Vol. 54 | No. 1 | January 2026
1974 - 2024
advocate
advocate
Writing a memoir about his hometown of Quincy turned into a search for his missing father
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Pickleball: The sport that’s changing the game for health and community REQUIREMENTS FOR UPLOADING YOUR OWN
By Jennifer BensonYou , AARP Massachusetts Director PHOTO: may uploadSatate photo to the template if (1)
it was downloaded from the Digital Asset Hub, or (2)
Turn a lifetime of experience into the experience of a lifetime. Become an AARP Massachusetts volunteer and make a difference in your community by supporting causes that matter to you, participating in local in-person and virtual events, reaching out to community members, and advocating for change.
Pickleball is more than a trend; it’s a movement that’s transforming how people document thatstay AARP has all necessary legal of allyou ages,can especially older adults, active, engaged, and connected. Across the country, AARP has championed pickleball as a fun, accessible way to improve rights to use the photo, including identifiable health and foster community. Now, AARP Massachusetts is bringing that energy individuals, artwork and trademarks text and logo, home with beginner-friendly clinics coming soon to localin courts. Why pickleball? For starters, it’s one of the fastest-growin this template. ing sports in America, and for good reason. The game combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong, The minimumplayed suggested sizecourt for the is 4500 x on a smaller with photos a paddle and perforated ball. That means less running than tennis, fewer high im2700 pixels. pact moves, and more opportunities for quick rallies and laughter. It’s approachable for beginners yet challenging enough keepreviewed seasoned players engaged. Image resolution is to best in “Preview” mode. Physical benefits are front and center. Pickleball offers a low-impact workout that supports cardiovascular Jennifer health, balance, andphotography coordination without For Benson more information about andputting usageundue stress on joints. For older adults, that’s a big win; rights, please review the Local Photography Guidance movement that feels good and helps maintain strength and flexibility. Even &sessions Rules One-Sheet on InfoNet. short can boost endurance and help prevent falls, making it an ideal choice for those looking to stay active safely. But the benefits don’t stop at the body. Pickleball is also a workout for the mind. Learning new skills, adapting to fast-paced play, and making quick decisions on the court stimulate cognitive function. Research shows that activities combining physical movement with mental strategy can help keep the brain sharp. Whether you’re figuring out how to “dink” or planning your next shot, you’re giving your mind a healthy challenge. Then there’s the social side, which might be the most rewarding of all. Pickleball thrives on doubles play, meaning you’re almost always sharing the court with others. It’s easy to strike up conversations between games, cheer on new friends, and feel part of a welcoming community. For many, that sense of belonging is just as important as the exercise itself. In fact, social connection is a key factor in overall well-being, and pickleball delivers it in spades. AARP Massachusetts is excited to help residents discover these benefits firsthand. Our upcoming clinics will be designed for beginners, offering guidance on rules, scoring, and techniques in a supportive environment. Whether you’re curious about the game or ready to jump in, these sessions will give you the confidence to start playing and keep playing. You can find dates, times and locations of AARP’s clinics at aarp.org/ma. You don’t need to be an AARP member to attend, but you do need to register for the event. Pickleball isn’t just a sport, it’s a way to move, think, and connect. And that’s something worth celebrating in every corner of Massachusetts. If pickleball isn’t your thing, we have plenty of events planned for 2026 and I’m sure you’ll find something you’re interested in because staying connected with your family, friends, and community is essential to staying healthy. That’s why AARP offers a range of programs to build and maintain relationships in your life. Jennifer Benson is the State Director for AARP Massachusetts. For more articles visit www.fiftyplusadvocate.com.
Giving back. Making friends. Changing lives. Volunteer opportunities are open to people of all ages. Find your place at aarp.org/volunteeringma
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REQUIREMENTS FOR UPLOADING QR CODES: The QR code seen on this template must be deleted or changed. QR codes must be created in the Uniqode platform using your AARP account. Download either .jpg or .png format for use in the template. For information about licenses, training and support, review the QR Code Guidance on InfoNet or contact BrandHelp@aarp.org.
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Oldest Westborough resident celebrates 104 years By Leighah Beausoleil Contributing Writer
Bunny Perron, 104, celebrated her birthday at the Westborough Senior Center on Monday, Nov. 17.
WESTBOROUGH – The oldest resident in Westborough recently turned 104. Bunny Perron, born Lena Smith on Nov. 17, 1921, grew up on her family’s Otis Street farm, where she was the youngest of eight children. Though the family was not well-off and had its struggles — there were 10 people and only one bathroom, for instance — Bunny Perron and she said her family members her husband Fred were happy and had “a lot of when they were married in 1946. fun.” The farm was self-sustaining, growing corn, potatoes, cuBunny Perron cumbers, tomatoes, and more, with and her husband a number of cows, pigs, ducks, goats, Fred in their and a horse named Bill. Though she later years. lived through the Great Depression, “we had plenty to eat because we had that farm,” she said. “It wasn’t an easy time, but he need to be kind, help one another, and Town Clerk Deborah Gage Ledoux. They were located right next door came through OK,” she said. not be prejudiced. The awarding of the Boston Post to an airport, which is now the home The couple had two daughters, “There’s too much prejudice in Cane is a tradition started by the Bosof an Amazon facility. who are now known as Kathy Sarnelli the world,” she said. “There’s good, ton Post Newspaper in 1909 with a “They used to have a little stand and Patti Conroy. there’s bad, and you have to take peodirective that it be presented to the where they sold drinks and popcorn “I hope I was a good mother — ple for what they are.” oldest citizen in a town. The original and that kind of stuff. I used to work that’s all,” she said. “I tried to bring Perron was surprised with a birthWestborough cane, after it went missthere after school,” she said. She also them up knowing they were special to day celebration at the Westborough Seing for decades, was found in the 1990s babysat the owners’ son and witme – special to their father.” nior Center on Monday, Nov. 17. As the and encased by Kris Allen, town histonessed a number of plane crashes. She said marrying Fred and startoldest resident in Westborough, she rian and member of the Select Board at Also nearby was Hocomonco ing their family was the best thing that was awarded a Boston Post Cane pin by the time. It now hangs in Town Hall. Pond, where the kids spent their sumever happened to her, noting him to be mers swimming and their winters kind, considerate, and hardworking. skating. He passed away in 2002. She and her siblings would often His “pride and joy” was the fivewalk to Saint Luke’s Church for Mass and-dime store they opened up in on Main Street. It was quite the walk, Westborough in the late 1950s, which but Perron says her consistent walk8-Time Winner was known as The Circle. Perron said ing in life has helped her stay fit and it was the kind of convenience store healthy – also crediting her love for towhere “if we didn’t have it, you didn’t matoes and blueberries. need it.” “I used to walk, walk, walk – that’s Between their small graduatthe best thing you can do,” she said. ing classes and the store, the Perrons Perron recalls when Route 9 was knew everybody in town. nothing more than a dirt road and how Sarnelli noted her mother also it slowly transformed into the hightended to make friends wherever she way to Boston it is today. She also rewent as she is very much a people and members the Hurricane of 1938, which family-oriented person. was particularly devastating and took “I’m proud of her. I hope to do out a “huge tree” in their yard. as well as she has in maintaining my She graduated from Westborough independence, which is very importHigh School in 1939, part of a class of Your Trusted Partner for Reliable Repairs & Expert Home Maintenance! ant,” she said, noting her mother takes 57 students, where she had been a less medicine than her. drum major, a cheerleader, and also “They were wonderful parents,” served as class vice president. FollowProudly Serving Our Community Since 1996 Sarnelli said, fondly remembering ing graduation, she received a certifitheir trips to the beach and down to Licensed Bonded Insured cate from the Fannie Farmer cooking Florida. “They were really a pair.” school in Boston. Perron has spent her days doing “I didn’t have any famous ones,” Services Offered: what she loves, including gardening, she recalls of her home-cooked meals, Carpentry embroidery, reading, and keeping her but she enjoyed making her husband house. Remodeling and children’s favorites, including Since her days on the Otis Street meatloaves, chicken à la king, and pot Ceiling & Wall Repair farm, Perron said she’s seen Westborroast. Doors & Windows ough “grow and grow.” Her favorite Perron married her high school (508) 366-3690 spot in town to visit is the reservoir, sweetheart, Fred Perron, in 1946 after Aging-in-Place Modifications www.mrhandyman.com where she likes to sit on a bench and he served in the army for three years be with nature. And Much More! during WWII. While he was away, MA CS #107504 MA HIC #146014 After 104 years on Earth, Perron she took care of her sick mother in said her advice to people is that they Marlborough.
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In the driver’s seat: Race car champion Roger Allan French By Matt Robinson Contributing Writer REGION – For many people daily commuting can feel like a race. With the other drivers changing lanes without signaling and the frequent threat of rotaries, taking the wheel can feel like taking your life in your hands. For 82-year-old Roger Allan French, who has been driving race cars for 60 years, that is exactly the point. He said he has always had a taste for the thrilling. “I was a sky diver, a skier, a snowboarder, an inline skater, and an avid and rated chess player,” recalled French, who also enlisted in the United States Air Force right after high school. And while he still participates in many of these hobbies, his most driving passion has long been driving. Early start in car racing At the age of 18, French went to a stock car race with his friend Bill at a quarter-mile track called The Pines in Groveland. “Bill had gone to the races for a few years,” French explained. “I had never been to one and knew nothing about them.”
Though it was French’s first time, Bill got them both into the pits – the part of The Pines track where the cars were worked on before and after going out to race. “We stood one foot behind the other at the chain link fence near turn two,” he recalls, noting that the special stance was intended to give him a literal jump if a car came careening his way. “Several of them did,” he smiled.
“My third time at The Pines, I turned to Bill and yelled above the noise, ‘We have to get one of those,’” he explained. A month later, he was the proud partial owner of a 1948 Plymouth race car, a trailer, and a $10 helmet. “I still have the helmet and my pit pass from our first race,” French said proudly, “and a dollar from our $7 winnings!”
In his 60 years of auto racing, Roger Allan French has driven everything from stock cars to Formula Vee to go-karts.
Not previously known as an adrenaline junkie, French quickly became enamored with the new sport and returned to the track often.
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Early taste of victory Having had an early taste of victory, French began to race different types of cars at different locations. Even when he was recruited across the country to support Microsoft with his programming expertise, he found local tracks that fit his style. “I’ve always been a race car driver,” he asserted. Though French has enjoyed the support of many fans, his family members were not among them – at least not at first. “They were not pleased with the stock cars and the crowd,” he admitted, noting that it took him the better part of five years to convince his parents to come see him race. When they did, the introduction to their son’s passion was not an encouraging one. “I drove a ‘57 Pontiac that was on fire for the last five laps,” French recalled, countering that his third-
place finish was then “my best finish to date.” It was not until 15 years later that his parents returned to the track. When they did, however, it seemed as if they were ready to go all-in. Not only did French’s parents buy a trailer (“so they could spend time with their grandchildren” he explained), but his mother volunteered at the registration tent and his dad got a job as a flagger out on the track. “A year later,” French recounted, “when I won my first championship, I had the pleasure, on my victory lap, of waving the checkered flag to my dad at his flag station!” Though he has been behind the wheel of a wide
range of cars and car types, French observes that the sport has not changed all that much. Friendly nature of racing “There are more racers now,” he explained. “The technology has changed. There have been good safety advances, too. But the racing is the same and the friendly club nature of racing remains. Whether it’s a problem with your gokart or race car or the need for advice on track conditions on the road course, there’s always people to help you.” In fact, French observed, even in the heat of competition when one driver gets in trouble, “you have to turn away people who want to help!” As he had military training and a background in computer analysis, French has been able to contribute most to the racing community as an analyst and a teacher. “I went to Drivers’ Schools in 1973 and got my racing license,” he explained. “In 1974, I be-
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came an instructor and the next year I was chief competition instructor… for the next 11 years.” As an instructor, French focused on consistency even over speed. “I can’t help you if I have no idea what you will do next,” he reasoned. “Do the same thing each time. Even if it is wrong, I can fix that!” Apparently, French’s dedication to consistency worked, as he was the winner of nine championships at various levels and in various locations. “To be the best at something,” he suggested, “even as limited as a single race, is an incredible feeling! Racing has given me too many highs to recall.” Book collects his racing stories French, now a New Hampshire resident, recently released a collection of stories through a Newburyport publisher about his accelerated adventures in a book called “Don’t Mention Racing Unless You Have an Hour to Spare: 100 stories. 60 years. One driver.” “I’ve always been a storyteller,” French observed, noting that he is still a member of a monthly writer’s group, “but it was my son’s idea five years ago that I write a book of them.”
I never felt I belonged somewhere more than I do at a race track.
When he sat down to catalog his stories, French found that he had far more than the titular 100. However, as his racing number had long been 100 and as it seemed like “a nice number,”
he was able to trim the list based upon which stories he had told the most. “I found a lot of the stories got people interested in racing or gave insights to people [who were] already
spectators,” he said. “I discovered that my storytelling spread my passion for my sport.” While telling his own stories, French mentions many of the other racers and racing enthusiasts with whom he has circled the track, including a certain actor who may send a “Cole Trickle” of sweat down his fans’ backs at the mention of his name. Even if you do not get the movie character reference, however, French’s stories are engaging, even to those who know nothing about racing. “I want people to read my stories, to learn about racing, to feel the life and drive of those who live and drive it,” French said. “Plus, I want to pass on much of what I have learned — some of which I learned the hard way.” Even though his family may be asking him to slow down now that he’s in his eighties, French is still getting behind the wheel and giving it the gas both on the track and off. “I never felt I belonged somewhere more than I do at a race track,” he noted. “Racing is a world within a world, with clear goals and a full range of emotions. What I do, good or bad, is exaggerated there, as are the emotions that come with it.”
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Actor Sam Waterston has deep roots in Massachusetts By Nance Ebert Contributing Writer CAMBRIDGE – He was born in Cambridge and grew up in North Andover, but actor Sam Waterston’s Massachusetts family roots are deep. His great-grandfather bought a house in Buzzards Bay right after the Civil War, and he has cousins whose ancestors go all the way back to the Mayflower landing in Plymouth in 1620. In addition to being a wellknown, classically trained actor, he’s a director and producer and has appeared in numerous films, television shows and theater productions. One of his leading television roles that he portrayed for many years was that of District Attorney Jack McCoy in NBC’s “Law & Order.”
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Early years Waterston was born in November 1940, the son of George Chychele Waterston, a semanticist and language teacher and Alice Tucker, a landscape painter. He attended high school at the Groton School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale College in 1962. His first marriage to Barbara Rutledge ended in divorce and he remarried in 1976 to Lynn Louisa Woodruff. He has four children, James, Graham, Elisabeth and Katherine. He studied acting in Paris at the Sorbonne as well as the American Actors Workshop. Legacy According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) Waterson, now 85 years old, has appeared in approximately 91 movies. When interviewed on “The Today Show” in February 2024 he was asked about leaving “Law & Order,” a show that he starred in for over two decades. His response was, “ I knew I was going to leave and the last episode was a beautiful way to go. I am not retiring at all. My manager and my wife are in charge of finding me my next job. I can’t tell you how freeing it is.”
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Many awards and honors Waterson has been nominated for many awards and won a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) Awards and more. In 2010, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. His career has spanned over six decades of acting on
stage as well as on screen. the Moon,” “The Killing Fields,” “CapHis children are also actors and he ricorn One,” “Serial Mom,” “Hopenjoys working with them whenever scotch” and “Rancho Deluxe” are just the opportunity arises. Most notaa handful of the many films he has bly, his daughter Elisabeth Waterston appeared in. Playing the character of starred with him in Forrest Bedford in the 2023 season fi“I’ll Fly Away” and nale of “Law & Orstarring in the teleder.” She played his vision series “Grace on-screen daughter, and Frankie,” WaRebecca McCay. He terston was nomialso worked with nated for a Primehis son James Watime Emmy. He was terston in the film also a Primetime “Dead Poets Society” Emmy Award Winas well as “Law & ner for Outstanding Order” and collabInformation Series, orated with his son for “Lost CivilizaGraham Waterston tions” in 1996. In Award-winning actor Sam on the movie “And It Aaron Sorkin’s HBO Waterston, a Cambridge native, has had family in Was Good.” drama series “The Massachusetts going back Newsroom,” Waterto the Mayflower landing Stage and ston played Charin Plymouth in 1620. film work lie Skinner. For this In 1993 he appeared role, he was a BAFTA on Broadway, starring as Abraham Award Nominee. Lincoln in “Abe Lincoln in Illinois.” He Originally, his film career was received a Tony Award nomination for not quite as recognized as his work Best Actor in a play. He also starred in on stage, but in the 1970s, Waterston numerous productions at the Public began appearing in films directed by Theatre, including “A Doll’s House,” Woody Allen. These included “Han“Hamlet,” “Benefactors” and others. nah and Her Sisters,” “Interiors” and “The Great Gatsby,” “The Man in “Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
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Celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary across Massachusetts By Sandi Barrett Contributing Writer REGION – The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, ushered in the first steps for a new democracy. Now, over 250 years later we are continuing the celebration of the anniversary of Boston’s history and the revolution that changed the world. All across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, special events will highlight monumental achievements, Revolutionary War turning points, and the resilience and determination of every-day, Massachusetts colonists. Classic historical sites You will find local settings we pass by daily without a thought thrust to the forefront of this monumental celebration. Become part of the history by walking the Freedom Trail and exploring some of the historical stops along the route. Ponder the significance of the Old North Church and the role its lantern lighting played. Tour the Paul Revere House, the Old South Meeting House, Granary Burying Ground, John Adams and John Quincy Adams homesteads, and Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Special events There are many historical sites across the Commonwealth where you can revel in the pride of Massachusetts’ contribution to the birth of our nation. The July 4th Boston Pops fireworks spectacular on the Esplanade is the main anniversary celebration in the city. Grab an in-person seat on the lawn or settle on your couch for a TV viewing. This event is a must when enjoying our grand Independence Day celebration. The Tall Ships are returning to Boston Harbor for summertime waterfront fun. Several free events will kick off on July 11 with the Grand Parade of Sail. The ships will sail from Broad Sound into Boston Harbor. Great viewing sites include Castle Island, the Boston waterfront, the Seaport, and Charlestown.
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Other weeklong festivities include touring the ships, the Crew and Cadet Parade, and fireworks. You can find all the up-to-the minute details at Sail 250 (https://www.sailboston.com/).
The Tall Ships are returning to Boston Harbor in 2026, kicking off on July 11 with the Grand Parade of Sail. Photo/Courtesy of Sail Boston
Independence Day is synonymous with parades and cookouts. There is a great selection of local parade options including Pittsfield, Hingham, Sudbury, and Wakefield. There will be smaller events such as the 250th anniversary of Evacuation Day (March 17, 2026) which will include reenactment units performing commemorative exercises at the Dorchester Heights monuments. The reading of the Declaration of Independence after the Sudbury 4th of July parade highlights the significance of small acts of patriotism in the propulsion of change. Lexington is planning a reenactment of the Battle of Lexington and their Annual Patriots’ Day parade on April 18, 2026. The Concord Museum is hosting a special exhibit entitled “Revolutionary Legacies.” Minuteman National Park presents their continuing program “Road to Revolution.” Patriots Day 2026 will be filled with historical reenactments
and living history programs. Additionally, the park offers guided programs throughout the year. Plymouth — home to Plymouth Rock and Plimoth Patuxet Museum is Special events across the state in 2026 will highlight Revolutionary War turning points, and the resilience and determination of everyday Massachusetts colonists like these militia reenactors. Photo/Courtesy of John Collins Photography
planning a “Grand Thanksgiving Celebration.” The party will include historical reenactments of the first Thanksgiving, Revolutionary War events, readings of the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence. Additionally there will be a parade, food festival, and fireworks offering a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our national history. Old Sturbridge Village is embracing a year-long anniversary celebration.
This living history museum is the perfect spot to explore the resourcefulness of the settlers and their fortitude in founding our sturdy democracy. Their monthly exhibits and celebrations allow guests to get up-close and personal with costumed role players and historians. Sudbury’s Wayside Inn offers an intriguing array of programs. A lecture on Ezekiel Howe, former innkeeper and second-in-command at the 1775 Battle of Concord will be presented in February. In March a presentation on the anniversary of the Revolution from an indigenous perspective shines a light on a different point of view. Staying local Your local city and town websites should have details of their 250th Anniversary celebrations. Now is a great time to think about organizing something close to home. Plan a block party (you may need a permit), organize a family outing to explore local historic sites, or simply host a barbeque with all your friends and family. Revolution 250 (https://www. revolution250.org/), and Massachusetts 250 (https://massachusetts250. org/) are great sources for all of the celebratory events.
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Bicycle racer Marshall Walter ‘Major’ Taylor was known as the ‘Worcester Whirlwind’ By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer WORCESTER – Bicycle racer Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor championed strong attacks of racism all the way to the finish line. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Taylor moved to Worcester with his coach/employer/mentor and bicycle racer-turned-manufacturer Louis de Franklin “Birdie” Munger, when he was a teen. Taylor continued his budding career in bicycle racing for Munger’s Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company. By the time Taylor turned 18 in 1896, he had already turned professional and was competing in a national racing circuit. Set world records In 1898 and 1899, he set world records in race distances ranging from the quarter mile to the two-mile and became the first African American to achieve the level of world champion and the second African American athlete to win a world championship in any sport, earning him the title “the first Black American global sports superstar.” Because he wore a military-style jacket while performing stunts (likely in honor of his father who served in the Union army), Taylor acquired the nickname “Major.” Newspapers called him the “Black Cyclone,” the “Ebony Flyer,” the “Colored Cyclone,” and the “Black Zimmerman,” and the “Worcester Whirlwind.” Popular among spectators, even President Theodore Roosevelt was a fan. However, his fame came with a price. Prejudice and discrimination Facing racial prejudice and discrimination in a white-dominated sport, the gifted athlete wrote in his autobiography that he knew nothing of racism until the day he was refused entry to train at a local YMCA. When the cir-
cuit extended to the segregated South, local race promoters refused to allow him to compete. Nevertheless, Taylor was hailed as a sports hero in Australia and France. In his autobiography, Taylor explained that he had no other African American to offer advice, forcing him to blaze his own trail. Three days after his Madison Square Garden race, over 25,000 spectators turned out in Taunton to watch Taylor finish second in a race. Afterwards, a white rider who alleged that Taylor had cut him off suddenly, lunged at Taylor and choked him into what one newspaper described as “insensibility.” Taylor laid unconscious for 15 minutes, causing some to believe he had died. Munger, who was at the track, managed to revive him. In pop culture Recently, supporters of the movie “Whirlwind,” a documentary about “Major” Taylor, gathered at the Museum of Worcester to raise money for the project. Tickets for the “friend raiser” sold for $35 with proceeds going towards filmmaker Cyrille Vincent’s goal of $1.25 million for the movie budget. Taylor’s legacy has been noted several times in pop culture. Actor Philip Morris portrayed him in the 1992 television mini-series “Tracks of Glory.” In 2007, Nike produced the Major Taylor “premium” collection of their most iconic sneakers in a light brown/neon yellow/white colorway. That same year, SOMA Fabrications began making a set of bicycle handlebars called the Major Taylor Bar, which is a replica of the 1930s drop handlebar that was named for Taylor. In the 2013 season of the television drama series “Murdoch Mysteries,” “Tour de Murdoch” episode, Dewshane Williams played the part of Taylor. Early demise Taylor lived near Columbus Park in
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Worcester for 25 years and his daughter graduated from the Sargent School of Culture in Boston in 1925. By 1930, the celebrated cyclist experienced severe financial setbacks due to bad investments, and his Worcester home was sold to pay off debts. He suffered a heart attack and died in 1932 at age 53 in Chicago. His estranged wife and daughter did not immediately learn of his death. Since no one claimed his remains, he was buried in a pauper’s grave. Thanks to funds donated by Schwinn Bicycle founder Frank W. Schwinn, his remains were exhumed and reburied in a more prominent location at the cemetery The plaque reads: “World’s champion bicycle racer who came up the hard way without hatred in his heart, an honest, courageous and God-fearing, clean-living gentlemanly athlete. A credit to his race who always gave out his best. Gone but not forgotten.”
Worcester resident Marshall Walter ‘Major’ Taylor was a worldchampion bicycle racer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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Worcester Public Library offers wide accessibility to its collections for patrons with varied abilities By Brett Peruzzi Managing Editor REGION – At the Worcester Public Library (WPL) accessibility is part of its core mission. Not just physical access to the buildings, but to the collections as well. WPL has a number of collections that can assist patrons with disabilities, including downloadable audiobooks, eBooks, DVDs with subtitles and closed-captioning capabilities, language learning materials, and large print collections. One of the key components of the library’s accessibility services is The Worcester Talking Book Library (WTBL). It provides free services to Massachusetts residents of any age who are unable to read traditional print materials due to a visual or physical disability. While impaired vision is one of the primary reasons patrons need access to materials in a different way, some people have an allergy to paper and/or ink and are not able to touch printed library materials. The WTBL has access to more
than 1.2 million volumes of digital books including large type, described videos, braille, and 100 magazine titles in recorded and braille format, and provides mail-order service by telephone, as well as immediate service on a walk-in basis. In addition to access through desktop or laptop computers, there is also an app for use on tablets and smartphones. “We get calls every day from people who say how this has changed their lives,” said Lee Anne Hooley, Head of Talking Book Services at the WPL. “The majority of our patrons who use this service are over 50, since that’s when people start to lose their vision. Our oldest patron is 105! We have more than a few people over 100 years old.” While Hooley said the library has many regulars who visit the
VISION LOSS DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T KEEP ENJOYING THE BOOKS YOU LOVE. THE TALKING BOOK LIBRARY CAN HELP! The Worcester Talking Book Library provides audio and large print books to borrow by mail for free, including return postage. For more information:
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library frequently, others who have mobility issues or no longer drive can access the collections from home. Hooley recalled a woman who called and explained that she lost her Downloading of audio and braille books for visually impaired or print-disabled individuals is one of the accessibility services offered by the Worcester Public Library. Photo/Courtesy of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled
vision when she was in the middle of reading a book. “She wanted to see how the book ended, and was thrilled when I was able to provide an audio version of it for her.” The WPL circulates 120,000
items per year from its Talking Book, large print, and braille collections. “We also offer audio and braille access to over 400 newspapers through NFB NEWSLINE, a service of the National Federation for the Blind,” Hooley added. “We are working to expand the number of local publications, particularly in central Massachusetts, that are available through this service.” Another aspect of accessibility is providing materials in languages other than English. “We have books in circulation in 40 to 50 different languages,” Hooley explained. “Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese are probably the most popular languages, but we also have books in Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Farsi, and even some Native American languages.” “Libraries bring people together,” Hooley affirmed, noting that even in an increasingly digital world, people want to meet others and be part of a community. “ Our goal is to make sure everyone has access and keeps reading.”
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Worcester’s trolley system was once the largest in the state By Michael Perna Jr. Contributing Writer WORCESTER – Worcester’s now longforgotten electric trolley system was one of the earliest in the entire country. What began in 1863 as the Worcester Horse Railroad Company, using horse-drawn streetcars, was replaced in 1889 with electric street railway lines, becoming known as the Worcester Consolidated Street Railway. Trolley network expansion Within a few years, the trolley network not only covered all of Worcester, but had been expanded to area towns, such as West Boylston, Leicester, Auburn, Holden, Millbury, Grafton and Shrewsbury, and even farther away locations such as Webster, Fitchburg and Gardner. One extremely popular destination for trolley passengers was the area around Lake Quinsigamond, with not only a large number of social, ethnic and boating facilities, but the hugely popular Lincoln Park and more modern (opened in 1905) White City Amusement Park, which stood on the western and eastern sides of the dirt causeway that crossed the lake between Worces-
ter and Shrewsbury. Old photos of trolley cars in that area show them packed with passengers, including people hanging on to the sides of the open cars. The only other means of getting down to the “Lake” at that time were by horsedrawn carriages, on foot, or taking the old Worcester and Shrewsbury narrow-gauge railroad from Union Station down to its terminus on Lake Avenue. Despite several attempts to lengthen the tracks to Shrewsbury, the line was never expanded to that town, despite the name “Worcester and Shrewsbury Railroad.” Largest in the state By 1916, Worcester’s trolley system was the largest in the entire state, with 429 cars in operation. A portion of the trolley line was shared with the Boston and Worcester Street Railway, running from downtown Worcester, then across the causeway into Shrewsbury before branching off from the Worcester line at a point close to what is now the intersection of Route 9 and Harrington Avenue, where the lines split. The Worcester line continued east up Route 9, then up Maple Avenue to Shrewsbury Center. The Boston line ran parallel to Route 9 up to a
(then) level-grade crossing halfway between Oak and Lake Streets, where it then continued on parallel to Route 9 but on the western side. The rails would have to be manually switched at what was then called “Lake Junction,” depending on which destination the trolley was headed for, Boston or Shrewsbury Center. Michael Perna Sr., who grew up in the nearby neighborhood, recalled how, as young boys, he and his friends would sit by the split in the tracks, waiting for a trolley to come by. Depending on which way the trolley was going, they would switch the tracks, which would save the trolley operators from having to stop the trolley, then going over to make the switch, and then returning to the trolley before continuing their trip. Most of the trolley conductors were very appreciative for the boys’ help and would toss them some pennies for their efforts, at which point the boys would scurry around to gather the coins up. One not-so-friendly operator, however, wouldn’t toss them any pennies, so the boys, upon seeing him approaching, would make sure the switch was turned to the opposite side from
During its heyday in the early 20th century, Worcester’s trolley system was proudly proclaiming its latest technology, including “automatic block signals” and a “telephone connection.”
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www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + JANUARY 2026 + fiftyplus advocate • 11 what direction he needed to go, then run off before the irritated operator could catch them! Financial troubles Things had been changing over the years, with more automobiles and buses becoming used, which resulted in the trolley system becoming used less and less. This resulted in financial troubles for the company. In 1942, the company made it known that all remaining trolley service would be replaced by buses within three years. Two different accounts exist as to exactly when the last trolley trip took place in the city – one states that it took place on December 31, 1945, leaving Leicester for Worcester at 1:36 a.m. with the driver, Leopaul Snyder, being fea-
tured in a Worcester Telegram newspaper. The other version is that Route 19, which served Lake Avenue and Lincoln Street, ceased operations in 1947. After converting the operation over to bus lines, the trolleys were sold off, with many ending up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Today, the only vestiges of the once bustling trolley system are small bits of where the trolley right-of-way once existed. Even the large-scale maintenance facility on Grove Street, which was later used to service the company’s buses, has been demolished, replaced by a number of retail businesses.
By 1916, Worcester’s trolley system was the largest in the entire state.
By 1942, the Worcester Consolidated Street Railway made it known that all remaining trolley service would be replaced by buses within three years.
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The Surf Ballroom at Nantasket Beach made rock waves By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer HULL – Once music visionary Bill Spence realized the age of big bands was fading out and rock ‘n’ roll was here to stay, he wanted to create a safe space for young teens to hang out and still be able to dance without worrying about causing scuff marks on varnished floors. They needed somewhere to go and Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) dances typically turned up their noses to this new music frenzy. A pioneer music promoter Spence, who was instrumental in adapting to Boston’s changing music scene in the 1960s, opened the Surf Ballroom on Nantasket Beach during the 1950s big band dancing era. He also had two other locations, Hyannis on Cape Cod and Salisbury on the North Shore, but the one on Nantasket did not have that old ballroom feel. Having once said “Lips that touch liquor will never play here,” Spence’s goal, according to the Music Museum of New England, was to provide a wholesome and alcohol-free venue for Boston area-youth. Early on, he brought in acts such as The Doors, The Beach Boys, The Rascals, The Animals, and Sonny and Cher.
Disc jockeys like Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsburg would come and emcee shows. In 1965, Spence contracted The Rolling Stones to the United States and sent The Surf’s house band, The Rockin’ Ramrods, off with the Stones for their North America tour. Back home, bands like The Mods, The Pilgrims and The Tidal Waves worked at The Surf and opened for acts like The Doors.
The Doors played The Surf Ballroom at Nantasket Beach in October 1967, just months after the release of their self-titled debut album.
Despite the nation’s segregation woes at the time and eventually losing his financial shirt, Spence ran the first major integrated concert in the Deep South and The Surf supported local African American acts, including the
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The Surf was packed to the rafters with rocking teenagers. I’m not sure what the ballroom’s capacity was, but I bet there were five hundred kids there just waiting for those low, haunting chords to cast their spell over us all. You could feel the electricity and excitement in the room. But The Doors were special.” Others shared their memories on Facebook. Jon Milkowski wrote, “I saw For over four decades, The Surf Ballroom Aerosmith there beat Nantasket Beach in Hull, which later became fore they got huge!! a nightclub called Uncle Sam’s, hosted iconic A ‘10’ as I remember, rock acts from The Doors to the Ramones. lol.” Kathy Richen remembered it as a “great club for teens.”
G-Clefs and Tuneweavers. For him, it was not about the money but the principles of equality to which Spence often
Due to travel delays, The Doors only played one late night set in October 1967 at The Surf, at ticket prices that would be just under the equivalent of $24 today.
cited his father’s pithy statement: “You are not one bit better than anyone else, nor one bit worse.” Musicians and fans reminisce Len Cirelli recalled one significant moment in time on the Doors website MildEquator.com. “I remember the night of 10/12/67 very well. I was playing keyboard for The Rockin’ Ramrods. Our manager owned three Surf Clubs in Massachusetts and The Ramrods were fortunate to open for many famous acts. We were the house band at The Surf Ballroom and that night we were the only other act on the bill. Mysterious and cool, The Doors, with their moody lead singer, Jim Morrison, were growing in popularity, so that night
Owner fondly remembered The Surf changed to Uncle Sam’s in the mid-70s where hard rock, punk and new wave artists like Aerosmith, Iggy Pop and the Ramones came to perform. It closed in 1984. Bill Spence passed away in 2015 at the age of 85. Aside from owning The Surf, he had been the president of Massachusetts Bay Lines, a ferryboat company he founded and was an elected member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, serving constituents on the South Shore of Boston from 1969-1975. Facebook tributes included statements from people like Bob Stabins who wrote, “He made my young years better.” Norman A. Smith added, “My first ‘boss’ in the music biz! Great man!” By all accounts, it is safe to say Bill Spence more than achieved his goal of providing a place where teens could safely have fun dancing and watching their favorite rockers perform.
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Hudson pianist entertains audiences with the music of the silent film era
Fortifying our cities for the silver tsunami By Marianne Lyons Delorey, Ph.D. “The world is waiting for you, ready to be changed.” – Barack Obama
By Janet Stoica Contributing Writer HUDSON – Richard Hughes remembers having great fun playing on the jungle gym and thoroughly enjoying himself when he was about seven years old. His mom interrupted his monkey-bar time and let him know that they were going to visit a nice lady who was to provide them with piano lessons. Off they went to Newtonville, a neighborhood of Newton. It was here in the music room of a Scottish lady named Alice that Hughes, a Hudson resident, acquired his love of music and passion for playing the piano. “It was only $3 a lesson back then,” recalled Hughes. “My instructor was so kind and caring. She really enjoyed teaching piano. I took to it right away,” he noted. “Practicing my piano became a very typical and regular part of my day like going to school, playing with my friends outdoors, and doing homework afterwards. It was my habit, my routine, and I loved it.” Musical curiosity He said he was always curious about melodies and chord structure and now here he was greatly enjoying his new routine. “I also played drums,” said Richard, “then, in high school when our band teacher needed someone to play tuba, there I was.” That big brass tuba wasn’t for him though. “Using the mouthpiece was always a challenge,” he said, so he went back to the piano. He tried the xylophone, which consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. “The xylophone has the same arrangement of five black notes in a scale similar to a piano and has balance,” he explained “It’s a wooden instrument that is very staccato. The piano is softer. I even tried the violin but the piano with all its keys being right there with such an infinite number of combinations really intrigued me.” Hughes noted that the piano was invented after the harpsichord and clavichord and that we have Johann Sebastian Bach to thank for the well-tempered tuning of today’s music of playing in all keys. “Playing an instrument is a very personal thing,” said Hughes.
“You’re using your body to express the sound and you work on making that sound come out well. It makes for good life lessons of being in a routine and continuing on with a project while planning and having good time management.” Career change At the age of 52, Hughes was laid off from his position in manufacturing. He said it was a watershed moment for him. He decided to do what he had always wanted to do and that was to make a living playing piano. His new job became an intense amount of time researching in the Worcester library. He borrowed books about positive thinking and positive experiences about embarking on his own. His persistence, research, and spirit paid off. He had always enjoyed the ragtime and jazz music genres and found himself drawn to the type of music played during the age of silent movies when local pianists would play appropriate music to match the films showing at the movie houses. Since 2003, he has made his encore career presenting programs as a silent film pianist statewide at community events, schools, historical societies, senior centers and retirement communities. Recently, Webster’s Samuel Slater Experience (museum) hosted Mr. Hughes as he presented his historical perspective of silent movies with live piano accompaniment. His presentation was funded by the Webster Cultural Council, and had over 60 visitors in attendance. Hughes has refined his presentation to show clips of the silent movies, brings his own screen, portable keyboard, laptop, and projector. He also educates his audience on the subtleties of the 1920s era while providing an historical perspective. He hopes audiences leave his presentation with a great appreciation for the pianists who accompanied those silent films and the actors who became the stars of the era like Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, and Douglas Fairbanks. Richard Hughes found his musical niche all those years ago and continues to entertain and inform with his multi-faceted and energetic presentation.
Cities may not technically be alive, but they grow and change with the times and with what is asked of them. Some cities die because they cannot evolve. Some cities thrive because they learn how to remake themselves with every passing century. I recently visited Spain and toured Toledo. Toledo was founded where nature created a natural fortress. The city itself is nestled high up on a hill, and the area is surrounded on three sides by a bend in the Tagus River. The prized geography allowed the city to lean into its strengths, but every strength has a weakness, and Toledo is no different. The huge hill that makes Toledo hard to conquer keeps its citizens prisoner. People with limited mobility have a harder time leaving the city, and if they dare to leave, returning to the city. The long escalators from the train station do help (they rise several levels in sections) but are not perfect. I did not see any ramps or elevators. I wonder now, as our society ages, if Toledo will become less central to life in Spain because it is limited in its ability to become more age friendly. The cobblestone streets can be paved, handrails can be added, but the high walls and inability to expand (the very things that made it so valuable for centuries) make it less appealing for an aging population. There is a growing push for communities and the institutions that serve them to become “age friendly.” This idea is largely attributed to the World Health Organization’s push, starting in 2006, to examine our world through the lens of making it compatible with an aging population. Age friendliness is not all about elevators and ramps, but includes improving: • Outdoor spaces and buildings • Transportation • Housing • Social participation
• Respect and social inclusion • Civic participation and employment • Communication and information • Community and health service
Interestingly, Toledo joined the age friendly movement this year. As 23% of their population is over 60, they are incentivized. While I applaud the steps they are taking (increasing facilities for seniors and paying attention to cultural issues, computer skills, and mental health) they will have a more difficult time adapting their environment. After visiting Spain, I thought warmly about our own country and our commitment to access. The landmark legislation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 addressed all sorts of barriers for people with differing abilities such as: • Communication • Parking • Employment
• Housing • Building codes
I am most impressed by, and grateful for, the changes we have added to our built environment. Flat access, where we have that option, ramps, elevators, grab bars, and walk-in bathroom facilities have all helped most of us at some point. Interestingly, despite all the advancements mandated by the ADA, when I looked on the WHO’s website, only 17 communities in Massachusetts are listed as age friendly. It is time to demand better. With such a head start, our citizens deserve the commitment that even Toledo is making to meet the needs of our older population. Let’s do better, Massachusetts. Marianne Delorey, Ph.D., is the executive director of Colony Retirement Homes. She can be reached at 508-755-0444 or mdelorey@colonyretirement.com and www.colonyretirementhomes.com. Archives of articles from previous issues can be read at www.fiftyplusadvocate.com.
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viewpoint
We finally saw the iguana By Janice Lindsay Contributing Writer Being a warm-weather person, I find that January is a perfect opportunity for warm-weather memories. I’ve been thinking about the day my husband and I finally saw the iguana. It’s also the day we met the unforgettable Elvin. From the hilltop ranch where we were staying in Costa Rica’s tropical dry forest, we decided to walk to the mud baths, volcanic steam vents in the valley, rather than go by horseback with our hiking companions. Our guide went with them, so we were assigned a temporary guide. Elvin, a handsome young Nicaraguan ranch hand, spoke no English. We spoke no Spanish. Imagine rustling wheat-colored grasses, bare trees in open fields, patches of green forest, big clear skies. Now imagine two pale hikers, hatted against the sun, bug-sprayed against black flies, in hiking boots, carrying backpacks, following Elvin in his T-shirt and jeans, nobody saying anything because we share so few words. Envision Elvin leading us through the small, mucky corral to the start of the dusty trail. A dozen horses milled around us. We could not ask why Elvin took us through the corral rather than around it. We
were beginning to suspect his eccentricity. While we walked, Elvin peeled an orange with a little knife, whisking small bits of orange skin onto the trail. He jammed the peeled orange into his pocket. He scanned the ground and the tall trees. He pointed to animal footprints in the dust. He leaned over, pantomiming a squat, four-legged animal with horns, or maybe big ears. “Pig?” we guessed. “Si,” he said. Close enough. We saw squiggly lines cross the trail. He pantomimed a snake. He pointed out various birds. He patiently, carefully wrote their names in my tiny notebook. We passed small groups of grazing horses. He told us their names. Was he making them up? Elvin spotted a howler monkey sleeping on a bare branch high above us. He pointed to his back. “El nino.” She was carrying a baby. “Whoop! Whoop!” he hooted, trying to awaken her so she would move and we could see the baby. Nothing. He hooted louder. More nothing. He grinned and shrugged and we carried on. A broad shallow stream crossed the trail. Elvin stooped, flattened his hands on the stream bed, hoisted his legs high in the air, and walked through the stream on his hands. As we hiked through an open field, Elvin pointed to a limb near the top of a leafless tree about 30 feet high and about 80 feet away. “Iguana,” he said.
Iguanas are large, grayish, brownish, knobby lizards, designed to look like the limbs of a leafless tree, maybe a foot long, and fat. We could not see the iguana. Elvin removed the peeled orange from his pocket and pitched it toward the iguana, hoping to inspire movement. Nothing. He strode through the tall grass, banged on the tree, shook it. Nothing. We could not see the iguana. He began to climb the tree. About halfway up he pointed. We could not see the iguana. Elvin stood on a branch below where we supposed the iguana to be reclining. He stretched his arm. A dark hand rose against the sky above and behind the branch, index finger pointing downward, apparently directly at the iguana, which we could not see. Finally, Elvin grasped the iguana by its tail. He held it high, then gently dropped it into the soft grasses below. We saw the iguana! We cheered and applauded. He raised his arms in victory. We and Elvin didn’t speak the same language, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t communicate. Contact jlindsay@tidewater.net.
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The first car license plate issued still exists in Massachusetts By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer
plates was no longer a status aspiration until years later.
BROOKLINE – In 1903, Massachusetts and Missouri were the very first states to require drivers obtain a driver’s license. That same year, the first license plate issued by a state government was issued to wealthy car enthusiast Frederick Tudor of Brookline. A nephew of magnate and founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Henry Lee Higginson, Tudor was working with the highway commission and persuaded the State Automobile Department to introduce mandatory state-issued license plates.
Lottery for low number plates In June of 2025, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) announced having applications for the 2025 Low Number Plate Lottery
Registering early automobiles Meanwhile, Higginson grew tired of people speeding on the roads near his summer estate and petitioned for drivers and vehicles to be registered. Having connections to high places paid off and an “automobile department” was created, requiring all drivers to register their vehicles and pay a $2 fee for state-issued license plates. Prior to all this transpiring, the first official car-related death in the U.S. occurred in New York when a taxi cab driver struck and killed a 68-yearold pedestrian. This prompted New York officials to require drivers to mark their cars with their initials in black over a white background. By 1903, there were 3,241 cars and 502 motorcycles across the Commonwealth fitted with blue plates, containing only one number painted in white with the words “Mass. Automobile Register” appearing above the number. The first plate bearing the number “1” was issued to Tudor but the public display of driving around with such a marker provoked jealousy among some of the rich while others of the upper class saw it as shameless. Nevertheless, considering this occurred during a time when only the wealthiest of people could afford a car, it still prompted the rich to seek license plates since Tudor had seemingly started a trend with this new “status symbol.” Those with the lowest numbers on their plates were seen as the most influential members of the community. This new trend eventually spread across the country and by the mid1920s, all states required vehicles display state-issued license plates. Those eager to show their importance in public quickly snatched up plates with numbers 2 to 50. As more cars were manufactured and buying power increased, obtaining low numbers
Wealthy car enthusiast Frederick Tudor of Brookline was issued Massachusetts license plate “1” in 1903, and his descendants still have it.
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available online at myRMV Online Service Center beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 16, 2025. To be eligible, applicants had to apply for the year’s lottery by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 15, 2025. Winners were notified by mail if selected for a low number plate. There were 283 plates available through the low plate lottery to include numbers 42, 108, 1997, 12K, X8 and A78. The RMV has held lotteries to clear out low numbered plates from its inventory for years. Although owning a plate proudly showing one or two digits may mean an air of exclusivity, claiming to be number one will remain out of reach. At least for now. The Tudor family still has the coveted license plate No. 1 in Massachusetts and has been seen in recent years on a Mercedes station wagon belonging to one of Frederick Tudor’s descendants, traveling through Dartmouth and Westport. In fact, many of the ten single digit plates are still in the hands of the families of its original owners. Owning a low number plate can be an obsession for some people. When the state introduced a “Cape and Islands” special plate in 2008, someone handed over $147,000 for the Number 1 plate. On the other hand, a single digit is also easy to remember.
There is no cost to learn about reverse mortgages. But the cost is immense to realize later that a reverse mortgage may have overcome your financial concerns, needs, and challenges. Over my 30 plus year career, the one word that hurts the most is – regret, regret of not taking action. Please feel comfortable contacting me.
What Success Looks Like When used properly, a reverse mortgage allows a qualified borrower the option to receive tax free cash up front, or a monthly check, or a line of credit to access cash when desired with NO minimum or required monthly mortgage payment. A reverse mortgage has no impact on Medicare or Social Security benefits. You still own your home and can prepay without penalty. Top uses include paying off a current mortgage and credit cards, augmenting retirement cash flow, medical needs, home improvements, and peace of mind knowing cash is available. I look forward to learning what success looks like for you. (Note – you are required to pay ongoing real estate taxes and property insurance and meet other loan guidelines.)
FREE 36-PAGE BOOK A great place to start is get your free “How to Use Your Home to Stay at Home” 36-page book. This is the official reverse mortgage consumer booklet approved by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and published by the National Council on Aging.
Alain Valles Reverse Mortgage Specialist 781-724-6221
To receive your free copy, please call me at (781) 724-6221 or email me at av@powhse.com I am also available to evaluate your specific situation, answer your questions, and calculate how much money is available to you.
Alain Valles was the first designated Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional in New England. He obtained a Master of Science from the M.I.T. Center for Real Estate, an MBA from the Wharton School, and graduated summa cum laude from UMass Amherst. He is the senior reverse mortgage loan officer MLO#7946 at Powerhouse Funding Corp. NMLS #1740551. He can arrange but does not make loans. Alain can be reached directly at (781) 724-6221 or by email at av@powhse.com
16 • fiftyplus advocate + JANUARY 2026
+ www.fiftyplusadvocate.com
Writing a memoir about his hometown of Quincy turned into a search for his missing father By David Bagdon Publisher QUINCY – What began as a nostalgic tribute to growing up in Quincy during the 1960s and 1970s became a deeply personal, years-long quest for answers about an absent parent. In his new memoir, “Quincy Boy: A City of Presidents Memoir,” author and Fifty Plus Advocate Managing Editor Brett Peruzzi traces his coming-of-age in the city that shaped him — while uncovering the story of the father who wasn’t there to see it happen. Era of rapid social change Part family mystery, part portrait of a historic Massachusetts city in an era of rapid social change, “Quincy Boy” explores how place, memory, and longing intertwine. Peruzzi revisits the neighborhoods, schools, and granite quarries of his youth, as well as the cultural shifts that marked a generation. Along the way, his search for his missing father becomes a lens for understanding how family and community leave lasting marks on who we become. “I set out to write about the place that shaped me,” said Peruzzi. “But I realized I couldn’t tell that story honestly and completely without confronting what was missing from it — my father.” Finding his narrative voice Peruzzi, now 64 years old, said he worked on the book for years, gradually finding his narrative voice as he delved both into Quincy’s history and his own family’s complicated story. He was raised by his conservative Italian-American grandparents after being born to their unmarried teenage daughter, and struggled with his sense of identity growing up and into his young adulthood. “I didn’t really feel like I fit in with my family growing up,” he observed. He grew up in a warm, nurturing household with his maternal grandparents, and had a close relationship with his mother, who lived only a block away with her husband and his three half-siblings. But he felt the stigma of having a different, absent father from his mother’s previous relationship, a man his family refused to talk about. “I felt like an outsider who had been dropped into a so-called ‘normal’ family,” he recalled. “My grandmother would tell people I was ‘nervous,’ and ‘shy,’ but the truth was I suffered from anxiety from an early age, and tried not to draw attention to myself, because I was so self-conscious.” He said as he entered his teens his sense of disconnection grew, far
beyond the usual adolescent alienation. Eager to fit in with his sometimes reckless neighborhood friends in Quincy, he began using alcohol and marijuana to reduce his anxiety, and engaging in other risky behaviors. These including jumping from high cliffs into Quincy’s abandoned, water-filled quarries, and hanging out in Boston’s adult entertainment district of the 1970s, the Combat Zone. Growing disenchantment Peruzzi eventually found validation in Boston’s emerging punk rock scene, where being different was celebrated rather than avoided. “It was an outsider culture,” he explained. “After years of trying to fit in, my concerns about that evaporated. I went out of my way to be different, in the way I dressed, wore my hair, the records I
bought, and the bands I went to see.” In college, as his view of the world became wider, he also became increasingly disenchanted with his hometown, where violence and racism sometimes unfolded on its hardscrabble streets. “There was a narrow-mindedness at times that I wanted to distance myself from,” he said, of his decision to leave Quincy after college for other communities south of Boston. Years later, a series of family crises
I didn’t really feel like I fit in with my family growing up,” says Brett Peruzzi, author of “Quincy Boy: A City of Presidents Memoir.”
The book “Quincy Boy: A City of Presidents Memoir” is a coming-of-age story and tribute to the Massachusetts city that shaped author Brett Peruzzi, as well as a family mystery about his journey to find his absent father.
drew him back to Quincy. He experienced many painful revelations as he lost family members, uncovered more family secrets and his first marriage ended. Eventually, he also unexpectedly found the father whose absence had haunted him for so long, and he achieved a degree of healing and acceptance. A longtime freelance journalist and technical writer, Peruzzi’s creative writing has also been widely published. His poems, fiction, and creative nonfiction have appeared in The Boston Globe, Ovunque Siamo, Exquisite Corpse, Modern Haiku, Toasted Cheese Literary Journal, Boston Poetry Magazine, and Amethyst Review, among other publications. A graduate of Bridgewater State College with a bachelor’s degree in English and Northeastern University with a master’s degree in technical and professional writing, he now lives in Framingham. “Quincy Boy: A City of Presidents Memoir” is available in paperback and as an e-book on Amazon and the website of Silver Street Media, a Massachusetts-based small business, and at The Next Chapter Books and More bookstore in Quincy.
www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + JANUARY 2026 + fiftyplus advocate • 17
Post-pension retirement era causing anxiety about financial stability for many people By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer REGION – With so much uncertainty in the air, millions of workers across the country are worried about their Social Security benefits when the time comes to retire. This includes Gen Xers, who have or will soon turn 60. Fortunately, there have been discussions centered around enhancing state-sponsored retirement savings programs for those without employer-sponsored options. Increasing anxiety Recent surveys show individuals from Baby Boomers to Gen X becoming increasingly anxious over the threats of unavailability to Social Security benefits. In a 2024 survey by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, 77 percent of Gen X respondents agreed with the statement, “I am concerned that when I am ready to retire, Social Security will not be there for me.” According to Joel Eskovitz, senior director of Social Security and savings at the AARP Public Policy Institute, the decline of pensions and the rise of “defined contribution” workplace plans such as 401(k) plans that make most Americans responsible for funding their own retirement has “heightened the role of Social Security” for Gen X. Roughly 1,220,000 private sector employees in the state have jobs that do not offer a traditional pension or a retirement savings plan. Only an estimated five percent of the population will open their own IRA and nearly seven in 10 have less than a year’s worth of income saved for retirement. Other programs Work and Save accounts help workers save for retirement. The state does have the CORE plan which allows small non-profit organizations to take part in state-facilitated plans and Massachusetts Secure Choice is a state-facilitated program designed to provide small businesses and employers with free retirement savings options to offer to their employees. It is an at-no-cost-to-employers plan that automatically enrolls workers who do not have access to employer-based retirement benefits such as pension plans and 401(k) plans. AARP backs the Secure Choice Plan which both the Massachusetts House and Senate passed as part of the 2026 budget. However, Governor Healey sent that aspect of the budget for further study. Jen Benson, AARP Massachusetts State Director wrote a letter to legislators urging them to
Baby Boomers and Gen X are increasingly anxious about having a financially secure retirement with pensions being a rarity, and concerns about the future availability of Social Security becoming more commonplace.
override the veto and implement the plan. The letter reads, in part, “You voted to include Secure Choice, a state retirement plan option for those whose employers do not offer a retirement savings option, in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget and your commitment to a secure retirement for all Massachusetts workers is greatly appreciated.” Benefits of Massachusetts Secure Choice include: Employers with 25 or more employees that do not offer a retirement plan, including — but not limited to — a 401(k), simplified employee pension (SEP) plan, or a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) plan — would participate. Covered employers would be required to automatically enroll their employees and establish a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement by which employees would contribute at least six percent of their pay to their accounts. Employees would have the ability to select a contribution level into the fund; the default contribution rate for those who do not would be six percent of pay, with annual escalation of one percent up to a maximum of ten percent of wages. Employees also would have the ability to select an investment option from the permitted investment options available under the program, and they could change their investment option at any time. Those who do not select an investment option would be placed in a qualified default investment alternative specified by the program. Furthermore, employees would be able to opt out of participation in the program. The no-cost IRA program gives over 1.2 million workers without employer-sponsored plans some financial peace of mind. All in all, saving for a rainy day never rang truer.
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18 • fiftyplus advocate + JANUARY 2026
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School lunch programs are thanks to Dunstable native By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer DUNSTABLE – Arguably, any childhood school flashback could include the ringing of the school bell. It represented times for recess and school dismissals, but who can forget that welcoming sound signaling it was finally time for those midday hunger pains to be eradicated by a tasty lunch? No matter what was on the menu — pizza, hot dogs or fish sticks, along with of course a small container of milk, lunchtime was a highlight of the day. Began as an experiment In 1890, home economics pioneer Ellen Swallow Richards and Mary Hinman Abel opened the doors of the New England Kitchen as an experiment to determine the successful conditions of preparing meals, by scientific methods, from the cheaper food materials, nutritious and palatable dishes, which should find a ready demand at paying prices. Child nutrition was a great concern of Richards who believed “one of the natural outcomes of the work of the New England Kitchen was an endeavor to furnish the one-session schools of Boston, namely, the nine high schools, with a luncheon which should be wholesome, inexpensive, and sufficiently attractive.” In 1892, Amy M. Homans, Director of the Boston Normal School for Gymnastics, commissioned Richard’s School Lunch Study, which was funded by Ella Sturtevant Kellen. Based on the results achieved two years later, the Boston School Board awarded the
New England Kitchen a contract to provide school lunches for five cents each. By December 1894, Girls’ High School, the Boys’ Latin and English Schools, and the School of Mechanic Arts became the first public schools in the United States to participate in a school lunch program. Within a year, the Kitchen was serving 5,000 students every day.
were served for two days out the week. Since there were no lunchrooms in the building, children ate their meals at their desks. By the end of the year, lunch menu options improved to black bean soup, baked beans, ham sandwiches, and buttered corn muffins. The New England Kitchen program became an effective tool for instructing the value of nutrition. At the end of 1914, more than 24,000 children were offered a homemade lunch. Eventually, students were able to buy a complete lunch or individual items such as milk, soup, sandwiches, rolls, ice Ellen Swallow Richards, cream, and cakes.
Strong advocate The first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Ellen Swallow Richards was a strong advocate for sanitation methods, a Dunstable native, pioneered providing school the school lunch programs lunches and inthat have fed generations troduced courses in of American public domestic science in school students. public schools in Boston. She published her findings in 1895, asserting that within the short span of time in which her school lunch program had existed, the efficient and nutritious lunch service had immediately improved students’ attention spans and that the public began to recognize students who did not eat lunch could not be expected to perform well in school. Richards was a scientist and MIT instructor whose research on the benefits of school lunch dates back to 1893. In 1910, sandwiches and milk
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New Deal program During the Great Depression, food was extremely scarce. As a part of his New Deal, President Roosevelt bought up surplus food from farmers. He then hired thousands of out-of-work women to cook and serve the food to hungry public-school students. The program was so successful that by 1941 every state along with the nation’s capital had a lunch program in place. A typical school lunch at the time meant vegetable soup, peanut butter sandwiches, and the occasional piece of fresh fruit. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the National School Lunch Program to provide low-cost or free school lunch meals to qualified students through subsidies to schools. The National School Lunch Act lays the foundation for ongoing federal support for school meal programs.
This school lunch menu from 1967 will likely bring back a lot of memories for people who were students in that era.
ANSWERS
www.fiftyplusadvocate.com + JANUARY 2026 + fiftyplus advocate • 19
WBZ’s Dream Team represented a golden era of television news By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer BOSTON – There once was a time when news anchors were such household names that they bordered on celebrity status. National broadcast journalists like Walter Cronkite and Mike Wallace certainly fit the bill but the state of Massachusetts was not without its own local legends. Namely, WBZ-TV Channel 4’s Bob Lobel, Joyce Kulhawik, Bruce Schwoegler, Liz Walker and Jack Williams, otherwise known as The Dream Team. Captivating audiences Back when print newspapers were a thing, local television news stations also ruled the day by captivating audiences with their on-air personalities. During the 1970s, WCVB-TV Channel 5 had husband and wife team Chet Curtis and Natalie Jacobson, along with weather forecaster Dick Albert, sports reporter Mike Lynch and entertainment reporter Dixie Whatley. Meanwhile, WBZ-TV Channel 4 was forming an all-star cast of its own. Meteorologist Bruce Schwoegler (1968-2001) was at the station along with news anchor Jack Williams (19752015), during the Blizzard of ’78. Other members of the team were not able to get to work. Schwoegler’s wife Barbara recalled her husband leaving home on a Monday and taking some extra clothes with him, knowing something big was going to happen. The Navy veteran not only forecasted local weather, but he also taught audiences how weather happens in the first place. Schwoegler, who won New England’s first Emmy Award for Outstanding Meteorologist earned a spot in the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, along with co-workers Jack Williams, Liz Walker and Bob Lobel, died in 2022 at the age of 80. Jack Williams started leaving an emergency bag in his office after that fateful winter ordeal. Originally from Pocatello, Idaho, he joined WBZ
in 1975 and also founded “Wednesday’s Child” in 1981, a non-profit adoption agency for special needs children. He was honored by Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton at the White House for his efforts. Williams has retired from anchoring a TV news desk and currently lives in Las Vegas. Sportscaster Bob Lobel (1979-2008) will perhaps forever be remembered for his catchphrase “Why can’t we get players like that?” and for using props like the “Panic Button” when a WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston’s Bob Lobel, Liz Walker, Jack Williams, Joyce local team was on a losing Kulhawik, and Bruce Schwoegler were known as The Dream Team during the streak. The Ohio native anheyday of network television news from the 1970s into the 1990s. chored the sports segments on the evening newscasts between Sunday and Thursday and hosted the weekly programs “Sports Final” and “Patriots 5th Quarter.” Hailing from nearby memory lane (The Home Team,” Deto mention the best of friends. It was Connecticut was Joyce Kulhawik, servcember 31). I was one of the lucky viewmagic in a bottle. There’s been nothing ing as an associate producer and tipster ers back then; WBZ Boston was the better since.” for “Evening Magazine” in 1978 and news I watched every day. This article This five-member “dream team” the station’s arts and entertainment brought to light every member of the represents a time gone by when reporter from 1981 until 2008. The Fab Five’s personality and the reasons network television news was mustthree-time cancer survivor resides in why they were a successful team, not see TV. Wayland and in May 2007, was named one of the first inductees to the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame. The strikingly tall Liz Walker was the first black woman to co-anchor a newscast in Boston in 1980 at a time There are many tests that come our way every day. In 1 Peter when racial tensions were high. Walk4:12, Peter tells us not to be amazed and bewildered by the er began her career in her hometown test that we have to endure because by them God is testing of Little Rock, Arkansas as the public our “quality” or our character. We all go through them, and we affairs director at station KATV. Now shouldn’t be confused about why they come our way. Our hearts a retired journalist, she became the are being tested to prove our character. pastor of the Roxbury Presbyterian Every time God gives us a test, we can tell how far we’ve come Church in 2014.
Look How Far You’ve Come
and how far we still have to go by how we react to the test. This is a good thing because we can never get to where we need to be if we don’t recognize where we are.
Looking back Viewer Diane McGahan is one of many who recalled in The Boston Globe in 2024 how well the Dream Team gelled together on and off air. “Thank you for this walk down
~ Closer to God Each Day, Joyce Meyer Sponsored by Chief Joseph Robert J. Terkanian, P.O. Box 808 • Northborough, MA 01532
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20 • fiftyplus advocate + JANUARY 2026
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