Much like 2020, 2021 was a year where Covid-19 dominated our daily lives, including a year-end surge in cases — but we also saw the library, Town Hall and the swap shed reopen, and high vaccination rates and lower disease severity make us cautiously optimistic that the days of widespread deaths and patients on ventilators are in the past.
Other than that, it was a relatively quiet year in Lincoln. The biggest news stories were two town institutions changing hands (Donelan’s and The Commons); the completion of Phase I of the school project, and — perennial Lincoln favorites — the hopes for a new restaurant, and discussions over zoning and how to create a more vibrant South Lincoln with new development.
Looking ahead, 2022 will almost certainly feature a complete school and concrete steps toward a community center, and maybe even some zoning changes. Stay tuned!
Here are some of the top stories from the Lincoln Squirrel in 2021, followed by an alphabetical list of obituaries. If you’re interested in articles on a certain topic (including Lincoln history, My Turn, police logs, land use, etc.), select one from the “Categories” pulldown in the left-hand column, or just type it in the Search bar at the right-hand column of every page.
December
- Stanley won’t be Lincoln’s representative after January 2023
- The Commons to be sold; town seeks assurance on tax payments
- Archivist, family members unwrap a historic quilt
November
- Lincolnite plies her art in music, film, and now a book
- Town gets $400,000 for South Lincoln septic plant design work
- New book probes the past and present at Mt. Misery
- SOTT #2: South Lincoln, climate action, and diversity and inclusion
- MassDOT goof apparently led to water main break
- SOTT #1: Community center could cost more than $25 million
October
- Five-year-old lost in woods is found by hiker
- South Lincoln treatment plant has capacity for more development
September
August
- Lincoln’s newest farmer hopes for organic growth
- Lincoln sees one-week spike in Covid-19 cases
- Survey shows mixed feelings about boosting development in South Lincoln
July
- Monthly used-book sales end for good as revenue source moves online
- Plans moving ahead for bike and pedestrian-friendly improvements
June
- Lincoln author’s history of the Civil War in the Southwest is a Pulitzer finalist
- McLean Hospital abandons Bypass Road plans
- Donelan’s grocery stores purchased by Patel family
- Lincoln is eligible for more than $2 million in Covid-19 relief funding
May
- Lincoln fully reopens after more than a year
- New survey seeks input on the future of South Lincoln
- 2021 Town Meeting roundup
- Accessory apartment issue results in razor-thin votes
- Panel opts to stay the course with current water treatment plant
- Donelan’s employee qualifies for world-class ski event
April
- Clark Gallery moving from mall to Lewis Street
- Swap shed plans to reopen soon, seeks volunteers
- New restaurant not opening this month after all
- New app means happy trails for Lincoln woods walkers
- Racist “Zoom-bombing” incident leaves attendees shocked and hurt
- Jessica May is the new artistic director at the deCordova
- Charity saw sharp increase in need for food and financial assistance in 2020
- Despite recent accident, intersection isn’t among most dangerous in town
March
- Town election results: Doo wins seat on Parks and Rec Committee
- Uncertainties surround new state multifamily housing law
- Repaving and more are planned for Route 2A
- New Lincoln Conservation Director takes the reins
February
- Turenne restaurant to open in Lincoln in April
- New state law requires towns to allow multifamily zoning near train stations
- Lincoln set to launch green energy program for buying electricity
- Lincoln’s affordable accessory apartment program OK’d by state
- Anonymous emails were leaked by Burney’s daughter, police say
January
- Town offices and library close again due to pandemic
- School mulls going temporarily all remote for some grades
- Town sees 27 cases of Covid-19 in last half of December
Deaths in 2021
- Max Brizard
- Susan Burt
- Vicki Dobrow
- Dorothy Gagne
- Pamela Gallup
- Elizabeth Grimm Hoskins
- Priscilla Hunt
- Kathleen Lane
- Morris Levy
- Michael McHugh
- Steven Perlmutter
- Sophie Poulos
- Bojan Rip
- Joseph Santosuosso Jr.
- Al Servi
- Manson Solomon
- Margaret Stathos
- Melvin Stone
- Kerri-Jae Sussman
- Royce Taylor III
- John Terrell
- Allen Vander Meulen Jr.
- Carol Wagner
- Christopher “Cricker” Williams
- Ruth Williams