It amazes me that people can live in a town all their lives and miss things that are right under their noses … or high above them.

            Have you ever noticed the carvings around the doors and along the edge of the original Center School roof? There are several fleur-de-lis and clover-like patterns and seven cherub-like faces carved into the stone corbels reminiscent of the gargoyles on the old cathedrals of Europe.

            Technically, gargoyles are waterspouts designed to drain water away from a wall. Ours are not gargoyles, they are called grotesques. Center School’s grotesques are pretty pleasant looking if you ask me. These faces were added when the school was constructed, thanks to a generous gift of Henry Huttleston Rogers who also funded Fairhaven High School, where you can find many more “stone spies,” which they are sometimes called.

            You may not have noticed the old town water trough on the south side of Water Street. It once had a pump attached and was the source of fresh water for the villagers and their livestock. It now contains beautiful flowers in the summer.

            I am not immune to seeing things every day and paying no attention to them. Porches are a good example. I have been wandering around our village nearly all my life, and I only recently noticed how many porches there are. I counted well over 60 until I lost count. I am easily distracted avoiding the pitfalls along my path. But that’s another story for another time.

            Front porches are mostly an American phenomenon. They first became popular in the middle of the 19th century. People became more mobile and moved to the suburbs to get away from the grit, noise and bustle of the city.

            In summer, especially during the Fourth of July Road Race or Harbor Days, I’ll see folks sitting on their front porches sipping a cool beverage. They’ll often wave as I pass by or say hello and I’ll respond in kind.

            Not all porches are front porches. Some are on the side, some are two stories, some are screened in. There aren’t many front porches on suburban houses today. In suburbia, the porches are at the back, they’re called decks. You can’t wave at people from your back deck or smile at strangers who pass by. If a stranger walks by your deck, you know they are either a meter reader, a tax assessor or a trespasser. You are not likely to smile at a trespasser and definitely not at a tax assessor.

            There is nothing like sitting out on a porch in the evening in your favorite rocking chair, enjoying the cool breezes off the ocean. Listening to rain hitting the roof while swinging in the iconic porch swing or taking a nap in a hammock listening to your favorite music are just about the best ways I can think of to relax.

            Some towns have “Porch Fests” where local musicians perform, and the townsfolk go from porch to porch enjoying the music.

            Thinking of porches brings back memories of visiting my mother’s cousin Charlie’s farm. I would climb the giant weeping willow tree in the yard or play in the haystack. If the silo was empty, I’d jump inside and yell as loud as I could to hear my voice echo. Charlie would let Dad drive the old John Deere tractor with me on his lap, then we would all retreat to the porch where the adults would sit drinking cold beers, while I would enjoy a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade.

            I think that when they pass a new zoning law – and you know they will – it ought to require front porches on all houses, retroactively, so you can smile and wave to passersby.

            The world would be a better place.

            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

Nellie Zygiel has been in and out of the hospital for most of her life and was diagnosed with her third rare disease at the age of 10. Now 20, this Marion native wants to work at Boston Children Hospital and give emotional support to kids – remembering how therapy dogs and other supportive hospital staff helped her.

            Zygiel, a Fairhaven resident finishing up her sophomore year at UMass Amherst, is faced again with health hurdles and is looking for public support.

            “I was told I would need a kidney transplant and because of my age, most likely need multiple in my lifetime,” said Zygiel on her webpage, where she is seeking a donor for a kidney transplant. “Having doctors tell me ‘your body betrayed you’ and ‘to take time to grieve’ was not an easy thing to hear at 19. Naturally, this completely devastated me.”

            Ten years ago, Zygiel was diagnosed with vasculitis, her third rare and chronic illness. This left her kidneys permanently damaged. Her health turned the corner until she received bad news last year that she would need a transplant.

            During a recent interview, she said the donor list is filling up with people looking to help. She said that due to the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act, medical professionals cannot reveal too much.

            “I’m trying to be very hopeful. I have my doubts because it is a scary process,” Zygiel said.

            Zygiel was placed on the National Donor List in January.

            The downside to this is that being on the list comes with a five- to seven-year wait, so most people end up going on dialysis while waiting. “Dialysis takes a complete toll on someone’s life,” Zygiel said on her web page. “It makes people weaker, tired and depressed. As a 20-year-old college student, that’s something I am desperately trying to avoid.”

            Right now, if Zygiel can get the transplant before dialysis, the future looks bright.

            She has a 3.9 grade-point average at UMass and is a member of the Commonwealth Honors College.

            She is majoring in psychology and education and hopes to one day be a child life specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital and “help them cope when they are in the hospital and going through those tough times.”

            “I have always wanted to do something with kids and help them out,” she said.

            Because she is now over 18, Zygiel is working with a new team of doctors at Beth Israel and is happy with her team. However, she keeps in contact with her former medical team at Boston Children’s Hospital.

            She said she remembers support specialists coming in with therapy dogs, cards and games, helping support her emotionally through those long hours in the hospital.

            For information about donating or on whether your blood type is compatible with Zygiel’s, log on to KidneyforNellie.org.

By Jeffrey D. Wagner

On May 4, six-year-old Sippican Elementary School first grader Owen Excellent cut the ribbon to unveil the “Little Free Diversity Library” planted in front of the Rochester Women’s Club building as an appreciative crowd applauded a move that took months to come to a successful conclusion.

            Speaking from the club building’s front steps before the ribbon-cutting, Alison Noyce, president of Tri-Town Against Racism (TTAR), the group that donated the little library to Rochester last year only to have it rejected by its original hosts, said she was moved by the large turnout facing her for this relocation ceremony. She thanked the Women’s Club for providing the space to allow people access to the Little Free Library without any controversy.

            “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this incredible space,” she said.

            New Bedford High School student Elliot Talley then spoke, emphasizing the importance of having books on the subject of diversity available to the general public.

            “Not only are these books beneficial to those who are marginalized,” he said. “But to those who aren’t, it serves as a lesson on the experiences of marginalized people so hopefully they can learn from it and try to understand some of their struggles. These diverse perspectives make people more compassionate.”

            At its first Rochester location, the Joseph A. Plumb Library, the little library drew more criticism than praise from residents proclaiming it was redundant to have it right outside a big public library and that some of its books should not be accessible to children.

            In September 2023, the library trustees gave the library back to TTAR, saying they were doing so based merely on the fact the town library controls its own grounds and staff and must accept gifts such as the Little Diverse Library only under agreed-to provisions. No such provisions were agreed to when a previous library director and trustees board approved the donation in January 2021, the trustees said.

            The Women’s Club reached out to TTAR that December, and TTAR jumped at the chance to relocate the little library to a more suitable site. The Rochester Women’s Club is a private organization that owns the building there and leases to the town the space used as the Town Hall Annex.

            After Excellence cut the ribbon and the glass door to the mailbox-sized, little library swung open, TTAR Vice President Rhonda Baptiste emerged from the Women’s Club building with her homemade “Happy Birthday Abraham” cake decorated with an edible barber’s pole and snare drum.

            TTAR officials explained the event was also to celebrate the April 29 birthday of a prior champion of compassionate diversity, Abraham Skidmore, a black Mattapoisett barber who decades ago started that town’s annual Halloween parade and donated his time and money to many charitable causes and people in need. They noted TTAR soon will dedicate the “Little Free Diversity Library” located at Mattapoisett’s Ned’s Point in Skidmore’s name.

            As attendees began sifting through the books the little library contains on race and gay rights, Old Rochester Regional High School senior, town resident and gay rights activist Alia Cusolito was excited to see it open.

            “It’s important to have access to these types of books,” Cusolito said. “When I was growing up, these kinds of books were only available in my own home. My parents were very open to diverse ways of thinking. In school, it wasn’t the same story. We didn’t hear about people who were different. It’s important for people to have access to literature and experiences they may not have access to in their regular lives.”

            TTAR has planted two other similar little diversity libraries, in Mattapoisett at Ned’s Point and in Marion at Old Landing.

By Michael J. DeCicco