Spice Up Your Life at the Mattapoisett Library

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Register now for a spice blending workshop hosted by library staff on Saturday, November 5 at 2:00 pm. Discover how to create your own spice blends. We’ll provide spices and containers for three different combinations: mulling spices, Chinese Five-Spice powder and Herbes de Provence. Pick up a list of resources to learn about crafting your own unique blends at home. Spice blends also make great holiday and special occasion gifts. Registration is required as space will be limited.

            Also for foodies and cooks, the Cookbook Club meets on Tuesday, November 15 at 6:30 pm. This month’s selection is Ottolenghi Simple: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi. Contact Mskaar@sailsinc.org with any questions.

            For more information about these programs, contact the library at (508) 758-4171 or email mfpl@sailsinc.org to register.

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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In the earliest days of Rochester, laws for the town were made at Proprietors’ meetings held in Plymouth, but as time passed, the meetings were held in Rochester. When the town was incorporated on June 4, 1686 under the name of Rochester-town in New England, laws began to be made by the freemen who made up town meeting. At some point, selectmen filled the role of lawmakers, and the earliest recorded names were Aaron Barlow, Samuel White and Samuel Hammond.

            We all know that life was very different in those early days than the life we live today, but certain things really bring that knowledge home, and some early laws did that for me. There were a variety of laws that addressed animal pests, which included foxes, squirrels, a variety of birds, as well as the occasional wildcat or wolf.

            In 1706, each householder was required by law to bring in proof that he had killed 4 crows and 12 blackbirds or he would be fined two pence for each blackbird and sixpence for each crow that he failed to turn in. In 1738, the ante was raised, and each male”21 years old” had to provide proof that he had killed “6 crowbill blackbirds or bluebirds or 4 squirrel or 2 crows all well grown”. At this time, failure to do so meant 2 shillings added to next year’s taxes.

            I must admit I’m not thrilled when crows and starlings overwhelm my bird feeder, but I’m glad not to have to kill any of them, but then I’m not a farmer trying to protect his crops.

By Connie Eshbach

Roots of Halloween

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Largely forgotten after 200 years of writing, Washington Irving has a literary legacy that digs down deep in children dressing up in costume to collect treats from door to door in their neighborhood.

            The tradition of spooky appearance has an origin in Irving’s classic creations of “Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” as well as “The Headless Horseman.” Each of the famous examples of his ghostly fiction leads up to the modern-day tradition of Halloween.

            Irving’s main superstitious character in his creative plot is a country schoolteacher by the name of Ichabod Crane, who is courting the daughter of a wealthy farmer hoping to receive a large inheritance. His main rival for her affection is a rash horseman who likes to play tricks on the schoolmaster. Late one night, Ichabod is riding home from a party at his lady friend’s home when he is frightened by a ghostly Headless Horseman that chases him home. The horseman hurls at Ichabod a round object taken for his head that turns out to be a pumpkin, as in my illustration.

            Ichabod is so frightened he left town and was never seen there again. Another resident and victim in Sleepy Hollow was Rip Van Winkle, who famously fell asleep there for years and years and finally woke up to find around him a changed, unfamiliar world. Even his own dog has been replaced by a strange looking cur. Even his own dog doesn’t see, to remember who he is.

            His falling asleep in Sleepy Hollow is a very popular situation in children’s imagination and today inspires Halloween participants dressing in costume for making their rounds to poke fun at the ridiculous situation.

            Washington Irving was a boy who got his name after George Washington, who in 1769 had been inaugurated President after winning the colonial war for freedom from England. At the same time, Washington Irving devoted his creative ability to achieve freedom of thought in literature, which would for children dig deeply into the legacy of annually demonstrating Halloween in their neighborhood.

By George B. Emmons

Mattapoisett Halloween Parade Results

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The Mattapoisett Police Department annual Halloween parade and costume contest on Halloween night was a spectacular event. There were so many elaborate costumes which made judging by Town Administrator Michael Lorenco, Old Hammondtown School Principal Kevin Tavares and School Resource Officer Lima extremely difficult. Thank You to all for all the generous donations.

            A huge thanks to all the Police Officers, supporting personnel and departments (Fire Department, Highway Department, Center School and Richard Leblanc) that make this event possible. Thank you all for your participation, and we look forward to seeing you next year. The following are the winners for 2022:

            Preschool/Kindergarten

3rd, 3 Little Pigs – Ned, Cedar and Hammond Maloney,

2nd, Scarecrow – Josephine Frade

1st, Backhoe – Travis Knutsen

            Grades 1-3

3rd, Day of the Dead – Brinley Roberts

2nd, Robot – Peter Keegan

1st, NASA – Charlie Sullivan

            Grades 4-6

3rd, Traffic Cone – Hannah Gomes

2nd, The Claw – Caitlin Porter

1st, Maleficent – Maiten Tavares

            Jr. High School

3rd, Pirates – Abby Fortin, Maisie Mclacklan – Post, Isabel Govoni, Isabel Marujo, Gianna Anunzlato

2nd, Inside Out – Grace Victoria, Sarah Duane

1st, Kraft Cheese – Zoe Vankuran

            High School

3rd, Basketball Player – Emilia Cantwell

2nd, Mechanic – Jessie Girouard

1st, Toy Story – Carly Mello, Hadley King, Andi Derig

            Adults

3rd, Jabba Walkers – Doug and Christina Motta

2nd, Woody – Peter Lebrun

1st, Ghost Buster – Andy Apperson, Liz Sherry

            Scariest:

3rd, It Clown – Jackson Potter

2nd,The Rake – Luke Cameron

1st, Witch Doctor – Freeman Bauer

Julia Deane (Jay) Crowley

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Julia Deane (Jay) Crowley, age 100, of Marion MA, Jay Crowley (1997 Wanderer Keel Award Winner) passed away on October 17, 2022, after a long and active life. Jay was born in Beijing, China, to Julia (Coolidge) and Frederick Deane and grew up in Boston and Marion MA. She graduated from the Winsor School in 1940 and Radcliffe College in 1943 completing her BA in American Government in three years. During WWII she worked for the Office of War Information, first in New York, then in South Africa. Married in 1948 to Thomas T. Crowley (d. 2001) of Cambridge MA, she raised four children and was actively involved in the various communities where they lived, including London England, Sewickley PA, Montreal Canada, Milan Italy, Villanova PA, South Hadley MA, finally settling in Marion MA.

            Jay’s life centered around her family, extended family and her community. She spent much time on the water sailing with her husband and children, as well as supporting the Beverly Yacht Club Junior Sailing Program. She volunteered for numerous organizations, including as lifelong long volunteer of the League of Women Voters, and helped publish the Blue Book, a community phonebook for Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester. She loved working with the children of Marion and helped found Volunteers at Sippican Elementary School (VASE) participating herself as a library volunteer, executive board member and volunteer coordinator for almost two decades. Also for the Sippican School Library she organized volunteers for Reading is Fundamental, and created a reading aloud program for kindergartners and their parents. In 1988 she was elected to the Marion Planning Board and served for the next 23 years. She was a fierce advocate for waterfront protection and development that would preserve and enhance the character of the town. In 2000 Jay received The Sippican Historical Society Annual Award for Dedicated Service to Marion. In later years, she served on the on the Marion Tree Committee and participated in the Bible Study Group at St. Gabriel’s Church.

            She is survived by: her son John Crowley and spouse Kay Smith, Arlington VA; daughter Julia Parmentier and spouse Marc, Foster RI; son Thomas Crowley and spouse Gretchen, Annapolis MD; and son Ralph Crowley and spouse Sylvia Wang, New York, NY; and grandchildren, Julia Crowley, Anne Elise Parmentier, Eleanor Parmentier, Thomas Deane Crowley, Kelly Crowley, James Crowley, and Meriel Crowley-Wang.

            A Celebration of Life for family and friends will be held at a later date. Donations in memory of Jay can be made to VASE, 16 Spring St, Marion MA 02738 and to St Gabriel’s Church, PO Box 545 Marion Ma 02738, attn Outreach.

ATM Location Remains Unsettled

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            Rockland Trust and its customers will have to wait until at least mid-November to know if one of its ATM drive-up/walk-up kiosks will be built in the Plumb Corner mall parking lot.

            After hearing and voicing multiple objections to where it is being placed, the Rochester Planning Board continued its October 25 public hearing into the site-plan-review and permit application for the ATM’s construction to November 10.

            Bill Madden of G.A.F. Engineering, Rockland Trust’s design consultant, described the project as a 7×13-foot kiosk on an 8×19-foot concrete foundation that will take up two parking spots to the side of the landscaped island in front of Friends’ Marketplace. While the kiosk is being built, the site will be enveloped in a construction fence and a straw compost waddle that will control runoff, Madden said.

            Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson started the objections by noting the proposed work area “won’t work for the 53-foot trailer trucks that cannot make the swing to cut around there for deliveries.”

            “Why place it there?” board member Chris Silveira asked.

            Madden and Rockland Trust representative Stephen Carroll said they toured the plaza with mall owner Sophia Darras and agreed this was the spot where she wanted it placed. The company’s ATM currently inside the village mall building is being relocated, Carroll said in a previous meeting, because of the awkwardness of having to walk through the Countryside Day Care facility to service the equipment.

            On Tuesday night, Carroll said Rockland Trust would like to begin construction as soon as possible and open the ATM for business by the end of the year.

            Johnson said, if that’s the case, Rockland Trust needs its own snow-removal plan because its location stymies where plow operators clear and deposit the plaza’s snow.

            Friends’ Marketplace manager Rob Ciardi complained the kiosk is being built “right in front of store. We are the busiest business in the plaza,” he said. “The construction will be a big hindrance to our customer parking and coming to us.”

            Ciardi said the location is also a safety issue, suggesting that motor vehicles are likely to back up into ATM customers and other cars. Meanwhile, he said, there are dead spots elsewhere in the mall parking lot.

            Planning Board members proposed moving the kiosk to the other side of the landscaped island, farther away from the area of the market. That way, the construction can still utilize the same underground, utility-connection plan.

            Carroll said the plaza owner had picked this spot as the one she would accept for the relocation. Madden and the board agreed a written draft of the new location would need to be completed and sent to Town Planner Nancy Durfee and the plaza owner for their approval prior to the next meeting.

            The board changed its regularly scheduled meeting day from Tuesday, November 8, to Thursday, November 10, after the members realized that November 8 is Election Day, and they cannot legally meet that day. Per usual, the November 10 public meeting will be held at 7:00 pm at Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School Library.

Rochester Planning Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

Veterans Day Bell Ringing

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Once again, the bells will be ringing in the Tri-Town on Veterans Day, November 11, in honor of all veterans, past and present. The bell ringing honors the celebration that occurred on Armistice Day in 1918, signaling the end of World War I. In the past, the bells have been rung from churches, from town halls, from schools and firehouses. They’re all rung in celebration of all veterans, living and deceased, and the sacrifices they have made in the line of duty. Once again, the bell will be rung at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church. If you would like to be present for this special event, please plan to be at the church lawn at 11 am on November 11.

Trustees of the Mattapoisett Christian Church

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Trustees of the Mattapoisett Christian Church will host their annual ecumenical service on November 20 at 3 pm. The service will be held at the historical Mattapoisett Christian Church, home of the Mattapoisett Museum, at 5 Church Street, Mattapoisett.

            Rev. Dr. Richard Wolf of the Mattapoisett Congregational Church will lead the worship service with Father Chris Stanibula of St. Anthony’s Church and a representative from the Mattapoisett Friends Meeting participating. Michelle Gordon will lead the music.

            All are welcome; we hope to see you there.

Alewives Anonymous 2022 Herring Counts

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The results of the 2022 alewives (river herring) migration as recorded by an electronic fish counter on the Mattapoisett River at Snipatuit Pond have been completed. This year’s count of herring in the Mattapoisett River was 2,332, an increase of 446 over the 2021 total of 1,886. Counting conditions were ideal this past spring, the counter appears to have functioned without errors. AA did not set up an electronic fish counter on the Sippican River at Leonard’s Pond in 2022. The Buzzards Bay

            Coalition did set up their counter on the Sippican River at Hathaway’s Pond and recorded 37 fish. The moratorium against the taking or possession of herring from the Mattapoisett River and the Sippican River, as well as many other rivers in Massachusetts, remains in effect. Over the years that the moratorium has been in effect, the herring population in the Mattapoisett River had increased from about 6,000 to just over 55,400 in 2014 then was followed by some years of declining counts. The counting effort will continue and provide the necessary information to manage a future harvest in the Mattapoisett River; however, continued improvements in the counts are needed to support a sustainable fishery plan and to justify an opening. Once the herring population reaches a point where a sustainable harvest plan can be formulated, filed with Division of Marine Fisheries and approved, harvesting could be resumed.

Marion Cub Scout Soapbox Derby

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Marion Cub Scout Pack 32 is holding a soapbox derby and food drive on Saturday, November 5, from 10 am to 2pm.

            The derby will be held on Holmes Street Marion. If weather forces a cancellation, the derby’s rain date is Sunday, November 6.

            Starting at 10 am, the Scouts will be racing their homemade soapbox cars. Once the races are finished, the raceway will open up to family members, potential Scouts and other community members who feel the need for speed and want to take the soapbox cars for a spin.

            The Cub Scouts welcome everyone to the races, whether they want to try out the cars or just cheer on the competitors. If you have nonperishable food items to help support a local pantry, please drop them off at this event, and we will get them to those in need.

            There is still plenty of time for boys and girls from kindergarten through grade five to join the Cub Scouts. For more information, please contact marioncubscoutspack32@gmail.com. We cannot wait to see you at our annual race. Other packs or individuals who may want to participate, please contact the pack.