Regular Sports Seasons Draw to a Close

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Unified Basketball

            The Bulldogs hosted Fairhaven on October 23 and won 61-57. The Players of the Game were Michael Hogan and Emilia Cantwell. They’re now 4-0 this season and were scheduled to host Joseph Case on October 25.

Boys Soccer

            Old Rochester hosted Somerset (11-6) on October 23 and lost 2-0. Somerset Berkley scored one goal in the first half, and one in the second half. ORR had 7 shots on goal and Somerset had 14. They finished the SCC schedule with a 9-4 record. They were scheduled to play their final game of the season on October 28 against Joseph Case. Old Rochester’s JV team also hosted Somerset and won 4-2. Goals were scored by James Jadlowic, Max Ferrari, Jack Thompson, and Sid Medeiros.

            “Bulldogs controlled the play for the most part and had a ton of scoring opportunities. The defense, led by Malcolm Bean stymied Somerset Berkley’s attack for most of the game. Chase Grillo played a great game covering the opponent’s best player and essentially shut him down for the entire second half. Goalie Own Harrington also made some key saves in the win” says ORR JV Coach Geoffrey Kelsey. They’re 9-7-1 and were scheduled to play their final game of the season on October 28, at home against Joseph Case.

Girls Volleyball

            The Bulldogs played their final game of the regular season on October 23 against Joseph Case and won 3-1. Set scores were 25-15, 25-10, 22-25, and 25-11. Aubrie Letourneau had 40 assists, Molly Franco had 18 kills, Cami Van Ness and Ava Vander Pol had 10 kills, and Caroline Brogioli had 17 digs. They finished the regular season with a record of 17-3. The Bulldogs finished conference play 14-0, winning 42 sets and only losing 3.

Sports Roundup

By Aiden Comorosky

Rochester Historical Society Museum

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The Rochester Historical Society Museum at 355 County Rd. will be open Sunday, November 3 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. You can explore the exhibit or shop for books, maps, tick-tack-toes, tees, hats, denim shirts, and 4 different styles of sweatshirts.

The Mysteries of the Midwater

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The Marion Natural History Museum will be hosting “The Mysteries of the midwater” – the Ocean Twilight Zone with Benjamin Grassian of WHOI. Benjamin Grassian is a Postdoctoral Investigator from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution working with imaging, acoustic, and net data collected during the Ocean Twilight Zone project. He is working with zooplankton image data collected from the “Stingray” and shipboard acoustic data. He focuses on describing the variable Diel Vertical Migration habits for different groups of animals. Event date is November 8 at 6:30 pm. To register, go to the museum’s website www.marionmuseum.org.

Girl Scout Service Project

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Girl Scout Troop 67041 will be working on their National Service Project. The girls are looking for your help through the donation of toiletries. All items donated will be going to local veterans’ homes. Items needed are toilet paper, shampoo, cologne, deodorant, soap, disposable razors, shaving cream, toothpaste, mouth wash, toothbrushes, aftershave, and wipes.

            Veterans Support Drive will be on November 9 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at Marion General Store, 140 Front Street Marion. Please feel free to contact the troop with any questions at troop67041@gmail.com

Flow of New Books to Sippican School

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The Marion School Committee’s October 24 meeting ratified a new three-year employee contract agreement with the Sippican School Support Association.

            The association represents Sippican School’s cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals, and administrative staff. That’s approximately 25 school employees, as Superintendent Dr. Michael Nelson explained. He said the district’s last contract with the association had recently expired and both sides had worked hard to come to a new agreement.

            “I want to say how much we value their work,” Nelson said after the committee’s unanimous ratification vote.

            In other action, the committee accepted the donation of a variety of books to the Sippican School library. The VASE program (Volunteers At Sippican Elementary) has donated The Curious Why by Angela DiTerlizza, Secrets of Astrology by Carole Taylor and DK, and Over and Under the Waves by Kate Messner. VASE is a volunteer organization open to parents, teachers, and community members who help raise and distribute funds to the Pre-K to grade 6 students for a variety of extracurricular and enrichment activities.

            The Marion Teachers Association has supplied the library with Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler, Inventors by Robert Winston, and Sincerely by Emerson Weber. Doreen Lopes (Sippican School Interim Principal 2023-2024) and Peter Crisafulli (Sippican School Assistant Principal 2021-2024) donated Collaboration Station by Shannon Olsenn for the 6th Grade Class.

            Nelson announced that special education teacher Taylor Nelson has resigned, because she is moving out of the state. Dr. Nelson noted she is not a relative of hers.

            Committee chair April Nye announced that the next Marion School Committee meeting will be December 5, but no firm date has been set as of today for a Joint School Committee meeting.

            The Marion School Committee will next meet on December 5 at 6:00 pm at Sippican School, 16 Spring Street.

Marion School Committee

by Michael J. DeCicco

The Twilight Zone Explored

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Michelle Cusolito has been bringing the exciting world of undersea exploration to children since the mid-2000s. Her non-fiction science-based books do not talk down to children but elevate curiosity while being fun and interesting for all ages. I’d know. I’ve read them. On October 24, the Plumb Library in Rochester hosted the author as she introduced her latest book, A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea.

            The non-fiction writer was able to secure a spot with a multi-national team of oceanographic researchers aboard the ship R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa docked in Vigo, Spain. The team was brought together by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, aka WHOI. Through Cusolito’s previous partnerships writing about the wonders found in the ocean, she was able to contact the organizers and secure a spot on the boat after a researcher had to back out. Thus began a grueling and exhilarating adventure, not only into the world of deep-ocean research but the collaborative forces needed to survive and get the job done.

            Three research vessels would meet up in the North Atlantic to conduct complex experiments focused on learning more about the vast and deep (3,280 feet) midnight zone.

            The book is laid out like a ship’s diary noting the date, time, latitude, and longitude before scribing the daily goal-driven milestones. There were daily goals that had to be met by the multi-disciplined crew.

            The main focus of this crew’s work was to collect and store specimens from the area of the ocean known as the Midnight Zone, a place so deep within the sea that light cannot penetrate. Through studying the animals that live and feed in the blackness, scientists hope to better understand the roles and connections between our atmosphere and our oceans. By understanding that relationship, they hope to grasp more completely how the ocean works in storing carbon – think global warming and climate change.

            To capture water samples and animals, Cusolito describes intricate equipment designed to deploy specimen containers or nets in a synchronized manner. She also described the importance of collaboration and collective imagination when things go wrong. The author’s ability to bring complicated actions such as moving large-scale equipment into the ocean as well as safely back onboard is on full display. There is a host of mechanized tools like the MOCNESS that holds and tows five separate nets and open or close as directed. This minimizes the capturing of live animals that will perish on board the ship.

            Then there is the Stingray, which measures light, oxygen, and chlorophyll. The aptly named MINIONS (MINature IsOpycNal) are small collection units sent into the ocean and later retrieved. They float and collect the seemingly innocuous marine snow. Hold on a second, it contains poop!

            Marine snow, Cusolito tells us, is comprised of tiny dead sea creatures, the skin cells that are sloughed off their bodies, and their poop. That’s right poop. Marine animals poop like any other animal on the planet we were told. Contained in the fecal matter is carbon that sinks to the bottom of the ocean where it stays unless disturbed. The capturing of carbon in this way helps to regulate and diminish carbon in the atmosphere, a major driver in global warming. The planet’s delicate balance between a well-running ecosystem and complete disaster seems to be eroding daily but with organizations such as WHOI, there may still be time to turn back the release of carbon into the atmosphere. Time will tell.

            And with educators and explorers and writers like Cusolito, our children may be inspired to help save the planet – poop and all.

By Marilou Newell

Marion Vaccination Information

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The Marion Board of Health would like to let residents know that they still have flu and COVID-19 vaccines available.

            If you are in need of in-home vaccination appointments, these are administered through the Marion Community EMS Program.

            Please contact Maureen at the Board of Health at 508-748-3530 then press #1 if you are interested in scheduling an appointment for a vaccination.

Fun with Fungi Hike

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Join Mattapoisett Land Trust and Mass Audubon as we head out on an all-ages family hike at ‘Walega-Livingstone Preserve’ in the Brandt Island Cove trail system on Sunday November 3 from 9:00 am to 10:00 am.

            Fungi are the decomposers and recyclers of our forest systems. Without them, forests would take much longer to regenerate. The mushrooms we see are just the spore-producing bodies of a much larger, more complex organism growing in the wood or ground below. Mass Audubon staff will be leading our walk and teaching us about these fascinating fungi.

            Our hike will begin at the Anchorage Way trailhead located at the end of Tara Road; parking is available along the street. We recommend long pants and close-toed hiking shoes for this trail. This hike is for all ages and is free, however registration is required. See www.massaudubon.org/programs and search “Fun with Fungi.”

Citizens United

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To the Editor,

            The 2010 U.S. Supreme Court 5 to 4 ruling in the Citizens United case that declared unconstitutional the government restriction on “independent” political spending by artificial entities such as corporations and unions made null and void the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as the McCain-Feingold Act.

            As predicted by numerous knowledgeable politicians, including President Barack Obama, who said at the time that the decision “gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington—while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates”. Those predictions have come true.

            Historian and educator Heather Cox Richardson, in her October 18, 2024, Letters From an American podcast noted: “The McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund has, so far, spent more than $140 million in this year’s Senate races, with more than $136 million going to attack ads. In the four races that are most vulnerable for Democrats—Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—that money is bolstering extremely wealthy Republican challengers.” Also, one of the richest men in the world, Elon Musk, this week pledged to give $1 million a day to certain swing state voters who sign a pledge.

            She goes on to state that self-funding of election campaigns by Republican candidates in the above-noted swing-states echoes the late 19th century which led “in 1913 to the 17th Amendment to The Constitution which established that the power to elect senators must rest in the hands of voters”.

            Today, wealthy individuals and SuperPacs increasingly reduce the power of average American voters. It is time to once again amend the Constitution to re-introduce campaign finance controls. Passage of Congress’s We the People Amendment (HJR-54) is one way this can be done. Encourage our elected pollical leaders to make this happen.

Jack Dean, Mattapoisett

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.

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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This is the text of the speech I gave at the SAR dedication on September 26 – wearing both hats – chairperson of the Historical Commission and vice president of the Historical Society. I want to preface it by saying how lucky Rochester (along with Marion and Mattapoisett) residents are to live in a town with such a rich history and one that is so baked into the history of America.

            “I was asked to speak today about Rochester and the American Revolution, and I’ll start with the statement made by the principal orator in 1879 at the 200th anniversary celebration of Old Rochester. ‘Rochester sent more men to fight in the Revolutionary War than any other town of its size.’

            Before you think this was a partisan statement, the speaker was a lawyer from Wareham. History offers some hints that what he said was true.

            In 1768, the Boston Committee was working against Great Britain and for independence. They called for a Convention at Faneuil to pass resolutions against the taxes being imposed by the king. They wanted area towns to send delegates.

            Plymouth County towns as a whole had an apathetic response to all the messages being sent out by the Committee. James Warren said to Sam Adams, and I quote, “Plymouth County towns could not be raised except by a power that would wake the dead”.

            Rochester was the exception. They sent delegates to the Convention and passed many town resolutions to endorse the Committee plans. They voted to break off all trade with Great Britain and to give up drinking English tea. Town Meeting also voted to increase their stores of arms and ammunition. They directed that up to a hundred men, minutemen, should be formed into companies and train 3 1/2 days a week.

            At this time, any town official seen to have Tory sentiments was not re-elected and often would then move out of town.

            In 1774, a large group of Rochester men marched through Wareham, picking up additional marchers on the way to the Barnstable County Courthouse. There they met up with men from Sandwich and Plymouth to prevent the court from going into session and to force the judges to sign some pro-patriot pledges.

            On April 19,1775, the Battle of Lexington took place. Rumors reached Rochester the next day. Many found the rumors to be unbelievable, so 21-year-old Abraham Holmes was sent to head toward Middleboro to get news. He met a messenger who told him that the battle had taken place, and the colonists had sent the British soldiers running back to Boston. According to his memoirs, Holmes said he headed home, ‘as gay as a lark that the struggle for independence had begun.’

            Three Rochester Militia companies marched off to Roxbury in response to the Lexington Call. Put all this together and you can see why so many men from town would have enlisted in the war effort.

            Among the many Rochester men active during the Revolution, one in particular stands out. Elnathan Haskell enlisted in the Continental Army and rose to the rank of Major. He stayed with the army as the war moved out of New England, through New York and New Jersey and into the South. He became an aide to General Washington. If you go to the Capitol in Washington DC, there is a large painting of the surrender of British General Burgoyne on the dome. If you look seven men to the right of center, you will see Major Haskell of Rochester.”

By Connie Eshbach