There is so much happening on the news scene these days it is hard to keep up. In case you haven’t noticed, the presidential race is topsy-turvy. But let’s not talk about that, it is not good for my blood pressure.

            The Olympics are upon us. Simone Biles looks good in women’s gymnastics and is expected to win another medal or two, or three, but she may have a challenger in a Brazilian gymnast who might give her a run for her money. I’ll keep an eye on that for you because I know how excited you are.

            After recent shocking events, the country continues to struggle with firearm regulations … again, the folks across the pond in the UK are considering stronger laws on crossbow use. Apparently, they are waiting for the Knights of the Round Table to gather to vote on the plan.

            Speaking of voting, on the local level our town fathers … er parents? Got it, the Mattapoisett Select Board was expected to appoint a citizen’s committee to observe the status of the never-ending road/tree issue. In case you still haven’t been paying attention, a large assembly of those citizens attended a meeting at the fire station a while back, and later the Town Meeting voted to request the board to form such a committee. (Forming committees is what we all know government does best.)

            It was assumed that the vote of the people would move the issue along. But the people appear to have been stymied. You know, the people as in “the people have spoken” and “of, by, and for the people.” But no, squabbling ensued at a recent meeting about the size of the committee, one board member wanted five members, another three and the third didn’t want any. The issue was tabled. By the time you read this it might all be settled, or the harbor might be frozen over. You never know. Oh well, life goes on.

            So, let’s talk about something else, say pickleball? No, that has been beaten to death. How about nicknames? Everyone has a nickname, right? Well, come to think of it, my friend David has no nickname, he has always been just David. Nobody calls him Dave.

            I don’t mean like “Joe,” short for Joseph, or “Ed,” short for Edward, or “Pete” for Peter. I mean like “Mookie” Betts, the baseball player, whose real name is Markus. He got the name when he was a baby because of the way he said “milk.”

            Speaking of “baby,” it is one of the top five nicknames in the world. According to the website Preply.com – people actually study these things – love, honey, dear and babe complete the list. Babe is short for Bambino, which was Babe Ruth’s nickname. He also was called the “Sulton of Swat,” “The Colossus of Clout,” “The Titan of Terror,” and “The King of Crash.”

            Whew. The Babe must hold the record for nicknames. A close second in the sports world would be Ted Williams, the “Splendid Splinter,” “Teddy Ballgame,” and “The Thumper.”

            It seems as though every athlete has a nickname. Locally my favorite was “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler. He loved his nickname so much he legally adopted it. “Tiger” Eldrick Woods, the great golfer, stands out on a long list of celebrities.

            Presidents have nicknames. James Madison was “Jemmy,” Martin Van Buren “Dandy” for his fancy clothing, Lyndon Johnson was “Bull” and, of course, “Tricky Dickie” and “Slick Willie,” neither of whom needs to be identified here. President James Earl Carter Jr. was known as “Jimmie” and signed all official documents that way. I wonder if Abe Lincoln was ever called Abbie.

            States have nicknames too, like our own ‘Taxachusetts.” That’s enough about nicknames.

            Mattapoisett resident Dick Morgado is an artist and happily retired writer. His newspaper columns appeared for many years in daily newspapers around Boston.

Thoughts on…

By Dick Morgado

            Em Foye didn’t realize the two rings she lost paddleboarding with friends in the Town Beach on Saturday night, July 13, were missing until she was on her way to work on July 18, five overnights and accompanying tidal changes later.

            Despite a lack of optimism, Foye posted of her mishap on the Mattapoisett Life Facebook page, after which Mattapoisett resident Julie Lariviere Clark read the post and shared an idea.

            “You felt for someone and, hey, we have the means to help here,” realized Lariviere Clark, who enlisted the help of a relative, Fred Lorraine.

            A retired craftsman who still enjoys his specialty in finishing boats, the 79-year-old Lorraine who has spent a lifetime on Mattapoisett’s beaches recently took up a new hobby. He bought himself a metal detector.

            “He had told me before the end of this year he wanted to find something and find the owner and reconnect them,” recalls Lariviere Clark, who met with Lorraine at the beach on the morning of July 18.

            “Em said she was over by the wall,” recalls Lorraine, who was admittedly overdressed for the two hours he would spend that first morning in 80-degree heat.

            On that day, Lorraine tossed a penny into the sand so he could show Lariviere Clark how the metal detector works. He wound up finding two pennies, then the pinky (gold) ring.

            “I was (texting) back and forth with Em – I didn’t know her,” said Lariviere Clark, who had to leave the site at 11:30 am for work. Not much later, she answered her cell phone. “Fred called, ‘Guess what, I found it!’ Fred found the gold ring.”

            “The machine made a noise. I put the shovel in the ground and there was that ring. I was off the wall,” said Lorraine. “I was delighted. If she hadn’t called me, none of this would have happened.”

            The ring that mattered more to Foye, a Claddagh ring her mother had brought back from a trip to Ireland, was still out there. Lariviere Clark connected Foye with Lorraine, and the two met at the beach on July 19.

            “‘You must be Em, did you find your ring yet?’ People were recognizing us,” said Foye, quoting the reception she received when joining Lorraine on his second day at the site.

            Walking toward the water on that second day, Lorraine heard “a good noise” and noted the favorable reading on his metal detector. He scooped the sand, dumped it aside and told Foye the ring was not in the hole as there was no more noise.

            “And she looked (to the pile of sand), she said, ‘there it is!’” recalled Lorraine.

            “It was sitting right on top,” said Foye. “We were there, maybe 30 minutes and dug three holes, and in the third hole there was my Claddagh.”

            By 11:45 am, the two were celebrating and taking photos with both rings back on Foye’s hand. Lorraine, 79, insisted he have a little fun in the moment, so he asked for the ring and then told Foye, “I’m not getting down on one knee.” But he took her hand and slipped the Claddagh back on her finger.

            People at the beach applauded the discovery.

            “I wish we could have been there the following day, but I have pictures,” said Lariviere Clark. “When he had found the first one, I told Fred, ‘it’s got to be there.’ I was so happy when he texted me.”

            Lorraine has embraced his now-successful hobby as a form of exercise.

            “I wish I had started this when I was in my thirties and forties. To me, it’s like hunting for jellybeans at Easter time,” said Lorraine. “It doesn’t show much here,” he said, pointing to his midsection, “but I could be home with a can of beer watching a football game. You have to get out there and walk, and you have to bend over and dig.”

            Foye was thrilled to note that other residents that own metal detectors offered to join the effort. It turns out Lorraine’s metal detector was the only one Foye would need. Had Lorraine not succeeded, Foye planned to bring a shovel to the beach.

            “He calls me yesterday and tells me he told his grandkids, ‘this year I want to find a ring.’ Guess what I found,” said Foye, referencing Lorraine’s 2024 goal set during the winter months. “My mother said, ‘good thing you found it because I’m not going back (to Ireland) anytime soon.’”

            Upon hearing the news, Lariviere Clark reminded Lorraine of his hobby wish to discover an item of importance and then locate its owner to reunite them.

            “I said, ‘you did it Fred, but you did it a little backwards,’” Lariviere Clark joked of the reverse order of discovery. “Social media sometimes is like (ugh), but in other areas it’s a blessing.”

By Mick Colageo

Imagine being a youngster, a Boy Scout, helping to clean up an ancient town cemetery when suddenly your shovel hits something hidden beneath, massive yucca plants. Before you can take another shovel full, you’re told to “stop.” What you’ve come against is a sunken headstone, previously engulfed in thick roots, now exposed to the sun after more than a century.

            You may not understand the importance of your discovery, but the adults organizing the cleanup (members of the Mattapoisett Cemetery and Monuments Advisory Board) do know – you have uncovered a piece of local history, long forgotten, now unearthed.

            On July 19, Rochester Boy Scout Troop 31 led by Kevin Gretton volunteered their time and muscles to the ongoing cleanup and restoration of the town-owned Hammond Cemetery on River Road in Mattapoisett.

            At the time the cemetery was established in the early 1700s, Mattapoisett was still part of Rochester, from which it succeeded in 1862. It was there in the final resting place for Revolutionary soldiers and others, that a scout hit a gravestone, halting work for a few moments.

            “When they realized what they had uncovered, they were excited,” said Committee Chairman Raymond Hanks.

            The three graves the scouts found on this date were all those of children. Although the stones are badly deteriorated, one can just make out an age. Hanks explained to the gathered scouts how difficult and different life was in those early days. Death came easily through a simple wound or a disease that today’s antibiotics would cure within a few days. As somber as that might be, the scouts were still happy with their discovery. So much so, Hanks said, “They want to come back!”

            Hanks and the committee have been spearheading an effort to, “…make the cemetery look as good as possible,” in advance of a ceremony planned by the Sons of the American Revolution in 2025, a commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War.

            The committee has also planned a ceremony to honor Purple Heart recipients on Saturday, August 10, at 1:00 pm at the Mattapoisett Free Library. All are welcomed.

By Marilou Newell