Children’s Chair Fundraiser

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The Friends need your help. The Friends of Plumb Library are raising funds for the purchase of children’s chairs. Chairs are child/youth size and will be used during Story Time as well as during children/youth programs taking place at the library. Chairs will be used with new adjustable height tables. Cost per chair is $50 and a total of 12 chairs are needed.

            Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated. Donations will be accepted starting immediately – Story Time with Ms. Lisa resumes in March, Book Buds is going on now and the Summer Library Program is on the horizon. Cash or checks (made out to Friends of Plumb Library) may be left at the circulation desk during regular business hours.

            Questions? Please email the Friends at plumbfriends@gmail.com – we look forward to hearing from you.

Elizabeth S. “Betsy” Dunn

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Elizabeth S. “Betsy” Dunn, of Marion, passed away peacefully, on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at Tobey Hospital.

            Betsy was born in New Bedford, MA in 1934 to Lionel J. and Thelma P. (Benner) Sequeira of Marion.  She loved growing up in Marion and graduated from Wareham High School in 1952. As a lifelong Marion resident, she developed strong and permanent friendships and was well-known for her wicked sense of humor and steadfast loyalty to her friends.  She graduated from New England Baptist School of Nursing in 1955.  On June 30, 1956, she married William T. Dunn and they settled in Marion to raise their family.

            Upon graduating from New England Baptist Hospital in 1955 as a Registered Nurse, Betsy began a long and distinguished career in nursing.  After returning to school in 1971, Betsy became one of the very first Pediatric Nurse Practitioners in New England, graduating from the Northeastern University Nurse Practitioner Program and shortly thereafter joining the faculty. While on the faculty, she pursued additional studies and received her BSN from Northeastern University in 1982.  In 1983, Betsy and her co-authors wrote and published, “The Manual of Ambulatory Pediatrics”.  It remained in print through 2009, and was a top-rated clinical guide for a generation of pediatric nurses.  Her book received the American Journal of Nursing’s coveted “Book of the Year Award” as well as the “Achievement of Excellent Writing of a Manual Award” by the National Association of Continuing Education.  All of this was accomplished while raising 4 children, working full-time, and being an integral part of her much loved church and community.

            Betsy practiced both pediatric and public health nursing for almost 60 years in various capacities.  The bulk of her career was spent as a pediatric nurse practitioner working alongside her mentor and dear friend, Dr. Charles Gleason.  Betsy relished caring for generations of children and teens.  She found special joy in caring for the children of parents who had been her patients in their childhood.

            In addition to her work in private practice, she served as a health coordinator and consultant to the Wareham School System for more than a decade.  Betsy went on to serve as a nurse practitioner at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.  She annually volunteered to organize and staff flu vaccination clinics for both Marion and Rochester.

            Betsy was always a dedicated caregiver – it was her vocation and an essential part of who she was.  She approached her patients with kindness, compassion, and a deep appreciation for their individual needs.  Later in life, some of her patients or their family members became her caregivers and treated her with the same love, compassion, and respect she had shown them.  A common theme in conversations was often, “Oh, I loved Mrs. Dunn…she was my favorite”, as they recalled a special and deeply personal way that she had touched their lives.

            A 1998 letter to the New Bedford Standard Times was headlined, “Nurse that treats children like her own”. The letter was written by a grateful parent of two young boys.  Chronicling Betsy’s magic touch with children in an often scary situation, the letter notes, “Mrs. Dunn is our family hero.  A special person in our lives, a guardian angel if you will…she is a peacemaker in the most stressful concern in a parent’s life – your children’s health.”  This was the Betsy Dunn we all knew and loved.

            Her devotion to her community and church knew no limits.  Well into her 80’s, Betsy served as an elected member of the Marion Board of Health and was appointed to the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals.  She was instrumental in fundraising to build the Gleason Family YMCA and served on the Board of Managers.

            Few things were more important to Betsy than the First Congregational Church of Marion.  A lifelong member of the Church, she served in a number of elected positions over the years.  Betsy enthusiastically enjoyed her role as a member of the choir.  She was devoted to her fellow choir members and seldom missed an opportunity to join them in celebration.  While always focused on the future of her beloved church, Betsy was as concerned about chronicling the church’s past.  She was still working on archiving church history through January of this year as well as initiating the process of having the church declared a historic landmark.

            Betsy was devoted to all her friends.  Her love for them was matched by their love and devotion to her.  Three groups in particular brought immense comfort, joy and laughter to her life.  Betsy loved the “Basket Ladies” and their Thursday morning weaving sessions.  She greatly enjoyed the company of her Board of Health pals, originally coworkers, who became fast and committed friends and celebrated often with Friday dinners.  Betsy’s latest passion was the newly established Church Historic Review Committee with her close church friends.  They would meet every Tuesday morning to review historical papers, share some laughs and some memories, and preserve the church’s’ history. 

            Betsy had a strong and loving presence in the neighborhood.  A neighbor shared a note expressing her deep love for Betsy and detailing the many ways she had impacted her life.  She wrote of Betsy’s wise counsel and her help in navigating losses in her own life.  In her letter, she wrote, “She was loving and wonderful and everything that an Amazing Yankee woman should be,” and “Anyone who was blessed to know her, was blessed indeed.”

            Betsy’s greatest passion was her family.

            Her home was a place where hugs and gingersnaps were abundant.  She had a special place in her heart for each of her 10 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.  She eagerly anticipated hearing about their interests, accomplishments, shenanigans, and joys and was a source of wise counsel and comfort when was needed.  Betsy always referred to her grandchildren as “Her Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow!”

            Betsy was predeceased by Bill, her husband of 55 years, her parents, Lee and Thelma Sequeira, and her sister, Thelma (Sis) B. Vanstone of Florida.

            Betsy is survived and deeply missed by her four children, W. Thomas Dunn, Jr, M.D., and his wife Susan of Auburn, ME, Catherine E. Arkins and her husband Daniel of Gloucester, MA, Michael L. Dunn of Oriental, NC and Brian P. Dunn of Marion, MA. Betsy was the beloved grandmother of Christopher Dunn (Chantal), Caroline Dunn, and W. Cooper Dunn, Brendan Arkins (Katie), Elizabeth Arkins Dasco (Dylan), Anna Arkins, Maggie Dunn and Lee Dunn and Samuel Dunn and Kathleen Dunn. She was also blessed with 3 great-grandchildren, Henry, Claire, and William Dunn (of ME). Betsy is also survived by her loving sister, Eleanor S. Mower (Robert) of Marion and her brother-in-law, Robert Vanstone of Fort Lauderdale, FL.

            A Memorial Service will be held at the First Congregational Church of Marion at 11 AM on Saturday, April 29, 2023, with a reception to follow.

            In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Betsy’s memory to: Betsy Dunn Music Fund, The First Congregational Church of Marion, P.O. Box 326, Marion, MA 02738.

            Arrangements by Chapman Funerals & Cremations – Wareham.  To leave a message of condolence visit: www.chapmanfuneral.com

Joanne (Getchell) Mahoney

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Joanne (Getchell) Mahoney, age 89, died peacefully on February 12th, 2023. She was born in Brockton and graduated Brockton High School in 1950. In 1956 she married Paul L. Mahoney of Boston and together they lived in Brockton where they raised their three children – except for summers which were spent in Marion. In 1979 the family moved to Marion permanently. Paul predeceased her in 1995 after almost 30 years of an almost perfect marriage.

            Joanne graduated from Simmons College and held advanced degrees from Northeastern University and Boston University. She served as School Psychologist for Whitman Public schools for over 30 years and was a consulting psychologist for public schools in Randolph, Abington, Rockland and Plymouth.

            Throughout her adult life she was an active member of many civic and social organizations – serving as Director and/or officer of many, including Peoples Saving Bank of Brockton, Women’s Guild of the Brockton Hospital, Marion Council on Aging, and The Piney Point Beach Club. She was named Marion’s Woman of the Year in 2015. She was a Life Member of The Kittansett Club of Marion.

            She was feisty, impatient and opinionated, and she was warm, witty, kind and affectionate. She loved her friends, books, travel, animals, Pall Mall cigarettes, and giving advice (solicited or not)! She disliked vegetables, physical exercise, and most politicians. Most of all, she loved to laugh, she loved her family and they loved her back.

            When she passed she was ready and eager to meet God and to see Paul again – hopefully, the feelings were mutual!

            She is survived by her children – daughter, PJ Dodge of Boston, son James E. Mahoney (Allison) of Arlington, VA, son Sean M. Mahoney of West Cork, Ireland – grandchildren Bayard Dodge (Caitlin) of Boston, and Andrew B. Dodge of Brooklyn – great-grandsons Carter and Quinn Dodge of Boston – and several loved nieces and nephews.

            Relatives and friends are invited to visit on Thurs., Feb. 16, 2023 at Chapman Funerals & Cremations – Wareham, 2599 Cranberry Hwy. (Rt. 28), Wareham from 5 – 7 pm. Funeral will be from the funeral home on Friday at 9 am followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Rita’s Church, 115 Front St., Marion at 10 am. Interment will follow in Old Landing Cemetery, Marion.

            Donations in her memory may be made to The Elizabeth Taber Library, 8 Spring Street, Marion, MA 02738. For directions or to leave a message of condolence visit: www.chapmanfuneral.com

Cuttyhunk Plein Air

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The Marion Art Center is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Gosnold Cultural Council to present the 2023 Cuttyhunk Plein Air Festival. Festival founder Teri Bordenave welcomes this new partnership between the MAC and the GCC and looks forward to this year’s event: “I am delighted about this new collaboration and how this partnership will strengthen and sustain this popular regional cultural event. This is a great way forward for the Plein Air Festival.” The goals in creating the Cuttyhunk Plein Air Festival, now in its eighth year, were to introduce artists to the beauty of the island, to encourage them to return, to provide an engaging cultural event for residents and visitors and to support island businesses during the shoulder season. The event this year is scheduled on Saturday, June 17, with a foul weather date reserved on Sunday, June 18.

            The MAC’s executive director, Jodi Stevens, was a long-time juror and day-of volunteer for the CPAF and has been an integral part of the festival since its inception. Jurors for the 2023 festival include Pamela Hoss, Jay Ryan and Bob Smith. This year, Marne Goodrich joins the long time team of on-island coordinators and volunteers: Teri Bordenave, Ellie von Wellsheim, Sara and Paul Lehner and many more. In keeping with the missions of both the Marion Art Center and the Gosnold Cultural Council, the collaborators aim to broaden the scope of the annual event and engage new participants. To further their shared commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, the MAC and the GCC will be sponsoring scholarships for the first time this year, working with regional organizations to select and award nominees. Artists will be given the option at registration to donate to these scholarship funds. Sponsors this year include Pete’s Place Rentals, Cuttyhunk Shellfish Farms, the Cuttyhunk Fishing Club and Molly and Jim Conway (supporting the Spirit of Cuttyhunk purchase prize award.) Additional donations from local business or community members are also welcome.

            The CPAF is limited to 60 artists, and the cost to participate is $90 per person. This fee covers registration, ferry travel with cargo transport via M/V Cuttyhunk Ferry and a box lunch. The cost to Cuttyhunk residents, or those who do not need a day-of ferry ticket, is $40. On the day of the festival, artists will travel from State Pier 3 in New Bedford, where registration packets and ferry tickets are distributed (9am departure), to Cuttyhunk (10 am arrival.) There they will check in and collect their box lunches, and volunteer “island ambassadors” will greet painters and deliver them to various locations across the island. Artists will wrap up around 2:30 pm to be ready for pickup (or can walk back), and they may submit paintings for jurying by 2:45 pm. Artists will enjoy a brief “_ARTY.” reception after jurors have had a chance to select 1st, 2nd, 3rd place and purchase prizes. Islanders and visitors may also purchase art directly from the artists. The “_ARTY.” is open to all and free to attend. Finally, artists will depart on the Cuttyhunk Ferry at 4:00 pm to return to New Bedford. (This is an approximate schedule, as ferry departure time is subject to change.) To learn more and register, visit marionartcenter.org/cuttyhunk-plein-air. Please send questions to info@marionartcenter.org.

February Break “Staycation” Activities in Mattapoisett

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During school vacation week, don’t get stuck indoors. Mattapoisett Land Trust is offering a Hot Chocolate Hike on Monday February 20 at 10 am. Meet at the Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Foundation on Angelica Ave. for a short hike followed by hot chocolate and a campfire. All are welcome to join. Dress for the weather and wear your boots, it may be wet out there.

`For even more family fun during school vacation, try out MLT’s Staycation Scavenger Hunts. See the Family Activities page on the MLT website to download the instructions and checklists for the Dunseith Gardens and the Dexter “Tub” Mill scavenger hunts. Good luck. Remember to post your photos with #MLTscavengerhunt so we see how well you do.

High Anxiety

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            She really is a very nice person.

            Our own town barber who plies her trade in the very shop where my father cut hair for many years, esteemed Selectwoman and serious tree lover Jodi Bauer was on the phone.

            I have been expecting the call. About this time every year, she calls to ask if the missus and I and other local artists will be willing to judge a poster contest. Mattapoisett is a Tree City USA member, and one of the activities designed to encourage awareness of the environment and our precious resources is an art contest for fifth graders. We are always happy to help.

            This time, the tables have been turned. The kids will still create posters, but the judges will, too, be judged by the kids. Oh boy!

            When Jodi explained this new wrinkle to us over the speaker phone, a deafening silence fell on our conversation. My wife stared at me. I stared at her. Do we really want to do this? After all, we are professional artists. It’s true we’re retired, and it has been years since either of us has designed anything. I now paint portraits and she, once a graphic designer, is now a photographer. This could be embarrassing.

            What if we say no, will Jodi convince her cohorts on the Select Board to instruct the Highway Department to not plow our street? Will she pressure the Assessors to raise our taxes? Did I mention she is very persuasive?

            After some thought, we asked if we could think about it. Like a lightning bolt splitting a massive tree in a storm, a thunderous “No!” came crackling over the phone line. How do you say no to someone who wields a sharp pair of scissors in close proximity to my ears? The van Gogh look is not for me. So, of course, we agreed.

            Now the pressure begins. What if we fail to produce something “professional” looking? What if the young saplings judging us think our work stinks? Our reputations as “real” artists are ruined.

            Worse, what if my wife wins and I don’t? I’ll never hear the end of it. I can see it now, every Thanksgiving with the family gathered around the festive table, turkey sitting proud by the mashed potatoes and stuffing, as she passes the gravy, she barks how she beat me to a pulp in an art competition.

            Heaven forbid, what if I win? Fifty-three years of wedded bliss down the drain. My bride remembers everything. If she tripped over a shoe I left on the floor 40 years ago, she remembers. If I left a dirty dish on the kitchen counter in 1978, she remembers. This would be hanging over my head forever.

            Oh, the shame of losing. Will I have to give up painting and turn to writing full time (be careful what you wish for dear reader)? Here I sit, my hair falling out, worrying about a little poster contest, while my bride is calmly staring at her computer researching trees.

            Am I overthinking this? Do you think? Get on with it, Dick!

            Stay tuned for the results of this epic mind battle.

            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

Board Chastised about Pricey Housing

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During Monday night’s meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board, member Karen Field commented that the houses being built on Chapel Road seem too close to Route 6. She said the building inspector confirmed that the homes have proper setbacks. This prompted resident Paul Osenkowski to share his opinion of the project and the board.

            Osenkowski began by saying that Mattapoisett lacks diversity because housing is too expensive. He went on to admonish the board, which he said “screwed up” regarding an earlier, conceptual cluster subdivision plan. That concept was brought to the board by engineer Bill Madden of G.A.F. Engineering, representing David Nicolosi, through informal discussion only, not in a request for Plan Review.

            Osenkowski told the board that instead of getting five “reasonably” priced homes including green space, the town is getting much bigger homes priced much higher and no green space. He alluded to unnamed persons whom he alleged blocked the original plans for personal reasons and accused the board members (with the exception of John Mathieu, who was not on the board at that time) of stonewalling.

            For over 10 minutes, Osenkowski was allowed to continue. He repeated several times that the board knew about behind-the-scene matters that had negatively impacted the original concept. The board responded they didn’t know what he was talking about. Board member Arlene Fidalgo said the discussion was “absurd.”

            Mathieu said that he understood what Osenkowski was driving at. He said at a future board meeting he wishes to discuss bylaws and review what he dubbed “flexibility” given to the Planning Board.

            The 2022 Master Plan, which is pending Select Board review, speaks to the need for more housing and affordable housing that Mathieu said he wants to explore. A draft of the pending Master Plan is accessible at Mattapoisett.net.

            Earlier in the meeting, the board approved the town’s return of $520.95 in 53G funding to David McIntire for the Skagbark Circle roadway construction being undertaken by the developer.

            Site Plan Review of the 156 Acushnet Road solar array filed by Sun Partners was continued to March 6, pending state acceptance of the project.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, March 6, at 7:00 pm.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

From the Files of the Rochester Historical Society

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Several years ago, I received a phone call from a friend who was helping Beatrice Taber clean out her home prior to selling it. The home at 199 New Bedford Road along with the woods across the street had been in the Taber family for many years.

            One of the items in the house was the rocker pictured here. After looking over the chair, Dave asked if he could have it, and she was happy to give it to him. His reason for both requesting the chair and calling me was his belief that the rocker should stay in town. The rocking chair which resembles a Hitchcock rocker came with information about its origins. It was made by Carl E. Taber (who lived at 199 New Bedford Rd.) and the wood for the chair came from trees grown on his property. On the underside of the rocking chair seat was this inscription, “This Boston Rocker is made of all native wood taken from my farm in Rochester, Mass. The fancy decorating was done by my daughter Evelyn.” Under that was his name, Carl A. Taber AD 1955.

            We at the Historical Society are truly grateful to have had this “Rochester” rocking chair donated to our museum. The pictures which sit on the rocker are of the Taber home. The rocking chair has a place of honor on the altar at our museum at 355 County Road

By Connie Eshbach

Upcoming program at the Marion Natural History Museum

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David Orwig, Senior Ecologist and Forest Ecologist with Harvard Forest will be sharing his research into the presence of old-growth forests in our state on March 31, 7:00 – 8:00 pm. The talk will include a broad discussion of old-growth forests in Massachusetts- What are they? Where are they? And what can they tell us? Through pictures and data from many old-growth forests in the state, many aspects of why these rare forest gems are so special will be described along with the many threats they face. Suggested donation to the museum – $10.00/person. To register, please visit the museum’s website: www.marionmuseum.org.

Immigrant History Explored

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            Marion’s rich history as a seaport community has been well documented over decades. Less has been known about its immigrating workers and the people who settled on the outskirts of estates and wealth. But that is changing now, thanks in no small part to the collaborative efforts of the Marion Historical Commission and the Sippican Historical Society.

            On February 1, the Music Hall was filled with townsfolk interested in learning more about the people who populated Route 6 and the immigrant neighborhoods.

            MHC Chairperson Meg Steinberg told The Wanderer that Claire Dempsey, a historic-preservation consultant, produced an inventory and historic research report on Marion’s Portuguese, Azorean and Cape Verdean communities. The MHC funded this project so that Dempsey could complete her analysis of the Point Road and Gifford’s Corner neighborhoods, an earlier project also funded by the MHC.

            Local resident, Cape Verdean ancestor and educator Rick DaSilva has been participating in the immigrant history project for several years. In a response to how he became involved in the project, DaSilva replied, “I joined the Sippican Historical Board a few years ago, before the pandemic, with strong intentions to increase the diversity of perspectives and narratives. A few years ago, I was contacted by Claire Dempsey, the writer of the report, and … spent some time discussing the different areas in Marion she was researching.”

            But how did these areas become meccas for immigrants? Who were the people? What are their stories? This is what DaSilva, who taught history at Tabor Academy for many years and is now the director of Community and Equity Affairs at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, wishes to pursue in greater detail. He believes it will “fill in the blanks.”

            Some work had begun on collecting Cape Verdean oral histories when Judith Rosbe of the SHS recorded several with the assistance of family members with surnames Pina, Barros and Pires. That was the beginning of filling in the blanks, a place where documentation ends and memories begin.

            “I ended the talk last night mentioning that goal (of gathering oral histories) and that the purpose of doing the talk was to shed light on the countless stories we don’t have and haven’t collected,” DaSilva told The Wanderer. He said that while data, such as that reported by Dempsey, is critical, “it is nothing without the anecdotes and narratives from those who lived in these areas through 1930 to 1990.”

            In his presentation and follow-up, DaSilva noted that successive generations, the children and grandchildren of the immigrants, have migrated out of the area. “Those stories are gone.” He said, however, that there are immigrant ancestors who attended talks such as these and have access to images and testimonies, along with those who have remained in the area willing to share those pieces of the story.

            A large part of the February presentation focused on Dempsey’s exhaustive research of documents, deeds, assessors’ reports and tax records. That mapping told a silent story. A story of immigration from the Cape Verdean Islands to the southeast coast of Massachusetts by people, primarily young men, in search of employment and a more stable area for resources.

            In his oral history, DaSilva told Rosbe that the Cape Verdean Islands were prone to drought and famine. “Men came looking for work on fishing boats, in cranberry bogs, in construction…” Those first immigrants who settled in the area would later bring family members to Marion. Families would grow into neighborhoods along Point Road, Mill Street, Creek Road, Wareham Road and Giffords Corner.

            DaSilva also spoke of the Point Road School built to educate the increasing number of children being born to the immigrants and the challenges those children faced.

            Once Sippican School opened, there would be concerns regarding the necessity and purpose of maintaining two schools in the town. DaSilva said, “Children of Cape Verdean heritage were thrown into a different culture,” when required to attend Sippican School versus the Point Road School that had been filled with family and friends and their cultural identity.

            DaSilva wants to cast a wide net and capture the full story of immigrating people to the area. “I believe that in the southeast, more people are now interested not just in tracing family roots but hearing and reading about the families that helped build this area,” he said. “Whether on ships, bogs or in textile mills, the Cape Verdeans, Azoreans and Portuguese – and countless mixtures among them – were as important to the foundation of growth and success as any other group or groups who are often given credit for making the southeast vibrant and viable.”

            Got a story to share? Contact DaSilva at rsilv@me.com or Meg Steinberg, Marion Historical Commission, at 508-748-3500.

Marion Historical Commission / Sippican Historical Society

By Marilou Newell