Partygoers at the Rochester Senior Center on December 31 flaunted that it is never too early in the day to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and it’s never too late to make a change with a few New Year’s resolutions.

Seniors from all over Tri-Town filled the banquet room at the senior center on Dexter Lane this past Thursday to say goodbye to 2015 and hello to 2016, even if there were still another ten or so hours left until the official start of the New Year.

While guests enjoyed live music and a hot luncheon together to celebrate the ending of one year and the start of a fresh new one, volunteers were busy helping to clean up while Sharon and Woody Hartley prepared the dessert in the kitchen, heaping servings of bread pudding onto plates for Council on Aging volunteers to pass out.

Once the cookies and cakes were eaten, enough punch had been consumed, and the bread pudding went down in gastronomical history, COA Director Sharon Lally took the microphone to the center of the room, reminded her senior guests that New Year’s Eve meant it was time to make resolutions for the New Year, and called out, “Who’s got a resolution?”

“In with the new, out with the old, right?” Lally encouraged her guests to speak out and share their aspirations for the New Year.

Some shouted out, “To get rid of the junk in the house!” Others said they were generally going to try to be a better person, and a few vowed to shed those extra pounds this year. Yet it was Peggy Brown who had her own idea for the perfect New Year’s diet, and a few others seemed to like the sound of it.

“I’m going to lose 20 more pounds,” said Brown, patting her belly, “with a special diet of whipped cream, ice cream…”

Lally liked the sound of that.

“Sounds like my type of diet,” joked Lally.

Winnie Hartley, 96, the “most senior of us in the room,” as Lally put it, said her resolution was to get up in the morning and take care of herself, adding, “And not be a pain in the butt!”

Lally traveled around the room, giving turns with the mike as more guests hoped to become more organized in 2016, not argue so much with their families, and lose that weight.

Sandie DeMoranville had an entirely different idea for her New Year’s resolution, vowing to find a suitable beau for her granddaughter.

“She’s tall and very beautiful and single,” said DeMoranville.

“Well, I don’t think she’ll find him in this room,” replied Lally smiling.

Some simply wished for a milder winter than last year’s all-time snowiest year on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as outside temperatures that day reached the low 60s in Tri-Town.

Lally said the COA had a few resolutions of its own.

“To grow our fitness room program and, hopefully, do more fundraising for our new addition for our day care,” said Lally.

Lally told guests to try out their noisemakers before the big countdown to be sure they were working properly, and said sparkling cider was on its way.

“I wish I could have some alcoholic bubbly for you, but I can’t do that,” Lally said, eliciting a few disappointed groans from the crowd. “But we’ll have the spirit anyway!”

She said, perhaps 2015 wasn’t one of the better years to go down in history, but she left guests with one final hopeful thought for 2016:

“May we never have double snow on our roofs again!”

By Jean Perry

If the unusually warm weather brought you outdoors during the days around this Christmas and New Year’s, either in your own yard or walking up the sidewalk, you may have noticed a myriad of curious sights: green, green grass; hearty winter viburnum and cherry trees blossoming; Johnny-Jump Ups and daffodils pushing up through the ground; and lavender lilacs in bloom. Even some rhododendrons and azaleas flowered while still strung with Christmas lights, an unusual juxtaposition.

In the dead of winter, nature was coming into life in the Tri-Town region – and beyond. Christmas Day temperatures reached the lower 60s, preceded and followed by days of spring-like 50-degree weather.

Take this week’s cover of The Wanderer, for example. Although viburnum is known to bloom throughout autumn, this particularly warm fall, followed by an above-average mild December, kept some of these trees from reaching total dormancy and to reawaken instead to bloom out another round of flowers into the New Year. A series of cold days and biting frosts will eventually render the viburnum dormant; however, other types of flowering vegetation such as the cherry tree, sweetbay magnolia, and the lilac operate on an energy budget of sorts, and the warmer weather has caused some of these trees to expend too much energy too early in the growing season.

It is not entirely uncommon anymore for fall-flowering trees to perpetuate their bloom into the winter, said local arborist Paul Sellers, who is also the senior arborist for Eversource, but how quickly it turns cold and how cold it becomes will determine how the trees will perform in springtime.

“Generally, when we experience a warm fall season, like we did this year, plants start to flower prematurely,” said Sellers during a phone interview. “Generally, it’s not a full bloom that you get. Rather, a limited bloom happens.”

When the temperatures change, Sellers said, the cold kills off the foliage of the prematurely blossoming trees.

The result is fewer blooms in the spring.

One may wonder if is there anything that can be done to save the trees so they will still burst with blooms in the spring. Yes and no, said Sellers.

“Mulching is actually one of the best buffers for keeping the root system safe and secure,” Sellers said, “even through the winter months.”

It keeps the important root zone moist, which could help prevent further desiccation and vulnerability to root damage causing more of a negative impact next spring on blooming trees.

If you want to try to take action to help your trees after an early bloom, Sellers said it is still not too late to mulch around your trees and gardens, but hold off on using fertilizer until you have the soil analyzed by a professional.

“If you over fertilize, you can actually do more harm than good,” said Sellers. “It is worthwhile to have the soil testing done, and it’s best to have a professional do the assessment.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) deemed this December to be the warmest on record. Just about 12,000 daily warm temperature records were broken this month from the plains east to the coast where warm weather records were figuratively shattered. Furthermore, climatologists expect that NOAA, in 2016, will report the year 2015 as the warmest year globally ever recorded.

A record warm for Mattapoisett, Marion, and Rochester doesn’t attract a whole lot of climate change attention nationally, so we generally rely on evidence such as the December daffodils and tree blossoms – what I kind of consider to be the “prettier face” of the frightening phenomenon of climate change on the local Tri-Town level– to tell us that things are changing around here. It was a different kind of December than what we are used to.

By Jean Perry

There were more people on Mattapoisett’s Town Beach on New Year’s Day morning than on a hot summer’s day in the middle of July. And whether the beachgoers were there to plunge into the 47-degree ocean water or there to support the swimmers and the event, everyone was in a party mood.

The fourth annual New Year’s Day Polar Plunge called “Freezin’ for a Reason” supports cancer victims and their families.

The impetus for this annual campaign was the Huggins’ own experience with the crushing financial burden that can come with a life-threatening illness. When Will Huggins became ill, they received financial assistance from the BAM Foundation, a local fundraising group that provides financial assistance to individuals and families dealing with cancer. The assistance that BAM gave to the Huggins’ helped keep them afloat until Will could get back on his feet, literally. Now they are giving back with support from the community and others both near and far.

The day before the big event, a tent was erected complete with a heater to warm the crowd. Will and a couple of his helpers delivered fuel to the beach for the big bonfire that would be blazing to warm up the party-goers before, during, and after the plunge. The prep team even cleaned the beach of seaweed.

The chilly morning to follow would find local eateries donating hot chocolate and coffee, cups of chowder, and one venue opened its doors for an after party from which a portion of the proceeds would be donated to the cause.

Everything was in full swing by 11:00 am.

The call for self-expression in the form of inventive beachwear was heeded with folks showing up in custom swimming suits. There was a group donning yellow cubes and singing, “We all live in a yellow submarine,” while snaking through the crowd. In real life they were Mat and Russell Luiz, Charles and Laura Buckley, Jean and Scott Pease, and Karen Barrows.

There was a unicorn, several Santas, some corals, and lots of bare skin shivering in the weak sunlight. There were also a rather surprising number of children who were there for more than the fun.

Nine-year-old Scott Falvey was in attendance with about 20 members of his extended family to jump in the water in memory of his Papa Fagan. The elder Fagan was a cancer victim, but on this day his joyful family was lovingly remembering him by helping others. The family team also included Maryellen Fagan, Mark Falvey, Kaitlyn Popson, and Scott Falvey, to name a few.

There were veterans and first-timers queuing up as the clock neared noontime.

Andy Pacheco of New Bedford was a “virgin” plunger, his wife Amanda a cancer survivor.

“I decided, ‘why not,’” she said with a sly smile while poking her husband.

Cheryl Makuch, Mattapoisett, was jumping in to show support for her friend who is battling cancer. Eight-year-old Hunter Horsey of Marion, a first-timer, was going in for his step-brother, while ten-year-old Caleb Miconi of Attleboro, also a first-timer, had been convinced by his mother to try it out.

Marlene East, Marion, her daughter Kate Houdelette, and granddaughters Liz, 9, and Caroline, 7, formed a three-generation team.

“I wanted to give them something fun to remember me by,” East laughingly declared.

Carol Lamarr, a veteran of the event said, “I do this to start the year out fresh … to cleanse my mind and body.”

Cathy, Karl, and Austin Spooner, another family team, called it a “crazy thing to do,” but one they looked forward to sharing.

Tom Waldron, Mattapoisett, and his twin 9-year-old sons, Tom and Liam, were going in for the second year in a row and hoped to make it an annual event for their family.

Chris Souza, Fairhaven, called himself a professional plunger, doing several winter swims in support of those dealing with cancer.

“It’s on my bucket list every year,” Cindy Bernier declared, while Maureen McQuillian said she was participating in support of everyone who has fought the fight, especially her mother and several friends.

After the splashing, laughing, and screaming had subsided, Michelle Huggins said, “I made 500 prayer ribbons, and I think at least 100 people actually went in the water.”

Prayer ribbons had been handed out to everyone entering the beach and a line was strung so that those wishing to could tie the ribbon to the line and send their prayers into the heavens.

Huggins said they wouldn’t know for about a week how much money had been raised as they waited for a tally from their GoFundMe website and from commercial establishments donating a portion of their proceeds. She said that last year they were able to help six families.

“My husband works with a local social worker who identifies families struggling with financial hardships associated with unforeseen costs from cancer treatments,” Huggins stated. With the help of the social worker, the money collected is distributed. This year, she hopes they can do even more. And if the turnout from the 2016 event is any measure, the Huggins’ dream of helping as many people as possible seems to be coming true.

By Marilou Newell