Academic Achievements

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The College of Charleston recently awarded the following local students undergraduate and graduate degrees at its Spring 2025 commencement: Jack Howard of Marion, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Alexandria Strand of Marion, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication.

            Stonehill College is pleased to recognize the students named to the Spring 2025 Dean’s List which includes: Maxwell Brulport of Rochester, Eden Craig of Marion, Caitlin Sweeney of Marion, Matthew Curry of Mattapoisett, Hannah Squires of Mattapoisett, Andrew Poulin of Rochester, Martha Savage of Mattapoisett, John Higgins of Mattapoisett, Anna Pereira of Rochester, and Allison Winters of Rochester.

            College of Charleston congratulates Zoe Graizzaro of Marion majoring in Management and John Butler of Mattapoisett majoring in Economics and Finance who were named to the President’s List for Spring 2025.

            Jack Howard, of Marion, was named to the College of Charleston Spring 2025 Dean’s List. Howard is majoring in Finance

            William Vachon of Mattapoisett, graduated with a Master of Business Administration from Nichols College during the College’s May 3, 2025, commencement exercises

            The University of Hartford is pleased to announce that Jay Carrillo of Marion has been named to the University of Hartford’s Dean’s List for the spring 2025 semester.

            The following undergraduate students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) were named to the university’s spring 2025 Dean’s List:

            Chaz Aguiar from Mattapoisett, class of 2027, majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

            Rudy Arsenault from Mattapoisett, class of 2027, majoring in Robotics Engineering.

            Rachel Foye from Rochester, class of 2025, majoring in Data Science.

            Annabell Nestler of Kottmar (Walddorf) achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA during the spring 2025 semester, earning a spot on the Provost’s List at Hofstra University. Annabell’s major is Pre-Health.

Mattapoisett Yacht Club Race Results

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Tuesday Night Ensign races were held in light air with threatening rain. Once again there was a battle for first place that resulted with a tie breaker. Brou ha ha, again won the second race and thereby won the tie breaker this time over Odyssey. The two boats are now also tied for the June series with 4 races to go.

Complete Ensign results:

Race 1: 1. Odyssey, Uncle Fester, 3. Brou ha ha, 4. Brass Monkey, 5. Black Ice

Race 2: 1. Brou ha ha, 2. Brass Monke, 3. Odyssey, 4. Uncle Fester, 5. Black Ice

            Wednesday Night PHRF Series, Class A: No Quarter Given again led the A fleet to victory followed by Restless, Wired, Surprise, and Coconuts.

            In the B class it was Fir Na Tine winning with Chickadee second and Kinsail third.

Mattapoisett Library Artist Series

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The Mattapoisett Free Public Library Artist Series presents Paintings and Prints by Jim Parker. The exhibition, entitled “Ships and Shipbuilding from Mattapoisett and the SouthCoast,” runs from July 1 to July 31.

            Come to the Mattapoisett Free Public Library Artist Series Exhibit by Sandwich folk artist Jim Parker. Both prints and original paintings will be displayed at the library between July 1 and July 31. Parker’s work displays sailing ships, barks, brigs, and schooners built in towns from Dartmouth to Cape Cod. The paintings include vessels built in Mattapoisett, Russells Mills, Westport, Somerset, Fairhaven, Marion, and Buzzards Bay. This series of paintings reflects the history and beauty of the SouthCoast. Parker received his B.A. from Syracuse and attended Naval Training Schools in CA and RI. He served as the gunnery officer on the USS Hugh Purvis. Parker has completed artwork for more than 30 museums, historical societies, and government groups. He has produced over 500 historic paintings of many areas in the U.S. including Cape Cod and the Islands. This exhibit is free and open to all.

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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In one of the Rochester Journals that we have for sale at the museum, there is an excerpt from the memoirs of J. Augustus Johnson who was born in Boston in 1836. Though he was born in the city, Augustus and his family spent many of his younger years in Rochester. His mother, Mary, was a member of the Burges family and a descendant of Joseph Burge who built the first gristmill for grinding corn near Leonard’s Pond.

            In his memoirs, he wrote about the festivities that surrounded both Election Day and Muster Day. On both days, townspeople gathered. There were “booths and games” and a general air of holiday. It was a “gala day for young people.”

            Johnson wrote that the town’s boys had “great fun” playing in the area of the town hall. One game that he had particularly enjoyed was called ” hailey over”. As you can see from the picture the town hall at that time was only one-story high which made it perfect for this game.

            The boys, usually around ten, would divide into two teams with one team on each side of the building where they were invisible to each other. One boy would throw a handball over the roof. If a boy on the opposite side caught the ball “he would run around the corner and then throw the ball at the rival gang.” If he hit a boy, that boy would have to “join the ranks of the enemy.”

            This would go on with the handball going back and forth over the roof until one side had completely captured the others. According to Johnson, “the running and shouting and the exercise and the fluctuating victory or loss made the game exhilarating and an event of the day”.

            To think in today’s world Dodge Ball is considered too rough.

By Connie Eshbach

Family Compound Planned off North Street

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            The June 16 meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board was brief. While there were a number of complex matters listed on the night’s agenda, Chair Tom Tucker opted to table most until member John Mathieu could be present.

            One item, however, discussed at length, was an informal discussion regarding a family compound planned off North Street at the end of Shady Oak Drive.

            As outlined by Matt Leone of Schneider, Davignon & Leone Inc., Dennis Mahoney, the property owner, will sell four residential lots off 182 North Street to Steven Cabral, whose plans include four homes at the end of Shady Oak Drive, a cul-de-sac.

            Leone said that the property qualifies for a Special Residential Development, given that it contains sufficient area for setbacks and frontage requirements. Discussions included possible waivers the board will need to rule on, including a planned, 20-foot-wide, 644-foot, private-entrance roadway located off an existing cul-de-sac.

            Stormwater drainage systems were touched on with Leone saying a detention basin is planned.

            Tucker noted that the only hitch in the plan as presented might be the length of the private roadway.

            Other matters tabled to a later date were discussions regarding the drafts for accessory dwellings and a new cottage house bylaw, as well as recommendations on the Roadway Acceptance Procedure.

            The board selected Nathan Ketchel as its representative on the Recreation and Open Space Committee.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for Wednesday, June 25.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

Juneteenth on the Southcoast

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Thursday, June 19 marks the 4th year Juneteenth has been celebrated as a national holiday in the United States. The day celebrates the final emancipation of slaves in Texas and the general enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in all reaches of the country. Though the Civil War ended on May 26, 1865, the last slaves were liberated a few weeks later on June 19, 1865. The 13th Amendment was passed on December 18, thus firmly ending the barbaric practice.

            On the Southcoast and in Massachusetts as a whole, slavery fell out of practice earlier on and was formerly abolished in 1783 following a legal suit put forward by enslaved American Quock Walker, who stated his enslavement violated the 1780 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Article I, that states “All men are born free and equal and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.” Walker was granted freedom, as well as any others still enslaved in the state. In 1792, the settlement of Parting Ways was established outside Plymouth by former slaves who fought for independence.

            The area would become a haven for refugees of the South and a central staging post of operations conducted by the Underground Railroad to liberate the oppressed. The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society was based in Boston but held large influence in New Bedford given the city’s status as an important port and convergence of those freed from the South, notably Frederick Douglass. In his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,

an American Slave (1845), he states, “I had somehow imbibed the opinion that, in the absence of slaves, there could be no wealth, and very little refinement. And upon coming to the north, I expected to meet with a rough, hard‐handed, and uncultivated population, living in the most Spartan-like simplicity, knowing nothing of the ease, luxury, pomp, and grandeur of southern slaveholders. Such being my conjectures, anyone acquainted with the appearance of New Bedford may very readily infer how palpably I must have seen my mistake. In the afternoon of the day when I reached New Bedford, I visited the wharves, to take a view of the shipping. Here I found myself surrounded with the strongest proof of wealth.”

            The Southcoast had become a refuge, and even through the fight for Civil Rights through the 20th century, it remained so. Juneteenth provides us with the opportunity to reflect on the past and grapple with the facts that these injustices did not occur so long ago and they did not occur so far off.

            The Little Free Diverse Library was unveiled in Rochester’s Plumb Library just before Juneteenth, 2023. This year, hosted by the library, Marcus Coward, human rights commissioner, Sunday school teacher, Army veteran, and New Bedford native, will participate in a celebration and talk at Ned’s Point at 3:00 pm.

By Sam Bishop

Sippican Woman’s Club Scholarship Awards

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The Sippican Woman’s Club of Marion Awards $14,000 in Scholarships to Marion Residents. The Sippican Woman’s Club is pleased to announce that it has awarded $11,000 in scholarships to graduating high school seniors who reside in Marion. In addition, $3,000 has been awarded in continuing educations scholarships to residents of Marion enrolled in a post-secondary college/university. The funds used to award these scholarships come from the money raised during the club’s annual Holiday House Tour that is held in early December.

            The following five high school seniors were the recipients of the graduating senior scholarships: from Old Rochester Regional High School: Ella Bartholomew (Boston University), Elizabeth Houdelette (Springfield College), Gavin Martin (University of New England), and Emily Wyman (Boston College) and from Tabor Academy: Katelyn Craig (Smith College). Also, Emily Wyman from Old Rochester Regional was the recipient of the Lu Chevrier Award. This award goes to a graduating senior who wants to teach or has taught in some manner (such as tutoring or helping another student.) This award honors Lu Chevrier who was the President of the club for 3 years from 1996-1999.

            The following eight Marion residents were the recipients of the continuing education scholarships: Kate Feeney (Elon University), Sydney Feeney (University of Connecticut), Jacksen Martin (Johnson & Wales), Laura Pardo (College of the Holy Cross), Lauren Rapoza (Salve Regina University), Marianna Sudofsky (University of Washington-Seattle), Mason Tucker (University of Hartford) and Maxwell Tucker (University of Connecticut). The Alice Ryder Book Award has been presented to the highest-ranking 8th grade English student from Marion at Old Rochester Regional Junior High School. This year’s recipient is Sophie Zhou. Sophie received a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble. Alice Ryder served as President of the Sippican Woman’s Club three separate terms – 1922-1925, 1940-1944 and 1946-1948. Alice also authored the book ‘Lands of Sippican’, which tells of the history of when Marion, Rochester and Mattapoisett were one community known as Rochester.

            The Sippican Woman’s Club is an active non-profit woman’s organization whose mission is threefold: social, educational and humanitarian. The Sippican Woman’s Club welcomes women of Marion or women with an interest in Marion to join our club. For more information on the club, please refer to our website: www.sippicanwomansclub.org.

5th Annual NolanFest

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In the summer of 2020, our community lost a gifted young musical artist, Nolan Gibbons. To celebrate his love of music, theater, and the arts, The Nolan Gibbons Memorial Fund (NGMF) is hosting the 5th Annual NolanFest on June 28 at Silvershell Beach in Marion from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

            Come enjoy live performances from across the country, delicious food from local food trucks, unique vendor booths, and more. This year, we’re thrilled to welcome back to the main stage a cappella group, Hyannis Sound. Also joining us this year are saxophonist Marcus Monteiro, The Showstoppers, New Bedford Festival Theatre, Break a Leg Theatre, several of our scholarship recipients, and more.

            The event’s popular raffle is making a much-anticipated return along with the ukulele tent, and an expanded lineup of vendor tables. NolanFest is a free community event and serves as a fundraiser for The NGMF. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets, and consider making a donation to support the fund’s mission.

            “Since our founding in 2022, NGMF has awarded over $50,000 in grants and scholarships to young and emerging artists. We are so grateful to all of our donors and sponsors who make that possible and help to keep NolanFest a free event. This is how we keep Nolan with us and honor his memory by celebrating and supporting.

Concern over Unified Dispatching Center

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            Rochester’s Select Board Monday expressed a lot of concerns as it reviewed the soon-to-be-renewed Inter-Municipal Agreement with the Regional Old Colony Communications Center (ROCCC) that, since 2017, has placed the town’s public safety dispatching services in Duxbury.

            What would the Rochester Police and Fire departments do without ROCCC’s services, given that Rochester does not have its own dispatching equipment? That was the main concern as Town Administrator Cameron Durant and the board discussed new language regarding the town’s responsibilities should the regional system go down or lose funding.

            That language says the town must be responsible for its own dispatching system if the ROCCC system goes down. “Where do we dispatch from if ROCCC is down?” Select Board member Paul Ciaburri responded. “We need a Plan B?”

            “It would be a logistical nightmare,” Police Chief Michael Assad said. He noted the town police station no longer has dispatching equipment. The department has a “shift phone” that allows an officer to communicate with ROCCC in an emergency but explained that would not be an efficient second plan. He speculated that Marion or Mattapoisett could be where Rochester’s dispatching calls go. But then the town would need its own agreement(s) with those neighboring towns.

            A greater problem would be having trained personnel to man town dispatching equipment, Chair Adam Murphy pointed out. Murphy noted another clause in the agreement stating that the town should have dispatching equipment from grant funding it received. “We never got that console or that funding,” he complained.

            “We’d have to budget it if we had to have it,” Durant said. The board ended discussion by agreeing to set up a meeting with ROCCC officials to discuss these concerns.

            The Duxbury-based ROCCC handles the 911 calls, police, fire, and EMS dispatching for the towns of Duxbury, Plympton, Halifax, Rochester, Hanson, and Hanover. Rochester joined the center in January 2017.

            In other action, the board signed the contract for the construction of the new Police Department jail cell. Kneeland Construction of Medford was the winning low bidder at $139,000. Durant reported, however, that a Town Meeting appropriation put aside only $129,000 for the project. He said he is considering using $20,000 appropriated at Town Meeting to establish a Facilities Management reserve account for this shortfall but will look at other ways within the FY25 budget as well.

            The board approved changes to the town’s Senior Work-Off Program proposed by Council on Aging Director Eric Poulin.

            Seniors unable to pay their property-tax levy will be eligible for the program if their earnings are 80% of median household income and they are among the first 25 to apply. First come, first served. All applications will be handled by the COA.

            Durant proposed a staff liaison be appointed to the Park Commission. “Someone to respond to the day-to-day responsibilities of the Commission,” he explained. He said what the commission oversees daily, such as fees and rentals maintains, needs some oversight. The board concluded it would set up a meeting with the new commission to discuss this idea.

            The board accepted the resignation of Rochester Police Department officer Elijah Vicente-Roberts.

            The board appointed Dennis McCarthy, a Zoning Board of Appeals associate member, to the Public Safety Facility Building Committee.

            The board announced the town has received the SEMASS Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) amount of $343,082 for this month.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Select Board is scheduled for Monday, July 7 at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

Marion First Responders Rescue Three

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Police Chief Richard Nighelli and Fire Chief Brian Jackvony report that their departments cooperated to rescue three people after their boat capsized in Buzzards Bay in the early afternoon on Wednesday, June 11.

            Marion’s emergency dispatchers received a 911 call reporting that three individuals fell in the water after their boat capsized at 12:46 pm near Bird Island.

            Upon arrival, personnel from the Harbormaster Department, which is recognized under the Marion Police Department, observed three individuals in the water, all wearing life vests, before safely removing them from the water and bringing them aboard Harbormaster Patrol Boat MH-1. Acquisition of the patrol boat was approved by residents at the annual 2024 Marion Town Meeting.

            Once safely onboard, Harbormaster personnel immediately began administering first aid and started assessing the individuals for injuries. All three individuals were then transported to the Marion Town Dock, where personnel from Marion EMS and the Marion Fire Department took over, providing further evaluation and additional medical care.

            Two of the individuals from the capsized boat were brought to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

            The air temperature was in the low 70s at the time of the incident, and the water temperature was 65.3 degrees at the time of the rescue.

            After safely removing the three individuals from the water, the Mattapoisett Harbormaster Department also assisted with recovery operations, retrieving belongings lost as a result of the boat capsizing.

            “I would like to thank our Harbormaster personnel for their prompt response, quickly rescuing these three individuals and bringing them back to shore, making sure they received proper medical treatment,” said Police Chief Nighelli. “If not for fast-acting rescue personnel, this situation could have easily turned tragic. Even as we approach the summer season, hypothermia is a very real potential danger whenever someone falls from a craft into coastal waters.”

            “These swift, coordinated efforts between the Marion and Mattapoisett Harbormasters, Marion EMS, and Marion Fire Department ensured a safe rescue of all occupants, and no further injuries or navigation hazards have been reported,” said Harbormaster Murphy.

            The incident remains under review.

            As boating season ramps up, Harbormaster Murphy asked that members of the public take extra precautions when they take to the waters.

            “I’d like to use this occasion as a reminder to everyone to always use the proper safety equipment when you go out boating,” Harbormaster Murphy said. “Always wear a personal floatation device at all times while on the water. Please, stay safe and always be prepared in case of an emergency. If you have any further questions about safety requirements, please call the Marion Harbormaster Department.”

            Anyone who has questions about safety requirements can contact the Marion Harbormaster Department at 508-748-3535.