Lexington's Community Magazine
Lexington resident Ulla Lund recently turned 105 years old. Lund, who has lived for decades on Farmcrest Road in Lexington, is loved and admired by generations of friends and neighbors. Each year, family, friends and neighbors celebrate Ulla’s birthday in the neighborhood by getting together to present her a cake.
With 105 candles, someone should have alerted the Lexington Fire Department.
Happy birthday to you Ulla. You clearly bring lots of joy into so many lives.
Kathryn Benjamin
By Ashley Rooney | Kathryn Benjamin, Director of Development for the Cary Library Memorial Foundation since September 2005, has announced that she will be leaving the Foundation to serve as the Director of Development for the Somerville Homeless Coalition, starting September 17. A Lexington resident, Kathryn has two children in the high school.
During her tenure, Kathryn has helped the Foundation grow into a mature development operation, comprising appeal mailings, planned giving, and events, as well as supporting the board through its own growth. Additionally, she participated in conversations with the library trustees, the Foundation and the Friends of the Library to help develop their vision of themselves as a three-legged stool supporting the library. She feels herself fortunate to have worked with Kerry Brandon, Janet Tiampo and Jeanne Krieger, presidents of the Foundation, as well as Connie Rawson and Koren Stembridge, the Library Directors.
The need for the Foundation and the Annual Fund is great. The library is a municipal entity supported by tax dollars, but once Proposition 2 ½ took effect in 1982, most of the library’s budget went toward salaries and operating costs—not collections and programs. Up until 2004, the endowment played a role in filling the gap in the materials budget. But between spending $1 million of the $2 million endowment for the building campaign and the increased demand for materials, the endowment was no longer sufficient to fill the budget gap. Since 2004, the Library has needed an additional source of revenue.
The Cary Memorial Library Foundation was ready to fill that gap, having just successfully completed a $4.2 million capital campaign for the building renovations. The quality of Cary Memorial Library’s collection depends on the generous gifts of donors. Charitable contributions make up some 40% of the annual budget for books and other materials in the main collection. According to Kathryn, “The Foundation provides over $160,000 each year for materials, programming, and other needs. Lexington residents are such voracious readers that although hundreds of new materials that are added to the collection each year, they fly off the shelves.”
During Kathryn’s first year, she focused on the annual appeal, which raised $84,892 from 519 people her first year. This past year, the annual fund raised $214,000 from 1,181 people. By her third year, thanks in a large part to the initiative of then Foundation board member Claude Brenner, the Foundation developed the Maria Hastings Cary Legacy Society to receive planned gifts. Since its inception, 19 people have included the Foundation in their estate plans. Kathryn says, “We now receive at least one planned gift a year, and more people are being intentional about giving to the library.”
The next component to add to the development operation was events, with a focus on improving the Foundation’s stewardship and cultivation efforts. The Cary Library Art Sale and Soiree (CLASS), a large-scale juried art show and silent auction was launched in 2009, followed by Grape Expectations, a wine tasting event. These first two events opened up a new way for people to experience Cary Library as a place to celebrate as a community. Last year, the Foundation hosted the fun and festive Cary’s Cupids, which will be held again on February 9, 2013.
Kathryn emphasizes that the Foundation would not be able to achieve the results it has without the many volunteers who donate hundreds of hours. Volunteers range from board members, to committee members, to those who work on the phonathons and mailings. She points out that phonathons can be the most daunting volunteer task. Her first one was held soon after the new building was completed in April 2004. Not everyone was enamored with the new library: people complained about the amount of space and the empty shelves! Phonathon callers would listen patiently to the negative comments. For example, one citizen didn’t want to contribute until the library lights were turned off at night. The volunteer told the library staff; the timers for the lights were adjusted. The following year the caller was able to tell the complainer that the lights were fixed. He retorted, “I know that, and I will give you a donation this year.”
Eighty percent of Lexington citizens have library cards. “We all benefit from the library,” Kathryn comments, adding that “Lexington residents are so generous. Their love for this library has made this job a joy. I feel like it’s Christmas every day around here when I open the mail.”
Through Kathryn’s guidance and the hard work of the volunteers, the Foundation has been able to fill the gap that occurred after the building campaign and help make this great library an extraordinary library.
Nina and Kerry Brandin
By Laurie Atwater | It’s a bright day at the Lexington Farmer’s Market. I’ve just come off the highway—five hours from northern Maine to Lexington and I remember that I want to make a stop at the Farmer’s market to see Nina Brandin’s jewelry. I know that she is there because supportive mom, Kerry Brandin has sent an email letting friends know. Love that!
The Lexington Farmer’s Market features an eclectic mix of food artisans, farmers and craftspeople. Nina’s corner is populated with fellow craftspeople hoping to catch the eye of a buyer or two. As I make my way over, I am reminded of how tough it can be tough to make a living as an artist or artisan, but that it’s possible, too if you have talent, the right temperament, resilience and a capacity for risk-taking—not to mention luck, perseverance and a couple of supportive parents!
Hearing Nina’s story, it is clear that her parents, Kerry and Jan Brandin had a lot to do with her success. From an early age, Kerry took Nina with her to craft shows around the area exposing her to the beauty of handcrafted work and the dazzle of pretty beads and shiny metals! “At bead shows she would appease me by saying, ‘if you’re really good, I’ll buy you a couple of beads,’” Nina recalls. “All day I’d be planning which beads I wanted!”
When Nina was in middle school her mom signed her up for a silversmithing class at Minuteman Tech. “It was an after school program and we made a knot ring,” she recalls. After that there were classes at the Munroe School for the Arts and the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society where she studied with award-winning jewelry designer and metalsmith Munya Upin.
“From a very early age Nina was just good at working with her hands,” her mother Kerry says. She even loved woodworking!” Indeed, Nina remembers “Wood with Mr. Wood” at Clarke Middle School!
Her other great love is music. “I started playing bass [upright bass] in fourth grade through the Lexington Public Schools,” Nina says. Nina took private lessons, but the experiences that really nurtured her love of music came from playing at Lexington High School with Jeff Leonard. “I was a busy kid at Lexington High School,” she recalls with laughter. “I played in all of the groups—jazz combo, orchestra, honors orchestra—I even played in the pit orchestra for the plays and a couple of times I did pep band for football games!” Nina remembers going to Europe with the jazz ensemble, performing at the Berkeley School of Music and competing in the Winton Marsalis/Duke Ellington competition at Lincoln Center! She has a vivid recollection of a workshop at LHS with bass virtuoso Christian McBride and Joshua Redman. “The training I got in Lexington has really given me the opportunity to teach and give back,” Nina says, “because the education was so great.”
Nina, who now lives in Boulder, Colorado, performs with the Broomfield Symphony in her free time. She is section-leader on acoustic bass and is serving a third season on their Board. She also takes every opportunity to play jazz and big band music.
Another love of hers with a Lexington connection is her passion for photography. According to Nina, she is very seldom without a camera. “I loved photography with Mr. Z [Jack Zichitella] she says, “I love taking pictures and I learned how to do it with him! I learned about composition and spatial awareness going from 3-D to 2-D—and about angles and light. It sort of shaped my sense of jewelry design in a way,” she reflects.
Nina’s unique sand dollar necklace embellished with multi-colored beads.
What taught her the nuts and bolts jewelry making was her time at the North Bennett Street School (NBSS) in the North End. After a couple of years in mechanical engineering at UMass Amherst, Nina decided that it wasn’t for her. She took some time off to reflect, went to Maine for a season to teach snowboarding (a skill she acquired through the Nashoba Valley after school program at LHS) and was ready to come back to Boston when her mom directed her to the program at NBSS. It was instantly attractive to Nina. “It’s a fifteen month bench jewelry program,” she explains. “Every day you are working hands-on and solving problems. Mistakes are not allowed—you fix your mistakes along the way,” she laughs. The strength of the program is that it gave her technical mastery first and foremost. Mom Kerry Brandin saw it as the perfect program for her daughter. The curriculum combined Nina’s mechanical ability with her aesthetic side and allowed
Custom Wedding bands and engagement ring.
her to be hands-on. “Most jewelry designers come from an art school background,” Kerry says. “They have to learn the technical skills later. Nina has the skills to make anything she designs.” Her mastery has allowed her to be a virtuoso jewelry designer making everything by hand. “I make my own clasps and some of my own chains and ear wires,” she says. “Everything is made by hand—I’m not casting or reproducing anything. Each piece is an original—made from scratch,” Nina says.
Recently Nina has designed a unique safety clasp that she makes from scratch. “It’s basically a hook,” she says, “but then I make a ball that’s flattened on the end so the hook has to fit exactly into the slot and it can’t just jiggle out.” It’s a great marriage of her mechanical engineering skills and her artistry! “I just have a knack for making things fit together,” she laughs.
Speaking of marriage and fit, Nina loves to make custom engagement rings. “I’ll sit down with a customer and hear their story—how they met, where they’re from, what they love to do together and what they are looking for in a piece of jewelry,” she says. “Then I find a way to relate their story subtly to the custom piece that I build.”
Recently she has been creating “stackers,” rings that can be combined in many different ways to tell a unique story. The stackers are popular she says because they aren’t as expensive and you can collect them over time. “People just love the rings.”
Stacking rings in gold and precious stones.
Struggling artists, take heart! Making art and making a living are often incompatible, but Nina has found a way to make it work. She sells direct through her website (www.ninasjewelry.com) and at craft fairs and art shows. “I sell direct because it’s less expensive for the customer than selling through a gallery.” Her customers love her pieces because they are American made and they are finely made.Back at the Lexington Farmer’s Market Nina sells a beautiful band in oxidized silver to Valerie Richkin of Lexington who was looking for a unique gift for her husband. If you have missed Nina at the Farmer’s Market, you can check her out online or next month at the 300th celebration.
Although she loves her life in Boulder for its slower pace, great weather and snowboarding, she never forgets Lexington and appreciates the incredible start that she got here. “It’s pretty amazing the opportunities and experiences I had in Lexington,” she says. “I was crazy-lucky!”
Seating is reserved and tickets for the opening ceremony are sold out.
Tickets must be picked up between September 8 and 13. Please note your assigned seating location when you pick up your tickets.
If you were unable to get tickets, there is a waiting list at the Town Hall–please call the Town Clerk’s Office. If you have tickets that you are not intending to use, please consider turning them in. If you cannot make it to Town Hall to pick up your tickets, please call the Town Clerk’s Office for assistance.
Those without tickets can watch live coverage on LexMedia.
Participants in the Opening Ceremony are invited to parade in a procession to the Country Fair.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Entry forms due on August 31st. Go to the website to print out your entry form.
Participants may enter special categories to compete for ribbons. See details right.
All entries must be delivered to Hastings Park between 8 and 10 AM on September 22nd.
Blue Ribbon Contest Details
Are you an up and coming chef? Do you like to experiment in the kitchen? If so, this is your event! To celebrate the 300th anniversary of Lexington, Lexington’s Country Fair will be holding a Blue Ribbon cooking contest on Saturday, September 22nd, at Hastings Park. Children and adults are invited to participate. Food categories include Family Favorite Corn Dish, Quick Breads, and Jams and Jellies. You can enter a homemade jam or jelly, family corn dish, or quick bread in the food contest.
Cooking not your thing? Test your green thumb by competing for the widest sunflower head, tastiest tomato, or oddest vegetable in the garden contest.
If you are 17 and under, you are also eligible for the special youth categories. You can enter chocolate chip cookies, a container garden and more. Do you cook, bake or grow plants? This is your time to shine!
Registration deadline is August 31st.
Go to the website to print out your entry form.
In addition to downloading the Blue Ribbon Contest forms and requirements, you can obtain entry forms and make payment at the Town Clerk’s office, 1625 Massachusetts, Ave., Lexington, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For more information, contact the Blue Ribbon Contest Committee. There is a $5 fee per entry to help cover fair costs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Visit the tercentennial tent featuring games and activities from the past three hundred years, craft booths and more. (Shuttle bus transportation will be provided to the Country Fair from satellite parking lots around town. Please check www.lexington300.org for the location of a parking lot near you.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you have been participating in the ongoing Scavenger Hunt (see website for details), visit the hospitality tent on 9/22 to receive the last clue and complete the hunt! All participants will be rewarded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you were not able to get tickets for the indoor Opening Ceremony, join us for a public ceremony at the Country Fair and All-Town Picnic.
12:00 pm (Tentative)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Those who wish to participate in the all-town photo should gather at the Center Track at noon on 9/22.
12:30 pm – 3:30pm
Race Through Time
Start Line at Track
Teams will compete in a race through town.
Teams must pre-register and spaces are limited. Go to the website to register a team or to register as an individual.
See the website for information on available spaces.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join us at a community dance, all ages welcome! The beginning of the evening will feature live music with instructor-led folk dancing, waltzes, and swing (6:30-8pm). Then Saigel Entertainment takes over with a DJ (8-10pm) playing everything from Elvis and the Beatles to Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Suggested donation of $3 per person.
By Jane Whitehead | From bake-sales to bike rides, fund-raising has many faces. One creative spin on the challenge of drumming up dollars for good causes is Crafts For Charity, the brainchild of recently retired Lexington pediatrician Daniel Palant.
Now in its third year, Crafts For Charity will take over the artisans’ tent at the Lexington Farmers’ Market, on Tuesday September 11. Work donated by around a dozen local crafters – including jewelry, rustic furniture, children’s toys and ceramics – will be on sale, and 100 per cent of the proceeds will go directly to the Lexington Food Pantry (www.lexingtonfoodpantry.wordpress.com) and Project Bread (www.projectbread.org).
The Lexington Interfaith Food Pantry, founded in 1990 and based at the Church of Our Redeemer on Meriam St., Lexington, is on the front line fighting hunger locally.
The pantry distributes food to around 60-65 families every week, said long-time volunteer Carolyn Wortman. “Even in Lexington, there are people struggling,” she said, and the pantry also helps qualified people from Winchester and Lincoln, towns with no similar services. Clients must provide a letter of need from their town’s Social Service Department.
The pantry serves single parents trying to feed their families and unemployed and under-employed people, who are often coping with physical or mental illness. The largest group of clients, said Wortman, is elderly people on fixed incomes: the local face of a national epidemic of hidden hunger among the nation’s seniors that was highlighted recently by WBUR’s On Point discussion on Monday, July 30 (http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/07/30/senior-hunger).
Lynne Fisher Bowl
Project Bread, the group behind the annual Walk For Hunger, is the Commonwealth’s leading anti-hunger organization, and supports 400 emergency food programs in 130 Massachusetts communities.
In 2010, Crafts For Charity made over $2000 to give to the Lexington Food Pantry, Project Bread, Rosie’s Place and the Pine Street Inn. In 2011, pouring rain dampened the takings, but the effort still raised around $1400. Buyers write checks directly to whichever of the designated charities they wish to support. This year, said Palant, in the run-up to the September 11 sale, the group is adding a Silent Auction featuring items donated by Farmers’ Market vendors. These include one-of-a-kind experiences like a visit with a local beekeeper and a guided tour of a local winery.
Whether crafters knit, paint, make pots or take photographs, said Palant, or in his case, make clocks out of recycled tin cans, they do what they do for the sheer love of making things. “Pretty soon they run out of people to give them to!” he said, laughing. Selling the surplus to raise money is his equivalent of collecting sponsorship for a charity walk, he said, and he’s persuaded a group of generous local hobbyists to join him.
Lexington potter Lynne Fisher has given works to CFC every year. “I would love to win the lottery so I could give millions away,” she said, but while waiting for that golden ticket she’s happy to give away her work, “so it can help raise money for others in need.”
Faith Armstrong, a nurse at Lexington Pediatrics, has been crafting for good causes since she was 10. As the daughter of a minister, “I was always involved in church fairs,” she said, and for decades she’s enjoyed textile arts and constructing miniature creatures made from natural objects picked up on walks around Lexington and on Maine beaches.
Armstrong will donate some of her popular “I-Spy Bags” to CFC this year. These are soft fleece bags in the shape of animals, cars and trucks, with a little window for viewing the contents. They’re filled with beads and five “mystery items” that children search for by manipulating the bag and peeping through the window.
“I’m a kind of scavenger,” said Susan Rioff, who for the last two years has contributed items from her “Rustica” line of furniture made from fallen branches and salvaged wood. “There’s no shortage of stuff that people get rid of,” she said, “so my cost is simply my time.” She sees the Crafts For Charity sale as “a wonderful incentive to be generous” that offers buyers a chance to find unique hand-made items while “doing good for somebody else.”
For further information about Crafts For Charity, contact Daniel Palant at dpalant@rcn.com.
Marge Battin
By Jeri Zeder | Racine, Wisconsin, 1943. Margery Milne was a high school student with a summer job working in a tank factory that was in the throes of a labor dispute—of sorts. The local chapter of the United Auto Workers didn’t want to admit into its ranks students who were there just for the summer. But the national UAW was entitled to a percentage of local dues, so this didn’t sit well with union higher-ups. Walter Reuther, the famed UAW president, told the local to admit the kids or he’d call a strike. During war time! The local caved, and Marge joined the union. She was then elected vice president of the plant safety committee. At age sixteen.And that ought to be the punch line—but there’s more. Turns out, Cecil Paton Milne, Marge’s father, headed the company that made the tanks. And the leader of the local at the time, Stephen F. Olsen, later became Marge’s sounding board when she was Selectman in Lexington and he was the mayor of Racine.
Marge Milne Battin was born March 25, 1927, in Toronto, Canada, the oldest of three children of Milne, a businessman, and Mildred Conboy Milne (née Smith), a high school Latin teacher and homemaker. The family moved to Paris, returned to Toronto when Marge was five, and then relocated to Racine, Wisconsin, when Marge was in junior high school. In 1944, she came to New England to study at Wellesley College. There, inspired by her experiences with the UAW, Marge majored in Economics with a focus on labor. “I was going to be a labor organizer,” Marge says now. But she didn’t count on meeting Richard H. Battin.
“He’d seen my picture in the Wellesley portrait directory, which was ostensibly for the girls to get to know each other, but it always ended up at Harvard and MIT,” Marge says. “And he saw my picture and said, ‘That’s the girl I’m going to marry.’” Marge rebuffed his attempts to meet her. So one Sunday afternoon, Dick made his way over to Wellesley from
MIT and knocked on the door of her dorm. The girl who answered went off to find Marge. “She said, ‘He seems sort of nice, why don’t you come down and talk to him,’” Marge recalls. “So I came, and the rest is history.”
A young Margery Milne (front row center) at Webb Hall, Wellesley College, where she
majored in Economics. Photo courtesy of the Battin family.
A young Margery Milne.
Photo courtesy of the Battin family.
Like so many other young college men during World War II, Dick was in the V-12 Navy College Training Program. He graduated in 1945, and the couple married in 1947. Marge graduated with a B.A. in Economics the following year. Dick pursued a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at MIT. Marge set aside her dream of organizing migrant workers. “There was no place to labor-organize, nor was there a migrant worker in sight,” she explains. She briefly considered Harvard Business School. “They would hire me to write the cases. They would hire me to grade the papers. But they were not admitting women to Harvard Business School,” she says. She went to work for an investment firm, and when she became a mother, stayed home with their three children Tom, Pam and Jeff.
Marge and Dick moved to 15 Paul Revere Road in Lexington in 1953, where they remained for nearly 60 years. Early on, Marge dove head first into community affairs: she served as Den mother, Brownie leader, Sunday School teacher, METCO host parent, PTA board member, and Vice President of the Lexington League of Women Voters. She was on the board of directors of RePlace, a youth counseling service; the Lexington Visiting Nurse Association; and the Lexington Interfaith Corporation, a sponsor of low and moderate income housing. She helped organize Citizens for Lexington Public Schools and Citizens for Lexington Youth.
Dick, meanwhile, went to work for the MIT Instrumentation Lab, where he participated in planning a Mars probe. Guidance control became his specialty. For the Apollo 11 mission, which put the first man on the moon, Dick organized and led the staff who created the software that would navigate the astronauts through space. Marge says, “He really was in charge of getting them there and landing precisely within inches of where he had aimed them. Which is interesting, because the kids laugh hysterically: Dick and I have almost no sense of direction at all! I remember we were going to the movies with the kids and Dick got lost. The kids said, ‘Thank God the astronauts can’t see you now!’” After helping to achieve President Kennedy’s goal of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth,” Dick, with Marge, traveled to the Soviet Union as guests of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
When young Dick Battin saw a picture of Margery Milne in the Wellesley “portrait directory” he said, “That’s the girl I’m going to marry.” Above, Marge and Dick on their wedding day. Photo courtesy of the Battin family.
It was Dick who got involved with local politics first. The neighborhood’s septic tanks were backing up; it was time to petition the town to hook the homes into the municipal sewer system. A neighbor who was a Town Meeting Member advised Dick to run for Town Meeting. “Dick grew up in Baltimore; I grew up in the Middle West, and municipal government was something you never paid any attention to, unless it was corrupt or something,” Marge says. “We didn’t even know what Town Meeting was about.” Dick also served as vice-chair of the Appropriation Committee. “When he came home, he’d be talking about it, and I started getting kind of excited. It was a lot better than talking about diapers and small children,” Marge says. Seeing her enthusiasm, Dick encouraged her to run. “I had never really thought about it; there were just a few women [in Town Meeting],” she says. But as an active member of Lexington’s League of Women Voters, Marge had become knowledgeable about town affairs. So run she did, and started serving in 1960. “I’m lucky. I found what I liked to do and was good at, and I just loved it,” she says. All told, Marge served Town Meeting for 49 years, just four years shy of Dick’s record-setting 53 years of continuous service to Town Meeting.
Lexington’s present form of government is the direct outgrowth of Marge’s hard work and leadership. She co-chaired the initial committee of the Town Meeting Member Association that looked at the structure of Lexington’s local government, and when Town Meeting decided to address the issue more formally, she chaired that committee, too. The resulting plan passed Town Meeting and was ratified by the voters. “We were the only town that when we took it to the voters, it went through the first time,” she says. The State Legislature approved the Lexington Selectmen/Town Manager Act in 1969.
At issue in the development of the Act was how to modernize the structure of the government of a town that was expanding services to accommodate its growing population and needed to be more nimble and sophisticated in addressing the resulting operational complexity. It was time to leave behind the old government structure that had citizens engaged in administrative, rather than policy, issues; that lacked well-defined areas of responsibility and therefore permitted too many items to fall through the cracks; and was too often inefficient and ineffective. Under the Lexington Selectmen/Town Manager Act of 1969, the Board of Selectmen became a policy-making body, with administrative duties centralized under the direction of a full-time, professional Town Manager. Over forty years later, Lexington still operates, and quite successfully, under this form of government.
Marge then ran for Selectman, a position she wanted in part to ensure that Lexington’s new government structure would operate as intended, and served from 1974-1986, including two stints as Board chair. She became the first women elected president of the Massachusetts Selectmen’s Association (MSA) and was the first woman president of the Middlesex County Selectmen’s Association. When she later became president of the Massachusetts Moderators Association (MMA), Marge attained the distinction of being the only person in Massachusetts history to be president of both the MMA and the MSA.
And speaking of firsts: In 1987, Marge began her 22-year tenure as the first woman elected Town Moderator of Lexington. Anyone who ever saw her preside over Town Meeting will remember her professionalism, her exceptional command of rules and procedure, and her deft ability to keep 200 rugged individualists on time and on task. Marge credits the League of Women Voters and the Town Meeting Members Association with shaping how she operated as Moderator. One notable highlight: the time she had to convene a Town Meeting that no one could attend due to inclement weather. The Department of Public Works sent a heavy-duty vehicle to her house and whisked her off to Cary Hall so she, the Town Clerk, and then-Town counsel Norman Cohen could convene and adjourn the meeting and properly preserve it for another day.
Marge (center) with Bebe and Gary Fallick and Norman and Linda Cohen at one of the many Lexington events she attended and supported.
To list the number of organizations, advisory committees, and human services groups that Marge has served would fill more pages than this magazine can handle. She loves that local government is a place for citizens of all backgrounds to mix it up for the greater good, and she views those she works with, regardless of age or walks of life, as friends and colleagues. She sees the conduct of local officials and representatives—the way they can vehemently disagree with each other year after year and yet continue to respect each other—as a model that ought to be emulated on the national level. She is a fierce believer in the importance of municipal government, and maintains that it does not get the respect it deserves. “Neither the national nor the state level realize that we’re the ones that operate all their programs. They get operated where we are and we see what they’ve done, what works, what doesn’t work, and to ignore us, they do so at their peril, but they do. And they have no idea when they make cuts to local aid what they do to us. We can give them important feedback on what works and what doesn’t work, but they never looked at us as partners,” she says. She cites former Governor Michael Dukakis, State Representative Jay Kaufman, and State Senator Susan Fargo as rare and refreshing exceptions.
Marge with her husband Dick
At age 85, in a time of widespread cynicism toward government, Marge remains passionately idealistic about public service. “It is at the local level,” Marge reminds us, “where needs occur and services are delivered. You can immediately see the results of what government does or doesn’t do. You can see what works and what doesn’t work. You can then personally engage colleagues in local problem-solving.” Hers is an idealism based in actual experience, in the demonstrable difference she and her compatriots have made in this community.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keeping the Library’s Lights On
Marge Battin is a staunch supporter of Lexington’s Cary Memorial Library, a cause that she traces back to events from her childhood. When her family returned from Paris and resumed living in Toronto, Marge was just five years old and a fluent French speaker. The other children teased her relentlessly for it. “I sort of withdrew and the school had a library,” she says. “That was my refuge and I escaped to another time and place.” Her love for libraries was reinforced by her family’s weekly ritual library visits. Eventually, Marge grew into a fast and voracious reader capable of devouring five books in a single day.
As Selectman, Marge was a member of the Library Board of Trustees. From 1998 to 2007, she served as a founding member of the Cary Memorial Library Foundation. As part of the massive fundraising effort for the Library’s recent renovation, Marge and a colleague were sent off to visit some prospective donors with instructions to ask for a donation amounting to a six-figure sum. “My voice was quavering, my hands were shaking,” Marge recalls. “I thought they were going to throw us out on our ear. But they said, ‘That’s what we were thinking about.’ And we got it! I went home and called my daughter and said, ‘I asked someone for [a six figure donation], and they gave it to us!’”
Marge remains committed to the Library as a volunteer to the Foundation, as an annual donor, and, because she has provided for the Library in her estate plans, as a member of the Maria Hastings Cary Legacy Society. With her town government hat on, Marge says, “The last light that should go off, if it has to go off, is the Library. I just think it’s absolutely crucial. And I think that’s much the feeling of just about everyone in Lexington.”
Hank at Camp.
The weather was warm, the grass, as always, was a bit brown, but the garden was in good shape except for the squash which died from some sort of fungus. The outside repairs except for two more porch-related projects were done, and the apple trees were coming along nicely with no broken branches now that I had learned to make supports for the heavily laden ones. So now it was time to go to camp. Yes, after all these years, I still go to camp and Boy Scout camp at that.
Camp is really a time for stripping away the unnecessary. Some background might help you understand why that might be so.
Our first week is spent at a primitive camp. Tents and cots, but not much else in the way of amenities.
What to wear is never an issue. No matter what day it is I will be wearing a red T-shirt and shorts. If I run out of shirts, then I will go swimming with one and when it dries, I will have a clean T-shirt to wear the next day. And if it doesn’t get washed, I won’t worry overmuch about it. Fashion at camp is whatever is comfortable, handy, and reasonably clean with the third being pretty far down the decision tree.
If it gets cold, I will slip on my old fleece and my nylon track pants. There will be no choice of which ones because I only bring one of each. When you have to carry everything half a mile to your campsite, you tend to take only what is necessary. The fleece is showing its age with many patches, but warm and light together trump any fashion sense I might have.
There is no electricity so you tend to get up at daybreak and go to bed at a decent hour. But without electricity how do you charge your cell phone and iPad? You don’t have to because you left them at home. We have a strict no-electronics rule, but there is little need for enforcement because there is no Internet and there are no bars on your cell phone. There is also no newspaper and mail is iffy at best. This column was written on paper with a pen. Whoa! Totally retro. But then I had to file it so I grabbed my pack and a hideout tablet, walked two miles one way to an Internet connection, typed in the story, and transmitted it before walking back. When you have to walk four miles to get your e-mail, you probably won’t.
There is more than just doing without some simple things. You also learn to make choices and not rely on shortcuts. For instance, if I walk to the waterfront for a swim and find that I have forgotten my towel, then I have a simple decision to make. I could walk back and get it, but it is a long walk and the hill is steep. Nobody drives and there is no phone service so I can’t take one of the usual shortcuts I might employ back home in Lexington. I will simply do without which means I will dry myself with my T-shirt before walking back to the campsite.
Snacking is hard. There is a camp store, but it is a long walk and it has short hours. Given a choice between a long walk or an afternoon nap, I will probably choose the nap. Last year I spent just $15 at the store in two weeks, most of it on ice cream cups, the rest on popcorn.
Watching mindless TV, or any TV for that matter, is out. A book would be a good thing to bring along. A real book rather than an electronic one. The funny thing is that there is so much to do that there is not a lot of leisure time.
Every day is grilling day because we cook all our own food over outdoor stoves. Here, too, there are choices so you soon learn to balance food preparation and cleanup with the basic thought of minimizing both while still putting a good meal on the table.
I don’t have to drive out to some piece of conservation land for a walk. I have several thousand acres to enjoy and I am right in the middle of it. You walk everywhere so putting in five miles in a day is pretty standard and you get to know a lot of animals. For the past couple of years I have found that if I walk down the main road around 9 PM, I will come across a porcupine just sitting in the road. Maybe this is his version of camp.
One of the best parts of camp is that it gets dark. There are no streetlights. There are no electric lights at all except in the administration building which is far away, and in the showerhouse. The night noises remind you that there are other beings on the planet and in this place. The stars are awesome. Those new to camp tend to bring monster flashlights. I carry a single cell LED light which I use only when there is no moon and even then I use it only as a last resort. One has interesting experiences when trying to walk from the administration building to the campsite without a light on a dark night.
Of course there are the campfires. Skits which were old forty years ago, but which are still funny. Songs. Stories. The Cremation of Sam McGee and The Shooting of Dan McGrew can only properly be recited around a campfire. “There are strange things done, in the midnight sun, by the men who moil for gold …”
Even the bugs are awesome. Often at night we will light a Coleman lantern which everybody shares for reading and games. Within a few minutes there will be an amazing assortment of winged critters attracted by that light. Bug zappers? Don’t be silly. In two weeks we will be gone and all that wildlife will still be here. It is really their place and we are just summer visitors so we try to tread lightly on the land.
I will arrive back in Lexington, probably in need of a bath, but I will be five pounds closer to my goal of getting back to 184 pounds, I will have taken at least 200 pictures to sort through and post, but then I will look at my overflowing voice and e-mail inboxes and I will realize once again how much time I spend doing things that are necessary, but which two weeks out of every 52 I get to ignore.
“Oh, gosh—I would have called you back, but there was no phone line available and no Internet connection” sounds so much better than “I just didn’t have the time (or desire) to return your call.”
But there is one bad thing about camp. When I come home it takes a long time to lose the feeling that while camp can be physically demanding, overall life there is a lot easier. I will be home in a few days where I will have to sort through 200+ e-mails, several dozen voicemails, and a pile of snail mail which is overflowing the table onto the floor.
I can’t wait until next year …
By Heather Aveson | 
CSA. Slow Food. Locavore. Sustainability. These are all words that have become part of our vernacular in the last several years. Add to that Community Farm. It’s a phrase we’ve gotten very familiar with here in Lexington. But, put away any preconceived notions of what it means.
Although each community farm is unique in many ways, they share common concerns–the first of which is economic sustainability. It’s a concern that’s recognized by town government, local growers and the group that advocated preserving the farm, the Lexington Farm Coalition, better known as LexFarm. Although open to all ideas about how a Community Farm might be structured in Lexington, Selectman Peter Kelley is clear about one thing, “There are no tax dollars to be expended for farm operations.”
Janet Kern of LexFarm at the Busa Farm property.
Jim Wilson, owner and head farmer at Wilson Farm has been in the business of farming since he was knee high to a pea pod. He knows the vagaries of both farming and business, “In the discussion of farm sustainability one thing that’s often overlooked is the issue of economic sustainability. Unless a farm has the financial means to stand on its own, it isn’t going to last. It’s artificial. I know a lot of guys who are very good farmers and terrible businessmen. And that’s a recipe for disaster.” LexFarm understands those concerns and has developed a business plan to address them. “You can’t have a successful community farm if you don’t have a successful and sustainable farm. It has no integrity if it’s not actually sustainable economically,” says Janet Kern, President of the Lexington Farm Coalition.
Dennis Busa in the Busa Farm Stand.
Farming is a front-end loaded enterprise. Machinery, seed and materials must be bought, and an experienced farmer hired before you even break ground. Whoever operates Lexington’s community farm will be under immediate pressure to build an operation that can stand on it’s own. But with so many other community farms in the area there are lessons to be learned.
The Busa family is one of Lexington’s oldest farming families. The 12 acres along Lowell Street has been farmed by generations of Busas since the early 1900s. Through out the years family members worked together and some set off on their own. The land was divided among the members and shares passed from generation to generation. By the early 2000s the family made the difficult decision to sell the land. Dennis Busa remembers that time, “It was too small to support three families. When my mother died we knew we had to sell it.” Developers were interested, but the town of Lexington had the first right of refusal. In the spring of 2009 a Special Town Meeting approved purchasing the land with CPA funds. “We were resigned to the fact that it would be wanted for soccer fields and maybe some other use. We made no demands,” says Busa.
When the town bought the land the general consensus was that the land would be used for additional playing fields with a portion set aside for affordable housing through LexHab. Selectman Peter Kelley says, “ I’d never heard of a community farm when we bought the Busa Land. None of us had ever heard of it.” Creating playing fields depended largely on acquiring “the donut hole”. This small piece of land within the Busa property had been sold privately to the Goldinger family, an abutter. Negotiations between the town and the Goldingers had been moving along. Selectman Kelley explains, “The Goldinger property was essential to recreational fields. In the early stages of negotiations their desire was to protect themselves and their neighbors on Farm Rd. from increased traffic and noise. They wanted a buffer.”
Then, two things happened that derailed any plan for recreational playing fields. A group of citizens got together and formed the Lexington Farm Coalition and in February 2011 the Goldingers sent a letter to the Busa Farm Land Use Proposal Committee (BLUPC) that basically killed any chance of siting playing fields on the land.
“After watching this process for the past many months, and the good work that your committee has done, we agree with the committee’s early assessment as to the overwhelming support from the community to maintain a farm, especially from the local neighborhood. It is a uniquely-shaped property, and most of the other proposals have struggled to put in place a workable design that would not unduly interfere with the neighborhood…Although we never wanted to be an impediment to a good design put forth by the community, we have always been clear that we had no interest in selling more than a small sliver of the property to make a design work. Currently, given the clear community support for a farm, it is very unlikely that we would be willing to sell any portion of the land.”
-Kim and Jim Goldinger
Source: February 2011 letter to the Busa Land Use Proposal Committee
Peter Kelley gives credit to the Lexington Farm Coalition for making the difference. “LexFarm got legs very quickly thanks to Janet [Kern] and the group. The Goldingers supported their effort. In my assessment it wasn’t worth pursuing recreational fields any longer.” That left the community farm and affordable housing proposals on the table.
When the letter arrived the BLUC was putting the finishing touches on their Final Report with recommendations. In the report presented to the Selectman on March 14, 2011 the group unanimously supported a Community Farm with some set aside for affordable housing to be built by LexHab.
The Busa Land Use Proposal Committee is enthusiastic about its support for a community farm. We believe this is an exciting and unique opportunity for the Town of Lexington to embrace both its past and its future, and to respond to the desires of a currently underserved population. The majority also support affordable housing on this site, in a modest, integrated way, if it is compatible with the farm operation. Two members also support an athletic field, under appropriate conditions.
Our recommendation is based on this site, its distinct soils, its existing infrastructure, its ecological context, an overwhelming demand for farming in Lexington, and the desire of the members of the BLUPC to see this land benefit the residents of Lexington.
Source: Section 6.7 Final Statement from theFinal Report of the Busa Land Use Proposal Committee.
A year later, in March 2012 the Selectman accepted their recommendations. Lexington will have a community farm. Dennis Busa says it best, “I’m glad LexFarm stayed with it, they deserve a lot of credit. But there’s a long way to go.”
As an advocate for the preservation of the farm, LexFarm had accomplished their goal. A significant portion of the land would remain a farm. LexFarm president, Janet Kern feels good about that. “I have accomplished my goal. But as president of LexFarm Coalition I have committed to seeing it through to its best use. I’ll be thrilled if LexFarm gets approval to farm the land, but I’ll also be relieved and happy to see an organization that has experience that can make good use of this land come in.”
Wait a minute. What is she talking about “whoever is operating the farm”? After all their hard work to preserve the land isn’t LexFarm the obvious group to run the farm? That may be the common assumption, but there’s actually no guarantee LexFarm will run the farm.
Because the town owns and will be leasing the land, a Request for Proposal process is mandated. No decision can be made on an operator until that process is completed. The town, through the Town Manager’s office, has to create the RFP, submit it to the Selectman for input, finalize it, put it out for bid and then make a decision based on the strength of each proposal.
Dennis Busa says it best, “There’s a long way to go.”
There are a number of community farms in towns around Lexington. Each farm has it’s own goals and organizational structure. Gaining Ground in Concord donates all it’s produce food pantries and relies completely on private support and fundraising. Others have farm stands, sell at local farmers markets or offer CSAs and support educational programs. Lexington is sandwiched between two towns with organizational structures that are very different from each other, and from Lexington’s situation. Waltham Community Fields leases land from private groups and is run independent of the city. The Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester is owned by the town and run by a town appointed board. Both are examples of increasingly successful community farms.
FarmerAdrienne Altstatt (in green) and helpers bunch fresh picked garlic to hang and dry.
The Waltham Fields Community Farm (WFCF) began farming fields owned by the University of Massachusetts on Beaver Street near Bentley University in 1995. Two years later they added a CSA program and began educational offerings shortly after that. Executive Director Claire Kozower says the group set out with a very clear mission, “We were growing food to donate for hunger relief. We started out using all volunteers, but quickly realized that it takes a professional staff. We started the CSA to generate revenue to hire a farmer.” Over the years, Waltham Fields has expanded their acreage by leasing other fields. None of the land is city owned. They negotiate leases directly with the landowners and have no city oversight.
Their fields now produce about $26,000/acre. On 11 acres that’s close to $300,000 a year. Twenty percent of what they grow is committed to support hunger relief, which includes a low-income voucher program, donations to food pantries and a Farm to School program. The remaining 80% of the crop goes to the CSA program and a small retail operation. These help support the farm operation, salaries for the Farmer, Assistant Growers, Education and Outreach Coordinators as well as administrative costs.
The WFCF education program began in response to a specific request. “The education program definitely evolved. It started because a Cambridge summer camp approached us in 1998. They saw it as a way to connect their urban campers to the land and the food they ate. We still work with them.” Education programs have become very successful. Claire adds, “We now run three seasons of educational programming. Including programs through the Waltham Recreation Dept.”
Waltham Fields began as a volunteer program, Claire says, “There are lots of models starting out, you have to adapt to changes. Because our goal is to produce food – we can’t be volunteer dependent. Our volunteers are now really part of the education program.” She points out that when you are volunteer-dependent you have to engage people on their level. In 2011 more than 750 volunteers gave approximately 3,000 hours to the farm.
On the other side of Lexington, just up Whipple Hill from the Busa farmland is the Wright Locke Farm Conservancy (WLFC) in Winchester. The town of Winchester purchased the 20-acre farm in 2007. Before that, it had been farmed for more than 300 years and was the last working farm in town. Most people know Wright Locke Farm as the place to take the kids to pick raspberries on warm summer days. And those raspberry bushes played a key role in keeping the young Community Farm afloat.
The family was negotiating with a developer who planned a dense, large-scale housing development on the site. Since the family had received an Agricultural Tax Deferment the town claimed their first right of refusal and bought the land. In order to fund the purchase Winchester voters overwhelmingly backed a tax override. According to WLFC President, Jim Whitehead, the override only covered interest payments. The town planned to sell off part of the site to recoup the purchase costs.
“Very few people knew any more about the farm than the raspberries,” says Whitehead, “People who got to know more about the farm became passionate about keeping some part of it a farm.”
The battle cry became, SAVE THE RASPBERRIES.
In early 2008 a Master Plan Task Force was created to study the idea and the town was soliciting proposals for the sale or development of a portion of the land. In the meantime a small group of volunteers cared for the raspberries and brought in between $17,000 and $18,000 in sales the first year.
The Task Force came back with a recommendation that a conservancy be created to oversee any farming operation. The Task Force wanted to make sure all of Winchester was represented. They created an eleven-member board with no more than two members from any one precinct. Three members would come from the Selectmen, four from the Town Moderator and one each from the Council on Aging, Historical Society, Finance Committee and Conservation Commission.
As the first President, Jim Whitehead wasn’t sure to expect, “This kind of miracle happened. In spite of the fact that the board came from such a diverse group – it works really well.”
Wright Locke Farm Conservancy President Jim Whitehead shows off eggs at the new Farm Stand.
The group has made tremendous progress in just three years. They have doubled the income from raspberries by expanding their other crops. They decided early on not to go the CSA route after meeting with representatives of the Trustees of Reservations who run Appleton Farm in Ipswich. “They looked at the acreage and said we’d never get enough shares to make it profitable,” says Whitehead. Instead, they’ve opened a farm stand and sell their produce at local farmers markets.
But their growing pains were similar to those felt by Waltham Fields. “We began to learn very quickly that there is a big difference between gardening and farming. We didn’t know what we were doing.” They started a vibrant fundraising program and added the education program to boost their bottom line. They now support a full time professional farmer and two other paid farm hands. This is the first year they have offered education programs. It’s been a huge success. They ran a sold-out pilot program in April, a sold-out K -2 program is running now and spots for the Grades 3 – 5 program that’s coming up are filling up fast. They hired a Lead Instructor and two college students to run the program. The program is not only paying for itself, it’s making money.
Because the conservancy is appointed by the town to oversee the farm operation, they have been spared the RFP process. But they do have to negotiate a lease. Last year the town signed a 30- year lease agreement with the Conservancy for 7.6 acres at Wright-Locke Farm. The only financial benefit the farm receives under the lease agreement is the payment of their utility bills for the next five years. Jim Whitehead elaborates, “There’s no specific lease amount, but if we generate a profit we have to reimburse the town for the utilities and then pay some negotiated lease amount.” Turning a profit might be a problem just about any farm would welcome. The remaining acreage, approximately 4.5 acres has been set aside for sale or development.
The intricacies and nuances of negotiating a lease with the town aren’t lost on Lexington Town Manager Carl Valente. In his last position he dealt with a community farm that drained town resources. He approaches the current process with trepidation. “Will we give preference to Lexington groups? Do we want to limit it to non-profits or will we open it up to everyone? What restrictions will there be? Will we require educational programs? What will the lease terms be?” Valente wants to see these questions answered before putting out the Request for Proposal.
Although the business model and relationship to the community for each farm is different, taking a look at how other farms have structured themselves, evolved and learned to support themselves can have an impact on how Lexington goes forward in the process.
The Town Manager’s office is currently working on a draft proposal that will be presented to the Selectman’s Meeting at their July 30 meeting. Valente will be looking to the Selectmen for guidance on policy questions.
Selectman Peter Kelley says there’s no general consensus on the board as to what the farm should look like, but he is clear on several administrative and financial issues, “There would have to be a citizen’s committee that would review the lease every 3 – 5 years. And there would have to be benchmarks that are met for an option to renew.” He’s already said there are no tax dollars to be expended for farm operations, but he’s keeping an open mind in setting policy. “I’m going to be more of a listener. I don’t think you want to be restrictive in any way that would limit people’s imaginations. I think we might want some education and part of the harvest might go to the food pantry.”
The LexFarm group is working hard to be ready when the Request for Proposal goes out. “We’re looking at what the farm needs, what resources are available. There’s still opportunity to engage with us and say, ‘This is our community farm. This is what we’d like to see.’ We’ll have to know all that before we put together our proposal. We don’t want to put together a concept; we want to put together a proposal that we feel confident in. That’s also going to determine our success,” says Kern.
Neither Kelley nor Kern has the sense that there are many other groups out there interested in operating the farm. But whoever comes in will have to put forth a solid business plan that addresses the immediate financial needs of a community farm. Jim Whitehead has this advice for any group starting out. “I would suggest they should do nothing but raise money for the first year. We had the benefit to ride the raspberries for the first few years. Farming is very front end loaded.”
There is a clear consensus that a basic measure of a community farm’s success is financial independence.
LexFarm has done their homework and put together a detailed business plan that could include low interest loans, certainly fundraising and a CSA. “It’s the CSA that provides income to operate the farm and pay the farmer. When we ran our business model it showed that in a few years you might be able to take some of that money and start supporting education programs. But most of the money that supports education, public events and everything else does have to come from engaging the community through fundraising and volunteering.”
Dennis Busa has already introduced the CSA model in his business and sees the benefits going forward. “It’s going to have to be self supporting, whether it’s CSA or some other means. We’re doing between 175-200 CSA shares and that’s less than a third of our business.” He points out that CSAs can have extra benefits. Busa Farm offers a 50% discount if you pick it yourself and a 10% discount if shares are paid for up front.
A draft RFP will be presented to the Selectmen for input and review at their July 30 meeting. At the same meeting the Selectman will continue discussions on land delineation and housing units presented by LexHab. It’s not clear if the RFP for the farm operation can go forward until it’s determined how many acres will be set aside for housing and where they’ll be sited.
Town Manager Carl Valente hopes to have the RFP ready to go out in mid-September, but he says, “It’s more important to do it right than do it quickly.”
For now the land is continues to be farmed by Dennis Busa who holds the lease until April 2013. LexFarm has a calendar in mind to get up and running right after that, if they are given the lease. “The hope would be to have our new Lexington Community Farm up and running during Lexington’s 300th celebration,” says Kern. The timing is getting tight. Dennis Busa has left the door open to extend his lease on the land until a decision is made and to partner with the new operator as their lead farmer.
Janet Kern and LexFarm appreciate the need for the open process. “A community farm is equal parts community and farm. You can’t have one without the other.” Kern says, “Look at Wright Locke Farm. They’re an example of a farm that has gone through a similar situation. They’ve been able to take the next step because they’ve been supported by the town.
By Judy Bass |
Congratulations to all students from Minuteman High School in Lexington who competed at the SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference, featuring championships and state officer elections, in Marlboro, Mass., from April 26 to 28, 2012. More than one-third of the Minuteman students attending brought home medals from the competition.
SkillsUSA is a national organization for vocational students that sponsors competitions in dozens of technical areas at the local, district, state and national levels.
Bronze medalists include: James Cardillo (Peabody) for Residential Construction Wiring; Michael Dasaro (Arlington) for Occupational Safety & Health; Nicholas Frotten (Medford) for Employment Application Process; Breanna Harfst (Woburn) for Job Interview; and Gabrielle Fitzgerald-Leger (Waltham), Eric Gulbicki (North Reading), and Kelsey Wakelin (Arlington) for Career Pathways Showcase in Agriculture Food, and Natural Resources.
The silver medalist was sophomore Graham Fortier-Dube (Lexington), who won in Computer Programming.
The following 10 Gold medalists from will represent Team Massachusetts as the best in their career field at the National SkillsUSA Competition from June 23 to 28, 2012 in Kansas City, Mo.: Patrick Boisvert (Arlington) for Post-Grad Plumbing; Michael Bowe (Bolton) and Annie Viggh (Boxborough) for Web Design; Dylan Caples (Lexington), Peter Kelly (Arlington), and Lindsay McGrail (Framingham) for Career Pathways Showcase in Engineering, Science, Technology, and Math; Dan Dangora (Medford) and John Lessard (Medford) for Mobile Robotics; Ryan Gleason (Bolton) for Action Skills; and Christine Hamilton (Stow) for Sustainability Solutions.
Shannon Cain (Arlington) was also selected to serve as a National Voting Delegate.
Finally, for the fourth year running, a Minuteman student has been elected to serve as a State Officer. Congratulations to Lisa Willms (Arlington), who was elected to serve as a 2012-2013 Massachusetts State Officer. Rounding out the list of 13 Minuteman students going to Nationals is Anthony Senesi (Arlington), will also be representing Team Massachusetts as a current Massachusetts SkillsUSA State Officer.
Congratulations to all participants, and a huge thank you to the advisors who made all of this possible: Mr. Rafter, Mr. St. George, Mr. Blank, Mr. King, Mr. Boisvert, Ms. Griffin, and Ms. Withrow.
The Rotary Club of Lexington awarded a record number of scholarships this year to deserving members of the Class of 2012 from from Lexington High School, Minuteman High School and Lexington Christian Academy. The club is proud to provide charitable support to the local community as part of its overall commitment to service. A total of $27,000 was awarded to these students pictured below who attended the awards luncheon at Waxy O’Conner’s.
With cost of college and other post-secondary programs escalating, scholarships help students to deal with the high cost of tuition, room and board, and ever-increasing fees. The Rotary Scholarships Program recognizes students’ leadership skills, academic achievement and commitment to community service. Lexington High School Recipients: Joseph Higgins, Leah Buckley, Michelle Batrio, Raymond Stebbins, Elaine Choi, Malik Alfred, Keaghan Adley, Danny Paul Godwin, Connor Zanin, Colleen Hughes, Lillian Hochman, Victoria Kendall, Alicia Russo, Ronald Beaulieu, Hannah Brown, Emme Hede Brierley, Isabella Brandao, Steve (Sung Kyung) Jung, Bronwen Stern. Lexington Christian Academy recipients: John Rosa, Jr., Allana Matthews, Sophie Damas, Kevin Klein, Sam Doran. Minuteman Regional High School recipients: Pierre Chanliau, Dylan Caples, Anna Parsons.
