From the Files of the Rochester Historical Museum

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In old New England towns, cemeteries are interesting places for many reasons. In Rochester, like other towns, quite a few current cemeteries grew organically from small family plots. Today in Rochester, seven cemeteries are under the auspices of the Town Cemetery Commission. However, the first to be created in Rochester, the Rochester Center Cemetery, is privately owned and continues to be an active burial ground.

            The town center was established in 1697 by the first Constables. The land for the center was set apart from the town and was originally named the “Ministry” Woods. In the beginning, it was intended to include a burying ground and training field. Mark Haskell, Peter Blackmer, and Samuel Prince, all prominent men in the early days of Rochester, met at Haskell’s house on New Bedford Road to lay out plans for both the first meeting house and the burying ground. Around 1701, the First Parish Cemetery, now known as Rochester Center Cemetery (or simply Center Cemetery), was established. Like many cemeteries, it reflects the town’s history, from the very first settler families, many of whom have been mentioned in these articles.

            In the oldest section, too many tombstone inscriptions have become illegible. However, we can still find the graves of the Honorable Abraham Holmes and his son, Charles Jarvis Holmes, Esq., and those of Charles Bonney and Elizabeth and Charles H. Leonard. Many of the markers are engraved with the family names that we also see on our street signs: Mendell, Perry, Rounseville, Sherman, Hartley, Parlow, Snow, Dexter, and others. Lieutenant John Winslow, a veteran of the French and Indian Wars, buried in 1715, has the oldest grave. As you walk through the cemetery reading inscriptions, you find poignant markers to those lost at sea or ones that surprise, such as the Goodenough memorial honoring missionaries to the Zulus. This cemetery is proof that in a town as old as Rochester, history is everywhere.

By Connie Eshbach

Fire Department Needs New Engine

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            It was a busy week for Chuck McCullough, chairman of both the Mattapoisett Capital Planning and Community Preservation Committees. But that’s to be expected as the town’s budget-focused committees continue their review and recommendation processes in a lead-up to the Annual Spring Town Meeting.

            On March 3, McCullough met with the CPC to review proposed capital projects for the Fire Department and the Water and Sewer Departments.

            Fire Chief Andrew Murray explained the necessity for replacing the pontoons in the department’s safe boat at an estimated cost of $14,500. He said the floatation equipment was 20 years old and will no longer hold air. But the big surprise was the $575,000 plugged-in for FY23 for a new fire engine.

            Murray said that a January state inspection of the 1996 Pierce pumper engine currently in service stated that the apparatus would most likely fail a road-worthiness evaluation. He said the floors were rotting out and that seven years ago, $40,000 in repairs had given the piece additional service hours. “We’ve been nursing it along,” Murray said. “We have wooden planks holding the batteries in place so they won’t fall out.” This revelation prompted McCullough to wonder aloud if a new engine could, in fact, be pushed out to FY23.

            Member Alan Apperson asked, “How do we decide if it comes out of free cash or debt?” Town Administrator Mike Lorenco responded, “The only option is debt or capital reserve funds.” Lorenco also thought that incurring the debt would push up the tax rate.

            McCullough suggested to Murray that he pull together a committee sooner rather than later to study options and costs for a new engine given the amount of time it would ultimately take for a new engine to be built, upwards of a year. McCullough said it was possible to bring it to a fall Special Town Meeting if one is held.

            Earlier in the discussion, Murray justified a request of $42,000 for a fire inspector’s vehicle, saying, “Most departments have a vehicle for the fire inspector; he’s not going to use his private vehicle.” He said that it would also be used to transport recruits to the fire academy.

            Also coming before the CPC was Henri Renauld, superintendent of the Water and Sewer Departments. He described two sums of $25,000 from each enterprise entity as funds needed to prepare conceptual designs for a new, all-inclusive building proposed for property owned by the town and located off Industrial Drive.

            Renauld said the design is the first step toward estimating a new municipal building that could finally bring the two departments together under one roof. To offset expenses associated with a new structure, he said that town-owned properties located on Church Street, North Street, and the Bay Club could be sold off. Currently, the Water and Sewer Department operations are sprinkled across the community at various locations with rents of approximately $4,000 per month.

            Also divided 50-50 between the two services was $35,000 each for the purchase of a new truck. Renauld described a vehicle currently in use as deteriorated beyond repair.

            On the project side, Renauld discussed the pending Pearl Street improvements, 25 percent design and dependent on the Highway Department’s design portion, and the Eel Pond forced main that will require horizontal directional boring under the bike path with an estimated cost of $2,345,000. If grants are secured, the town’s portion would be $750,000, said Renauld, who added he would know by the end of April if state and federal funds were secured. Regarding the town’s portion, he said that another project, the Fairhaven Treatment Plant and pipe-relining project, had come in under budget by $644,000, freeing up those funds for the town’s portion of the Eel Pond project.

            The conversation turned to the capital needs of Old Rochester Regional High School. Once again, McCullough noted the importance of bringing the three towns together in a joint capital meeting to discuss matters. Lorenco said that funding outdoor track improvements or a replacement would require the approval of the School Committee and stressed that all three towns are facing very tight budgets.

            “If the appropriation is too high, it won’t get funded,” said Lorenco. “Unless we use debt.” Lorenco also noted the increases being sought by Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School and Bristol County Agricultural High School. To fund a large track improvement project at ORR would mean cutting somewhere else, he speculated. Lorenco said that currently, the total split between the three towns is around $400,000.

            On March 4, McCullough came before the Finance Committee in his roles as chairman of the Community Preservation and Capital Planning Committees.

            McCullough said the Community Preservation Committee had received three requests, a scant number compared to other grant seasons.

            The first grant proposal came from the Cushing Cemetery overseers for $20,000 to digitize historical records and map the cemetery. McCullough said that some 7,000 records are kept in boxes at members’ homes. The overseers sought to preserve the records for posterity before further deterioration or loss could occur. The CPA members were in full support of the request.

            The Mattapoisett Christian Church and Mattapoisett Historical Society submitted a grant application for $35,500 for renovations of the entranceway almost exclusively used as the museum’s entrance.

            After a thorough review by town counsel, McCullough said that no conflict was found between church and state since the museum was the sole occupant of the former church building. “We did our due diligence,” McCullough said. The CPA committee agreed unanimously.

            A press box for ORR in the amount of $20,000, which had previously been brought before Town Meeting but failed to secure Rochester’s support, was again advanced by the CPA. McCullough said that the ORR Athletic Boosters Club was once again seeking Tri-Town support that its members believed they would receive at the spring town meetings. The CPC agreed to advance the request again, contingent upon full Tri-Town support.

            McCullough switched hats and began discussions regarding the work of the Capital Planning Committee. He ran down the list of FY22 capital requests: $30,000 water well pump upgrades; $50,000 combined water/sewer new building conceptual drawings; $70,000 combined water/sewer new vehicle; $35,000 sewer pump upgrades; $150,000 village water main project; $644,000 Eel Pond forced sewer main; $54,000 Long Wharf improvements; $132,000 ORR track project; $55,000 new police cruiser; $14,500 fire boat pontoons; $250,000 roadway improvements; $85,000 side-arm mower; $45,000 local schools telephone upgrades; $25,000 floor repairs local schools; and $20,000 roof and window repairs library building.

            The FinCom members also met with Old Colony Superintendent Aaron Polansky, who spoke to the rise in the number of students entering his school from Mattapoisett. He said that 31 students from the community are now registered. He gave a brief PowerPoint presentation that illustrated a budget increase of 1.98 percent or $824,722 for FY22. He said that one reason the increase isn’t larger came from a one-time offset from the state of $107,000, shared by the member communities. Polansky said the school had anticipated receiving $7,000 per student from the state but ended up only receiving $1,500. FinCom member Gary Johnson said, “You’ve done a nice job trying to get the budget down to under 2 percent.”

            The Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee scheduled a meeting for March 10 at 6:00 pm; the next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for March 11 at 4:00 pm.

Mattapoisett Capital Planning and Finance Committees

By Marilou Newell

Swing Your Partner, Do-Si-Do

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            As Mattapoisett resident Brad Hathaway shifted through yellowing documents and old school papers drafted seven decades ago, he came across an assignment that made his heart tickle with joy. The professor had written across the top, “Good story, should be printed in some paper.” Hathaway could never have imagined as he typed his essay on a manual typewriter way back then that it would resurface and, in fact, be printed in a newspaper.

            When Hathaway contacted The Wanderer to share what he thought was a good story idea, one that might draw a few lines from his essay when he declared, “Do what you want with it, I don’t want it back.” He was hoping for not so much a reprint of his work but that it might inspire a larger story to which many in the Tri-Town area might respond.

            Hathaway was, once upon a time, a journalism student who interviewed a local square dance caller. Square dancing was a popular pastime in those days, and many residents will recall weekend square dancing long before the advent of sock hops.

            For one young lady, Patricia Ann Sylvia (later to become Mrs. Tate), also of Mattapoisett, square dancing was a family affair. During Hathaway’s interview, the young woman explained, “The fact that I ever got interested in (square dance) calling in the first place was an accident.” Continuing on, Hathaway wrote that Tate’s mother and father were regular attendees of dances held in the Bourne Grange Hall. One night, Tate went along with her parents and planned to go rollerskating at the nearby rink. However, it was closed. “I went back to the Grange Hall to get the car keys,” but there was a shortage of women at the dance that night, she told Hathaway. “Up to that time, I had never square danced in my life.… I enjoyed myself immediately, and when I heard the caller, I vowed to myself that I, too, would someday call,” Hathaway wrote.

            Now, as the veil of time is drawn back a bit further, Tate shared her remaining memories of those earlier days with The Wanderer. “My father was the president of the PTA at Center School. Dad thought it would be a good idea and fun fundraiser to hold a square dance. A truck holding a band played in our backyard the first year the event was held. The following year it was held at the wharves next to Shipyard Park.”

            Tate said that callers came from abroad to call at local dances. She would learn the calls while sitting in the back seat of the car on family trips to Bourne. She and her parents would sing out the calls in the car as they drove to the venue. “The calls were singing calls back then,” she said, as compared to the more “Western-type of calls,” and she knew them by heart.

            On one auspicious night, she got her big break. “My father asked caller Charlie Dexter to give me a chance,” she softly laughed, “that was the beginning.” She said she would go on to call at the Brockton Fair, at private homes, on Martha’s Vineyard, and at many other venues over the next two years. And it would be a brief chapter in her long life when she stepped out in front of live bands and called out to dancers who depended on her expertise to keep them moving smoothly across the dance floor.

            Tate would tell Hathaway, “I was the guest caller one night.… It was my moment and only my third performance… I was petrified at first.” But that sensation would be replaced with excitement and joy. In 1950 she would call at the Mattapoisett Town Hall upstairs in the theater area. Tate told Hathaway that she and Dexter would give square dance lessons during the winter months in the Tri-Town area. Hathaway wrote, “She has only called twice to phonograph records; other times, an orchestra has been present. Pat said, ‘Calling is never dull. You always have to watch the dancers. If you see the people are having trouble, you must revise the call so they will enjoy themselves.’”

            Enjoy themselves indeed. For decades, summer weekend evenings would find groups of square dancers dressed in their best costumes queuing up to dance under the stars at the Mattapoisett wharves.

What began as a PTA fundraiser would become a summer staple of stamping feet and swirling skirts, all choreographed by square dance callers, of which Tate was one.

            During Hathaway’s interview with Tate, the young caller discussed square dancing with youthful exuberance. “If the crowd doesn’t seem to be having a good time, I pick up the tempo of the music. It is the caller who controls the tempo, not the orchestra.” Hathaway also wrote, “Pat calls mostly for the enjoyment of it. Yet, there are times when she gets as much as ten dollars for a performance.”

            Today that translates to approximately $100 and still falls short of a professional caller’s bottom-dollar event rate. But the following truly gives us a sense of just how much the young Tate truly enjoyed square dancing. She told Hathaway, “My (small) stature is a definite advantage when it comes to square dancing.… The boys like to pick me up off the floor and swing me round.… They can’t do that with most of the girls!”

            In closing out his interview, Hathaway learned that Tate’s favorite dance was the Alabama Jubilee and that “I like to call at the grange hall most of all because they have the best eats there.”

            Hathaway would also write that Tate had written a yet-to-be-published book titled “Square Your Sets,” an introduction to square dancing geared towards children. Tate would go on to graduate from Boston University with a degree in education. For a period of time, she taught at Center School.

            Tate told The Wanderer that, before returning home to settle down after graduation, she went to California, where she taught, followed by positions in Natick, Cape Cod, and New Bedford. While in California, she briefly studied and enjoyed folk dancing.

            Group dancing heralds back to nearly the beginning of humankind. Clog dancing came to the new world with Irish immigrants along with other forms of traditional dance. It seems, however, that the evolution of those earlier dance forms to square dancing is an American invention.

            While it faded in popularity, square dancing can still be found in cities and towns across the nation. Twenty-two U.S. states have declared square dancing as the state’s official dance, and there have been 30 bills sent to Congress to have it legislated as the country’s official dance. Not bad for a humble dance in which kicking up one’s heels is syncopated primarily to a fiddle.

            It has been seven decades since Tate first took her place in front of a band and called out to a waiting crowd, “Bow to your partner,” to start an evening of square dancing, the memory of which still rings down through the years. Who knows, maybe one day square dancing will return to the wharves, and dancers will swing their partners under the stars on a brilliant summer’s evening once again.

By Marilou Newell

Rochester Women’s Club Scholarships

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If you are a graduating high school senior from Rochester and are attending college in the fall, please see your guidance office for applications for the Rochester Women’s Club scholarships. The club has three available $1,000.00 scholarships. We are offering two Raymond C. Hartley Scholarships, available to all graduating seniors and one “Snookie” Nursing Scholarship, only for students who are pursuing a career in nursing. The deadline for accepting these scholarships March 19. Any questions regarding the Rochester Women’s Club scholarships please call Marsha at 508-322-0998. You can also find the scholarship applications at the Plumb Library in Rochester.

            The Rochester Women’s Club was very proud to present Cecilia Prefontaine and Hannah Stallings with the Raymond C. Hartley Scholarships for 2020.

Mattapoisett Library Reopening for Browsing

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We are thrilled to welcome back patrons to the library by appointment starting on Saturday, March 13, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Anyone wishing to browse and pick up materials, use the upstairs computers, or get quick reference help will need to register for an appointment online via our calendar of events or call the library at 508-758-4171. Appointments will be offered on the hour for upstairs, quarter past the hour for downstairs, and will last 45 minutes, so we ask that you be timely and keep to the allotted time. Appointment times will be offered a week in advance. Please note that much of the seating will not be available, and in-depth reference questions are best sent to email or asked via phone. Computer appointments will be limited to 45 minutes as well; special arrangements for more time can be made on a case-by-case basis, but not guaranteed.

            The library will be open to appointments on the following dates and times:

Tuesdays 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Wednesdays 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Thursdays 10:00 am – 1:00 pm,

Saturdays – 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.

            All materials being returned will go into the book drops as usual. No returns inside.

            The library will offer no-contact side door pickups exclusively on the following days and times: Tuesdays 10:00 am t – 1:00 pm, Wednesdays 10:00 – 1:00 pm, Thursdays 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Fridays 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Sundays 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Please call staff to make arrangements for no-contact pickup on days we are open for browsing.

            Patrons must wear masks properly and adhere to social distance protocols while in the library. Hand sanitizer stations are located throughout the library and patrons should sanitize hands upon arrival, then check in with library staff at the circulation desk for upstairs appointments or the children’s desk for downstairs appointments. The library is holding contact information for a short period of time in case of the need for contact tracing. If you have any questions about these procedures, please email Library Director Jennifer Jones at jjones@sailsinc.org. You can start reserving appointments by visiting mattapoisettlibrary.org and clicking on events.

Harbor Days Moves Forward with Planning

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            Coming before the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen on March 9 was Lions Club president Ross Kessler to discuss plans for the return of the popular Lions Club Harbor Days and triathlon, annual summertime events sidelined in 2020 due to COVID-19. July 10 through 18 may just find the village streets full of visitors again.

            Kessler discussed following state guidelines such as the number of attendees granted entrance to Shipyard Park, the event’s weeklong home, and what locations might be used as entranceways and exits. Selectman John DeCosta asked if the organization had considered waiting until August to hold the fundraiser, granting more time for people to be vaccinated. But Kessler said that, although it was considered, the loss of revenue with lower attendance anticipated for an August event and scheduling issues with entertainers made the July dates their primary goal. Lions Club member Bob Saunders said that he would meet with the Police, Fire, and Board of Health to ensure safety for all concerned.

            Selectman Jordan Collyer asked of the town beach area, “The triathlon can be a train wreck of people; how do you maintain distance and numbers?” Kessler replied, “We will cancel if we can’t maintain the number regulated by the state.” Town Administrator Mike Lorenco asked that the Lions meet with him sooner rather than later to make sure a plan is in place for crowd control. Collyer also wanted to set a “go/no-go” benchmark and said, “At the risk of sounding unpopular, should we consider shutting down Water Street” to help control the number and movement of pedestrians? Selectman Paul Silva thought shutting down the two roadways to the wharves should also be considered for that purpose.

            The selectmen approved the July event dates pending the Lions Club’s ability to maintain state guidelines. Presently, the state’s guidelines for groups of up to 150 attending outdoor events go into effect on March 22.

            Also coming before the selectmen on this night was Council on Aging Director Jacki Coucci with a reopening plan. Coucci said the ultimate goal is to provide some services that were in place until the town’s COVID-19 infection rate reached the red category last fall. Coucci said she would follow all state and local guidelines for programs such as fitness and assured the board that anyone using the facility or the services would be registered, making contact tracing possible. The selectmen approved the plan. An April reopening date is anticipated.

            Fire Chief Andrew Murray met with the selectmen to review his department’s FY22 budget.

Murray was asked to justify a $14,448 jump in the on-call-personnel line item. He said the increase was based on the 2-percent cost-of-living and contractual step increases. Murray was also called upon to explain a $43,000 expense for a full-time clerk. He said the position had been part-time for 25 years and that the amount of clerical work had increased over the years. “I take a lot of work home,” he said. Silva voiced his opinion that two 20-hour, part-time clerks could accomplish the same thing with the town not being burdened with another full-time employee eligible for benefits. Murray countered, “It’s better to have the same person for continuity, and the clerk would also be the dispatcher during the day.”

            Murray spoke to the need to increase the building and grounds-maintenance expense line from $7,000 to $12,000, noting the new fire station and grounds will incur greater costs or new costs such as an HVAC system, diesel extractor, and garage doors.

            On the Fire Department’s Capital Planning list, Murray discussed the need for a fire inspector’s vehicle, $42,000 scheduled for FY23, and $14,500 for repairs to the department’s safe boat scheduled for FY22. DeCosta questioned the need for a new vehicle while Silva questioned repairing a boat he said wasn’t needed. “We don’t need a harbormaster’s boat and a Fire Department boat – just my opinion.”

            On the topic of a new fire engine scheduled in FY23 for $575,000, Murray explained the deteriorated condition of the engine and the long lead time needed to have a new engine delivered, upwards of a year. At the Capital Planning Committee’s request, he would be putting together a committee to begin planning and cost estimates for possible inclusion in a Fall Town Meeting warrant. Collyer thought it important to begin that review process now and, “If we are in a good free cash situation, it could be considered in the fall.”

            Lorenco noted that there is presently $130,000 in excess capacity with $2,095,000 earmarked for capital expenses.

            Earlier in the evening, the selectmen and Board of Health Chairman Carmelo Nicolosi presented retiring Public Health Nurse Amanda Stone with certificates of appreciation from the town and the state in recognition of her 17 years of service. Collyer noted her “unprecedented leadership during COVID-19.”

            At 6:30 pm, the meeting began with Sandra Hering presenting the board with an Arbor Day Proclamation for April 30 and a cautionary note regarding the current condition of trees throughout the community. “We have been a Tree City for 13 years, but we are facing obstacles,” Hering began. She said that last year 21 trees had been planted compared to only three this year. She said there was fear that Norway Maples planted throughout the town were falling to disease and that the lion’s share of their small budget had gone to tree removal. Silva asked Lorenco to keep this in mind while drafting the FY22 budget with the possibility of funding more plantings from free cash.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for March 23, at 6:30 pm.

Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen

By Marilou Newell

Marion Police Department Purchases First Hybrid Cruiser

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            Richard Nighelli is pleased to announce that the Marion Police Department received its first hybrid police cruiser last week.

            The 2021 Ford Police Interceptor Utility was received by the department and put into service on Wednesday, March 3.

            The cruiser has the potential to result in significant fuel savings and reduced emissions for the department. It is expected to get an estimated rating of 23 city miles per gallon and 24 highway miles per gallon. Comparatively, a non-hybrid model gets an average estimated 17 city miles per gallon and 23 highway miles per gallon.

            In addition to better overall fuel economy, the new hybrid cruiser also reduces engine idle time by allowing on-board electronic devices to use the vehicle’s hybrid battery, allowing the gasoline engine to shut off for extended periods of time.

            The Police Interceptor Utility is the first pursuit-rated hybrid SUV and features all of the traditional engineering and structural features that offer stability, power, and safety. According to Ford, it is also the only vehicle worldwide that is engineered to meet the 75-mph rear-impact crash test.

            “The new hybrid vehicle has the necessary technology and structural features to provide the safety and dependability needed in a law enforcement vehicle, while also saving fuel and reducing emissions,” Chief Nighelli said. “I would like to thank Officer Jonathan Castro who worked closely with Ford to build this vehicle to our specifications. We are pleased to be adding this cruiser to our fleet, and will monitor performance, fuel, and maintenance costs to help us evaluate the potential savings and benefits that will affect our decision to purchase additional hybrid vehicles in the future.”

            In August 2020, the Town of Marion was awarded a grant totaling $120,238 as part of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Green Communities program. As part of the program, the town is working to reduce energy usage by 20 percent over five years, which includes gas and diesel use. The hybrid cruiser was purchased to help further this commitment as part of the Green Communities program.

            “One of the most efficient features of this new vehicle is the ability for the engine to automatically shut down unless needed periodically to charge its battery, instead of idling when at a standstill,” said Bill Saltonstall, a member of the Marion Energy Management Committee. “This will help the town save fuel and engine wear, and reduced burning of fossil fuel fits our broader goal to reduce the town’s energy use by 20 percent over five years. The Energy Management Committee is very pleased with this purchase and looks forward to seeing its payoff.”

            With the addition of the hybrid cruiser, Marion’s fleet now includes nine total vehicles: one marked Ford Interceptor hybrid model, two marked and two unmarked Ford Explorer models, two marked and one unmarked Ford Taurus models, and one marked Ford F-150.

Thomas L. Bartholomew

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Thomas L. Bartholomew, 44, of Marion, died Monday, February 22, 2021, accidentally. He is survived by his wife, Sharon of Marion; his children, Ella and Ben Bartholomew both of Marion; his parents, Mary and George Bartholomew both of Tucson, AZ; his sister, Kathy Bartholomew of Tucson, AZ; and his brother, Mike Bartholomew of S. Dartmouth.

            Tom was born in New Bedford, son of Mary H. (Handy) and George Bartholomew. He grew up in Marion on the water—the ocean was in his blood from the start. As a kid he loved being outdoors: exploring in the woods, swimming, sailing, jet skiing, riding dirt bikes. Hockey and skiing in the winter. The Bartholomew family’s open-door policy meant that a gang of friends hung out all year-round.

            Even from a young age, Tom had a way with people. He was soft-spoken with an easy, magnetic charm. But he was bold in his actions and quick to dare you to try something new. He was also naturally unselfish—whatever perks he had in life were shared without hesitation. His family and friends always came first.

            Tom graduated from Old Rochester Regional High School in 1995. He met Sharon in high school, and the couple married in 2006. For their first three years together, they lived on their 40-foot sailboat and dreamed of someday raising their kids while traveling the world.

            Ella was born in 2007 and Benjamin in 2010. Tom was an amazing father who focused on the important things in life. To him, the art of a good joke, appreciating nature, and building a proper campfire were all worthwhile lessons. His greatest joys were riding dirt bikes with Ben and teaching him how to play hockey, and teaching Ella how to sail the family’s 40-foot sailboat solo. They saw their dad as strong and fearless, courageous and kind.

            Tom was one of those rare people who could actually live in the moment. He never passed up an adventure and tackled things no one else wanted to attempt. He liked all things planes, trains, and motorcycles, but his deep love of nature really defined him. Influenced by survivalist Tom Brown, he sought ways to live on the earth more simply. Injured animals often fell under his gentle care—he was a natural protector of anything or anyone needing help.

            His father’s career in the railroad industry fostered in Tom a lifelong appreciation for and understanding of trains. As Chief Mechanical Officer for the Mass. Coastal Railroad, he was known for his mechanical know-how and thoughtful diligence. He was a hard worker who helped out wherever needed. For his coworkers, his memory will live on in the sound of train whistles carried by the breeze off the Cape Cod Canal.

            He left us too soon, but we will never forget his boyish grin, quick wit, fierce loyalty, and golden heart. He taught his children that the universe speaks to us, you just have to listen. We’ll be listening, Tommy. We love you.

            A celebration of Tom’s life will be planned for summer 2021.

            Donations in his memory may be made to his children’s college funds:

Benjamin Lee Bartholomew https://go.fidelity.com/v6gtr

Ella Marie Bartholomew https://go.fidelity.com/7p8ss

            Arrangements by Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, Wareham. To share a memory or leave a message of condolence, visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com.

Developer to Increase Scope of 40B Project

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The Marion Zoning Board of Appeals learned on February 25 that Heron Cove Estates developer Steen Realty Development Corporation plans to increase the size of its proposed Wareham Road 40B development after purchasing a number of abutting properties.

            The developer’s attorney, Mark Bobrowski, informed the ZBA in a letter dated February 19 that the latest plan is to expand the project by adding 24 units alongside the previously proposed 96 units. Bobrowski’s letter asked the board to continue the public hearing until April 8, which it did after a brief discussion on the matter.

            ZBA Administrative Assistant Anne Marie Tobia told the ZBA that Steen Realty Development had recently purchased two more lots situated in front of the proposed development. She said she did not have any further information on the plan’s changes other than what was stated in Bobrowski’s letter, but added, “I know that there are some major changes” that will result in a resubmission of the plan and readvertising of the public hearing.

            Bobrowski suggested in his letter that a changeover in ZBA members is another reason to readvertise for a new public hearing. Furthermore, he wrote, “The Board of Selectmen has suggested several ‘mitigation’ measures as part of its [Local Initiative Project (LIP)] endorsement. My client needs to finalize these measures with the board before we return to the ZBA.”

            Once that is done, Bobrowski wrote that the developer must also finalize the changes with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the subsidizing agency for the affordable housing development.

            Heron Cove Estates will be Steen Realty Development Corporation’s (formerly called Baywatch Realty) second 40B affordable housing development in Marion. The 60-unit Marion Village Estates was completed in 2015. The abutting Sippican Woods subdivision, a mix of 36 affordable and market-rate houses, began construction in 2016 as part of the same 40B project.

            The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for Thursday, March 11, at 6:30 pm.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Jean Perry

George A. Racine

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George A. Racine, 86, of Acushnet passed away Saturday March 6, 2021 at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton after a brief illness. He was the husband of Claire Y. (Gelinas) Racine; they had been married for 64 years.

            Born in New Bedford, he was the son of the late Victor and Rachel (Desorcy) Racine.

            George was formerly employed as a Machine Department teacher at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester until his retirement.

            He is survived by his wife, Claire; two sons, George A. Racine, Jr. and his wife Maureen of Texas, and Gerald R. Racine and his wife Jane of Dartmouth; four granddaughters, Madeline Racine, Kathryn Racine, Elizabeth Racine, and Jacqueline Racine; his brother, Normand Racine and his wife Phyllis; his sisters-in-law, Barbara Racine and Madeline Simmons; and nieces and nephews.

            He was predeceased by his siblings, Doris Donahue, Theresa Hallett, Roland Racine, Louis Racine, and Donald Racine.

            Relatives and friends are invited to his Funeral Mass on Thursday March 11, 2021 at 11 am at Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 121 Mt. Pleasant St., New Bedford. The Mass will also be livestreamed at whalingcitycatholics.org for those unable to attend in person. Due to current gathering restrictions, visiting hours are omitted and burial in Sacred Heart Cemetery will be private. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.