MAC Theater Programs

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Little People’s Theater (Ages 5-8): Tuesdays; 4:30 – 5:30 pm (6-week sessions); Instructor: Suzy Taylor; Tuition: Each six-week session is $80 for MAC members* and $95 for non-members. Minimum of five students required for this class to run. Registration deadline for Fall Session I is September 13. *Current membership required for discount. The 2016-2017 Membership Year runs August 1, 2016 – July 31, 2017.

The class will meet on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 5:30pm. Classes are for boys & girls ages 5-8. The six-week Fall 2016 Session I starts on September 20 and runs through October 25. Our young actors will develop acting skills while having fun and learning to interact with one another. Through acting games, improv, and small scenes, these young actors will learn theatre basics. They will learn the rules of the theatre, theatre terminology, how to project an emotion, how to start creating a character, and more. Students will learn the process of putting on a production through selection, rehearsal and production of a small show presented at the end of the session. Class dates: September 20, 27; October 4, 11, 18, 25. Instructor: Suzy Taylor.

Young People’s Theater (Ages 9-12): Thursdays; 4:30 to 5:30 pm (6-week sessions); Instructor: Suzy Taylor; Tuition: Each six-week session is $80 for MAC members* and $95 for non-members. Minimum of five students required for this class to run. Registration deadline for Fall Session I is September 15. *Current membership required for discount. The 2016-2017 Membership Year runs August 1, 2016 – July 31, 2017.

The class will meet on Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. Classes are for boys & girls ages 9-12. The six-week Fall Session I starts on September 22 and runs through October 27. Our young actors will develop acting skills while having fun and learning to interact with one another. Through acting games, improv, and small scenes, these young actors will learn theatre basics. They will learn the rules of the theatre, theatre terminology, how to project an emotion, how to start creating a character, and more. Students will learn the process of putting on a production through selection, rehearsal and production of a small show presented at the end of the session. Class dates: September 22, 29; October 6, 13, 20, 27; Instructor: Suzy Taylor.

Draft Of Master Plan Reviewed

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The September 6 meeting of the Marion Planning Board was dominated with discussion regarding the master plan draft from SRPEDD.

Board members in attendance were Chairman Robert Lane, Stephen Kokkins, Jennifer Francis, Eileen Marum, Will Saltonstall , and Michael Popitz. Also in attendance and leading the master plan discussion was Town Planner Ken Buckland.

The first section, and the one garnering the lion’s share of the hour-long evaluation, was that of Open Space and Recreation.

Buckland said there were three primary goals associated with this section of the draft document: 1) process and procedures; 2) development of open and recreational spaces; and 3) access to open and recreational spaces. Buckland said, “Overall, Steve Kokkins’ idea of the seaside nature of the area has substantial impact on the ‘theme’ that could be considered – coastal resources.”

Francis said, “Being a coastal community should be up front in the master plan, touching all aspects of the master plan.”

Buckland moved to another comment he had received, noting, “There is a difference of opinion on hiring a conservation agent…. Possibly [we could] have a shared position with other towns.” He also noted Kokkins questioning the need for a conservation agent.

Francis commented, “Probably premature. It’s going to cost money. We can wait to decide.”

Kokkins thought, “As other strategies are implemented, we can see and evaluate in the future.”

Chairman of the newly created Stewards Of Open Space, Margie Baldwin, the only person other than the Planning Board members attending the meeting said, “In Rochester, the conservation agent is the go-to person.” She continued, “Our idea came about for coordination and collaboration…. We have a great deal of open space, but how is it being managed?” Baldwin wondered aloud.

The Stewards Of Open Space (SOOS), Baldwin explained, is a sub-committee of the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission. Their role during the development of the town’s master plan is to pull together voices from throughout the community in an effort to ensure all are being heard as the plan is written.

Francis said that the town’s Open Space Acquisition Commission was drafting open space and recreational planning and thought that the SOOS could handle the community collaboration piece for the commission.

Baldwin said, “I think MOSAC felt threatened that we were taking their role – this is a collaboration, vision.”

On another topic from the draft, Popitz said that other countries, whose waterside properties are at risk for flooding, have a policy for swapping the at-risk parcels with parcels on higher ground.

Saltonstall felt it was an interesting concept worth reviewing, but putting a value on properties would be difficult.

Buckland said, “It’s worth exploring.”

The Planning Board hopes to have all comments and edits back to SRPEDD by September 20 with a goal of presenting a fully fleshed-out Master Plan at Town Meeting in May.

The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for September 19 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Marilou Newell

 

Lobster Dinner

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A Lobster Dinner hosted by The Knights of Columbus, 57 Fairhaven Road in Mattapoisett, will be held on Sunday, October 2 at 1:30 pm for $30 per person. The proceeds go to The Knights, Damien Council of Mattapoisett Scholarship Fund. The dinner includes a lobster, fish, linguiça, hot dogs, sausage, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, stuffing, corn on the cob, brown bread, watermelon and coffee. For tickets and information, call Jim at 508-863-3496.

Showstoppers Audition Notice

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Showstoppers Musical Entertainment is seeking talented youth for its 15th annual public audition to be held on Wednesday, September 28 at 6:30 pm at the Knights of Columbus on Route 6 in Mattapoisett.

Talented boys and girls in Grades 2-12 are encouraged to tryout to participate in the community-service singing troupe. Candidates are asked to prepare two song selections – a ballad and an upbeat tune – and bring their own prerecorded accompaniment music containing no lead vocals.

Successful candidates will be offered an opportunity to make an impact in their community by offering free musical entertainment to the elderly at nursing homes, senior centers, and assisted living facilities. The troupe will also perform for the community at-large through a variety of private and public venues, including fairs, festivals, schools, malls, charitable fundraisers and other civic events.

Showstoppers, which averages 50 performances annually, is a subsidiary of Showstoppers Performing Arts, Inc., an all-volunteer nonprofit organization. Follow them on Facebook to keep updated on their activities: www.facebook.com/showstopppers.us.

For inquiries about the audition, please contact Kelly Zucco at 508-758-4525 or email info@showstoppers.us.

Mattapoisett Lions Club

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Mattapoisett Lions Club will hold a dinner meeting at the Pythagorean Lodge Hall, 13 Spring Street, Marion on Wednesday, September 14 at 7:00 pm. This meeting is open to men, women and couples from Mattapoisett and Marion area. Reservations required by email to lionsmembership1@gmail.com or call 508 758 2345.

Week One at Old Colony

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On Tuesday, August 30, Old Colony was once again filled with new and old faces of both faculty and students. Over the months-long summer break, the school administration has been working hard to begin enacting new policies for the school year.

Buses will now drop students off by the cafeteria. Over the summer, new walkways were constructed to allow students to get off the bus and enter directly into the cafeteria where they may participate in the school’s grab-and-go breakfast program.

The breakfast program began last year as a way to encourage students to eat a healthy morning meal in order to increase their focus and better their academic performance throughout the day. The program also aids in teaching students to make healthy nutritional decisions. This year the program has only grown, allowing students to come in, purchase breakfast, and enjoy it until the end of first period at 8:15 am.

On September 7, pictures will be taken for new student IDs, which for the first time will be required to be worn at all times during school. This new policy was enacted to ensure student safety and has already been enacted at a number of schools across Massachusetts.

In addition to a few new policies, Old Colony has also welcomed many new students. As always, the incoming freshmen began their first year in their academic classes, but in just two weeks the eager young beavers will begin exploring their many choices of shop. Whether they have their heart set on one shop or are completely unsure, all freshmen will try a variety of options over the coming exploratory weeks.

Older students have spent their first days getting right back to work. For juniors returning to academics, this means classes and summer reading tests. For sophomores and seniors returning to shop, this means setting back up and starting new projects.

For a few dozen exceptional students, this fall signifies the beginning of their membership with the National Honor Society. The Induction Ceremony is set for Friday, September 30 at 6:30 pm in the cafeteria. Invitations have already been sent out to the proud families of these select few who have been chosen to represent OC’s NHS branch.

In the past, OC’s honor society has been very involved in our school and community, and this year is no different. NHS members will be volunteering their time and labor to Sharing the Harvest Community Farm. Sharing the Harvest Community Farm was established to alleviate hunger in Southcoast Massachusetts. The Honor Society members will assist in harvesting produce and readying it for donation to local hunger relief programs. They will also be assisting at this year’s Apple Peach Festival in Acushnet on September 12-13, and they are currently planning this year’s Trunk or Treat event at OC.

All in all, Old Colony is off to another eventful school year. Further information on OC’s new policies and upcoming events can be found at www.oldcolony.us.

By Elizabeth Jerome

 

A Brief History Of The Elizabeth Islands

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With the threat of advancing hurricane winds bearing down on Shipyard Park, Seth Mendell’s September 4 lecture on the history of the Elizabeth Islands was moved from that scenic perch to the Mattapoisett Historical Society Museum.

As the audience grew, many sat in the narrow balcony that flanks the tiny gallery. All were transported to another space in time when ships and commerce, trading partners, and pirates roamed the open waters between New Bedford, Boston, Cuttyhunk, Martha’s Vineyard, and exotic places far beyond.

It was a fortuitous move from the outdoor venue as Mendell was able to use the enormous Ashley map that graces the facing interior wall behind the pulpit. Armed with his mighty laser pointer, he spoke to the packed house while aiming the pointer at references along the map.

And he began at the very beginning…

Mendell took the group back in time to the very formation of the island chain. Their creation, although directly related to glacial movement, was from the gravel and soils that were entombed inside the frozen water. While the glaciers pushed and pulled the earth from beneath, they also deposited many megatons of material as they melted away.

The islands make up the town of Gosnold and are comprised of seven major islands: Nonamesset, Uncantena, Naushon, Pasque, Nasawena, Penikese, and Cuttyhunk. There are another 15 lesser ones for a total of 22 in all.

“It’s hard to say where the first people came from,” Mendell said as he began to populate the now fully formed islands. He said the Wampanoag Indians inhabited the islands, as had an earlier people who left behind topographical evidence.

“The first white man to land there was Barthomele Gosnold in June 1602,” Mendell said. “He landed on Cuttyhunk as he sailed the area for his Queen, Queen Elizabeth.” Thus the islands were named after the English queen. “He named Martha’s Vineyard after his daughter it is believed,” he added.

Mendell said Gosnold had planned to set up a colony as the British were wont to do wherever they landed, but, “He ran out of supplies, so after about three or four weeks they loaded up the ship with sassafras roots and cedar logs and hightailed it back to England.”

From that point, Mendell talked about the great Pilgrim migration between 1620 and 1630 when approximately 75,000 Europeans sailed here with 15,000 alone landing in the Bay Colony – Boston.

King James the First, who ruled after Elizabeth, “didn’t want to be bothered with the islands,” Mendell said. “He gave them to the Council of New England.” They, in turn, promptly sold them off to a Thomas Mayhew. Mayhew had also been negotiating with the Wampanoags from whom he purchased Naushon in 1654.

The islands changed hands a number of times, but in 1730 it was sold to James Bowdoin and his family who owned it for 113 years. While at one time the islands were valued for the timber, once denuded from over harvesting, sheep were raised for wool. Bowdoin employed as many as twenty tenant farm families to tend the sheep. “Tarpaulin Cove had become a center of activity,” Mendell said.

Pirates added to the richness and fun of Mendell’s brief history. Due to the amount of commercial shipping taking place throughout Buzzards Bay and surrounding waters, merchant ships were ripe for the picking. Thus, such scalawags as Thomas Pound, Thomas Hawkins, and William Kidd grabbed all they could.

This caused the merchants who were being robbed to petition for help from Boston. The powers that be deployed armed British ships to the island chain in 1669 led by a Captain Pierce. “A pitched battle ensued, and the pirates were captured and sent to Newport where they were hung,” Mendell said.

As time went on, business and local populations grew. Farmers mixed with sailors and one account from those days memorialized it this way: “In the evening, there was much frolicking about…” Mendell said with a chuckle.

Prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, many lighthouses were built along the shores of Buzzards Bay, Mendell said, due to the vast amount of maritime activity taking place.

During the war itself, Mrs. Bowdoin asked for help from the council in Boston. She wrote, “They have abused inhabitants, stolen ships, and taken sheep and wool…” Before the war ended, the British would burn both New Bedford and Falmouth to the ground, Mendell said.

The Forbes family has owned the islands since the mid-1800s. A family trust still owns the property today. The 1998 census reports that there are 359 Forbes heirs.

The first Forbes to live on the islands was John Murray Forbes. He called the place “an unspoiled jewel” and set about making improvement such as better drainage, stone walls to hold the sheep in certain locations, and the planting of thousands of trees to aid in erosion control. After a while, he would buy out all remaining Bowdoin heirs.

As a side note, Mendell said he always tried to follow the money when exploring the history of famous people. As for the Forbes family, their income came from trading between New England and Alaskan native tribes where seal and sea otter pelts were obtained and then taken to China and traded for tea and silk. Of the Chinese he said, “They loved those pelts.” Of the Forbeses he said, “They made a killing on tea and silk.”

When the government wanted to set up a penal colony on Nashawena in 1904, Malcolm Forbes bought that island to keep it from becoming “something they didn’t want,” Mendell said. The Forbes family had been good stewards of the island, said Mendell, preventing their beauty from being sullied by commercial development.

 

By Marilou Newell

Error in Grassi Bog Plans Discovered

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The long awaited repairs to the town-owned Grassi Bog property hit a bump in the dike road when it was discovered that measurements on the NRCS engineered drawings were wrong.

Formerly the U.S. Conservation Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Services agency is funding repairs that will result in improved drainage and stormwater management to the former commercial bog acreage. They also developed the latest set of plans designed to bring an end to the water runoff problems that have beset the parcel and the abutters for several years.

During the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission meeting on September 1, commission member John Rockwell explained, “ConCom has discovered that there was a typo in the plans.” He said that somehow when the plans were being drawn up, presumably via a computer program, it erroneously converted 21 feet to 21 inches. Rockwell expressed his relief that the error had been discovered before mistakes were made at the Grassi Bog site.

As noted in a 2009 press release from the Buzzards Bay Coalition, “The NRCS has provided $100,000 in funding to the town to restore the site into a more natural wetland system. Restoration activities include rerouting the river from an existing bypass channel to a new channel that will flow through the bog, construction of an emergency spillway to protect the dike that creates the existing 8-acre pond, creation of new spotted turtle habitat, elimination of fish passage impediments, and removal berms.” (http://buzzardsbay.org/grassi-bog-restoration.htm)

            In other business, the commission discussed the creation of an open space survey. They plan a two-pronged approach to engage the residents of Marion as the commission works to develop an open space plan that will eventually become part of the town’s master plan, which is also under development.

Rockwell told the commissioners that a direct mail letter would be sent to a random sampling group with follow-up communications via telephone. He said that in this fashion, they should achieve up to a 50 percent return rate. The second part of the plan is to drive residents to the town’s online survey via press releases and other media pathways in an effort to increase participation.

Commissioner Randy Parker said, “There’s been a lot of controversy on this thing. I want to get it right.” Everyone agreed with Parker’s comment.

The commission also discussed lands contiguously located to present-day open space parcels such as Washburn Park, Bather property, Pina property and others in their ongoing work to identify and suggest new acquisitions to the town.

The next meeting of the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission is scheduled for October 6 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Facilities Building, 13 Atlantis Drive.

By Marilou Newell

 

Value of the Book Program

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Book Collectors: Do you have a 1st Edition? Signed Copy? One-of-a-kind book? Do you know its worth? Attend a free workshop to learn the value of your books.

Come to a fun and informative workshop on Sunday, September 18 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library to learn if your books are valuable. In the style of PBS’s The Antiques Roadshow, Ray Rickman, a long-time rare book dealer and former bookstore owner, will offer complimentary estimates for up to three books per attendee. Learn from Mr. Rickman’s extensive knowledge as he answers questions such as “What determines a book’s value?” and “How and why does this value change over time?”

This program is free and open to the public, but please register by calling 508-758-4171 or emailing rsmith@sailsinc.org and providing the number of people attending and contact information. The Library is located at 7 Barstow Street and is handicapped accessible.

VFW Officially Offers Building to Town

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The Town of Marion has officially been presented with an offer for the donation of the Benjamin D. Cushing VFW Post 2425 building at 465 Mill Road, and the offer will appear on the October 24 Special Fall Town Meeting warrant.

The VFW made the offer in a letter addressed to the Marion Board of Selectmen, which discussed the matter briefly Tuesday night during the September 6 meeting of the selectmen.

Town Administrator Paul Dawson said the members of VFW Post 2425, which has recently decided to disband due to a decline in membership over the past few years, voted in April to donate the building on Route 6 to the Town of Marion, with the specific hope that it be used as a senior center/community center, and that existing stone monuments and plaques dedicated to those who have served remain at the property.

“This is obviously an extremely generous offer on behalf of the … VFW Post 2425,” said Dawson.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Jody Dickerson said he could “go on and on for hours” about all the service and generosity the VFW has shown the town since it was first established decades ago.

“I think we owe it to the townspeople to bring it forward at this special town meeting,” Dickerson said.

Town Meeting voters will have to vote to accept the offer as an article on the warrant.

Selectman Stephen Cushing, whose great-uncle served in World War I and to whom the VFW building was dedicated, applauded the offer but lamented the disbanding of the VFW.

“It’s the end of an era,” said Cushing. “A lot of things are going through my head right now about this.”

Selectman Steve Gonsalves said it would be appropriate that the town keep the name of the building the same, continuing to honor Benjamin D. Cushing, who gave his life in the war.

The selectmen motioned to place the item on the special town meeting warrant and approved the motion. The Board of Selectmen will meet for a special meeting at 8:30 am on Friday, September 9, to close and approve the special town meeting warrant.

In other matters, the selectmen approved a three-year extension on an aquaculture permit for Catherine Brodeur.

The board declared several aluminum ladders belonging to the Fire Department as surplus property. The ladders will be cut and sold as scrap metal.

The board also briefly discussed a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) offer from Clean Energy Collective, developers of the solar farm located on Tucker Lane.

The PILOT agreement requires a town meeting vote and will appear as an article on the special town meeting warrant. Dawson stressed that it is not a reduction in the amount of taxes the company would pay, but simply a way of spreading out a more even and predictable amount each year for the life of the project.

The next scheduled regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen will be September 20 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Jean Perry