Sippican Historical Society Award for Outstanding Contributions

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At their 2023 Annual Meeting, the Sippican Historical Society proudly presented Margie Baldwin as the recipient of the Sippican Historical Society Distinguished Service Award, recognizing her exceptional contributions to Marion. This accolade pays tribute to Ms. Baldwin’s tireless efforts in preserving Marion’s rich history and fostering community engagement. In her honor, a variegated dogwood was planted at Bicentennial Park.

            Ms. Baldwin’s journey in Marion began when she relocated from New York City in 1974 to her first home at 9 Main Street. Since then, she lived in three historic homes in Marion. Margie contributes to the development and growth of the town, serving as an integral part of various organizations and initiatives.

            Early on, Margie took the League of Women Voters’ “Know Your Town” tour, leading to a long participation with the League. Her commitment to public service led her to serve as President of the League for several years. She served as President of the Sippican Tennis Club, a Council Member of the Beverly Yacht Club, a Trustee of Tobey Hospital and earned her EMT to participate in the Volunteer Ambulance Committee.

            Ms. Baldwin held key positions in various Town committees and boards. For the past 25 years, she has chaired the Tree Committee, playing a pivotal role in preserving and enhancing Marion’s natural beauty through the planting of hundreds of trees, including many in the Town’s cemeteries and several at the Council on Aging. She served three terms on the Finance Committee, participated in the Community Preservation Committee, and is currently a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Marion Historic District Study Committee, and Cemetery Committee. Margie volunteered with the VASE program at Sippican School. Most recently, Margie helped to redesign the new Memorial Children’s Garden at Sippican School when a large and old spruce had to be taken down.

            Since its inception in 1993, Ms. Baldwin has made significant contributions to the Marion Institute. She focuses on promoting healthcare initiatives and supporting organic farming, even running her own organic store, “How on Earth,” for a decade.

            When asked about her motivations for community service, Margie Baldwin expressed a desire to set an example for younger generations and her unwavering commitment to lifelong learning. Her selfless dedication has not only preserved Marion’s history but has also helped shape a vibrant and inclusive community for all.

            The Sippican Historical Society Award recognizes Margie Baldwin’s exceptional contributions, passion, and unwavering dedication to Marion, Massachusetts. Her commitment to historical preservation, community engagement, and education has left an indelible mark on the town and its residents.

Tamara (Lukowicz) O’Hara

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Tamara (Lukowicz) O’Hara, 53, of Marion passed away peacefully and surrounded by love on Thursday, June 22, 2023. She was the wife and soulmate of Shawn O’Hara.

            Born in Providence Rhode Island, the daughter of Glenn and Celine (DeCesere) Lukowicz, she spent her early childhood in Hawaii, and most of her life in Marion. Tamara was a graduate of Bishop Stang High School and Bristol Community College where she earned her degree in Nursing. Tamara worked as a Registered Nurse in the Fall River area for both St Anne’s Hospital and Prima Care for a combined twenty-five years.

            Tamara loved traveling, and her dogs, but mostly any activities or time she could spend with her family and friends where she enveloped everyone she met with kindness, compassion, laughter and love.

            Tamara is survived by her husband Shawn, her step-children whom she just adored, Joshua O’Hara, Jacob O’Hara and his partner Kaitlin Oliveira, and Annie O’Hara, her parents Glenn and Celine, her sister Kym (Lukowicz) Lee and her husband Terence, her nephews Dr. Terence Lee, Jr. and his partner Dr. Ashley Lin, and Matthew Lee. In addition she leaves behind her mother and father-in-law Christine (Paltrineri) and George O’Hara Jr., her sister-in-law Cynthia O’Hara and brother-in-law George O’Hara III and his partner Mary Tierney, along with beloved aunts, uncle, nieces, nephews, and the most incredible friends and friendships.

            She is predeceased by her grandparents Bill and Agnes DeCesare, and Leon and Diana Lukowicz as well as Louis and Treva Paltrineri, Barbara and George O’Hara Sr., Nicholas Pilla, Lisa McIntosh Fucile and Ian Barlow.

            We would like to thank the incredible doctors and nurses and staff at both Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital for their exceptional care and compassion throughout this past year.

            Her Funeral Mass will be held Friday, June 30, 2023 at 10 am at St. Mary’s Church, 789 Dartmouth St., Dartmouth, with everyone invited to meet directly at Church. Visitation will be held on Thursday, June 29, 2023 from 4-8 pm at the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Road, Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers donations in Tamara’s memory can be made to Dana Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284. For directions and guestbook, visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Summer Book Sale

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A Summer Book Sale will be held July 7 & 8 from 10 to 3 on the grounds of the Elizabeth Taber Library at 8 Spring Street, Marion.  This event is sponsored by the Friends of the ETL, a newly formed support group for the library.

            Donations of gently used books (no textbooks, please), games, puzzles and DVDs are eagerly sought; these can be brought to the library during open hours. Volunteers for this and other events are always needed. To join the Friends or to volunteer to help at the Book Sale (strong bodies especially needed) contact FriendsOfTheETL@gmail.com.

Town Dissatisfied with CR

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            Rochester’s Water Commission hosted a further airing of the dispute with the Buzzards Bay Coalition that’s kept the town’s Conservation Commission from signing on to a multitown Conservation Restriction that includes Rochester land without a clear resolution.

            The CR discussed during the commission’s June 14 public meeting would protect 241 acres of aquifer land from Acushnet to Mattapoisett that includes 13 acres at Red Brick Farms on the east side of Long Plain Road and the north side of Wolf Island Road.

            The sticking point that’s led the town ConCom to refuse to sign the agreement came two weeks ago when Buzzards Bay Coalition Director of Land Protection Allen Decker explained that the regional agreement will give Mattapoisett the water rights to the Rochester parcel, including possibly digging up to four new wells, under a coownership agreement with the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Authority.

            Commission members complained that Rochester has lost the right to use its own water resources too many times over the decades and were united in their refusal to sign the CR without more information, especially as to whether the CR can be rewritten to give Rochester rights to some of that water.

            On June 14, the debate started after Water Commission Chairman Fred Underhill noted his board has no authority to act on this issue but has agreed to host the discussion.

            Buzzards Bay Coalition representative Brendan Annett said the purpose of the CR is to permanently protect the aquifer that is the water supply residents of the entire region depend on. There is no immediate plan to drill four new wells, he said. This would only be Mattapoisett’s plan of action if additional water was critically needed.

            Conservation Commission Ben Bailey responded, “It’s not that simple.” He noted that Rochester will have to pay the money in the matching grant that is making the project possible. Yet Mattapoisett alone will benefit from the water resource on Rochester land, he said. If a future well is dug from any of this acquired land, Bailey said, “Rochester should be able to participate, be part of the agreement.”

            He and other commission members emphasized that the town should have some right to the well water produced as a result of this CR agreement.

            Water Commission member Richard Charon added that the four wells can be drilled anywhere within the 241 acres the CR encompasses, not just in Rochester. But he also noted that other agreements with other towns, such as Marion, specify that Rochester has a right to 50% of that water. That could be the case with this agreement too, he said.

            Conservation Commission Chairman Christopher Gerrior said that before this agreement was settled, all interested parties should have been at the table to review it. “We should’ve had more of a say,” Gerrior said.

            Underhill said the town has not only lost the rights to its own water over the years but also the related tax revenue. The City of New Bedford does not pay taxes on the waterworks system building that processes Rochester water, he pointed out.

            Town Administrator Glenn Cannon asked about one possible solution. He queried whether the CR could stay in the possession of Rochester so it could have more control of that water resource. Gerrior said this provision would still mean the land and the water resources would be protected.

            Annett provided no sense that the issue would be resolved easily. He said the deal is too close to needing to be finalized for such a change. He said he had a conversation about Rochester’s concerns with Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Department Superintendent Henri Renauld, who according to Annett answered with a blanket reassurance that Rochester has been a part of the regional effort to protect its water resources for a long time and that would continue to be the case.

            The Conservation Commission will discuss the issue further at its June 20 meeting.

            The Rochester Water Commission scheduled its next meeting for Wednesday, August 9, at 4:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Water Commission

By Michael J. DeCicco

Turtle Knows Exactly Where She’s Going

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            When the months of Spring slide along the coastline into Summer, the reptilian Snapping Turtle has risen from the muddy bottom of brackish river tributaries to journey overland to lay her eggs.

            First, the female has to meet and make love with the male turtle to fertilize her eggs. However, Mother Nature usually has already bestowed upon her a woman’s prerogative to change her mind about reproduction. If she feels in her heart that conditions are not exactly right for her eggs, she is blessed with the ability to store the male’s sperm in her reproductive organs until she feels her time is right.

            In this time of global warming and climate change, experts in scientific research have discovered that her eggs, when incubated at about 65 degrees, produce only males, at 73 degrees both male and females, and 75 degrees only females.

            Once she felt comfortable in her heart that the time and temperature were correct, she got the inner green light to head overland as far as a mile or more, as well as crossing a country road with traffic in plain view of onlookers. She may return to the same sandy hill she had used to reproduce last year.

            As in my illustration, in less than a single day she may have to lay as many as 30 to 40 eggs and use her tail to bury them in the sand out of sight of predators. All too often, they are found by hungry skunks, raccoons and crows.

            If she finds that her treasure trove has been disturbed upon her return the following year, she knows not to use it again. Once she has laid and hidden her eggs, she immediately takes off on the very same path she used to get there. All the hard work and important timing is forever finished and left behind her with her future hatchlings to fend for themselves.

            When the hatchlings are born into an ancient reptilian ritual with the classification Chelydra Serpentine, they are among the oldest creatures on the face of the earth, even before the age of the dinosaurs. They probably were among the original forms of living things that first climbed up on land from the primordial soup that produced life – like creatures out from the ocean.

            If you should see a Snapping Turtle crossing a road, please do not waylay or disturb its reproductive intentions.

            You might be a witness to Mother Nature’s ancient renewal to ensure an unbroken chain of historic evolution from your own reading and illustrated impression that my article and drawing will live in your mind as long as I have hoped for your future scientific evaluation.

By George B. Emmons

Upcoming Events at the Elizabeth Taber Library

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Happy Pride!  We are celebrating June at the library with books, crafts, giveaways, and programs!  Visit the library to find LQBTQ+ centered fiction, history, poetry, essays, romances, crafts and cooking, biographies and more!

            Pride and Joy Karaoke Party Thursday June 22 from 6 to 8 pm – Join us for food, music, and fun at our Pride and Joy Karaoke Night at the library.

            Explore and Roar Summer Kick-Off Block Party – Saturday June 24 from 11 to 2 pm  – Celebrate the summer at the library with dino digs, crafts, lawn games, and a visit Dinosaurs at your Door, bringing life sized dinosaurs from 1-2 pm!  Featuring free ice cream from Oxford Creamery and science adventures with the Natural History Museum (including an inflatable right whale.)  Explore and Roar with the Library! 

            Summer Yoga on the lawn – Every Thursday starting June 29 from 9:30 to 10:30 – Elke Pierre will be leading summer yoga classes on our shady lawns Thursday morning all summer long.

            Goat Yoga – Thursday June 29 at 6 pm. Try out some yoga moves accompanied by friendly goats.  Register online or by calling the Library

            Banned Book Club June 27 at 6:30 – This month the Banned Book Club will be discussing Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, the American Library Association most challenged and banned book of 2022-2023.

            For more information on the Elizabeth Taber Library, visit us at www.ElizabethTaberLibrary.org or call us at 508-748-1252

Mattapoisett Yacht Club Racing Results

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            Tuesday Night Ensign Series on June 13, Brou Ha Ha won the night with a first and second, followed by Odyssey and Black ice.

            Wednesday night started under threatening skies but racers managed to finish before the rains came. Class A winner was Restless and Class B was Fir Na Tine

Pie and Pastry Sale

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As part of the Mattapoisett Lions Club’s annual Harbor Days event, the town’s Woman’s Club’s yearly homemade Pie and Pastry Sale will be held under the Big Tent, on Saturday, July 15 from 9 am until all items are sold (which during the summer of 2022, was at 10:15 am.)

            Look for us under the Big Tent at Shipyard Park where you are guaranteed to find that a delicious selection of homemade pies, breads, muffins and cookies is waiting for you to take home with you to tickle your taste buds!  Cash or credit cards will be accepted.

            The bake sale is a rain or shine event with all proceeds benefitting the Mattapoisett Women’s Club Scholarship Fund, programs and community

CR Accepted with Conditions

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            Rochester’s Conservation Commission Tuesday agreed to the much-debated proposed Conservation Restriction on 13 acres at Red Brick Farm East, contingent on the Mattapoisett Water Department abiding by the town’s requested conditions.

            The commission motioned that it would sign the CR upon receipt of a Letter of Intent stating that Mattapoisett will never develop a well on the 13 acres on Long Plain Road and the north side of Wolf Island Road in Rochester and will make every attempt to transfer the land to the Town of Rochester for $1.

            Brendan Annett of the Buzzards Bay Coalition said it was too late to put these conditions in the multitown Conservation Restriction on 241 acres of aquifer land from Acushnet to Mattapoisett that this parcel includes. The state legislature must release the funding for the CR by the end of the legislative session in June.

            Annett said the commission could sign the signature page that would only be released when the Letter of Intent regarding the concessions to Rochester is received. The commission agreed to this plan after board member Ben Bailey emphasized that the $1 purchase offer needed to be part of the letter’s language. He instructed Conservation Agent Merilee Kelly to release the signatures only when the Letter of Intent with Mattapoisett’s concessions is received, then reviewed by Rochester’s town counsel.

            When they first heard of the CR plan weeks ago, commission members complained that Rochester has lost the right to use its own water resources too many times over the decades.

            The regional agreement would give Mattapoisett the water rights to the Rochester parcel, including possibly digging up to four new wells, under a coownership agreement with the Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Authority. The commission was united in their refusal to sign the Red Brick Farms CR without more information, especially as to whether the CR can be rewritten to give Rochester rights to some of that water.

            Tuesday night, Mattapoisett Water Department representative Henri Renauld noted several points to ease Rochester’s concerns. He said none of these four wells mentioned in the agreement will be dug in Rochester, and the fact is Mattapoisett is only allowed to draw a limited amount of water from the aquifer. And it must receive the Rochester Conservation Commission’s permission to dig those wells.

            Renauld agreed to the commission’s response that these conditions be in writing. The board agreed to set a future, special, one-issue meeting to sign the signature page.

            Later in the evening, the commission approved the invoice that will give the Buzzards Bay Coalition the $70,000 grant funds the town received for the Red Brick Farm Conservation Restriction. But it voted to not release the check until the Letter of Intent from Mattapoisett is received.

            The commission began the meeting by approving the Certificate of Compliance for the completed plan to build a single-family home with septic system, well and lawn at 69 Paradise Lane, after Kelly reported no problems with inspection of the site.

            Lastly, the board received good news regarding the 89 Box Turtle Drive dispute over owner Doug Rose clearing land there too close to wetlands without a permit over a year ago.

            Rose’s attorney, Timothy Angley, told the board his client’s engineering consultant has been fired because he was dragging his feet on completing the plans the commission was seeking. A new engineer, Brad Holmes of ERC in Plymouth, has been hired and will deliver new plans to the board soon.

            The board asked that the owner’s no-trespassing order be lifted to allow a site visit. Angley agreed that these visits could happen as soon as Thursday, June 22.

            The commission set its summer-schedule meetings for Tuesday, July 18, and Tuesday, August 15, at 7:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Conservation Commission

By Michael J. DeCicco

A June Walk … Down the Aisle

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            June is the traditional time for weddings. The month was named after the goddess Juno, who was the protector of women. Thankfully, women have come a long way since the goddess held sway. Still, June is a very popular time when a bride and her mother’s months of planning – grooms have no say in the matter – come to fruition.

            There was a time when all the preparation and the result was paid for by the father, but I’m not so sure that is the case anymore. It could be that mom and dad share the cost or the bride and groom foot the bill. It has been a while since I had anything to do with weddings. In fact, it may be that the bride and groom handle the whole affair, so I profess complete ignorance on the matter.

            I do know that a wedding can be a simple gathering on a sandy beach or a formal affair in a house of worship with a fancy reception in a grand ballroom or a country club, the latter where my betrothed and I tied the knot and partied after.

            It was the hottest day of the summer. The church had no air conditioning. I was sweltering as were the priest and the monsignor … a golfing buddy of my bride’s father. My best man’s glasses fell off, my bride was beaming, and all went off according to plan.

            The reception was a typical affair, a grand family reunion of aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, parents and grandparents. I had my photograph taken with more babies than a politician at a campaign rally. My future brother-in-law got free drinks while the bartender tried to make me pay! I informed him that the tuxedo made me, the groom, entitled to special privileges.

            Six months later my wife’s sister got married … same church, same country club, same people … during a blizzard, and the same bartender made me pay for my drinks. That marriage lasted seven years, we’re on our 53rd. The moral is don’t get married in a blizzard.

            Strange things have been known to happen at weddings. At one we attended, when the organist started playing “Here comes the bride,” in marched a friendly dog prancing down the aisle to the delight of the guests. At another, an outdoor wedding, the family dog was an honored participant escorting the bride and dutifully standing beside the groom during the ceremony. I don’t know if he was the canine of the bride or the groom’s best hound.

            The strangest weddings I have attended were at a high school where I taught. Each June the Home and Consumer Sciences Department (formerly known as Home Economics) staged one in the auditorium in front of the whole school as part of the curriculum. The students eagerly looked forward to them, the faculty not so much. To the students’ regret, a honeymoon was not a part of the lesson.

            The teacher was the matchmaker, choosing the bride and groom at random from members of the senior class. They were full blown bashes with flowers and music supplied by the Music Department. The “bride” picked a white bridal gown from a collection the teacher maintained especially for this annual “lesson.” The bridesmaids sewed their own dresses in class. A local formal wear store supplied the male wedding party with tuxedos.

            The vows were administered by a senior who looked 35 with a proper middle-age paunch and a full beard. The reception was held in the cafeteria at lunch. For the entire week following, the bridal couple had to care for an animated baby doll that wet its diaper and cried at inopportune times. You can’t make this stuff up.

            By the way, the priest who married my bride and me left the church some years later, married a woman with eight kids and became a hotel manager. There must be a message in there somewhere.

            Editor’s note: Mattapoisett resident Dick Morgado is an artist and retired newspaper columnist whose musings are, after some years, back in The Wanderer under the subtitle “Thoughts on ….” Morgado’s opinions have also appeared for many years in daily newspapers around Boston.

By Dick Morgado