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Seniors at The Commons mentor staff with English tutoring and more

(Editor’s note: This article is based partly on material supplied by Gabriella Pais of Montagne Powers.)

Retirement offers almost endless possibilities for how to spend one’s time—travel, golf, a new or renewed hobby — but seniors like Elaine Smith and other residents at The Commons in Lincoln are busy helping those who help them.

Smith is the founding member of RAMP, the Resident Associate Mentoring Program, where residents with skills, experience, and time are paired with Commons associates who need mentorship. Often, the employees work with resident mentors on English as a second language, but they offer other types of help as well.

RAMP is a voluntary program, but associates are paid for the work time they spend in their classes. An associate’s supervisor will direct them to RAMP if they are seeking assistance, at which point they’ll meet one on one with a mentor. Since its inception, about 40 residents have tutored an equal number of associates.

Smith and others started the program via FaceTime in 2021 during the Covid epidemic and later switched to in-person sessions. “When I looked around, I could see there were a lot of [residents] who were quite intelligent and had various expertise in the work world and otherwise. There were people who had a lot to give,” she said of her fellow residents. When they went to the head of Human Resources, “they were very much in favor of what we wanted to do.”

One supervisor who’s recognized the benefits of associate enrollment in RAMP is David Aviles, the campus plant operations director. An associate for whom David has seen positive outcomes for is Marcia Alves Xavier de Souza, the lead housekeeper of assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing. Marcia has worked at The Commons since May 2021 and was promoted to supervisor after only six months. As a housekeeping leader, she must be able to both run an efficient team and advocate for herself and her colleagues, and speaking English more fluently allows her to meet those goals. Marcia and her ESL resident mentor have worked together in hour-long structured lessons that include homework.

De Souza’s first language is Portuguese; she understands English but is still learning to speak it more conversationally. She and her resident mentor have been working on her English speaking and writing skills for the past several months. “My teacher is very patient with me, and every Tuesday and Thursday I have my class,” she said. She’s also getting extra practice by sharing and strengthening her skills at home and in her church. 

Aviles has seen great improvement in de Souza’s comprehension and use of English, and he understands the value that the program holds for someone in her role. “She is a very important part of the Plant Operations team. She has about nine to 10 employees under her that follow her direction,” he said. In fact, he feels enrollment in the program should be a required part of training for new associates who need assistance. “We have about five new hires and they’re all excited about this program,” he said.

While many associates enroll in RAMP to improve their English, mentors also help in other areas including legal forms, personal finance, and even piano lessons. In one case, RAMP helped a woman navigate the complex legal process required to become the guardian of her niece who was visiting from another country. Another associate recently earned their American citizenship thanks in part to help from RAMP.

“It felt like one of my kids had gotten into college — I was so happy,” said Smith, a retired Wellesley College chemistry professor.

Tutors, associates, and The Commons all benefit from RAMP. “It’s an example of how they feel about what’s being done for them,” she said as she displayed a heartfelt thank-you note from one associate. “You get a tremendous feeling of satisfaction in knowing that you’re helping someone who needs the help.”

The Commons in Lincoln held a celebratory luncheon for RAMP resident tutors and associates on March 19 prepared by RAMP associates. Click on image below for larger versions with captions.

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Lincoln teen turns Girl Scout Gold into action

Lucy Dwyer (fourth from left) and other honorees at the Leading Women Awards Breakfast hosted by Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts.

Lucy Dwyer, a senior at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, earned her Girl Scout Gold Award (Girl Scouting’s highest honor) for her work developing an age-appropriate curriculum on menstrual cycles and self-care for fourth-graders to prepare those who experience menstruation sooner than expected.

Lucy was honored in March for her outstanding Gold Award project. She was chosen as one of three teen panelists and award recipients for the Leading Women Awards at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, sponsored by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts.  

Lucy’s Leading Women presentation led to her next opportunity; she was a featured speaker at a Mass NOW event at Boston Public Library in support of the “I AM” bill to promote equitable availability of feminine products to all menstruators, regardless of their ability to pay for them. This bill has passed the state Senate unanimously, but the House has yet to bring it to a vote. Lucy’s voice will encourage House members to increase access to disposable menstrual products in prisons, homeless shelters and public schools.

Ms. G predicts an early spring on Groundhog Day

Ms. G gathers data for her long-range weather forecast on Groundhog Day at Drumlin Farm.

(Editor’s note: this is press release from Mass Audubon in Lincoln.)

Ms. G did not see her shadow on an overcast Groundhog Day morning (February 2) at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln, which means everyone can look forward to an early spring. If the Official Groundhog of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had seen her shadow, we’d all be facing six more weeks of winter.

This is the fifth straight year that Ms. G did not see her shadow. Over the 16 years she has been making her prognostications, she is now even with eight predictions apiece of early springs and six more weeks of winter. Unlike in the past, this year she agreed with her Pennsylvania peer, Punxsutawney Phil.

The always anticipated seasonal gathering at Drumlin Farm again attracted an enthusiastic mix of attendees, from Ms. G fans including lots of families with kids to nature lovers and weather followers, the latter happy to consider woodchuck folklore as meteorologically valid for a day.

Mass Audubon Metro West Regional Director Scott McCue welcomed those participants and others to the Groundhog Day celebration, which also featured family-friendly groundhog crafts, opportunities to observe other resident wildlife, and exploring the 291-acre sanctuary’s trail network. McCue and Senior Teacher Naturalist Tia Pinney discussed how New England wildlife survives the winter and how the changing climate is impacting their habitats.

This year’s format was a bit different, with Ms. G’s meet-and-greet and prognostication taking place in the sanctuary’s Farm Life Center rather than outside. Ms. G is in the midst of hormone-related hair loss that is common among juvenile females, despite being completely healthy. Due to that hair loss, our Wildlife Care experts decided, out of an abundance of caution, to keep her indoors safe from the chilly winter weather.

Although Ms. G couldn’t go outside, she enlisted the help of approximately 30 kids in attendance who went out to look for their shadows but did not see any. They reported their findings to Ms. G, who then made a prediction of early spring. Ms. G is grateful for her helpers this year and is already looking forward to being back outside next Groundhog Day.

My Turn: Hometown hero enchants a crowd

By Lynne Smith

Most of us watched the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.and have read and seen details since that time, but hearing Lincoln native Winston Pingeon describe his long day — spent mostly in riot gear as a U.S. Capitol Police Officer — made the horror fresh again.

Pingeon described to a group at Bemis Hall on January 19 how he and fellow officers moved from one defensive position to another as the crowd surged forward from the base of the Capitol, up the steps, and finally into the Capitol building. While drafted to work early with his riot team, he was really only warned of the potential for violence on the morning of the sixth. Outnumbered by 58 to 1, the entire Capitol Police force of nearly 2,000 officers along with D.C. Metropolitan police officers soon became overrun, with the National Guard awaiting approval to go assist.

A self-portrait of Winston on Jan. 6, 2021 after he’d been in riot gear for 12 hours.

Pingeon grew up in Lincoln and graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. While art was his passion, he decided he wanted to get a “real job” in law enforcement and applied to the Capitol Police Force. After seven months of training, he joined as an officer in 2016, just in time for the Trump inauguration in 2017.

Describing his time as an officer, Pingeon said he found meaning by serving as the Ceremonial Honor Guard, memorably for Ruth Bader Ginsburgh as she lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda — the first woman to be so honored. Admitting that he had not been interested in politics before his service, he began to recognize and speak with the legislators. In the process, he learned more about what went on in the nation’s capital and found camaraderie with members of Congress, staffers, and of course his fellow officers.

After spending Christmas 2020 in Lincoln, Pingeon reported to his first day on duty in the new year just two days prior to January 6th. He was told to report at 8 a.m., hours before his usual shift time of 3 p.m. As he recounted the day, he remembered being glad he had eaten breakfast in the headquarters building before he went to the north side of the Capitol to gear up and await further orders. Instead of his normal patrol uniform, he donned his full riot gear including gas mask, armor, and a baton.

Hearing about the crowd on the ellipse and conversing on the police radios, Pingeon and the other officers were tensely waiting for a crowd but still not expecting what was about to happen. He showed photos of the outnumbered police force at the barricades, and of him and other officers being assaulted. As the mob surged forward, Winston’s gas mask was deliberately shoved to one side and he was punched in the face. As he was pushed to the ground, his baton was ripped out of his hands and stolen from him. He described how he feared that it would be even easier for someone to steal his holstered gun and turn it on him and others. Fortunately, fellow officers helped him up and he continued to push back the wave of angry protesters. He said it was impossible to even imagine the building would be so violently breached, but that was obviously the unfortunate reality of what happened. Photos taken that day showed Pingeon near the first window area that was initially breached. 

Winston Pingeon in his days as a Capitol Police Officer.

At one point, he responded to an “officer down” call on the radio and went to help but realized that others with emergency medical training were on the scene, so he returned again to the interior perimeter of the building. The siege continued for many hours and a precarious calm did not return until late in the evening when the legislators were finally able to return to certify the vote of the electoral representatives. He described how painful and devastating the events of January 6th and its aftermath were to him personally and to the Capitol Police force as a whole. 

As impressive as Pingeon’s story is, his demeanor after his presentation was a further demonstration of his character. Attendees at Bemis Hall asked many questions, some of which were personal and clearly brought back difficult memories of the day. He shared the self-portraits and drawings he has since created and said that art has helped him recover from this intense experience. He took time to answer us thoughtfully and introduced us to his proud father seated in the back of the room.

Lincoln is fortunate to be the hometown of such a man. We congratulate Pingeon and wish him success in his important new career developing technology for law enforcement.

Winston’s art can be seen on his website at winstonwatercolors.com.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Veteran recalls military service and how it shaped his life

Editor’s note: This article was written and submitted by Montagne Powers, whose clients include The Commons in Lincoln.

Dan Chamberlin during his Navy career.

Dan Chamberlin and his wife — affectionately known as Salli — live at The Commons in Lincoln. Their path to their current home bucolic home, however, extends around the world.

Dan was 22 years old and had recently graduated from Denison University when he decided to enlist in the Navy. He entered Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., in June 1952. “After graduating, I had a little bit of leave time and I went home and saw my college sweetheart [Salli] and then got shipped over to Japan, where I was stationed happily with my best friend from Officer Candidate School,” he said. “We were stationed in a cryptography unit that served the commander of the Naval Forces of the Far East, so we were a very large radio station with a cryptography or code adjunct to it.”

As a cryptographer, Dan handled sensitive communications. “I was dealing with those Navy messages which were coded, and I was responsible for encoding anything the admiral wanted to send out, and for decoding anything that came in for his attention,” Dan recalled. One notable moment during Dan’s naval career happened when “I was on duty overnight on the 23rd of June in 1954, and that was the precise moment of the signing of the armistice in Panmunjom, which effectively ended the shooting in the Korean War. That message came in and I decoded it.”

Dan arrived in Japan as a bachelor but his fiancee joined him in August 1953 and they were married soon after her arrival. He had a house built for the two of them to live in a nearby Japanese town because he didn’t have the required priority points to secure married housing on the naval base. “I commuted to work on the train and she stayed home, and that lasted until October of 1954, at which point I received orders to a ship,” he recalled.

Salli returned home to the States, newly pregnant, as Dan boarded the flagship for the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. “She delivered our firstborn and I was meanwhile floating around the Mediterranean with the admiral on board and hitting all the best liberty ports,” he said.

Dan had been accepted to Harvard Business School but wasn’t able to delay enrollment until the end of his military service. However, he asked the Navy for early separation, which was granted. Once he landed, Dan and Salli met in Massachusetts at an apartment neither had seen, with a child he had not yet met. 

Dan and Salli Chamberlin today.

Salli and Dan have been married for 70 years and are enjoying life at their home at The Commons. Dan’s service has inspired patriotism and call to duty in his own family — his granddaughter is currently a captain in the Marines. 

Reflecting on the value that serving in the military added to his life, Dan said, “I was a small-town boy and Salli and I went to a small college and I think the lesson I learned was independence. We both had loving parents who gave us everything we wanted. That first night, I was trying to fall asleep in a barracks surrounded by a barbed wire fence with a Marine guard with a .45 automatic and for the first time in 21 years, I couldn’t go where I wanted to go when I wanted to go. I was just like ‘son of a gun, this is what it’s like being out on your own, and you can do this,’ and I was able to apply that in other severe changes of environment, like going to graduate school or going into a strange city for my first job or having a child. With any major change in life, I know I can do this.”

Stringer redefines “colorblind” in art focusing on race

By Maureen Belt

Rob Stringer works on his art at the Tack Room.

Lincoln resident Rob Stringer has dabbled in art his whole life, even taking art classes to round out his college study of religion and philosophy, but it wasn’t until May 25, 2020 that he used its power to take on racism. 

“The day George Floyd died — when he was murdered — I knew I had to do something,” he said.

What that “something” would be did not come to him right away. He had a delicate act to balance. The country was already deeply divided politically and racially, and he wanted his actions to provoke positive reflections of current events, not to be discarded as virtual signaling. 

“I am a cis white male who lives a privileged life,” said Stringer, speaking from his transient office, which on this day was the Tack Room restaurant in Lincoln. “But I wanted to do something, and I kept wondering, ‘What can I do that’s authentic?’ I didn’t want to go to protests and then just go about my daily life. I didn’t want to do anything ephemeral. I kept asking myself, ‘What can I do? What can I do?’”

The answer was in his art. 

Until George Floyd’s death, drawing was the medium Stringer relied on for expression. But the horrors surrounding George Floyd — whose brutal killing by law enforcement was captured on video and generated a global uprising for racial equity — called for something more dramatic. In an earlier life, Stringer worked in sales, marketing, and product development, so he regularly prepared slide decks using PowerPoint. He subsequently discovered that Google Slides offered broad options in color and shape. 

Stringer downloaded another artist’s image of George Floyd, then began overlaying it with colored dots simulating the Ishihara color vision test to create his own portrait. After a bit of trial and error over about five hours, an impactful rounded image of the murder victim appeared, created from various sizes of gray, black and blue dots. The colorblind motif was intentional, as Stringer has red-green colorblindness. 

Beneath the portrait, Stringer put Floyd’s dates of birth and death and name in a basic black font. He emailed the digital image to the online printing venue, VistaPrint, which cast it on a 12-inch-by-12-inch canvas. The finished work was so moving that it inspired him to do more. He next used the same formula to portray Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police two months before Floyd. 

Stringer’s portrayal of Emmett Till.

Stringer soon completed a series of Black people killed by police including Daniel Prude, Crystal Danielle Ragland, and Rayshard Brooks. He then created images of Blacks killed in hate crimes, which include Treyvon Martin, Martin Luther King Jr., and Emmett Till. From there, Stringer’s work evolved to include Native Americans murdered by law enforcement or from hate crimes. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that though Indigenous people made up 0.8 percent of the population from 1999 to 2011, they made up 1.9 percent of police killings. His First Nations collection includes images of Sitting Bull, Zachary Bear Heels, and a dedication to missing and murdered Indigenous women.  

“I am not running out of subjects,” he acknowledged with disappointment. “My hope is that maybe their family members will see the art and that they find that it’s respectful.”

After so many portraits of murder victims, Stringer changed his course to creating images of minorities who inspire. That line includes U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges. “I’ve been interested in power dynamics and the dynamics of race for a long time,” he said. “And in the back of my head I was feeling guilty that I was not doing more.”

Stringer didn’t create these images (which he describes more as graphic design than fine art) to make money, so he had no plans to market them, but some people who viewed them asked for prints. VistaPrint charges him $20 for the print, so he sells it for $29 and gives the extra $9 to a nonprofit — specifically, the METCO program.

Stringer’s most popular images are of Breonna Taylor and Emmett Till. He is sold out of his prints of Jean McGuire, the first Black woman elected to the Boston School Committee, a founder of the METCO program and at, 92 years old, a living icon of the local educational community. 

“It’s affirming to me that I was able to create something that impacts other people,” he said. “It makes me want to continue. These pieces spark conversation and they spark thought and they change people’s minds, and you can’t ask for more than that.”

View Stringer’s online “I See You” gallery here.

Lincoln teen and her horse excel in team sport

By Maureen Belt

Leah Drew and Jazzy.

Dressage is the perfect fusion of artistry, aesthetics, and athleticism between horse and rider that dates back to ancient Greece. The goal is for horse and rider to move in harmony while performing complex, rhythmic walking, cantering, and trotting routines within a 20-by-60-meter arena. A panel of judges rates different aspects of each performance from 0 to 10, with 10 being ideal and seldom achieved. 

The rider gives “aids,” or cues to their horse, communicating the next move. Aids are delivered through subtle movements of limbs, hands, feet, seating positions, balance, breathing, and with the exception of competitions, voice. The secret is for the rider to conceal the aids from everyone except the horse, a skill that takes time to perfect. Essentially, dressage is a meticulously choreographed discipline that requires years of commitment. 

It’s this level of commitment that earned Lincoln teen Leah Drew and her Hanoverian gelding Jazz Beat the top spot this summer at the North American Youth Championships, a continent-wide team event. Leah and Jazzy (as she affectionately calls her equine partner) represented Region 8, which included all competitors from New England and New York. 

Weeks later, Leah, 16, and Jazzy, 12, placed a respectable tenth in the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Dressage National Junior Championships for 14- to 18-year-olds. In addition to racking up ribbons, Leah cold-calls sponsors and manages fundraising and social media accounts for both the New England Dressage Association and her region of the U.S. Dressage Federations.

Leah took her first lesson at age 5, though she’s been on horseback since before she was able to walk. Riding is a passion she inherited from her grandmother, Roberta Berry, who owned the Berryfield Farm horse farm on Weston Road. It was at Berryfield Farm in 2019 that Leah first rode Jazzy.

“She loved horses,” Leah said of Roberta. “Neither of my parents are that big into horses, but I am.” Roberta Berry passed away last December and Berryfield Farm was sold this summer. About 18 months ago, Leah and Jazzy began training four days a week with Hope Cooper and Jane Karol at Bear Spot Farm in Concord, where Jazzy lives. 

Three of those four days begin with Jazzy being walked on a loose rein in an arena. As he warms up, he progresses to faster gaits. The team practices new moves required for upcoming competitions before he and Leah tune up their established moves. On the fourth day, which is usually a weekend, Leah and Jazzy walk in the great outdoors, stretching and strengthening muscles with uphill climbs and rides through fields. Getting Jazzy outside the arena is important, Leah said, because it keeps his mind fresh and entertained. 

To get ready for podium appearances, Leah’s day begins with strength training in the predawn hours four to six days a week. Like all elite athletes, she values the importance of being in shape. “I really noticed it’s helped me a lot,” she said of her weight-lifting regime. “I’m stronger and healthier. I eat well and I drink a lot of water. Before I began working out, I wasn’t strong. I could not sit deep in the saddle, and my legs would be flopping around so my aids weren’t effective.” 

The connection between Jazzy and Leah was not immediate. “Sometimes it takes a long time for the rider and horse to connect,” she said. “Jazzy and I have been riding together on and off for three years. It took a while and now our partnership is very solid. I know all the things he’s trying to tell me. But there are some people and horses that match really well only a month before competition.” 

Leah says her strength training and her increasing experience and confidence have helped solidify the partnership with Jazzy. Their first ride together, she said, was difficult and she doubted they would reach full potential. A week before their first show, they began riding seriously and it paid off. Leah and Jazzy had two good rides, and their scores continue to improve. 

The word “dressage” (pronounced “dress-AZH”) comes from the French and means “training.” Literally, dressage means the art of riding and training a horse in a manner that develops obedience, flexibility and balance while maintaining a calm and attentive disposition. The U.S. Equestrian Federation serves as the national governing body and the Fédération Equestre Internationale in Switzerland is the world headquarters. 

Leah’s favorite part of dressage is the subtlety of the aids between her and the horses she rides. Each horse has an interesting and unique personality and challenges. For example, Jazzy is an exceptionally tall and a long horse. For context, most horses stand between 15 and 17 hands, or around five feet eight inches from ground to shoulder. Jazzy is 18 hands (six feet) and weighs 1,800 to 1,900 pounds — and he’s also a high-energy horse. 

“It makes compacted movements more difficult,” Leah said, because Jazzy needs to compact his body and pay very close attention to her aids. On the flip side, Jazzy’s size gives them an edge in the big movements required in competitions. 

Leah credits her teammates, who are among her closest friends, and her trainer Hope’s sense of humor with helping to settle any nerves that rise before competitions. She also sticks to a routine of having a light breakfast, then listening to high-energy rock and roll. Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” is a favorite. She then goes over her routine on foot in the barn before focusing on Jazzy, helping him relax. Then Leah simply trusts. She trusts that she and Jazzy have put in all the work they need and that they will perform their best. 

Competing is one thing but getting to and from a competition is another, since dressage competitions are held all over the country. Wellington, Fla., is a frequent destination for Leah and Jazzy. The horse leaves first in a trailer with other show horses driven by Mark Choper, owner of Fairway Horse Transport. Leah packs his gear ahead of time and is usually in class at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School when Jazzy begins his journey. After school, Leah hops in the family car and they drive to the show.

Leah said she feels fortunate to be surrounded by such a supportive family — her father Jonathan, mother Rachel, and younger brother Aaron, as well as grandparents and uncles. If everyone can’t make the trip — which is often the case — Leah can always count on at least one parent being at her side. Rachel, despite not being too much into horses, calls herself the “human groom.”

“She makes sure everyone has food and water, and that we have a good place to go for dinner,” Leah said.

Leah plans to continue dressage through college and has an eye on international and Olympic competitions. Meanwhile, she maintains a strong GPA at L-S, where she’s a junior. Top grades are part of the deal she made with her parents when they agreed to back her serious commitment to dressage. 

While competing in New England, Leah treats show days as absences, but when she’s in Florida, she works with a tutoring company. “Before I leave, my teachers give me information on what the class will be learning while I’m gone, and it’s up to me and Palm Beach International Academy to stay on top of the workload,” she said. 

Besides being a champion in dressage, Leah is a champion for it. “I would recommend that anyone who wants to and can, to go into dressage. It’s a really, really beautiful sport and you meet some of the coolest people through it,” she said.

Her ambition has already given her at least one valuable life skill. “I have more patience,” she said. “It’s really hard work, but I’ve learned that if I keep at something, that it will come eventually. And dressage has definitely made me super mature because it’s a lot of work, and it’s a lot of responsibility to take care of a horse.”

Last weekend, Leah and Jazzy performed at Mt. Holyoke College at the New England Dressage Association’s symposium featuring British dressage rider and five-time Olympian Carl Hester. Leah, who was the youngest performer at this event, was selected as a demo rider from a pool of more than 100 applicants (all other participants are adult professional riders). The pair will also compete for the first time at the Young Rider level at a future Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Florida.

First Parish in Lincoln gets a dynamic duo

Nate Klug and Kit Novotny, co-ministers at the First Parish in Lincoln.

The First Parish in Lincoln began enjoying a two-for-one deal when Rev. Nate Klug and Rev. Kit Novotny — high school sweethearts who grew up in Wellesley — started their dual ministry in August.

Though both have an affinity for the arts, they came to their religious careers by slightly different routes. Novotny calls herself a “cradle Congregationalist” — her parents were lapsed Catholics who later joined a United Church of Christ (UCC) in Wellesley Hills. “The church was our community with a lot of my best friends growing up,” she said. “My parents were super involved and I was a pretty spiritually interested kid.”

Klug, meanwhile,  grew up without any religious tradition. “It was quite a surprise to me,” he said. “I kind of stumbled on faith on college.” After a friend’s father was killed, “I was just asking a lot of big questions… I got this germ of faith which was quite weird for my family.”

Both Klug and Novotny went to the University of Chicago, After graduating with a degree in English, Klug was interning for a literary magazine in Chicago when his editor invited him to a church service. “I was blown away by the sermon,” he said. “Eventually I was at a moment where a spiritual commitment was something I was ready for.”

Novotny, who majored in theater and anthropology, was involved in theater and improv in Chicago and was an intern at the famous Second City comedy club in that city for a year after she graduated. She also worked at comedy club in Iowa during her first ministerial job after grad school. “There’s definitely sermon fodder in standup,” she said with a laugh.

After they graduated from Yale Divinity School and were ordained in the UCC in 2013, they applied for a few jobs as a couple but eventually wound up serving as ministers in separate churches in the San Francisco area. A couple of years ago, they began looking for jobs back east so that they and their preschool-age daughters could be closer to their families (“we have four very enthusiastic grandparents in the Boston area,” Novotny said).

Because of the pandemic, Klug could continue his other work in California even after they moved to Massachusetts about a year ago and began looking for church posts locally. A poet and essayist as well as a minister (his latest book is Hosts and Guests: Poems), Klug teaches remotely in the MFA program at Dominican University in San Rafael, Calif., and in the creative writing at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Novotny is also a writer and a certified yoga instructor with training in trauma-sensitive yoga.

As seminary students, both had mentors who’d worked as co-pastors, so when they learned about the FPL opening, they approached it as a team. “We kind of introduced the idea to the search committee here,” Klug said. “They were really rigorous and diligent about finding out what it would be like. It was a real process of discernment on both sides [in asking] does the church want to take a leap of faith on both of us and vice versa?” They found that FPL is “a really creative place, a community church with a big spiritual tent — it seemed like a place that might be open to this kind of creative ministry model.”

As for the division of labor, the couple will split most things 50-50 and trade off preaching. “You can come to it a little more fresh when you don’t have to do it every week,” Novotny said. “The community will get a little more diversity of voice since we have slightly different styles.”

Both will do pastoral care visits and adult education. “This congregation is very interested in learning and are voracious readers,” Klug said.

They also have a few ideas for new approaches and events to engage the community. Klug will lead a group called “Poetry for Seekers” while Novotny will lead “Coffee and Compassion,” where she and participants can reflect on what requires compassion in the world and learn about tools for connection and emotional resilience. The pair is also co-authoring a blog, and they’ll take turns hosting “Theology on Tap” discussions at the Tack Room each month, with the first one scheduled for September 23. The events are open to all, including those who aren’t church members or who don’t live in Lincoln.

“Our first priority is building relationships and connections,” Novotny said. “Religion has a lot of baggage, some of it well deserved, that might keep people from walking through the door. There was a loneliness epidemic happening even pre-Covid, and religious institutions have been declining in popularity. I think there’s a longing where people aren’t all getting those needs met, so hopefully the church can keep reinventing itself” to foster those connections.

Lincoln 12-year-old revels in being a circus performer

By Maureen Belt

Athena Montori goes airborne after her fellow troupers jumped on the other end of a teeterboard.

Summer camp usually involves traditional activities like kayaking, swim lessons and songs by the campfire. But Lincoln resident Athena Montori has had somewhat different experiences — she’s been spending her summers learning juggling, the fine art of clowning, and how to soar through the air as if she were being shot out of a cannon.

Athena attended camp at Circus Smirkus, a nonprofit arts and education organization based in Greensboro, Vt., that’s been teaching circus skills to kids since 1987. Some of them, including Athena, were so inspired that they chose to take their newfound skills to the next level — they joined the circus.

“Ever since Circus Smirkus camp, I wanted to do something more than just a few weeks of summer camp,” said Athena, 12, who just finished sixth grade at the Lincoln School. “I wanted to do so much more.”

While making her summer plans this past winter, she prepared an audition tape in hopes of earning one of the 30 coveted “trouper” spots in the Circus Smirkus traveling summer show, this year aptly named “On the Road Again.” Circus Smirkus — like the rest of the performing world —was put on hiatus by the Covid pandemic. The troupers will perform 46 shows under the Big Top in four states before summer ends.

Athena competed against fellow campers and performers from all over the world. A ballerina and gymnast since the age of 3 who also studies trombone, she impressed the committee and was one of 40 invited to a second audition.

She nailed it, earning a prime spot on the Russian Bar and a backup spot on the trampoline act. After less than two weeks into performing in front of live audiences, Athena became a principal in the trampoline act, too. She also has tremendous fun “clowning,” as it’s called in circus circles (click here to see her short cast introduction video).

Her supportive family played a vital role. “I’ve been 100 percent behind her decision to go on tour and I’ve been rooting for her since the day she came home from Smirkling camp at age 5 saying she wanted to perform under the Big Top, as they call the tent,” said Staci Montori, Athena’s mom. “It’s a dream come true for her, and who doesn’t want their child to achieve their dreams?”

…and after.

Athena (in yellow, kneeling at right) and her fellow troupers with the Russian bar before she’s launched…

Athena, who had seven live performances under her belt when interviewed by the Lincoln Squirrel, said her favorite act to perform is the Russian Bar. “It’s a fun act in general, and the crowd loves it. I get thrown into the air. Everybody is cheering. It’s just so fun, the whole experience!”

The Russian Bar is a circus act where an elite acrobatic flyer lunges into aerial spirals, somersaults, and twists from a vaulting pole that’s 13 feet long and 6.5 inches wide (no cannon is involved). The moves are similar to those of a gymnast on a balance beam, but the pole is flexible, which allows the necessary bounce for the aerialist.

There’s another difference from a balance beam: the Russian bar doesn’t rest on the floor. It’s supported by two other performers called porters, often on their shoulders. Traditionally there’s no net, but the Circus Smirkus version includes a hefty cushion beneath the aerialist and two spotters disguised as clowns.

This act presents as a simple routine because the essential tools are not visible. Trust, precision, and synchronicity are paramount, as are confidence and communication through verbal and nonverbal cues. Flyers must be skilled in balance, acrobatics, and gymnastics. Even the slightest nod must be aligned with the two others in the routine.

Athena (center) talks with one of her coaches.

Being one of the youngest in the group hasn’t diminished her status. “Athena is a wonderful trouper,” said Jonathan Roitman, Russian Bar coach for Circus Smirkus.

What goes through her mother’s head as Athena wows the crowd on the Russian Bar?

“Each time, I feel both a bit nervous and super-excited for her and all the performers,” Montori said. “I won’t lie — my hands sweat a bunch during the Russian Bar act. It was hard to watch for the first five or six shows because she flies very high into the air and does a back tuck without safety lines. I hadn’t seen her do this without lines before opening day. I didn’t realize she had perfected it enough to do it like this. She kept it a secret to surprise me, I think. It’s getting easier to watch now, especially since she seems more confident and skilled at doing it after each performance. My hands still sweat, though.”

Athena agreed that she gets more comfortable with each performance. “There were definitely nerves the first time,” she admitted. But her nervousness dissipated once she and the rest of the troupers made their way to center stage and the crowd cheered. “It was a full house, and the adrenaline was pumping.”

Being a committed circus performer requires more than shooting through the air and making people laugh. Athena and the others have to set up some of the smaller tents before the show and then break them down afterwards. In between, they pick up the gum wrappers, drink cups, and other debris that audience members leave behind. The whole thing “is a really long process,” she said. “The first time we did it, it took us five hours, but the last few times it’s only taken two hours.”

But even cleaning up after strangers doesn’t dim Athena’s enjoyment. “I want to do it again next year,” she said. In fact, Athena would love to be a trouper for the next seven summers, which will take her right up to high school graduation.

The experience has created bonds she knows will last a lifetime. “It’s a very welcoming community,” she said. “It feels more like a family and we’re all so close. It helps that we’re all such good friends with each other.”

Athena also knows her time with Circus Smirkus is giving her other skills for future success. “I’m learning the importance of responsibility and how to rely on other people,” she said.

Her mother agrees. “Circus requires the kids to be incredibly hard-working, creative, focused, trusting, and very trustworthy,” Montori said. “They have to take directions, listen carefully and not be distracted; otherwise someone can get very badly hurt. They also need to take risks, be willing to fail, and try again. I think Athena has become much more confident in all facets of her life using these skills from circus training.”

Circus Smirkus has no animal acts or fire throwers. Its dazzle comes from the artistry of jugglers, acrobats, and contortionists as well as clowns. All of the acts are fueled by human strength (both physical and mental), long practices, discipline, and cooperation. Aside from the lighting and audio systems, there’s no technology involved, which means these acts would have been performed the exact same way today as 300 years ago.

You can watch Athena and friends perform their magic when Circus Smirkus comes to Waltham this week. Click here to see a short video advertising the circus and click here for the schedule.

Lincoln’s newest farmer hopes for organic growth

Mohammed Hannan and his wife Kaniz at their farm stand.

Mohammed Hannan grew up on a family farm, but it was thousands of miles away and very different from where he now works the land in Lincoln.

A lot has changed for Hannan, 46, since his days as a boy in rural Bangladesh and as a college student earning a degree in wildlife and conservation biology from the University of Chittagong. He came to America in 2008 on a fellowship from Duke University and now works full-time as a research scientist at Harvard Medical School. But it was food that drove him back toward agriculture.

“Right after coming here, I honestly didn’t have enough money, so I was buying food from Market Basket, Haymarket, and so forth. I quickly realized I needed access to good food but I didn’t have the money for Whole Foods,” he said. He thought of growing food himself but wasn’t sure how to make that happen while working full-time, but he volunteered on a farm on weekends one summer, “and after that I realized it was a lot of fun as well as hard work.”

Hannan learned the ins and outs of New England farming with the help of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. He graduated in 2020 from the program, whose mission is to improve local and regional food systems by training the next generation of farmers to produce food that is sustainable and nutritious, and making this food accessible to everyone. While he was learning to farm in Beverly, he won fifth place in an agricultural contest in the “heaviest tomato” category with a Yellow Brandywine weighing in at just over two pounds.

Now Hannan commutes from his home in Cambridge to manage his crops in Lincoln, where he’s been growing vegetables on the Ricci conservation land off Route 2A since 2018. On Saturdays, he and his wife Kaniz also run a farm stand on Route 117 (the Umbrello hay field, site of the former Blue Heron Farm). During his journey, he’s benefited from an ongoing Lincoln connection — New Entry director Jennifer Hashley also helps run Codman Community Farms with her husband Pete Lowy and continues to advise him.

Hannan Agro Farms has also gotten help through a CSA work-share program and WWOOFers—visitors from the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms program who help out in exchange for produce and learning about organic agriculture. 

During its successful first year, the farm has grown array of traditional veggies and some not-so-familiar produce. These include luffa gourds, which Hannan used to eat in curries back in Bangladesh (the plant can also be dried and used as a sponge). In the future he hopes to include more East Asian gourds and melons, amaranth, and perhaps basil from Ghana. “I’m trying to incorporate quite a bit of stuff from back home and a few other countries,” he said.

Hannan leases both plots of land from the town, which has been very helpful in helping him get started and providing a potable water source on the Umbrello plot, where he brings each week’s load of produce, washes and refrigerates it before arraying it on the tables for sale. He also sells through New Entry’s Food Hub.

Next year, Hannan hopes to use some of the Umbrello land for gourd tunnels — open-ended structures in which the plants grow vertically and the emerging gourds hang upside-down. Salad greens and early-season microgreens are also on his wish list.

“At this point I’m expanding the operation very slowly, taking the time to do this experiment and see where I can take it — see if I can make a living at it,” he said. “To me, I think it’s really, really important that we know our farms and where our food is coming from. During this pandemic, we learned a hard lesson about how the food supply chain can be broken easily. Convenience always comes with a cost. We have our PCP, and we should also have a food care provider — the local farmer.”

Juggling a farm, a full-time job, and a family is rewarding if not always easy. “I believe that whatever you do, if you make a living from what you really like and you have the power of helping other people, it’s really refreshing,” Hannan said.

The Hannan Agro Farms farmstand in the Umbrello hay field opposite 275 South Great Rd. is open on Saturdays from 11 a.m –6 p.m. until late October.