Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com
April 1. 2011
Local Lions Combine Efforts to Help Out National Braille Press BY J.D. O’GARA At about 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning, April 2, a combined team of members of Lions Clubs’ from Medway. Millis, Franklin and Holliston will board a bus on a mission. Their destination? The National Braille Press (NBP) on Saint Stephen Street in Boston. The group of about 20 will be providing a needed service, putting together a Braille book. Dawn Rice-Norton, a physical therapist and Lion from Medway who organized this trip, explains that for this activity, the Lions will be creating a “sort of assembly line,” actually putting Braille pieces into books that already have pictures and words. “Everyone has a piece to put on,” she says, “so you have the picture and the text and the Braille.” “We always appreciate the help,” says Jefferson Lyons, VP of Operations for the 84-year-old National Braille Press. “We often have volunteers working on our book-of-the-
STOBBART’S NURSERIES continued from page 1
time. Frederick Stobbart had not wanted to create competition for his uncle. It wasn’t until 1968, while Franklin Florist was under new ownership, that a flower shop and FTD floral were added to the mix. “We are now Stobbart’s Nurseries, Inc., “ says Stobbart, who also bought the name Franklin Florist about 10 years ago. Out of three siblings, Wayne Stobbart was the only one who continued on in the family business. In 1970, Wayne studied agriculture from Stockbridge at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He graduated with a degree in landscape design, and in 1985, he purchased the business from his father. Stobbart explains that the landscaping vastly differs from “the lawn mowing business.” “It’s not just cutting grass and trimming shrubs,” Stobbart maintains. “In the lawn mowing business, if you have a pickup truck and a lawnmower, you are a landscaper. That is something of a misnomer.” Stobbart says that in true landscaping, a lot goes into the planning of the landscape. He studied “plant and soil sciences, plant ID, heartiness zones,” and he can tell you which plants do well in what areas. He explains that here, al-
month club for children,” which, he explains, are “labor intensive and time sensitive. They basically involve taking a print book and chopping it up into separate pages, and then we add pages of our own with Braille on them, and then we put them together again – So what you wind up with is a print book that also has clear plastic pages inserted with the book.” Lyons explains that thanks to this work, sighted parents can read with their blind children and blind parent can read with their sighted children. Even though there are embossers, which Lyons says are like computer printers, they operate too slowly to be practical. In addition, he says, the “machines that most companies use to collate and bind a book involve pressure, and … that pressure on the book would crush the Braille.” About 15 or 20 volunteer groups come in per year, says Lyons, for both book of the month and special projects. The NBP’s claim to fame, in fact, was a volunteer assembly line
though Franklin is in zone 5/6, there are “micro-climates,” that differ from town to town. “On the Cape, you can grow hydrangeas and get big beautiful flowers, but you can also do that in Sharon and Wellesley,” he says. Because of his expertise, which caters to residents and commercial businesses, he says, a lot of his
that was able to pull off the Braille release of the last few books of the Harry Potter series at the same time as the release of the sighted version. “We were given the files 2 weeks in advance,” says Lyons. “We had two weeks to create over a million pages of Braille. A lot of work was done by volunteers,” says Lyons, who adds that the NBP also employs about 45 people. At the NBP, the Braille is put onto metal plates, which then go into one of the NBP’s three Heidelberg printing presses that were converted from printing to Braille decades ago, says Lyons. Despite their age (the newest one is from 1964), the presses run 810 hours five days a week. Working with the NBP falls in line for the cause most associated with the Lions Club – eye research. In 2010, the Lions Clubs of Massachusetts gave $169,644 in grant awards to Massachusetts eye research. Over the years, the amount Lions have given has totaled $27,406,508.30.
“business is repeat & word-ofmouth.” Stobbart's does a lot of “hardscapes,” designing and installing brick or pavers and walls and patios. Holly Lorusso, who is herself a longtime fixture at Stobbart's explains that “we work with a lot of
Page 3
Still, eye research is not all the Lions support. “With Lions, everyone says vision, but now they do measles inoculations, diabetes, and we do hearing aides as well,” says Rice-Norton. In fact, she explains that very recently, Lions Clubs International Foundation provided over $1.25 million in U.S. dollars, or 100 million Japanese Yen, to help the Japanese people following recent catastrophic events. Just as the support the Lions give spans a variety of causes, so does the involvement of each individual Lion. Some are able to put in more volunteer time, such as working toward the annual District 33K Lions’ PRIDE (Performance, Recognition, Involvement, District and Club Excellence) program, which takes Lions work beyond their own Club and expands it to a district level. In fact, a special PRIDE pin is awarded to those Lions who participated in these extra efforts, and assembling a Braille book counts toward earning a PRIDE pin. Rice-Norton explains, however, that Lions work together as a TEAM (together everyone accomplishes more), and that involvement varies according to what each Lion can do.
natural mediums – granite, stone, as well as manmade pavers.” Stobbart explains that he has also worked on lighting and water features. Stobbart describes his business as “kind of a landmark, now,” that is known for its quality. As a result, he’s been busy during even these tough economic times. He also
“One thing they require is tree sales, but you could do bottles and cans, come to a dinner meeting, go on visitation. It’s hard not to do something, because there are so many fun things to do,” says Norton-Rice, who says the nature of the Lions’ work had always appealed to her, as she’d worked as a teen with children who had physical disabilities. That appeal grew greater after her brother lost his vision. Rice-Norton’s own involvement varies per week, with some weeks requiring four hours and other requiring 10 or more. “A Lion can pick and choose how much and at what level they wish to get involved at,” she says. Claudia Demillo, agrees. She’s a Medway real estate agent who became a Lion about three years ago and says her involvement is highest in spring and fall. “There are so many opportunities you could be involved with,” says Demillo. “When I met everyone, it was such a great group of really down to earth, fun, kind people, it was really hard to say, ‘Gee I don’t want to be a part of this.’ … There’s just a lot of love.”
says the Internet is huge. In fact, his floral business can be reached at stobbarts-franklinflorist.com. Wayne Stobbart’s son Eric and daughter Lindsey have continued in the family business, as Eric owns Stobbart’s Flowers in Mansfield and Lindsey runs the store for him, says Stobbart.
Thanks to Get In Shape For Women, my clothes are too big for me!
KPL Residential / Commercial / Industrial Service Upgrades • Renovations • Flat Screen TVs MA Lic. #A20852 Direct: 774-306-2421 Franklin, MA 02038 508-528-1443 lawlerelectric@verizon.net
“I used to have difficulty walking, but now I’m running on the treadmill! The trainers are great and the program definitely works. I’m here to stay.” Marie McManus Age 73
Homemad e Ice Cream
Organic Beer & Wine
serving Franklin Flatbreads
WOOD OVEN THIN CRUST PIZZA
Organic Ingredients, Incredible Taste www.sprucepondcreamery.com – Dine In or Take Out –
370 King St. (Exit 16) Franklin
508-520-7900
OPEN YEAR ROUND
11:30 am - 9 pm • 7 days a week!
BEFORE
AFTER
FREE WEEK TRIAL
Small Group Personal Training 9 Summer Street, Franklin, MA 02038
(508) 530-3072
For Career & Franchise Opportunites visit getinshapeforwomen.com