Bill Tilden is not cutting back, rather just cutting the grass.

            The 15-year Old Rochester Regional Director of Athletics is stepping down from that position and switching over to groundskeeper.

            “It’s a natural progression, nobody knows the fields like I do,” said Tilden, who long ago established a local landscaping and irrigation business.

            This return to an old norm comes with a farewell to the endless administrative work of an A.D., a career that eventually bogged down the part he liked the most: coaching. Under 2023-24 circumstances, he will do more of that especially now that Cindy Tilden is taking on a greater role in her full-time job.

            Since 1999, the Tildens have been represented in all three running seasons at ORR, coaching cross country, indoor and then outdoor track and field. A 21st century institution, the husband-wife team will still be at the three-season helm, only in a bit of role reversal.

            “One of the reasons I was willing to do this is it’s usually a seven-to-three job and they’re letting me go six-to-two,” Bill said. “I was still doing track (when I was A.D. beginning in 2008), couldn’t always get there. Now that’s my number-one concern after 2:00.”

            Bill Tilden was named the Eastern Massachusetts Boys Outdoor Track Coach of the Year in 2011 by the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association, and after this year’s run to indoor state championship, the Boston Globe named him Division 4 Boys Coach of the Year.

            During his 15 years as A.D., ORR won nine state championships, including the first state title for girls’ volleyball in 2021 and the golf team’s state championship in 2022. ORR had won just two state titles in the 45 years preceding Tilden’s tenure.

            “‘We Are…OR!’ That was Bill’s favorite school cheer, when really, ‘He is … OR!’ Thank you, Bill, for the last 15 years leading our Athletic Department to amazing heights,” ORRHS Principal Michael Devoll stated in a press release announcing Tilden’s retirement from the job. “Bill embodies greatness and will leave a legacy of both championships and friendships!”

            Tilden’s impact on the school scene was evident in a hallway sendoff given him by students lining ORR’s corridors.

            “That was a surprise, I had everything I could do to not start crying,” he said.

            ORR is in the process of searching for a new athletic director.

            “He’s helped make this a highly-decorated program, while also doing everything he could to support not only our student-athletes, but our school community as a whole,” said ORR Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson of Tilden.

            Taking care of ORR’s fields will be no sleeper of a chore, given their increased usage over recent years.

            “There’s definitely a lot more to it. Facilities and programs, we do like to see the youth groups use it. There’s no other fields in the Tri-Town area that has the full size for games,” Tilden said, identifying lacrosse as a game changer. “I don’t think we ever foresaw that the fields would never get a break. Once you added lacrosse into the spring, you don’t have a recovery season anymore.”

            What he admits he won’t miss are 18-hour days of accessibility to coaches and the parents of student-athletes. Tilden didn’t mention it, but he was also among the most accessible athletic directors to the media.

            “If all I ever had to deal with was the kids, I’d stay,” he said. “I really want to spend more time with my grandkids, and it’s become more time consuming than less.”

            ORR has been through four groundskeepers in the last three years so Tilden will bring more stability to his new job. Knowing the schedules and seasons before the preseason requests come in, his institutional knowledge will take that preparation a step further.

            And if advice is needed in the Athletics office?

            “I’m not too far away if there are any questions,” he said.

By Mick Colageo

            Something of extreme importance took place on June 17 at the Plumb Library in Rochester: a third Little Free Diverse Library was dedicated.

            It had been the hope and dream of the founders of Tri-Town Against Racism to erect these precious little bastions of inclusion and diversity in the form of the popular little libraries in each of the towns of Marion (Old Landing), Mattapoisett (Ned’s Point Lighthouse) and finally Rochester (at the steps of the library.) Now three little libraries stand for freedom of expression for all people, regardless of their color or gender identification. And what better way to christen the tiny but mighty structure than to couple it with a Juneteenth celebration.

            There were guest speakers, there was entertainment and there were refreshments all appropriate to the occasion. Yet seeing a young man of color speak so assuredly and with presence on the meaning of the Juneteenth flag design was inspiring.

            The dedication ceremony capped the celebration that began with 10-year-old Trevor Brown, Jr. explaining the design of the Juneteenth flag. The young man said that the solid white star represents the state of Texas, a place in which enslaved people finally received confirmation that slavery had been abolished two years after it was granted. June 19, 1865, became Juneteenth and would eventually become a U.S. holiday in June 2021.

            Brown said that the starburst (described by some as a nova encircling the solid white star) stands for new beginnings and the colors of red, white and blue for the American flag with the arc representing horizons for people of color.

            You could say that the Rochester event covered two moments in national and local history, not only the erection of a third Little Free Diverse Library but the organized celebration of Juneteenth. The two blended perfectly on this day.

            While Alison Noyce, a founding member of TTAR, told the assembled that the group had been organized by parents concerned that their children were being racially bullied in school, she expressed joy that a few years later progress has been made in highlighting difficulties some children face in local public schools and the lack of diverse literature that young readers need. In a follow up she also noted, “There is still work to be done.”

            As for Juneteenth many, including people of color, are still learning about its importance in the history of our country. Sometimes referred to as the second Independence Day, Juneteenth’s history remains a work in process.

            Well documented are the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863. But that document didn’t immediately free the 3,000,000 enslaved persons across the divided nation. Only slaves in Confederate states were being deemed “freed.” It would take more time for the federal government to ratify Amendment 13. Ratification would take place on December 6, 1865. The economic and social fabric of states dependent on slave labor remained a contentious point.

            Guest speaker Leon E. Correy III, Fairhaven Select Board member, told of his early struggles in finding his way to a life that would make his family proud. He is the first person of color to hold office in Fairhaven, and Correy is appreciative that the community supported his bid for a seat at the table.

            Correy said he and his family has lived in other local communities, but several incidents that left his daughter feeling like an outsider caused the father to seek a more welcoming community. The Correys found that in Fairhaven, he shared.

            Many of Correy’s comments spoke to the struggles he faced as a youth in Providence, the loss of his mother at an early age, and that fact that his stature (as a football player) placed him in the crosshairs of all types of thugs and bullies. He said he didn’t aspire to be the smart kid. “I wanted to be the cool kid,” he said.

            One of his teachers told him he was “… wasted potential.” Correy would turn that all around as he matured, going on to a placement at Boston College in their mathematics program.

            Of Juneteenth, Correy said that if parents knew about it, they told their children, but otherwise that piece of history – both black history and the country’s history – was not discussed. For him, Juneteenth is part of an overall movement. He said there are three distinct parts: 1) the fight for freedom which has taken place; 2) civil rights which has taken place but continues to expand; and 3) equity, possibly the hardest part to secure.

            Correy said he didn’t want reparations, which he believed would be nearly impossible to do, but that equity, so that people of color could strive to their own given potential, is critical. To do so, “We need to stop fighting each other,” he said.

            Correy went on to say, “We are coming from different places. We want what we earned by the challenges we have faced.”

             And so imagine, if you will, living in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. It’s just another day of hard labor when 2,000 Union soldiers arrive carrying life-changing news – freedom! What jubilation those people must have felt. Since that time, cities and towns especially in Texas have annual celebrations, parades, community picnics and general celebratory recognition that a government “by the people, and for the people” needs to include all the people.

By Marilou Newell

            I wish everyone could row a boat, go sailing, smell the ocean, or feel what it’s like to lose sight of land and find the place you were looking for at the end of navigating an impartial and unforgiving ocean. I also very much wish everyone, everyone, could visit a boat shop. Almost all of you here today in person and watching this livestream have … even though they might not have stepped foot in one.

            It’s never been enough for me to do something and keep it to myself. After getting summarily kicked out of Mystic Seaport for having filmed a little bit of Mayflower II’s 3-inch-thick planking coming out of a steam box and going in, after thinking my verbal press credentials from WoodenBoat Magazine would do just fine to traipse on board, I called my dad and said that maybe I had gone too far. Maybe I felt a little too entitled or privileged and had overstepped somewhere. “No, Anne Marie,” he said, “that’s what you do. You show people special things they couldn’t have seen if you weren’t there.”

            That is what we do here. That’s what we’re really preparing for you every week. It’s what goes through my head every time I pick up the camera. We’ve sought to bring into the shop with us … and not just the shop, but through the experience of problem solving, the challenge of learning something new at a time of life at which we thought we’d already have everything figured out, and the reminder that slow, steady progress leads somewhere good. We haven’t taught anyone how to build a boat. We’ve shared a journey, and you’ve supported the telling of a story.

            But Steve doesn’t know how to sail. Well, friends, he didn’t know exactly how to build a boat, either. Sure, this isn’t a common way to come to the water: to build a boat and to have your very first sail aboard that same boat is, at best, very rare. Steve knows and wants deeply this unique opportunity, and so kept it as a goal despite people telling him how they came to the water, and that it’s definitely the right way. All of us sailors got aboard some boat at some time that was our first, why not have Steve aboard this boat, a proven design, surrounded by friends who are so glad to continue sharing their knowledge with him and all of you, too?

            I would ask that you please look at this boat and remember this boatbuilder, back when he had tree-felling experience and building chops but nothing in his past specific to building boats. He was told he couldn’t do it. Told he maybe *shouldn’t* do it. Observe keenly that he didn’t exhibit some rugged individualism in any of it: he invited a dear friend immediately and continued the trend as our crew changed and grew. And then, as you look at this new sailor in front of you, and when you leave here today, meeting anyone with beginner’s eyes hopeful for support and encouragement, that you, too, will become the friends who removed barriers. Or who, at least, didn’t build them.

            Espouse the humility to be new at something. Be astounded and stare deeply at your curiosity.

            Encourage beginners at every age. A lot of people comment that they really admire Aaron’s part in all of this: He was invited. Intergenerational friendships like the one Steve and he share are crucial. Please mentor, cheerlead, and share abundance if you have it. I began my journey on the water at 32, and dedicate the pride I feel today for my part in this to my parents, for seeing and empowering who I am, and to Dr. John Pearson, who provided the warmest of welcomes and an encouraging mentorship when I got started in boats.

            While I have your attention, I’d like to say a few other things before I give up this microphone and introduce my dear friend, Steve:

            1. Wooden boats are not dead, and they are not dying. We have a vibrant community and there are many more YouTube channels who deserve your attention and support. There are also a lot of boat shops and sailors operating without video departments, because they’re busy enough building boats or sailing and maintaining them. I plan to tell you more about those soon: I’ll shine a light on them in some videos.

            2. Yes, we have had short-term volunteers, but all of our staff is paid. If we live in a world where experiences such as this one are essentially, since they are unpaid, only offered to people of great means, or who are retired with spare time, we are squandering the potential of deserving young people just starting out and working class folks who cannot and should not work for free.

            3. And finally, please seek out your local maritime museum and join it. Seek out WoodenBoat magazine and subscribe. These museums and journalists are true keepers of the sort of information we convey every week, but they have a full spectrum of experience, artifacts, and access to on-the-water experience that welcomes new people like Steve and some of our crew who are coming to the water.

            We are so proud to host you today. Thank you for honoring us with your presence and your support. Have a wonderful day with us today. And be sure to talk to some strangers, you all have so much in common with each other.

Editor’s note: Anne Bryant, a multi-talented journalist, sailor, entrepreneur and member of Steve Denette’s “A2A” team, addressed the many drenched people who gathered on June 17 to witness the official launch of the sailboat Arabella into Mattapoisett Harbor. Below are her remarks to the crowd immediately prior to the launch.