Carolyn Ann Mitton Ford

Carolyn Ann Mitton Ford (Camie) of Marion, Boston, and Sarasota, FL passed away Friday, May 22, 2020, at the age of 77 after a long illness. She was a graduate of The Windsor School and Wheaton College. She was the daughter of Edward Mitton and Carolyn Church Mitton. She is survived by her husband, Albert […] Read more »

Rochester Historical Society Meeting Cancelled

The Rochester Historical Society will not be holding its June 17 meeting and program. Hopefully the “Lighting the Way” program can be presented in the fall. Until then, on “The Lighting the Way” website from the Whaling Museum, you can watch 10 two-minute videos on area women who have positively impacted their communities and you can vote […] Read more »

Library Prepares for Reopening, Budget Cuts

            “People have been so desperate for books,” stated Susan Pizzolato, Mattapoisett Public Library Director, during the May 21 meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Trustees.             With the permission of the Friends of the Mattapoisett Public Library, Pizzolato made up give-away bags from books that under normal circumstances would have been sold at the monthly library […] Read more »

FY21 Budget Approved; Summer Programs Cancelled

            The Marion Board of Selectmen approved the FY21 budget to be carried to the Monday, June 22, town meeting, and gave Recreation Director Jody Dickerson a platform to explain the town’s cancellation of its summer programs.             According to Town Administrator Jay McGrail, the town’s operating budget for FY21 includes contractually obligated increases affecting only two […] Read more »

Solar Array for Bowman Road Unanimously Approved

            It had been hotly debated, passionately viewed as an abomination to primal woodlands, not the right fit for the location, and generally believed by abutters and the Mattapoisett Land Trust as just plain wrong. But on May 22 after nearly a year that saw NextGrid Bowman Road LLC being denied a Special Permit by the […] Read more »

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

At the Historical Society’s Museum there is lots of information about Rochester citizens who went to war for their country. Some of our scrapbooks include newspaper articles about men and women who served. There are clippings about veterans who have served in the Middle East and all the way back to the Revolutionary War.             In […] Read more »

On the Crest of a Hill

            On the crest of a small hill in Agawam Cemetery is my father’s grave. He is surrounded by his father-in-law, his infant boy-child, and his wife. Down the hill rest more extended family members from my mother’s side of the family. At 92 his mind and its ability to regulate not only thoughts but biological […] Read more »

House Plans Bent out of Shape by Odd Lot

            The Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals questioned a petition for a variance for a property located on Pine Island Road in its meeting held on May 21.             Applicants Charles and Karen Duponte met with the board seeking a petition for a variance. The variance would allow the applicants to construct a 2,600 square foot home […] Read more »

New Distance, New Partner, Same Result for Watling III

            Since the Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race first began in 1939, the event has only been canceled four years and for one occasion — World War II. With the novel coronavirus pandemic putting a stop to countless events across the country, the 2020 edition was not expected to become an exception.             In fact, at one […] Read more »

Outdoor Worship Gathering at FCCR

First Congregational Church of Rochester on 11 Constitution Way in Rochester is holding an outdoor worship gathering on the Church Green on Sunday, May 31 at 10:00 am. Please bring a chair and a face mask. Six-foot social distancing will be utilized for everyone’s safety. Let’s worship together! All are welcome to attend. Can’t make it? Then […] Read more »