Did you know ORCTV films and produces monthly TV episodes called Tri-Town TV!?
Tri-Town TV is a great way to showcase your event, concert, or any other happenings! We will come to you or you can come down to the studio and use our state-of-the-art equipment. We love to work with the community and help hone your ideas into something real!
If you’d like something shown on Tri-Town TV, don’t hesitate to contact us at ORCTV at 508-758-2300 or email us at orctv.miranda@gmail.com
Ellen Daniels Eilertsen, 27, of Fairhaven passed away peacefully January 6, 2019 after a long battle with her disease.
She was the loving mother of Sagan; beloved daughter of Tim and Maribeth (Violette) Eilertsen; loving sister of Brett Eilertsen and his wife Johnanne, Alex Eilertsen and his wife Meredith, and her younger brother Luke Eilertsen; loving granddaughter of Diana Daniels and Paul and Bertha Violette. She is also survived by Sagan’s father, Joseph Coronado; 3 nephews, John, Tim, and Adam; and many aunts, uncles, and beloved friends.
Ellen will always be remembered for the love she shared with her son and family.
Her Funeral Service will be held on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at 11 am in Trinity Lutheran Church, 16 Temple Pl., Fairhaven, MA, with everyone meeting directly at the Church. Burial will be private. Visiting hours will be Tuesday from 4-8 pm in the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Rt. 6, Mattapoisett. For directions and guestbook, visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
On January 7, the Mattapoisett Planning Board heard from local builder Scott Snow as he sought “relief from the Planning Board” for his application for a public hearing for a Form C Definitive Subdivision Plan.
During the December 17 hearing, engineer Richard Rheaume of Prime Engineering had laid out an outline of the proposed project. However, his presentation lacked several critical elements making it impossible for the Planning Board to fully vet the project. Rheaume assured the board members that if the application was continued, all necessary components of the subdivision proposal would be made available in a timely manner. That did not come to pass.
Now Snow sat before the Planning Board and pleaded with them to give him relief saying, “I’m just a builder … a family man. … This small project has escalated,” said Snow. “Things keep getting worse. … I need a little relief.”
Snow explained that his projects were high-end structures selling for $750,000 and that he prided himself on doing things the right way, but that this project, which had grown over the past several months, was proving difficult.
Snow said a delay in decision making on the part of the Planning Board would cost him upwards of $45,000, while the Planning Board members countered that he had not provided a plan that could be voted on.
Snow said that plans were in the pipeline, but not quite done yet, and that if the Planning Board could see its way clear to advance the project before a completed peer review process by G.A.F. Engineering, that would work better for him.
“I’m trying to find a way around the timeframe,” Snow said.
Chairman Tom Tucker said there were procedures in place that the Planning Board was bound to uphold, then offered Snow two choices – either ask the board to deny the project without prejudice withdrawing it completely and re-filing at a later date, or continue the hearing until February 4 with the agreement that full plans of record would be provided to the members two weeks prior to the new hearing date granting them sufficient time for review.
There was 30 minutes of debating the pros and cons of both options before Snow agreed to the continuance.
Also coming before the board was David McIntire with a request for the reduction in surety for the paving of Shagbark Circle in the Bay Club. McIntire said that cost estimates for the final paving of the roadway were $37,000, but that the surety currently stood at $250,000. He requested a reduction down to $50,000. The request was approved.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for February 4 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.
Mattapoisett Planning Board
By Marilou Newell
To the Editor:
After reading the article from the Clarksons, I decided to send a few of my thoughts regarding the Inn in Mattapoisett. Usually I enjoy reading other viewpoints about subjects that are particularly meaningful to me. Often I reflect on their opinions, and it helps broaden my horizons and perhaps color my decisions.
However, this article left out some of the highlights of this outstanding establishment over many years. We have all heard about the complaints of a few neighbors, but let us not forget the many ties and memories that have been created over the long history of this delightful restaurant and Inn. Our daughter was a waitress at the Mattapoisett Inn well over thirty years ago and I’m quite sure many residents can recall that the Inn has remained exactly the same. Perhaps you enjoyed a simple night out, or a wedding reception, or the long-awaited “opening” of the Porch. It appears that the only change is the neighborhood.
Furthermore, we had guests this summer who were hoping to find weekend accommodations in Mattapoisett. We suggested the Inn at Shipyard Park and they could not have been happier with the food, the hospitality, and their gracious rooms. The entertainment was an added pleasure!
It brings our family so much pleasure to see our children and grandchildren look forward to an evening at the Inn with their friends who have been away at college or jobs or perhaps have relocated. Yes, I am sure that the patrons have enjoyed some “spirits,” but when they depart after 10:00 pm their “spirits” have been lifted, their hearts are full of happiness, and their memories have been rejuvenated!!
In closing, I should like to commend our police department and our Board of Selectmen for continuing to make Mattapoisett “Special”. Thank you for your dedication to our town!!
Liz Field, 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.
On Thursday, January 17, the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club will hold our first luncheon and meeting of 2019 at 11:00 am in Reynard Hall of the Mattapoisett Congregational Church located at 27 Church Street. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Mr. Richard Van Inwegen, a Mattapoisett resident, is our guest speaker. He has traveled extensively and will give us a slide presentation taken from his vast collection of photographs.
For more information about our meeting or our Club, please contact Christine Voss at 508-758-4623 or visit our website, mattapoisettwomansclub.org.
The Town of Mattapoisett Historical Commission is inviting all amateur photographers to submit images of Mattapoisett for possible inclusion in the 2019-2020 edition of the Mattapoisett Visitor Guide.
This free publication is produced by the Historical Commission in collaboration with Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School and highlights Mattapoisett’s history as well as its present day beauty and many local features.
The Commission will select two images for use as front and back outside cover art. All photos must be print quality to 8.5 x 11 inch 300 DPI.
Photographers submitting images agree to allow the Commission to reproduce the photos at no cost.
Full credit (and bragging rights) will be given to the photographer(s) whose images are selected. All photos must be received no later then March 30and sent to marilounewell@gmail.com. Please make sure to include full contact details. Selected images will be announced in April.
Evelyn (Salley) Jenks, age 98, passed away on January 6, 2019, at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough, Maine, following a brief hospitalization.
Evelyn was born December 6, 1920, in Rehoboth, MA, to George M. Salley and Hazel (Smith) Salley. Following her graduation from Taunton High School she worked as a telephone operator until her marriage to Charles Jenks of Norton.
Evelyn lived in Norton while raising her family and later enjoyed working at Texas Instruments. She also enjoyed taking as well as giving painting lessons, volunteering with a number of organizations and participating in her local church activities. Upon retirement she moved to her home in Mattapoisett and enjoyed gardening, painting, reading, and entertaining her family. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Chapter 121, the Mattapoisett Congregational Church, the Mattapoisett Women’s Club and enjoyed volunteering with many groups to help others. She had also been a hospice volunteer earlier in life.
She is predeceased by her husband Charles Jenks, her son Gregg Jenks, and her sister Muriel Wild.
She is survived by her son Charles Jenks Jr and his wife Sue of Yorktown, VA, her daughter Debbie Jackson and her husband Bernie of Buxton, ME, four grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and one great, great granddaughter.
A memorial service will be held in Mattapoisett in the Spring. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Hospice of Southern Maine, 180 US Route One, Scarborough, Maine or to your local Hospice organization.
“Thar she blows …” bellowed actor Stephen Collins as he inhabited the very soul of Herman Melville during his one-man performance of “Sailing Towards My Father” at the Mattapoisett Library on January 6.
A packed house witnessed the talent of Collins as he not only uttered the lines written by Carl A. Rossi, a Pittsfield writer whose works Collins has performed over the years, but for those sixty-five minutes, became Melville.
Rossi’s piece takes you on a journey of exploration diving into the core essence of a writer who has become synonymous with American literature despite Melville’s shunning of what was then a blossoming new style of writing – an American style.
As Collins spoke, we learned how stark Melville’s early years were – the poverty, the longing to be loved by his mother, and the restless spirit he displayed at an early age. Collins, through dialog that Rossi fine tunes to the point of having the audience believe Melville spoke them himself, takes those words and makes them feel real. Writer and performer united in their quest to bring Melville to life.
Throughout the performance, Rossi’s words give us a very clear picture of Melville’s character, his struggle to find a place he could own in the world, and successfully provide for the needs of his family. Alas, we learn he failed more then he succeeded.
After a stint working as a record keeper in Manhattan, Melville boards the whale ship Acushnetfor an adventure that would forever define him. Yet, after returning and writing a very profitable book based on that trip titled Typee, all subsequent efforts, including the eventually well-received Moby Dick, were in a word, failures.
Collins showed the audience that troubled man. He gasped for air, expressed outrage at being kicked aside by Nathaniel Hawthorne to whom he paid homage by dedicating Moby Dickto him, sucked in air as if drowning in despair, and then, tenderly understanding the neurotics in his own family, Collins bled before his audience in imagined ways.
Using only his body, his voice, and a low plain wooden bench, Collins travelled from New Bedford to Hawaii, visited strange ports-of-call where the natives dined on human flesh, and chased whales, taking a Nantucket sleigh ride before tearing into the sea mammals to harvest the precious oil.
Rossi, with Collins at the verbal helm, described the true horror of those mighty ships of commerce and the type of human beings or what human beings became through the effort of gathering spermaceti.
Collins went even further in giving his audience a real sense of listening to Melville speak by playing a soundtrack that floated across the tides of his voice, the sound of the ocean itself in its endless ebb and flow.
As the performance drew to a close, it was clear that Collins had given it his all; he appeared as exhausted as the character himself was at the end of his life.
Rossi calls the play a “dramatic poem.” Collins gave the audience just that.
During the question and answer period following the performance Collins said that he performs primarily at residential retirement communities and senior centers. He explained that, since he is not a card-carrying member of an actors’ union, he can’t be booked into many theater venues. But he has no regrets and enjoys the path he has taken which also allows him the ability to teach his favorite topic, the works of 19th century authors.
Collins’ appearance was sponsored by the Mattapoisett Library Trustees.
By Marilou Newell
The January 8 meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen was swiftly handled in spite of the important projects that were discussed. In other words, things are moving along smoothly at this point in time for the proposed new fire house, roadway improvements in the village district, restrictions for the arched stone bridge, and bidding for the construction project affectionately known as the bikeway Phase 1B.
Present to give a status report on the fire department building project was committee chairman Mike Hickey, whose 40-plus years in engineering made him the ideal volunteer to shoulder this massive project, according to Selectman Jordan Collyer who is also a committee member.
Hickey said that the Fire Department Building Committee had been charged with finding the best firms to bring onboard to handle project management and design. He said that after careful consideration and evaluation of those companies vying for the contracts, the committee selected Vertex of Weymouth for project management, and Contex of Boston for design development.
Continuing with his update, Hickey said that Contex had over 30 years of experience in the design of public safety structures and in that time had worked on 56 such buildings.
Hickey went on to say that each firm would present total construction estimates to the town in advance of Town Meeting. He said that the committee is working towards providing the community with a full package of details, including the cost estimates, and that there would be a public hearing in advance of Town Meeting to give the public the opportunity to ask questions, vet concerns, and offer feedback.
The first phase of the project will also include a conceptual design based on the needs that have been expressed by Fire Chief Andrew Murray in a new building. Subsequent phases will include schematic design from which firm cost estimates may be developed.
“We want a building that will be easy to maintain, durable, and nothing fancy,” Hickey said.
Collyer said that although the public will see activity at the planned site adjacent to the police station, that work will be to study soils, survey the property, and prepare contours for storm water management plans.
“Construction is not beginning,” Collyer emphasized.
“Its better to know now what’s underground,” Hickey said of the geo-technical processes.
Of the $260,000 that Town Meeting voters approved for the selection of the project management and design firms, “they have spent less then half,” Collyer shared.
Cost estimates should be completed by the end of March or in early April, Hickey said.
In his report, Town Administrator Mike Gagne said that roadway improvement currently being reviewed at the state level for Main Street, Beacon Street, Water Street, and Marion Road are scheduled to be on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) T.I.P. list for fiscal year 2021.
Presently, Mass D.O.T. is reviewing the 10-percent complete engineered plans submitted by the town. Selectman Paul Silva asked about the parking design planned for the area in front of the Inn at Shipyard Park and the park itself. Gagne said that current options include parking on the north side of Water Street that is sufficient to satisfy Mass D.O.T., as well as some short-term parking on the south side.
Silva inquired as to the status of Mass D.O.T. travel restrictions for the town’s historic arched stone bridge on River Road. Gagne responded that the engineering firm G.P.I. Tech was working on the documents necessary for the state review process to begin.
Regarding Phase 1B of the bike path that will give pedestrian and recreational access from Mattapoisett Neck Road to Depot Street, Gagne said that the bids were out and awarding would take place in January with a spring groundbreaking.
In other news, Gagne said curbside Christmas tree pick-ups have begun and will continue to the end of the month.
Winter landfill hours are now Thursday through Saturday, 8:00 am to 2:45 pm.
Gagne also said that shellfishing areas now open include Town Landing and Hiller’s Cove. For more complete shellfishing information visit www.mattapoisett.net.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for January 22 at 6:30 pm in the Town Hall conference room.
Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen
By Marilou Newell
In 1998, the Sippican Historical Society commissioned an architectural survey of Marion’s historic homes and buildings. The survey was funded one-half by the Sippican Historical Society and one-half by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Due to the limits of funding, not all of the historic buildings were surveyed, but over 100 were catalogued and photographed. The results of the survey are in digital form on the Massachusetts Historical Commission’s website and in four binders in the Sippican Historical Society’s office (and at the Marion Town Clerk’s office).
Marion (Old Rochester) is one of the oldest towns in the United States, and the Sippican Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of documentation on its historic buildings. The Sippican Historical Society will preview one building a week so that the residents of Marion can understand more about its unique historical architecture.
This installment features 310 Front Street. Built around the time of the Revolutionary War, the Capt. James Luce House at 310 Front Street is a relatively rare example of a “pure” Federal-style residence in Marion. By the early 1800s, Old Landing was included as a stop on a stagecoach route linking Wareham with Wharf Village. This house served travelers as a stopover and was known as the Norton Tavern. From the 1810s, until at least the first decade of the 20th century, this house was owned by Luces. Beginning in 1816, Captain James and Dolly Luce lived here, followed by Bessie D. Luce in the late 19th century and Henry C. Luce, a clerk, in the early 1900s.
