The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

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Fireside event at Farrington Nature Linc

Enjoy a crisp evening by the fire as Doria Hughes tells stories about the fall, nature and animals on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Farrington Nature Linc. Tickets for Tales & Treats: Slightly Scary Stories and S’mores are $10 each or $30 for a family of four. Feel free to bring blankets and/or chairs to sit around the fire, and wear or bring layers as it gets colder once the sun goes down.

Family fundraiser features cornhole tournament

Form a two-person kid or adult team (age 16+) to play in the cornhole tournament on Sunday, Oct. 17 from 2–6 p.m. at Codman Community Farms. The event is a fundraiser organized by the Doo family, whose daughter Kalea is living with moyamoya disease. The event also features pumpkin decorating courtesy of Stonegate Gardens, live music by Jimmy’s Down Band, a magic show with Ed Popielarczyk at 5 p.m., a bounce house, Hawaiian shaved ice, local beer and hard cider, food trucks and snacks, and a raffle. Click here for more information and to register, donate, or sponsor and keep a custom-made cornhole board. Questions? Email doofam@gmail.com.

Codman Harvest Feast tickets now on sale

Tickets are now on sale for the annual Codman Community Farms Harvest Feast on Saturday, Oct. 23  from 5–9 p.m. The feast will take place under a big tent and feature live music by the Splinters as well as CCF’s slow-roasted, Lincoln-pasture-raised pork served with homemade cornbread, roasted potatoes, bean and green salads, and apple desserts. Dinner will be followed by a special raffle and dancing under the stars. Buy tickets online ($40 for CCF member and $50 for nonmembers) and click here to learn about other fall events at CCF including Sugar Shack Storytime, Harvest Wreath Happy Hour, and a three-session course on growing your own mushrooms.

Kids’ activities at the library

The Lincoln Public Library has several special events for children this month:

“Who Gets to Make History? The Story of Statues and Monuments”
Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.
What are monuments for? Whose stories do they hold up for celebration? Whose stories do they erase or keep hidden? In this virtual workshop, Wee the People, a Boston-based social justice group, will explore what monuments mean and reimagine how they can celebrate values of community, equity, and justice. Intended for school-aged children. Email dleopold@minlib.net to register and receive a Zoom invite. 

Pumpkin Palooza
Saturday, Oct. 23 from 10:30–12 p.m.
Wear your costume and join us on the library lawn for Halloween fun: pumpkin painting, fortune telling, crafts, and more. Drop in; best for ages 6 and under. Rain date: October 30. 

Special Halloween Storytime and Parade
Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 10 a.m. 
Wear your costume for some Halloween fun, stories, dancing, and a parade on the library lawn. For babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Click here to learn about children’s book groups and other events, or call 781-259-8465 x4 with any questions.

Halloween at deCordova

Celebrate Halloween at deCordova Sculpture Park on October 22, 23, 29, 30, and 31. Watch the moon travel across the sky as you and your family complete a series of ghoulish activities, all inspired by mysterious artworks. Explore different disguises, create monstrous shadows, and solve tantalizing mysteries. Click here to purchase tickets.

Two from Lincoln earn National Merit Scholar commendations

Two Lincoln students, Amie Jiang and Casey King, are among Lincoln-Sudbury’s Commended National Merit Scholars this year. The others from L-S are Akim Abramkin, Tarkan Ayata, Matthew Boone, Joshua Cohen, Joshua Geel, Jishnu Ghosh, Lyx Huston, Henry Knapick, Benjamin Krasnow, Max Reinhardt, Benjamin Rippy, Zachary Schwarzwald, Madeleine Swire, Sarah Watson, Robyn Wessman, Richard Yao, and Brian Yin.

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.

Turenne restaurant to open in Lincoln in April

This Lincoln Station property will soon host its fourth restaurant.

There’s a new restaurant in town — or there will be, when Turenne opens in April in the space most recently occupied by Real.

Tim and Bronwyn Wiechmann already run several food ventures in Somerville: Bronwyn, T&B Pizza, and Turenne (a “pop-up” takeout bagel/patisserie/restaurant within T&B Pizza). Others of their restaurants have come and gone, including Self Portrait/T.W. Food and Playska in Cambridge. Tim Wiechmann was named Best Chef (general excellence) by Boston Magazine in 2015.

Turenne in Lincoln succeeds Real, which was owned jointly by Lindsay Parker of Concord and Tom Fosnot and Ruth-Anne Adams of Sudbury but closed in November 2020 after less than two years of operation. The lease continues with Parker as sole owner of Turenne, said Geoff McGean, executive director of the Rural Land Foundation, which owns the property. 

The Boston Globe reported on February 25 that the new Lincoln restaurant would feature a pizza oven, live music, a wine shop, and provisions, but this could not be confirmed. The Wiechmanns did not respond directly to an email and voicemail from the Lincoln Squirrel, and Parker deferred to public statements by the RLF and the restaurateurs.

“We look forward to bringing back socially distanced dinner service in the dining room, on the terrace, as takeout and, in an especially exciting new additional dining room on the green in front of the restaurant that the Rural Land Foundation has so generously allowed us to create in hopes of serving the community in as many ways as possible in this still complicated moment for restaurants,” the three restaurateurs wrote. “We’ll share more soon, but in the meantime you can anticipate an early April start for dinner service Thursday thru Saturday with a la carte offerings and perhaps a prix fixe.”

“I hope you all will join us in giving them a warm welcome and wishing them, and our community, much success with this new endeavor,” said RLF/Lincoln Land Conservation Trust chair Michelle Barnes in a statement accompanying the one by the restaurant owners. “Our vigorous support of them will help that success come to fruition, and help make the mall an even more vibrant and exciting place to be for our community. And it wouldn’t be a message from me if I didn’t add that your support of the businesses at the mall helps sustain our conservation efforts in Lincoln.”

Fosnot and Adams now cook and deliver meals as Food for Home. After Real closed, the pair told former customers in a group email that Parker had sued them. The allegations and current status of that suit are unclear.

Turenne will be the fourth restaurant to occupy the Lincoln space. Preceding it were Real and Lincoln Kitchen, which closed in May 2018 after just 15 months. AKA Bistro was successful for several years until its closure in May 2016. Contributing to its demise was the lengthy closure of nearby Donelan’s after its roof collapsed in a snowstorm in February 2011, significantly reducing business traffic for the entire mall, and the closure of AKA itself for several months starting in December 2013 after a burst ceiling pipe caused extensive interior water damage.

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Program offers film, panel, and group discussions on racism

The Lincoln METCO Coordinating Committee and Sudbury Community for Racial and Social Justice is hosting a 90-minute feature documentary screening of “I’m Not Racist… Am I?” and other subsequent events. All those who live, work, attend school, or have a connection to Lincoln or Sudbury may watch the film online as a diverse group of teens and their families go through a yearlong exploration of race and racism. The effort also focuses on the courageous voices of young people and provides Lincoln, Sudbury, and Boston METCO families with a forum for working together on local race-related issues.

The screening will run from Saturday, Feb. 27 at 9 a.m. through Monday, March 1 at noon. On Wednesday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m., the Organizing Committee and Point Made Learning (the film’s producer) will host a virtual discussion with a panel of people from the Lincoln, Sudbury, and Boston communities, asking them questions and using the film content as a springboard for dialogue on race and identity. In addition to the film viewing and the panel event, there will be an opportunity for community members to sign up to participate in facilitated small group discussions based on the movie.

Sponsors include the Sudbury Foundation, the Ogden Codman Trust, the First Parish of Lincoln, the Bemis Free Lecture Series, the Lincoln Public Schools, WIDE, the Sudbury Public Library and anonymous donors. All events are free but registration is required. The small group discussions are only for those who live, work, or go to school in Lincoln or Sudbury

Session for parents of rising L-S freshmen

Will your eighth-grader be a Lincoln-Sudbury freshman next year? Might it be helpful to connect with Lincoln parents whose students have made this same transition, both before and during the Covid era? Tune into “Life at L-S: A Parent-to-Parent Conversation About the 8th-to-9th Grade Transition” on Tuesday, March 2 at 7–8:30 p.m. via Google Meet. Featuring Lincoln School Principal Sharon Hobbs and L-S veteran parents panelists, along with L-S administrators. The program will focus on all the co-curricular elements of a high-schooler’s life so families have contextual knowledge that supports the LS course selection process in March. To RSVP and/or to pre-submit panelist questions, email Hobbs at shobbs@lincnet.org. For more information, contact Carole Kasper at carolemkasper@gmail.com.

Nature sketching classes offered

Farrington Nature Linc is hosting a virtual three-session nature sketching series starting on Tuesday, March 2. Each week, we’ll meet via Zoom with artist and teacher Alex Boersma, a freelance scientific illustrator and designer from Toronto, to learn how to draw natural objects we’ve collected throughout the week. We’ll improve our observational drawing skills while exploring new media: first graphite, then pen and ink, and finally watercolor. No experience necessary.

Classes will meet Tuesday evenings from 6–8 p.m. (the final workshop will go until 9 p.m.). You may attend a single workshop or all three; however, the skills taught in each workshop will build on one another, so organizers recommend signing up for all three. Register online via Eventbrite. The supply list will be emailed once you’re registered for the class (please be sure you have acquired the necessary materials ahead of the workshop).

Talk on Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman

Join a Zoom talk on “Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman: A Creative Kinship” on Wednesday,  March 17 at 7 p.m. Edith Wharton’s first published work was not a novel, but a design manual that she co-authored with Lincoln native Ogden Codman, Jr., The Decoration of Houses, which was destined to become an interior design classic. Using original letters from Historic New England’s Codman archival collection, this illustrated talk offers an inside peek into Wharton’s and Codman’s 40-year artistic friendship. Advance registration required on this HNE web page or call 617-994-6651. Free to Lincoln residents via a 2021 Lincoln Cultural Council grant. Historic New England members: $15. Non-members: $20. Program partners for this event are the Lincoln Public Library and the Council on Aging.

Council on Aging activities

  • Lincoln Public Health Nurse Tricia McGean will conduct her regular “Chats with the Nurse” via Zoom for residents of all ages on Wednesdays, March 3 and 17 at 11 a.m.  Bring your questions about Covid-19 and other issues, and McGean will share the latest updates. Preregister by calling 781-259-8811 x102 or emailing gagnea@Lincolntown.org to get the Zoom invite.
  • The Council on Aging invites seniors to a drive-up ice cream sundae cup event on Tuesday, March 16 in the parking lot of the First Parish Church. Please help stagger arrivals by coming at the time that corresponds to your last name (A–G, arrive from 12-12:45 p.m.; H–R, arrive from 12:45-1:30 p.m.; S–Z, arrive from 1:30-2 p.m.). Ice cream sundae cups generously sponsored by the Friends of the COA.
  • The COA welcomes seniors who want to connect in March with an L-S student via a weekly conversation via Zoom, phone, or letter. Students sign up to have a weekly conversation with a senior and they receive school credit. After seniors fill out this Connections survey to make their preferences known as to dates and times, they will be matched with a high school student. For more information, visit www.connections01773.org. This third Connections series will take place over four weeks beginning the week of March 15. Questions? Email Amy Gagne at gagnea@lincolntown.org.
  • To support people who are struggling with isolation and loneliness during this difficult time, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP) has adapted their evidence-based Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) to produce a special publication that addresses isolation and loneliness. The Wellness Guide to Overcoming Isolation During COVID-19: Being Connected, Staying Connected, and Choosing Connection is available to everyone online, and the Council on Aging has a limited number of free print copies. The guide can help you engage in connection activities with others and in online support groups. For more information to receive the WRAP Up monthly newsletter, please email mjaffe@ahpnet.com.

Most Lincoln Council on Aging events are open to Lincoln residents of all ages. For a full list — including clinics, exercise classes, regular meetings of interest groups, and online chats with town officials — see the COA’s calendar page or March newsletter. Contact the COA at 781-259-8811 or gagnea@lincolntown.org for Zoom links to events.

My Turn: Drumlin Farm pitches in with produce during pandemic

By Renata Pomponi

Editor’s note: this piece originally appeared in EdibleBoston.com and is reprinted with permission. The last two paragraphs were added on December 15.

It all started with a half-ton of carrots.

In late March, with the world closing down around us from a global pandemic and all of our staff except farmers working from home, it soon became clear that Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln had more vegetables than customers. News stories from other parts of the country spoke of farmers plowing under their spring crops in response to the near standstill in sales due to shuttered restaurants, schools gone virtual and closed farmers markets.

At the same time, the Greater Boston Food Bank was beginning to report what would end up being more than twice the demand of their normal operations. With a root cellar stocked with a bumper crop of carrots, and a new hoop house in the crops field starting to produce fresh greens that needed to be harvested, we knew that we needed to get our food out to where it was needed most.

Drumlin Farm has long called our approach to agriculture “Community Based Farming,” and we felt strongly that our ties to the community should drive our food distribution strategy, particularly at this time when food insecurity was rising in our region.

With the practical reality that there are only so many deliveries we could make in a week, it also felt important to continue working within the communities in which we already had relationships in order to maximize our impact. When we learned that the Cambridge-based nonprofit Food for Free had taken on grocery delivery and daily school meal preparations for families in their city, it immediately felt like a natural fit; in ordinary times, we would have already been making weekly deliveries to the Cambridge Public School’s farm-to-school program.

A few emails and phone calls later and we were connected with a weekly drop-off to Food for Free’s refrigerated lockers, getting those carrots (along with fresh eggs and greens) out to many of the same children who would have been eating Drumlin Farm food in the salad bars of the Cambridge elementary, middle and high school cafeterias.

Similar ties drew us to a partnership with the Lincoln Food Pantry, in our home community of Lincoln, where their board felt strongly about including fresh produce from local farms in their bi-monthly distributions. One of our regular restaurant customers decided to do a Meal Day for health care workers; that became another easy fit for a donation that strengthened our ties with the people who understood and valued our approach to sustainable agriculture. Through these and other meaningful local partnerships, we quickly got to a point where we were donating about a quarter of what we produced each week in April and May.

While the root cellar supply dwindled, the costs of running our farm of course did not. The demand for local food definitely increased enrollment in our CSA program, but our major distribution channels—restaurants and farmers markets—remained at minimal levels compared to our target annual budget. We wanted to keep donating whatever we couldn’t sell, but we also faced the same harsh realities of every small business during these challenging times.

Enter the community.

Our entire food donation program would not be possible without the incredible generosity of a growing group of individuals who see the value in investing in their local farms while simultaneously doing good in their community. By supporting Drumlin Farm with their charitable donations, these donors are keeping our farm going and helping ensure the food they know and love out gets to the families and individuals who need it the most. The response to this outreach has been steady and inspiring, allowing us to continue meeting Drumlin Farm’s commitment to local partners while keeping our farmers employed. Some donors have made major gifts, while some have chosen to add $5 or $10 onto their weekly CSA orders. One has even made an extraordinary offer to match every donation, doubling the impact, up to a total of $25,000. Each and every person has made a difference.

The root cellar is empty now and some of our regular sales channels have rebounded. But as the bounty of our fields grows each week during the summer and fall, we will continue to donate a significant portion in order to help alleviate hunger in our region. The pandemic crisis has led us to closely examine how our model of sustainable community farming can do even more to sustain our neighbors facing food insecurity, and we hope to be able to continue this program even after the pandemic has subsided for good.

Addendum, December 15, 2020:

Over the course of the 2020 growing season, Drumlin Farm has distributed over 17,000 pounds of veggies and 600 dozen eggs to people in need around eastern Massachusetts. We are grateful to the Lincoln Agricultural Commission for provided funding this summer to allow Drumlin Farm to begin making twice-a-month contributions of produce and eggs to the Lincoln food pantry. The Ogden Codman Trust then stepped forward with a generous grant to allow us to continue the program through the winter, with eggs from our chickens and greens coming soon from our hoop house.

Our hunger relief work in Lincoln has been a true community partnership, and we are honored to be part of making the connections from farm and farmer to those who truly need our food.

Renata Pomponi is the Wildlife Sanctuary Director at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln. To learn more about the Drumlin Farm hunger relief project, including a matching challenge that will double the impact of your donation, please visit the Drumlin Farm Food Donation Program.

”My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their 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.

Seniors enjoy Dash ‘n Dine lunches

Pitching in for Dash ‘n Dine were (left to right) Carolyn Bottum, former COA director; Tim Higgins, town administrator; Abigail Butt, COA director; and Tricia McGean, Lincoln’s public health nurse.

The Council on Aging held their first Dash ’n Dine event on August 13 at Lincoln Station. Seniors signed up in advance to pick up a box lunch created by Real restaurant and sponsored by Deaconess Abundant Life Services and The Commons in Lincoln.

COA Director Abigail Butt greeted seniors and checked off participants in a specially marked drive-through lane. Over 100 box lunches were given out directly from Real’s restaurant refrigerator because of the extreme heat (over 90 degrees).

Seniors were happy to receive their meals and enjoyed seeing COA staff along with recently retired director Carolyn Bottum Carolyn Bottum, Public Health Nurse Patricia McGean (Town Nurse), and Town Administrator Tim Higgins. Organizers thank everyone who participated and a special thank you to Lincoln Police Officer Peter Roach, who kept everyone safe during traffic detail.

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Events from the Lincoln Public Library

  • Harper Kincaid will speak on her newest mystery, To Kill A Mocking Girl, via Zoom on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. The library invited her after one of its book groups enjoyed the book last month. The book is available online either as an e-book or a digital audio book through an Overdrive Advantage subscription. To access the title without a waiting list, you will need to log in with a Lincoln Library card. For an invite to the Zoom meeting, please
  • Mandy Roberge will host a virtual mini-dreamcatcher craft activity for children 10 and up. Sign up to receive a craft material package via curbside pick up at the library, then join artist and teacher Mandy Roberge for the craft class via Zoom. Limited to 12 screens. Email sfeather@minlib.net to register and receive program information, including when to pick up materials and the Zoom link and password.
  • The library will host Virtual Trivia Night with the Trivia Brothers. This is an invitation-only program for children going into grades 4-7 who have completed their Summer Reading Challenges. Return your completed Summer Reading Challenge to dleopold@minlib.net to receive your invite. The deadline is Wednesday, Aug. 12.

Talk on monarchs and milkweed

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is sponsoring a virtual talk on “Monarchs, Milkweed, and Citizen Science“ with Kristin Steinmetz on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. Steinmetz, the education coordinator at Mass Audubon’s Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, will cover information about milkweed plant species and how to collect seed, as well as citizen science opportunities and resources. She’ll also provide an update on the status of monarchs in our area this year. Free, but registration is required; click here.

Dash ’n Dine for seniors

The Council on Aging is sponsoring a Dash ’n Dine drive-through box lunch pickup for Lincoln seniors on Thursday, Aug. 13 from 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m. at the Real Restaurant. Seniors must register by calling 781-259-8811 or emailing GagneA@Lincolntown.org by August 11. Contactless pickup offered by COA staff. Co-sponsored by Deaconess Abundant Life Services and The Commons.

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L-S Mutual Aid Network webinar on Tuesday

The Lincoln-Sudbury Mutual Aid Network, which helps facilitate community connections between neighbors to provide and receive support, will host a webinar on Tuesday, July 28 from 6–7 p.m. On the call, participants will talk about some of the work that’s been done, get to know each other, and think towards the future. All those with suggestions or interest in getting involved are welcome. Click here to register to get the Zoom link.

Food truck picnic on Friday

The food truck picnic at the Pierce House has been rescheduled for Friday, July 31 from 4–8 p.m. On the menu will be food from Moyzilla (Asian food), the Bacon Truck, and the Shuck Truck (fresh local seafood). Please bring your own blanket. There will be sanitizing stations throughout the grounds, and all staff and guests are required to maintain social distancing and wear masks when not eating. A restroom inside the Pierce House will be available. Entry is free; click here to register. Upon arrival, a Pierce House staff member will check you in — just show your EventBrite invitation and you will be told where to park.

Drive-in movie: “Twister”

“Twister” will be shown in the Lincoln mall parking lot as a drive-in movie with car-side meal delivery from Real on Sunday, Aug. 2. Parking for dinner opens at 7:45 p.m. and the movie starts at 8:45 p.m. The cost is $25 per vehicle plus food. Pre-registration is required (click here), and dinner must be pre-ordered from Real by Thursday, July 30 (click here to order). Registration closes on August 2 at noon, or when capacity (35 cars) is reached. Sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department and the Rural Land Foundation.

Voting information for upcoming primary

In response to recent legislation passed, the state has mailed a vote-by-mail application form to all registered voters. If you did not receive a vote-by-mail postcard application and would like one, please call the Town Clerk’s office at 781 259-2607. You can also call if you have already submitted a vote-by-mail application and would like to confirm they have it on file.

A completed vote-by-mail postcard can either be mailed or dropped in the front entrance mailbox at Town Hall. If you are an independent/unenrolled voter, please select the party ballot you would like to receive for the September 1 primary.

Early voting in person for the September 1 primary will be offered from Saturday, Aug. 22 to Friday, August 28 at Town Hall. Details will be posted on the town website when confirmed. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is August 22. Applications to vote by mail must be received by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

COA now loaning medical equipment

The Lincoln Council on Aging has restarted its medical equipment loan program. The COA is are accepting returned equipment and loaning sanitized equipment by appointment only, Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Please call the COA at 781-259-8811.

Items currently available to for loan include but are not limited to automated pill dispensers, canes, wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, shower benches, seats, and stools, bed rails, grabbers, grab bars, leg braces, shoe horns, rollators, CAPTCHA telephones, commodes, commode liners, hearing aid cleaners, and portable voice amplifiers.

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Food truck picnic at Pierce House

The Pierce House is hosting a Lincoln picnic on Saturday, July 18 from 4–8 p.m. with several vendors (Moyzilla food truck with Asian food, the Bacon Truck, and the Shuck Truck with fresh local seafood) offering dinner for sale. Bring your own blanket and beverages. Patrons are encouraged to wear wear face masks and maintain social distance of six feet while in line and on blankets, and they may enter the Pierce House to order and purchase food. All staff and food service is in compliance with CDC guidelines.

Library book pickup hours expand

Starting on Monday, July 6, the Lincoln Library will expand its curbside pickup hours for reserved books. The new hours will be Mondays and Thursdays from 1–7 p.m., and Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Hours are subject to weather; any changes will be posted on the library’s website, which also has more information on the reservation and pickup process.

Covid-19 bereavement workshops, fundraising walk

Care Dimensions, which operates the hospice house in Lincoln, is hosting single-session virtual support groups and an eight-week-long support group for people who have had a family member die from the Covid-19 virus. The sessions are Tuesday, July 21 from 4–6 p.m. (RSVP by July 17) and Thursday, Aug. 20 from 3–5 p.m. (RSVP by August 14).

Led by a bereavement counselor, the eight-week group (for those whose loved one died at least three months prior to the first meeting) will be a safe space to process grief, learn coping techniques, and make connections with others who are on a similar grief journey. This group requires commitment from participants to attend all sessions, which will be on Wednesdays from September 9 to October 28 from 3–4:30 p.m. (RSVP by September 4).

All sessions will be held via Zoom. Although there is no charge for most support groups, donations are appreciated. For more information or to register, click here, call 855-744-5100, or email  grief@caredimensions.org.

Care Dimensions is revamping the format of its 33rd Annual Walk for Hospice to ensure the safety of walkers and the community. This year, individuals and teams are encouraged to walk when and where they feel comfortable by Sunday, Sept. 27. To learn more, register a team or individual, or make a donation, go to www.caredimensions.org/walk.

Care Dimensions staff care for hospice patients where they live and at two inpatient houses (one in Lincoln). They also run HomeMD, which provides in-home primary care to patients over age 65 in select communities on the North Shore and greater Boston who have difficulty leaving home. The Care Dimensions Learning Institute educates more than 7,000 healthcare professionals and community members each year on advanced illness and end-of-life topics.

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Bella Wong of L-S agrees to contract extension

The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee has announced that it has finalized a three-year contract extension with Superintendent/Principal Bella Wong. “We appreciate Ms. Wong’s work and dedication over the past seven years and are thankful to have her experience and leadership as we navigate the challenges caused by the pandemic. We look forward to working together as we confront the current crisis while continuing to move the District forward,” the panel said in a statement.

The School Committee also announced the hiring of Kirsteen Patterson as the Director of Finance and Operations for a three-year term beginning in July. Patterson brings many years of experience in public school finance, serving most recently as the Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Administration for the Medford Public Schools.

Watch town’s Memorial Day observance online

Lincoln’s traditional Memorial Day event has been cancelled. But the veterans of Lincoln and the Parks and Recreation Department have organized a brief and respectful ceremony at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 25 and everyone is invited to watch on Facebook Live by clicking here.

LLCT hosts Wildlife Bingo

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is hosting virtual Wildlife Bingo on Wednesday, May 27 for wildlife bingo. You’ll see some of the same birds as the previous Bird Bingo, along with lots of other fun reptiles, amphibians, and mammals of New England. Prizes will include gift cards to local businesses and LLCT swag. Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive a zoom link, and we’ll email you further instructions and your bingo card. You’ll be able to access your bingo card from a browser, or you can download and print the card.

The event is limited to 20 households, each of which will receive one set of bingo cards. If you register and find yourself unable to attend, please update your RSVP on Eventbrite so we can offer that spot to someone else. Click here to register.

How to talk to teens about relationships

Join the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable (DVR) and their partners at REACH Beyond Domestic Violence for a webinar entitled “How to Talk to Teens About Relationships” on Wednesday, May 27 from 9:30–10:30 a.m. This training is designed for parents, educators, clergy, and community members who interact with teens. The one-hour workshop will explore adult and teen perceptions of teen dating violence, discuss messages and barriers that uniquely impact youth relationships, and provide strategies to address these barriers when talking with teens. Registration is required and can be completed by clicking here or on the REACH website. Email Youth Education Specialist Molly Pistrang at molly@reachma.org with any questions.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the DVR is continuing its activities and programming. At the outset of the pandemic, the Roundtable donated $20,000 to five domestic violence agencies for emergency services. If you would like to help, please visit the DVR website for further information.

Drumlin Farm program provides fresh food for the needy

The Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary is helping to provide fresh vegetables and eggs to Cambridge families in need. Each week, Drumlin delivers some of its sustainably grown produce to Cambridge, where Food for Free of Cambridge distributes it to those facing food insecurity, a situation made more dire because of the coronavirus.

Drumlin Farm has also been providing healthy produce to the Cambridge Public School system cafeterias for school lunches since 2017. With school districts shut down statewide and most of its client restaurants also on pause, the sanctuary was determined to keep growing food and ensuring that underserved communities would be a priority — hence the Drumlin Farm Food Donation Project. 

Sanctuary Director Renata Pomponi said this collaboration also offers a great opportunity in a time of stress and uncertainty for businesses and individuals to contribute meaningfully to the moral principle that people should have enough to eat. “It’s inspiring to work with Food For Free and other local hunger relief partners on such a worthy project, especially in this time of COVID-19, and generous donors are already stepping up,” she said. To support these efforts and learn more, visit the Drumlin Farm Food Donation Project website.

High school seniors recognized

The Board of Selectmen, on behalf of the Town of Lincoln, has officially proclaimed Sunday, June 7 as “Class of 2020 Day” in Lincoln to encourage everyone to support opportunities for graduating seniors, recognize their contributions and achievements.

Help for those with financial difficulties due to Covid-19

Many people in the Lincoln community are experiencing financial distress due to the Covid-19 crisis. The Council on Aging’s Emergency Assistance Fund and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Financial Assistance Program and Food Pantry are working together to help. Please contact the Council on Aging (bottumc@lincolntown.org or 781-259-8811) or the Society of  St. Vincent de Paul at St. Julia Parish (781-899-2611 or svdplincolnweston@gmail.com) if you are a Lincoln resident and:

  • Will not be able to pay your rent or utility bills once the State of Emergency is lifted
  • Cannot afford food, medication, health insurance, or other essential health-related costs
  • Are going into credit card debt to pay essential bills
  • Have other financial challenges that threaten your ability to live safely in our community

You may contact either organization for a private and confidential consultation to determine what services and benefits you may be eligible for, including possibly payment of some bills.

Both organizations are funded entirely by grants and donations. To make a donation to the Council on Aging Emergency Assistance Fund, please send a check payable to the Town of Lincoln with a memo line of “Emergency Assistance Fund” and addressed to COA c/o Town Offices, 16 Lincoln Rd., Lincoln, MA 01773. To make a donation to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, please send a check to St. Vincent de Paul, PO Box 324, Lincoln, MA 01773.