In the November 15 post headlined “Susan Sugar, 1933–2023,” the surnames of Susan Sugar mother and two of her family members were listed incorrectly. The original post has been corrected.
News acorns
L-S alumni soccer game Thanksgiving weekend
The Lincoln-Sudbury Alumni Soccer Game is being held on Saturday, Nov. 25 at noon. It’s a casual game for alumni from any era and a chance to work off some of your holiday over-indulgence. Feel free to get the word out to other players from your class or players from other classes. Let them know you’re coming by commenting on the Facebook page or emailing Tim Mangini at tim_mangini@wgbh.org.
Flashlight candy cane hunt
Come to Pierce Park on Friday, Dec. 1 from 6-7 p.m. for a flashlight candy cane hunt. Music, prizes, and hot cocoa. Free but preregistration required at lincolnrec.com.
Nate Garozzo of Sudbury (left) and Frances Yee of Lincoln (right) with L-S Superintendent Andrew Stephens.
Two L-S students recognized
Frances Yee of Lincoln and Nate Garozzo of Sudbury have received 2023 Superintendents’ Award for Academic Excellence. The award is given each year to two students from the graduating senior class who have distinguished themselves in the pursuit of excellence during their high school careers. Nominees must have a cumulative GPA that places them in the top 10% of their class and consistently demonstrate traits of leadership, social responsibility, respect for their fellow students, and involvement in various aspects of the school community.
SVdP Society offers scholarships
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Lincoln and Weston’s scholarship program offers grants to adults of modest to work toward better employment prospects in areas from accounting and technology to nutrition and cosmetology. Supported by a generous grant from the Codman Foundation. Those who live or work in Lincoln or Weston or have children who attend the public schools in either town and are eligible for financial assistance are welcome to apply. Click here for more information. To make a donation to the program, click here (please indicate if you want your gift to go specifically for scholarships).
Rep. Gentile seeks spring intern
State Rep. Carmine Gentile’s office is looking for a spring semester intern. He encourages candidates from towns represented within the district, which includes Sudbury, Lincoln, Concord, Wayland, and Marlborough. If you or someone you know is an interested student, please email his aide Ravi Simon at ravi.simon@mahouse.gov.
My Turn: Reflections on Lincoln’s response to the Housing Choice Act
By Barbara Slayter
Since 2021, when Gov. Baker signed the Housing Choice Act (HCA) requiring communities on transport lines connecting them to Boston to comply with zoning requirements that permit an increase of multi-family housing, I have been keeping an eye on both the proposals of the Housing Choice Act Working Group and various community responses. Recently, I have been trying to sort out the concerns and positions that have been expressed.
Keep Lincoln Green — Lincoln is being asked to rezone 42 acres. Lincoln’s total land area is 9,216 acres. Thus, the land under consideration for rezoning is 0.4 % of the total amount. Lincoln has 40% of its land in conservation. Keeping Lincoln green does not seem to me to be an issue. In fact, “a massive radical rezoning of a huge amount of Lincoln and letting the developers have at it,” as was asserted by a participant at the November 13 meeting, seems a considerable overstatement.
Overwhelming traffic — I live on Trapelo Road, an access road for Lincoln, and am very much aware of rush hour traffic which twice a day pours through Lincoln. I have also observed that at least 90% of the cars are occupied by only the driver and are moving from outside Lincoln to another destination outside Lincoln. The rest of the day traffic is light. I am persuaded that the increase of cars owned by residents in new housing around the town center will be a small part of the traffic problem Lincoln faces and that there are other ways we might deal with traffic flow concerns.
Red herrings — There are several red herrings, but one is particularly bothersome. It is the question of affordable housing. The HCA requires only 10%. We need to have more. Therefore, the argument goes, let’s delay compliance and figure out a higher percentage that the town can determine and control.
However, in my view, if we proceed now with enabling rezoning for 635 units, we shall at least be on the way to 60-plus possibilities for affordable housing, a better option than spending more time trying to figure out how to get there. I strongly support affordable housing, but I also see here the risk of allowing the “perfect” to stand in the way of the “good.”
A second red herring, in my view, is the notion that the town has no agency in the face of “the developers.” There are all sorts of regulations and checks, and I do not foresee Lincoln’s leadership simply “rolling over and playing dead.”
Timing — Timing can be a tool; timing can be a weapon; timing can be money; timing can provide opportunity; timing can “slow walk” a proposal or project into oblivion. One question about timing utterly perplexes me. People have complained that the discussion has been moving too quickly, that we need to slow down, that they are only now learning about this act and the decisions to be made.
This has been under discussion for nearly two years. Have they attended any of the several neighborhood discussions? Or the State of the Town meeting on September 8? (About 100 people only were present.) The HCAWG has provided “tons” of information and offered numerous opportunities for discussion. Do we need more time for this discussion? I don’t think so.
Worst-case scenarios — A number have been presented and most involve traffic lights, ugly multi-story buildings, and an increasingly brown environment. My personal worst-case scenario is the continuing decline of our commercial center if we do not move expeditiously to provide the context in which it can thrive. The HZAWG website offers compelling evidence for keeping the mall area within the zone for HCA compliance.
Let’s reframe this discussion and think of some best-case scenarios in which we have several handsome three-story apartment buildings attractively landscaped, park benches, a playground, another coffee shop, and other opportunities for residents to congregate in a charming and congenial setting.
Making the decision — Somehow, we must find our way between paralyzing caution and grave risk. I firmly believe that the HCA Working Group, the Select and Planning Boards, and the Rural Land Foundation have provided a path forward to do so. I have confidence and trust in their careful investigation of the issues, their commitment to the values of the town, and their judgment. Whether or not the designated working group and various boards add newly proposed options to the roster for discussion on December 2, I hope that we shall move forward with determination to address fairly and honestly the housing crisis that exists in the greater Boston area.
And if there is any doubt in the need to do so, I recommend perusal of The Boston Foundation’s recent housing report as well as a report published two years ago by the Century Foundation on discriminatory housing policies in Massachusetts. My first two choices for December 2 with Ranked Choice Voting would be Option C and Option D-1.
“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.
Susan Sugar, 1933–2023
Susan Sugar
Susan Sugar of Lincoln died on November 7, 2023 at the age of 90.
Susan Bowen Kimball was born in New York City on July 31, 1933, the daughter of Charles Kimball Jr. and Louise Van Voorhees. Her father died when she was five years old. She grew up in Greenwich, Conn., attending Greenwich Country Day School and Abbott Academy in Andover, Mass.
She graduated from Vassar College in 1955, where she gained a B.A. degree in musicology. She married Keith Wheelock, son of Ward Wheelock, a Philadelphia-based advertiser, in 1956. They had two children: a daughter, Helen, and a son, Jamie. Keith was a Foreign Service officer, and they were posted to the Belgian Congo for three years and, later, for another three years to Santiago, Chile. They returned to the States and lived in Lincoln and Greenwich.
Susan was divorced in 1975 and moved to Lincoln in that year. She remarried in 1985 to Peter C. Sugar, a Hungarian-born architect of Lincoln. It was the second marriage for both of them.
Susan was a singer (a soprano) and member of the semiprofessional Chorus Pro Musica of Boston for several years and the choir of the First Parish Church Lincoln. She had many interests in addition to being an athlete and an excellent tennis player, winning several town tournaments with various partners. She worked as a research librarian for the advertising firm of Temple, Barker, and Sloan in Lexington and then as a librarian for the Lincoln Public Library. She retired from the latter after fifteen years to concentrate on her lifelong hobbies of gardening and birdwatching.
Susan is survived by her daughter, Helen Wheelock; her son, Jamie Wheelock and his wife Brenda and children Kay and Ian; her half-sister Betty Webster and her husband Ben Bullard and children Ashley, Lucy, and Travis and their families (Susan’s other siblings, brother Charles and sister Louise pre-deceased her), and her loving husband Peter and his children Susan Sugar Halstead, Alex Sugar, Tobias Sugar and their families. We all miss her, especially her warm personality, ready smile, good humor, and willingness to join any group or activity to help others.
If you would like to make a contribution in her memory, in lieu of flowers, please donate in her name via check to Mass Audubon, 208 South Great Rd., Lincoln, MA 01773. Burial was private in Lincoln Cemetery.
Arrangements were under the care of Concord Funeral Home, which prepared this obituary. T leave a message in her online guest book, click here.
Rezoning becomes a Town Meeting warrant article as HCA controversy continues
Faced with demands for more Housing Choice Act rezoning options, the Select Board promoted the issue to a full warrant article at the Special Town Meeting on December 2 and promised to add a fifth option to the array.
Previously, officials had proposed a paper ballot on which residents ranked their choices among the options for complying with the HCA that could be completed and submitted any time during the meeting. Now, the ballots will be collected at a specific time and tallied, probably followed by one or more standing votes in a ranked-choice format that will proceed until one of the options wins a simple majority. That option will be put before residents at the Annual Town Meeting in March.
The four current options (C, D1, D2, and D3) as well as a summary of the voting procedure can be found in this slide deck from a November 13 multiboard meeting.
Staging the vote as a warrant article will allow “full debate on the floor of Town Meeting,” Town Administrator Tim Higgins said. However, amendments to the motion will not be permitted. “This is not the amendment place — you have a set [of choices], you vote, you move forward,” Select Board member Jennifer Glass said.
Fellow board member Kim Bodner invited the recently formed Lincoln Residents for Housing Alternatives (LRHA) to “show some leadership” and pick one or two options from the many they’ve suggested and formally submit to the Housing Choice Act Working Group (HCAWG), which will meet on November 21 to finalize the list for the December 2 vote. Residents are welcome to send specific suggestions to Glass at jglassselect@lincolntown.org or Director of Planning and Land Use Paula Vaughn-MacKenzie at vaughnp@lincolntown.org before noon on Monday, Nov. 20.
The five options will be spelled out in detail when a draft motion is written shortly before the Special Town Meeting. The new option will be checked for compliance with state HCA requirements before the vote.
Many comments and opinions
The three groups at the November 13 meeting (the Planning Board was also involved) spent more than three hours debating among themselves and listened to public comments from dozens of residents in person and on Zoom.
The LRHA has complained that the HCAWG has not adequately considered rezoning possibilities that would spread permitted-by-right multifamily housing more evenly among around town rather than concentrating them around Lincoln Station. As of November 14, the group’s website proposes five additional “E” options (down from 18 last week). But some residents and officials expressed discomfort at the group’s late-breaking opposition to the choices presented by the HCAWG and consultant Utile.
“What you have here is a group of people [on HCAWG] with a range of views who spent two years developing options and had multiple opportunities for town input. Now here we are at the last stage and we’re essentially saying to people who have not participated in the process until the very end that they can hijack it,” Planning Board member Gary Taylor said. “I encourage you to think about this” in the context of whether it might make people reluctant to do the time-consuming work of serving on groups like HCAWG in the future.
“The people who spoke up most recently should not outweigh the people who spoke up earlier or outweigh the effort the working group has done… but I think ‘hijack’ is a strong word,” Select Board member Jim Hutchinson said.
Trish O’Hagen said she felt “a little shaken as a resident” by the recent appearance and opposition of the LRHA. “I don’t know their guiding principles, but I have faith in this [HCAWG] group — I know who you are and have had the opportunity to vote. I want the same level of openness from the alternate group.”
“I have a lot of respect for [HCAWG] to do the research, survey public opinion and understand what’s required,” said Lis Herbert. “They’re capable of proposing what they think is best. If [other] people didn’t pay attention in the first place, does that mean they get to sidetrack the whole thing?”
The LRHA is also advocating an option that does not involve rezoning the Lincoln mall to allow multifamily housing above the commercial spaces — a provision included in all four current options. However, if a fifth option that excludes the mall wins out next month, the HCAWG plans to propose a separate rezoning amendment in March that would allow mixed-use redevelopment at the mall.
Another point of debate was whether or not to include a “none of the above” option in December. “We have to know now if there are a lot of people that don’t like any of these options,” Planning Board member Lynn DeLisi said, adding it would be a “big mistake” not to offer that choice.
Stalling tactics?
As in other recent meetings, some residents urged the town to delay the decision-making process, but others objected to letting it continue.
“Come on — does anybody wish we were still discussing the school?” Herbert said. “I think there’s a lot of hair-splitting in the numbers… I think they’re coming up with reasons to avoid what is really an important mandate from the state to just fix this [housing crisis problem. Whether people are comfortable with it or not, it’s the right thing to do.”
Putting more of the multifamily districts in North Lincoln will effectively result in far fewer units ever actually getting built in town because of ownership conditions in the two northern segments — an existing large office building in one, and a condo association in the other that would have to unanimously approve any new construction.
“I’m curious if [the LRHA] will play ball and provide something that’s actually in the spirit of providing homes for people… I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Staci Montori.
“I’m deeply saddened and disappointed by the divisiveness coming out of this, and insulted by hearing words like ‘hijack’ and ‘not paying attention’,” Richard Ohlsten responded. “We’re feeling railroaded and feeling our voices are not being heard. The idea that we’re a bunch of malcontents and are somehow anti-housing is not true.”
“In fact, we have pushed inclusivity,” said Sara Mattes, pointing to the many affordable housing options already created in town that have freed Lincoln from the threat of a 40B development for the time being. Affordable housing throughout town and multifamily housing at the mall in particular are important, but so is a minimum amount of retail space. If the HCA mall district is approved, “all of these are going to be out the window… and the next owner [of the mall] can come in and do as they will and basically squeeze most retail out.”
Before the Select Board (which has the final say about the Town Meeting warrant) unanimously voted to add the rezoning article, the other two boards took informal votes. The Planning Board agreed with the idea by a 3-1 vote with Taylor voting nay. HCAWG was also divided on the issue; six voted in favor, three voted against (Taylor, Rachel Drew, and Kathy Shepard), and three abstained.
Polly Pike passes away at age 90
Mary “Polly” Pike
Mary S. “Polly” (Hopkins) Pike of Lincoln passed away on November 11, 2023 at the age of 90. The cause of death was complications from a fractured leg. Her husband of over 65 years, John, with whom she shared a mutual devotion, predeceased her by four months.
A graduate of Wheaton College, Polly was a lover of travel and music, particularly singing harmony with her sisters; a natural and eclectic cook; and an independent spirit. With a passion for amateur photography, she derived endless pleasure from taking and selecting pictures to feature in her home and as gifts, and she took great pride in showing off her pictures in photo competitions in various fairs in Vermont. Among her many subjects, her favorites were undoubtedly her grandchildren.
In addition to John, she was predeceased by a sister and a brother. She leaves her younger sister Peg, five children, ten grandchildren, and many in-laws, nieces and nephews, and good friends. Those who knew her will remember her as loving and generous, always eager to help a family member, friend, or good cause; and as feisty and tenacious, always willing to offer her frank assessments in any situation. She was both, until the very end.
The family will hold a private service at a later date. Arrangements are entrusted to Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord, which provided this obituary. To share a remembrance or to offer a condolence in Polly’s online guestbook, click here.
News acorns
Rhapsody to give classical piano concert
On Sunday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m., members of a group of amateur pianists known as Rhapsody are returning to offer a piano recital in Bemis Hall. On the program will be selections from Bach-Busoni, Beethoven, Brahms, Celentano, Debussy, Nielsen, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky-Pletnev.
The performance is free and open to the public. Rhapsody was formed in 2003 by a few visionary amateur pianists who sought a venue in which to perform for each other, both to grow musically and to share their musical journey with others. Comprising a dozen people from the Boston metropolitan area, members have met nearly every month for 20 years. Now an annual event, this will be their twelfth public performance on the beautifully restored Steinway in Bemis Hall.
Coming up at the library
Zoom Holiday Book Guide
Wednesday, Nov. 29 from 12-1 p.m. (Zoom)
Do you need holiday gift book suggestions for the young readers in your life? Join the children’s librarians as they review their favorite new books of the year as well as some perennial favorites. The event is open to all adults. Email dleopold@minlib.net for the Zoom invite.
Holiday Snacks with Jodi Gorman
Thursday, Nov. 30 from 4-6 p.m. (Tarbell Room)
Make holiday snacks and charcuterie plates with Happy Jars owner Jodi Gorman. For children 10+. Please email sfeather@minlib.net to register.
“The Nutcracker”: A Preview
Friday, Dec. 1 from 4-5 p.m. (Tarbell Room)
Join us for a reading of “The Nutcracker” geared to young children accompanied by dancers from the Commonwealth Ballet Company acting out some of the parts. Children get to meet the dancers after the reading. For all ages. No registration required.
“What is the Nature of the Museum?” symposium
Join the team at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum on Saturday, Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to engage with thought leaders in climate advocacy, architecture, design, and the arts. Miranda Massie, founder and executive director of the Climate Museum in New York, will be the keynote speaker. Advance registration is encouraged; donation suggested but not required (free for students).
Lincoln Holiday Green Market
The Lincoln School PTO will host the first annual Lincoln Holiday Green Market, a community yard sale just in time for the holidays, on Sunday, Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Reed Gym. Socialize with neighbors and come find unique gifts at this multi-table indoor market. Discover new-to-you toys, home goods, and gadgets at a great price while normalizing second-hand giving and saving items from landfills.
Tree-lighting at Hanscom AFB
Residents of area towns are invited to the annual holiday tree-lighting ceremony at Hanscom Air Force Base on Monday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. outside the base chapel. Col. Taona Enriquez and Chief Master Sgt. Alan Weary, installation commander and command chief, will be joined by Santa Claus to officially light the Hanscom AFB tree following a parade through base housing that begins at 3:15 p.m. and ends at the chapel. For off-base attendees, there will be reserved parking inside the Sartain Gate off Hanscom Drive. Security personnel will be on-site to provide parking instructions and guide visitors to the tree-lighting location. Visitors to the base must present a valid driver’s license or state ID upon arriving at the gate.
Holiday visits and gift bags for seniors
During the winter holidays, Council on Aging & Human Services staff visit needy seniors to deliver gift bags full of basic necessities. To fill the bags, they are collecting new, full-sized, unopened shampoo, conditioner, body wash, tissues, paper towels, toilet paper, lip balm, deodorant, disposable razors, shaving cream, kitchen sponges, trash bags, laundry soap (unscented), socks, coffee and tea, postage stamps, and pharmacy gift cards. Please deliver to Bemis Hall Monday to Friday from 8;30 a.m. to 4L:30 p.m. by Wednesday, Dec. 6. Questions? Call Abigail at 781-259-8811.
New England Performance Series: Antje Duvekot and friends
The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum will present a musical performance with Antje Duvekot on Friday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.). Antje has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition and the Boston Music Award for Outstanding Folk Act. Click here for details and tickets.
Service on Nov. 19 for Bob Lenington, 93
Bob Lenington
Robert “Bob” Lenington of Lincoln passed away on November 8, 2023. He was 93 and in his own words “I’ve had a great life.”
The greatest legacy Bob leaves is his love for his family. He married his honey, Carolyn, on July 18, 1953. This past summer they celebrated their 70 anniversary along with family, friends, and much laughter. Nothing brought Bob more happiness than traveling through life with his bride, and what an adventure it was with Captain Bob at the helm.
Bob grew up in Detroit with his mom, dad, and younger brother Sid. He held a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Wayne State University and had a varied and successful corporate career for 24 years. Taking a position with Raytheon is what prompted him and Carolyn to move to Massachusetts, where he made his home in Lincoln for 61 years. In 1977, Bob took a position at Bentley College in Waltham; he remained at Bentley for 16 years until he retired as vice president for business and finance and treasurer. Bob loved his time at Bentley — he enjoyed his peers and his team and was proud of his many accomplishments.
Bob loved his work, but he also loved to play. He was a member of the Lincoln Minute Men and was honored to be the captain during the bicentennial year’s celebration. He and Carolyn enjoyed their travels with the Minute Men, especially the bicentennial reenactment of the march of Benedict Arnold to the centenary celebration of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Swimming and tennis kept him active, as did home improvement projects, which he loved designing and then building himself. Bob also took great joy in riding the family’s horse Pandy, and on occasion, giving him a sip of his martini. Camping was a family vacation adventure that was enjoyed by all. Houseboat and RV trips kept the family vacations lively. In 1976, Bob and Carolyn bought a lake cabin, which became one of Bob’s favorite spots.
Carolyn and Bob had three girls, Kathy, Kristen, and Karen, whom he adored. He always referred to them as his three girls and delighted in pointing out to people that the women in his life were always telling him what to do. As much as he loved his girls, he was pleased that their married lives brought some sons into his world. He relished the boys’ weekends up at the lake. He delighted in being a Papa to his seven grandchildren and continued his teasing playful ways with them. He always wanted great-grandchildren and was glad he was able to welcome three great-grandsons into the family.
Travel brought immense pleasure to him. Luckily, he and Carolyn enjoyed seeing much of the world during their retirement years.
Bob was the beloved husband for 70 years of Carolyn (Barrett) Lenington. He was the dedicated father of Kristen Cavallaro and her husband Paul; Karen Martin and her husband Brad; and the late Kathy Silva and her surviving husband John. He was the cherished Papa of Josh, Courtney, Brendon, Jessica, Stephanie, Christopher, David and their partners, along with his newly minted great-grandsons Finn, Miles, and Luca.
Relatives and friends are invited to celebrate Bob’s life during visiting hours on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 3-5 p.m. at Dee Funeral Home (27 Bedford St., Concord). His funeral service will be held on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 1:30 p.m. in the Weston United Methodist Church (377 North Ave., Weston). Burial will follow with U.S. Army military honors at Lincoln Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Bob’s memory may be made to Care Dimensions in gratitude for the extraordinary hospice care Bob received (www.caredimensions.org). Arrangements are entrusted to Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord, which provided this obituary. To share a fond memory of Bob or to offer a condolence in his online guestbook, click here.
Mass Audubon gets $25 million from MathWorks
Lincoln-based Mass Audubon has received a $25 million gift spanning seven years from mathematical computing software MathWorks to help protect and restore the Commonwealth’s valuable natural lands.
The gift of $7 million in year one and $3 million in each of the six subsequent years is the largest programmatic gift in Mass Audubon’s 127-year history and will be used to acquire, restore, and preserve properties to their natural state, particularly in coastal areas. One example of such work already going on is the “rewilding” of retired cranberry bogs at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Plymouth.
“This extraordinary commitment to protecting the nature of Massachusetts is nothing short of transformative, and we are forever grateful for MathWorks’ overwhelming generosity,” said David O’Neill, president of Mass Audubon. “It’s so heartening to see a world-renowned company like MathWorks prioritize the natural world, and we are honored they are entrusting us to carry out such important work.”
Since the gift spans several years, “there’s not a lot of specifics right now” on how the funds might impact Drumlin Farm or other wildlife sanctuaries overseen by Mass Audubon, said Aaron Gouveia, the organization’s director of public relations.
“The opportunity for nature to play a role in fighting climate change is more vital than ever,” said Jeanne O’Keefe, SVP and CFO of MathWorks, said in a press release. “Between Mass Audubon’s 127-year history of conservation and MathWorks’ commitment to its local communities and green initiatives, we’re confident this kind of partnership will inspire even more corporate social responsibility and lead to the protection of outdoor spaces that benefit people and wildlife across the state.”
In fiscal 2022, Mass Audubon received $8.87 million in gifts, grants, and government contracts, according to its annual report for that year. Its operating budget in 2022 was $32.53 million. In 2019 (the most recent data readily available), MathWorks more than $9.7 million for educational programs, which included research grants, university fellowships, curriculum development, and museum partnerships with 15 organizations in four countries including Mass Audubon.
Locally, the Carroll School on Old Sudbury Road gave Mass Audubon 85 acres of land straddling the Lincoln/Wayland border (part of 103 acres from an anonymous donor) in 2020. That parcel is now part of the Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary.
News acorns
Charity open house at Masonic Lodge
The Joseph Warren-Soley Masonic Lodge (181 Lincoln Rd.) will host a dozen local charities on Tuesday, Nov. 14 from 4-5:30 p.m. when residents can stop by, enjoy some appetizers, and learn more about these valuable organizations. Questions and RSVPs can be sent to Alan Vogt at alanvogt@gmail.com.
Session on herbalism and social justice
How do we reconnect with our ancestral ways of engaging the Earth? What would it look like to be in right relationship with the plants that support us and our communities? How can plant medicine inform and support justice work? Find out in “Honoring the True Roots of Herbalism: A Dialogue about Plants, Decolonization, and Liberation” with Nathalie Rodriguez and Denise Goitia, two queer bi-racial Latinx folk herbalists and community healers, on Wednesday, Nov. 15 from 6-7:30 p.m. on Zoom. Co-hosted by Farrington Nature Linc, the Somerville Community Growing Center, and the City of Somerville. Registration required via this form.
Learn about the region’s black bears
The Walden Woods project invites residents to learn about “Bears of the East: Kilham Bear Center & Black Bear Behavior” in a virtual session on Thursday, Nov. 16 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. Ben Kilham from Kilham Bear Center in New Hampshire will discuss his first-hand experiences raising cubs and observing black bears. The presentation is illustrated with in-the-field photos and there will be a Q&A. Click here to learn more and register.
Grown-ups Night Out at Codman
On Thursday, Nov. 16 from 8–10 p.m. in the Codman Community Farms kitchen, all are welcome to join LincFam for another Grown-ups’ Night Out with delicious apple pie from Codman chef Tillie as well as hot tea, hot chocolate and a splash of rum! We will also be collecting gently used board books for families in the emergency shelter in Concord through First Connections. Tickets are $10 payable at the event or Venmo to @LincFam. Click here to RSVP.
deCordova hosts folk concert
The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum will host Canadian folk musician Abigail Lapell performing on vocals, piano, harmonica and finger-style guitar on Friday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5:30 p.m.) in the Dewey Family Hall on the third floor of the museum. Guests can pre-order dinner from Twisted Tree Cafe at deCordova. Click here for details and tickets.
Sister of slain woman to speak at Domestic Violence Roundtable
In March 2015, Needham resident Susan Altman learned that her sister Stacy had been found dead in a bathtub in her home in Denver. The cause and manner of her death were initially undetermined, but Susan and others strongly suspected there was more to the story. It took seven years to have Stacy’s husband brought to trial, convicted of first-degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison in a case featured on NBC’s Dateline. Susan will speak about her experiences in advocating for justice for Stacy and moving through the world as a trauma survivor with the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. in person at the Goodnow Library (21 Concord Rd., Sudbury) and on Zoom. For more information, email infordvrt@gmail.com. To register to attend either in-person or on Zoom, click here.
Lincoln Public Schools have openings
The Lincoln Public School District (Lincoln and Hanscom AFB) has several positions to be filled, especially substitute teachers and bus monitors. Other open positions include school psychologist, flute and piano teachers, food service workers, academic tutors, lunch and recess monitors, and a night custodian. Please explore the job listings on our website and share with anyone who may have interest.