Run Like a Mother 5K

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A mother’s mental and physical strength is so important to celebrate and support. This Mother’s Day, celebrate the strong women in your life with the Run Like a Mother 5K in Mattapoisett at 8:30 am on Sunday, May 12. While celebrating, you’ll also be supporting mothers in their postpartum journey. All registration proceeds will directly benefit mothers who may be struggling with postpartum depression or a lack of a support system in Southcoast Massachusetts, through gift cards and donations to local programs. Registration is $40 and may be made on line at Runlikeamother5k.weebly.com.

            Men, women and children of all ages are encouraged to register. This is all about having fun, empowering each other and enjoying Mattapoisett’s beautiful scenery, but there’s also a bit of friendly competition. The top three finishers of each age category will be awarded medals. Don’t forget our special stroller division. We’re Running Like a Mother this May 12.

            Run Like a Mother 5K is an organization created by Mattapoisett mother of four, Jennifer Pease who found mental and physical strength through running, especially with her fellow mom friends in Mattapoisett. On their early morning runs (because that’s how you Run Like a Mother), they’d brainstorm how to share this passion with others while supporting new mothers on their postpartum journey – a cause dear to all of their hearts. The hope is that this will become a cherished tradition in Mattapoisett each Mother’s Day while making a real difference in the lives of others.

Mattapoisett Congregational Church Scholarship

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The Mattapoisett Congregational Church Memorials and Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the winners of our 2024 scholarship awards. We had applications from 16 area students, all with impressive scholastic achievements.

            Rylie Coughlin, a student at Old Rochester Regional High School, is the recipient of the $2,500 Dagmar Coquillette Scholarship; Jaymison Gunschel, a student at Old Rochester Regional High School, is the recipient of the $2,500 Memorial Scholarship.

            We have also awarded a $1,000 Memorial Scholarship to Sophia Meninno, a student at Bishop Stang.

ORR Facilities

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Dear Editor

            As the Mattapoisett representative on the ORR Facilities Subcommittee for four years, with over 20 years of engineering experience, I must address a critical matter concerning our district schools and community. Our recent subcommittee meetings rigorously reviewed a bond proposal for essential repairs and maintenance of school infrastructure, particularly focusing on HVAC systems crucial for optimal learning environments.

            Six exhaustive meetings, including facility tours, meticulously scrutinized every detail of the proposed improvements, emphasizing transparency and accessibility of information with a breakdown of evaluated systems available via the School Committee Website. The proactive nature of this bond is paramount, aiming to address aging infrastructure before costly emergencies disrupt education and strain finances.

            Consider the scenario of a sudden HVAC system failure during the school year, a critical component of health and safety – the repercussions would extend far beyond mere inconvenience. Lost learning days for our students and the logistical challenges faced by parents in arranging alternative childcare options serve as stark reminders of the urgency of our proactive approach.

            Regrettably, there have been instances of misinformation circulating within our community. This challenge was further compounded by a lack of representation at the recent Mattapoisett select board meeting, as I was not invited to attend to discuss this matter. Open communication and collaboration are vital in matters that impact our community, and it is disheartening to witness a lack of inclusion in such discussions. As your representative, I am committed to providing truthful, accurate information and welcome any concerns or questions directly.

Frances-Feliz Kearns

Old Rochester Regional School Committee

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.

Rochester Corrects Ballots

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The Rochester Town Clerk’s Office is aware of errors on the specimen ballot that was recently released for the Annual Town Election to be held on Wednesday, May 22, 2024

To correct the errors the following actions have been taken:

  1. New ballots have been ordered and will be available for use on Election Day.
  2. To those voters who requested and were mailed early voting ballots, we are mailing out instructions as to how to proceed.  New, corrected ballots will be mailed in the next few days, if requested.
  3. Any voter who requested and Early Voting Ballot and has not returned it, they may choose to vote in person on Election Day.

We apologize for any confusion that was caused because of this oversight.  The integrity of this and every election is our highest priority, and we are confident that the actions we have taken will protect the voters of our community.

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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.