There is a partnership that has grown between two groups whose goals, while not the same, blend the very best in volunteerism for the beautification of their town: Marion Tree Committee and the Marion Garden Group.

            For several years now, the MGG has striven to place oases of flowers in previously neglected locations such as the traffic island at the intersection of Spring Street and Route 105 and the south side of Route 6 at the intersection of Front Street, where a grand welcome sign now greets passersby. And there are others that have sprung up along motorways, punctuating the seaside community with resplendence in the form of flowers and greenery.

            Not only has the MGG planned floral portraits, the group has also planned numerous fundraisers to pay for these lavish improvements. No small task and one that requires a willingness to work diligently towards a common goal, adding floral motifs to previously forgotten locations, taking them from tired, even dilapidated scenes to living renaissance pictures.

            Founded in 1956 to further its members’ knowledge in all things gardening, the MGG now cares for window boxes and planters throughout the town, as well as welcoming and hosting guest speakers on topics of gardening interest.

            Coming together with the MGG on November 26 was the Marion Tree Committee. Also a volunteer group established by the Town of Marion decades ago to assist in the management and care of municipal shade trees, on this day they were all working shoulder to shoulder on a special project.

            MTC Chairperson and longtime member Margie Baldwin explained the importance of shade trees planted in the right location and the correct type of trees for municipal easements. Standing in Bicentennial Park, Baldwin said that decades ago, American Elms had been planted but over time succumbed to Dutch elm disease, ultimately thinning the shade canopy to a shocking degree. She said that trees planted in the 1950s are also in trouble after years of severe pruning by electric utilities.

            The Tree Committee, along with the guidance and assistance of Tree Warden Lee Gunschel and Highway and Parks Supervisor Jody Dickerson, has planted 25 trees this year alone, stated Baldwin. Now the committee prepares to place permanent identification plates on the trees the town has planted, an impressive 24 different varieties.

            MGG Chairperson Suzy Taylor said that the group had assisted landscapers in the selection of planting and placement of floral specimens in front of the Town House and Elizabeth Taber Library. She said the group worked on window boxes located at the Marion Art Center and village center spaces.

            MGG and MTC member Sylvia Strand noted that the MGG purchased the tree tags for trees planted by the town in an effort to not only heighten the community’s awareness of tree species but also to work with educators in bringing a greater awareness of the importance of trees.

Baldwin said that the Town of Marion has been recognized as a Tree City for over 20 years. To be recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation (established in 1872) as a Tree City, a town must have tree bylaws and ordinances, have a tree board, spend municipal funds on trees and offer community-based programs that celebrate Arbor Day.

            Baldwin also noted that when selecting locations for tree planting, the town will oftentimes need the cooperation of private property owners, as overhead utility wires, watering of newly planted trees and roadways must factor in the consideration given to a planting spot.

            A small sampling of the types of trees Marion has planted include (common names) Princeton Elms, Sycamore, Cherry Tree, Red Chestnut, Ash, Redbud and Willow Oak.

            The MGG and MTC members fanned out across Spring Street to Sippican School, where a number of trees have been planted giving the school building a more harmonious appearance with nature. And here’s a fun fact about the tree tags: They are designed with a spring action so that as the tree’s trunk thickens, the identification plate will not breach the bark.

            To learn more about the Arbor Day Foundation, visit arborday.org and to learn more about the Marion Garden Group, visit mariongardengroup.org.

Marion Garden Group and Marion Tree Committee

By Marilou Newell

            Editor’s note: Five members of the Old Rochester Regional Youth Football 12-and-under team share their experience of the 2022 season that saw the Bulldogs rebound from a 2-3 record to run the table through the Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts League of Pop Warner Football and then win their way to the New England Regional Championship against eventual winner Hamden, Connecticut.

Benji Baptiste

            I moved here from Florida to see what it’s like here, and little did I know that one decision would change my whole life. It was like my life got flipped because I went from always sunny weather, a small group of family and an outside school to, most of the time, cold weather, a really big group of family and an inside school.

            While I was enjoying my time here, my Dad introduced me to football, and he helped me learn the basics. I enjoyed the first couple of practices with my team, then my first-ever football game came around, and I was so nervous.

            I immediately just fell in love with the sport as soon as I started playing and had an amazing season, making it to the Regional finals. From starting football ’til now, I learned, even when things get hard, you have to get right back up. Knowing this and knowing the way football has gave me a whole other view of life.

Jonah Hobin

            This being my first year playing tackle football, I am proud to be on the Bulldogs, going from not knowing how to tackle to being the last standing Pop Warner team in Massachusetts. Along the way, we learned, we played, we won, and every single time we said, “Hard work pays off.” We were disciplined every practice; if we went offsides, we would run a lap. If we had a tough team against us that week, we would do extra sprints, “Beasts.” Through my experience this year, I learned that hard work does pay off and to be more disciplined in my everyday life.

            Although this was my first year playing tackle football, I had not known a lot of the people on the team, (but) I made a bunch of friends quickly. For being a fairly quiet and shy kid, I was surprised that people wanted to talk to me and wanted to have fun while playing football. This year playing football taught me what it’s like to be on a great team. I hope to play and work with all my coaches, teammates and my friends again next season.

David Medeiros Jr.

            This season was absolutely incredible. I learned so much and not even just about football.

One of the many things I learned this season was that hard work pays off. If you want to accomplish something, you have to work hard for it, even if it is something very simple. If you do not work hard, then you cannot accomplish your goal.

            My team’s goal in the beginning of this season was to simply make it to playoffs, and in the beginning of the season, we were slacking on effort. After we lost our third game in a row, we started working harder and did not give up. As soon as we started working hard again, we started to win and even made it beyond our goal to win our division and then proceed to the New England finals.

            Another thing I learned this season is resilience. We kept working and did not give up. In the middle of the season, we were 2-3, and there was a lot of doubt about us making playoffs, but we kept our heads up and did not give up. We did eventually make it to the playoffs and even won the (RISMA League) championship. In that championship game it was a tough battle, but my team and I kept our heads up and kept playing as hard as we could. On our final defensive drive, we could have given up and let them in the end zone, which would have won them the game, but we played hard and didn’t.

            One more thing I learned this season is discipline. On defense, if you don’t do your assignment, you could let the other team score a touchdown, get a big play, or a lot more. The same thing goes for offense too. Off the field, you also need to stay disciplined. If there is a bad situation happening, you need to stay disciplined and remove yourself from it. Or, if someone is trying to annoy you, you just stop and do not escalate the situation. These are some of the many lessons I learned playing football this year.

Connor Nelson

            The Old Rochester 12U football team is one big family. It’s like a clock. Every piece inside the clock has to do its job to make the clock work. This season impacted the way I played, and it affected the way everyone played because of our mental and physical efforts.

            Mentally, we all worked very hard this season because we knew that it was a team effort and knew that everybody had to do their job in order to succeed. I believed in my teammates and knew that as a team, we could win all of the games that we did.

            The coaches were also a big reason why we made it as far as we did. They worked well together to help us win, and they had a very good game plan that we had to trust so that we could succeed. I played many different positions and had to think about all of the responsibilities so that we could win as a team. I played running back, back-up quarterback and linebacker. The coaches taught me how to adapt on offense, defense and special teams.

            I had to push myself to my limit in all aspects of the game so that we could win as a team. Physically, we knew we would have to beat some tough teams like Dighton-Rehoboth and Edgewood (Cranston, Rhode Island) in order to win the RISMA Championship. Dighton-Rehoboth was a huge playoff win, but we will never forget slaying the giant – Edgewood! We never gave up, and Coach Medeiros motivated us by saying, “Why not us?” Now I hope that next year we can repeat all of those things so that we can win another RISMA Championship. Why not us again? Go Bulldogs!

Eamon Perez

            Hello, my name is Eamon Perez, and I am an offensive lineman for the 12U football team of Old Rochester. This season I have learned many things about myself as a person and how I can better interact with the people around me. It is my first year ever playing tackle football, and I’m very proud of myself and my team on how all of us have grown.

            In the beginning of the year, I wasn’t sure how we’d do. After a rough start, we learned to trust each other and work together to make ourselves better. We came out victorious in the playoffs, won the RISMA Championship and became the second-best team in New England because of our camaraderie, coaches and skill.

            My coaches were amazing, and they taught me how to play. The team was supportive of me, no matter what (role) I played on the team. The coaches pushed me to be healthier and they changed my life so much. When I joined football, my coaches made it clear that if I pushed myself, I would be happier with myself and how I played.

            I felt like I was contributing to my team whenever I played in a game, and I felt important. My self-confidence has grown, and I met so many friends that I wouldn’t have met if it weren’t for football, and I truly encourage anyone to play the sport and join the team.