The Swellesley Report

Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

A family remembers a daughter and a sister taken too soon—Natalie Gubbay

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Editor’s note: It has been two months since the tragic passing of Natalie Gubbay, age 26. Natalie, a Wellesley High School graduate, died on October 23, in  Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a senseless car accident caused by a reckless drunk driver. She was waiting at a stop light, coming home from a trivia night with friends.

Her family has sent words of remembrance on the two-month anniversary without their daughter and sister.

Remembering Natalie

It has been two months. Two months of gut wrenching, soul stripping, physical and emotional, agonizing pain. In my journal I describe it as “feeling a hole inside us so large and empty and hollow that it is like having a severe stomach bug and a feeling of starvation at the same time. A huge anxious pit that can never go away.” Our dear, beautiful Natalie, aged 26, killed by a drunk driver while waiting at a stop light in downtown Minneapolis. The day after the crash, she was supposed to be on a plane to Charlottesville, visiting her 21-year-old sister Olivia and her Mom and Dad for parents’ weekend at UVA. She was so looking forward to it.

Natalie Gubbay, Wellesley
Natalie Gubbay

There is a before, and there is an after. We will never be the same.

It’s the holidays. We should be anticipating Natalie coming home to where she grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Where she has never missed a Christmas or a Thanksgiving. She would be telling us her latest news from Minneapolis. How she was happy that she had completed her National Science Foundation Scholarship proposal and her PhD applications. She would be sitting in a coffee shop with friends, discussing books and gift swap ideas, going for a last run in the cold before getting on a plane home. Once here our usual activities would resume. Cooking for sure. The girls would take over the kitchen for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, much to our delight, and many adventurous vegetarian dishes would be conjured up. We would be going on walks and hikes, visiting friends and neighbors, sitting around the fire pit, playing games, Catan, hearts, spades or anything involving a ball from ping pong to pickle ball or paddle tennis, to throwing a football back and forth while walking the dog through the neighborhood, and of course, watching Harry Potter movies.

Natalie had virtually no social media, never had a TV. She lived in the real world around her, always active, always curious, talking with people, never sitting around. Every Thursday she volunteered teaching English to Spanish-speaking adults. She regularly gave her time at a homeless center. Her roommate told us that on hot days she would buy bottled water and hand it out to the homeless, and on frigid Minnesota winter days she would spend her money to buy hand warmers to hand out. Nat dedicated her personal time to helping others less fortunate, being present, connecting with others.

Natalie was a young adult about to embark on her next chapter. Soaring forth, with her characteristic drive of always caring for others, living simply and without excess, and bringing community with her. She was unique. A 26-year-old with a brilliant mind and a caring heart, an old soul daring to dream of a better world. Senselessly taken from us and the world just as she was coming into her own.

It’s hard to accept that we will never get our beautiful Natalie back.

Dear, beautiful Nat,
We love you so, so much,
But you were taken away
There’s nothing more to say
The poem ends
Soft, as it began
We miss you so, so much
Our dear, beautiful Nat.

Natalie has a memorial at Woodlawn Cemetery, which we refer to as Natalie’s Rock. As the engraving says, she will be in our hearts and minds forever.

Natalie Gubbay, Wellesley
Natalie Gubbay memorial, Woodlawn Cemetery.

We love you so much Nat,

Rachel (mom), Keith (dad) and Olivia (sister)

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Update on Elm Bank Reservation sledding situation

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We were surprised/not surprised to see on Sunday morning at Elm Bank Reservation that people were sledding a day after MassHort and local police stopped people from doing so in the wake of the area’s first decent snow of the season, as first reported in The Swellesley Report.

Fencing around the area had been torn down and cars were parked along the road. A local TV reporter was snooping around.

A bunch of people have commented on our original post and on social media following our report.

Elm Bank fence down, sledding

A man from one family sledding on the hill said they are from Holliston and had come to the park to take some photos and sled, unaware that there was any sort of ban on doing so. We returned in the afternoon to do some cross-country skiing and the hill was vacant, perhaps due to the frigid temps.

MassHort, which has its headquarters at Elm Bank on Rte. 16 on the Wellesley/Dover/Natick line, was preventing people from using the popular sledding hill to protect the area where it has now begun planting tulips, sunflowers, and more as part of seasonal events. What’s more, that area is protected by electrical fencing that could shred sledders.

Elm Bank fence down, sledding
Flattened electric fence

 

While we were at the site people were sledding on the left side of the hill away from where that fencing is situated.

Elm Bank regulars in recent months have already been reaching out to State Rep. David Linsky about the fencing, which makes it dicey to walk, run or bike around the park’s ring road. Pedestrians and cyclists have less of a shoulder to use when large vehicles pass by.

Rep. Linsky, in a phone call on Sunday, told us that he paid a visit to Elm Bank on Sunday to survey the situation, including a few hundred yards of downed fence and a handful of sledders. He was contacted by “lots of neighbors” once the snow came.

“I’m not in favor of someone using ‘self-help and knocking down the fence. That’s the wrong way to do things,” Linsky said. “But we’ll see how MassHort reacts.”

Linsky has been in touch with a DCR commissioner, who said MassHort will need a permit to re-establish the fence. That process should enable a meeting of the minds between himself, DCR, MassHort, and perhaps neighbors to come up with “a compromise acceptable to everyone.”

We’ve reached out to MassHort’s director to see if there has been any change in the organization’s approach to the hill.

MassHort has a dollar-a-year, 99-year lease on Elm Bank that began in 1996, with the organization agreeing to make upgrades to the property as part of the agreement.

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Man pleads guilty to house breaks targeting Asian & South Asian families, including in Wellesley

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The Middlesex District Attorney’s office has announced that a New York man has pleaded guilty to a series of ten housebreaks across Newton, Wellesley, Andover, and Quincy.  The breaks targeted homes belonging to Asian or South Asian families.

“His plan not only violated the victims’ sense of safety, but, in one instance, he created a physical threat for the family, including children, who were at home during the break,” said District Attorney Marian Ryan. “This case is an example of a frightening trend of targeted breaks. However, it also illustrates that we are committed to working collaboratively across agencies and multiple counties, if necessary, to hold those accountable who are organizing these complex criminal schemes.”

Between June and July of 2021, ten homes were broken into, four in Newton, four in Quincy, one in Wellesley and one in Andover. During these housebreaks approximately $200,000 worth of property was stolen, including currency, designer watches, jewelry and a handgun.

Geolocation and cell tower data obtained pursuant to search warrants revealed that the same Google account holder/phone subscribers were appearing at the location of all of the breaks.

In total, the man pleaded guilty to twenty-one indictments, and was sentenced to 4-5 years in State Prison as a Common and Notorious Thief. That sentence will run consecutively with a 5.5 to 11 year sentence already being served in New York state for similar conduct. The man was additionally sentenced to a three-year term of probation on an additional twenty counts charging Unarmed Burglary, Breaking and Entering, Larcenies in Buildings, Larceny of a Firearm and Attempted Breaking and Entering.

A co-defendant is scheduled for trial on April 14, 2025.

The investigation into this matter was conducted by the Newton Police, Wellesley Police, Andover Police, Quincy Police and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, with assistance from the New England State Police Information Network.

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MassHort shuts down Wellesley’s beloved Elm Bank sledding hill

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In the wake of Wellesley’s first significant snowfall of the year, it’s time to grab the sleds and head over to the hill at Elm Bank Reservation, right?

Wrong.

Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which has a long-term lease on the property from the state, has shut down access to the popular sledding hill because it has begun to use the space at the bottom for seasonal gardens that have pulled in thousands of patrons.

Those making the traditional trek to the hill on Saturday didn’t have thoughts of daffodils or sunflowers in their heads though. I was with a group of kids at heart that had just finished an annual 3-loop run around the ring road at Elm Bank to celebrate the winter solstice, and we’d planned to top off the morning activity with a couple of spectacular sledding runs down the hill as in years past. But just as we’d started to head across the field we were informed by MassHort Executive Director James Hearsum, who pulled up in his car, that the hill was no longer open to the public.

Sledders at Elm Bank
Despondent kids at heart put on brave faces after being shut down from sledding at Elm Bank

 

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We were warned that because of electric fencing put in place that we could get decapitated or otherwise injured if we tried zipping down the slope. Something about insurance, lawyers, etc., etc. Hey, we don’t want anyone coming up daisies.

MassHort’s fencing off of the area this year, which makes walking or running around the ring road alongside traffic increasingly hairy, has gotten the attention of State Rep. David Linsky and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (it’s unclear whether any changes will be made).

I later watched as two adults and a young girl, sled in tow, were informed by the fun police that they were not allowed to access the hill. They were referred to a nearby slope. Alternatives in town, depending on where you live, might include the steeper hill at Wellesley College (a police officer there told me there was a good crowd on Saturday morning), the slope at the Warren Building in Wellesley Hills, and others.

sledding elm bank
MassHort’s James Hearsum breaks the bad news about the former sledding hill

 

MassHort has decided at this point not to post signs, though it could get pretty old for employees to hang out and play Scrooge. A neighborhood Dad I know pulled in to scout out the hill for his kids, and I confirmed the news that he feared.

The heavy artillery, Dover police, were called in keep would-be sledders off the hill. (While we claim Elm Bank for Wellesley, and it’s true that the address for the property and the bridge are in Wellesley, the land is in Dover).

dover police at elm bank
An unenviable job: Put the sled down and…

 

MassHort’s hope is that the shutdown will get out by word of mouth (and I told Hearsum I’d post something about it to help save some people the trip and maybe head off a Festival of Tears).

A paved sidewalk was installed next to the Elm Bank entrance a couple of years back that made it easier for neighbors to walk over to the reservation with their sleds and not have to go into busy Rte. 16.

elm bank not sledding
One family’s sled went unused due to the hill shutdown, though a new puppy dragged one kid around on the field

 

On its website welcome page, MassHort states that it “seeks to engage guests with the importance of plants, gardens and natural landscapes in their lives and help them to become active growers and gardeners themselves.” While MassHort has bolstered its gardens over the years, the naturalness of the landscape has come to include an awful lot of unnatural metal fencing.

A Swellesley fun fact: The very first page on our website back in 2005 was called “Where to Sled in Wellesley,” as I’d been looking for a resource online that laid out the options and couldn’t find one. A photo and description of the Elm Bank hill was right on top of the page.

Time for us to update that page, and for sledders to consult it for alternatives to Elm Bank…

MassHort has a buck-a-year, 99-year lease on Elm Bank that began in 1996, with the organization agreeing to make upgrades to the property. So there’s always hope that in 2095 kids can return to the sledding hill.

former Elm Bank sledding hill

 

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Join the Wellesley Town Hall Art Working Group

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Wellesley’s beautifully renovated Town Hall will open to the public on December 26, 2024.

As residents, staff, and visitors return to this historic building, the Select Board has created a Town Hall Art Working Group to make recommendations on artwork and artifacts to display throughout the interior of Town Hall.

Wellesley Town Hall, Dec. 2024

Residents and Town leaders are invited to be part of this working group. Meetings will begin in January 2025 to discuss and review existing art and artifacts, working closely with Town staff and Select Board members.

The group will include a diverse array of members from various backgrounds and experiences who are interested in serving and:

  • Have professional expertise in space design, place-making, and/or architecture; and/or
  • Have expertise in art, display and presentation of art, and historical, cultural, and educational materials; and/or
  • Have an appreciation of Wellesley’s history, cultural diversity, and the role Town Hall plays as an important symbol in the community and a place to celebrate the Town and its residents.

If you are interested in serving on the Town Hall Art Working group, please email Assistant Executive Director Corey Testa at ctesta@wellesleyma.gov by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 10, 2025.

Please include: (1) Full name, (2) Home address, (3) Email address and phone number, and (4) a 3-5 sentence personal statement of interest.

Have questions or need additional information? Please email Corey Testa.

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More papers pulled for Wellesley town-wide offices: Rec & Natural Resources Commission now have candidates

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Another week, another batch of candidates for Wellesley town-wide offices, including two commissions for which papers hadn’t been pulled as of our previous check-in on the morning of Dec. 11. Here’s an update on candidates who have pulled papers as of the morning of Dec. 18.

The Recreation Commission now has two candidates for two 3-year terms. Incumbent Laurance Stuntz seeks re-election, and Nathalie de Fontnouvelle have each pulled papers for this town body whose mission is “to increase people’s enjoyment of living in Wellesley and build a deeper sense of community, as we provide recreational and educational opportunities to all Wellesley residents, regardless of age, ability & means.”

Stuntz writes: “I’m seeking reelection for a third term because I’m excited to support our excellent Recreation Department as we expand our partnerships with other Town organizations and develop new programs for residents. Importantly, we expect to be working with the Natural Resources Commission to complete the design and the build of the Morses Pond bath house redevelopment. As a project that received overwhelming support at Town Meeting in 2023, I look forward to seeing it to completion as a crown jewel for the Town that we can all be proud of.”

(de Fontnouvelle is busy collecting signatures and expects to check back in with us in January.)

The Natural Resources Commission now also has two candidates for one three-year term. Lisa Gieger and Thomas Hammond have stepped forward to try to fill this slot. Lisa Collins’s term expires in March on this board, whose mission is “provide stewardship of, education about, and advocacy for the Town of Wellesley’s parks, conservation, recreation and open space areas so the full value of the Town’s natural assets can be passed onto future generations.”

Gieger has been busy in recent months promoting “Skip the Stuff,” a concept that would, via an Annual Town Meeting article, put in place bylaw amendments to establish customer opt-in for single-use serviceware and single serving packaged condiments.

Hammond served on NRC from 1992-1996, including as chairman from 1993-1994 (he also served as chair of the Pesticide Study Committee from 1992-1995). While his job responsibilities didn’t allow him to continue in town government after that, he has retired and is now back at it. “One point that I believe needs to be made and that is that too many special interests want to avoid broad policies that were put in place to protect our water and our vacant land,” he writes. “As an NRC member I would work to promote the protection of our open space and passive recreation areas as well as our drinking water.”

Other prominent boards also have new candidates.

Odessa Sanchez has entered the Select Board race, which also includes Kenneth Largess and Michael Tauer. One 3-year term is up for grabs for the town’s chief executive board.

Sanchez and her family have established deep roots in Wellesley over the past 16 years. She has run for the Board in the past, and currently serves as chair of the Wellesley Housing Authority Board. She’s also the varsity cheerleading coach at Wellesley High School. Sanchez writes: “Serving our community is not just a privilege but a responsibility. Whether it’s something as small as carpooling residents to public meetings, my role as chair of the Wellesley Housing Authority Board, sitting on Town Meeting or my tireless work on several other committees and organizations, I live to make a positive impact on our community.”

Illana Nissenbaum has pulled papers for both 3- and 1-year terms on the School Committee, though will need to make a choice come ballot time. Incumbent Sharon Clarke looks to win the 1-year seat. David Bower had earlier pulled papers for the 3-year seat.

No papers have been pulled yet for one 3-year term on the Board of Assessors. Current chair Stephen Mahoney’s term expires in March.

There’s still time for candidates to step forward. Nomination papers for Wellesley’s town-wide offices and Town Meeting member seats became available on Dec. 4.

Pull papers at the Town Clerk’s office, located at 888 Worcester Street, Suite 140 until Dec. 18. As of Dec. 26, nomination papers will be available at the reopened Town Hall building at 525 Washington St.

Nomination papers must be returned by 5 p.m. on Jan. 14, 2025. The annual Town Election is slated for March 4, 2025.

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