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

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Lincoln School kids select two area nonprofits for grants

Lincoln School students with representatives of Youth in Philanthropy. Left to right: board member Laurie Cote, Director of Programs and Marketing Jackie Walker, and students Emilie Auger, Esther Adetoye, Amelia Pillar, Zaynab Azzouz, Sarah Lammert, Sonya Carson, Andreas Muzila, and Will Levy (click to enlarge).

Ten seventh- and eighth-graders from the Lincoln School involved with Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) presented $5,000 grants to Save a Dog and Lucy’s Love Bus after learning about several area nonprofits.

YIP is a program offered by the Foundation for MetroWest designed for middle and high school students interested in learning more about running a nonprofit, how donations are used, and what needs exist in their communities through a hands-on experience. For 15 weeks, the students (helped by social studies teacher Keith Johnson) learned about philanthropy, researched local nonprofits, reviewed their grant applications, conducted site visits to three nonprofits, and voted on the final grant recipients.

Although the students chose the nonprofits themselves, the money was actually donated by Lincoln’s Ogden Codman Trust, which funded a three-year program for students who live and/or learn in Lincoln. High school students who participate in YIP raise money themselves (Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School as well as schools in Concord, Wellesley, Hopkinton, and Natick have chapters). Since YIP’s inception, 1,100 area students have raised more than $1 million for the causes they’ve chosen. YIP also runs a four-day Summer Institute for Youth Leadership in Framingham in late June for middle and high school students.

For nearly 20 years, the Sudbury-based Save A Dog has rescued and re-homed abandoned dogs. “What we really liked about it is that it’s not just a kennel situation. They had a foster program as well, so people could see what [the dogs] were like,” said eight-grader Sonya Carson.

“This will greatly enhance our summer program for teens and allow us to keep the current teen coordinator as well as bring in an additional helper, who started at Save a Dog several years ago as a freshman volunteer,” said Shirley Moore, president and founder. “These teens will inspire others to continue volunteering in this program, providing enrichment for shelter dogs, and helping us find permanent homes for abandoned animals. We want to thank the Foundation for MetroWest and the Youth in Philanthropy students at the Lincoln School for allowing us this tremendous opportunity to enrich the lives of both young people and homeless dogs.”

Lucy’s Love Bus works to deliver comfort and quality of life to pediatric cancer patients by providing funds for free integrative therapies. It’s named for Lucy Grogan, who died of complications from leukemia at age 12. During her illness, friends and family raised money to help pay for therapies such as massage, acupuncture, art therapy, and therapeutic horseback riding. She dreamed of starting a program that would provide free integrative therapies to all children with cancer to help manage the side effects and late effects of traditional cancer treatment.

“It’s an honor to have been chosen by the Youth in Philanthropy students at the Lincoln School to receive this gift. I would like to thank them for their vision and generosity that will allow Lucy’s Love Bus to provide gentle integrative therapies to children who are coping with cancer in our region,” said Beecher Grogan, executive director and founder.

In addition to the grant giving ceremony at The Lincoln School, students involved in YIP programs at schools and communities across MetroWest are also making a positive impact on the region. Read more about the YIP program and their efforts here.

“It showed us you don’t have to be an adult to help; you can make a big difference even in middle school,” one of the students said.

News acorns

Cycling Safety Advisory Committee hosts coffee

The Lincoln Cycling Safety Advisory Committee invites residents to a coffee and chat on Saturday, May 6 at Trail’s End at 10:45 a.m. to learn more about how we are trying to make the town’s roads safer for all. The event will feature a safety talk by Ian Spencer of the Lincoln Police Department, some information on the new committee, and free coffee provided by the Lincoln Police Association. It will be run in conjunction with the local cycling club “The Monsters in the Basement” opening day activities. For those up for a longer ride at a modest pace (15-16 m.p.h.), the group will leave Fern’s in Carlisle Center at 9:30 a.m. using this route to arrive at Trail’s End by 10:45.

Brennan Srisirikul at First Parish

Brennan Srisirikul

The First Parish in Lincoln (FPL) will host Brennan Srisirikul at its service on Sunday, May 7 at 10 a.m. in the Parish House Auditorium (14 Bedford Road). He will speak along with Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti, FPL’s senior minister, and after sharing some of his life journey, he’ll will participate in a public question-and-answer session at 11:30 a.m. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, Mr. Sirisirikul is an actor who wrote a one-man show, “In My Own Little Corner,” seen at the Metropolitan Room in New York City. He recently gave the keynote address at the Massachusetts Federation for Children with Special Needs annual conference.

Sara Lewis to give talk on fireflies

Sara Lewis

Lincoln resident Sara Lewis, a professor of biology at Tufts University, will dive into the mysterious world of fireflies and reveal the most up-to-date discoveries about these charismatic insects in the first annual Chuck Roth Memorial Lecture on Thursday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m in the Morrison Theater at Newbury Court (100 Newbury Court, Concord). Roth, a Lincoln resident for more than 30 years, was credited as being the father of environmental literacy, an internationally recognized environmental educator and Mass Audubon’s first director of education. The lecture is co-sponsored by Newbury Court and by the Littleton Land Conservation Trust, where Roth served as director for many years.

Letter to the editor: Town Meeting funding preserves a piece of Lincoln history

letterTo the editor:

The residents of Lincoln approved a Community Preservation grant at the 2017 Annual Town Meeting to restore an important Lincoln sampler to its finest glory and prepare it for public display at Town Offices, including framing it with museum-quality UV filtering glass or acrylic. This is truly a beautiful piece of art, made by young Sophia Adams during her youth on Lincoln’s historic Battle Road in 1826.

The town of Lincoln has had the good fortune to have this beautiful 19th-century sampler donated to it by Cynthia Williams. She recently decided to move from Lincoln to be near her children, but she felt the sampler was created in Lincoln, and it should remain in Lincoln. It was wrought by her late husband’s great-grandmother, Sophia Adams, at 13 years of age. When she made it, this young teenager lived in Lincoln on Route 2A, the Battle Road. Then popularly known as Foster’s farm, her home was very close to the Paul Revere capture site. It had once been part of the property owned by William Smith, captain of the Lincoln Minute Men, who fought the British on April 19, 1775.

A sampler is a piece of embroidery worked in various stitches, commonly created by girls and young ladies as a specimen of skill and a testament to perseverance. Many samplers are family registers, recording births, marriages and deaths in a person’s life.

This sampler was a family register of Joseph Adams, created in 1826 by his daughter Sophia. Douglas Stinson, a local appraiser of antiques, estimated its value to be $10,000. At 31.5 inches x 21.5 inches, it is particularly significant because it is quite large compared to other samplers of its time. The textile curator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston recommended a reputable restoration conservator to assess this complex, fragile and significant piece.

The Sophia Adams sampler (click to enlarge).

The stitching was embroidered onto a particularly fine plain weave fabric and has a plain weave cotton backing. The yarn used was plied and unplied silk, and the stitching includes cross, satin, split stem and French knot stitches. Due to the fineness of the backing—unlike the coarser linen backing used on many samplers—this exquisite work would have been especially challenging for the 13-year-old to stitch. The register records the birth, four marriages and death of Joseph Adams, born March 10, 1759, to John and Abigail Adams of Milton, Mass. He was a distant cousin of President John Adams.

The sampler gives us an interesting insight into Joseph’s life. It lists his first marriage to Betsey Davis and each of the five children that marriage produced. Betsey died at age 34, less than two weeks after her youngest son’s birth. Ben was born August 7, 1799, and Betsey died on August 18. Having five young children to raise, Joseph married Rebecca Patch just over two years later. This was short-lived as Rebecca died within nine months. The sampler records that he then married Mehitable Hildreth, who bore him three children, the youngest being Sophia, who created the sampler. Mehitable died when Sophia was six.

Joseph married for the last time in 1821. He wed Lincoln widow Lydia Winship, née Wheeler, who may have taught Sophia to sew. Lydia owned the Foster property, which had been left to her on the death of her first husband, Benjamin Winship, in 1819. Winship had originally purchased this land from widow Catherine Louisa Smith, whose husband Captain William Smith was a younger brother of Abigail Adams, wife of the second President. Benjamin and Lydia Winship had only one daughter, also named Lydia, who died at age 16. All three of them have their final resting place at Meeting House Burial Ground behind Bemis Hall.

Joseph Adams moved to Lincoln with his family when he married Lydia Winship. Interestingly, Lydia wrote an agreement—with her husband’s consent—that the land would not become Joseph’s, as was tradition, but it remained in Lydia’s name. Just before Lydia Adams’s death in 1825, she leased the property to her dear friend Susan Brooks with conditions, engaging her friend to lease it back to her husband Joseph, “to hold to him the said Adams for and during the term of his natural life provided the said Joseph does not again get married.” Lydia provided that if Joseph remarried, he would lose the option to lease the property.

This agreement was very unusual during a period when a wife’s holdings normally become the husband’s property to control. Perhaps this was due to a lesson learned from the previous owner of the land, Catherine Louisa (Salmon) Smith. Catherine Louisa had received the land from her stepfather, but upon her marriage to William Smith, it became the property of her husband. William Smith had financial difficulties, so the farm was mortgaged to Catherine Louisa’s father-in-law a number of times, but he eventually returned it to her and her children. There were two houses on the Smith property: one where the Smiths lived, which is still standing across from the end of Bedford Road; the other was a rental that became the Foster-Winship-Adams residence where Sophia worked on her sampler. While her home is no longer standing, the site is now part of Minute Man National Historical Park.

Sophia’s father was a housewright by trade, more commonly known today as a builder, and he likely built some of Lincoln’s early houses during his years living here. In 1827, for $500, he sold his right to lease the 90-acre farm. Joseph died in Concord in 1830, leaving notes in hand (cash assets) to the value of $2,133.73 and $178.18 worth in furnishings and tools. Sophia herself later married and had two sons and a daughter.

Lincoln is very fortunate to now have Sophia’s sampler as a permanent reminder of our community’s historic roots and of the fabric of families who once called Lincoln home.

Sincerely,

Valerie Fox, Deputy Town Clerk
250 South Great Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Camuti convicted of killing Rakes and dumping body in Lincoln

The approximate location where Stephen Rakes’ body was found in Lincoln on July 17, 2013 (click to enlarge).

William Camuti, 72, of Sudbury was convicted of first-degree murder today by a Middlesex Superior Court jury in connection with the 2013 death of Stephen Rakes, 59, of Quincy, whose body he dumped on Mill Street in Lincoln after poisoning him in 2013. The jury also found the defendant guilty of improper disposal of human remains and two counts of misleading a police officer. Judge Bruce Henry scheduled sentencing for Thursday, April 27.

The following account is from a press release from the office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan. Scroll down for links to Lincoln Squirrel articles from 2013.

William Camuti, 72, of Sudbury, was convicted of first-degree murder today by a Middlesex Superior Court jury in connection with the 2013 death of Stephen Rakes, 59, of Quincy. The jury also found the defendant guilty of improper disposal of human remains and two counts of misleading a police officer. Judge Bruce Henry scheduled sentencing for Thursday, April 27 at 10 a.m.

“Deeply in debt to his long-time business partner Stephen Rakes, William Camuti offered to meet the victim to discuss financial matters over coffee,” said District Attorney Ryan. “Unbeknownst to the victim, the defendant had laced the victim’s coffee with potassium cyanide to avoid paying the $100,000 he owed the victim. The defendant then waited for his so-called friend to die before leaving the victim in the woods in Lincoln. When questioned by authorities, the defendant made a concerted and deliberate effort to mislead Massachusetts State Police and Lincoln Police. Thanks to the diligent work of these two law enforcement agencies and the prosecutors assigned to this case, today the jury found the defendant guilty of his crimes.”

Lincoln Chief of Police Kevin Kennedy added, “Thank you to my officers in the Lincoln Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police and the prosecutors who worked tirelessly to investigate and prosecute this case. Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Stephen Rakes and we hope that today’s verdict will bring them closure.”

On Wednesday, July 17, 2013, at approximately 1:30 p.m., a jogger running past a wooded area on Mill Street in Lincoln discovered the body of Stephen Rakes. Lincoln Police and Massachusetts State Police responded and immediately began an investigation.

Surveillance video showed Rakes leaving the Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse, where he had been regularly attending the trial of Whitey Bulger, on the afternoon of July 16, 2013. He was wearing the same clothing when his body was discovered; however, the victim did not have a phone, keys or identification on his person.

Authorities learned that Camuti arranged to meet the victim around 1:45 p.m. at McDonald’s in Waltham on July 16 under the guise of discussing a real estate deal in Wilmington. The defendant purchased two iced coffees, one of which he mixed with two teaspoons of potassium cyanide. He gave the laced drink to the victim, who drank it.

The defendant then drove around Waltham, Woburn, Burlington, and Lincoln for several hours with the victim in the vehicle. He later dumped the body of Rakes in the wooded area in Lincoln where it was found the next day.

In the course of the investigation, authorities discovered Internet searches on the defendant’s computer including ways to purchase cyanide and queries such as, “Will the taste of coffee change if it is mixed with sodium or potassium cyanide?” Authorities also learned that the defendant was deeply in debt to the victim at the time of the murder.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner would later determine the cause of death to be acute potassium cyanide poisoning. Camuti was arrested on August 2, 2013.

This case was investigated by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and the Lincoln Police Department. 

Lincoln Squirrel stories from 2013:

Annual forum on school priorities on Thursday

The Lincoln School Committee and administration invite parents, faculty, and community members to provide input into developing the school district’s 2017-18 strategic priorities at the third annual Strategic Priorities Community Forum on Thursday, April 27 from 7–9 p.m. in the Hartwell Multipurpose Room.

The meeting will feature an overview of of the school district vision and strategic plan; faculty presentations of current classroom practices that represent the district’s priorities; and community conversation about hopes, expectations, and priorities for the district to consider for the coming year.

Developing the annual District Strategic Plan involves gathering of input from stakeholder groups, a review of the district’s progress toward achieving current goals, and discussion of appropriate next steps in order to move forward toward achieving the district’s vision for education in the Lincoln Public Schools. The district’s current strategic priorities are focused on the delivery of curriculum and instruction that engages students at high levels and supports the academic, creative, social, and emotional development of all students.

LSF bee celebrates 10 years of spelling acumen

Third-grade winners: The Word Wizards: Henry Hussey, Rahul Rani, and Alex Zipes. Adults, left to right: Principal Kristen St. James; and teachers Scot Dexter, Jen Mastrullo, and Debbie Carpenito. (More photos below; click to enlarge)

The Lincoln School Foundation (LSF) celebrated a decade of student spelling prowess and a new contest format at the annual town-wide spelling bee on April 2.

In keeping with the LSF’s mission to bring innovative ideas into our schools, last year’s fifth-graders piloted a new style of spelling bee competition. Every team was given the same word to spell out on a whiteboard, and double elimination ensured that one extraordinarily hard word didn’t wipe out the whole group unfairly. Thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response, the pilot format was improved and fully implemented for all grades this year.

Similar to last year, the double elimination rule remained and all teams in a heat received the same words, but whiteboards were traded in for laptops, and teams’ final answers were projected on screens, making it easier for the audience to see. A judge then asked one team member to spell the word out loud for the audience to hear.

“The LSF folks who have run the bee over the years have been really responsive to the feedback they’ve received from the judges and pronouncers. It’s become a great community event,” said Brooks School Principal Sharon Hobbs.

“The students were well prepared and it was a terrific addition to have each team spell and display every word. We are so fortunate to have LSF as a partner, not only for this amazingly well-organized event, but in their ability to contribute so positively to the school community by funding grants to further teaching and learning,” said Smith School Principal Sarah Collmer.

Third-grade teams kicked off the day with four heats of competition, the winners of which went on to the championship round. The Word Wizards with teammates Henry Hussey, Rahul Rani, Alex Zipes won the championship round with the word diligently.

Three heats of fourth-grade teams competed to make it to the championship round. Under the team name Gold Troph-Bees, Polly Zimmerman, Bella Chen, Brooklynn Masso won the final round with the word avocado.

Bee Dazzled, the winning sixth-grade team. Left to right: Principal Erich Ledebuhr; Lincoln Public Library children’s librarian Debbie Leopold; teacher Becca Fasciano, and spellers Allie Schwartz, Lily Huang, and Francesca Liu.

Fifth-grade winners The Cocoa Crew. Left to right: Principal Erich Ledebuhr; Lincoln Public Library children’s librarian Debbie Leopold, Principal Sharon Hobbs, and spellers Mina Tanner, Mackenzie White and Rori Page.

The Gold Troph-Bees, who won the fourth-grade competition. Front row, left to right: Polly Zimmerman, Bella Chen, and Brooklynn Masso. Back row, left to right: Principal Sarah Collmer, Officer Ian Spencer, and Lincoln Parks and Recreation Director Dan Pereira.

Two heats of fifth grade teams competed with The Cocoa Crew, Mina Tanner, Mackenzie White and Rori Page Cramer winning by spelling the final word linguist.

For the sixth grade, it was Allie Schwartz, Lily Huang, and Francesca Liu as team Bee Dazzled, who ended the bee by correctly spelling the word doldrums. This was the team’s fourth consecutive bee.

The event saw the usual great support from school faculty and the community. Many thanks to the pronouncers: Superintendent Becky McFall, Assistant Superintendent Patricia Kinsella, Principals Kristen St. James, Collmer, Hobbs, and Erich Ledebuhr; and the judges: teachers Jennifer Mastrullo, Debbie Carpenito, Scot Dexter, and Becca Fasciano, Officer Ian Spencer from Lincoln Police Department, Lincoln Parks and Recreation Director Dan Pereira, Lincoln Public Library Children’s Librarian Debbie Leopold, and Director of the Lincoln Extended-day Acivities Program (LEAP) Katie Hawkins.

The LSF also thanks Lincoln School Director of Technology Rob Ford, James Suttie, and the LPS audio/visual staff for helping to implement the new format seamlessly.

L ocal businesses that sponsored the bee included Coppe and Sears Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics in Lexington, ARTSmart New England, MD+A, Budget Printing in Concord, Boston Sports Clubs, Doherty’s Garage, Donelan’s Supermarkets, Sky Salon, Exoprise, Hanscom Air Force Base Commissary, The Toy Shop of Concord, Party City, Beehive Art, and Something Special.

The LSF spelling bee is also an opportunity for Lincoln School and Hanscom Middle School (HMS) students to come together. “The thing I like the most about the spelling bee is that is brings students from both our campuses together at an event that is academically oriented and that helps to support our district,” said HMS Principal Erich Ledebuhr.

“The LSF Spelling Bee is a wonderful event that brings students and families from Lincoln, Boston, and Hanscom together for fun with a purpose, supporting the great work of the Lincoln School Foundation. LSF grants lead to innovative and engaging learning experiences for our students,” McFall said.

LSF is a nonprofit organization, and donations from the Lincoln community provide seed money that allow teachers to bring new and innovative tools and techniques to the classroom. Funded projects in 2016-17 included a station-based model for social studies instruction at HMS; support for the creation of curriculum and resources to help encourage the use of yoga, mindfulness, and relaxation by both the students and faculty in the Smith School; funding to host Urban Improv for both HMS and Brooks middle school students and teachers; and maker spaces at two schools.

Clarification

In an April 13 story about the formation of a new School Building Committee, the qualifications for potential board members was mischaracterized. The story should have said that the SBC is seeking four or five community members with experience in fields that are relevant to the committee’s work, such as architecture, planning or design, project management, or community engagement. The original story has been updated to reflect this clarification.

Wong’s contract extended at L-S

Bella Wong

The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee unanimously approved an extension of Superintendent/Principal Bella Wong’s contract through June 30, 2020.

“The School Committee is grateful for Bella’s many contributions to Lincoln-Sudbury over the four years in which she has served as Superintendent/Principal,” Elena Kleifges, chair of the committee, said in a press release. “Her compelling vision for 21st-century education and the promotion of equity and excellence for all students have become part of the fabric of the high school, and the towns of Lincoln and Sudbury have been the beneficiaries of Bella’s strong financial and operational management during a challenging period. We look forward to her continued contributions over the next three years.”

Wong has served as superintendent/principal of the district since July 1, 2013 (and as acting superintendent/principal before that), and she also was a science teacher and department coordinator at L-S from 1991 to 1998.
Wong told the Lincoln Squirrel that managing our budget over the past few years to maximize benefit to students has been the biggest challenge during her current tenure. “We were able to manage fixed costs like healthcare and utilities in order to be able to sustain current staffing and add a few new programs and/or improvements,” she said. “Our staff is really great at staying abreast of opportunities to keep the curriculum fresh, relevant and challenging for themselves to teach and for students to learn. One of the best achievements is being able to support those endeavors through summer workshops and additional professional development we can offer. I feel we are more conscious of what we each are doing in the effort to coordinate our efforts and promote collaboration across all departments toward creating best options for all students.”
How to prepare students for “a rapidly changing world environment” will be a key issue going forward, she said. “How do we find the right balance of skill development and content knowledge across all disciplines in four years? More critically, how do we instill a positive growth mindset in all of our students—a ‘can do ‘ attitude that will help them overcome any challenge they will face in time to come?” she said.

Prior to her current position, she was assistant superintendent and later superintendent of the Wellesley Public Schools. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Harvard University, did graduate study in molecular biology at Stanford University, earned a law degree at the University of California—Davis, and has a master’s degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

News acorns

Trial begins for man accused of dumping body in Lincoln

The approximate location where Stephen Rakes’ body was found in Lincoln in July 2013 (click to enlarge).

The Boston Globe published this April 6 article on the prosecution’s account of the last day of  Stephen “Stippo” Rakes, whose body was discovered in Lincoln in 2013. April 5 was the opening day of the trial of William Camuti of Sudbury. Police say Camuti, former owner of the Loan Depot, poisoned Rakes with cyanide in his iced coffee in Waltham, then drove around the area for hours before dumping the body on Mill Street in Lincoln. He is charged with first-degree murder, improper disposal of a body, and two counts of lying to police.

Lincoln Squirrel stories from 2013:

Boy Scouts seek new members

The Lincoln Boy Scouts are looking for new members in grades 5 and up. Several camping trips are planned before the end of the school year, as well as many other activities and learning opportunities. The troop meets every Wednesday evening at the Mason Lodge in Lincoln. Fof more information, email Chris Bursaw at cbursaw@seguincapital.com.

Artist’s presentation on wild ponies of Assateague

The Lincoln Public Library presents “The Wild Ponies of Assateague Island” with artist Rob Franco on Thursday, April 20 at 7 p.m. in the Tarbell Room. Franco will present a DVD and share how the approximately 300 ponies that wander freely on the island have influenced his paintings. His paintings are on display in the library’s Main Art Gallery during April.

Lecture at deCordova by landscape photographer

Laura McPhee, Late Summer (Drifting Fireweed), 2007, C-print, 70″ x 90″ inches. Gift of the artist and Carroll and Sons, Boston. Photo by Rick Mansfield of Anchor Imagery.

Boston-based photographer Laura McPhee will give the 2017 Paul J. Cronin Memorial Lecture on Thursday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. McPhee, a professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, is known for her stunning large-scale photographs that chronicle how we value and use the landscape. Free and open to all; seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. McPhee travels extensively with her large-format camera to document landscapes both strange and familiar in lush color and exquisite detail. Her past projects include photographing the forests of central Idaho, the domestic architecture of Kolkata, India, and the Gateway National Recreation Area in coastal New York and New Jersey.