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Your caregiving journey can be challenging in all kinds of ways.
Your caregiving journey can be challenging in all kinds of ways.
AARP is here to help you take care of what matters most. Get answers, connect with other family caregivers and find local resources.
AARP is here to help you take care of what matters most. Get answers, connect with other family caregivers and find local resources.
Recognizing the power and promise of Social Security at 90
By Jennifer Benson AArP MAssAchusetts stAte Director
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Social Security, the lifeline for tens of millions of Americans — including 1.3 million in Massachusetts — turns 90 this next month. For nearly a century, it has helped people afford housing, groceries, gas, and other essentials. As we get set to mark this milestone, we should look to the future and ways to strengthen the program so it can continue to support future generations.
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Social Security is the foundation of retirement in America. Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, the program has grown from Ida M. Fuller’s first monthly check of $22.54 (about $518 today) to providing $1.4 trillion in retirement security annually. It remains the only inflation-adjusted retirement program, offering Americans a reliable way to plan for the future.
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In Massachusetts, more than a million (1.29 million) residents receive Social Security benefits, and many are lifted out of poverty each month. The program supports retirees, people with disabilities, and families who have lost loved ones — helping them live with dignity and stability.
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Despite persistent myths, Social Security is not “going broke.” It’s a pay-asyou-go system, funded by payroll taxes. As long as people work and contribute, benefits will continue. However, the latest Trustees’ Report warns that the program’s surplus will run out by 2035. If Congress doesn’t act, future beneficiaries could see reduced payments. Lawmakers must come together — just as they did in 1983 — to ensure Americans receive the full benefits they’ve earned.
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Another pressing issue is customer service. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has faced years of underfunding and staffing shortages, leading to long wait times, unresolved issues, and frustration for millions. In 2025, these problems have only worsened, just as 10,000 Americans retire each day.
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SSA needs to recommit to delivering timely, effective service. That includes improving communication, addressing staffing gaps, and ensuring people can access the help they need. Congress also has a role to play by providing oversight and ensuring the agency is equipped to serve the public.
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At AARP, we’ve worked with every administration and Congress — regardless of party — to protect and strengthen Social Security. More than 67 million Americans rely on it today. As we celebrate 90 years of this essential program, we must ensure it remains strong — not just for today’s retirees, but for generations to come.
AARP can help you better understand Social Security at aarp.org/socialsecurity. You can find clear answers on how Social Security works and how your benefits are calculated. Get expert advice on maximizing your monthly check, filing a disability claim and pursuing your rights as a divorced spouse or survivor. You can find free webinars and watch on demand. In the recorded webinars, experts will offer guidance to help you avoid making decisions that could potentially cost you money.
AARP knows that you work hard and pay into Social Security, so it’s only fair for you to expect to get the money you’ve earned. Social Security is your money — you earned it through a lifetime of hard work.
Jennifer Benson is the State Director for AARP Massachusetts. For more articles visit www.fiftyplusadvocate.com.
By Brett Peruzzi MAnAging eDitor
NATICK – One of this MetroWest town’s most famous residents may be a guy you’ve never heard of. Musician Jonathan Richman grew up in Natick, began singing and playing guitar in his teens, and after graduating from Natick High School, he moved to New York City. Inspired by the New York City band and his personal heroes, the Velvet Underground, he hoped to pursue a career in music. After failing to make a go of it in the Big Apple (initially resorting to sleeping on the couch of the Velvet Underground’s manager), Richman returned to the Boston area.
Underground favorite New York’s loss was Massachusetts’ gain. In 1970, the 19-year-old Richman formed the band The Modern Lovers, which also featured keyboardist Jerry Harrison, later of the New York band Talking Heads, and drummer David Robinson, who stayed local and later joined what would become one of Boston’s most famous bands, The Cars.
The Modern Lovers, who played a stripped-down, lyrically quirky brand of rock, broke up before they could release an album. But demo recordings were later compiled into the eponymous 1976 album “The Modern Lovers,” which was critically acclaimed and said to inspire many early punk and alternative rock bands. One song from the album in particular, “Road-
Musician and Natick native Jonathan Richman’s song “Roadrunner” is so beloved it has been proposed to be the state’s official rock song.
(Photo/ Wikimedia Commons)
runner,” is particularly beloved, and was covered by everyone from the Sex Pistols to Joan Jett. It has been proposed to be the official state rock song by the state legislature several times, although it has yet to voted in.
An ode to suburban Massachusetts
With its refrain of being in love with Massachusetts, and name drops of driving past the Stop & Shop (the still-existent supermarket location on Route 9 in Natick) and cruising Route 128 with the car radio on, it’s easy to see how it’s become an unofficial anthem for Richman’s home state.
After the breakup of the Modern Lovers, Richman launched a solo musical career, and reused the name The Modern Lovers for several incarnations of his
band. He moved away from the raw and minimalist rock sound that marked his debut album in favor of a more acoustic and whimsical style, with a sometimes child-like sense of innocence. Richman has released over 20 albums in his career, including the most recent one, which came out in 2022, “Want to Visit My Inner House?” indicating the 73-year-old hasn’t hung up his guitar quite yet. He is based in California, his home for many years now, and has several West Coast performances scheduled for this year.
Beyond music
Outside of the music world, Richman also runs a business in Chico, California called Arcane Masonry, which specializes in building bread ovens.
Richman has also dabbled in acting, appearing in minor roles in several movies. His most notable performance was in the 1998 Farrelly Brothers film “There’s Something About Mary,” in which he plays the part of a Greek chorus-style narrator who musically comments on the film’s events.
In what may be the most enduring local tribute to Richman and his most famous song, a nightclub opened in 2022 in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood called Roadrunner. With a capacity of 3,500 people, it is the largest general admission concert venue in New England.
Listen to the original recording of “Roadrunner” by The Modern Lovers: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=6ZWoJ8_75Mo
Writing his next chapter Poet Laureate and BU professor Robert Pinsky
By MAtt roBinson contriButing Writer
BOSTON – Three-time Poet Laureate of the United States Robert Pinsky rubbed elbows with presidents and other dignitaries from around the world for quite some time and had previous teaching stints at both UC-Berkeley and Wellesley College. But his nearly 30-year tenure as a professor at Boston University represented his longest stay at one institution.
And Boston University honored its Warren Distinguished Professor when he put his teaching pen down this year. As he started to compose the next stanza of his life, the New Jersey native reflected on his multi-faceted career and the many words and verses that have made it up.
Early roots in music
He first found both success and identity as a saxophone player. He has since produced a popular series of albums of what he calls “PoemJazz” with mu-
sicians Laurence Hobgood and Stan Strickland (with whom he will perform July 16 at the Truro Center for the Arts), and other talented friends. Pinsky (who
Three-time Poet Laureate of the United States Robert Pinsky taught at Boston University for nearly 30 years.
(Photos/Eric Antoniou)
has also performed with the likes of Vijay Iyer, Josh Ritter, and Bruce Springsteen) is best known as a syllable player.
“I had fantasies of being a wonderful jazz musician someday,” he admitted, “but all the time, I was thinking about the sounds of words.”
He recalled being “surrounded by prose writers” such as Alan Cheuse, Digby Diehle and Pete Najarian (“I could remember the sound of typewriters going like mad,” he winced). Pinsky also remembered the lessons he gleaned from Ezra Pound’s “ABC of Reading” regarding what he calls “sentence melodies” such as which vowels were long and which were short.
“I could hear that,” he observed, “and other people apparently couldn’t!”
As these rhythms became deeply ingrained in him, Pinsky says that, even when the most prolific prose pounder prognosticated, all he could hear was the “music” of the words.
“Poetry is the sister art of music,” he maintained. “It was through the ear and the voice that I realized it was the art I wanted to give my life to.” Though he reflected that poetry was once a road to “elevation” and inclusion in America, Pinsky opines that some schools still segregate poetry in ways that make it difficult to approach.
“A lot of the academic criticism I have been subjected to concentrates on defining how poetry is different from other ways of language,” he noted. “I have tried to think about what it has in common with other kinds of language.”
The high and the low Many consider poetry to be a “highbrow” art (often to the point of being seen as unreachable and unfathomable
by the “average” person). Pinsky says that, in the same way as a conversation can be made interesting or dull or a joke told in a way that makes it funny or dead, a poem can be made interesting or moving…or not.
Tellingly, when asked what the first poem he recalled turning him on to the form, Pinsky expressed a desire to reply with some “high-brow” answer, but admits that it was most likely one of the “obscene” rhymes that he used to share with classmates in the schoolyard.
“That was probably more in my mind than Wordsworth,” Pinsky laughed.
As it often combines “high” and “low,” Pinsky proposed, poetry can reach people in more engaging ways than other forms of writing and communication. Perhaps that is why so many people apparently love it.
Favorite Poem Project
The most obvious evidence of this is Pinsky’s Favorite Poem Project (http:// www.favoritepoem.org), a collection of people from all walks of life sharing the poems that have the most meaning to them and, in the process, encouraging others to find their own voice in the form.
“It seemed like a simple idea,” Pinsky reasoned. “Have people read poems they like reading…and emphasize the voice and the reader, and not an academic or show business setting.”
When Pinsky put out the call for participants as an official act of the Poet Laureate (a title he held a record three times), 18,000 people responded.
“Seeing the first videos was terrifically confirming,” he recalled happily. “I loved it!”
While the official call went out some time ago, poems continue to pour in from poetry lovers from around the world.
“At BU, when we have had a distinguished speaker…we invited them to read a poem they like,” Pinsky explained, proud of his literary legacy and grateful to his academic home for supporting it.
In addition to demonstrating the broad appeal of poetry, the Project has also encouraged some to risk a great deal on its behalf. “We had an Asian filmmaker who gave pieces of Leaves of Grass to a girl he was sweet on,” Pinsky noted, citing the popular but often controversial Whitman verse, “and she reported him and he went to jail!”
On a happier note, Pinsky also recalled Olympic champion (and fellow Terrier) Mike Eruzione talking about
Poetry is the sister art of music.
Robert Pinsky
how his father had traditionally recited Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” at family gatherings.
“Mixing things is what I believe in,” suggested Pinsky. He has also written an opera libretto, a survey of the life of King David, and a best-selling translation of Dante’s “Inferno” and also edited the 25th anniversary volume of “The Best of American Poetry” series, developed an interactive fiction game, and appeared on “The Simpsons.” “I’d like to think that unexpected combinations of high and low have something to do with what I have to offer as a poet,” he added.
When asked about what confirmed his life as a writer, the man who has created hundreds of poems (the first two collections of which are about to be republished by Princeton University Press) looked back all the way to his days studying under famed cultural historian Paul Fussell at Rutgers.
“When the college literary magazine…accepted pieces I wrote,” Pinsky said, “that felt very big-time!” The memory of seeing his name in print that first time was strong, and Pinsky maintained that he still gets that same thrill seeing his latest publishing effort (“Proverbs of Limbo,” which came out in 2024) today.
“I am proud to say some poets I admire — young and old — have told me how much the new book means to them,” he smiled. “If those books and the PoemJazz albums have meant something to makers that I respect, that is fulfilling.”
The next chapter
In addition to being lauded by his peers, Pinsky was recently feted at BU when he announced that he was stepping down after nearly 30 years on Commonwealth Avenue. “I originally was invited to do a visiting year at BU, on a year’s leave from Berkeley,” recalled Pinsky, “but the BU Creative Writing Program made me want to stay here.”
Pinsky knew New England from having taught at Wellesley College, but preferred the West Coast weather (and food). “Our Berkeley friends thought my wife and I were crazy…to come back to Boston,” he admitted, “but I have not regretted it, ever.”
As he prepares for whatever is next, Pinsky, asked what inspires his muse today, quickly responded with, “fear and rage.” “I do not think that poetry is a good medium for propaganda or persuasion,” he demurred, “but I hope that I can write about the feelings inspired by the daily news these days.”
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By colin MccAnDless contriButing Writer
HULL – For 80 years, Paragon Park on Nantasket Beach in Hull entertained throngs of visitors. Today there are only a few hints remaining of its former grandeur.
Early years
Opened on June 10, 1905, and inspired by the Colombian Exposition of 1893 and Dreamland at Coney Island, entrepreneur George A. Dodge invested $500,000 to create what was billed as a “miniature world’s fair” that featured a lagoon with Italian gondoliers, a Japanese tea garden, the Egyptian “Streets of Cairo” and other cultural
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exhibits.
Other attractions included a 110foot tower adorned with 20,000 electric lights (a novelty at the time since most homes lacked electricity) as well as shooting galleries, a 2,000-person capacity German beer hall, acrobats, circus acts, high divers and wild animals that performed daily on center stage, according to the nonprofit
apartments at
Friends of the Paragon Carousel.
Despite the initial hype, the park lagged financially in its first two years. But Dodge believed in the venture and bet on its future. He bought out the other investors, changed exhibits annually and regularly added new rides and amusements. Fires in 1911 and again a few years later damaged large sections of the more than two-acre
Monday thru Friday, 9am to 5 pm for more
The nonprofit Friends of the Paragon Carousel runs the Paragon Park Museum in Hull’s clocktower building, that was once used as a railroad depot, next to the carousel ride. (Photo/Courtesy of Friends of the Paragon Carousel)
Paragon Park but the ravaged buildings and attractions were rebuilt and replaced.
The year 1917 marked a milestone in the park’s history as Dodge contracted with the Philadelphia Toboggan Company to build the Giant Coaster, which at 98 feet high was the tallest and longest roller coaster in the world at the time. Intrepid riders experienced a vertical drop of 88 feet and hurtled down at 53 mph.
In 1920, Dodge leased the park to former concessionaires Albert Golden and David Stone to manage the entire operation. They added new attractions and shows every year, including adventurous rides like the Congo Cruise, Kooky Kastle and the Caterpillar.
Family connection
In his summary the “Paragon Park
Story,” Hull Historical Society member Chris Haraden, who is writing a book on the history of Paragon Park, cites a contemporary quote from The Boston Globe enthusing, “Nothing like Paragon Park has ever before been seen nearer than Luna Park (Coney Island) at New York.”
Growing up, Haraden lived next door to his grandfather Frank Infusino in Hull about 100 yards from Paragon’s back gate. Infusino worked at Paragon for decades as one of the tech specialists who maintained the roller coaster. “He and another group of guys would walk the track every morning and run a test train before the park opened for the day, usually around one p.m. We could see the roller coaster from the windows of our house,” recalled Haraden.
Listening to his grandfather’s stories about the park and “old Nan-
tasket” is what sparked his interest in Hull’s history.
A series of challenges Paragon Park struggled financially during the Great Depression and amid the war rationing of World War II, yet it managed to survive. A series of fires in 1963 destroyed numerous buildings and attractions, including the roller coaster, but it once again rebounded and reopened.
The Great Blizzard of 1978 inundated the park with 6 feet of water in February, which necessitated replacing the motors and machinery of most rides, arcade games and prize inventory, and drying out buildings. Despite the extensive damage, diligent cleanup efforts allowed the resilient Paragon Park to open in time for the 1978 season.
Paragon Park remained opera-
tional until 1985, when the Stones sold it for $5.5 million to developer Chester Kahn, who converted it into condominiums. Ultimately, the Stones no longer had the energy to continue investing further capital in the expensive endeavor. The high cost it would entail to modernize the park and compete with other larger, contemporary theme parks sealed Paragon’s fate.
Haraden cited its ownership as a factor contributing to Paragon’s longevity. While Dodge launched the enterprise, by the 1920s, Stone and Golden had taken over.
“The Stone family eventually became the sole owner, and it really was the family business for decades,” explained Haraden. “The Stones were a part of the community and employed many Hull kids (and adults) and kept the park going through the Great DeParagon Park | 15
The Paragon Carousel, dating from 1928 and still in operation in Hull, is one of fewer than 100 “grand carousels” remaining in the United States. (Photos/Courtesy of Friends of the Paragon Carousel)
Paragon Park on Nantasket Beach in Hull was a magical destination for generations of kids and adults alike for 80 years. (Photo/Courtesy of Friends of the Paragon Carousel)
America’s auto industry got a significant start in Massachusetts
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
REGION – Detroit may be known as the “Motor City,” but the state of Massachusetts played a key role in the start of America’s rich automobile industry. Framingham’s Cushing Memorial Park recently hosted the Bay State Motor Festival featuring vintage vehicles for car enthusiasts to celebrate the state’s one-hundred-year history in automobile manufacturing.
Ken Lemoine, Executive Director of the festival and self-described “car-oholic” spoke about restoring a one-ofa-kind 1924 Bay State with television station WCVB, saying, “I looked for 30 years to find one of these cars. I gave up. And it found me.” Lemoine added, “You’re looking at the only remaining Bay State sedan known to exist. Massachusetts was the genesis of the automobile in America. Between 1893 and present day, we’ve made over 7 million vehicles here in Massachusetts. And of those, 4.7 million of them were made here in Framingham.”
The Bay State was manufactured by the now-defunct R.H. Long Motor Company, which was operational in Framingham from 1922 to 1926. The 1925 roadster and a 1924 sedan mod-
el one are the only two remaining Bay State cars known to exist. The R. H. Long Motor Company was founded by Framingham native Richard H. Long, a shoe manufacturer who used his factory to manufacture war supplies during World War I. He ceased car production in 1926.
There were at least 162 automobile
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A Knox automobile, which were made in Springfield between 1900 and 1914, was on display at the recent Bay State Motor Festival in Framingham. (Photo/Brett Peruzzi)
and produced nearly 25,000 Buicks. In 1959, it became a Fisher Body plant, churning out nearly 700,000 Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Pontiac models and two generations of the A-Body Cutlass until production of the model ceased in 1988. Throughout the 1980s, Framingham Assembly produced the Chevrolet Celebrity, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, and Pontiac 6000.
Framingham Assembly ran into a major problem during the late 1980s. General Motors wanted to buy a nearby 35-acre parcel of land to build a new paint and plastics production facility, but the town of Framingham refused to cooperate.
manufacturers in the state from 1893 to World War II. From 1921 until 1931, Rolls-Royce America in Springfield assembled almost three thousand Silver Ghosts and Phantoms at their plant. The H.H. Buffum Company in Abington produced the Buffum from 1901 to 1906. The Crest Manufacturing Company produced the Crestmobile around 1904 and the Corwin Manufacturing Company manufactured the Gas-aulec between 1905 and 1906 in Peabody. The Knox Automobile Company made cars in Springfield between 1900 and 1914. Those are just a few.
In the Greater Boston area, between 1903 and 1914, the Pope Manufacturing Company produced vehicles in Hyde Park, including the Pope-Hartford, Pope-Robinson, Pope-Toledo, Pope-Tribune and Pope-Waverly. In 1913, the Ford Motor company opened Cambridge Assembly where they manufactured automobiles until 1926.
Framingham was also once the site of a General Motors assembly plant, employing 3,700 workers from all over New England. The plant, located at 63 Western Avenue, broke ground in 1945
Governor Michael Dukakis used the state’s eminent domain powers to take control of the property for the construction of the $224 million expansion by General Motors. Columnist Alex Beam of The Boston Globe pointed out in a 1987 article that Tony Colonna, a local politician who wanted to have a new town facility on the site, was “the most powerful man in Framingham.” and allegedly used his influence to delay the project. Although rumblings of the plant’s closure were concerning and many GM employees found the job to be a tough one, earning on average $14 an hour, they did like being able to afford to raise a family and pay for their children’s college education.
However, the news they all dreaded came to pass and the plant closed on August 1, 1989. After the last car passed their workstations, around 1,000 disheartened employees walked out the door. One GM worker who spoke anonymously to United Press International said, “I’ve always felt that at this particular facility we made a good product. Obviously, they don’t feel that way or we’d still be open.”
Chuck McDevitt, who headed the Framingham United Auto Workers Union at that time, added, “‘Most of the people being laid off today will never work on a car assembly line or see the salaries they have today again.”
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Sally Snowman was Boston Light’s first and last female keeper
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
BOSTON – During the last leg of Boston Light’s 300-plus history, Sally Snowman served as the first and last female lighthouse keeper. Snowman, who retired from the job in December 2023 at age 72, was the last official keeper of a job previously held by a total of 69 men over the centuries. Lighthouse keepers were initially called “wickies” because of their job trimming wicks. In 1896, they became civil service employees until 1910 when Congress created the Bureau of Lighthouses, with the U.S. Coast Guard overseeing the role starting in 1939.
Early visit
As a child, Snowman lived near Boston Harbor and her father was a Coast Guard Auxiliary member who brought her to Little Brewster Island in 1961 to meet other Auxiliarists by the lighthouse for a picnic. She remembers helping to anchor the boat, looking up at the lighthouse and telling her father that when she grew up, she wanted to get married there.
She struggled throughout school and gravitated towards caretaking jobs working with children, the elderly and the disabled. After discovering she had dyslexia and attention-deficit disorder, Snowman wanted to “find out why her brain was so scrambled.” So, she obtained an online Ph.D. in neurolinguistics from Walden.
Snowman volunteered for the Coast Guard Auxiliary for 30 years. It is also where she met and married her husband Jay Thompson in 1994. The pair shared an enthusiasm for lighthouses and maritime history. She was hired as the seventieth keeper of the Boston Light in 2003 and her job duties at the automated lighthouse included keeping it clean and checking mechanical equipment. A lighthouse safety inspection failure in 2018 restricted Snowman to daytime maintenance trips.
Now
Dangerous job
Besides the day-to-day chores of housework and keeping of the light, lighthouse keepers of the 18th and 19th centuries faced many dangers and heavy physical labor. They often risked their own lives to save others. And certainly during storms an offshore lighthouse could be a hazardous place. Lighthouse keeping was one of the few jobs available to women during the time, provided they inherited the job from a male family member. It was thought to be an easy and familiar task for widows of lighthouse keepers. However, the women were not allowed to wear the brass-buttoned uniforms and had to take a reduction in pay.
In an interview with 9News.au, Snowman described her daily routine with her husband at the lighthouse. “We’d get up at 7 a.m. to do rounds, check the buildings, make sure no hazardous matter had washed up on shore,” she explained. “We would do routine maintenance. Keep the interior buildings clean, mow the lawn, trim the walkaway. I love to have a flower garden out there, so I’d tend that. I love to go down to the beach and look for heart-shaped rocks. Around the house I have all these little rocks.” She added how much she could not get enough of
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the solitude and love of the panoramic view.
Her true home
Prior to retiring, Snowman admitted to CBS News that she would miss the lighthouse and planned to spend time at the Lifesaving Museum in Hull whenever her heart ached for the place. Snowman added, “In my heart of hearts, Boston Light is my home. I took to it like a fish to water.”
Sally Snowman and her husband
never had any children but compared letting go of the lighthouse to that of seeing a child go off to college to “have another experience and to find out who they truly are.” The couple’s experience on the island has also led them to write the book “Boston Light: A Historical Perspective.” She may no longer hold the post, but Snowman wants the world to know, “We will leave the light on for you.”
“In my heart of hearts, Boston Light is my home,’ says former lighthouse keeper Sally Snowman. (Photo/Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Barresi)
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Sally Snowman retired at age 72 as the first and last female keeper at Boston Light after 20 years of service. (Photo/Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard)
By nAnce eBert contriButing Writer
FRAMINGHAM – For the fifth year, the city of Framingham in June celebrated some of its most accomplished senior citizen volunteers.
The Framingham Senior Heroes Award Committee selects the award recipients. Each person selected has demonstrated their commitment to the community and beyond, volunteering for many meaningful organizations and making an impact on those around them.
The four recipients are honored for their contributions in either Culture/Arts, Social Development, Health/ Healthcare or Public Service and are recognized by both the Framingham Senior Heroes Award Committee and the Callahan Senior Center Committee.
MARCIA SHARPE
Public access television work
Marcia Sharpe was recognized for Culture/Arts. Her involvement at Access Framingham Television includes producing, editing and filming over two hundred shows and has supported many of their community programs.
“The mission continues, and I remain committed to lending a helping hand wherever I can,” says Marcia Sharpe, who was recognized for Culture/Arts in the Framingham Senior Heroes Awards. (Photo/Submitted)
“While I am affiliated with many meaningful organizations, this award is heartfelt recognition of the passion and purpose I bring to the Framingham community,” said Sharpe. “The mission continues, and I remain committed to lending a helping hand wherever I can. I thank God for the strength He contin-
“Giving the benediction (at veterans events) really means a lot to me,” says Bob Anspach, who was recognized for Social Development in the Framingham Senior Heroes Awards. (Photo/Submitted)
ues to provide, and I am truly grateful for this honor.”
Sharpe grew up in Jamaica in the parish of St. Catherine and life was difficult. Her parents could not read or write and her family was quite poor. She was involved in athletics and ran track. She made it to the National Stadium, which she said was a huge honor.
In 1996, when she came to the United States to follow her sister and mother, she promised herself that she would do whatever it takes to give back to those who are less fortunate. She served in the U.S. Army and is a distinguished veteran who served with honor. She has over eighteen years of experience with adults and children who have disabilities and continues to commit herself to inclusion and diversity and she has dedicated over twenty years to the healthcare field.
Sharpe has received many awards and recognition for her continued outreach and volunteerism. Some of these include the Governor’s Award and the Framingham Rotary Club Volunteer Award.
ROBERT “BOB” ANSPACH
Role as chaplain most rewarding
Robert “Bob” Anspach was recognized for Social Development. He has volunteered tirelessly to ensure that, regardless of religion, socioeconomic status, race and more, everyone in the community is included and supported. He finds his volunteer role as a chaplain most rewarding. A couple of times each year, he joins a motorcade for
MARCIA SHARPE ROBERT “BOB” ANSPACH
veterans and stops at cemeteries to say a prayer with the playing of “Taps” and the national anthem.
“Giving the benediction really means a lot to me and recognizing Flag Day and Veterans Day is meaningful, not just to me, but to those I am honoring and their families,” said Anspach.
He was appointed by Mayor Charlie Sisitsky as the chair of the Framingham Human Relations Commission and the Alliance for MetroWest Unity. Anspach is also the lead for the Elks Literacy Project and is involved with service provided by the Framingham Elks.
“This is truly an honor for me, and I am touched and surprised that someone knew enough about me to nominate me for this award,” said Anspach.
SHARON ARROYO, RN
Long-time nurse at events Sharon Arroyo, RN was recognized for Health/Healthcare. Her volunteer efforts have included the Boston Marathon, Metrowest Medical Center, and the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). Having practiced for over fifty years in critical care and emergency room nursing, Arroyo retired almost four years ago.
“The initial goal for the MRC was to prepare people for disasters,” said Arroyo. “We went into the communities and educated people through courses
“I am happy to help anyone in need,” says Sharon Arroyo, who was recognized for Health/ Healthcare in the Framingham Senior Heroes Awards.
(Photo/Submitted)
like CPR, Stop the Bleed, Drug Take Back Day and more.”
Arroyo said she is proud of other contributions she has made, including working with Habitat for Humanity to build playhouses for the children of first responders.
In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Arroyo recognized an immediate need for facial masks. She quickly went to Walmart and bought out their entire stock, distributing them to those in need around her community and
“My advocacy is not about me, it’s about the work that needs to be done,” says Larry Stoodt, who was recognized for Public Service in the Framingham Senior Heroes Awards. (Photo/Submitted)
sewing some as well.
The sewing led to her making neonate quilts that are donated to Metrowest Medical Center. She also sews and donates larger ones for hospice care and end of life patients.
“The volunteer work that I do is very rewarding,” said Arroyo. “I am happy to help anyone in need, so I don’t think of it as diversity. There are so many people who also give their time to wonderful causes. It’s nice to know that we all can make a difference.”
Now accepting Applications for 62 years of age and older and those that are under 62 years of age and are permanently disabled.
LARRY STOODT
A champion of sustainability efforts Larry Stoodt was recognized for Public Service. He is a founding member of Energize Framingham and is an advocate for the community’s sustainability efforts.
He was a town meeting member in Framingham as well as a member of Sustainable Framingham, which was a citizens committee working on the issue of the environment’s sustainability. It has morphed into an organization called Energize Framingham.
Stoodt is a member of 350 Mass Metrowest Node, a statewide organization working at both local and state levels on issues on the environment and sustainability.
“Much of this work is inclusive of the whole city,” said Stoodt. “Unfortunately, the underserved communities will pay the highest price for climate change while doing the least to create it.”
Stoodt said he is passionate about the volunteer work that he does and is honored to be getting the award but also a bit embarrassed.
“My advocacy is not about me,” he explained. “It’s about the work that needs to be done. Receiving this award goes against my mentality, while at the same time I am truly honored.”
SHARON ARROYO, RN
LARRY STOODT
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
BOSTON – One morning when Kathei Logue was a mere 14 years old, she rose from her bed at her home in the South Shore town of Avon and quickly got dressed. She rode a bus headed toward the old Hotel Madison in Boston where hundreds of girls were already gathered. She sneaked past security with a phony press pass and spent the day with British pop royalty, the Beatles. Such a daring feat had rarely been accomplished by older teens or even young adults.
First Beatles concert in Boston
The date was September 12, 1964, and a British invasion had hit America’s shores. Beatlemania was firmly here, and young Logue was on a daring mission for the Fab Four’s first (out of a total of two ever) Boston concert. With a bag full of drawings of the Beatles, confetti, a Kodak brownie camera and a Datebook Press Pass (that she got via a coupon from the back of a teenybop-
the
per magazine) in tow, Logue carved a path through the crowd to the front door of the Madison.
She blurted out that she was there on assignment from New York for the Beatles press conference but was informed by a police officer that the conference was not scheduled to begin until later in the afternoon. He suggested she come back and ask for Sergeant Scott, and he would take care of her.
Suspecting Logue was someone important, six teenagers followed her as she trekked her way back through the crowd. Logue told her newly formed entourage, “I’m going to visit George’s sister in Kenmore Square. Would you like to meet her? Follow me.” They had no idea she had never met the sister.
Since no one objected, off they went to the Somerset Hotel (now Boston University dorms) in search of Louise Harrison Caldwell. They never located George’s sister even after going door to door, but they did stumble upon the Los Angeles Angels who took them over to Fenway Park for a Red Sox game. Logue managed to lose her entourage, apart from a young man also armed with a camera.
Crashing the press conference
Returning to the Madison Hotel, where a now larger crowd had gathered, the bold 14-year-old pressed her way through again, saying, “Excuse me. Excuse me. Press.” She introduced the young man accompanying her as a cousin and photographer from Avon. Without any questions, Logue was ushered through to the press conference room where she waited beside Herald Traveler reporter Paul Benzaquin.
Shortly after Logue sat in her front row seat, Beatles press agent Derek Taylor and the Beatles entered the room. Also present were a few children of Boston VIPs who screamed with excitement at the sight of the guys from Liverpool. Logue asked John Lennon about the release of his book of schoolboy poetry “John Lennon in His Own Write,” to which he replied, “It will be coming out soon.”
Towards the end of the conference, Logue caught Derek Taylor’s attention and persuaded him to take her and her friend back to the Beatles’ hotel room for autographs. Next, was the Beatles’ first appearance at the Boston Garden. After not being allowed through the underground passage from the hotel to the Garden, Logue entered in with a ticket. She admitted to being unable to tell what they played because the screaming was so intense. Logue capped the day with tossing her confetti and going back home.
Booking agent at The Rat
When she grew older and was of working age, Kathei Logue still maintained that drive for the music culture. A prominent figure in the Boston rock music scene, she worked at the granddaddy of venues, The Rat (Rathskeller) in Kenmore Square as a booking agent starting in the late 1970s and into the 1980s.
Logue booked everyone from The Cars to REM to Tiny Tim and countless local bands at The Rat during her tenure. She also managed several punk/ new wave bands. But it all started the day she bluffed her way into meeting the Beatles.
The Beatles first concert in Boston was on September 12, 1964, at
Boston Garden.
Kathei Logue, later a music booker at the rock club The Rat in Boston, talked her way into the press conference given by the Beatles when she was 14 years old before they played their first concert in the city in 1964.
Boston-produced TV shows were pioneers in the broadcast world of the seventies and eighties
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
BOSTON – Before there were streaming services or cable with its many platforms and networks, there were foil-wrapped rabbit ears for better television reception, only a handful of channels to choose from, and a wrench to turn the broken channel knob instead of the all-important remote. It was the days of UHF and VHF and a simpler yet equally entertainment-filled time.
Hosts became local celebrities
Local television shows that were broadcast from the 1960s through the 1990s were not only enjoyable for their content, but viewers also tuned in to watch some of the hosts. Take, for example, Dana Hersey on WSBK-TV 38. Many people loved “The Movie Loft,” a pioneer in hosted movie shows, as much as they did Hersey’s commanding voice while he deftly introduced them to unedited movies.
MervinGriff reacted to a video posted on YouTube with: “AH! DANA HERSEY, I watched him host tons of The Movie Loft on TV
Dana Hersey hosted the locally-produced show “The Movie Loft” on Boston’s WSBK-TV 38. (Photo/Courtesy of WBOQ-FM)
38 in the 1980s.”
Host Tom Bergeron of “People Are Talking” and the hosting team of “Evening Magazine” are other examples from back in the day. Boston can proudly boast about its inspiration for future programs as well. “Good Day!” first aired as “Good Morning” in 1973 until 1991 and is credited with being the inspiration behind ABC’s “Good Morning America.” One of the mid-morning talk show’s former hosts included the legendary Janet Langhart. Of course, Frank Avruch is another beloved personality known for his many contributions to televi-
sion including playing host and providing commentary for “The Great Entertainment,” an anthology series featuring classic movies.
Before there was “Cheers” “Park Street Under” was a sitcom set in a fictional underground Boston bar known to locals, but the premise would soon become quite familiar to the nation. Episodes focused on the bar’s staff and patrons and were taped in Needham in front of a live audience. The cast included local performers like stand-up comic Steve Sweeney as the bartender. Karen MacDonald was cast
as the kindly waitress, and Brad Jones played the role of a shrink. Sound familiar?
The Boston Globe called the series “the freshest, funniest sitcom in town,” and the press praised the production crew for giving Boston actors a place to perform. With hopes of reaching a national audience, a tape of the show was sent to ABC. However, the people at WCVB never heard back from anyone but believed their series had been seen by those affiliated with Paramount, which co-produced “Cheers.” NBC and “Cheers” denied the allegations.
“The Baxters,” another WCVBproduced seriocomedy that ran from 1977 to 1979, also employed local actors. The series had an unusual format where the first half was an original performance, but the second half featured a dialogue between the audience and panelists about the series.
First legal issues show
Hosted by Harvard Law Professor Arthur R. Miller, “Miller’s Court” also aired on WCVB (1979-1988). This mock-trial show dramatization was the first American television show
In sickness and in health until death parts us
By MAriAnne lyons Delorey, Ph.D.
This past weekend, I attended a 25th anniversary vow renewal ceremony for a couple we are friends with. As part of the ceremony they talked about each of the 17 vows they made to each other when they married. Many had stood the test of time, but many had to be adjusted for their current ages and where they are in life. For instance, they promised to make and nurture a family. Now, their nurturing days have passed, and their children are on their own.
This made me think about what vows would look like if we made them to our aging family members, friends, and spouses. After so many years in eldercare, I think we should be careful not to make promises we can’t and shouldn’t keep. “I promise you won’t have to leave your home” comes to the top of my mind. Or even, “I promise to care for you.” Life is too uncertain and I do think it is unreasonable of elders to ask people to sacrifice their lives for their comfort. I do, however, believe there are some promises we can still make each other. Especially if these vows start with “I will try.”
Grown old along with me. The best is yet to be. ~ Robert Browning
While we don’t typically make vows to non-spouses, I like the idea of offering these. And so, my dear friends and family, here are my promises.
As we age, I will try
1. To support your dreams in retirement. To help you create a bucket list and encourage you to meet as many of your goals as possible. If you want to get into photographing birds, I will learn the names of birds with you.
2. To think of your needs as your body fails. We will only go to restaurants that don’t have a horrible echo if you wear hearing aids.
3. To be honest. If your clothes start to smell, I will tell you the truth.
4. To trust you. If I need to shower or if my outlook on my daughter-in-law is too harsh, I will listen to your point of view.
5. To spend time together. If you are sick and I can visit, I will. I want to visit you and sit beside you if there isn’t more to say. When we can, we will
do fun things together and laugh about what we used to do.
6. To listen. I will be your shoulder to cry on when times are hard. I will hold your hand and help you remember the good times when you are hurting.
7. To respect you. I will respect your thoughts, your family, and your traditions, especially when they differ from my own. This may mean I am stepping back from you and letting your family have more time with you. I will respect your right to make decisions when you can and try my best to do what you would have wanted when you cannot.
8. To help you remember things—big and small. It may be where you put your keys, your son’s birthday, our shared story, or even your own name.
9. To forgive you. If I am to die first, I will forgive you every wrong you committed, understanding that you did your best so we don’t part with unfinished business.
10. To honor you. If I die first, I will honor you and our friendship by remembering you.
And so, together we age. I hope my friends and family can make the same vows to me. Mazel Tov!
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.
Always one thing or another
By JAnice linDsAy contriButing Writer
This greeting card is a black and white photo of a toddler in his footie pajamas. He stands at the bottom of a carpeted staircase, leaning to rest his forehead softly on the edge of the third step, his hands clasped behind him. He is a picture of quiet frustration. The message reads, “If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. Hang in there.”
A friend in Philadelphia sent this card to me twenty years ago. I don’t remember why. It might have been to boost my spirits as I fretted about upcoming medical tests, which, ultimately, turned out to be not much to worry about.
Some time later, when she needed a morale boost amidst a small life crisis, I sent “our little guy” back to her.
And so it has gone, back and forth, sometimes with a short time lapse, sometimes a long one. The little guy has sojourned several times at my house, several times at hers. We eventually filled all the writing space inside the card. Then it held sticky notes, then sticky notes on top of sticky notes.
I don’t know how long our saga will go on. Who
Life is not intended to be troublefree. As the card says, it’s always one thing or another. We’re meant to fully experience all its ups and downs and, ideally, use them to learn, and to increase in understanding and wisdom, whether we like it or not.
knows when our little guy will be needed? He is currently with my friend.
I remember sending it to her to cheer her after a fall where she broke two fingers. But mostly, as I reviewed all the notes before mailing it the last time, I could not recall exactly what challenge prompted each journey of the card.
Maybe this is a good thing. The little guy reminds us that when we meet with minor problems and challenges, we figure out how to deal with them, or if we’re lucky they go away, and we move on. The mountain that might have seemed insurmountable when it was in the future, is now a forgettable part of the past.
The little guy also reminds us that life is not intended to be trouble-free. As the card says, it’s always
one thing or another. We’re meant to fully experience all its ups and downs and, ideally, use them to learn, and to increase in understanding and wisdom, whether we like it or not.
Each time I received the card, it reminded me that a friend wished me well and kept me in her thoughts. She understood what I was going through and would help if she could. And it reminded me to be grateful for the continuity of those friendships that sustain us over the years and decades.
When the little guy has been in my office at the beginning of any year, on the bookcase opposite my desk, he has reminded me of my presumption in planning far ahead. In my calendar, I mark meetings that will occur the first Saturday of every month; volunteer obligations every Monday afternoon and every Thursday afternoon; reminders of when to get my car inspected and pay my taxes; birthdays and anniversaries; doctor appointments made months ahead. What an assumption—to believe that I will be around to see all those events. I don’t write blithely or with full confidence, but cautiously, with a silent “the good Lord willin’ and the crick don’t rise.”
So far, the crick hasn’t risen high enough to drown all my plans, and when the crick has risen, I’ve figured out how to stay afloat until it has calmed down.
And the little guy is waiting, in case I need him.
Contact jlindsay@tidewater.net
SUPER CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Paragon Park drew crowds to Nantasket Beach for 80 years
Paragon | from page 7 pression, World War II and good and bad economic cycles. “I know it was hard for them to make the decision to sell because they knew the impact Paragon Park had on Hull and on the South Shore. You don’t get that kind of family spirit from corporate ownership, where every decision comes down to the bottom line.”
Not all its attractions would be lost to the trash heap of history though; pieces of Paragon Park would endure, much to supporters’ delight.
Giant Coaster and carousel live on Mark Mason, manager of Wild World amusement park in Bowie, Maryland, bid $28,000 at a June 12, 1985, auction to buy the Giant Coaster, which he had dismantled and rebuilt in time for the next season. It would be renamed the Wild One. Wild World eventually became Six Flags America, and the coaster lived on, but according to a May 9 Boston.com article, Six Flags may close after this season, leaving the 108-yearold ride’s future in doubt once again.
Introduced to the park in 1928, the Paragon Carousel is unique among carousels as the last grand carousel built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Additionally, it is one of the few
Paragon Park’s roller coaster, at 98 feet high, was once the tallest and longest roller coaster in the world, and is still in operation at the Six Flags amusement park in Bowie, Maryland. (Photo/Courtesy of Friends of the Paragon Carousel)
ber who visited Paragon Park as a kid, remembered that people came from all over to witness the spectacle.
When the businessmen decided to sell in 1996, another effort to save the carousel led to the formation of the Friends of the Paragon Carousel, which bought it for $1.1 million. Thanks to funds provided through grants, special events and donations, ongoing restoration and maintenance efforts help preserve the carousel and its exquisite craftsmanship.
In 2013, the Friends opened Paragon Park Museum in Hull’s clocktower building, where people can explore the history of Nantasket Beach and its iconic amusement park through artifacts, memorabilia, videos and storyboards. It also houses the workshop where carousel curator James Hardison restores the town’s cherished Paragon Carousel. “We’ve had visitors from all over the world,” said Schleiff. “Nostalgia is alive and well. It takes people back to a simpler time.”
Enduring memories
vintage carousels still in operation in its original home of Hull.
It is classified as a “grand carousel” because it has four rows of horses and two Roman chariots. Only five carousels in the world today carry the rare Roman chariots and it’s one of fewer than 100 grand carousels remaining in America. A talented group of craftsmen created the carousel including cabinet makers, woodworkers and sculptors, most of whom immigrated from Germany and Italy. Master carvers such as Frank Caretta and Gustav Dentzel left an indelible mark on the Paragon Carousel.
The Friends of the Paragon Carousel describe its intricate design as adorned with “beveled mirrors, 35 oil paintings and luxuriously festooned and bejeweled original horses. Scalloped rounding boards with 36 carved cherubs and 18 goddess faces complete the decoration.” Music is provided by a Wurlitzer Band Organ (1926), one of only 40 ever crafted.
Three local businessmen acquired the Paragon Carousel at auction in late 1985 and transported it to its current location at 205 Nantasket Ave. in 1986, next door to the clocktower building that was once used as a railroad depot, and just a few hundred yards away from its original spot. Marie Schleiff, a Friends of the Paragon Carousel mem-
Part of Hull’s intriguing history is that it was part of America’s first steamship line (1818-1929) that ran
from Boston to Nantasket Beach. “It was known as the playground of rich and famous at the time,” recounted Schleiff. “When the steamboats stopped coming, the park started to die.” So, what set Paragon Park apart? How did it stay open for 80 years? “The beauty of the beach is what drew people to Nantasket, and that’s what set it apart,” stated Schleiff.
“Paragon Park was an experience that became such a beloved part of people’s childhoods — whether they were from Hull originally or visited in the summer,” mused Haraden of what made the park so iconic and memorable.
“It wasn’t that everyone was a thrill-ride enthusiast. Paragon had a social aspect that would be similar to other generations going to the movies or to a mall,” Haraden explained. “Part of the appeal was that there was no admission fee, unlike many theme parks today. You bought tickets for individual rides and paid to play games — or not. You could literally spend the whole day there with your friends and not spend a dime. That is why it endured within people’s memories, as it wasn’t a one-time thing in the summer.”
Parker House hotel is birthplace of Boston cream pie and other food creations
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
BOSTON – Throughout American history, New England and Pennsylvania Dutch bakers were recognized for their cakes and pies, particularly during the mid-nineteenth century. One such timeless confection is the Boston cream pie. Created by Armenian-French chef Augustine François Anezin in 1856, this “pudding cake pie” is still a hit with pastry lovers hundreds of years later.
Legend has it that Anezin was hired in 1855 by the lauded Parker House (now Omni Parker House) in 1855 where he invented the classic dessert. According to executive chef Joseph Ribas, who has been with the hotel for 27 years, Anezin invented the dessert “because he was topping an English cream cake with chocolate. He started to play around with the recipe, put almonds around the outside, and the guests loved it.” Even though it was called a cake, during the 1800s pie tins were more commonly used than cake pans.
Boston cream pie was created at the Parker House hotel in 1856. Boston’s Parker House hotel is famous for being the birthplace of not just Boston cream pie but also its Parker House rolls and Baked Boston Scrod.
“Country Living in the City”
Recipe modification
It all began when Anezin started playing with the recipe, adding chocolate frosting on top and almond slivers around the side and resulting in what is now known as his masterpiece and making Anezin one of the first celebrity chefs in this country. Reportedly, Anezin was paid an annual salary of $5,000, at a time when most cooks earned about $418 a year. Initially referred to as chocolate cream pie, the Parker House chocolate cream pie (eventually Boston cream pie), was descended from earlier cakes known as American pudding cake pie.
The original chocolate cream pie had two layers of French butter sponge cake sandwiched together with thick custard and brushed all over with a rum syrup. The side of the cake was covered in vanilla custard and toasted flaked almonds, and the top was covered in chocolate fondant. This new recipe was something unheard of since chocolate was normally used for puddings and/or drinking hot chocolate.
The “chocolate cream pie” first appeared in the 1872 Methodist Almanac. The earliest iteration of the modern chocolate cream pie recipe was featured in 1887, in Miss Parloa’s Kitchen Companion.
Other Parker House creations
An affiliate with Historic Hotels of America, the former Parker House is
famous for its classic food creations which also includes Baked Boston Scrod (a white fish dish) and Parker House rolls. Since opening its doors centuries ago, the hotel has served presidents, heads of state, sports icons, A-list actors, popular musicians, and jetsetters from around the world. Several years later, another “made in Massachusetts” moment occurred in the Parker House kitchen after a fit of exasperation. During the 1870s, an angry pastry baker allegedly threw a batch of unfinished rolls into the oven after an altercation with a guest. The result was what is now the identifiable dented appearance of Parker House rolls. The recipe for the buttery soft and slightly sweet rolls was first printed in the April 1874 issue of the New Hampshire Sentinel. By 1876, the rolls were a standard item on the hotel restaurant’s menu. Soon after, they became the hotel’s side business and sold to other hotels, restaurants, and stores. Parker House rolls were loved so much that even French composer Jacques Offenbach sang its praises while eating, “Parker rolls, Parker rolls, how I love you!” Today, Boston cream pies along with Parker House rolls are among the favorites enjoyed in homes and restaurants everywhere. Boston cream pies were such a hit that it was made into a Betty Crocker boxed cake mix and sold from 1958 until the 1990s. In 1996, Boston cream pie was proclaimed the official Massachusetts State Dessert and National Boston Cream Pie Day is celebrated each year on October 23.
By sheAlAgh sullivAn contriButing Writer
NORTHBOROUGH – Pam Hall has been an artist all her life. At 80, she’s continued to find ways to challenge herself with a pen and paper, but she’d never had her work displayed publicly.
Until now.
A display at the Northborough Free Library showcases some of Hall’s work, small drawings inspired by stained glass windows. It was set up by Northborough resident Brian Huckins.
“At some point I thought, you know, these are really cool, people ought to see these things,” he said.
Huckins started volunteering to deliver groceries for Lowe’s Market during the COVID-19 pandemic. His deliveries brought him to Hall’s apartment, where he saw her drawing on newspaper crosswords and sudoku books, filling in the grids with intricate drawings of birds, castles, and flowers. Other times, she’d fill in each square of the grid with a different color, creating whirling patterns of color across the page.
One day, Hall asked him while he was delivering groceries if he could pick up some pens for her.
And the rest is history.
Huckins brings her pens, and sturdy paper to draw on with grids. He built small wooden stands for her work in the cabinet and set up the public display — but it was never about him.
“Her life is pretty confined, but she’s still doing stuff, you know, I just feel like you gotta honor that,” Huckins said.
Hall grew up around art, she said. Her father, who died in World War II, was also an artist, and she still has some of his work hung up in her apartment. She lives with her bird, Tiki, a cockatiel who she named in honor of
him “shining a light back in [her] life.”
Tiki is featured in much of her art, along with other birds from outside her window or from calendar pictures. Hall’s inspirations come from both her family origins and the natural world. She grew up in Westborough, where her family lived for generations, before moving to Northborough in 1992.
According to Hall, her ancestors are originally from England and settled in the Westborough area before it officially became a town in 1717.
Calling back to English architecture, Hall’s drawings most often mimic stained glass, challenging her to create the illusion of light through the dark contrast. But when it comes to what to draw as the centerpiece, all she has to do is look out her window.
“Sometimes, Mother Nature does it for me,” Hall said.
Birds, Hall said, are “bellwethers of our whole environment.” Drawing them, getting every feather, wing, and beak precise, connects her to nature — and brings back nostalgia from growing up surrounded by animals and the outdoors.
While she calls some of her draw-
Boston-produced TV shows were pioneers
TV shows | from page 13
dedicated to exploring legal matters. NYU paid tribute to Miller twice. First with a “South Park” style spoof entitled “What Would Arthur Miller Do?” and a hip-hop tribute called “A. Milley” based on Lil’ Wayne’s “A Milli.”
“The Scarlet Letter” was America’s challenge to the UK’s dominance in costume period dramas. Based on the 1850 novel of the same name, the short-lived miniseries aired on WGBH
from March 3, 1979, to March 24, 1979, with many of the exterior scenes having been shot at Sachuest Point, near Newport, Rhode Island.
Streaming services may be all the rage right now, but there was a time when equally entertaining programs were produced locally, starred locals, made a national influence, and will forever hold a place in the hearts of those born and raised in Massachusetts.
whether it was stick figures or a detailed portrait of Austrian actor Oscar Werner — she was always striving to capture a story on her canvas. Now, that same drive to create keeps her inspired.
“This is so much fun. I can keep doing it. I can keep my mind going,” she said.
Hall admitted she was a perfectionist and holds her work to high standards. Whether it’s the eyes of an owl or finding just the right way to make flowers stand out against a dark backdrop, she doesn’t “want anything going out that isn’t as good as it should be.”
When she deems the work up to her standards, she often gives away the small drawings to people.
ings “glorified doodling,” much of it calls to a deeper connection with Mother Nature and history. Through her work, Hall is able to tell the story of a robin outside of her window or a castle her niece visited along the Danube River.
In her work, Huckins saw more than just color. He saw her stories.
Hall grew up creating art —
“I want you to see the beauty, not because of me, but because it’s out there,” she said.
The library display is the first time Hall’s art has been exhibited publicly.
“[I want people to] just react to the nature that I’m trying to replicate,” Hall said. “[Birds] are sort of taking the temperature of a civilization in a way.”
Artist Pam Hall and Brian Huckins met when he started delivering groceries during the pandemic. (Photo/Shealagh Sullivan)
Amar Bose rose from childhood tinkerer to MIT professor and speaker pioneer
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
REGION – From the 1970s to the 1980s, the average home had an entertainment system and/or automobile that contained a pair of Bose iconic subwoofers or speakers thanks to Dr. Amar Bose. It was the time before iPods, iTunes or smartphones, when scores of new bands and concerts were on the rise, and people purchased lots of stereo equipment, blasting their music at the highest volume. It was as if Bose foresaw it all coming together.
Childhood tinkerer
Born in 1929, Bose enjoyed tinkering with and taking model trains apart. By the time he turned 13, he could diagnose and fix most radios. His introduction to music and development into having a keen ear for instrument sounds began with violin lessons as a child. Upon Bose’s suggestion, his father placed signs in hardware stores offering radio-repair service so a teenaged Amar could repair them in the family basement after school. According to Bose, he had a pact with his father that if his grades remained good, he could go to school only four days a week, and his father would write an excuse saying he had a headache or something. The teachers all knew about this, and it was always on a Friday. On Mondays, the teachers would ask him, “How many radios did you fix, Bose?” Fortunately, this little side hustle helped support the family
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through the war time, especially since his father’s business was not doing so well.
Bose enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in the early 1950s and spent a year at Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium in Eindhoven, Netherlands and a year as a Fulbright research student in New Delhi, India. He joined the MIT faculty in 1956, with
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the intention of teaching for no more than two years but continued as a member of the MIT faculty until 2001.
Company launch and success
He purchased a high-end stereo system in 1956 and was disappointed in the speakers’ failure to reproduce the realism of a live performance. Initially, Bose had trouble finding a company interested in licensing any of his work. However, he started Framingham-based Bose Corporation based on research he conducted at MIT in 1964. Since its inception, the company has remained privately owned. Bose never made his company public, and since the company is privately held, he was able to pursue risky long-term research.
While traveling to Zurich in 1978, Bose came up with the idea for noise-canceling headphones. In the 1970s, the Bose Corporation introduced the 800 Professional speaker for musicians and the 1401 speaker for automobiles and quickly became a household name. Boston has long
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been a college town and with audio stores on practically every corner, buying and listening to perfect pitch stereo equipment was a favorite pastime. In 1989, the company introduced the first noise-cancelling headphones, revolutionizing the aviation industry. The inventor’s Bose Wave radio was also popular with pilots in the military and commercial sectors.
Lasting legacy
In a 2004 interview in Popular Science magazine, Bose said he would have been fired a hundred times at a company run by MBAs and never went into business to make money. In addition, he went into business so that he could do interesting things that had not been done before.
Dr. Amar Bose was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2008 and donated a majority of his company’s non-voting shares to MIT in 2011 on the condition that they never be sold. He died on July 12, 2013, at the age of 83 in Wayland, Massachusetts.
Amar Bose began repairing radios as a child and eventually received a Ph.D from MIT, where he taught for decades, and founded a renowned audio equipment company. (Photo/Courtesy of Bose Corporation)
Two famous dancing cops brightened up Massachusetts streets while directing traffic
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
REGION
– Provincetown resident
Donald Thomas literally took Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ 1964 hit single “Dancing in the Street” to heart during his days as a police officer directing traffic at the town’s busiest intersection. The son of a Portuguese fisherman, Thomas began volunteering in the town’s police auxiliary in 1947 after his return from World War II.
A P-Town legend
He became a summer patrolman in the 1970s and soon became a mustsee attraction for his spins and moves while directing drivers in Lopes Square. When a stream of cars brought congestion to the corner of Commercial Street, Police Chief James Mead would call upon his maestro, Donald Thomas, to control traffic as only he could by mixing in dance moves while being on his feet more than six hours a day.
In a 1978 Boston Globe article, Mead stated, “It’s the worst corner in town. He’s the only one who can do anything there. I could stand out there all day with a shotgun and no one would pay any attention. He’s such a spectacle people stop to watch and take his picture. He’s interesting.”
Several people on Facebook agreed with the sentiment, including James Cundy Bushway who wrote, “I remember him so well. Wouldn’t cross the street because he was so fun to watch! Brought a smile to everyone’s face!”
Melanie Mastropietro recalled, “First place my daughter wanted to go when she was little to see the ‘Dancing Policeman’ and second was the Barbie House.”
Melissa J. Karrer posted, “Love this. We ALL remember him! Boy, could he spin a great 360!”
And Bob Kelleher added, “He was fun to watch!! And he kept the traffic moving.”
According to Police Chief James Golden, Thomas only drew his gun once, when he heard a noise behind him. It was just a cat. However, he did smash together the heads of two Hell’s Angels when they got out of control. Thomas never arrested anyone, never missed a day of work and loved interacting with the kids. He
Provincetown’s dancing cop Donald Thomas served over 60 years with the Provincetown police department.
I remember him so well. Wouldn’t cross the street because he was so fun to watch! Brought a smile to everyone’s face!
retired in 2011 at the age of 83 after serving over 60 years with the Provincetown police department. When the iconic cop passed away in his sleep at age 92 in 2019, Boston television stations covered his death.
Everyone who knew Donald Thomas knew he loved motorcycles, scuba diving, music and dancing. His granddaughter Carmen Thomas recalled stories of him sometimes getting into trouble when he would flip a girl while doing the jitterbug and her underwear showed. His musical aspirations were so profound that he even got into trouble with his mother when he turned her new wash basin into an upright bass. Aside from adoring big band music, Thomas also enjoyed classic country and 1980s pop music, especially songs by Prince and George Michael.
City of Presidents dancing cop Further up the coast in Quincy, called the City of Presidents because it’s the birthplace of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, just as many locals might recall their own legendary dancing lawman. Described as someone who loved putting on a
show, William P. Draicchio enjoyed using choreography to help schoolchildren cross the street. There are some good stories out there about him as well, like the time he “commandeered” a car in order to chase down a driver who had refused to stop at a crosswalk.
Recently, his granddaughter Cathryn Draicchio was sworn in as the first woman to join the Quincy Fire Department in its 136-year history, continuing the family tradition in public service. She is also a staff officer in the Army Reserves.
Draicchio held down his job on the police force in Quincy for 38 years. Some years after retiring in 1989, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In 2001, the intersection where he worked in the Quincy Point neighborhood was named after him. Draicchio died in 2014 at the age of 89. His online obituary contained many fond memories from Quincy natives who remember not just his stylish dance moves but him helping them cross the street safely as they walked to school as children.
Seeking Research Participants
We are seeking participants for a 1 hour-1.5-hour study on cognitive and social reasoning. The study pays $15 / hour + $5 for transportation.
Eligibility Requirements
- Originally from the United States.
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Name of student contact: Iva Dujmic
Email: ivadujmic@brandeis.edu
Faculty sponsor: Dr. Gutchess, Department of Psychology, Brandeis University
Being a successful social media influencer is not limited to the young
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
REGION – With age often comes wisdom and what greater place, or at least greater opportunity, to share wisdom and know-how than on a social media platform? These days, content creators and influencers on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are largely made up of millennials and Gen Zs with some of Generation X sprinkled in.
However, Baby Boomers and even a few from the Silent Generation have been making headway for the past few years and there is plenty of room for more. Creating content as a lucrative side hustle is possible depending on how much work you put into it. Nevertheless, it is a chance to get off the couch and get paid. For example, Karen Worcester of Boston is a content creator who specializes in over-50 content.
Content creators and influencers of a certain age, sometimes known as “granfluencers,” can not only offer guidance in a world looking for answers, they can also provide advice based on experience, life lessons, tutorials, professional expertise, remedies, recipes and so much more. Amid concerns about the mental health of teens and young adults, seniors can use their
Over-50 influencers embody a rich tapestry of ideas and may be surprised at how well they can connect with a wide audience.
gift to spread positivity to younger followers.
A rich tapestry of ideas
Over-50 influencers embody a rich tapestry of ideas and may be surprised at how well they can connect with a wide audience, even going viral. One trend that is extremely popular and lighthearted is grandparents sharing funny moments with their grandkids. Also, don’t forget perks like free stuff in the mail.
Ruhama Shitrit, a teacher-turnedInstagram star with nearly 8,000 followers, arrived in Boston from Haifa, Israel with her husband 20 years ago. As she told the Jewish Food Society, “I didn’t know anybody. I needed to understand the food, the flavor, the culture, the language. There were so many things I didn’t know — especially the food.” The mom of four, who wanted her children to understand her country’s flavor, shares her native recipes on her Instagram account, RuhamasFood.
Recently, Boston held the first ever Content Creator Summit which was co-hosted by Matt Shearer of Gupta Media. The guest list consisted of some of the city’s best in the creator ecosystem, from fashion to food and comedy, giving many of the creators their first chance to meet those who they have followed for years.
Encouragement from Boston mayor Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told the 70 or so creators in the room, “ What we see, what we consume, and most importantly, how the people around us in our community think about what they’re capable of,” she said, “that can have a generational impact, day after
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HauteKoture, who was present at the summit, took to Instagram to write, “Truly grateful to Mayor Wu and City of Boston for recognizing the role of Boston creators as storytellers shaping how Boston is seen, loved, and experienced. Big thank you to Gupta Media for hosting our first creators’ summit.”
According to Gupta Media’s social media CPM Tracker, the current cost of TikTok ads in February 2025 is $2.62 CPM (cost per thousand impressions). The average cost per link click (CPLC) is $0.30. And the average link clickthrough rate (LCTR) is 0.88%. Moreover, attending creators’ events and conferences, in-person or online can be extremely helpful in boosting one’s platform. This site features a calendar of scheduled events that includes costs, pros and cons and more.
Remember, you are never too old to make an impression. A 102-year-old Chicago woman has recently gone viral for sharing life advice. So, now may be the time to get creative in generating informative content, grow your business, offer tips or perhaps represent your state in various ways like featuring local cuisine or giving a mini tour. The sky’s the limit.
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