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

Nine years after start, rugby thrives at L-S

Lincoln's Jack Bigelow (dark shirt) fights for the ball during a recent rugby match.

Lincoln’s Jack Bigelow (right) fights for the ball during a recent rugby match.

By Brett Wittenberg

In spring 2004, when it came time to pick a sport, Lincoln-Sudbury sophomore Brendan Wimberly didn’t want to play baseball, he didn’t want to run track, and he wasn’t about to take up Ultimate Frisbee. Wimberly wanted to play rugby, and when he saw that rugby wasn’t among the high school’s eight choices for spring sports, he and 20 of his sophomore classmates approached then drama teacher and housemaster Iain Ryrie  about the possibility of starting a team. [Read more…] about Nine years after start, rugby thrives at L-S

Lincoln “grandmothers” go to work for Markey

"Grandmothers for Markey" recently addressed cards at the Groves. Left to right: xxx (Photo: Alice Waugh)

“Grandmothers for Markey” recently addressed cards at the Groves. Left to right: Joan Kimball, Sonja Johansson, Carolyn Birmingham, Sally Meyer, Peggy Schmertzler. (Photo: Alice Waugh)

Ed Markey has some Lincoln ladies to thank for his recent primary victory.

The group of senior women, spearheaded by Lincoln resident Peggy Schmertzler, got together several times at the Ryan Estates and The Groves in Lincoln to work on cards asking recipients to support U.S. Rep. Ed Markey is his bid to win the Senate seat vacated by John Kerry. The work involved sticking address labels on the preprinted cards but also adding a personal hand-written note to each. Combining modern political techniques with the old-school personal touch, the women got their preprinted address labels from the Markey campaign, which found and printed names and addresses of Democrats and unaffiliated senior women voters who live in Plymouth and Whitman where Markey’s Democratic primary opponent, Steven Lynch, had a strong following.

Markey’s campaign isn’t the first go-round for these women, however. Schmertzler and two others, Betsy Hatfield and Margot Lindsay, started the group in 2008 as Grandmothers for Obama. In 2012, the Massachusetts pilot group established a website, GrandmothersforObama.org, and expanded to include hundreds of women in about 25 states who hand-addressed canary yellow postcards declaring support for Obama. The group doesn’t send money to any political campaigns, though they pay the postage on their postcards themselves.

Since the presidential election, the group has sent postcards on behalf of Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren as well as Markey. In their campaigns, they also advocate progressive stances on issues including the environment, women’s reproductive rights, rights to equal pay and health care, increased taxes on the wealthiest 1 percent to reduce cuts in services, and gun safety.

“In our combined mailings, we reached approximately 10,000 voters,” Schmertzler said.

Markey beat Lynch in the April 30 primary, so the grandmothers will soon be back at work on his behalf in preparation for the statewide special election on June 25, when he will face off against Republican Gabriel Gomez. Democrats are hoping that race will not have the same outcome as the 2010 special election, when favored Democrat Martha Coakley lost to Republican Scott Brown.

Although addressing cards may seem like a mundane task, the women enjoy working together to try to make a difference. “It’s very bonding because we all care about the same issues,” Schmertzler said.

Planning Board candidates sought

Are you a Lincoln resident with an interest in planning, zoning and land use? The Board of Selectmen and Planning Board invite you to apply before May 24 for one of two vacancies on the Planning Board.

Interviews will be conducted during a joint meeting of the two boards to fill one elected position (until the next annual town election in March 2014) and one associate position. Submit a letter of interest together with a completed application form (click here to download a form) to one of the addresses below by Friday, May 24.

For more information about the work of the Planning Board, please see the Planning Board website or contact Chris Reilly, Director of Planning and Land Use, at 781-259-2610. Interested residents are also encouraged to attend Planning Board meetings to learn about the board’s work.

Applications via email:
Selectmen’s Office, attn.: Debra Parkhurst, Administrative Assistant
parkhurstd@lincolntown.org

Applications via U.S. mail:
Office of the Board of Selectmen
Hartwell School Complex (Pod B)
Ballfield Road
Lincoln, MA 01773

Boogie down at Club Codman dance

abba

ABBA (photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Sport the great fashions of the past and boogie to music from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s at this adults-only annual event to benefit Codman Community Farms on Saturday, May 18 starting at 7:30 p.m.

See and be seen in your craziest dance attire! No costumes required, but there will be much respect for the biggest hair and the most polyester. Come dance, watch your friends lip-sync on the patented Codman air guitar stage, or just hang out with other Codman Community Farms supporters.

This is a great fund-raising event that helps support the farm. Tickets are $25 and are available at the farm or by emailing info@codmanfarm.org.

Peek into the lives of “All the President’s Women”

Presidentswomen-smSometimes what happens behind closed doors at the White House is more fascinating than what goes on in public view. Peek into the lives of some U.S. presidents, their wives and their mothers when the Council on Aging presents a free performance of the Delvena Theatre Company’s All the Presidents’ Women at Bemis Hall on Sunday, May 19, at 2 p.m.  All ages are welcome.

Have we already had a female president?  Could one of our First Ladies have murdered her husband while he was still in office? Find out which of our most famous First Ladies was committed to a mental institution by her own son! These intriguing stories are lively entertainment and promote post-performance dialogue after the performance between the cast and the audience. All the Presidents’ Women, written by Fran Baron and directed by Joseph Zamparelli Jr., features Lynne Moulton and Fran Baron in multiple roles.

The Delvena Theatre Company was founded in 1992 and has performed at various venues, most often at the Boston Center for the Arts. The company was nominated for five Independent Reviewers of New England awards.  Its production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was on Theatre Mirror’s Best List for acting, directing and production. Presentations of Anna Weiss and Beyond Therapy were included on Theatre Mirror’s best play list, and Blue Heart was placed on Aisle Say’s best list.

All The Presidents’ Women is supported in part by a grant from the Lincoln Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. For more information, please call the Council on Aging at (781) 259-8811.

Order a rain barrel for your garden by May 16

barrel-colorThe Lincoln Water Department has teamed up with Upcycle Products Inc. to offer 55-gallon plastic and oak rain barrels for sale to residents. Using rain barrels to water your garden reduces the water drawn from the town’s drinking water supply, allowing Lincoln to meet the state’s water conservation goals while simultaneously saving you money—and the soft, chemical-free water is very good for grass and other plants.

The plastic rain barrels were originally used for transporting food products to the U.S. from overseas while the oak barrels were used for whiskey—so this program not only promotes water conservation but also diverts large quantities of material from the waste stream.

To see colors, styles and prices for the barrels, go to the Upcycle Products webpage for Lincoln. Order barrels by May 16 and pick them up at Stonegate Gardens on May 22 from 4-6 p.m. Tell your out-of-town friends they can order too!