On August 12 – 30 at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library, there will be a display of pictures and paintings of special trees from Mattapoisett along with stories of trees that are special to people. Share your stories with us for a future book. Stories can be submitted to the Town Hall, attention Tree Committee, 16 Main Street, Mattapoisett, MA 02739.
It is clear that Marion, Massachusetts and the surrounding towns breed excellent sailors. With a combination of top-notch programs and local seaside schools, Buzzards Bay draws skilled athletes from all over the south shore to participate in local programs. Organizations such as the United States Sailing Team return to the area each year to host competitions and teach sailing classes.
From a young age, children in the area are encouraged to embrace their sea legs and learn to be comfortable on the water. Seaside schools such as Tabor Academy and the Buzzards Sailing School make it possible for students to learn sailing and practice skills on a daily basis.
William Ricketson, Olympic communications manager for the U.S. Sailing Team, said,“For beginners and casual cruisers, Buzzards Bay can provide a lifetime of enjoyment.” He continued, “No matter which way the wind is blowing, you can sail to an engaging destination in almost any direction.”
However, sailing is not the only way to become educated about our beloved waters.
“The history of the United States is also reflected in these waters, as the great seaport of New Bedford provided unsurpassed wealth and trade to the new nation from Revolutionary times until well after the Civil War,” said Ricketson. “Sailors today still look for the same landmarks as those enterprising sea captains of 300 years ago, and in this way, Buzzards Bay connects us to our past in a profound, tangible way.”
Additionally, the Buzzards Bay Yacht Club has been known to host a variety of regattas for local sailors and visiting champions. Several annual competitions are held in the summer months, when Sippican Harbor is filled with young sailors learning the sport and seasoned professionals preparing for a busy season. In order to succeed in these competitive environments, it is important that athletes participate in frequent tournaments to enhance their skills. Luckily for us, Buzzards Bay is home to a handful of world-renowned sailing regattas.
“Buzzards Bay is in many ways the ultimate playground for the American sailor,” said Ricketson. “For the competitive racer, the bay’s unique geography allows the prevailing southwest breeze to strongly blow almost every day of the year, providing consistently exciting conditions.”
Local upcoming events for the U.S. Sailing Team include the 2014 Dick Fontaine Memorial Distance Race, the 2014 Buzzards Bay Regatta, the Beverly Junior Regatta, the Tower Race Night, and the Hurricane Cup Pursuit Race toward the end of the month.
“From the remote haven of Cuttyhunk, to the secluded beaches of the Elizabeth Islands, and to the tranquil harbors of Marion and Padanaram,” said Ricketson, about all that our beloved bay has to offer. “This is a patch of water like no other.”
By Jacqueline Hatch
The Marion Planning Board continued discussion on board member Eileen Marum’s draft Planning Board Guidebook at its August 4 meeting. Opinions got heated before the dialogue ended in a motion to terminate all discussion on the guidebook. With five in favor and only two against, the guidebook was rejected.
Throughout the discussion, two documents were compared: Marum’s guidebook and a collection of resources from Massachusetts state and Marion town websites put together by former Planning Board member Ted North.
Chairman Stephen Kokkins began the discussion by saying state and federal laws already exist to govern the Planning Board, and these laws are for the board to follow, not interpret.
“They form the basis for the actions we take,” the chairman said, mentioning a few of his own ad hoc guidelines – general statements on how the Planning Board is run.
Marum began her defense of her guidebook by reading its purpose, which is “to assist the integration of new members to the Marion Planning Board by providing them with direction on how to appropriately carry out their duties and how to better understand the complexities of community planning, its purposes, and its benefits.”
Marum added that she hoped to help bring the board into the 21st century using her knowledge as a member of Southeastern Regional Planning Economic and Development District (SRPEDD); the guidebook, Marum said, is a simple step towards increasing efficiency and communication on the board.
“Nine years on the board and all of a sudden we’re not in the 21st century?” said longstanding board member Steve Gonsalves. “I don’t understand where this is coming from.”
In defense of the guidebook, Vice-Chairman Norman Hills said he has not been able to find official job descriptions of the Planning Board clerk, chairman, and vice-chairman elsewhere. Kokkins countered that these have become “over the decades more or less self-evident.”
“Both have a lot of validity and a lot of utility,” said board member Michael Popitz, referencing Marum’s guidebook and North’s resources packet. Popitz added that he holds great respect for Marum and the work she put into the guidebook.
“I think that it’s really key that we appreciate each other fully,” he said, gently reminding the board to retain respect and teamwork throughout the discussion. Unfortunately, tensions only mounted as the discussion continued.
A few board members expressed concern that Marum’s guidebook includes paraphrased laws and minor interpretations. Along with this, they don’t see the need to adopt the guidebook as policy when there are already resources available.
“The board has always worked fine in my opinion,” said Gonsalves, saying he simply learned as he went along after he joined the board. “There’s always something to learn; there’s always something to add,” continued Gonsalves.
Board member Rico Ferrari felt Marum’s guidebook could be useful as a library resource or posted online, but “it’s not in our space.”
After so much opposition, Hills again spoke in defense of the guidebook.
“I hear fear all around the table,” said Hills. “I don’t think it’s misinterpreting anything… Is [the guidebook] necessary? Why not?”
Marum said when she was elected to the board, she asked about an orientation. She was told board members typically spend the first year of their three-year term mostly just listening to “absorb the material through osmosis.” With her guidebook, Marum hoped board members would be “more effective and efficient from day one.”
Other board members disagreed, with Ferrari stating it only took him three meetings to feel comfortable with the board after he was elected. As the discussion heightened, Ferrari stated that the debate was Hills and Marum against the board. “To me, that’s the end of the story,” he said.
After a few more comments, Planning Board Clerk Robert Lane made a motion to end the discussion on the guidebook.
“I request a roll-call vote,” said Marum when the guidebook was rejected. No one was against having their name recorded with their vote.
Although the vote was already taken, the board took comments from the public. North took the stand to speak about his resources guide, which includes Internet links to laws, forms, and other sites of interest.
Lane then read a letter sent by former Planning Board Chairman Jay Ryder in which Ryder expressed a strong opinion in opposition to the proposed guidebook.
The meeting was wrapped up with old/new business points to be further discussed at the board’s next meeting. There were no further items of discussion on the agenda.
After the meet’s conclusion, Marum continued to defend her guidebook during a brief interview. “When you go for a job, you’re always given an orientation, and you’re presented a guidebook, and that’s to bring you up to speed with the organization to make you feel welcome,” she said. “This is what I was hoping to do with the board.”
Marum continued to say that she attended a meeting at the College of the Holy Cross organized by the Massachusetts chapter of the American Planning Association. She said many of their concepts are included in the guidebook, but “in no way have I ever interpreted or put my own spin on any law.”
When looking to the future of her guidebook, Marum said, “I think I’ll see what happens next year. There may be some new members on the board and perhaps those members may be more receptive.” Until then, Marum mentioned she might bring her guidebook to the library for town members to utilize.
Chairman Kokkins, on the other hand, supported the board’s decision on the handbook. “I think there was a common thread that we thought it was unnecessary, because we all understand more than some people think about how the laws work and the practices we have to follow,” he said. “I think it will come up again and maybe should … come up again, but I thought that the list of actual resources that Mr. North offered was a little more useful and that it was complete.”
Kokkins again expressed concern that Marum’s guidebook was incomplete, unnecessary, and included some minor interpretations of the law “that we’re not really empowered to do.”
Still, Kokkins said the guidebook could be used as a source of information if any board members would like to regard it. “They’re welcome to look at it; they’re welcome to use it,” he said, “It’s just that we don’t have enough time, space, and need, mostly, to actually go through and make sure that it’s official policy of the board, because we think we have that well in hand.”
The Marion Planning Board’s next meeting will be on August 18 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.
By Renae Reints
To the Editor:
There is talk in Marion about which group the Selectmen will appoint to handle the Sprague’s Cove storm water basin. One of their options is to give control to the Conservation Commission, which is the group that had the previous storm water system removed in 2012.
The Selectmen may want to consider a far better alternative. The Open Space Commission has formed a subcommittee of storm water professionals to oversee the many storm water basins on their properties, and that subcommittee would be a great fit for Sprague’s Cove.
This would free up the Conservation Commission to concentrate on their real job – protecting the wetlands in Marion. I think it is a win-win solution for all of us who have expressed concern.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Leatham, Marion
The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.
The Marion Selectmen wrapped up two years of work on the Town’s wastewater management at the August 5 meeting. In their capacity as Water and Sewer Commissioners, the Board met with Department of Public Works Superintendent Rob Zora, Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Frank Cooper, and Shawn Syde of CDM Smith with regard to the sewer regulation.
CDM Smith was hired to review and recommend changes to the Sewer Ordinance, which every town is required to have, and Marion’s was last updated in April 2002. Syde explained that some of the added items included requirements that are now more in line with Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, such as provisions for storm water systems. Other provisions help regulate food handling facilities and the disposal of fats, oils, and greases, as well as an updated fee schedule.
“These changes should bring the Town’s sewer user ordinances up to current standards,” said Syde.
“This is important because everything that goes down the drain isn’t something we are prepared to treat. We want to explain this to anyone who cares to listen,” said Chairman Jon Henry. “That’s why we do this, folks.”
When asked if there was a deadline for adopting the new regulations, Zora said, “We’ve been working on these changes for almost two years and we’d like to see them adopted soon.”
Henry stated he would like a public input period prior to adoption. Town Administrator Paul Dawson told the selectmen that this item has been on the agenda at a few meetings and he has never had any questions brought to him.
The overall consensus was that there was always the flexibility to allow waivers, should they be needed, or modify the regulations with future votes. Henry agreed and at that point, the board voted to adopt the new regulations.
In other matters, while reviewing the Roadway Improvement Project, Dawson reported that they have discovered a number of residences that are tied into the storm water drainage system of which the Town was unaware, resulting in increased construction costs.
Dawson said he is currently looking into “how we’re going to deal with it, and how we’re going to pay for it,” as it is expected the cost will be around $3,500 per connection.
Also at the meeting, in an appointment with the Marion Pathways Committee, the board met with committee members Jeff Oakes, John Rockwell, and Kirk Coykendall. Prior to moving forward, the Pathways Committee needs to conduct public outreach and to document town-wide acceptance of the project by meeting with those who would be affected. They hope the selectmen would endorse the project, helping it move forward faster.
Selectman Jody Dickerson said that, as part of his job as recreation director, he walked the proposed area in Washburn Park affected by the pathway and feels the project would be beneficial.
The board voted to issue a letter of support for the program. Selectman Stephen Cushing noted that this is “a great project that has been needed for some time.”
Oakes wanted to inform residents that the Pathways Committee is recruiting new members and forming a ‘Friends of the Pathway’ group, and those interested can get in contact through the Town’s website.
Building Commissioner Scott Shippey reviewed two properties on Point Road that have derelict structures he feels are a hazard. He has attempted to locate heirs to the properties who are willing to take responsibility for them, as the owners are deceased, but was unable to locate anyone. He is seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) that will allow inspectors to legally enter the property and advise of any safety concerns. The board approved the TRO.
In other business, the board awarded the contract for the River Road, Point Road, Spring Street, and Pleasant Street projects to Lawrence Lynch Corp., who was the lowest bidder at $436,481. Dawson wanted to point out that this cost was well below the estimate for this phase of the project.
Selectmen approved a food service Common Victualler license for Kate’s Simple Eats at 148 Front Street, contingent upon receiving the proper Board of Health permits.
Henry requested that a letter of thanks be sent to Conservation Commission member Wendy Carreau who will not be seeking reappointment.
The Board signed the paperwork for the State Primary Election, which will be held on September 9 from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm at the VFW, Mill Street (Route 6), and approved a one-day liquor license for the VFW Annual Clambake on August 10.
The date of the Annual Block Party was set for August 23 from 4:00 to 9:45 pm, and the date for the annual Committee/Employee Appreciation Event was set for Wednesday, August 20. This event will be held at lunchtime for town employees, and then in the evening for committee members. Henry mentioned that the event included all town employees and volunteers from teachers to firefighters, and everyone in between.
The Board is scheduled to meet next on Tuesday, August 19 at 7:00 pm at thePolice Station.
By Paul Lopes
Did you know that our very own Route 6 is the longest American highway ever created, spanning the entire United States mainland from Provincetown to Long Beach, California?
Author Joe Hurley could tell you all about it, and he will on August 13 at the Mattapoisett Free Library during “Behind the Scenes of Ten Million Steps.” Hurley spent nearly ten months of his life getting to know the people and places along the way on an intimate voyage across America that spanned about 3,600 miles from coast to coast.
Hurley, a retired newspaper reporter living in New Milford, Connecticut, never knew that Route 6, which runs through Connecticut as well, was the longest highway in the country. He discovered that fact during a “shorter” walk across Connecticut, discovering all the little towns he had never been to and writing a series about his journey. On a map, Hurley noticed Route 6 began in Provincetown and thought, “Wow. That’s a long way from Connecticut.”
“And then I looked to the west,” said Hurley during a July 29 phone interview. “And I thought, wouldn’t it be amazing to walk the entire way from east to west?”
Hurley started his voyage in Provincetown, which is where the book begins – along with the realization that this would be no stroll in the park. The first few hundred of his ten million steps were already causing his feet pain. In just the fourth paragraph of the book, Hurley admits, “Sore legs and the fear of failure would be my constant companions on the journey, one telling me to stop and the other urging me forward.”
During Hurley’s author’s talk, he will describe what it was like to move alone through the country, town by town, mile by mile, day by day, and answer all those questions that, once you take a look at the book, you will find yourself asking, like, was he ever afraid for his life along the way, or worried that he might not finish the journey?
“There was a snow storm in Nevada, and it was one of the few times on the trip that I didn’t know if I was going to survive,” said Hurley. “I was a walking snowman. And for a 150-mile stretch, there were no cars, no town.”
Once the snow let up a bit and people started to move about, Hurley said every single car that passed him stopped to make sure he was all right, which is consistent with Hurley’s report that, all across the country, he encountered such friendliness and hospitality that he never thought he would find when he took his first steps.
“It certainly gave me a different sense of the people of America, especially in the Midwest,” said Hurley, describing his most significant discovery along the way. “They’re much more likely to come up to you and talk to you.”
Hurley said people are prone to ask him more about his personal journey walking Route 6 across the country than they are to ask about the places he saw and the people he encountered, which surprises him somewhat.
“It’s a people and places book in my mind,” said Hurley. During the book design process, Hurley said he had a different idea for the front cover of the book, which is a photo of Hurley walking, of course, with a long, stretch of hilly highway behind him.
“I wanted the cover to be something else,” he said. But his publisher said no. The photo Hurley wanted on the front cover became the back cover of the book, the majestic landscape of the White Mountains above Owens Valley in eastern California.
“They said, ‘The book is about you walking across the country,’” said Hurley. “But I think it’s more about the people and places. It’s strange that people don’t ask me more about the places and the people I talked to.”
The people of Mattapoisett left a lasting impression on Hurley, saying on page 17 of the book that it was the people that made his stop at the diner formerly known as “The Nest” most memorable. He describes in the book how one Mattapoisett resident helped find Hurley a hotel room for free because he had no place to stay that night.
“Apparently that’s the way things are in Mattapoisett,” Hurley writes.
If you attend the author’s talk on August 13, don’t expect the standard slideshow and prepared talk that Hurley gives to everyone at each stop along his book tour.
“When I started out it was a slide show… and that was okay, but it’s kind of restrictive,” said Hurley. He now passes out a copy of the book to each person in attendance so they can have the book in their own hands, free to follow along and flip through the book. “So, instead of slides,” said Hurley, “We go for a journey together through the book.”
The August 13 event begins at 6:30 pm and Hurley will have copies of his book available for sale. Preregister for the event with the library so that there will be enough books for the event and to purchase. Contact the Mattapoisett Free Library at 508-758-4171 and, for more information about Hurley’s book, visit www.route6walk.com.
By Jean Perry
The Old Rochester Little League 11U All-Star Team completed a successful summer season on Sunday, July 27. The Bulldogs won the Dennis-Yarmouth Tournament, posting a 5-0 record, which included wins over Middleboro, Sandwich B, Barnstable (twice) and Harwich-Chatham. For the Bulldogs 11U team, which posted a 14-4 mark for the season, it marked their second title of the summer. The team also captured the Bourne Tournament on July 13 with a 5-0 record. On July 20, the ORLL 11U squad finished second in the Fairhaven-Acushnet Tournament after losing, 3-2, in the title game to the SEYAA (South End, New Bedford). Pictured here: Front Row: Jared Achorn; Kneeling (left to right): Hayden Duke, Alex Wright, Sam Parks, Danny Flynn, Liam Stuart, Stephen Feeney; Back Row (Players, left to right): Jack Meehan, Wayne Andrews, Steven Carvalho; Back Row (Coaches, left to right): Arthur Parks, Steve Carvalho, Carl Achorn, Dave Wright; Not pictured (Jonas Ackerman and Will Stark)
There is going to be a very special dedication on Ned’s Point on Friday, August 8 to unveil a bronze plaque and a sitting bench in honor of Mattapoisett’s late Milton Silveira – a project in the making by one of Silveira’s young friends and fans, Alex Craig, a sixth-grader at Old Hammondtown Elementary School.
Alex’s mother, Julie Craig, said Alex has been busy collecting donations and consulting with Silveira’s family for months, and he is excited to present the bronze plaque before the people of Mattapoisett and to Silveira’s surviving relatives.
When in the third grade, Alex chose to represent Silveira in a presentation about famous people from Massachusetts. Alex reached out to Silveira, who was in his nineties when the correspondence between the two began, to learn more about the local National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) chief engineer.
“They struck up a friendship,” said Ms. Craig. “And after Milton died last year, Alex wanted to do something for him.” And because Milton loved Ned’s Point, Craig said, it was decided that a bronze plaque honoring Silveira should be placed at the site beside the sea, along with a bench dedicated to Silveira.
Alex said he never got to meet Silveira in person, but their phone conversations made a lasting impression on the boy.
“I think he was a really great man and that’s why I’ve been doing this whole project,” said Alex. He said Silveira’s sister helped design the plaque. “It’s a pretty big plaque … and it’s just a great little biography about him and it has a little picture of a shuttle on it,” said Alex. During the dedication ceremony on Friday, Alex said he is going to tell the Town about who Silveira was and why they should remember him.
“It was so nice to hear Alex and Milton have these conversations over the phone,” said Craig. She added that it was a great experience for Alex, and she is pleased that Alex has chosen to pursue this gesture of respect toward Silveira.
Silveira oversaw the development of the Little Joe II, an unmanned space launch vehicle. He also contributed to other programs, including the Apollo mission.
“We just think Mattapoisett should know about [Milton],” said Craig.
Silveira was born in Mattapoisett in 1929 and graduated from Fairhaven High School. He died July 11, 2013 after 36 years of service for NASA.
“I’m very proud of Alex,” said Craig. “And it’s really unbelievable how much support the community has given.”
The dedication ceremony on Friday, August 8 at Ned’s Point is scheduled for 11:00 am. Alex, his family, Silveira’s family, town officials, and members of the community will all gather to honor Silveira’s legacy.
By Jean Perry
From left to right; Elizabeth Tabor Library special events committee co-chair, Lynn Crocker , Asha Wallace, president of the board of trustees and Kathy Reed co-chair are combining a favorite hobby with a great cause. On Friday, August 22, a benefit tournament of duplicate and social bridge will take place at the Marion Music Hall. The entry fee is $25. Doors open at 1:30 pm, light refreshments served and the games begin at 2:00. All proceeds will be donated to the Elizabeth Taber Library. Those who wish to play are encouraged to reserve a spot at the Elizabeth Taber Library circulation desk. For more in information contact Lynn Crocker,(508) 748-1468 or Kathy Reed(508) 748-3669.
With the arrival of ‘Back To School’ marketing in the mail and on the television, my mind wanders back to a time when thinking about going to school created happy excitement in my little girl brain. The most memorable had to be entering first grade.
In September 1958, I left home for good, so to speak – I started First Grade at Sippican Elementary School. I don’t remember my teacher’s name, but I vividly remember it as a lovely day resplendent with sunshine and my young Mother holding my hand tightly. She delivered me to the classroom door where she imparted some words to me that made her face look very earnest and a little scared. The words I can’t recall, only her face frozen in time. In the next frame of memory, I’m seated at a desk that fits me just right holding a fat pencil and excited about the box of fat crayons waiting inside the desk. No more just a little kid following my mother from room to room, I was now a student.
Returning home that afternoon, I found Ma was upset with me. Why, I wondered. I hadn’t been home long enough to get into trouble. What I had failed to do was cry. Other little kids had cried, begging their mothers not to leave them. I had simply and joyfully smiled and waved good-bye. Ma apparently was expecting confirmation of my neediness for her. What she failed to appreciate was that her job had been to prepare me for independent living. Poor Ma would continue to lament decades later, “…you were glad to get away from me, you didn’t cry when I left…”
Having turned seven years old the previous January, I was one of the older students in the class but certainly not the smartest. At home, I’d received the most rudimentary thread of education. I knew the alphabet, how to count to fifty, and could spell my name out loud. Writing it would have to be mastered quickly because others already knew how to do this and so much more.
In those years, little girls still rarely wore trousers or slacks. Skirts and dresses dominated the scene as acceptable female attire. I preferred dresses with big fluffy bows in the back that bounced along as I skipped. Unfortunately, those bows were a menace that made sitting difficult. I sat in my first classroom chair very upright and very quiet. Those were also the days when children didn’t speak in class unless called upon, where corporal punishment was anticipated for the smallest infraction of silly rules, and where little girls lined up first in front of little boys.
One thing Ma did teach me was how to sit properly while wearing a dress. It was important to smooth the backside with your hand as you bent into a seated position. Over and over we had practiced at home. She impressed upon me the importance of making sure that my ‘panties’ weren’t seen by little boys. Pressing ones knees tightly together and never crossing ones legs was the rule. I found this difficult when my feet usually didn’t touch the floor when seated.
Politics were deeply entrenched in classrooms across America. These were the days of atomic threat. Remember ‘duck and cover’ procedures? How those survival skills were drummed into our little heads. At least once a month the siren would blast through the building and all the children were instructed to scramble onto the floor, crawl on hands and knees getting under the desk. I, however, was much more concerned that little Tommy might see my panties as I skedaddled for cover. There I was with my right hand straining behind my backside to keep my dress from riding up. I feared exposing innocent eyes to my pink undies. Were we traumatized by all this talk of a bombs falling on our school? I don’t know. I was primarily concerned about my underwear being seen and for that I am forever scarred.
I loved lunchtime. Most of the time, I brought a ‘cold’ lunch from home in a cherished Dale Evans lunchbox. Oh, that smell when the lid was popped open and the scent of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on Wonder Bread (wrapped in waxed paper) along side a shiny apple wafted towards my olfactory senses (I learned that in fifth grade science) – ambrosia!
Smells punctuate my memories, including those from the first grade. Clay, paste, crayons, chalk, floor wax, mimeographed papers – this is the pungent past that floats in the air as I write. Oh, and the smell of sick … some little kid was always throwing up. Yuck.
My first first grade teacher is memorable only as a vague image of an unsmiling woman with a passion for rote learning techniques. We recited lessons like good little parrots or else.
Midway through the school year, we moved back to Onset (fluctuating between Marion and Onset denoted various phases in my parent’s marriage). At Onset Elementary School, I was installed with Mrs. Pie. Her very name evoked a pastry shop of goodness. And she was true to her name. Mrs. Pie was lovely in her crisp dresses and professionally coifed hair-do. Tall with gentle eyes and soft demeanor, I could listen to her voice all day and never tire of it as some kids did. One little girl I met in class would become my lifelong friend. We both recall Mrs. Pie like a fresh slice of sweetness served to us during first grade classes.
I was curious what other people remembered from this pivotal jumping off point in one’s life. No matter how old the respondent, nearly everyone had something they could recall about first grade.
Ana told me that she came from a Portuguese-speaking home and that up until the age of four she didn’t speak at all. She was completely dependent on her mother for everything so that entering an English-speaking first grade class was horrible. Speaking only Portuguese (at a time when bi-lingual education was not offered), she was unable to communicate with the teacher or the other students. She begged her mother not to make her go to school. Everything about the experience of being sent to school was difficult, including having to wear homemade clothing. Yet she survived and by second grade had made friends and was plugging away at English, a language that still feels new to her all these years later.
Bev came from a home where educated females were not an anomaly. She was given freedom and access to paper and writing implements, but more importantly, access to information. At home with a mother and grandmother who were both teachers, she received the equivalent of a full board-certified education. Thus, she recalls she was in the eighth grade before a teacher said something that she didn’t already know. Amazing.
Krissie’s experience was one from a Dickens novel. She said and I quote, “My teachers … honestly should not have been allowed near children. I went to Lutheran grade school, and I SWEAR that several of those witches were concentration camp matrons, left overs from WWII.” (LMAO)
Charlotte shared, “Mrs. Phinney was not warm and fuzzy but all right. One day, we had to think of words beginning with the letter ‘H’ and I asked her if we took the ‘C’ off my name would that be a word and she told me NO!” Charlotte would have to wait years to learn why the teacher reacted that strongly.
Anne (she was in Mrs. Pie’s class the year before I was) was thinking about her mother while skipping around the playground picking a handful of dandelions to take home as a surprise. Unfortunately, that was when she learned she was allergic to them and ended up being sent home with swollen eyes and no flowers for mommy. Bummer.
Emily clearly recalls her first grade teacher, Miss Studee, as ‘the year of the wedding planner.’ Studee debriefed the students frequently about her upcoming nuptials with everything from the colors she had selected to the type of cake to the honeymoon venue. Emily was enthralled. When they celebrated the end of the school year, Emily’s class had a pretend wedding reception with the girls wearing tiny wedding veils and the boys donning faux cummerbunds. For Emily, it was a dream come true. Her favorite toys were her Barbie dolls. She regularly married them off to the Kens in her collection.
Sarah said her strongest memory was witnessing a kid’s throwing-up episode that then caused her to reflexively do the same. The teacher was kind and calming as she walked the children to the nurse’s office. I think teachers must have a high level of tolerance for the smell and sight of bodily fluids. (Sarah is planning a career in psychiatry).
Danielle (Sarah’s older sister) shared that she remembers hatching eggs to chicks and how interesting it was to watch the process. (She is heading to URI to study chemistry, then matriculating into other studies with the ultimate goal of becoming a dermatologist).
And last, but not least, from the one male who responded to my dragnet, Paul said that all he remembers other than being surrounded by Nuns (with an equal number falling between the good and evil varieties) was peeing his pants and his older brother being conscripted to take him home posthaste.
For me, first grade was the beginning of seeking, questioning, learning. Today I find myself feeling just as optimistic and excited about the future as I did in 1958. I believe that the best days are waiting to be experienced, yet – I do wish I could feel Ma’s hand tightly holding mine just one more time. I cry now that she’s left.
By Marilou Newell
