Mattapoisett Free Public

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Mattapoisett Free Public Library has music and more May events for adults and teens.

            Singer/songwriter Matt York brings Songs & Stories of The Highwaymen on Tuesday, May 3 at 6:00 pm. He will perform the songs of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings.

            Weaver Lisa Elliott will demonstrate her craft at two informal sessions on Wednesday, May 4 from 6:30-7:30 and Saturday, May 14 from 1:00-3:00. Drop in and watch her use a portable loom to create gorgeous textiles.

            The Sustainability Interest group meets on Saturday, May 7 at 11:00 am. The group will decide upon an official name and begin advertising for artists to participate in a recycled materials art show, RE-Art, to be held at the library during the last week of August. Those interested in joining the group can email Jennifer Jones at jjones@sailsinc.org. The discussion is held both virtually and in person.

            The Teen Advisory Board meets on May 10 at 4:00 pm. Interested teens can contact Jennifer Jones at jjones@sailsinc.org to join. The group will help outline summer programming for teens and brainstorm new ideas for volunteering and services at the library.

            The Cookbook Club meets on Tuesday, May 17 to discuss At Home with Madhur Jaffrey by Madhur Jaffrey. Copies of the cookbook are available for checkout at the library. The group meets in-person and a virtual option is available.

            The Purrington Lecture Series presents Larksgrove, a marvelous duo composed of EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks, violin, and Peter Zay, cello on Friday, May 20 at 1:00 pm. Please note the time change as the program will be presented one hour earlier than previously posted. Bring your lunch to the library and enjoy a lively spring concert while you take a break.

            The Sunday Book Club discusses The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis this month. New members are always welcome. Copies are available for checkout at the library. The group meets in-person and a virtual option is available on Sunday, May 22 at 2:00 pm. Please note that this Sunday is the last one of the season. The Library will close on Sundays after May 22 for the summer and resume Sundays on September 11.

            For more information about these programs or to join the book clubs, send an email to Jennifer Jones at jjones@sailsinc.org. Registration is not necessary for these events. Visit mattapoisettlibrary.org for more details.

Marion Scholarship and Education Committee

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The Marion Scholarship and Education Committee met recently to consider applications for the 2022 Town Scholarship. Applicants who are graduating were judged on their academic record, extra curricular activities, direction for future study, leadership and personal passion. The following Marion students were selected to receive a $500.00 scholarship award:

            From O.R.R.: William Baltz, Brendan Burke, Mia Hemphill, Jamie MacKenzie, Ariana Miranda and Maxwell Tucker. From Tabor: Percy Ackerman.

            Scholarships are made possible through the generosity of the people in Marion. To make contributions for future scholarships, please send donations (in any amount) to The Marion Scholarship and Education Committee, Marion Town House, 2 Spring Street, Marion, MA 02738.

Climate Change and our Future

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Climate change is already affecting ecosystems and communities across the globe, but it’s not too late to take action. Join local Climate Reality leader and chair of Climate Reality Massachusetts Southcoast, Laura Gardner, to learn about local and global effects, as well as what you can do to help create a better future for the planet. This is a free program at the Marion Natural History Museum on Wednesday May 4, from 10:30 – 11:30. To preregister, please go to www.marionmuseum.org.

Climate Change

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To the Editor,

            During the Holocene epoch, which stretched out over 12,000 years—until the 20th century—temperature, precipitation patterns and terrestrial and ocean ecosystems settled into a “sweet spot” conducive to human propagation and well-being. That environmental stability allowed the human species to thrive. We could have continued in that Holocene geological epoch, but we did not.

            Our post-Industrial lifestyles ushered in the Anthropocene era with the unbridled use of fossil fuels, deforestation and the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These lifestyle choices damaged our ecological systems resulting in extreme weather events of increasing frequency and intensity over the entire planet: floods, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, tornadoes and hurricanes.

            In the course of the last 50 years, the populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians have declined by 60 percent. “We are sleepwalking towards the edge of a cliff,” says Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at World Wildlife Fund. “If there was a 60 percent decline in the human population, that would be equivalent to emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceania. That is the scale of what we have done.”

            For too long, climate change has been misjudged as an environmental issue affecting the survival of the planet. But the planet will survive and continue to evolve as it has for 4.5 billion years. The question is whether humanity will be here to witness its evolution.

            The Town of Marion is evolving too; plans are underway for a new Marine Center and DPW facility and two new housing developments. I hope the Town administration and residents remember the talk and the walk must go hand-in-hand in terms of effective emission reduction. We must abandon fossil fuels entirely and act in proportion to the magnitude of the climate change emergency by using 100 percent green energy to assure humanity’s survival.

            Sincerely,

Eileen J. Marum, 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.

Diversity – Start Where You Live

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Mattapoisett Museum, in collaboration with the Tri-Town Against Racism organization, has a special treat for the Tri-Town area – 32 family portraits featuring diverse families.

            The goal of the exhibit as stated by TTAR organizer Rhonda Baptiste is to give diverse families a level of recognition sometimes not easily found and to give their children a chance to see families just like their own. An opening reception for the exhibit was held on Tuesday night.

            The process for participating as a diverse family was a simple one. Fill out a registration form on the museum’s website expressing the desire to be included and then select a day and time to meet at the museum and have the pictures taken at no cost.

            Families loved it.

            Photographer Maggie Howland guided them through the process of setting up their poses and those families with very small children just letting the silly shine through. The joy of being together as a family was evident in the portraits. From babies to senior citizens, from LGBTQ families to multicultural families or families facing a variety of challenges, all are now represented through this unique exhibit.

            Baptiste said that it is the hope of the TTAR that the exhibit be shown at an outdoor venue during the summer season and that it could travel to area schools, sharing through visual expression that diversity is all its forms is a vibrant part of society.

            And yet the trauma some of these people have faced can’t be denied. Several in attendance shared that their hope is that the exhibit would open eyes and open hearts absent prejudices that at times are subtle but very much intended. Baptiste said, “People who don’t come from diverse families don’t know the struggles.”

            Bev Baccelli recalled an incident some 35 years ago when her son was racially profiled by a police officer who didn’t believe the young man when he said, “My mother lives here.” Decades later, the anger she feels remains locked in just below the surface, and while she is glad she and her wife Liz DiCarlo moved to Mattapoisett, she admits the town still lacks diversity.

            Jayson Newell (my son) said that because he grew up in Wareham, which has a highly diverse population, he never was made to feel different, but once outside that insular community he would be asked, “What are you?” or “I’d have to explain what a Cape Verdean was.” He said that his daughter has grown up during a time when acknowledging the beauty of all people has been brought to the forefront of thinking and acceptance, but that his family believes there is still work to be done.

            DiCarlo emphasized that point, saying, “The exhibit examines what family means, that diversity adds to the beauty and culture of the community. If we try, we can find there are more similarities than differences.”

            TTAR has a slogan, “Start where you live.” To that end, you can view The Diverse Family Project now through May 31 during regular museum hours. Visit mattapoisettmuseum.org.

By Marilou Newell

Route 6 Project Gains Steam

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            Representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation presented to the Marion Select Board during the latter’s Tuesday night meeting on the future of Route 6 as it passes through town.

            Pam Haznar of MassDOT was joined via Zoom by Rosie Jaswal and Aidee Cira, who are part of the ensemble put together to analyze the stretch of Route 6 that spans from the Mattapoisett to Wareham town lines.

            In referencing the corridor study that the Southeastern Regional Planning Economic and Development District (SRPEDD) previously put together as a Master Plan that spanned from Route 240 in Fairhaven over the bridge into Wareham, Haznar said a new study has emerged after which meetings have been held yielding new information.

            Jaswal gave a PowerPoint presentation based on prepandemic counts of fewer than 10,000 vehicles on the Marion stretch of Route 6.

            In three meetings that included Representative William Straus, Marion town officials, MassDOT and SRPEDD, conditions were reviewed, not only including an analysis of poor pavement but the effect of Route 6 bisecting the town as a barrier, the potential effect of future business and residential developments and the need to accommodate more turning traffic in commercial areas.

            The August meeting looked at options and solutions, and Jaswal displayed hypothetical sections of Route 6 with one lane of traffic each way instead of two and a space for a shoulder as well as a multiuse (bike) path. Other possibilities being explored include two-way center-turn lanes where needed, a tightening up of turns for the sake of crossing pedestrians, further opportunities to tighten up signalized intersections, truck-turning aprons and 130-foot-diameter rotaries.

            Rotaries (or roundabouts) would require more in-depth traffic analysis before being considered feasible, but speed feedback signs and the completion of missing sidewalk connections are virtual certainties in the future.

            Next steps will include a long-term, conceptual layout from Converse to Point Road in coordination with the Wareham bridge project.

            During a question-answer session that followed the presentation, Select Board member John Waterman asked if a proposed reduction from four to two lanes would affect the road’s qualification for a light signal at the intersection of Spring Street.

            “The signal warrants are based on volume … configuration secondary to volume,” said Jaswal, who qualified the comment by noting that an analysis of Route 6 at Spring Street yielded the conclusion that a signal is not warranted. “That could change in the future,” she said.

            Jaswal said the design of pedestrian crossings are customized to each road-design scenario. Not all of Marion’s stretch of Route 6 will be the same.

            Select Board member Randy Parker asked if Haznar is familiar with the 1980s experiment with two rather than four lanes of traffic and the crashes that followed. Haznar said that MassDOT is aware of that history.

            “Our goal is to make it a much more livable street,” she said. “We don’t have a final design at this point, we’re still in the study stage … need to refine alternatives … will be doing a full analysis.”

            Haznar said the project could cost close to $20,000,000, “just based on what we see with other projects.”

            Converse Road to Point Road is the highest priority section in Marion. Haznar confirmed that the surveyors that Select Board Chairman Norm Hills has seen between Converse to Point Roads are MassDOT. She said her group has just received final plans and that the surveying work has been completed and will be forward to design consultant Toole.

            Jaswal segmented Route 6 in Marion according to urban versus suburban. Haznar said that while traffic-signal timing is “pretty straightforward,” road painting is a more-complex matter.

            “Right now, we’re focused on developing a larger-scale project, but there are some things we could look at on the shorter term,” she said.

            Dr. Ed Hoffer asked about Route 6 relative to the proposed residential housing projects near the Wareham town line, the difficulty getting out of there on to Route 6, particularly going westbound. Haznar said signs on either side of Route 6 were installed before the pandemic. “Anything we install would have to meet federal traffic warrants,” she said.

            Jennifer Francis suggested a dedicated left turn into the residential area and a dedicated turn out as cost-effective solutions.

            Town Administrator Jay McGrail thanked the project representatives for their time and said the town is “at a point where we can start some public input to keep this project moving forward.”

            Waterman doubled down on the note of appreciation. “This is an important project for the town,” he said.

            Haznar said she is looking forward to future coordination with the town.

            In his Town Administrator’s Report, McGrail discussed the informational pre-Town Meeting scheduled for Wednesday night at the Music Hall.

            The Select Board voted to not recommend Article 40, the citizen’s petition seeking the town’s acceptance of Fieldstone Lane as a public way.

            In other business, the Select Board voted to approve Harbormaster Isaac Perry’s request to renew the Bryant Brothers Shellfish Company’s Aquaculture license; the board also approved the Aquaculture application of Catherine Brodeur.

            The board voted to approve road closures for the Monday, May 30, Memorial Day parade from 8:30 am, the Monday, July 4, Independence Day parade from 8:00 am, and the Village 5k Race on June 25.

            The board voted to approve one-day liquor licenses for the Marion Firefighters Association Horseshoe Tournament on May 22 and the Tri-County Music Association Pops Concert on July 12 at Tabor Academy.

            The board voted to approve the appointments of Sean M. Givens Jr. and Mandy Givens to the Memorial Day, July 4th Parade and Veterans Day committees.

            The board also approved water/sewer commitments of $950 (new water service April 20) and $320.68 (final readings April 13.)

            The next meeting of the Marion Select Board is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, at 6:00 pm at the Music Hall. There will be no remote-access option.

Marion Select Board

By Mick Colageo

Cell-Tower Case Continued

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            The action items on the Rochester Planning Board’s April 26 agenda will have to wait until next time.

            The board continued until May 10 its hearing into the site-plan-review application for Industrial Tower and Wireless LLC’s proposal for a 190-foot-tall, monopole-style telecommunications tower facility on High Street. Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson reported the zoning panel could not take action on the waiver application because the panel lacked a quorum number of members at its last meeting on April 14.
            Industrial Tower and Wireless LLC seeks a special permit to reduce the required setback distance of 200 feet from other property lines by 50 percent or to 100 feet. The project’s representatives argued in its initial hearing that the tower would sit on land owned by A.D.Makepeace and the closest adjacent property would be 521 feet away. Abutters in the seats filling the zoning panel’s hearing room have continually rebuffed the developer’s assurances.

            The Planning Board also continued until May 10 its hearing into the site-plan review to relocate and install a 5,050 square-foot playground at Countryside Child Care, 565 Rounseville Road. Johnson said this was a request from the project engineer.

            The planning panel also set May 10 for the public hearings on two zoning bylaw articles, including one that is a revision of the large-scale solar installation bylaw, that will be on the May 23 Annual Town Meeting warrant. Copies of said articles are available for public view at the Town Hall Annex, 37 Marion Road, Rochester, Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

            In other business, the Planning Board reappointed Barry Pairaiko as its representative on the Capital Planning Committee. He has been a member of the Capital panel for the past five years.

            The Planning Board will reconvene on Tuesday, May 10, at 7:00 pm in the Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School library, 476 North Avenue.

Rochester Planning Board

By Michael J. DeCicco

Explore History through the Arts at the MAC

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Two fascinating perspectives on local and regional history through the unique lens of the arts will be offered at the Marion Art Center during the SouthCoast Spring Arts festival May 12 and 15.

            On May 12, the MAC partners with Friends of the Blackstone, a nonprofit environmental organization supporting the Blackstone River, for a screening of their new short film, Kittacuck Speaks. Instead of the dominant, industrially focused narrative about the Blackstone River, called Kittacuck by Native Americans, the film presents a story told by the river itself. Kittacuck Speaks was written and narrated by Nipmuc tribe member Bruce Curliss, with videography and editing by Gian Mancini. At the event, attendees will meet film directors Vincent Mancini and John Marsland and learn what it means to maintain a Blue Mind, a concept developed by Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, in which we become stewards of our planet and live in harmony with the natural world. The screening and conversation will take place from 7:00-8:00 pm and tickets are $5.

            On May 15, the Marion Art Center partners with the Sippican Historical Society to present “The Arts in Marion’s Gilded Age” from 4:00 to 5:00 pm. In the late 1800’s Marion became a summer gathering place for artists, writers, actors, musicians, architects and intellectual luminaries. At this panel discussion, our local experts, Wendy Bidstrup, Nancy Mitton, Judith Rosbe and Meg Steinberg, will bring to light some of the characters who made up this lively scene, including Cecil Clark Davis, Charles Dana Gibson, Henry James, Mark Twain, Century Magazine editor Richard Watson Gilder and architects H.H. Richardson and Stanford White. UMass Dartmouth professor and art historian Catherine Moran will set the stage with an overview of the Gilded Age in America. A question-and-answer session follows the presentations. Tickets are $5.

            Tickets for all SouthCoast Spring Arts @ the MAC events are available at marionartcenter.org/scspringarts. SouthCoast Spring Arts (SCSA) is a 10-day festival connecting innovative, creative and affordable art and cultural experiences in communities from Fall River to Wareham. More than two dozen local cultural organizations, as well as artists and creative entrepreneurs, have come together for SCSA to celebrate the arts across the SouthCoast region May 6-15. For more information, go to southcoastspringarts.org.

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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Over the course of these articles, I have written more than once about aspects of Eastover Farm. This picturesque area protected for the future through the efforts and money of many has become an iconic reminder of Rochester’s past. Prior to the Hiller family, the land was owned and developed by several families. The Leonard family, beginning with three brothers, bought into the existing forge on the Sippican River. Over time, one brother, George, bought up much of the neighboring land creating the footprint of today’s Eastover.

            While there is much history covered by the ownership of the property, principally, by the Leonard, Delano and Rhodes families, for the purpose of this article, I am most interested in the buildings that once were there and are no longer on their original sites. In the early 1800’s, on the south side of Mary’s Pond Road., there was a General Store built by Nehemiah Leonard and later run by Theodore Leonard. Across from the store was the Leonard School, a neighborhood school built in 1849. The one room schoolhouse became School District #11 in 1857. The school is gone, but you can still see the steps in the stone wall that led to the schoolhouse door.

            The summerhouse and later residence of Charles and Elizabeth Leonard was a rambling farmhouse with a spacious interior, and it stood where the old farm stand is today. In 1904, the house, now owned by John Rhodes, burned to the ground. This spot was later the site of the Hiller’s dairy and lastly, the farm stand.

            Rhodes purchased the property from the Delanos in 1900 and began to make changes. the Rhodes, father and son, were intent on creating a country retreat for business from the city where they could relax. Both the general store and schoolhouse were moved across the road and combined with school becoming an ell attached to the store. This building later became the office for Hiller Cranberry and now is the office for a financial company. At the back of this same building was a bowling alley for the use of guests. It was open to townspeople on the weekends. While Leonard was at best, a gentleman farmer, the Rhodes, particularly the son, was more focused on entertainment. He had a racetrack created in a field across the street. It was a half mile track and necessitated creating gaps in the stone walls.

            With the Hiller’s ownership, Eastover became a working farm which meant the building of additional barns and storage areas and the repurposing of existing ones, but one can easily imagine the older versions with the history they contain.

By Connie Eshbach

Academic Achievements

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The Williston Northampton School announces that to Ryan Martin of Marion, a Post-Graduate student made the Honor Roll for the second trimester of the 2021-22 academic year. Congratulations on achieving Honors.