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

South Sudanese organization offering programs in Lincoln

Susan Winship (right), head of the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families, with administrative assistant Carolyn Montie. Behind them is a painting by Sudanese refugee Jacob Lueth Achol titled “Drumming and Dancing” (click to enlarge).

Lincoln has a long track record of helping South Sudanese refugees, and this fall, that tradition will continue when the town hosts the Saturday Bridges Program run by the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families (SSEF).

The Saturday program, which previously has been held in Arlington and Malden, has several components. There will be workshops for adults on writing and financial literacy, as well as an infant/preschool babysitting program. At the same time, older children can participate in a program at Drumlin Farm (or in the Brooks gym in case of rain). The workshops and babysitting take place in Pods A and B on the Hartwell campus on October 14, 21 and 28, November 4 and 18, and December 2 from 1:30–5:30 p.m.

Adult and teenage volunteers are needed to help with the infant/preschool babysitting and the Drumlin Farm program under the supervision of program adults. The training will be on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at the home of SSEF executive director and president Susan Winship at 10 Meadowdam Rd. in Lincoln. Anyone interested in learning more or helping out should contact her at 781-424-8774 or SusanWinship@comcast.net.

Winship is one of those who helped resettle 150 “lost boys” in the Boston area starting in 2000 in the wake of the 22-year civil war in Sudan. Boys who were several miles away from their villages during the day returned to find their homes under attack or destroyed. Groups of homeless and often orphaned children (mostly boys) walked hundreds of miles to arrive in refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, where they lived for several years before emigrating to the United States.

Lincoln has many connections to the “lost boys.” For a time, three of them lived at Codman Community Farms and attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. There are currently two Sudanese families living in Lincoln, including the family of Akuot Deng Leek, the SSEF’s community liaison who matches clients with agencies and services in the Boston area. Carolyn Montie of Lincoln is SSEF’s administrative assistant, and her daughter Eve (now a college sophomore) was a long-time volunteer in the Saturday Bridges Program.

For 12 years, Winship headed the Sudanese Education Fund, which helped pay education costs for the “lost boys.” Those boys grew up, and many returned to Sudan to marry and then and came back to the U.S. The organization was consequently renamed the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families to reflect its expanded mission to assist South Sudanese women and their children.

Most of these women got less education in Africa than the men, and taking classes here is harder since they care for their children while their husbands work. In addition to workshops and tutoring and acting as a social hub for the community, the SSEF offers help with housing, preschool scholarships and summer camp opportunities.

“When you resettle refugees, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Their needs go on and on as they assimilate to a new culture and raise their children,” Winship said. “We really feel strongly that part of our mission is to have the current and next generation as self-sufficient as possible.”

News acorns

Horse show this weekend

Lincoln’s annual horse show takes place on Saturday, Sept. 23 starting at 8 a.m. in the riding ring in Browning Field at the intersection of Weston and Conant Roads. At this small, family-friendly event, visitors will meet lots of ponies and horses and their riders, along with others who are involved with horses in Lincoln. The show highlights Lincoln’s rural and pastoral roots, and features show classes from lead line and costume through short stirrup and hunter. Proceeds from the horse show are used to keep up the riding ring. The event is free and there is lots of parking.

Climate Justice Film Series showing on Sept. 26

The film Chasing Coral will be shown on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Lincoln, kicking off the church’s new season in its ongoing Climate Justice Film Series. The film by the creators of Chasing Ice explores the impact of rising ocean temperatures and acidification on the health of coral reefs around the world. It explores the science behind what’s causing these changes and the implications for the ocean environment and the people who depend on it for food.

A light vegetarian supper will be served at 6:30, followed by the film at 7:00. All are welcome at this free event.

Four workshops on exploring the woods

Farrington NatureLinc is offering a series of workshops called “Into Our Woods: An Adult Forest School Series of Workshops” starting with “What Wild Edibles are Out There?” on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 9 a.m.–noon. Others in the series:

  • October 28—”Mushrooms in Our Woods,” 1–4 p.m.
  • November 4—”Primitive Fire Making and Cordage,” 9 a.m.–noon
  • December 3—”Introduction to Animal Tracking and Bird Signs,” 1–4 p.m.

The program is open to those 16 and up; the cost is $35 per workshop or $125 for the full series. Click here for more information on each workshop and to register.

Girls’ field hockey clinics

Field hockey clinics for girls in grades K-8 will be offered by members of the Lincoln-Sudbury  varsity field hockey team starting on Tuesday, Sept. 19 from 5-6 p.m. and running through October (times will depend on the team’s game schedule). Each session is $10. Sticks are available to borrow, but girls should bring a mouth guard, shin guards, and goggles. Email Email vicky_caburian@lsrhs.net to sign up.

Blessing of the Animals at St. Anne’s

On Sunday, Oct. 1, St. Anne’s Episcopal Church will honor St. Francis, patron saint of animals, with a Blessing of the Animals at both morning services at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Animals on leashes or in carriers are welcome; photos and stuffed animals are welcome, too. That day’s Still Your Soul service at 5 p.m. in the Side Chapel will be a service of Holy Eucharist for Healing and Wholeness, with laying on of hands and music from the Concordia Consort.

Students holding yard sale to benefit hurricane victims

Three Lincoln students are holding a yard sale on Saturday, Sept. 16 to raise money for victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The sale will be held from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at 22 Tabor Hill Rd. in Lincoln.

Organizing the sale of household items, toys, clothing, and books are seventh-grader Calum Stein, eighth-grader Liam O’Leary, and ninth-grader Caroline Hodge. Caroline attends Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and Liam and Calum are at the Meadowbrook School in Weston.
The charities they’ve chosen are:
  • The American Red Cross, which is using donor dollars to provide shelter, food, and emergency support for individuals and families affected by the hurricanes.
  • Catholic Charities USA Hurricane Relief, the official domestic relief agency of the U.S. Catholic Church. Donations will support disaster response and recovery efforts including direct assistance, rebuilding, and health care services.
  • Focus on the Family is partnering with Convoy of Hope, whose on-the-ground in the disaster area providing displaced families with basic needs including food, water, hygiene supplies, and other essential items.

Minuteman school construction work on track thus far

The Minuteman building site looking from Lincoln toward the school.

Site preparation work for the new Minuteman High School building in Lincoln is progressing smoothly, according to construction officials, though residents are hearing more noise than they would like.

Construction crews haven’t run into anything unexpected or unusual while clearing and excavating the site, said Walter Kincaid, a project executive for Gilbane Building Co. He and a representative from Skanska Building USA, Minuteman’s project manager, met with neighboring residents and the head of the Minute Man National Historical Park at a meeting in late August. They updated residents on site clearing, ledge blasting, rock crushing and dirt removal as well as efforts to minimize dust and the relocation of a massive 130-ton boulder to the west end of the property.

Builders have thus far kept their promise about keeping the trucks off Mill Street, which is frequently used by cyclists and walkers. “There are many blind turns on Mill Street, and it would be disastrous, given the narrowness of the street and the high number of recreational users, to have heavy trucks also using the street,” said Keith Hylton, who lives at 5 Oakdale Lane.

In addition to noise from truck backup horns starting at 7 a.m. during the week, “the blasting has also been louder and more intense than we thought. Our whole house shakes and it can be quite scary sometimes,” said Joe Genovese of 27 Mill St.

“We’re hoping that the concussions from blasting have not caused any hard-to-see damage in the foundations for homes or in water wells in the area,” Hylton said.  Workers have been giving advance notice of blasting to residents via email, he and Genovese added.

Kincaid said blasting of ledge would continue up to three times a week through the month of September. Crews are scheduled to start putting in the building’s foundation around September 18.

The $145 million project broke ground in June and is thus far on schedule to be completed within two years. “We’re going to put kids in the new school in the fall of 2019,” Kincaid said.

Correction

A News Acorn published on September 13 incorrectly stated that the Board of Selectmen would meet on September 28 at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum cafe. The meeting is actually on Monday, Sept. 25. The original article has been corrected.

News acorns

Selectmen’s Sept. 25 meeting at deCordova

The Board of Selectmen will hold its regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 25 in the new café at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.  The meeting begins at 7 p.m., and as always, it’s open to the public and will be taped for later broadcast. Items on the agenda will include:

  • An update from the deCordova
  • Roadways & Traffic Committee (RTC) recommendation on Old Winter Street
  • South Lincoln Planning & Implementation Committee (SLPIC) recommendations
  • A status update from the newly formed Housing Options Working Group (HOW)

At future meetings this fall, selectmen expect to:

  • Receive regular updates from the Community Center Planning & Preliminary Design Committee (PPDC) and the School Building Committee (SBC)
  • Form a group to understand the implication of the recreational marijuana law and study the town’s choices for implementation
  • Plan for the November 4 State of the Town Meeting, which will include reports form the PPDC and  SBC as well as previews of Town Meeting by-law proposals and citizens’ petitions

The board will also be scheduling twice-monthly listening sessions at different locations around Lincoln. These will be opportunities for residents to meet with a selectman to ask questions and share ideas. Dates and locations TBA.

Submit nature photos for LLCT calendar

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is looking for high-resolution nature photos from the trails and fields of Lincoln for consideration for use in its annual Open Spaces of Lincoln Calendar and note card series. Funds raised from the sale of the calendar help fund educational and conservation efforts of LLCT and the Rural Land Foundation. Photos may be submitted through Monday, Sept. 18. Email submissions to llct@lincolnconservation.org, or mail a CD or flash drive to Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (Attn: Calendar Photos), P.O. Box 10, Lincoln MA 01773 (mailed submissions will not be returned unless by special request.)

For a complete list of directions on style, format, usage and notification procedures, see the LLCT project guidelines. Photographers of all ages and abilities are encouraged to participate!.

Tret Fure at First Parish

Tret Fure

Acclaimed folk singer-songwriter Tret Fure will perform on Sunday, Sept. 24 at the First Parish in Lincoln during the 10 a.m. worship in the Parish House (14 Bedford Road). The service is open to the public and refreshments will be provided. Fure has 15 albums to her credit and has won the South Florida Folk Festival Singer/Songwriter competition in two out of three categories, as well as the prestigious Jane Schliessman award for outstanding contributions to women’s music.

Codman Harvest Weekend coming up

Codman Community Farms’ annual Harvest Weekend kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 5 p.m. in the Codman barn with a farm feast catered by Blue Ribbon Barbecue with beer, wine and lemonade followed by a barn dance for all ages. Tickets ($40 for adults, $15 for children (12 and under) must be purchased in advance at the farm or online at www.codmanfarm.org. The CCF Harvest Fair takes place on Sunday, Sept. 24 from 1–4 p.m. with games for children and families, hay rides, a petting zoo and a rooster run. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children (free for CCF members). For more information, call 781-259-0456 or email info@codmanfarm.org.

Apply to show your art in the library

Applications for 2018 shows in the Lincoln Public Library’s main art gallery are now available and will be accepted until September 30. Copies of the application and art exhibitor agreement form can be found here. Copies are also available at the Reference Desk.

Adult ed classes at L-S

Lincoln-Sudbury Adult Education’s fall program is underway, with new classes including Social Media Marketing, Make an iPhone App, Learn to Draw, Container Gardening, Men’s Pick-up Basketball, Zumba and Yoga. Click here to see the brochure and registration information.

Auction attracts dolls and dollars for Lincoln METCO group

A Marilyn Monroe doll poses for her eBay portrait in Joanna Schmergel’s home (click to enlarge).

An unusual but generous donation of vintage dolls will benefit enrichment and recreational programs for the Lincoln School’s Boston-based students via the Lincoln’s METCO Coordinating Committee (MCC).

The MCC organizes and funds academic and social activities outside of school for Boston and Lincoln students in grades K-8. Lincoln is one of 35 suburban school districts that participates in METCO, the voluntary Boston school desegregation program begun in 1966.

The windfall came about when Lincoln resident Seth Rosen was looking to donate his late mother’s large doll collection. His friend Joanna Schmergel—who volunteers in the MCC’s after-school kindergarten reading program that connects adult readers from Lincoln with pairs of students—offered to sell the dolls on eBay to raise money for the MCC. After researching each doll’s history and value, she posed them artfully in various spots in her house to photograph them.

Rosen’s mother collected the dolls over about 20 years. Most are from the Franklin Mint, although there are also some older antique dolls and random doll-related or doll-house-related items. “I bought her a doll once for her birthday, and that’s what caused her to have an interest in them,” he said. “She always loved her dollhouse as a little girl, so I think somehow this struck a nerve and she enjoyed it.”

The items are listed on Schmergel’s eBay store. As of September 9, 20 dolls had been sold for a total $998.91 and shipped to buyers in seven states as well as France, Poland and Great Britain, she reported. She hopes to clear $3,000 if the other 40 dolls still on the site are sold.

In addition to Rosen’s dolls, Schmergel is seeking donations of American Girl dolls in good condition for her eBay auction, because they have a a high resale value and are less costly to package than porcelain.

The MCC’s annual budget has grown from about $9,000 in 2014-15 to $13,000 in 2016-17, according to MCC liaison Pilar Doughty. This summer, the MCC collaborated with the METCO office, the Parks and Recreation Department, and the Codman Trust to provide almost full scholarships to Lincoln Summer Day Camp for 29 Boston-based children. During the school year, the MCC also helps pay for bus transportation for METCO kids who want to participate in the Lincoln After-school Activities Program (LEAP).

In addition, the organization partnered last year with the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Stonegate Gardens and the PTO to get kids involved in community activities such as fall bulb-planting in Lincoln’s pollinator meadow and a day of scarecrow-making in October.

The MCC’s biggest non-monetary need is volunteers to help run programs and chaperone events. “Without committed volunteers who can take a leadership role, we can’t continue to offer the diverse programs and social engagement opportunities that we were able to offer last year,” Doughty said.

Later this year, the MCC—which is now a registered nonprofit that can accept tax-deductible donations—hopes to hold a fund-raising event. And the dolls definitely help.

“Much as I would love to take credit for any of this, the reality is that it was 100% Joanna’s effort, ideas, and energy that caused this to happen,” Rosen said. “I was simply looking to part with these dolls, and she turned it into an awesome opportunity to do something helpful and kind for our extended community.”

Workshops on school campus scheduled

There will be two community workshops on October 3 where residents can learn about and discuss options for the Ballfield Road campus.

Residents are invited to part or all of two “Developing a Shared Vision for our Campus” workshops on Tuesday, Oct. 3 from 8–10 a.m. and 7–9 p.m. Both will be in the Reed Gym. Children are welcome and refreshments will be served.

The Lincoln School and the Ballfield Road campus grew over time between 1948 and 1994 as parcels of land were added and building projects completed. The last major addition to the campus occurred in 1994, when a school project connected the Smith and Brooks buildings, creating a unified K-8 school.

Now, as a community, Lincolnites have the opportunity to create a holistic plan for the campus. Between the work of the School Building Committee (SBC) and the Community Center Preliminary Planning & Design Committee (PPDC), every aspect of the campus is under consideration: the Lincoln School, preschool programs, after-school programs, a potential community center for the Parks & Recreation Department and the Council on Aging, playing fields, roadways, walking and bike paths, and parking lots. This workshop is designed to begin thinking about the space needed for all these pieces and where they fit on the campus.

A brief history of the campus can be found on the new SBC website, which aims to document and detail every aspect of the school project. To subscribe for automatic email updates from the site:

  1. Visit lincolnsbc.org
  2. Scroll down to “Subscribe to SBC Updates” in the white box on the left
  3. Type your email address where indicated and hit “subscribe”

You’ll then receive an email from the Lincoln School Building Project asking you to confirm your subscription; please click on “Confirm Follow.”

Anyone questions or comments may email SBC@lincnet.org.

Group aims to keep two building project committees aligned

The Campus Coordinating Group (CCG), which met for the first time on September 7, will begin work on an overarching timeline that lays out joint milestones and public workshops and charrettes for the Community Center Preliminary Planning & Design Committee (PPDC) and the School Building Committee (SBC).

The CCG was formed so the members of the two groups working on planning for a school project and a community center can keep each other up to date on their progress. It includes three members of the SBC (Superintendent Becky McFall; Chris Fasciano, chair; and Craig Nicholson) and three members of the PPDC (Tim Higgins, town administrator; Ellen Meyer Shorb, chair; and Owen Beenhouwer).

The next meeting of the CCG is Thursday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 a.m. in McFall’s office (second floor of the Hartwell building). After that, the group will meet at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday mornings every other week. All meetings are open to the public.

Food project workers grow food justice awareness along with crops

Ben S. of Winchester and Mariell A. of Roslindale pick carrots. (Photo by Alice Waugh)

They say you reap what you sow, but few people take it to heart more than the Food Project‘s Seed Crew.

The group of 26 youths aged 14-17 spent more than six weeks in July and August getting their hands dirty in Lincoln doing the hard work of farming. They were paid a stipend but also earned valuable knowledge about sustainable food systems, personal development, and serving at hunger relief organizations.

The Food Project hires teens from diverse cultural, racial, economic, and geographic backgrounds to work on Seed Crews at their farms in Lincoln, Boston, Beverly, Wenham, and Lynn. The crews work in the fields and take part in workshops on issues including sustainable agriculture, food access, and social justice. The teenagers also spend one day a week at a local hunger relief organization preparing and serving the produce they’re grown.

Seed Crew members can progress after their first summer to the Dirt Crew, which designs and executes a self-directed project to address food access issues in a community during the academic year. Root Crew members have more responsibility running the Food Project’s farms and markets in a yearlong program where they also serve as peer leaders for the Seed Crew and teach others in the community about food justice and food systems. They play important roles in the organization’s mission to promote access to fresh and affordable produce by building raised-bed gardens for residents and organizations, offering garden-based educational programming, and providing opportunities for people to use SNAP/EBT benefits to purchase fresh food.

Ezekiel Mercer-McDowall (left), who is in his 10th year at the Food Project, harvests beets with second-year worker Brendan Murtha of Watertown. (Photo by Alice Waugh)

On a midweek day in August, workers in bright green Seed Crew T-shirts were harvesting bright orange carrots from the brown soil in one section of the Food Project’s 30-acre site near Route 126 and Baker Bridge Road. Nearby, a melon patch was protected by flash tape (twisted Mylar tape that flashes silver and red in the breeze to scare off birds).

Another weedy patch of land nearby was lying fallow. Last summer, it held a potato crop that was devastated by Colorado potato beetles. Because the Food Project uses only organic farming methods, pesticides are not an option, so Seed Crew workers are sometimes assigned to don gloves, pick the beetles off the plants and squash them, explained supervisor Angel Araiza. Crew members undoubtedly find digging up bright orange carrots of all shapes and sizes more satisfying.

“I like the outdoors and gardening and also social justice—both of those things brought me out here,” said Seed Drew member Ben S. of Winchester (the Food Project does not release the last names of teenage volunteers to protect their privacy).

The field work is not easy. Seed Crews weed, harvest and do other outdoor tasks even if it’s raining. Very hot days are tough on the crops as well as the workers because they have move fast to wash, transport and and store the fruits and vegetables in a walk-in cooler.

“On hot days, we have a lot of moving parts—we have to get the field heat out of the crops as fast as possible,” Araiza explained on an unusually cool August morning. “Any time we can get a day like this, it’s a blessing.”