My Turn

My Turn: Majority of Commons residents support expansion

October 9, 2023

By Joanne and George Carlisle

At the recent meeting of Lincoln’s Planning Board, we thought the presentations by The Commons, where we’ve lived for five years, were excellent. But we were surprised and horrified by the negativity, even mean-spiritedness, of many residents’ comments. We are great supporters of the emerging proposal for expansion, and we want to be sure that readers of the Lincoln Squirrel know that a recent survey showed that a significant majority of our residents understand and support the current proposal.

After the January 2023 initial proposal by our new nonprofit ownership, we have been given continuing surveys and individual, small, and large group meetings to learn of the need, advantages, and many considerations discussed by our Resident Council and Steering Committee and ownership/management. And we have given many of our own suggestions.

During our professional years before retirement, we learned the benefits of communal living in the many boarding schools we served. Kindness and trust and truth-telling — exactly the things we value most here at The Commons. We are especially pleased that The Commons offers such a rich mix of residents and staff — professionally, geographically, spiritually and in personal gifts and experiences.

Going forward, we are confident the expansion proposal which emerges will of course meet all of Lincoln’s town requirements while continuing, through the PILOT [payment in lieu of taxes] program, our significant contribution to the tax base and providing some additional affordable living apartments. It will also benefit considerably our financial strength, and our ability to stay competitive in the world of growing demand for continuing care retirement communities.

Thank you for this chance to share our support and enthusiasm for plans for expansion at The Commons!

“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 Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: A Commons resident in favor of expansion proposal

October 8, 2023

By Marion Meenan

As a seven-year resident of The Commons in Lincoln who has been most fortunate to live in Lincoln for almost 50 years prior to making that move, I am writing to express my support of the recently proposed revised expansion plan for The Commons.

I believe that this proposal addresses the need to strengthen our financial stability and reduce our exposure to risk while also preserving to the maximum extent our open campus. The proposal also aligns perfectly with the town’s similar objective of strengthening its infrastructure — particularly that at the mall — by proposing additional units, both residential and commercial, while also maintaining and optimizing the town’s maximum open space.

With the PILOT (payments in lieu of taxes) agreements in place as part of the change of the ownership to nonprofit status, The Commons remains by far the largest taxpayer in town. Yes, we do utilize our fair share of resources — and we greatly appreciate the unfailingly prompt and proficient responses of our most dedicated fire and police — but we do in fact make substantial contributions to help support these critical resources town-wide.

The town of Lincoln also advocates strongly for a diverse community. The Commons has always met and will continue to meet the town goals for moderate income housing units. We are also proud at The Commons — and benefit greatly from — our astonishingly diverse and vibrant community. Among our 215 residents, we are fortunate to enjoy seniors from England, Wales, Ireland, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, India, China, and more — even Lexington and Bedford and Acton, and California and Texas! And we also encompasses a rich tapestry of active religious affiliates — with adherents of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism coming together and frequently sharing in one another’s sacred celebrations.

I would like to conclude by pointing out that in the recent telephone survey, a 69% majority of respondents agreed that they do understand and support the need for the expansion.

Under the capable leadership of Executive Director Reynaldo LeBlanc, significant time and effort have gone toward helping us to more fully understand the financial risks of our current position and the benefits that will accrue to all from a carefully thought out expansion.

I feel that implementation of the current proposal will enable our community to continue to thrive, both for ourselves and for forthcoming generations of Lincolnites.

My Turn: Taking issue with “negative tone” of Commons expansion opponents

October 8, 2023

By Caroline Jacobs

I was horrified and saddened by the negative tone of the questions and comments at the Planning/Select Board meeting on Tuesday, starting with the lengthy letter which was read by a family member of one or more residents.

I have lived at The Commons since 2010 and have been on the Resident Council for a total of ten years since then. During that time I have experienced firsthand the cooperative relationship between residents and management, and never more so than during the last nine months. Our Executive Director has held countless meetings with groups and individuals to explain the rationale behind the expansion proposal and all the financial implications. The Resident Council and Steering Committee have been very involved giving input, and various interest groups have also been consulted. The suggestion that “many others (residents) against the proposal were afraid to speak up due to fear of retribution from staff” is completely alien to the way The Commons functions.

I understand the need for the expansion, particularly as I have already lived through one bankruptcy and have no desire to face the risk of another.

My Turn: Codman Community Farms celebrates 50th anniversary

September 28, 2023

By the CCF 50th Anniversary Capital Campaign Committee

On the 50th anniversary of the founding of Codman Community Farms (CCF), we have much to celebrate. Created as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1973, the farm has evolved over time, but our mission has always been to operate a working farm that preserves Lincoln’s rural character, highlights the importance of local farming, features heritage breeds and locally sourced food, and invites community involvement through educational opportunities and access to this unique historic property.

The original Codman family farm was established in the early 19th century on the former estate of Chambers Russell, one of Lincoln’s founders. The original farm had been in continuous operation for over 150 years, with respectable dairy, vegetable, and fruit operations. It was one of only a handful of working farms in Lincoln remaining after the Second World War.

When Dorothy Codman died in 1967, her will provided for the transfer of the barns and the surrounding acreage to the Ogden Codman Trust. In 1970, the town purchased the property and in 1973 voted at Town Meeting to create a nonprofit, Codman Community Farms, Inc., to run its operation. Since then, the town has owned the land, the barns, and the adjoining farmhouse comprising the 17-acre farm in the heart of Lincoln upon which CCF operates.

Over the past five decades years, the farm has been a vital part of our community. For 50 years, we have engaged children in our agricultural mission as they watch piglets come into the world, collect fresh eggs from the chickens, feed a goat, or marvel at our beautiful Red Devon cattle munching on sweet grass. For 50 years, we have gathered together in the fall to celebrate the harvest with a Harvest Feast and Fair – young and old alike. Yet we continue to grow and welcome new events and new traditions as well.

None of us can take the farm for granted. Since 1973, the farm has seen many tough years, with significant financial uncertainty due to an outdated farming model, aging equipment, and deteriorating infrastructure. In 2016, after a particularly tough stretch of ten years, the farm hired Pete Lowy as our farm manager, and the improvements since then have been nothing short of amazing. Pete came to us with a clear vision of what was possible and the energy and drive to accomplish those goals. The farm has made great strides under Pete’s leadership along with the support of an active board of directors, a stellar staff, and a talented and dedicated group of volunteers.

To celebrate this special anniversary, we have launched the 50th Anniversary Capital Campaign: Growing Community to raise $1,000,000 to seed and secure the future of Codman Community Farms. The goals of the campaign are to build educational programming and our community engagement, to expand gathering and educational spaces, to protect our historic structures, and to enhance building and grounds safety for all.

As such, we have just completed the new Codman Community Courtyard in front of the main barn to create a safe, non-vehicular gathering space for all to enjoy. Next, we plan to expand our educational gathering spaces by building an educational pavilion behind the main barn, which will be the hub for most of the farm’s educational classes and workshops.

A wheelchair-accessible door will soon replace the narrow side entry to the main barn, and we are working with the town to install a fire suppression system in two historic barns. Once the sprinkler system is in place, we hope to move the farm store to the back of the barn so that we can once again hold community events in our beloved main barn.

As a small community farm trying to accomplish many tasks at the same time, it is incredibly valuable for us to have partners that are willing to join us in investing in local agriculture, soil health, community, and education – the pillars of Codman Community Farms.

Please consider a donation to our 50th Anniversary Capital Campaign – Growing Community, and join the many friends of the farm that have already contributed as we inch our way closer to our goal. Here is a link for more information and a way to contribute.

Members of the 50th Anniversary Capital Campaign Committee are Carol Carmody, Nancy Fleming, Pete Lowy, John LeClaire, Jeff Patterson, Ginger Reiner, and Nick Whitman.

My Turn: Lincoln residents address racial justice in our community

September 26, 2023

By Barbara Slayter

As a Lincoln resident, I am deeply appreciative of this community’s responses to the brutal murder of George Floyd in May 2020. Lincolnites both unofficially and officially sprang into action to help the town create and sustain a welcoming, inclusive, and diverse culture.

The First Parish in Lincoln, where I am a member, launched its Racial Justice Advocates program, a vigorous program of book discussions, videos, documentaries, and lectures on topics such as James Baldwin’s works, housing inequities in the suburbs along the Route 128 corridor, and New England’s role in the slave trade. Its Racial Justice Newsletter has become a regular and widely available source of information about activities pertaining to social justice, both within the First Parish community and beyond.

Among the most inspiring undertakings was Lincoln Public Schools’ 21-day AIDE (Antiracism, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity) Challenge, which offered an amazing compilation of penetrating questions about biases and stereotypes, colonialism, systemic racism, white privilege, and all forms of social injustice. These were accompanied by an extraordinary range of resources — all available with the click of the mouse — from lengthy documents such as Brown University’s report on its various entanglements with slavery, to brief video clips on any topic at hand. The town was invited to join in, and indeed we did, with lively discussions of the questions posed and materials offered. Lincoln teachers and administrators put incredible effort into this 21-day challenge and into making it accessible not only to the schools but also to the entire community.

Now, as the culture wars deepen, I am ever more appreciative of Lincoln’s schools and apprehensive about our nation’s trajectory. According to recent data, 18 states across the country restrict education on race, banning books from the library and discussions in the classroom. I winced as I read just recently that a teacher in an AP English class in South Carolina has been forbidden by the local school board to have her students read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, a compelling letter from a Black father to his son about the risks he faces being a Black youth in America. This work, read by a group at the First Parish, was a vital resource in sharpening our understanding of racial dynamics in this country.

It is with this thought in mind that I recognize how fortunate we are to have Lincoln educator and author Ray Anthony Shepard in our midst. Ray has devoted his professional life to educating America’s young adults and also children about the struggles for racial justice. In his most recent book, A Long Time Coming, just published this August, he does so through story and free verse, written in snappy short poems with sharp imagery that pulls the reader into the thoughts, emotions, hopes, predicaments, setbacks, and dangers faced by the protagonist. He offers biographies of six individuals from 18th-century Ona Judge to 21st-century Barak Obama, revealing the arc of reform as a torch that lights the way to Black liberty as it is metaphorically passed from generation to generation (see my review of the book in the latest issue of the Lincoln Chipmunk).

In addition to the deep respect for these six resilient figures elicited by his poetry, and the new perspectives offered on their lives, Shepard provides insights based on his own experiences having been brought up in Missouri where his maternal grandfather was enslaved. He is very much aware that this book may soon be on a “banned book” list of those that make white students “feel discomfort, guilt, or anguish.”

In my view, it is the persistence and dedication of authors and educators who, like Ray with his long-term vision and his hopes for the future, provide all of us with the best opportunity to bring to fruition a less divided, more inclusive, and fairer America. Make sure that you, your children, and grandchildren get to read it!

My Turn: Lincoln has a Climate Action Plan – now what?

September 19, 2023

By Lynne Smith

For the past year, Lincoln staff and residents have worked to develop a comprehensive Climate Action Plan. A Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant, provided through the state’s Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, funded the project.

Over 100 residents participated in workshops, focus groups, and committee meetings to make sure the plan included input from as many members of the community as possible. At most of these sessions, people were eager to meet the challenge of our changing climate, but many said they are not always sure how to do so. The plan prioritizes goals and strategies that will help the town and individuals take action.

A Climate Action Plan is a big deal. In fact, Lincoln’s plan is about 77 pages filled with informative charts, graphs, goals, and strategies. But the plan is only a first step in the process toward its stated overarching goal of “reducing greenhouse gas emission while also advancing community resilience in equitable and sustainable ways.”

Specifically, the plan organizes strategies into the following six planning areas: energy, mobility, built environment, working lands and natural resources, social resilience and education, and water and solid waste management. For each of these areas, three to four “priority strategies” were identified through an evaluation and prioritization exercise. For each strategy, the plan describes the implementation lead, next steps, how it improves equity, potential co-benefits, implementation partners, funding sources, and measures of success.

Priority strategies are not necessarily ones that will be completed first or are the most important, as this exercise only provided a high-level assessment of how beneficial the strategy could be to the community and environment. Any strategies can be tackled when possible (Lincoln is already making progress toward many of them) and this exercise can be performed periodically to update considerations based on new data, changes in conditions, opportunities, and constraints.

Now that Lincoln has a Climate Action Plan, the town is better prepared to apply for more federal and state funding to implement goals and strategies. To access these funds, professional town staff will need to apply for grants and manage their implementation. With limited staff ability and town funding, many of the strategies laid out in the plan will need the community’s help.

At the State of the Town meeting on September 30, Assistant Director of Planning and Land Use Jennifer Curtin will explain more about the plan and the next steps toward implementation. Residents will be able to provide essential input on how we can move forward to achieve our climate goals. Green Energy Committee members will be on hand to talk with residents about how to increase their energy efficiency and reduce their fossil fuel emissions.

To review the Climate Action Plan before the September 30 State of the Town meeting, click here. We look forward to seeing you there!

Lynne Smith is a member of the Green Energy Committee’s Climate Action Lincoln Subcommittee.

My Turn: Stop private jet expansion

August 31, 2023

By Kati Winchell

As the wettest summer in nearly a century draws to a close with two hurricanes spinning in the Atlantic, there is an increased sense of urgency to achieve the Commonwealth’s 2050 net zero goals of reducing emission from 70 to 14 million tons of CO_2.Yet, in the midst of this climate emergency, Massport is proposing to triple the number of hangars at Hanscom Civil Air Terminal for the exclusive use of private luxury jets — the most carbon-intensive form of travel per passenger. Just to be clear, this is not about military flights or any activities at the Air Force base, but rather about building nearly half a million square feet more hangar space for private jets.

If the proposed expansion goes forward, emissions from private jets at Hanscom are projected to grow by millions of tons, jeopardizing the state’s ability to attain its 2050 emission goals. For this reason, 39 local and statewide organizations have joined forces to educate the public about the threat that Massport’s expansion plans present to reducing our carbon footprint and to support the difficult decisions the governor will have to make to ensure that we meet our 2050 goals.

Sign the petition urging the governor to stop this private luxury jet expansion that so clearly runs contrary to Mass Climate Goals. For more information or to sign up for updates, see www.stopprivatejetexpansion.org.

Kati Winchell of Lincoln is projects director for Save Our Heritage.

My Turn: Connecting rural India to Walden Pond through healthcare research and cultural development

August 13, 2023

By Sonali Das

In 2014, my grandmother flew halfway around the world to get from her home, a small Assamese silk village in northeast India known as Sualkuchi, to my home in Lincoln, a small town in Massachusetts. It was her first time stepping outside the world of temples and chador mekhelas she had known all her life. Yet, despite never traveling far, she had heard about our town many times over the years.

Lincoln, as most people know, is home to Walden Pond, which homed the renowned transcendentalist philosopher, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau was inspired by Hinduism in his approach to live simply and with an open and inquiring mind, saying, “Whenever I have read any part of the Vedas, I have felt that some unearthly and unknown light illuminated me.” In turn, many Hindus, including Gandhi, were inspired by his determination to live life simply and with peaceful, strong conviction. My grandfather, Krishna Ram Das, was one of them and had always wanted to visit Thoreau’s sacred pond. He even composed a poem, “I am a Tree,” and recited it in a seminar held on Thoreau in 1965.

My grandfather died of lung cancer in 1994. Twenty years later, in 2014, my grandmother sprinkled pink petals into the waters of Walden Pond (see photo gallery below) to inaugurate the Thoreau Laboratory for Global Health, a research laboratory dedicated to fighting the medical cancer that killed him as well as the impending societal and environmental cancers that threaten us all.

My grandfather planted the initial seedlings of the Thoreau Laboratory for Global Health. A weaver, philosopher, poet, and the father of nine children, he lived in a humble home with earnings even more so. And yet, his dreams filled the walls of his small house, his ideas formed the lines of his complex poetry, and his hands fought to revive an organization called the Krishna Samaj, founded by his grandfather back in 1920 to protect local weavers from Britain’s textile aggression. Krishna Ram Das wanted to transform it into a cooperative movement among the weavers’ community.

My dad, Bikul Das, one of eight siblings, grew up in the same small village as his father. A budding philosopher, poet, silk businessman, and dreamer, he worked with his dad during his childhood in the family’s Muga silk business. Muga, known for its golden threads and extreme durability, is a culturally significant silk native to the state of Assam. Making grafts for his father and networking with traders in his village, my dad grew up wanting to be a politician. Instead, he went to medical school, became a doctor, traveled to Bhutan, and a couple stories later, wounded up as a stem cell/cancer scientist working with the University of Toronto, Stanford University, and the Harvard-affiliated Forsyth Institute.

Dr. Bikul Das discovered altruism on a microbiological level, and thus became a pioneer in the research field of stem cell altruism. Years later, he studied COVID-19’s relationship to stem cells and dormant TB reactivation. Interestingly, his core scientific findings stemmed from the philosophical ideas discussed in the Krishna Samaj. Thus, in 2010, he officially setup KaviKrishna Laboratory, now located at the Indian Institute of Technology at Guwahati, as a continuation of the Krishna Samaj. The Thoreau Laboratory for Global Health, set up in 2014, is its sister laboratory located at UMass-Lowell. Both the Thoreau Lab for Global Health and KaviKrishna Lab look to engage scientists and graduate students excited about cancer, stem cells altruism, and related research.

As a high school graduate with a gap year ahead, I decided to explore this complex story further. My journey took me on an expedition to Sualkuchi, (Here is a beautiful video two of my Indian cousins made of my experience in Assam), where I spent five months working with graduate students to develop a Medical Humanities program centered around KaviKrishna’s rural medical oncology clinic.

As a high school graduate (Lincoln-Sudbury Class of 2022) with a gap year ahead, I decided to explore this complex story further. My journey took me on an expedition to Sualkuchi, where I spent five months working with graduate students to develop a Medical Humanities program centered around KaviKrishna’s rural medical oncology clinic. Here’s a video that two of my Indian cousins made of my experience in Assam, and another video of a talk I gave about the program itself.

Through the work, I was immersed in a dynamic experience awash with interactions of people from every level of society, festivals rich with song and color, visits to cancer patients, and broken Assamese conversations. I came to understand KaviKrishna’s ultimate purpose: to uplift the culture and society of the weavers and artisans living in Sualkuchi and greater Kamrup (also in northeast India) through grassroots project-based initiatives and hardcore academic research. Through its Medical Humanities program, the Thoreau Laboratory aims to bring these research efforts, inspired by the weaving community, to the globe.

Currently, as an intern at both the Thoreau Lab for Global Health and KaviKrishna Lab, I am editing my dad’s book on “Recovering the Spirit of Jiva Upakara Tantra” that will illuminate the intricacies of this evolving research story. My experience working in these two organizations has given me an incredible window into the power of interdisciplinary research and its relevance in a time riddled with individual, environmental, and societal cancers. I have already introduced two Lincoln residents (Prerna Karmacharya and Alexander Payne) to the organization in their week-long visit to Assam. As I begin my undergraduate journey at Bowdoin College, I hope to continue to help develop the Medical Humanities program and bring its ideas to the liberal arts community.

If you’re inspired by my story, the Thoreau Laboratory is currently looking for high school and college students interested in developing their own projects related to biology, philosophy, sociology, etc. with a focus on stem cell work, altruism, and Hindu philosophy/education as a part of the Medical Humanities program. It is also looking for volunteers interested in developing a digital public relation project for KaviKrishna/Thoreau Lab through its YouTube and social media accounts. All participants will get a certificate from the lab following a successful completion of an agreed-upon project. Interested students can also join our weekly philosophical meetings co-led by Simon Karty to discuss the philosophy of Thoreau, Gandhi, science, and healthcare.

KaviKrishna and Thoreau Lab would love to hear from you! Find us at www.kavikrishnalab.org or www.thoreaulab.org, or email sonalisdas14@gmail.com or bdas@thoreaulab.org.

Lincoln resident Sonali Das will start her studies at Bowdoin College next month.

My Turn: Food pantry needs help with non-food items

July 2, 2023

By Karen Boyce

Summer is here and our donations, both monetary and grocery, are down. We have had to take a hard look at what we offer our clients and cut back on some areas. We are limiting dish soap, paper towels, toilet paper and laundry detergent and are focusing solely on providing protein foods, dairy, and fresh vegetables to our many clients. Local farmers are donating produce and eggs to us through the Lincoln Agriculture Commission. We are so thankful!

Please, at this very tentative time of year, consider making a donation to us. You can send a check to us at St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lincoln and Weston, PO Box 324, Lincoln, MA. You might add on the check that it is for the food pantry.

Would you rather donate a product? Costco is having a sale on paper towels! We also need small laundry detergent and small bottles of dish soap — toilet paper, too. You can leave the donations on the porch of the St. Joseph house, right beside the food pantry at 142 Lincoln Road (rear) in the blue bins. Even one bottle of dish soap helps us out. And as always, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and cereals are things we just cannot keep on the shelves. They are on sale everywhere. Thank you for your generosity. Happy Fourth of July!

Karen Boyce is chair of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lincoln and Weston food pantry.

My Turn: In support of a community center

June 22, 2023

By Sally Kindleberger

Recently I attended a Community Center Building Committee meeting in an effort to learn more about the process and the objections to a new building. I believe that we need to work together in a cooperative way.

When the schools were rebuilt, it was a huge cost to taxpayers. My taxes went up significantly, but I was willing to pay them because I believed that it is important to pay it forward to support the generation that is coming behind us. I have no kids, but I know education is one of the most important things we can do for our children, our future, and our country.

During the time that the schools were being built, folks that use the Recreation Department and the Council on Aging and Human Services were told to be patient — “once the schools are built, a community center will follow.” But low and behold, there has been a huge pushback. There are a number of people who want to reduce the building size significantly! This will make it difficult for the current programming to happen.

We have been told that activities could be housed elsewhere. That would put huge stress on the employees of all three departments, who would have to drive all over. We were told that people are being forced out of town because they can’t afford the taxes. I have talked to others who dispute this assertion. There are those who are demanding that the Parks and Rec Department and the COA&HS provide data proving the value of the project. This puts tremendous strain on the four full-time employees at the COA&HS. How can they do their real jobs if there is continuous demand that they prove their value? Perhaps those asking for and needing additional data could come and gather it themselves.

I attend many events at the COA&HS and before the pandemic, I was at the Rec Department taking classes twice every week.

I think it would really help those who question the value of this new building to take the time to attend classes and activities at both the COA&HS and the Rec Department. By attending programs/activities over time and talking to participants, you will see the real value of what is provided as well as some of the concerns about the current spaces. This can’t be done on a drop-in basis; one needs to spend time in order to fully experience the programs that are provided.

And there is so much more programing that could be provided. Off the top of my head I can think of five or six new classes that would be great — story telling, improvisation, sign language, Granny and Grandpa reading programs with little kids, support groups for struggling kids, tech support provide by the middle schoolers, self-defense, and much more. But we need a building with enough space to accommodate programming and to meet the needs of the hordes of baby boomers who are knocking at the door.

I do understand the concerns of people about costs, but if a building continues to be put on hold, or a new building can’t meet programming needs, what is the point? Costs will only go up and up. I don’t see them ever going down. Now is the time to seize the day and build something that everyone can be truly proud of. Lincoln is a town filled with creative and thoughtful minds. We need to work closely and collaboratively together to find a good solution to meet the needs of all!

Kindleberger is a Lincoln resident in North Commons.