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            Old Hammondtown School was the place to be on May 1 when the League of Women Voters of Southcoast held its Candidates Night in anticipation of the May 21 Mattapoisett Town Election.

            Starting with a “meet and greet,” each candidate was given time to introduce themselves and point to accomplishments, goals and other relevant matters before moving on to offer timed responses to specific questions being asked for those in contested races.

            First up was the contested seat for a three-year term on the Select Board. The two candidates are incumbent Jodi Lynn Bauer and former principal assessor Kathleen Costello.

            In their opening statements, Bauer pointed to her many accomplishments in the community from her 35 years supporting and working for Boys Scouts to sitting on the Tree Committee, Community Preservation Act Committee and her strongly held belief in representing all community members.

            Bauer also noted her lifelong residency in Mattapoisett and her passion to serve as the “voice of the people.” Bauer said she has demonstrated leadership skills and understands the importance of developing future leaders. She further noted that although it is very difficult, keeping the town budget on track is necessary.

            Costello began stating that her family chose Mattapoisett to settle in and raise a family with her children attending local schools. Now some 30 years on and after a decades-long career working in the Assessor’s office she held, she has a clear view of the town’s finances.

            Costello commented on the need for new housing units, which would benefit all taxpayers and her spearheading of PILOT programs (for solar farms) that has earned revenue for the town. She also shared that she is the executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers.

            Question 1 poised the following to the Select Board candidates: If elected … how would you address any conflict-of-interest issues that may arise in the course of performing your duties on behalf of the town?

            Costello responded, “Recuse yourself,” expanding on that core response but returning that main message at upon any situation posing complication or doubt.

            Bauer addressed the ethics Foo Par when she failed to recuse herself from salary discussion regarding her son Garrett Bauer’s position as the elected highway surveyor. She acknowledged her error and said she has “learned from it.” She also referenced occasions in which Select Board member Jordan Collyer has recused himself from matters related to the Fire Department, which he serves as a captain.

            Question 2: With the debt soon to come off the books for the Old Rochester Regional School District’s facilities, including Center and Old Hammmondtown schools, what do you envision as a priority for the town for capital expenditures pertaining to these buildings, as well as the library, and how would you propose funding them without overburdening the taxpayers of the town? (ORR had sought a $12,000,000 debt exclusion from the Tri-Towns that has been pulled from the May 13 town meetings after Rochester’s Select Board and Finance Committee recommended against supporting.)

            Bauer responded that large projects would require borrowing, while smaller projects such as renovations to the library building could be funded through free cash.

            Costello’s response included the need to evaluate projects of which there are many, such as town hall, and that she would work collaboratively with an eye towards sustainable construction.

            Question 3:  Our coastline and thus our community, is vulnerable because of rising sea levels and increased nitrogen pollution due to warmer temperatures. Do you believe we need to take action to address these issues as a coastal community and if so, what do you recommend?

            Costello pointed to the global problem faced by all people. She said that having worked with FEMA, she grasps the importance of working with government agencies while working on local solutions.

            Bauer’s questioned the state’s position that nitrogen in local harbors is the result of residential septic systems requiring expensive denitrification-technology upgrades and said she would first remove damaging fertilizers from the stormwater system.

            Question 4:  Road reconstruction on Main and Water streets is an important issue for our town. The February Tree Committee meeting was attended or watched by 200 residents. The 25% DOT design public hearing is delayed and project funding uncertain. Are you in favor of establishing a Road Reconstruction Committee as a means to bring consensus and understanding of the options available to the town?

            Given she sits on the Tree Committee, Bauer recused herself from answering the question. However, she encouraged people to attend the June 18 public presentation by MassDOT of the village street reconstruction project.

            Costello stated, “If the majority of the town wants it, my opinion doesn’t matter.”

            Closing remarks from Bauer pointed to her work with the Mattapoisett Select Board in hiring municipal employees, pursuing a community garden for all geared towards sustainability, the importance of budget management and her desire to continue in her leadership role for all the people as a “community servant.” If re-elected, Bauer said she would continue to perform with “passion and pride” for Mattapoisett.

            Costello said she believes in transparency, collaboration and would use her unique skill sets. She said she is a goal-oriented person, and as a former member of the town’s financial team would work towards informed decision-making.

            Other contested races find Mattapoisett School Committee member James Muse facing challengers Jack Lebrun and Kathleen McArdle-Leclair with two seats open after Tiffany Reedy did not seek re-election.

            LeBrun stated reasons why he should be selected, included his desire to help students staying involved in the school system as he pursues his own educational goals and growing up in the town.

            Muse pointed to his 12 years on the School Committee, the importance of parental involvement and the struggles teachers face teaching within prescribed frameworks.

            McArdle-Leclair said parents are concerned with grades, especially since COVID-19. She said, as her own children move on to college, she wants to stay involved with the school system.

            The other contested race is for the Board of Assessors with Alan Apperson challenging incumbent Leonard Coppola for one open seat. Neither candidate appeared on May 1.

            Uncontested races in Mattapoisett are: Trustees of the Public Library, two seats with William Osier and Elizabeth Sylvia both seeking re-election Lizanne Capper Campbell for town moderator, Albert Mennino Jr. for re-election to the Water/Sewer Commission, Garrett Bauer for Highway Surveyor, Thomas Tucker for re-election to the Planning Board, Charles McCullough for re-election to the Mattapoisett Housing Authority and James Pierson and Susan Wilbur for two seats for re-election to the Community Preservation Committee.

            The Mattapoisett Town Election will be held on Tuesday, May 21, at Old Hammondtown Elementary School.

Mattapoisett Voters Hear from Candidates

League of Women Voters South Coast

The Wanderer Sails On

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            “Oh yeah, I’m the type of guy that likes to roam around, I’m never in one place, I roam from town to town…”

            With the famous rock-and-roll song, “The Wanderer” playing in the background, Mattapoisett Museum Curator Connor Gaudet strolled down the center aisle of the museum to the podium. He began his presentation at the April 24 annual meeting of the Historical Society members. His topic: the Wanderer, the whaling bark that is the featured theme for the museum’s upcoming summer season.

            But the history Gaudet intends to share is less a history lesson of the beloved ship and more how it has been cherished through the decades. First, however, a very brief refresher of Wanderer’s history.

            In 2018, Seth Mendell, the highly respected historian for all things tri-town, gave a lecture on Wanderer’s history. Mendell wove a true story that included the air at the busy shipyard being scented with pine and tar, the sounds of saws at work and the ringing of nails penetrating wood that would be nearly deafening.

            The Wanderer began construction 1877 and was eased into the harbor the following year, April 16, 1878, on a flood tide. It was the last of two ships built in Mattapoisett, Gaudet stated.

            It was surprising to learn from Gaudet’s presentation that when the Wanderer was set afloat, the whaling industry was already two decades past its prime. “The distillation of petroleum to create kerosine had been discovered by Dr. Abraham Kessner in 1849. Oil was struck in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859. The proliferation of ‘rock oil’ combined with a fast and easy method to create lamp fuel was a pretty good indication that the whaling industry’s fate was sealed. Indeed, whale oil reached a peak price in 1856, topping out at $1.77 per gallon.

            “By 1896, that same gallon would cost only 40 cents. By the turn of the century, only a few vessels were still plying the seas for whales, usually with underpaid, green crews from the Azores, Cape Verde or West Indies, who saw the trip as a chance to emigrate to the United States.”

            Gaudet continued, “When she was built in 1878, the world seemed to be starting a slow transition into a more modern age. It was the year Edison patented the phonograph, and Edward Muybridge produced a series of stop-motion photographs in order to prove that all four feet of a galloping horse are off the ground at the same time, thus accidentally creating the first known motion picture. By 1915, the New England whaling industry was in such decline that Miss Emily Bourne announced her plan to build and give to the City of New Bedford a museum dedicated to keeping and sharing the history of its whale fishery, lest it be forgotten and slip away into the past. Now, when someone builds a museum to preserve the legacy of the profession you are currently engaged in, it might be time to start looking for other work.”

            Yet, right up until the day the Wanderer’s last moments sitting in salt water came, people wanted it. Gaudet says that the last crew gets a bad rap for losing the ship. “At least four of the 12 men on board had crewed on the Wanderer before. I’m sure with more research we can find the other crew members on other previous voyages. My point is that the crew has gotten a bad rap for losing the ship. I suggest that it was not a ‘green crew’ that caused her to wreck but one of the worst storms the region had ever seen to date. The Great Gale of 1924 not only wrecked the Wanderer but inflicted enormous damage across Rhode Island and the South Coast of Massachusetts. It was commemorated later that year in a photo booklet documenting the destruction. It was comparable to the Hurricanes of (19)38 and ’54.”

            “On September 30, another storm caused her to finally break up on the rocks she had rested on for 35 days.”

            As the years went by, the Wanderer has enjoyed notoriety, and people have created souvenirs and a variety of Wanderer-branded items, including the museum, which had ball point pens made from wood salvaged from the ship.

            The summer exhibit will feature items created and branded “The Wanderer.” Gaudet has a favorite memento, but he’s not telling.

            “With all the changes that have taken place in this town over the last hundred years since we supposedly ‘lost’ the Wanderer, one of the biggest constants, when you think about it, has been the overwhelming presence of the Wanderer. On T-shirts, the town seal, stores’ names, Christmas ornaments, yearbooks, souvenir spoons and a million other tchotchkes, the Wanderer has transcended the ages, a town mascot for five-plus generations.

            “We love our summer people, don’t get me wrong. But we’re proud of our working-class history. We built things that lasted. We built things that still last – even a hundred years after they supposedly left us.”

            One piece of the Wanderer that remains is a mast, now hanging in the museum’s carriage house, where memories permeate the structure. “They call me the Wanderer, yeah the Wanderer, I roam around around around around…”

Buzzards Bay Musicfest

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The Buzzards Bay Musicfest will be returning to Marion this summer from July 10 through July 14 in the Fireman Performing Arts Center at Hoyt Hall on the campus of Tabor Academy. World-class musicians will grace the stage in a five-concert series that is completely open with free admission to the public. On Wednesday, July 10, there will be an open rehearsal at 2:00 pm. That evening, the first concert of the series will feature the full orchestra with works by Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann. The concerts that follow are a chamber music concert on Thursday, a jazz concert on Friday, another chamber concert on Saturday and the finale on Sunday will be the full orchestra. Start times for the evening concerts are new this year as the festival is changing to a 7:30 pm downbeat. The Sunday afternoon concert is at 2:00 pm. Please visit www.buzzardsbaymusicfest.com/ for more detailed information.

Rochester Land Trust

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The Rochester Land Trust will Celebrate Moms by hosting a Mother’s Day Walk on Sunday, May 12 at 2 pm at the Church’s Wildlife Preserve. located across the street from 194 Marion Road, Route 105, in Rochester.

            We will first gather around the new pollinator garden, enjoy a refreshing glass of lemonade and then take a short walk through the woods, identifying migratory songbirds using the Merlin ID app from Cornell Ornithology.

            The Trust will have a small gift for all attending mothers. No rain date, shine only. For more information call 706-675-5263.

Marion Planning Board

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To the Editors:

            Having read the letter/opinion of Eileen Marum of the Marion Planning Board in the most recent Wanderer, I am compelled to respond. Since when does a woman, working in any position to enhance the quality of life for the people of Marion have to endure the bullying of the verbally abusive, ill-mannered, boorish, peckish behavior of her male colleagues? There should be an outcry from the town over the dearth of noblesse oblige at these meetings. Consider this as one such outcry.

            Ms. Marum has a large constituency which has put her on the Board for the last eight years. When the Planning Board members attempt to silence her, they attempt to silence her constituents who vote consistently. The Board members should be careful of suppressing opinions because it might lead to suppression of votes. Nota Bene: not a good idea for longevity on the Board. Her constituents vote in, and vote out.

            The question begging to be queried is where was the Chair when all of this bullying was happening? The first role of the Chair is to ensure each member has the opportunity to speak her truth, quietly and clearly, and in turn, listen to the voices/opinions of other members of the Board. The second role is to admonish, if necessary, those loud, aggressive persons who are in breach of decorum because they are vexatious to the spirit of collegiality, and the continuation of the task at hand. The third role is to remove from the assembly any person who continues exhibiting behaviors which impede the progress of the agenda, and the cohesion of the group. Why were those steps not taken by the Chair?

            Certainly, a public apology is due Ms. Marum, for without one, tacit permission is being given to continue the outrageous behavior reported from the last meeting of the Planning Board.

            Is the Town Administrator taking note? Perhaps it is time for some sensitivity training for all members of all Boards. Without doubt, an investigation by the Administrator, or his Proxy should proceed immediately so that the breach of decorum never happens again.

Diane V. Owens, 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. All letters must be typed and submitted directly to: news@wanderer.com.

Robert M. Sherman

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Robert M. Sherman, 87, of Rochester died peacefully May 7, 2024 at St. Luke’s Hospital.

            He was the husband of Harriett S. (Salley) Sherman, with whom he shared 70 years of marriage.

            Born in Rochester, son of the late Clifford L. and Margaret (Gifford) Sherman, he lived in Rochester all of his life.

            Robert was the proud owner of R.M. Sherman Builder, having built countless custom homes in the tri-town.

            He enjoyed hunting in his younger years, farming and spending countless hours on his father’s cub tractor.

            Survivors include his wife; his 5 children, Bryan Sherman and his wife Laurene, Diana Sherman-Knapp and her husband Wayne, Donna Ray and her husband Gene, Melanie Sherman-Morris and her husband Darren, all of Rochester and Brett Sherman of Mattapoisett and Florida; a sister, Jean Finnegan of Longmeadow, MA; 11 grandchildren, Meredith, Erin and her husband Rob, Clifford and his wife Alison, Wesley and his partner Nikki, Christopher, Benjamin, Andrea, Robert, Carrie and her husband Michael, Michael and his wife Paula and Madeline and her fiance Mark; 3 great-grandchildren, Gilbert John, Aubrey Anne and Logan James; and many nieces and nephews.

            He was the brother of the late Linda Sherman and Clifford Sherman, Jr. and “special brother” to the late Diana Laycock Macy.

            His visiting hours will be held on Friday, May 10th from 3-7 pm in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6), Mattapoisett.  His Graveside Service will be held on Saturday, May 11th at 12 Noon in the Sherman Cemetery, Pine St. Rochester.  For directions and guestbook, visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Cornelia Harrop Middleton

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Cornelia Harrop Middleton, June 19, 1962 – May 1, 2024

            Nina was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts to Jane Shearer Harrop and William Henry Harrop III and grew up in Padanaram, MA. She attended grade school and early high school in Dartmouth, MA and spent the rest of her high school years at Suffield Academy in Connecticut. She earned her BA summa cum laude at Providence College and her Masters in Social Work from Rhode Island College. She was a crisis navigator in the emergency department of Good Samaritan Medical Center, Brockton, MA the final ten years of her career. She lived her life to the fullest, including during her final four years with breast cancer.

            Nina was an athlete – a runner, sailor, and excellent skier – who relished the outdoors. She was a champion of women’s rights. Together with her husband John she raised their daughter Cency in their Mattapoisett home. Nina loved travelling and spending time at the family cottage on the shores of Lake Michigan.

            In addition to John and Cency, Nina leaves behind her son-in-law Anders Fogel and grandson Magnus, her brother William Henry Harrop IV, his wife Cathy, her nephew Will, and nieces Jen and Delaney, as well as a wealth of wonderful friends. She leaves a hole in a lot of hearts, or better to say she finds a lasting place in them.

            Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Jimmy Fund or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. For online guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com

Disagreement Holds up Search Committee

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After an objection over who the board is not choosing to appoint, Rochester’s Select Board Monday had to delay for two weeks its action to form a Town Administrator Search Committee and find a replacement for Glenn Cannon, who is leaving the town position after the May 13 Annual Town Meeting.

            Select Board member Brad Morse motioned that the committee to find Cannon’s replacement will consist of himself, Financial Director and soon-to-be Interim Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar, former Town Clerk Paul Dawson, Finance Committee Chairman Kris Stoltenberg and resident John Egger.

            Personnel Board Chairperson Kristen Nash objected to the reason she could not also be appointed. Cannon said Town Counsel has informed him it is because she is a member of the Personnel panel. “You would have to resign from the Personnel Board,” he said.

            Nash fought back, arguing the language in the town’s Personnel Bylaw does not exclude members of boards that run for a short term, then are disbanded, such as is the case with the Personnel Board. “It is discriminatory,” she said. “It is ludicrous. I don’t think that what you are doing here is the intent of that bylaw.”

            Nash asked the board to seek a written opinion from Town Counsel on the issue. Select Board Chairman Paul Ciaburri motioned to seek that opinion before voting the actual appointments. Morse insisted that his motion to appoint his original five names remain in play. The two board members ultimately approved continuing the appointments to the May 20 meeting; board member Adam Murphy was not in attendance.

            Cannon, who became the Rochester town administrator in March 2022, is leaving the position on May 14 to accept the same job in Carver.

            In other action, the board approved and signed the contract for Rochester Police Lieutenant Donald Kemmett to become interim police chief for a time to expire when a permanent chief is hired. The previous chief, Robert Small, announced his retirement last month, effective June 28.

            The Select Board approved a one-year extension of the Regional Old Colony Communications Center contract that places the town’s public-safety-dispatching services in Duxbury.

            The Select Board awarded Citations in Recognition of Residents to Pat Joy and Roxanne Costa for saving a fellow senior’s life through CPR at the Senior Center on April 18. The board said later that a larger ceremony honoring the two is being organized by the Fire Department and the Council on Aging.

            The Select Board continued until June 3 its public hearings to approve installation of an Eversource utility pole and a new manhole cover on Rounseville Road and a new Verizon utility pole for 198 Clapp Road.

            The board approved the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) agreement that will allow the town to apply for ARPA grants. It then approved Financial Director Suzanne Szyndlar as the grant process’s authorized reporter and town Treasurer Ashling McLoughlin as authorized representative.

            Cannon announced that the state has now approved the Special Town Meeting article passed in January that will allow Scott Weigel to continue as fire chief beyond the mandatory retirement age of 65. Cannon has said the chief wishes to stay on to see the completion of the Public Safety Facility project. The article reads that he may not stay in the position past age 67.

            The Rochester Select Board will meet next at the Annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 13, at 7:00 pm at Rochester Memorial School and reconvene for its regular meeting on Monday, May 20, at 6:00 pm at the Senior Center, 67 Dexter Lane.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

Miracle Mitt Rekindles Long-Lost Love

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Andrew Daniel’s Ray Kinsella moment came from his son rather than his father.

            Eleven years ago, the Marion resident’s son Jackson arrived home from Kindergarten with a flier for youth baseball.

            “He wanted to sign up. My youth baseball in the league didn’t end well, I didn’t enjoy it. I actually hated the game at the end,” recalls Daniel, fighting off emotional moments after throwing out the ceremonial “first ball” for Opening Day of Old Rochester Youth Baseball on Saturday morning at Gifford Park.

            Daniel was publicly recognized for his 11 years of volunteerism and had just thrown the“first ball” to ORRYB President Mike Duarte when he recalled that baseball hadn’t always brought him the joy it has for the past decade.

            As a child, baseball in his mind was anything but a field of dreams, more of a stitch in the gut, a bitter loss lacking resolution.

            “Not a good relationship with the head coach. It just put a nasty taste in my mouth for the rest of my life, and (when Jackson asked) I was like, ‘no, anything but baseball,’” recalled Daniel. “I was struggling between bringing up bad feelings or letting my kid down. And I remember not being able to sleep that night. … I didn’t want to let him down.”

            After all those years, what he thought had faded from memory was suddenly raw all over again.

            “I’m not overly religious, but I needed help with that one,” said Daniel, who prayed. “It wasn’t like it’s the most important decision in the world, but … it was just a tough thing for me. I said, ‘I need a sign.’”

            The next day, Daniel got into his white van that he typically parked at the police station, and on his way to work, he spotted something in the middle of Route 105 near the S-shaped curved in the road. Resting on the yellow divider lines: a men’s size, black, Easton-brand baseball mitt.

            Having pulled over to confirm what his discovery was, Daniel brought the glove to the police station and told them in case anyone reports it missing.

            “If not, I’m going to keep it for the time being, and I still have it today,” said Daniel, who since that day has brought it to the fields as a coach in T-Ball, farm league, minors and majors, having guided minor and major league teams to championship finals.

            For five years, he spent seven days a week on youth baseball, working on field maintenance when there wasn’t a game or a practice.

            “I always tell the parents, ‘I’m not a professional hitting coach, but I spent an extraordinary amount of money on them for my kid, and I paid really good attention,’” said Daniel, who studied the teaching videos and is trying to save baseball parents some of that money by being a sponge for baseball instruction and paying it all forward.

            Freshly retired from his roles in ORRYB, Daniel stills breathes baseball. He now coaches his daughter in softball and is helping coach Babe Ruth League and travel baseball. His son is a freshman playing in the ORR High School program.

            Sharing a laugh with his ORRYB maintenance successor Jim Perry, who of course didn’t realize what he was getting himself into when he volunteered his own time, Daniel hasn’t retired as much as he has redirected his revived passion for America’s pastime. All because someone left a baseball glove on his pathway to work.

            His ORRYB teams never won the championship. The prize was his opportunity to make baseball a positive experience for all those children. But like Shoeless Joe Jackson tells Kinsella at the end of Field of Dreams, Daniel knows it was he who needed that mitt the most and the second chance that came with it.

            “It’s the craziest thing,” he said, “and it’s the biggest blessing.”

ORR Youth Baseball Opening Day

By Mick Colageo

Clue on Stage

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Old Colony’s production of Clue on stage will be this weekend and next weekend. May 10 at 7:00 pm, May 11 at 3:00 and 7:00 pm, May 17 at 7:00 pm, May 18 at 2:00 pm and May 19 at 2:00 pm.

            There are two separate casts for this play. Cast one is this weekend and cast 2 is next weekend.

            There will also be raffle baskets, a concession stand and a 50/50 raffle at all shows. All proceeds benefit the Old Colony Theater Company.