Dorothy (Brass) DeLorenzo

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Dorothy (Brass) DeLorenzo, 86, former owner of the Chadwick Inn in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, died peacefully Tues. Aug. 12th, 2014 at the Kindred Walden House in Concord, MA. A resident of Marion, she was the beloved wife of the late Eugene J. DeLorenzo.

Born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, she was the daughter of the late Maurice and Mary Glenn McLean Brass. First employed with the telephone company in Canada, she was an Acton, MA resident for 15 years and worked at General Radio for a time. The DeLorenzos then owned and operated the Chadwick Inn in Edgartown for 20 years before retiring. In later years they resided in Marion where Mrs. DeLorenzo was a devoted, active member and extraordinary minister at St. Rita’s Church, and was a recipient of the Marian Medal.

A dog lover and excellent cook, Mrs. DeLorenzo was intelligent, creative and artistic. She was a talented seamstress, making a wedding dress for her sister, and slipcovers, upholstery and beautiful applique quilts and blankets for family and friends. She enjoyed working in watercolors and stained glass, and in her younger years she received an award for her singing. She loved to keep busy.

Mrs. DeLorenzo is survived by two daughters: Elaine Lawson, and Barbara Perry and her husband, Steven; daughter-in-law Barbara Lawson; grandsons Alfred F. DeCesare and Samuel S. Lawson; great-grandsons Derek and Dylan DeCesare; brothers Richard, William and Peter and a sister Mary; as well as many nieces, nephews and their families. She was the mother of the late Patrick J. Lawson, grandmother of the late Patrick A. DeCesare, Jr., and sister of the late James and Joan.

Family and friends are invited to the funeral Mass to be celebrated Sat. Aug. 16th at 10:00am in St. Rita’s Church, 113 Front Street, Marion. Burial will follow in St. Bernard’s Cemetery, Bedford Street, Concord, MA at approximately 1:00pm. There are no visiting hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in Mrs. DeLorenzo’s name to St. Rita’s Church, 113 Front St, Marion, MA. 02738. Memorial page at www.actonfuneralhome.com

SHS Musical Matinees

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This August, beat the mid-day heat with Sippican Historical Society’s Musical Matinees. On Thursday, August 14, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor star in the 1952 musical, Singin’ in the Rain. Set during the advent of “talkies,” Don Lockwood (played by Gene Kelly) has risen to stardom during Hollywood’s silent-movie era, and pairs with the stunning but simple-minded Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). Things get complicated for the silent film production company and cast as they make a difficult transition to sound, adding new performers to the mix. Kelly wore three hats in the light-hearted film, as co-director, co-star and co-choreographer. Singin’ in the Rain topped the American Film Institute’s 100 Years of Musicals list, and is ranked as the fifth greatest American motion picture of all time in AFI’s 2007 list of the greatest American films.

Musical Matinees (which will also include On the Town on Tuesday, August 19 and An American in Paris on Thursday, August 28) will be held in the Front Room of the Marion Music Hall and will begin at 11:00 am. The films are offered free to the public, with no registration required. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch and beverage to enjoy during the film.

Calling All Bakers!

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If your friends and family say that you make a great pie, then come and let us be the judge of that! Come and bring your pie-making skills to the Pie Bake Off contest at the Rochester Country Fair, located at 65 Pine Street in tranquil Rochester. This year’s pie contest will be held on August 17 at 2:00 pm under the Big Tent donated by Chase Canopy Company.

Participants will be judged in two categories: single or double crust. The judging will be done by a professional pastry chef, a culinary chef and hometown pie guru. Judging of the pies includes presentation, taste, texture of the filling, and the flakiness of their crust.

Winners in each category will receive ribbons indicating their accomplishment of first, second or third place. One Honorable mention in each category will also be given out. To enter the pie contest, entrants must fill out an application located in the program book or visit www.rochesterma.com to print one out.

Please mail application to Duarte Raposo, 3 Bernards Way, Rochester MA, 02770 by Wednesday August 13, 2014. All recipes must include title of pie, recipe, method of preparation and any allergy items used.

Come and enjoy a family fun day at the Rochester Country Fair See you there!

Creative Writing

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Students from the Mattapoisett Library Writing Workshop. This is the third year these students have participated in this program. Pictured here: Top row (left to right): Grayson Lord, Tova Brickley, Audrey Knox, Kate Downey, Joseph Sheridan; Middle two: Erin Besancon, Julia Sheridan; Lower Row: Sarah Besancon, Brianna Lynch, Emma Gabriel, Felicia Aguiar; In front: Meghan McCullough 

 

Marion Recreation Kite Event

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Let’s go fly a kite with Marion Recreation! Bring your kite to Silvershell Beach on Sunday, August 17 for an afternoon of kite flying from 2:00 until 4:00 pm! Silvershell Beach is for Marion and Rochester residents. Current resident stickers must be displayed on the vehicle. Non-residents may buy a one-day pass to the beach for $10 per vehicle at the gate. Registration is not required. Just show up with your kite and have some fun! For more information, please contact Marion Recreation at 774-217-8355 or info@marionrecreation.com.

AmeriCorps: Giving Volunteers Direction

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Katie Ryer, 20, has been settling into life in Marion after returning home from ten months of volunteering with AmeriCorps. From October 24, 2013 to July 25, 2014, Ryer worked with a team of other volunteers on four different charity projects throughout California and Oregon.

How did such an adventure begin? A simple statement: “Mom, Dad, I don’t want to go back to school.”

After graduating from Old Rochester Regional High School in 2012, Ryer went to the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, just twenty minutes south of Portland. “I was a bio major when I first started school, and I’m sitting in class going ‘I don’t really want to be here,’” Ryer recalled. She confessed this to her parents over winter break, and began searching for other options.

“I was really lucky because they were really supportive of it,” said Ryer. Her father was the one who suggested taking a year off for AmeriCorps; Ryer applied and was accepted.

Of AmeriCorps’ three volunteering programs, Ryer chose the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). This program allows volunteers ages 18 to 24 to travel to four different projects within their region over the ten-month term. AmeriCorps divides the country into five regions; Ryer chose the Pacific region, putting her at the Sacramento, California campus.

With the plans made, it was time to pack. “They pretty much cover everything,” said Ryer, explaining how AmeriCorps pays for the plane ticket, food, uniforms, safety equipment, and a sleeping bag. She simply had to pack her own daywear.

Finally, it was time to fly out to the west coast. Unfortunately, the initial start date of October 9, 2013 was pushed off to the 24th due to the government shutdown. This left about half the time for initial training on the Sacramento campus. Still, roughly three hundred volunteers were trained, going through disaster relief training, specialty role training, CPR certification, and a fair amount of lectures.

The volunteers were broken into four units – silver, blue, gold, and green – and these units were broken into seven or eight teams composed of up to twelve volunteers. The teams each work on unique projects throughout the ten months. Ryer was one of six members on the Silver 1 team.

On November 13, 2013, the first round of projects began. For this first “spike,” as they call it, the Silver 1 team headed to Los Angeles.

“We were in south central LA and we were tutoring inner city, at risk, foster care children,” said Ryer. The Silver 1 team was spread across two high schools, one elementary school, and an office working on a holiday festival.

Ryer worked at Crenshaw High School, prepping a classroom during the day and tutoring kids in the afternoon. Helping them with their homework, Ryer laughed about her own struggles to recall old high school lessons. Still, she was always able to help when needed, and it wasn’t all work and no play.

“If they had all their homework done, they could play Monopoly or Connect Four – it’s like a reward to get their homework done – so we would have giant Monopoly games,” recalled Ryer with a smile on her face, “They’d get so into it.”

Along with tutoring, the holiday festival took up much of Silver 1’s time. “There were two girls in the main office and they were working on the holiday festival, which they ended up running because our sponsor quit half-way through the round,” said Ryer.

This left Silver 1 in charge of a festival for 3,000 impoverished children. Each child was to receive six presents and a free meal. “We wrapped so many presents,” Ryer said, admitting that she can wrap just about anything now that she’s had so much experience.

On the day of the festival, Silver 1 was handing out presents from 2:00 to 6:00 pm, but people continued to show up later. Not wanting to leave anyone out, the team continued to work.

“We were still giving out gifts for an hour afterwards. It was awesome,” said Ryer, recalling the memory fondly. “We had a teammate, Mac, who was just grabbing stuff out of the truck and just tossing it to people.”

After putting smiles on the faces of thousands of kids, the first spike came to an end. Silver 1 returned to the Sacramento campus for winter break on December 20, 2013. Ryer spent some of her break with family in California, while some of her teammates flew home. She also spent some time on campus with other volunteers.

“I am grateful that I stayed out there because when I was on campus I got to bond with people who I would not have bonded with,” said Ryer.

As the new year began, AmeriCorps returned to work. All units were on campus for a transition period and further training before the second spike.

This training included specialty role meetings. Ryer’s specialty roles were “peer helper” and “VST” (vehicles, safety, tools). As a peer helper, Ryer would meet with other volunteers and counselors to talk about their experiences and do activities they could bring to their teams to bond. With VST, Ryer attended quick meetings with other volunteers to talk about the logistical side of their experiences.

When January 15, 2014 came around, it was time for the second spike, and Silver 1 headed to Oregon.

“We were in Newport, Oregon, which is a beautiful place on the coast,” said Ryer, “We were working with Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and we were staying in their campground, but we were working at Beaver Creek State Park.”

Here the Silver 1 team worked hard, removing invasive blackberries, planting trees, and clearing trails. They even had to take an amphibian survey, which required walking through the marshes searching for salamander and frog eggs. Ryer recalls this being a difficult task, especially in the cold of Oregon’s rainy winter. While she was lucky enough to remain dry, a couple of her teammates fell into the marshes. Calls of “Man down!” jokingly passed over their radios.

While Ryer said Newport was beautiful, she also advises visiting the town in any season other than winter. Here in New England, winter brings snow, but in Oregon, they get days of rain. Ryer and her other New England teammates laughed about how the town basically shut down over a couple of snow flurries. During one of these flurries, Silver 1 was asked to shovel out the campground, but they actually didn’t own snow shovels. “So they gave us sand shovels,” laughed Ryer.

As their project in Oregon came to an end in late March, Silver 1 headed to their third spike back in California. They lived in Mendocino while working for Habitat for Humanity in Fort Bragg.

“We built a duplex house,” said Ryer, “so that was really cool.”

The team worked alongside the fathers of the families who would be living in the duplex. Since they didn’t speak English very well, Silver 1 was lucky that one of their team members was fluent in Spanish. Under the advisement of these two men, a site supervisor, and a retired carpenter volunteer, Silver 1 was able to make great progress on the duplex.

“It was just the cement that was there, and then when we left we had 60% of the siding done, the roof was done, the electrical had been started and there were holes drilled, one staircase was done, we had all the windows in, doors were getting put in,” said Ryer. “It was a lot of do it, stop, take it down, redo it. So, a lot of learn-as-you-go kind of thing.”

For the fourth and final spike of AmeriCorps, Silver 1 headed back to Oregon.

“We were in Grants Pass, Oregon, which is right on the border of California and Oregon,” said Ryer, “We were working with the Josephine County Food Bank, and we were working on Raptor Creek Farm, which grows vegetables for the food bank.”

During their time on the farm, Silver 1 planted seeds, weeded gardens, and harvested food. They beautified the gardens, putting up signs, making a trail, and building another shade house by the CareSource garden for the disabled and elderly.

By the time their volunteer work was finished, Silver 1 had harvested 1,300 pounds of squash, zucchini, and tomatoes for the food bank. “When we showed up it was just dirt, flat dirt,” said Ryer, proud of the turnout from her and her teammates’ work. “They were amazed.”

With a successful completion of their final project, Silver 1 returned to the Sacramento campus for out-processing with all the other units. They returned gear and said their goodbyes. AmeriCorps was wrapped up with an awards banquet, followed by AmeriProm, but “I didn’t go to that; I watched Finding Nemo with my friend instead,” laughed Ryer. She enjoyed her last few days with her new friends before returning home.

On July 25, Ryer arrived home in Marion at 2:30 am. Overtired, jet-lagged, and yet full of energy, she was happy to be home. Since then she’s been reuniting with friends, visiting family, and getting used to not being on a strict schedule. While she readjusts, Ryer’s experiences with AmeriCorps stay with her.

“I definitely want to keep volunteering,” she said, “It’s a lot of fun to do. You meet so many interesting people when you volunteer … I want to broaden my connections that I have.”

As she prepares to return to the University of New England in the fall, Ryer keeps the values AmeriCorps taught her. “It definitely made me realize that I need to focus more,” she said.

With a new major in psychology, Ryer is looking forward to a second year a college. “I got into psychology because I realized I’m good at talking to people and helping them through their problems,” she said, citing experiences at AmeriCorps. With a profession in the psychology field, Ryer hopes to give people who are struggling something to look forward to, if only to get them through the day.

After getting a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Ryer plans on going into the Peace Corps, then pursuing a master’s degree. That’s her plan at the moment, but she admits it’s open to flexibility. Ryer said society pressures people – “You have to go to college; you have to get an education; you have to get a good job; you have to get a family.” – but she encourages others to see beyond that stoic plan.

“You have to live your life the way you want to live it and make yourself happy,” she said, “It sounds selfish, but you can’t take care of other people and not take care of yourself.”

After the guidance her AmeriCorps experiences provided her, Ryer has a clearer, positive outlook on the future.

By Renae Reints

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Plan to Restore Illegal Logging Approved

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Trees cut down and brush cleared without a permit will have to be replanted at 510 New Bedford Road, according to a restoration plan the Rochester Conservation Commission approved on August 5.

Carmelo Nicolosi, standing in for Rick Charon of Charon Associates, the representative for property owners Christopher Faustino Jr. and Britney Ashley, presented the plan to replant six trees that were illegally cut down inside an 800 square-foot area, along with 24 shrubs that were cleared. The tree cutting and brush clearing work was within the 100-foot buffer zone, and some of the work took place within the 25-foot no-touch zone.

There was a tense moment between Christopher Faustino Sr. and abutter at 508 New Bedford Road, Robin Brown, and her attorney, Thomas Mason, after Mason argued that the illegal work Faustino Sr. performed, as far as Mason could see with his own eyes, was a “pretty significant disturbance.”

Faustino Sr. confronted the two about how they were able to view the illegal clearing that Faustino Sr. himself performed, without trespassing on his son’s property.

Faustino Sr. used to sit on the Rochester Conservation Commission.

“How did you see it?” Faustino loudly asked Mason, standing over Mason and Brown at the meeting. Mason stated that he could see the small area where Faustino performed some of the clearing on Brown’s property, to which Faustino Sr. denied. He said that none of the work happened on Brown’s property, although back on July 1, Charon confirmed that some of the clearing did in fact occur on Brown’s property.

After the August 5 meeting, Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon also confirmed that a small area, roughly six feet beyond Faustino’s property line to the west, was affected.

The exchange between Faustino Sr., Brown, and Mason continued on for some time until at one point Conservation Commission member John Teal attempted to put a stop to it.

“Everybody thinks it’s fine except a few neighbors,” Faustino Sr. continued on. Brown insisted Faustino still broke the law.

The commission accepted the restoration plan as presented, following Farinon’s recommendation. The Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP) sent a letter finding no negative impact on any rare or endangered flora, and Farinon recommended that the herbaceous layer as well as the brush within the 25-foot no-touch zone be allowed to grow back on its own. The work was ordered to be completed by November 7, and the property owners’ engineer is required to submit a progress report later in the spring of 2015.

The size of the trees to be replanted was not stipulated in the restoration plan, but several different species of trees were specified.

Farinon remarked that the plan was appropriate and, so far, since the clearing took place earlier in the growing season, “everything looks like it’s doing really well.” She said much of the cleared brush was already beginning to grow back.

“You get the right year and the stuff just comes up all over the place,” said Teal, who advocated the laissez-faire approach to allowing the brush to return on its own. He also recommended that Faustino and Ashley choose smaller-sized trees rather than larger trees saying that planting larger trees would “create more of a disturbance.”

In other matters, the commission approved the Notice of Intent for Kei Lau of 566 Snipatuit Road to construct a 4-foot by 12-foot dock and two 4-foot by 12-foot ramps, to repair an existing seaplane hangar and stairway, and to perform site work and tree removal.

Nicolosi, also representing Lau, said the plan has been updated to also reflect a replacement of an existing patio plus an additional patio, along with a screened porch. Most of the work is within the 100-foot buffer zone.

The NHESP, in a letter addressing Lau’s property, also stated that no rare or endangered species would be affected by the proposed work.

Also during the meeting, the commission approved a Request for Emergency Certification for Culvert Replacement due to Collapse for Shamut Associates, LLC of 50 Cranberry Highway.

Russell Kleekamp, representing Shawmut Associates, said an existing culvert has failed and has left a deep impression in the roadway. The work to replace the 42-inch corrugated metal pipe will take place over the weekend and should be done within two days.

The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for August 19 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry

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“Public Trust” Worth Protecting

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Calling the precious waterfront and harbor areas of Mattapoisett a “public trust,” members of the Marine Advisory Board voted to send a letter to the selectmen citing concerns that the waterfront management plan might be overlooked by the Conservation Commission. Member Robert Moore and others at the July 31 meeting felt it was important during certain ConCom hearings that those commission members have the management plan as a guide to aid them through their decision making processes, or have a member(s) of the MAB at the hearing as an advocate of that plan.

This is not a new concern, but one that was again brought to their attention since a resident of Goodspeed Island is in the planning stages of seeking a permit to build a 250-foot private dock into what is presently deemed ‘recreational’ waters in the waterfront management plan. This is an area that had previously been rejected for inclusion in the mooring grid to allow for public recreation.

Moore noted that in the absence of bylaws governing such building activities, the recreational area could and would be compromised and thus harm the ‘public trust,’ Mattapoisett’s harbor and coastal waterways.

Conservation Commission’s primary area of responsibility is the enforcement of the Wetlands Protection Act. From the town’s website, “The Conservation Department and Conservation Commission are responsible for permitting and enforcement of the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and the more protective Wetland Bylaw, Chapter 172. Under the Conservation Commission Act they are charged with the protection of a community’s natural resources. They are involved with open space acquisition and the management of conservation lands… Under the Wetlands Protection Act there are eight interests that are protected: Protection of public and private water supply, Protection of ground water supply, Flood control, Storm damage prevention, Prevention of pollution, Protection of land containing shellfish, Protection of fisheries, Protection of wildlife habitat.”

Moore said, “We need bylaws, rules and regulations to prevent numerous new piers being built. Someone should start caring.” Harbormaster Jill Simmons said that presently she had four or five new applications for private docks and other projecting piers.

At the end of this debated topic, the board moved to send a letter to the selectmen indicating the following: 1) a lack of and need to develop bylaws governing private piers, docks and wharves for presentation at the Fall Town meeting; 2) the need for the waterfront management plan to be reviewed by other town departments; and 3) consideration of a moratorium on private structures of this sort until bylaws can be written and accepted by the town.

Other subject matters discussed by the board included an update by Simmons on the repair and renovation work on the wharves, which she said that nearly everything on the list has been completed; and a letter from Jack Olson, 195 North Street, questioning the necessity to have a state-issued registration for his 12-foot skiff.

Simmons pointed out that the current town-issued rules and regulations require a state registration; however, the state doesn’t require it. The board members acknowledged that such a requirement was removed for the updated rules and regulations that are pending town acceptance. Olson will be notified that a state-issued registration is not necessary, but a town-issued permit is required.

Regarding unused moorings, Simmons said that she continues to purge the mooring lists, removing those issued moorings that do not have any activity or installed equipment associated with them. Those on the mooring wait-list may now anticipate as little as a one-year wait time. Skiff spaces were also turning over more quickly, she added. However, spaces on the wharf for boats seem locked in for many years to come.

Pump out services provided free by the town were also discussed. Simmons said that the ‘Clean Vessel Act’ of 1994 provides grant monies to cover the costs associated with providing this service. She wants to see more boaters use the service and wants to get the word out to the public that the service is available. The harbormaster’s office can be reached by calling 508 758-4191 or via email at harbormaster@mattapoisett.net.

The next meeting of the Marine Advisory Board is August 28 at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room. The public is encouraged to attend.

By Marilou Newell

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Quaker Week Raising Funds for Restoration

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The Mattapoisett Friends Meeting House fundraising efforts for the restoration of the antique building are underway and, although it got off to a wet start this week, the yard sale planned for August 2 went ahead anyway despite the rainy weather.

“We had known it was going to rain,” said Deena Kinsky, a member of the Mattapoisett Friends Meeting House, so she said they knew they would need to have the yard sale indoors, even utilizing the old carriage shed on the property where, many years ago, people would store their horse drawn carriages.

“A lot of people came out,” said Kinsky, despite the rain. “We don’t know if we would have had more people or if it was just a great activity for a rainy day.”

According to Kinsky, the cost of the first phase of the renovation is estimated at about $75,000, and the entire project is estimated at about $245,000. The yard sale raised about $600, and a few of the items donated, said Kinsky, have been placed on eBay to see if they will sell for a higher price.

The friends also hosted a donation-only family meat pie supper with a silent auction on Sunday, August 3.

Many people in the community have made donations of items to sell as well as money, and Kinsky says the friends are also seeking grant funding to help with the restoration costs.

There are other events planned for the remainder of the Mattapoisett Friends Meeting House “Quaker Week.” On Saturday, August 9, the friends will be at the meetinghouse for another donation day, collecting more items for another yard sale to be held in October.

For Sunday, August 10, the friends invite members of the community to an abbreviated half-hour silent worship at 9:30 am, followed by an informational lecture about the history of Quakerism. Later that evening, two visiting Quakers from Cuba will speak about the growing Quaker movement within their country at 7:00 pm.

As for the renovations, slated to being either late August or early September, Phase I of the project is to repair the rotted first floor framing, which Kinsky said needs to be totally replaced. She said Meeting House member Brad Hathaway has spearheaded the project because the building, built in 1827, has high sentimental value for the Mattapoisett Quakers.

“We love our meeting house,” said Kinsky. “It’s like a spiritual home and it’s important to us. We feel like we’re stewards of this building after the people who came before us. It has so much historical value. It’s got a lot of rich heritage and we want to fix it up.”

By Jean Perry

 

RHS Goes to the Country Fair

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The Rochester Historical Society will have everything “Rochester” available for sale all four days of the Fair, including Rochester shirts, hats, books, maps, cards and coasters. Rochester books, including Images of Rochester, Tales of Old Rochester, Rochester Vital Statistics, Three Centuries at Eastover Farm and the Sippican Mill, will be on sale. Handmade craft items are a new feature this year. Our famous Rochester bakers are preparing lots of goodies for their Bake Sale on Saturday, August 16. You may want to stop by and see if your older home is listed in “The Rochester Survey of Historical Properties,” just visit with Society members, or decide to join our team – as this year’s theme “Team Spirit” suggests – to help preserve Rochester history and our 1857 Church/Museum building.