era of smartphones, which allows one to always have a camera at hand rather than lugging around bulky equipment.
Fraine presented a broad selection of her photographs, which included landscapes, nature close-ups, and family and friends. Most of the pictures were taken with her digital SLR, but she did allow that some of her favorite shots have been captured with her iPhone.
Fraine used her photographs to describe to the audience the basic tenets of taking a photograph, such as lighting, composition, shutter speed, and aperture selection. When asked if she uses a tripod, she responded, “I don’t like to use a tripod. I like to be mobile.” Fraine also cautioned against using too many editing tools, saying, “I like to keep the natural colors – I think it’s kind of fake to edit too much.”
While many of her photographs were taken locally, she showed a number of pictures from out of state. Of particular interest was her photograph of Kettle Pond in Stowe, Vermont. Using it as a cautionary tale, she suggested that people can Google great places to photograph while they are on a trip. However, while the Kettle Pond location was quite beautiful, it was also quite crowded with other visitors and photographers, even some using drones to capture their shots.
Fraine also suggested that often the best times of day to shoot photographs are early morning and dusk. She suggested to the group that they experiment by taking photographs of the same location at different times of day to determine the best shot. She also noted that while photographing people to be aware of the background, looking for lights or other items that may detract from the quality of the picture.
The Historical Society hosted professional photographer and Marion resident Corinna Raznikov on November 8 and will host Mattapoisett’s own Peter Mello on November 15 at 6:30 pm.
By Sarah French Storer
The Marion Republican Town Committee will conduct its next monthly meeting on Monday, November 13 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall, 164 Front Street. Please join us. The public and new members are welcome.
The Elks of Wareham Lodge No. 1548 sponsors the Elks Student of the Month and Student of the Year Awards for students enrolled in local area high schools. The criteria used in nominating a student includes a student who excels in scholarship, citizenship, performing arts, fine arts, hobbies, athletics, church, school and community service, industry and farming.
We congratulate junior Katherine Gillis, of Mattapoisett, for being selected as Student of the Month for the month of October. Katherine is a model student. She is president of the junior class, a strong student, and a three-sport athlete. This past summer, Katie was selected out of hundreds of applicants to be one of 13 girls to attend the Armstrong Scholars Program, a 12-day backpacking adventure in the High Sierra. Katie is kind to her peers, she leads by example, and she is an outstanding member of our community.
Fall is a pretty intense time for any high school principal.
A new class of kids, a new year of challenges, the job of getting the school back up to speed after a summer of restoration.
But for Old Rochester Regional’s Mike Devoll, this particular fall has been more of a whirlwind than most – much of it swirling around the athletic fields and facilities on the Mattapoisett campus.
“It’s been crazy, yeah,” he said on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s been a very successful season, very exciting.”
The design of a new Bulldog logo and #WEareOR slogan have come at a great time, with the school on pace to surpass last year’s region-best winning percentage.
The logo was done by Chuck Lord, who is a Tri-Towner and designer in addition to his work as chief operating officer at New Bedford’s Ahead, Inc.
“It’s a great way to build some school spirit,” Devoll said. “We had found we were using like thirteen different logos, none of which were trademarked. And it was a real collaborative effort.
“I think the ‘Aha’ moment came when we saw the first draft. The designer had surveyed us, and we had surveyed the community…. I had just kind of said, ‘I don’t care what it looks like, as long as it’s ours.’ And then when we saw it, there were a lot of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ in the room. We want a well-rounded school, and a well-rounded student experience.”
And winning a lot of games is nice, too.
“It’s good as a principal. Winning’s good for business,” Devoll said. “Kids are happy, and I think it’s easier for them to stay focused when things are going well. But there’s a lot to be learned when they’re not going well.”
Devoll also coaches boys’ soccer, and as he spoke Tuesday afternoon, he was looking ahead to a South quarterfinal playoff matchup.
“I love being able to get outside in the afternoon and connect with students in a different way,” he said.
With all of the fall teams qualifying for the postseason, the school has had playoff fever –including a Friday showdown for the football team. Led by record-setting back Harry Smith, ORR hosts Middleboro in the Division 6 South finals, the first time ORR has advanced this far since 2013.
Devoll knows it’ll be a special event in Mattapoisett under the Friday night lights.
“It’s kind of the event sport for us – football and drama club – those are our big events,” he said. “They draw the community together. It’s a pretty big deal and a great event for the whole community. We have plenty of staff on site, we have the venue, plenty of capacity for people, so we welcome it. We’re not intimidated by big crowds. We want the community to be there.”
At Old Colony, the season turned a bit cruel as the temperatures dropped.
The football suffered a couple of unexpected setbacks, first a 27-8 loss to Sacred Heart to eliminate the Cougars from the Division 6 playoffs, then a 28-0 loss the following week to Monomoy.
Old Colony now will focus on the vocational tournament and the traditional Thanksgiving week matchup with Tri-County (November 22).
A great season for the Old Colony volleyball team (Mayflower title) ended with a playoff loss to Case, and the boys’ soccer team saw the same fate in defeat against Carver.
The Cougars will hold a Sports Awards night on November 20 to honor the best of their cross-country, soccer, and golf teams.
One of Old Colony’s best recent alumni, soccer star Paul Soucy, had the game-winning goal for Westfield State in a MASCAC tournament semifinal win. Soucy has two goals and two assists on the season, but he has seen his playing time increase during his entire freshman year at Westfield.
Two Tabor Academy graduates recently completed long journeys to play in the National Hockey League after long amateur careers. Jaycob Megna was called up to play for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks five years after he was drafted in 2012.
“It’s everything,” Megna was quoted as saying in the Orange County Register. “The whole experience. You’re playing against guys you see on TV every night and you find yourself lined up against them. It’s special.”
To the north, Tabor alum Will O’Neil capped an 11-year minor league stint by being signed to play for the Philadelphia Flyers.
On campus, Aly Hussein cruised to a win in the ISL boys’ cross country championships, while the football squad broke through with a 34-7 win over St. George’s.
By Jonathan Comey
To the Editor:
The Mattapoisett Police Department would like to thank the business owners and members of the public who so generously donated to the Mattapoisett Police Halloween Fund. This long-standing tradition could not take place without the cooperation, participation and generosity of our community members.
The Halloween Parade has evolved over the past 70 years, beginning as a bicycle safety parade where children decorated the bicycles and competed in a bike rodeo. Mattapoisett Police Chief Alden Kinney organized the event and Chief Kinney’s family recently donated film of those early years to our department. The film has been converted to digital and is now available for your enjoyment on our Mattapoisett Police Department Facebook page and our website mattapoisettpolice.com.
Thank You for Your Support,
Chief Mary R. Lyons
The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will 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 Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.
On Saturday, the Gladiators Mite C team took a tough loss against the Southcoast Panthers. Although the Gladiators came out skating strong, the Panthers just proved to be too much. Desmond Murphy scored the lone goal for the Gladiators. Playing strong defense for the Gladiators were Andrew Soucy, Keeghan Hewak, and Jake Lovendale. Tomas doCanto played great in net, making some highlight saves, facing 48 shots. The Gladiators will enjoy a bye weekend before they are back on the ice on November 18.
The Gladiators Midget Blue team played their final regular season game on Saturday, finishing the season in style with a 5-3 victory over the Devils. Noah Reardon got the Gladiators on the board halfway through the first period, taking a pass from Quirino doCanto, in the slot, and beat the goalie with a quick shot. Also getting an assist on the play was Tyler Lovendale. Lovendale added the next goal, with a little over a minute left in the period, with the assist going to doCanto. Just over twenty seconds later, doCanto outhustled the Devils defenseman, stole the puck, and beat the goalie, five hole, giving the Gladiators a 3-0 lead going into the second period. Lovendale added his second goal with just under eight minutes left in the game, assisted again by doCanto. Then, there was a momentum shift, and the Devils poured in three goals over the next two minutes, cutting the Gladiators lead to one. Zack Lovendale then stopped the bleeding, stealing a puck at center ice, skating through a few Devils players, and beat the goalie with a quick shot over his shoulder. Alex DeMarco played well in net, making 23 saves on the day. The Gladiators finished the regular season with nine wins, four losses, and one tie. They have a shot to make the playoffs, their first year in the SNEHC League.
During the November 6 meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board, Planning Administrator Mary Crain advised the board that Town Counsel Katherine Laughman of Kopelman and Paige would attend an upcoming meeting to discuss the current state of the legislation and fielding questions.
During previous meetings of the Planning Board, members briefly discussed how the Town of Mattapoisett would approach implementation of ensuing legislation pertaining to the 2016 referendum vote to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana and what role the Planning Board would have in regulating associated business venues in Mattapoisett.
Crain said, “I’ve invited other boards, including the selectmen, to attend the November 20 meeting.” She said that Laughman was taking the lead at the law firm on municipal matters related to marijuana dispensary regulation.
Also during the meeting, the board members discussed a request by Dennis Mahoney & Sons regarding acreage off Crystal Spring Road.
A letter from the company noted a request to remove certain acres from 61B status (Massachusetts General Law regarding recreational land classifications and taxation) to commercial classification. It was speculated that the re-classification would allow the property to move forward for additional solar arrays.
Planning Board member Janice Robbins said a public hearing was probably in order but didn’t know which board was responsible for holding a public hearing on the matter. Chairman Tom Tucker asked Crain to ascertain from Town Administrator Michael Gagne if the Town would exercise its right of first refusal or not. The topic was tabled pending the administration response.
Earlier in the evening, Patricia Harrington’s request to construct a new driveway at 167 North Street was approved after Highway Superintendent Barry Denham said he was in agreement with the plan as submitted. Denham also said that he had met at the site with the contractor and Tree Warden Roland Cote regarding unapproved tree removal mitigation and replacement of a stone wall.
“We determined that the stones were just random stones and Roland was happy with the planting of three linden trees,” Denham said.
In a continued hearing from October 2 for a two-lot subdivision off Randall Road owned by Gingras Nominee Trust, the board spent an hour reviewing waivers and revised plans submitted by engineer Alan Ewing.
At the previous meeting, the board members spent several hours reviewing the detailed drawing and debating the merits of a long list of requested waivers. On this night, they moved through a few remaining line items, achieving a consensus that allowed the project to move forward.
However, not everyone on the board was pleased to be approving a 25-foot roadway as Robbins declared, “For the record, I think we’re still approving a driveway, not a road.”
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for November 20 at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room.
Mattapoisett Planning Board
By Marilou Newell
Look no further for your local Veterans Day observance gatherings happening on Friday, November 10, and Saturday, November 11.
On Friday, Mattapoisett will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony at 11:00 am. Join the Florence Eastman Post 280 of the American Legion at Old Hammondtown School and guest speaker Professor James E. “Jay” Hickey, Ph.D., Associate Provost and retired Navy Commander. In addition, Mattapoisett native and Miss Massachusetts, Jillian Zucco will perform at the ceremony. Following the ceremony, the Mattapoisett Boy Scouts will retire old and damaged flags at Dunseith Gardens, home of Salty the Seahorse, at the corner of Route 6 and North Street.
On Saturday morning at exactly 11:00 am – the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – the bells of the Mattapoisett Congregational Church, Center School in Mattapoisett, the Marion Congregational Church, the Rochester Congregational Church, the Universalist Church in Fairhaven, the Fairhaven Congregational Church, and the Fairhaven Town Hall will ring, thanks to the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club and their campaign to hold the first annual Bells of Remembrance in the Tri-Town area and beyond. The bells will ring for one full minute and are intended to provide those who hear them a moment to acknowledge and reflect on our veteran women and men and their role in protecting our country. Says the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club: “It is a time to remember and reflect on our great fortune as Americans. If you are within earshot of one of these magnificent buildings on November 11, take a minute and listen.”
Also on Saturday, November 11 at 11:00 am, Marion will observe Veterans Day with its annual ceremony to be held at Veteran’s Memorial Park at Old Landing on Front Street. (In the event of rain, location will be changed to the Sippican School multipurpose room). Hannah Moore will lead the school band in some patriotic song selections, and the keynote speaker this year is Lieutenant Heather Hutchinson of Germantown, Tennessee, who served in 2003 aboard the USS Frank Cable in Guam as information technician second class. After that tour, she completed the Navy’s Bachelor Degree Completion Program and then was at Officer Candidate School of Officer Training Command in Newport, Rhode Island, as a Supply Corps officer. In 2013, she returned to the USS Frank Cable in Guam as services officer, and then later returned to serve as an instructor at the Navy Supply Corps School. In 2015, she was selected as a Special Duty Officer, human resource professional. She is currently the deputy director of military personnel and the equal opportunity manager for the U.S. Naval War College in Newport.
Both of Lt. Hutchison’s parents served in the Navy, and her brother, Scott, served in the Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq and Africa. Her sister, Mhairi, was a hospice corpsman in Germany to assist in the War on Terror. Her younger brother Ronnie has served 10 years with the Navy’s Submarine Forces.
This information was compiled from press releases sent by the Towns of Marion and Mattapoisett and the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club.