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

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Ugly sweater party to benefit FELS

The Rustic Twenty-Nine restaurant (29 Hudson Rd., Sudbury) is hosting an Ugly Sweater Party on Thursday, Dec. 26. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Foundation for Educators at Lincoln-Sudbury. Bring friends and enjoy holiday movies, festive cocktails, door prizes and raffles in support of FELS. No reservations necessary — just don your ugliest attire and bring what’s left of your holiday cheer. Show your Facebook RSVP at the door to get two free raffle tickets.

Indian ballet performance at Bemis

Biswajit Das, the lead dancer from the international Saptavarna troupe that toured the United States and visited last summer, is returning to the Boston area over the holidays and will perform in Lincoln on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 4 p.m. in Bemis Hall. the event is free for Lincoln residents. Das will perform the traditional new year ritual that takes place each year at the Konark Sun Temple in India.

Winter wonderland (Lincoln Through the Lens)

An early winter snowfall blankets trees in Minute Man National Historic Park. (Photo by Ron Boisseau)

Readers may submit photos for consideration for Lincoln Through the Lens by emailing them to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. If your photo is published, you’ll receive credit in the Squirrel. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and include the date, location, and names of any people who are identifiable in the photo. Previously published photos can be viewed on the Lincoln Through the Lens page of the Lincoln Squirrel.

Police log for week of December 6, 2019

December 6

Deerhaven Road (1:19 p.m.) — Officer delivered court paperwork.

Lincoln Road near Codman Road — Two-car crash. One person transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.

Wells Road — Confused elderly resident requesting assistance. Spoke to resident and assured them all is fine.

Hanscom Air Force Base (10:54 a.m.) — Pagano Modesto, 43, of Wakefield was arrested on a warrant for leaving the scene of a crash. 

December 7

Concord Road (9:35 a.m.) — Family member requested a well-being check on a party driving on Concord Road and says they’re tracking the party’s phone. Driver reported to be in Concord; call transferred to Concord Police Department.

Transfer station, North Great Road — Caller complaining that the cardboard recycling bin is full. Call transferred to the DPW.

Beaver Pond Road (10:49 a.m.) — Party reported odor of natural gas. National Grid contacted to check the area. 

Tower Road — (10:50 a.m.) — Reported odor of natural gas. National Grid contacted to check the area.

Deerhaven Road (1:50 p.m.) — Caller reports a phone wire fell in the roadway. Verizon contacted.

Food Project field, Concord Road — Caller reports her vehicle is stuck in the snow at the Food Project lot. Tow truck was contacted to assist.

Wells Road (9:56 p.m.) — Elderly resident requesting assistance. Advised that all is fine at the residence.

December 8

Codman Road (9:50 p.m.) — Caller reports an injured deer on the side of the road. Officers unable to locate the deer.

Wells Road (11:56 p.m.) — Elderly resident requesting assistance. Advised that all is fine at the residence.

Department of Public Works (2:01 a.m.) — Officer found footsteps in the snow around the cell tower and open door. Cell tower company notified.

Ryan Estate, Lincoln Road (3:03 a.m.) — Party called with a civil matter; officer assisted them with information.

Ryan Estate, Lincoln Road (4:28 a.m.) — Party called again about same issue; was given same information.

December 9

Lincoln Road (2:20 p.m.) — Low-hanging wire. Verizon contacted.

Wells Road (3:17 p.m.) — Call complained about a door-to-door solicitor, who was informed of the bylaw and sent on their way.

December 10

Weston Road (3:00 p.m.) — Caller reports a worker saw a van pull into their driveway earlier and then leave. Officers checked the area and were unable to locate. 

Wells Road (3:34 p.m.) — Same elderly resident requesting to speak to an officer. No issue at the residence.

Old Lexington Road (5:38 p.m.) — Officer assisted parties after a minor two-car crash.

December 11

Rte. 117 at the railroad tracks (12:54 a.m.) — Hazardous pothole in road reported; DPW contacted.

Lincoln Public Library (5:01 p.m.) — Andan Thi, 57, of Acton was arrested on a warrant from Harvard University Police for trespassing.

December 12

Old County Road (6:28 a.m.) — Report of deer in Cambridge Reservoir. Fire Department assisted in getting it out of the water.

Tower Road (11:31 a.m.) — Caller reported goats in the road. Neighbor returned them to their residence.

Hemlock Circle — Resident walked into police station to report an ongoing neighbor dispute. Officer took a report to document the complaint.

Monopod waterfowl (Lincoln Through the Lens)

A group of Canada geese huddle from the cold — but one leg stays exposed. (Photo by Harold McAleer)

Readers may submit photos for consideration for Lincoln Through the Lens by emailing them to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. If your photo is published, you’ll receive credit in the Squirrel. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and include the date, location, and names of any people who are identifiable in the photo. Previously published photos can be viewed on the Lincoln Through the Lens page of the Lincoln Squirrel.

LEGOPalooza brings STEM excitement to Lincoln

Left to right: GearTicks Audrey Gammack, Ben Morris, Erin Crisafi, Laura Appleby, Amelia Pillar, and Prerna Karmacharya at LEGOPalooza (click to enlarge).

By Olivia Crisafi

On November 23, 12 teams of Lincoln School students wrapped up their FIRST Lego League Jr. (FLL Jr.) season at Lincoln’s Reed Field House for the second Annual Lincoln Legopalooza. The event, organized by the Lincoln GearTicks, was created last year to showcase and celebrate the months of hard work each team had put into their Lego models and programs.

The GearTicks are a local FIRST Tech Challenge team comprised of middle and high school students who take pride in spreading their engineering knowledge with students in the local community. Kevin Ji, who attended and helped organize the LEGOpalooza both years, said he enjoyed seeing the kids he mentored using their creativity to solve engineering problems.

FLL Jr., a hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) enrichment program by the robotics organization FIRST, was first introduced to Lincoln’s existing program last year. The GearTicks thought that even earlier exposure to STEM activities would benefit Lincoln’s youth, and parents were thrilled with the prospect of signing FLL students’ younger siblings up for FLL Jr.

Over the course of two months, teams of six K-3 students worked to solve the annual challenge put out by FIRST. This year, the challenge, “Boomtown Build,” encouraged the young engineers to use their love of LEGO to imagine, design, and create a healthy and happy community.

The teams ran with this mission and thought of fun and creative solutions to real-world problems. The Lincoln Elephants were excited to share their mall equipped with a chocolate store, and a Japanese restaurant that featured an industrial-inspired lifting car garage. The Golden Dragons utilized the motor in the We-Do kit to create a moving drawbridge for their castle.

Along with parent coaches and GearTick mentors, teams from Lincoln and Sudbury met after school and on the weekends to build and program Lego models. They then worked to create a “Show Me” poster documenting their process.

To foster a fun environment, the GearTicks led a free build table, a medal decoration table, and a robot pit as well as gave each team a thematic trophy. “I was thrilled to see how far the students had come with their intricate programs and carefully designed models,” GearTick team member Audrey Gammack said.

“FLL Jr. is a great start to the progression of FIRST programs that leads to FLL and FTC for older students,” GearTicks coach Anne Hutchinson said.

Letter to the editor: Abrams inspires support for voting rights organization

To the editor:

The right to vote is a nonpartisan issue. It represents the “voice” of the electorate and is a right of all citizens — except that, in reality, it is not. Stacey Abrams, however, is doing what she can to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to vote.

More than four hundred concerned and enthusiastic voters, including voters from Lincoln, attended a meeting sponsored by Force Multiplier in Wellesley on December 4 to meet Stacey Abrams, the founder of Fair Fight, the nonprofit organization established to fight voter suppression in Georgia and in the nation.

Fighting for fair elections — and fighting against voter suppression — is the key mandate of Fair Fight, and an issue on which we can all come together. Abrams asserted that many problems prevent fair elections — foreign intervention, lack of uniform federal voting standards, corruption, and disinformation — exist, but we can’t overcome all of them immediately. Fair Fight’s immediate aims are practical and on the ground: train poll watchers to oversee the elections, assure accessible polling stations, provide aid to voters, have lawyers on call, and give reliable information to voters ahead of time.

Following the 2018 race for governor of Georgia, Abrams, the Democratic candidate who lost by 55,000 votes, led efforts to study the role of voter suppression in the election. She and other analysts learned that 1.4 million people were removed from the list of registered voters, including 570,000 people who were purged in one day. They were removed because they had not voted in recent elections and were considered “not to exist.” Abrams asserted that the “sacrosanct” right to vote must not be sacrificed to assure the election of those who want to stay in power.

In Georgia, the contested race for governor was not “called” by the networks for 10 days because of irregularities. After the elections, 50,000 voters called the hot line to try to understand why they were told they did not “exist.” Abrams herself, when she went to vote, was informed that she had already voted. A Yale-trained lawyer, with cameras from CBS, NBC, Fox News and other networks observing the exchange, Abrams prevailed and cast her vote for governor.

Abrams, a charismatic speaker and passionate advocate for fair elections, received at least three standing ovations for her words and her work. She answered numerous questions from a well-informed and concerned audience. When asked about the Electoral College, she asserted that the Electoral College itself creates voter suppression and ought to be eliminated. “It’s not about giving Idaho an equal chance to elect the president,” she said.

In response to a question of how we in Massachusetts could help, Abrams suggested we go to the organization’s web pages at www.fairfight.com and fairfight.com/fair-fight-2020. The former fosters voter education and advocates electoral reform at all levels. The latter is focused on the upcoming election and will fund, staff, and train voter protection teams in 20 battleground states. These team members will be hired locally so they’ll know the vulnerable communities they’re trying to protect.

We are co-chairs of the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee. We strongly believe that the right to vote should be supported by all of us, whether Democrats, Republicans, independents, or otherwise. In her newly established organization, Stacey Abrams offers us an opportunity to make a commitment to this right of citizenship.

Sincerely,

Joan Kimball and Barbara Slayter
Co-chairs, Lincoln Democratic Town Committee

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.

Service this Saturday at St. Anne’s for James Spindler

James Spindler

A memorial service will be held at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 11 a.m. for James Walter Spindler, a resident of Lincoln since 1968, who died on December 7 at the age of 80.

From 1968 to 1979, Spindler practiced law in Boston with Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale), concentrating on securities and mergers and acquisitions work. In 1979 he became the first in-house counsel for Computervision Corp., a tech company based in Bedford. Beginning in 1985 he pioneered the provision of legal services as independent general counsel for companies which lacked full-time in-house counsel. In 1992 he co-founded and chaired for about 15 years the Association of Independent General Counsel, an informal organization that hosted speakers, discussed legal questions and practice management issues, and served as a support group for its members.            

Spindler was Lincoln’s representative to SILC, a subregional planning organization, from 1969 to 1975.  From 1977–83 he served as a member of the Lincoln School Committee and was chair in 1980–81. He served on the Lincoln Commission on Disabilities from 2007–09, representing the commission on the committee overseeing the renovation of the town offices. He was senior warden of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church for two terms and sang bass in its choir for 25 years. A high point of his service at St. Anne’s was chairing the search committee that in 1986 recommended the calling of Mark Hollingsworth, Jr., who became its new rector.

In 1984 Spindler won the Lincoln Public Library Centennial Spelling Contest. His older son, David, then a junior in high school, was runner-up. He could frequently be seen working in the yard and fields of their 1846 Greek revival house, which he and his wife renovated. He often walked on nearby roads as therapy for Parkinson’s disease (diagnosed in 1990) and enjoyed visiting with neighbors along the way.

Spindler loved all things related to language: reading, etymology, editing, and foreign languages.  He studied Russian, Latin, and French, and learned German as an adult. As a young teenager, he composed gibberish chants for his nieces and nephews that they can still recite (“Beep moo see so battery boo…”)

In addition to reading, Spindler enjoyed swimming, playing squash and tennis, playing the piano, singing, and listening to music. He could easily be located wherever there was food, unabashedly helping himself to seconds and thirds on dessert. Every weekend he would make a pancake or waffle lunch for his family.

Spindler graduated from Cornell University, where he majored in government, took a number of courses in Russian, rowed on the men’s varsity heavyweight crew, chaired the Student Government Academic Affairs Committee, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year.He was a member of Cornell’s varsity eight-man crew that in 1961 was runner-up in both the Eastern Sprints Championships and the IRA Regatta, which served as collegiate rowing’s national championships at the time. He received the Eastern College Athletic Conference award as the most outstanding scholar-athlete in his graduating class.

Spindler was selected as the class marshal for his Cornell College of Arts and Sciences graduating class. During the summer after his freshman year, he was the tallest member of the specially recruited World’s Tallest Laundry Crew, who used their formidable reach to fold 106-inch sheets for resorts in Glacier National Park.

In the summer of 1961 following graduation, Spindler traveled to Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and Poland as a member of a group of 11 students representing the National Council of Churches. The trip, which focused on religious life in the countries visited, occurred at a time when few U.S. citizens were able to travel behind the Iron Curtain. On the trip he bought a Russian fur hat, which he wore so frequently in the family’s 1962 VW Beetle that it finally wore a hole in the roof upholstery.

After earning a degree from Harvard Law School, Spindler went on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps and attained the rank of captain. He served as a legal officer (prosecutor and defense counsel) in Vietnam with the Third Marine Division and then in California (doing primarily appellate review work) with the Fifth Marine Division. During law school and for about 15 years thereafter, he worked with Professor Harold Berman in translating the Russian Criminal Codes and Judiciary Act, published by Harvard University Press.

Spindler is survived by his wife of 55 years, Mary Griffing Spindler of Lincoln, whom he married on August 29, 1964 at the Presbyterian Church on Shelter Island, N.Y.; son David Neill Spindler and wife K.C. Swanson, of Arlington, Va.; son Henry Carlton Spindler and wife Carol Bertucci Spindler of Keene, N.H.; and five grandchildren (Samantha Dorothy and Clara Abigail Spindler of Arlington, and Hannah Madeline, Megan Elizabeth and Evan Bernard Spindler of Keene).   

Born in Middletown, Ohio to Walter Herbert Spindler of Peoria, Ill. and Mayme Laue Spindler of Shumway, Ill., Spindler was preceded in death by his three older siblings, Donald Charles Spindler of Parma, Ohio, Margery Anne Spindler McIntosh of Middletown, Ohio, and Alan Herbert Spindler of Davenport, Iowa. He is survived by numerous nieces and nephews, only a few of whom learned the gibberish chants.

A reception in the church will follow the December 14 service. Burial in the Lincoln Cemetery will be private. Gifts may be made in his name to Parkinson’s Foundation, 200 SE 1st St., Suite 800, Miami FL 33131 or www.parkinson.org, and St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 6, Lincoln MA 01773, c/o Music Fund.

Arrangements are under the care of Glenn D. Burlamachi of Concord Funeral Home. To share a memory or offer a condolence, visit www.concordfuneral.com.

Police log for week of Nov. 29, 2019

November 29

Longmeadow Road (3:07 p.m.) — Caller reports a dog coming onto their property for about a month. The dog officer was contacted to follow up with the caller.

Lexington Road (4:09 p.m.) — Neighbor reports signs being put up that are harassing in nature. Report taken; civil matter.

Old Concord Road (11:01 p.m.) — Caller reports seeing a light on at the residence via the security system. House checked; all is fine.

November 30

Concord Road (8:15 a.m.) — Caller complaining about landscapers using leaf blowers before 9 a.m. Officer spoke to the landscapers about the town bylaw.

December 1

Mt. Misery Parking Lot (3:23 p.m.) — Caller reports an injured dog. They were gone upon arrival of the officer after leaving and heading to the vet.

December 2

Lincoln Road (7:50 a.m.) — Minor motor vehicle crash, no injuries. Officers assisted with the involved parties exchanging papers.

Trapelo Road (1:27 p.m.) — Officer attempted to serve court paperwork.

Garland Road (2:57 p.m.) — Caller reports fresh shoe prints in the snow around her house. They were later found to be a from contractor doing work at the house which the caller was unaware of.

Rte. 117 at Old Sudbury Road (5:11 p.m.) — Minor two-car motor vehicle crash, no injuries. Officers took a report.

Wells Road (11:16 p.m.) — Caller reported their child over age 12 is missing. Party located the following day in Waltham and returned home.

December 3

Tower Road (9:11 a.m.) — Caller reports electrical wires arcing at the telephone pole. Fire Department responded and Eversource was contacted.

Lexington Road (1:30 p.m.) — Resident walked into station to report an ongoing neighbor dispute (civil in nature).

December 4

Liberty Lane — Resident walked into station reporting losing money as part of an online scam. Investigation ongoing.

130 Lowell St., Newton (3:01 p.m.) — Lt. Sean Kennedy and Det. Ian Spencer with U.S. Postal Inspector and Newton police arrested Pierre Fiote, 31 of 95 Spencer St., Dorchester on an arrest warrant obtained as a result of an ongoing fraud investigation. Lincoln police transported him to the Billerica House of Corrections.

December 5

Wells Road (12:38 a.m.) — Elderly party reporting suspicious activity at her residence. Officers arrived and assured the party all was fine.

Trapelo Road (12:27 p.m.) —  Elderly party locked themselves inside the garage. Fire Department assisted in opening the door.

Drumlin Farm, 208 South Great Rd. (4:04 p.m.) — Child was accidentally locked inside a vehicle. Fire Department assisted in gaining access.

December 6

Wells Road (12:29 a.m.) — Elderly resident reporting suspicious activity. Officer on scene again assuring that everything is fine.

News acorns

Artist’s reception with Chester

There will be an artist’s reception for “Storytelling: An Exhibit” by Lincoln artist Sarah Chester on Wednesday, Dec. 11 from 5–7 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Library. For more information, email Chester at schester636@gmail.com.

Toys for Tots drive

The Lincoln Police Department is sponsoring a Toys for Tots drive at the Lincoln Public Safety Building (169 Lincoln Rd.). Donations will be accepted until Thursday, Dec. 12. For more information, please call 781-259-8113.

Cookies and cider at book sale

The monthly Friends of the Lincoln Library book sale and jigsaw puzzle swap/sale on Saturday, Dec. 14 in Bemis Hall from 9 a.m.–noon will include home-made cookies and cider as well as cookbooks galore and many other adult and children’s books. FoLL also has a cart of recently discarded library books for sale at $2.00 apiece on a cart inside the library.

Christmas events at St. Anne’s

  • The high-school Teen Formation group at Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church is planning an Advent service of anticipation at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15. Join us to sing and to ponder the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary as we prepare to welcome Mary’s child into the world. 
  • On Sunday, Dec. 22 at 5 p.m., St. Anne’s will offer Christmas Lessons and Carols. This a festive celebration is modeled on the famous and beloved Anglican service of Nine Lessons and Carols held in King’s College, Cambridge, using traditional language, the King James Bible, favorite congregational carols, and glorious anthems sung by the choir. 
  • On Christmas Eve (Tuesday, Dec. 24), there will be worship services at 3 p.m. (Family Holy Eucharist) and and 5:30 and 10 p.m. (Holy Eucharist with choir). On Sunday, Dec. 29, there will be a service of Holy Eucharist at 9 a.m. The normal worship schedule (Holy Eucharist at 8:a.m., Holy Eucharist with choir at 10 a.m.) returns on Sunday, Jan. 5.

Robert Frost series at library

The Lincoln Public Library  the Council on Aging present “Exploring the Poetry of Robert Frost” with Stephen Collins, a four-session interactive seminar on the poetry of Robert Frost, on Saturdays, January 4, 11, 18, and 25 at 2 p.m. All sessions will be held at the library except for January 18, which will be at Bemis Hall. Collins performs one-man shows and teaches courses on historical figures like Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Frost, James MacNeill Whistler, and Shakespeare. No registration required; come to one session or the entire series.

News acorns

Memorial for L-S coach Ando on Dec. 14

Yoshitaka Ando

There will be a memorial service on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 9:45 a.m. at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School for longtime athletic trainer Yoshitaka Ando, who died on December 3. Hundreds of people are expected from all over the country, so please plan to arrive early and carpool if at all possible. More information from the family and comments from the community are available on this CaringBridge web page. His family has also established the Ando Family Fund where people can make online donations to support the education of his four children.

The L-S Music Department’s mattress fundraiser/chamber concert and Music Zoo and chamber concert that were scheduled for December 14 have been postponed until Sunday, Feb. 9. 

Holiday ornament workshop at deCordova

Create a clay ornament of your own design inspired by winter at deCordova on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. For ages 8+ (children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult). All levels welcome. Click here to sign up.

“Coping with the Holidays” workshop

Care Dimensions will offer “Coping with the Holidays,” a workshop that will explore ways to manage the stress of the holiday season, particularly if you are grieving the loss of someone close to you, on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. in Bemis Hall. The session will be led by a trained Care Dimensions grief counselor. The workshop is free but registration is required; call 855-774-5100 or email Grief@CareDimensions.org.

Holiday events at the First Parish

The First Parish in Lincoln is hosting the following holiday events in the parish house at 14 Bedford Rd.

  • Bell Choir Holiday Concert — Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. Come hear the magic sound of the bells as the Lincoln Ringers ring in the music of the season! Admission is free.
  • Hygge for Beginners — Thursday, Dec. 12 from 5:30–7 p.m. in the parish house. Join Margit Griffith and Meredith Jeremiah as they explore the cozy Danish tradition of celebrating coziness, comfort, warmth and family, as well as practicing mindfulness. Email sarah@orgto sign up.
  • Labyrinth of Light — Saturday, Dec. 21 from noon–8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 22 from noon–5 p.m. Walk a labyrinth made of Christmas lights and take a moment to ground yourself in the midst of a hectic season.
  • Live in Lincoln Center Concert — Monday, Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. Hear Handel’s “Messiah” performed by the artists of the Lincoln Baroque Players and Chorus. Ian Watson will conduct from the harpsichord. The “Live in Lincoln Center” concerts bring top professional musicians and singers to Lincoln. The instruments are authentic to the period in which the piece was written. Suggested donation is $40 per adult, any amount is appreciated. Doors open 6:30pm.

First Day celebration scheduled; volunteers sought

Lincoln’s annual First Day celebration will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 1 from 1–5 p.m. at Pierce House with food, drink, music and an activity for children. Organizers are looking for volunteers to help set up, clean up, and work during the open house. If you would like to help, please click here to sign up.