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

Letter to the editor: Marshall not running for reelection

To the editor:

I write to announce that I will not seek reelection to the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee this March. In 2009, I was elected with the support of both towns and it has been an honor from start to finish.

We have a high school treasured by the communities of Lincoln, Sudbury, and Boston. Our teachers and staff are creative, dedicated and deeply committed to educating and preparing our children for the 21st century. The core values of the district —fostering caring and cooperative relationships, respecting human differences, pursuing academic excellence, and cultivating community—are all behaviors to be mirrored in our own lives, our conversations at the dinner table, and in our actions.

I am grateful for the responsiveness of our towns’ Boards of Selectmen, the proactive counsel of our Finance Committee liaisons, the relatively new relationships we have begun with both towns in advocating our capital needs and forecasts, and of course of our voters. This has been process and relational work I have thoroughly enjoyed.

I am indebted to many members of the committee with whom I have had the great pleasure of serving. I have learned a great deal and, while we found ourselves sometimes agreeing to disagree, our committee has always focused on our charge as elected officials, namely,;’ what is in the best interest of our students within the fiscal guidance we are given. Working well together and listening to each other is critical given our tasks.

Finally, to those inside the building who do so much to clear the snowy sidewalks and open the building, who have it optimally at the ready to allow education to happen; to those who work to teach, to challenge and engage and to be present for their students, who create unique, dynamic, relevant curriculum; to those who allow our students to take risks and grow, and who support those who are struggling inside and outside the classroom, I will miss you the most. While we have four children who gleaned so much from their education and are now on unique paths as young adults, my service was far from being just about them. For me it was about the Lincoln-Sudbury community—the faculty, the administration and staff, the families, our towns, and, first and foremost, all of our students.

Thank you.

Nancy Marshall
2 Beaver Pond 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.

A Q&A with author of “Miranda’s War,” a novel set in Lincoln

Howard Foster

Chicago attorney Howard Foster is the author of Miranda’s War: A Novel of the UpZone set in Lincoln. The protagonist, a wealthy Lincolnite married to a professor, uses her new position on the Conservation Commission to fight what she sees as hypocritical zoning attitudes in town. Foster will give a talk and book-signing on Monday, Feb. 5 at 1 p.m at the Lincoln Public Library. The Lincoln Squirrel recently interviewed him by email.

Tell me a bit about how you came to write the novel. Why did you set it in Lincoln specifically? Clearly you’ve spent some time in Lincoln—did you ever live here, and if so, when?

I grew up in Newton and have always thought Lincoln was unique and fascinating. I’ve lived in Chicago for the last 28 years and have traveled all over the country and have not seen a place like it culturally and politically.

Have you been involved with disputes over local planning and zoning, either as an attorney or a property owner?

Yes, as a lawyer, over cell towers. Very dull.

Miranda seems to be a contradiction in some ways. For example, she’s bright, cultured and well educated, yet she scoffs at academics. Why?

She is married to an academic and reviles them. She thinks they are guilt-ridden hypocrites, but she loves to live among them.

Do you consider Miranda to be a hero, antihero, or something else? Put another way, do you share her beliefs about zoning?

That’s a great question. She is true to what she regards as the original mission of the Lincoln Board of Selectmen who imposed two-acre zoning circa 1951. They wanted to stop sprawl after Route 128 was built and keep the town semi-rural. But she is also using her cause to embarrass the academic liberals she disdains. She wants them to have to admit they are snobs and elitists.

What made Miranda the way she is?

She comes from a small city in northern Vermont that is fairly rural, and was exceptionally bright, ambitious, socially snobbish, driven to marry someone like Archer. She also has a mental illness, impulse control disorder, which makes her interactions with others fraught.

Your publisher’s website says it promotes books for “readers of a conservative or libertarian bent.” Would you use those words to describe yourself? How have your views on politics and culture evolved during your life?

I am politically center-right, not libertarian. I know the publisher, Adam Bellow, who started Liberty Island. Over time, I have become much more interested in economics. It explains everything that happens.

The book talks a lot about wealthy suburban guilt. Do you think many of the people in real life in towns like Lincoln are hypocrites who aren’t sincere about giving economic opportunity to lower-income people? 

Yes.

The book raises some basic questions about the nature of zoning and land use. In a perfect world, how much control do you think should people be allowed to have over things like the appearance of their neighbor’s houses and how other people’s property in their town is used?

A lot. I took some liberties in the book. For example, I do not believe Lincoln has a [house] color code in its zoning ordinance—at least I could not find it in the statute—so someone could paint their house bright orange and get away with it. Yet nobody does that. So there is a de facto color code in place. Lincoln is more regimented than almost every other community in the Boston area and far more so than any in the Midwest. The people who live there want that, and those who don’t like it don’t live there. That seems fine with me.

You obviously wrote the book  before Trump became president and focused a spotlight on political correctness, isolationism, and “America First.” If you were to start writing the book today in light of the events and conversations over the past year, would you do anything differently?

I think Miranda does mention Trump’s name once, but that was, as you say, before he was elected.  My publisher, Mr. Bellow, thinks she is a Lincoln version of Trump. There are definitely some similarities, though she is much more refined than him. I can see her using a phrase like “let’s make Lincoln great again,” building more of a wall with the outside world, disdaining those that want to enter illegally and change the town, etc. If I were writing it now, I would draw this parallel explicitly, and so would everyone around her. That would be very troublesome for her because Trump is so unpopular in Lincoln.

What’s been the reception to the book? Have you written other books, and do you plan to write another?
This is my first. The reception has been decent. I’d like more events like the one in Lincoln. Mr. Bellow would like me to write a sequel which takes Miranda to the next level. I’m thinking about it.

Letter to the editor: Taylor running for reelection to Planning Board

To the editor:

It doesn’t seem so long ago, but it has been three years since I declared my candidacy for the Planning Board, and I’m asking you to elect me once again for a three-year term.

In my initial letter, I summarized my previous service to Lincoln on the Finance Committee, the Housing Commission/Housing Trust and as a Selectman. Now I would point to how the Planning Board has improved since you first elected me, and commit to you that, if elected, I would continue to work to give Lincoln the forward looking planning effort that it needs and deserves.

When I asked for your support previously, I identified two objectives that I would pursue. First, the board should spend much more time actually planning and much less time in the process of negotiating with people about what they could and couldn’t do with their residential properties. The second objective, related to the first, was to make the process of residents seeking reasonable improvements to their property much simpler and less costly. We have made substantial progress on both fronts.

The process through which residents seek to develop or improve their properties has become much simpler, more efficient, and far less costly. The board now delegates to its talented staff, Jennifer Burney and Paula Vaughn-Mackenzie, the task of resolving conflicts between applicants’ plans and Lincoln’s bylaws and board policies. Most issues are addressed at the staff level, so public hearings required for approval are focused narrowly upon any conflicts that remain and any concerns raised by abutters and interested parties.

Unlike in the past, it is rare that we continue a public hearing (forcing applicants and their architects to return) except in cases of substantial public interest, such as development of the new Minuteman High School facilities, or very large and impactful residences. The board protects the town’s interests but makes the process as user-friendly as possible. Furthermore, the board is considering changes to the bylaws governing site plan review to make them much more equitable.

By making its permitting function more efficient, the board and planning staff have been able to turn their attention to the planning that Lincoln needs. In addition to following and supporting the school building and community center development committees, the board has begun efforts to revitalize the Lincoln Station/mall area and to improve wayfinding and connectivity in Lincoln. The Lincoln Station effort includes working with the MBTA to improve commuter rail facilities, alterations to zoning to improve incentives for private commercial and residential development, and creation of “spaces” to make the mall area more attractive.

Wayfinding and connectivity initiatives seek to better inform people of what Lincoln has to offer and where to find it, and to develop facilities such as walkways, crosswalks, and trails to increase foot and bicycle access to key locations and improve safety. Our staff has brought in over $600,000 in grants to support these efforts, and we are actively pursuing additional grant funding.

I ask your support in the upcoming election to further pursue these efforts.

Sincerely.

Gary Taylor
2 Beaver Pond 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.

Letter to the editor: more coordination needed between building committees

To the editor:

Following the meetings of the Community Center and the School Building Committees during the past couple of weeks, it is clear for me that much work has been done. On the other hand, it is not so clear whether one or the other of these groups perceives it to be their responsibility to seek how to best coordinate or integrate the projects. During the recent meetings, while there was lip service paid to the goal of integration and efficiency, no specific proposals or comments were made. Perhaps such coordination is being left to later, as time does not appear to be anyone’s concern.

At one of the School Building Committee workshops, one of the discussion groups suggested using the part of Smith School that would be demolished under the B6 option for the community center. The SBC had no comment at this moment.

While there is a group seeking to ensure communication between the two groups, it does not appear to me there is any real effort seeking to think of both projects together as one effort. If left to the town to suggest such an approach at Town Meeting, my concern is it will be too late and very confusing.

Sincerely,

Robert deNormandie
45 Trapelo 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.

Community center schemes posted; workshops on Tuesday

The current layout of the Hartwell area and the available parking on the Ballfield Road campus (click to enlarge).

The Community Center Preliminary Planning and Design Committee unveiled a series of concepts on their website on Sunday in advance of two public forums on Tuesday, Jan. 30. The building will be a new home for the Parks and Recreation Department and the Council on Aging as well as other community groups.

Residents will have a chance to examine, discuss, and comment on the concepts from Maryann Thompson Architects and the CCPPDC on Tuesday from 8–10 a.m. or 7–9 p.m. in Hartwell B pod. The concepts call for demolishing at least one of the existing pods and building a community center north of the main Hartwell building, with various configuration options for 100-110 parking spaces, compared to the current 54 spots in the Hartwell lot. Early cost estimates range from $12 million to $16.5 million.

The CCPPDC is working in parallel with the School Building Committee, which unveiled three project concepts for the Lincoln School (as well as options for repair-only and repair-and-minimal-renovation) on January 24.

Based on earlier feedback from residents, the community center architects created some preliminary designs based on guiding principles including:

  • Sustainability
  • Natural light and views
  • A casual gathering space for the Council on Aging that is not shared with other organizations, as well as “nooks” for other small gathering spaces
  • A nexus or center of activity where paths cross
  • A plan that improves the overall condition of the wetlands within the Hartwell area

The plans are summarized below (click on the small images to see larger versions), with pros and cons of each concept as identified by the arhcitects. The full report can be seen here.

Scheme 1 – Central secondary green with peripheral parking ($13–15.5 million)

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Scheme 2 – Central main campus with green “L” ($13–15.5 million)

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Scheme 3A – Infill with peripheral parking ($13–15.5 million)

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Scheme 3B – Solar infill alternate with peripheral parking ($12.5–15.5 million)

  [tcpaccordion id=”16184″]

Scheme 4A – Woodland path scheme with centralized parking ($13.5–16.5 million)

  [tcpaccordion id=”16185″]

Scheme 4B – Woodland path alternate with centralized parking ($12–14 million)​

  [tcpaccordion id=”16186″]

COA activities in February

Want to try out your singing voice outside the shower?
February 2 at 12:30 p.m.
Come join the Lincoln Traditional Jazz Band at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2 at Bemis for an hour of old-time jazz. There will be tunes to try out your singing voice in the comfortable company of other seniors as you join them in singalongs and there will be tunes to just listen to and tap your feet. Either way it will be a fun way to spend a lunch hour as the regulars will tell you.

Lincoln Academy with Police Chief Kevin Kennedy and REACH Advocates Jyoti John and Pat Cooper: Update on safety and security issues in our community
February 5 at 12:30 p.m.
Come to Bemis Hall on Monday, Feb. 5 at 12:30 to hear Police Chief Kevin Kennedy and REACH Advocates Jyoti John and Pat Cooper discuss “An Update on Safety and Security Issues in Our Community.” Unfortunately, Lincoln is not immune to the problems of the world outside our borders, whether these be the opioid crisis, crime and scams, domestic violence and elder abuse, and more. Come hear our police chief discuss some of the issues facing our community and how the Lincoln Police Department is responding. We will also hear about a new project to combat elder abuse by REACH Beyond Domestic Violence from Elder Community Advocate Jyoti John and Project Coordinator Pat Cooper. The COA provides beverages and dessert. The lectures last about an hour, including a question and answer period. Participants are welcome to stay after the program to continue their discussion. All ages welcome.

[Read more…] about COA activities in February

News acorns

One-woman show about Eleanor Roosevelt

Sheryl Fay as Eleanor Roosevelt.

Sheryl Faye will perform “Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the World,” her one-woman show highlighting the life and work of the longest-serving First Lady, on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. Experience how this dynamic woman rose above an unhappy childhood to reshape the role of First Lady and how she influenced our world. Faye holds a B.A in acting from Emerson College and has performed throughout the Boston area as Eleanor Roosevelt, Abigail Adams and Amelia Earhart. Sponsored by The Friends of the Lincoln Public Library, Inc.

Lincoln doctor dons skates to benefit Jimmy Fund

John Ready, a Lincoln resident and chief of orthopedic oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, will be among the Dana-Farber doctors, researchers, and staff who will play a charity hockey game against Boston Bruins alumni to benefit the Jimmy Fund. The Dana-Farber Rink Rats’ game will be held Saturday, Feb. 3 from 2–4 p.m. at Warriors Ice Arena in Boston. Dr. Ready has committed to raise $1,200 to play in the February 3 game. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children, and are available online and at the door. To support a participant or for more information, please visit www.jimmyfund.org/rinkrats.

Author of book set in Lincoln to appear

The Lincoln Public Library will host a book talk and signing with Howard Foster, author of Miranda’s War: a Novel of the Upzone, on Monday, Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. The book focuses on the legal and social battles of a determined (fictional) member of the Lincoln Conservation Commission. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

Brahms headlines “Live at Lincoln Center”

The First Parish in Lincoln will present “Essential Brahms,” an afternoon of chamber music from the Handel and Haydn Society, on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m. in the Parish House auditorium (14 Bedford Rd.). World-class artists Ian Watson, Guy Fishman, Aisslinn Nosky, Todd Williams, and others will perform Johannes Brahms’ Horn Trio in E-flat, Op. 40 and String Sextet in G Major, Op. 36. Watson is also the music director at First Parish in Lincoln. Seating is limited and is first-come/first seated; doors open at 2:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $30, and any amount is appreciated. This concert is part of First Parish’s “Live in Lincoln Center” music series.

Ethan Robbins to appear at LOMA

Ethan Robbins

Ethan Robbins is the featured performer at the next LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) night on Monday, Feb. 12 in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. The event runs from 7-10 p.m., and Robbins will perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30. Robbins is a founding member of Cold Chocolate, a local progressive bluegrass trio that has shared bills with bluegrass giants such as David Grisman and Leftover Salmon, and has performed at major festivals, including Grey Fox, FloydFest, FreshGrass, and Ossipee Valley. His singing and guitar work prowess is evident in his solo cover of “Mercedes Benz“ from a recent appearance at The Spire in Plymouth.

LOMA is a monthly event. Admission is free and refreshments are provided. Performers can sign up at the event or email Rich Eilbert at loma3re@gmail.com for a slot. There is a sound system with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable for individuals or small groups. 

First Parish hosts end-of-life workshop

“The Conversation Project,” a two-part workshop on wishes for end-of-life care, will be offered by the First Parish in Lincoln on February 14 and March 22 from 7–8:30 p.m. in the Parish House (14 Bedford Rd.). Rev. Rosemary Lloyd, advisor to faith communities for The Conversation Project (TCP) at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, will introduce a process and tools developed by TCP for having crucial conversations. Through guided reflection, personal writing, and small group sharing, participants will gain support and motivation to have values-based, relationship-building conversations about what matters most to you so your loved ones won’t be left in the dark. The March session builds on the February workshop, so attendance at both sessions is helpful. Registration is limited and pre-registration is required. Register via e-mail at rsmlloyd@gmail.com or on the signup sheet at the entry to the Parish House.

Donate Valentine’s Day gifts to domestic violence program

Each year the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable (DVR) sponsors a Valentine’s Day Gift Drive to help make the day brighter for families who are not safe in their own homes. The families reside in shelters and transitional housing programs of three area domestic violence organizations: REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, The Second Step, and Voices Against Violence. The DVR gives each family member a bag of age-appropriate gifts to remind recipients that people care about them and support their decision to end abuse in their lives. Click here for a list of recommended donations. There will be a basket for donations at the Wayland Public Safety Building (38 Cochituate Rd. at the intersection of Routes 20 and 27) from February 1-9.

Volunteers are welcome to join Roundtable members as they assemble the gift bags on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room of the Wayland Public Safety Building. For further information, please email the DVR at infodvrt@gmail.com.

Workshops focus on three main school project options

The Lincoln School today.

The SBC has narrowed the Lincoln School project options down to three, and architects presented them to residents at community workshops on January 23.

Attendees also heard detailed price estimates from another firm, as well as information on taxation and borrowing scenarios from Finance Committee Vice Chair Andrew Paine, who recapped some of the information from the presentation by FinCom Chair Jim Hutchinson at a multi-board meeting on January 9.

The first set of options considered by the SBC was for an “optimal program” of 178,041 square feet, as shown on pages 7-8 of SMMA architect Joel Seeley’s presentation. (The current building is 148,464 square feet.) Those options ranged in price from $115.6 million to $120.3 million, so the committee asked SMMA to return with some less expensive concepts. The resulting four “A” options retained the L-shaped school on the north and west sides of the ballfield, while the “B” options concentrated just on the north and “C” on the west.

The next round, the “essential program” (pg. 9-10) consisted of eight “A” and “B” concepts calling for 158,171 square feet and ranging from $73.6 million to $100.4 million. The SBC and the architects then added back some of the space cut from the “optimal” concepts to come up with five “essential–refined” options (pg. 11-12) of 160,971 square feet. At this week’s meeting, they presented three options (A1.1, A3.4, and B6) as well as estimates for repair-only and repair-and-renovation options.

  • Repair only – $48.7 million

Install new HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, add a fire sprinkler system, do accessibility and building code upgrades, replace the roof and the older uninsulated windows, do minimal roadway improvement.

  • Repair plus basic renovation only – $59.2 million

Make the repairs above but replace all windows, do moderate roadway improvements, install new interior finishes (cabinetry, doors, etc), and replace the Smith boiler room.

The three newest options call for:

  • Demolishing some or all of the older Smith building (and more, for Option B6)
  • Adding central administration offices
  • Adding three pre-K classrooms currently located in the Hartwell building
  • Adding a central kitchen and a dining commons area that would also be used for grade-level gatherings, project-based learning or extra art/drama space as needed
  • Adding a connector between the Brooks building and the Reed gym

Two of those options (A3.4 and B6) include hubs for grades 3-8—“neighborhoods” with classrooms as well as breakout, small group, special education, and resource rooms surrounding “a collaboration space providing for flexible, differentiated learning,” SMMA architect Joel Seeley explained. Option B6 calls for demolishing everything except the two gyms, the auditorium section, and the 1994 media center portion. It would consolidate the footprint on the north side of campus, adding a second floor on the east side for grades 7 and 8.

  • Option A1.1 – $75 million (15,538 SF demolition, 29,700 SF new construction) – pg. 27-30 of the presentation
  • Option A3.4 – $88.3 million (10,937 SF demolition, 37,550 SF new construction) – pg. 32-36
  • Option B6 – $89.8 million (72,497 SF demolition, 77,125 SF new construction) – pg. 38-43

The latter three options are not optimal in terms of the number and size of classrooms and hubs—”this is a compromise as we think about the budgetary impact,” said Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall. However, they all represent an upgrade educationally, and Option B6 in particular “offers us a huge improvement in the way we can teach and the way in which kids have the opportunity to learn,” she said.

As teachers in the new Hanscom Middle School have discovered, hubs and spaces of varying sizes “have been a catalyst for thinking about the ways we teach,” McFall said. “We need spaces like this to give students the opportunity to work in teams, foster social and emotional interactions, be curious and problem-solve and debate. This allows us that flexibility to be creative.”

Option B6 may also offer the most flexibility for a future addition if there should be a spike in school enrollment, and Seeley said future refinements might indicate ground-level or vertical expansion possibilities. One resident worried that the town could outgrow the school more quickly than expected if 60 new units of mixed-income housing are approved.

Repair estimates have gone up

The estimated cost of a repair-only project has jumped from Dore and Whittier’s $29.2 million in 2015 to $48.9 million for a project beginning in the second quarter of 2020. However, the 2015 figure did not include any improvements to roads and parking, landscaping, stormwater management, or utility infrastructure, nor did it take into account the cost of phasing or temporary accommodations for students during construction.

The latest cost estimates were prepared by owner’s project manager Daedalus Projects using data from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which tracks all school construction spending in the state. The cost of new construction has climbed from an average of $367 per square foot in 2015 to a projected $471 in 2019, said Shane Nolan, senior project manager at Daedalus. Contributing factors include a building boom in Boston’s Seaport district and construction of the casino in Everett, which are leading to labor shortages and high demand for materials and equipment, he said.

Borrowing limits

Echoing Finance Committee Chair Jim Hutchinson’s statements at a multi-board meeting on January 9, FinCom Vice Chair Andrew Payne said that Lincoln’s bond advisors have indicated that the town could borrow $100 million for the school and community center projects and perhaps more while still maintaining its AAA bond rating.

State guidelines set a bond debt limit for Lincoln of $106 million (the town currently has about $9 million in outstanding debt), but since the bonding would go toward a school and a community center, getting approval to go over that limit should be “straightforward,” he added.

Property tax impacts

What will this mean for property tax bills? If the town borrowed $100 million over a 30-year period, property tax bills could go up by as much as 20 percent, with the average single-family tax bill climbing from $15,185 in fiscal 2017 to $17,702, assuming a bond interest rate of 4 percent (pgs. 13 and 15 of the FinCom’s presentation). The committee’s scenarios use bond interest rates of 4 and 5 percent, though the current rate is just below 3 percent (pg. 18).

To cushion the blow, the FinCom recommends using some of the town’s debt stabilization fund (currently $4.7 million) to pay down some of the balance for the first two or three years of debt service, so a 15 percent tax hike could be “smoothed” to three years of 5 percent increases.

Comments from several residents indicated mixed feelings. While many cringed at the potential tax hike, most also dismissed the repair-only or repair-and-renovation options, and some even wondered whether classrooms could be added.

On Tuesday, Jan. 30, residents will hear about possible designs and costs for another major construction project: the community center. There will be identical sessions from 8–10 a.m. and 7–9 p.m in Hartwell pod B.

Property sales in December

37 North Great Rd. — J. Arthur Gleiner to Lincoln and Maria Miara for $1,026,000 (December 27)

7 Upland Field Rd. — Gregory A. Spitzer Trust to Ramin and Elizabeth Doorandish for $1,150,000 (December 22)

104 Todd Pond Rd. — Edward A. Julian to Matthew and Julia Von Wahlde for $1,395,000 (December 8)

7 Tower Rd. — David K. Bruenner to Andrew Thompson and Annmarie Rebola-Thompson for $804,000 (December 7)

Lincoln women rally on one-year anniversary of 2017 event

(Editor’s note: Click here to see Lincoln Squirrel coverage of the 2017 women’s marches in Boston and Washington, D.C.)

To the editor:

Last Saturday, four women from Lincoln—Lucretia Giese, Julie Hibben, Suzy Karl and I—joined the throngs of marchers on the Cambridge Common to commemorate and advance the goals of the first anniversary of the extraordinary Women’s March of January 21, 2017.

It was an unexpectedly mild January afternoon, and the crowd was a cheerful and lively mix of families, students, women and men, young and old (though predominately young), and even pets. There was not an actual march. Rather, one might call it a rally or gathering featuring several speakers from diverse backgrounds, including Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, and Cambridge Mayor Mark McGovern.

Two of the signs seen on Cambridge Common. (Photos courtesy Barbara Slayter)

We four Lincolnites largely milled around the Common with others trying to inch ever closer to the platform so we could hear the speeches and see Healey’s “The Future is Female” T-shirt. While we heard only parts of her speech praising activists for standing up for immigrants, safe communities, health care and civil rights, we had ample opportunity to marvel at the clever signs and posters and enjoy the presence of children clad in pink jackets, hats or mittens, and the many dogs with pink (even pink plaid) woolen coats. I had dusted off my pink “pussy hat” from last year’s march and joined the ranks of pink-hat-clad women!

Organizations touting their advocacy roles ranged from Jamaica Plain’s Grandmothers for a Brighter Future (of which there is an active contingent in Lincoln) to the Boston Mayday Coalition, which focuses on protecting undocumented immigrant workers from the threat of deportation. Issues were also well represented on numerous signs: “I March for 100% Renewable Energy,” “Save DACA Now,” “Resist Deportation,” and “Black Lives Matter.”

Left to right: Suzy Karl, Lucretia Giese, Julie Hibben, and Barbara Slayter.

The expansion of the continuing Women’s March agenda was reflected in the sign saying “We rise by lifting others, all genders, all abilities, all races, all religions.” Noteworthy was an emphasis on respect, dignity, and full equality for all people, which was reflected in speakers who represented not only women from minority groups but also those concerned about prison reform and violence.

Is last year’s Women’s March morphing into a movement? Is women’s activism, whether on specific issues or in seeking office, emerging into a significant political phenomenon? This remains to be seen, but the continuing energy exhibited by women activists is heartening. Posters such as “Grab ‘Em by the Polls,” “First We Marched, Now We Run,” and “See You at the Polls” suggest that we’ll be hearing more from the marchers of 2018.

Sincerely

Barbara Slayter
7 Trapelo 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.