Who better than our libraries and librarians to provide a platform for discussion on critical public issues in the 21^st century? If you asked Lawrence DiCara, lawyer, author, political historian and educator, he’d say no one.

On July 21 at the Marion Music Hall, Tri-Town Library Directors Susan Pizzolato of Mattapoisett Free Public Library, Elisabeth O’Neill of Marion’s Elizabeth Tabor Library, and Gail Roberts of Rochester’s Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library joined in hosting DiCara as he spoke on the importance of civic engagement in the 21^st century.

This is the first in a series of three discussions that the Tri-Town libraries will jointly hold on civic engagement in government, and the role of civic engagement and climate change.

DiCara has been mentoring young people for many years through the Boys and Girls State program that first debuted in 1935. The program was founded on the principles of developing youths’ civic intellect and understanding of the responsibilities associated with living in a democratic society. Regarding politics in the technology age, DiCara believes engaging youths today is not only more important than ever before but vastly more difficult.

During his 30-minute talk, DiCara pointed to the communication pathway used by not only youths but most of society: the iPhone, “Today we shop, message, receive news, take pictures, do everything – no verbal contact needed.” And it is that void of personal contact that makes reaching younger generations so difficult, he stated. While newspapers have seen an increase in circulation, he said, it’s unclear if younger adults are subscribing.

DiCara said that the political system doesn’t work for Millennials, people born between 1982 and 2004. “Today, more people over the age of eighty are voting versus people under the age of twenty-five,” he shared. That age factor makes political change difficult.

One way to engage younger people, DiCara speculated, was through changing voting mechanics. “Voting needs not be so burdensome,” he said. He suggested that the U.S. look to the way other countries engage their citizens by allowing voting to take place during special holidays or on weekends or even electronically.

But a chilling reality, DiCara said, was that young people don’t understand U.S. history or how the government works. “Teaching of civics has to be done in the schools,” he insisted.

Several in the audience concurred, saying that MCAS and similar assessment testing tools have become all-consuming in public education, forcing teachers to “teach for the test.” And those tests do not include civics, they said.

To that point DiCara said, “Ten percent of kids think Judge Judy is a Supreme Court judge!”

On the bright side, Kris Eastman from the League of Women Voters said the organization has seen an increase in interest at the high school level where they encourage students to become registered voters.

Of the baby boomers DiCara said, “They’ve been in power for over twenty-five years,” adding, “…nearly every leader is on the other side of seventy.” He believes this age discrepancy is indicative of youths’ disengagement with the political process. “Will we see a burst of energy from our young people … will we see a new patriotism,” DiCara remains hopeful it can happen.

The next discussion will be hosted at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library on Sunday, September 17 at 2:00 pm when guest speakers Mindy Todd of WCAI/NPR radio and Cape Cod Times editor Paul Pronovost will share thoughts on the role of media in civic engagement. In Rochester during October (time and day pending), the Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library will host Dr. Jennifer Francis who will discuss the role of civic engagement and climate change.

By Marilou Newell

Excited kids, parents and grandparents packed the downstairs room at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library to listen to Roger Menard of the Astronomical Society of Southern New England talk about the upcoming solar eclipse on August 21.

Menard, a member of the ASSNE that promotes the joy of astronomy and supports STEM education, provided a hands-on experience, demonstrating details of the eclipse phenomenon with the help of the audience. A total eclipse happens once every 18 months or so, but has not been visible in North America since 1991. In any one place on earth, a total eclipse occurs every 360-400 years.

Menard invited kids from the audience to the front of the room to demonstrate why an eclipse doesn’t happen every month that the moon travels around the earth. With a beach ball for the sun, a tennis ball as the moon and a basketball representing the earth, Menard showed that the moon does not orbit the same path every month; therefore, it is not on the same plane as the sun and does not always create an eclipse, or shadow. Also, the earth spins on its axis at approximately 23 degrees, and the moon has an elliptical orbit around the earth, creating different eclipse pathways at different times of the year.

This year, the Path of Totality or umbra, in which someone on earth will be able to see the total eclipse of the sun, is approximately 125 miles wide and runs from Lincoln City Oregon to Charleston South Carolina. Here in Massachusetts, we will see a partial eclipse, called the penumbra, in which the moon will block about 70% of the sun, and we won’t see significant darkening of the daylight.

It may be easier to look at the sun when it is partially or completely eclipsed because it is not as bright, but the light can do permanent damage to the eye’s retina. Viewers are warned to protect their eyes with eclipse viewing glasses.

Menard also demonstrated how to create a pinhole viewer using a cereal box, with which a viewer can safely watch the eclipse. During the totality phase of the eclipse, which during this event will last about two and a half minutes, it is safe to look briefly at the sun and what Menard described as its “whispy corona.”

While we know better now, there was a time when societies regarded the solar eclipse as a bad omen or a sign of the end of the world. Ancient Chinese and Indonesians, as well as the Roman and Greeks, believed that a dragon ate the sun, while in Siberia a vampire was thought to be responsible for the astronomical event and a frog was blamed in Vietnam.

Science has since shown us that what is actually occurring is what Menard described as a “fluke of orbital geometry” that happens nowhere else in the universe, in which the moon, while being 400 times smaller than the sun, is 400 times closer to the earth and therefore with the right combination of orbit trajectories can at certain times completely block out the sun from the earth. Our moon is the only moon in the universe that eclipses the sun perfectly.

The first phase of the eclipse, called First Contact, is when the moon’s shadow takes its first bite out of the sun. The Second Contact occurs minutes before totality in which distinct balls of light, called Bailey’s Beads, are visible at the edge of the sun. Totality occurs, for a maximum of seven minutes, after which Third Contact occurs where what is known as a Diamond Ring can be seen as sunlight cuts through valleys on the moon’s surface as individual bits of light. Lastly, the eclipse ends as it began with Fourth Contact looking much like First Contact in reverse.

Menard and the Mattapoisett library provided the audience with free solar eclipse viewing glasses. The glasses cut the light by a factor of 100,000 and fully protect the user’s eyes during an eclipse. Menard warns that regular sunglasses will not provide adequate protection. Glasses must be CE-approved to provide good protection. There is a free eclipse phone app that, based on your location, will auto-calculate contact times. For our area, the eclipse will occur between 2:00 – 3:00 pm on August 21. For more information, check out eclipse2017.nasa.gov.

By Sarah French Storer

For the last 24 years, The Wanderer has had the pleasure of honoring one resident from each of the Tri-Town communities – residents whose friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members believe have selflessly given of their time and talents for the betterment of others.

While a ship’s keel is critical in aiding its steady progress through calm waters or rough seas and is an integral part of keeping everything operating in top form, the Keel Award Winners are also critical members of their communities.

Nominees are selected based on the following criteria: … must be legal residents for at least five years of Mattapoisett, Marion, or Rochester, and must have contributed in some way to the overall benefit of the community – either directly to town residents, or indirectly through efforts in promoting town activities, or working to keep the wheels of local government well oiled. The only restriction is that these persons cannot benefit from their efforts in any other way – either financially or politically (hence, sitting elected officials are not eligible).

And so it is our pleasure to announce the 24^th annual Keel Award recipients for 2017: Danni Kleiman of Rochester, Diane Cook of Marion, and Bonne DeSousa of Mattapoisett.

Kleiman, who retired after 31 years as an educator at Rochester Memorial School, was instrumental in the production of an annual Shakespearean play. “The last play was in May and it was bittersweet, but good,” she shared. “The plays were the highlight of my teaching all those years,” she continued.

A letter received from a Rochester resident lauding Kleiman wrote, “…she makes the children feel “you’re okay” as you are, that everyone is special in their own way…” The writer also said that through her guidance, the students have been able to explore and imagine through creative role playing that allows each students to shine.

Kleiman is also the recipient of the 2017 Eleanor Donato Award from the Massachusetts Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for her efforts in leading the student council at RMS in their “Pennies for Patients” program for years. “This year, Rochester Memorial came in the top five schools of all the schools in New England,” she proudly declared. This year the program raised $6,427 – a milestone according to the society.

Over in Marion, Cook was nominated for being instrumental in the success of the Sippican School community garden. Started in 2006, the garden continues to flourish and has become a experiential part of the school curriculum under Cook’s guidance and dedication.

Cook said of the garden, “It started with a few trees and bushes.” Today, under with her green thumb and passion for educating young children through hands-on tasks, it has grown to include a green house, fruit tress, blueberry bushes, a strawberry tier, and many raised vegetable beds with an irrigation system.

“It began when Alice Waters introduced gardening in the classrooms in California,” Cook remembered. She said several parents and community members wanted to duplicate that type of learning experiment at Sippican.

“I got involved about a year after it began,” Cook said. But she added that it truly has been a community effort given the number of moving parts and work involved in making the garden flourish.

“You need someone who can coordinate with suppliers and organize activities with teachers, so I’m the coordinator – but I love it, I love watching the children experience new things out in the fresh air,” Cook explained.

Cook retired from Sippican where she taught for 23 years and now donates her time and gardening know-how along with working with the teachers to keep the garden a vital part of the learning that takes place at Sippican.

Mattapoisett’s award winner Bonne DeSousa was recognized for her fifteen years of dedication in bringing bicycling opportunities not only to Mattapoisett but also throughout the Southcoast.

DeSousa moved to Mattapoisett in 2002 and brought with her a passion for bicycling. But it wasn’t until she became involved with the Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path that she realized just how important bicycling could be to the larger community. In 2008, she became the president of that group.

“I believe in advocating for bicyclists, everything from sharing the road programs, to safety, improving and expanding bicycling opportunities for people,” DeSousa said.

From attending meetings at the Department of Transportation to speaking at numerous local government meetings regarding the importance of funding such projects, from working with engineers and state officials, to helping Mattapoisett develop a “complete streets” master plan, DeSousa has pushed boundaries, educated the public on the D.O.T. process, and gained significant support.

With the next phase of the Mattapoisett Bike Path planned for groundbreaking in 2018, this latest piece will bring the path closer to Marion’s proposed path near the business park on North Street. Once those connections are made, the Southcoast Bikeway will be a few miles closer to achieving its goal of continuous safe pathways between Fall River and Provincetown.

Congratulations to the 2017 Wanderer Keel Award Winners and thanks to those who submitted nominations for people in our communities whose work on behalf of others deserves recognition.

The Winners of the 2017 Wanderer Keel Awards

By Marilou Newell