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Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Truly’s makes its big move next door

February 3, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Truly’s this Friday officially opens at its new space next door at 39 Grove St., where it’s expanding beyond its dozens of flavors of frozen yogurt and ice cream with baked goods and Peet’s coffee. So ignore those single digit temperatures, and prove your true love for cold treats—or warm ones.

We dropped by an open house on Thursday night where attendees enjoyed free goodies and shared well wishes with the Marcus family, which owns and operates Truly’s. In addition to serving Peet’s, much to the delight of those who miss the coffee shop that closed in 2021, Truly’s is partnering with Revival Cafe & Kitchen and Flourhouse Bakery for its baked goods.

The new Truly’s space isn’t all that much bigger than the longtime space at 35 Grove St., Steve Marcus says, but it’s configured to give patrons more room to queue up and for more employees to operate behind the counters (often those employees are local students). The former main Truly’s space will now be used by the business as a commissary.

Truly’s, which has been in town since 1989, is on the Select Board agenda next week in hopes of securing approval to open earlier to serve coffee and baked goods.

truly's
Truly’s Jeff Marcus (behind the counter) shares a laugh with Gary Goldman, Truly’s previous longtime owner (photo courtesy of Beth Sullivan Woods)

 

truly's

truly's

truly's

truly's
Wall decor includes memories shared by Truly’s patrons

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Filed Under: Business, Restaurants

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Linden Square, Wellesley
 
EXPLO, Wellesley

Wellesley sports: Reidy field due for new scoreboard; 8th grader Bella Gopen wins tennis title; Super Sox fan; Wellesley lax all-stars in A Shot for Life games

February 1, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The latest Wellesley, Mass. sports news:

Reidy field due for new scoreboard

Wellesley Youth Baseball & Softball is seeking to replace the scoreboard at Reidy Field that was installed in 2007 when the field was renovated.

“We have been nursing our old scoreboard along since 2016, but it finally ‘bit the dust’ in 2021,” says organization admin Ann Williams.

The new board wouldn’t have any “fancy bells and whistles,” but would just include the basics such as home and away scoring, balls, strikes, etc. The hope is to have it in place by opening day, April 24.

The subject is on the Natural Resources Commission agenda for its Feb. 2 meeting.

ALCubs_17Champs-1000x429
The Reidy Field scoreboard all lit up in better days (2017)

8th grader Bella Gopen wins tennis championship

With her recent United States Tennis Association New England 14-and under Sectional Championship win, Wellesley Middle School 8th grader Bella Gopen has become one of the top young players around.

bella gopen
Bella Gopen & her giant trophy

Gopen didn’t just win the Sectional Championship this year—she dominated at the Jan. 13-15 event at Concord’s Thoreau Club. The Wellesley resident made the finals a year ago as a first-year 14-and-under player, so expectations were high. She handled it by not dropping a set.

Gopen started hitting the ball around with her mom at the age of 8. Now 14, Gopen has been playing USTA competitive tennis since she was 11, and is competing both regionally and nationally.

This past December, she traveled to Tuscon to play in the USTA Winter Nationals LI, where she and doubles partner Sasha Miroshnichenko (Southlake, Texas) reached the quarterfinals of the girls 14 doubles.

“I  love the competition aspect of tennis and problem solving on the court,” Gopen says. “I also love my tennis friends who understand the hard work and sacrifice this sport entails to do well.”

Strengths for Gopen are her consistency and “patience to move the ball until I get the right one to be aggressive and put away with my forehand or at net.” Running down balls and playing tough defense are also signature skills.

Off the court, Gopen loves to cook and hang out with her friends and family.


Super Sox fan Lynne Smith gets AARP’s attention

Wellesley’s Lynne Smith, she of the eye-catching Red Sox outfits, is among the fans over 50 highlighted in an AARP online magazine article. While others obsess over Harry Styles or The Sopranos, Smith (and husband Gary) are huge Sox fans, and Lynne wears her devotion on her sleeve and pretty much everywhere else.

“A few years ago, the Red Sox made me a special ambassador, and I can go anywhere in the park. It’s a magical place, and fans like to get their picture taken with the Hat Lady. I once calculated that I’ve been in about 10,000 photos,” she tells AARP.

Lynne Smith, Fenway Hat Lady, Wellesley
Wellesley’s Lynne Smith, with ex-Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley

Wellesley lacrosse all-stars tapped to play in A Shot for Life game

shot for lifeWellesley residents Charlie Hazard (Belmont Hill) and Avery Mather (Dana Hall) have been selected to participate in a lacrosse all-star game dubbed A Shot for Life that raises funds for the Mass General Cancer Center. A Shot for Life events also include other sports, including baseball, softball, basketball, and soccer.

This cause is of special interest to Mather, whose mother Heather says Avery’s grandmother has been successfully treated at MGH. “So this lacrosse fundraising seemed like the perfect confluence of interests for her.”

The Clash Against Cancer games will be played later in February (the girls’ game is on Feb. 26 at Union Point in Weymouth).


More: Wellesley’s 2023 Boston Marathon charity runners

Filed Under: Sports

Page Waterman, Wellesley
London Harness, Wellesley
Wellesley Lacrosse

Wellesley Choral Society’s Feb. 4 concert inspired by Silver Screen

January 31, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley Choral SocietyThe Wellesley Choral Society‘s next concert, “Music from the Silver Screen,” will take place on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 7pm at the Wellesley Hill Congregational Church (Sanctuary), 207 Washington St. in Wellesley.

The music performed will be a mix of movie themes, classical and popular songs, and Broadway show tunes found in film.  Selections from such films as Amadeus, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, Disney productions, and many more will be presented.  The WCS is led by Edward Whalen, music director, and will be accompanied on piano by Hisako Hiratsuka.

The event, while traditionally in a pops/cabaret style with refreshments, will be in concert form with no refreshments served this year due to COVID protocols.  There will be a sing-along and silent auction (cash or check only, please).  Masks are required for audience and singers.

The Wellesley Hills Congregational Church is accessible and there is ample free parking.  Tickets may be purchased online or at the door: general admission $20, seniors and students $15, ages 12 and under are free.  The Society has donated a limited number of free tickets to the Council on Aging at the Tolles Parsons Center, 500 Washington, St., Wellesley.  Please call 781-235-3961 to see if tickets are still available.


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Filed Under: Music

Sara Campbell, Wellesley

Wellesley Town Meeting has full plate: Stormwater fund, equity audit, a Hardy helper & more

January 30, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley Town Meeting, when it meets starting on March 27 at the middle school in person for the first time since pre-pandemic days, will have 47 articles and who knows how many motions to decide upon.

You can wade through the articles yourself below, plus get a richer understanding by checking out the Advisory Committee’s hearing on the articles on Thursday, Feb. 9.

We saw no big surprises on the warrant, though plenty for Town Meeting to chew on.

While about half of the articles come from the Select Board, the Board of Public Works will keep Town Meeting busy with a handful as well. These include approval for funding an Enterprise Stormwater Utility Fund to enable Wellesley to more fairly pay for handling stormwater in light of increased rules for doing so. This effort has been in the works for the past couple of years. The fund will result in yet another bill for property owners, though the Department of Public Works has tried to soften the blow for many by pointing to a set-up that will result in colleges and other big property owners paying more for such services than they have under the current system. Also on tap from Public Works is an article to fund a huge project to reconstruct, rehab and repair Weston Road this summer.

Article 17 pairs adoption of an anti-racism and anti-bias resolution and funding of a $100K equity audit. The audit will establish a baseline to understand how racism and unconscious bias might affect town polices and practices, and help to develop a path forward to address such issues.

Town Meeting may or may not be asked to approve more funding for the Hardy Elementary School construction project, as the latest bidding amounts, per School Committee member Melissa Martin at a recent meeting, have come in lower than expected. More data will become available between now and Town Meeting, but to play things safe, Article 19 from the School Committee and Permanent Building Committee has been included on the warrant. (See also: “Hardy School in Wellesley within budget—for now”).

There’s 1 citizen petition on the warrant, and it seeks to pause installation of new field or court lights on public land until a committee is formed to analyze the costs and benefits associated with adding lights. A private fundraising effort to cover the cost of light installation at Hunnewell track & field is well underway after a contentious decision-making process regarding light installation. The Natural Resources Commission last year approved a School Committee plan to add lights.

Other articles deal with topics such as greener building standards, more accessible public housing, a big battery storage system, extending the term of office for the moderator from 1 year to 3, and putting more teeth into wetlands violations.

Download (PDF, 1.1MB)

Filed Under: Government

Rep. Peisch to address 1 of the great mysteries: How our laws are made

January 30, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Massachusetts Legislative Process: How Our Laws Are Made

State Rep. Alice Peisch, WellesleyJoin state Rep. Alice Peisch as she explains the life cycle of a bill through committee and beyond, and how you can advocate for policy change. The event takes place on Saturday, Feb 4, 11am-12:30pm, at Wellesley Free Library’s main branch (530 Washington St.)

This presentation is free and open to the public.

Registration is appreciated.

Sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Wellesley


Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Filed Under: Government, Wellesley Free Library

Deland, Gibson, Wellesley
Rick Cram, leader

State to Wellesley: Not so fast on mediation over school contract

January 28, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Wellesley School Committee issued an update on Saturday regarding its labor negotiations with the Wellesley Educators Association. With negotiations stalled, the School Committee has sought mediation through the state.

“Late Friday afternoon, we received a letter from the Department of Labor Relations (DLR) regarding the petition to enter mediation that was filed with the state more than six weeks ago by the School Committee.

The DLR has informed both the School Committee and the WEA that, while the DLR is retaining the authority to assist our negotiations, they have directed both parties to schedule additional bargaining sessions to further clarify – and hopefully narrow – the scope of outstanding issues prior to a potential start of mediation at the end of February.”

We look forward to resuming bargaining sessions with the WEA as soon as possible and are hopeful that we can make further progress before reporting back to the DLR at the end of next month.”

Following its regularly scheduled Jan. 31 public meeting, the School Committee will go into executive session (behind closed doors) to discuss its collective bargaining strategy with the WEA.

Separately, the WEA on Feb. 2 (7-8pm) is hosting a second webinar for the community during which it will give an update on bargaining with the School Committee and allow for audience questions. We reported earlier on the first webinar in January.


We love it when school parents/guardians/students pass along school memos to us (they are public records). This helps the entire Wellesley community understand school issues better: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Filed Under: Education

Before you dump that box of Pokémon cards at the Wellesley Give & Take…

January 27, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

One result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the forced homebody time it brought about is that more people found themselves revisiting their long-forgotten sports cards and other memorabilia, or developed a new interest in collecting items through various online options. Locally, Thomas Picher, “just looking for something to do” during the pandemic, improbably gained a fascination in old coins and stamps, and even renewed a short-lived interest in Pokémon cards that he had as a kid.

Now the 20-year-old is morphing his pandemic-borne hobbies into a business opportunity by helping others assess the value of their treasures.

“It’s not necessarily the value that gets me excited. It’s the unknown that the next thing I find could be something extremely rare or really old,” he says.

Thanks, Gramps

Thomas Picher
Thomas Picher

Picher was given hundreds of old coins and a big stamp collection by his grandfather in 2020, plus he was shown bins of cards from his dad and uncle. The current UMass Dartmouth sophomore then began to dig in. “For the next few months I was completely focused on that. I bought books and catalogs to figure out what we had, to learn the prices,” he says.

There were unsurprisingly no Pokémon cards in his grandfather’s collection (they emerged in Japan in the mid-1990s, in the United States in the early 2000s), but wrestler/podcaster/Youtube star Logan Paul sparked fresh interest in Pokémon cards, in part by forking over millions for a super rare one. The buzz returned Picher’s attention to the market for trading cards bearing images of Pikachu and the gang.

Picher’s father, Tom, says the value of Pokémon cards caught them by surprise. While many people might hesitate before getting rid of baseball cards, understanding they might have some value, kids—or their parents—would be more likely to just throw away Pokémon cards, he says.

For those of you who have fallen out of the trading cards loop, or who were never in it to begin with, a lot has changed from the days of flipping cards against walls and sticking them in between bicycle tire spokes. The market has had its serious ups and down, but has been booming of late. Dramatic openings of card packages are live-streamed. Topps is still a leader among card makers, but Panini and others are popular, too. Trading card grading services like PSA help collectors find out what their items are “worth,” and enable trusted buying and selling of these valuables.

Picher has been a quick study in the value of cards and other collectibles, and along with his father, has sent in cards to be graded.

Researching the value and history of cards, coins, and stamps is a mix of paper-based and online research for Picher. So while the web does provide fast access to some information, and enables transactions through services such as eBay and craiglist, the hobby itself also allows Picher a screen-time break.

Picher was excited to tell me about “a really good magnifying glass” he recently acquired that allows him to zoom in on details that the naked eye would not see on coins and stamps. “There are a lot of little things you wouldn’t realize are there…erosion of a stamp, little differences in printing that can make a big difference in their value,” he says.

Sharing his knowledge

Picher continues to learn about collectibles from home as well as by taking it on the road. He’s hit yard sales and has the Wellesley Recycling & Disposal Facility’s Give & Take area on his list. He and his dad attended a massive card show in Atlantic City, with collections worth millions on display.

Through word of mouth and other means, Picher has begun appraising the value of others’ collections.

He described visiting a couple in Wayland who had been collecting all sorts of things for 50 years. “It’s good to meet with people face to face to discuss their collections,” he says. “Their house was filled.”

Picher wisely isn’t aiming to fill his parents’ house, so keeps a balance between buying and selling. “I’m not really focused on building my collection,” he says, adding that he’ll target items that he finds particularly meaningful or unique, maybe a LeBron James rookie card, or anything to do with Yankees Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter.

Picher’s friends include past card collectors, but none of them are doing anything like he is. “They think it’s cool, but they’re not into it themselves,” he says.

If you’re tempted to learn more about this hobby or are curious about how much your stuff might be worth, Picher is available to help.

For starters, he suggests identifying your most likely valuable items. With sports cards, this often means star players and those same players as rookies. With Pokémon cards, since they are newer, condition isn’t as much of a differentiator as it can be with sports cards, but there were fewer Pokémon cards produced at the start, so those earlier editions, and special holographic cards can be worth more. With stamps and coins, usually the older the better; pre-1964 U.S. quarters and some other coins were made from silver, so they’re worth something extra right away.

If you’re interested in having Picher assess your collection, you can text him at 617 659 2686. Send photos of a few items to start and describe what you’re interested in knowing. And if you’ve got a 1999 1st Edition Holographic Charizard Pokémon card, by all means, don’t hesitate to ping him.

(You can also check out his eBay store.)


Got a unique story to share? Let us know at theswellesleyreport@gmail.com


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