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Little Free Libraries in Wellesley

June 25, 2022 by Duncan Brown Leave a Comment

If you’re in pursuit of free books, there are probably some within walking distance of you, nestled inside of a Little Free Library. Little Free Libraries are small wooden boxes, painted or otherwise decorated, and filled with free reading material. Anyone can take books out of the library, at any time of day, and either return them at their leisure or hold on to them indefinitely.

Little Free Library Wellesley 309 Washington Street
Little Free Library at UU Wellesley Hills, 309 Washington Street, Wellesley.

Despite what you may think, these little libraries don’t grow out of the earth, spawned by Wellesley citizens’ love for literature and accessible reading. Little Free Library is a non-profit organization who’s goal is to spread accessibility to reading for people all over the world. The accessibility to their Libraries is part of their effort to remove barriers, such as the difficulty in finding transportation to a library, or financial barriers to owning books.

Beyond concerns about accessibility, Little Free Libraries aim to make reading easy and exciting. If you go around to the various LFLs in town you might notice that they tend to cluster around elementary schools.

Little Free Library, Pickerel Road, Wellesley

You might be wondering just how Little Free Libraries come into existence; luckily, The Swellesley Report has had first-hand experience in setting one up. By contacting the LFL organization we were able to have one of their libraries delivered to us, unpainted and in separate pieces. From there it was a simple matter of hiring an artistically inclined friend to add some art to the sides, putting the pieces together, and getting permission from the town to install it. The Swellesely Little Free Library now resides on Barton Road, stocked with books for the taking. Ours is certainly not the only one in town, and we have done our best to hunt down and take pictures of as many as we could find, which you can check out on our Little Free Library page.

little free library barton road
The Swellesley Report’s Little Free Library at Barton Road, Wellesley

 


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Filed Under: Books

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One final Hunnewell clap-out & shouts of “Judie! Judie! Judie!” for beloved crossing guard

June 21, 2022 by Duncan Brown Leave a Comment

Hunnewell families gathered at the elementary school today to applaud the students of the school as they walked out it for one final time.

Hunnewell Clap Out

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Hunnewell Elementary School is slated to be torn down and rebuilt beginning this summer, making this 5th grade class the last generation of students to graduate from the old building. Despite the building seeing out its last batch of students, spirits were high from both children and parents alike. Parents gathered in the center of the field behind the school, and the students walked out of the building, circling the applauding audience.

Hunnewell Clap Out
Parents corralled and waiting to cheer

The building is not the only thing leaving, however. Judie Johnson, who has been a crossing guard for the school for the past 58 years, is also retiring. Judie was showered with applause, given flowers, and serenaded with a chant of “Judie! Judie! Judie!” (More from WBZ TV-4)

Hunnewell Clap Out
Judie, sharply dressed as always

Hunnewell Clap Out

The new building is expected to be ready by early 2024, replacing the old building which has been around since 1938. Hopefully this one will last just as long.

A public open house farewell was held at Hunnewell last week.


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Filed Under: Hunnewell Elementary School

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The return of Morses Pond

June 20, 2020 by Duncan Brown Leave a Comment

Morses Pond
Flags mark reserved beach spots

 

With twenty socially distanced areas now available at Morses pond, the much loved local hangout is once again giving Wellesley residents the chance to enjoy some sand and sun. To reserve one of the highly coveted beach spots you need to go to the Wellesley recreation page and sign up for a two-hour time block. At the moment reservations can only be made three days into the future, and getting one is quite competitive. New reservation spots open up at 7AM every morning and are filled almost immediately during this swim-at-your-own-risk season (See “Morses Pond won’t have lifeguards, but could have life”)

Even the Swellesley Report couldn’t get a spot (OK, let’s say I haven’t exactly been an early riser of late), forcing us to instead embark out without one in an attempt to investigate what the scene was like. Unfortunately, upon arriving, all of the current visitors were on their way out, as their two-hour slot had just ended, leaving a 30-minute waiting period before the next wave of visitors came. So we didn’t capture that full beach shot we had figured on.

Jake, a Mopo employee who was directing cars into the parking lot and checking reservations, said that for the most part people stay for the whole two hours, “especially people with kids,” and that people start to make their way out after the fifteen minute warning they are given before their time slot runs out.

swings
No swingers allowed

 

Spending time at the beach is valued time for Wellesley families with younger children, as well as a way for nannies to entertain kids in a socially distanced world, as Ruby Cramer, a Mopo employee working on checking people into the beach noted. She has seen a lot of nannies but not a lot of “older kids.” The Swellesley Report cannot help but suspect that for many high school students the requirement of waking up at 7am to reserve a spot may be a strong deterrent.

Emily, a Wellesley resident who had secured two time slots since the program began, had high praise for the system and for the other visitors’ etiquette. She said it had been easy to maintain her distance, and pointed out the cars in the lot which people had conscientiously parked with a good bit of distance between them. In the water, even the younger visitors are aware of social distancing, Emily said, telling about how a young girl who swam near her backed away and told her they “needed to stay far apart.”

Although not the same as in years past, both employees and visitors both expressed a sentiment of gratitude that the pond is able to be open in any capacity, and to do so in a safe way.

MOPO
MOPO staff
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Filed Under: Morses Pond

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Wellesley protests against white supremacy, police violence

June 5, 2020 by Duncan Brown 2 Comments

Hundreds of people calling for justice in the death of George Floyd gathered near the Wellesley Police station on Washington Street on Friday afternoon for a protest to end white supremacy and police violence.

Some chanted for a Wellesley police officer who was directing traffic to take a knee, but he stayed focused on his job.

After gathering on the sidewalks, the protestors moved into the street, blocking some cars. The protesters remained silent, many on one knee, to symbolize the 8 minutes and 46 seconds that a Minneapolis cop pinned Floyd to the ground until he died.

wellesley protest 65

wellesley protest 65

An even larger crowd in Wellesley protested injustice on Sunday afternoon, a day after hundreds protested in Natick center.

More: Embracing diversity in Wellesley

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Filed Under: Embracing diversity, Police

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Remembering the life of Wellesley’s Olivia Wigon through LivOn22

May 26, 2020 by Duncan Brown Leave a Comment

Live On 22 logo

LivOn22 is a new virtual fundraising event created by the family and friends of Wellesley’s Olivia Wigon to honor her life and raise money for organizations which reflect how she lived. The event will be held on July 18th, which would have been Olivia’s 22 birthday, and in order to participate all you need to do is to get physically active in some way. 

The recommended distance is 5k, but however far you want to go is really up to you; the point is to move in a way that brings you joy. 

On the day of the event, print out the LivOn22 bib to wear during your running, swimming, walking, or whatever other form of exercise you so desire, and post a photo with #LivOn22 on social media. As well as exercising, the LivOn22 team is asking for help fundraising. The goal is to raise $22,000, which will be split evenly between The Island School and The JED Foundation. These organizations were chosen to reflect Olivia’s passion for marine science, and to help support suicide prevention. The suggested donation minimum is $22, but the LivOn22 team encourages participants to try to raise even more. 

Olivia had a strong desire to boost ocean life across the world. She had the opportunity to put this into action when she attended The Island School on Cape Eleuthera in the Bahamas where she was able to meet like minded people and further develop her interests. Olivia was able to bring what she had learned at The Island School with her to other communities, and continued her passion for changing the world at The University of Miami, where she was a double major in Marine Affairs and Human and Social Development and worked as an intern with the UMiami Shark Research & Conservation Program.

Despite losing her battle with mental health, the ripples which Olivia created in her life are still benefiting the world and driving attention towards the issues she was dedicated to combating. Through your participation in the LivOn22 challenge, Olivia—a wonderful sister, daughter, friend, and agent of change—will be remembered and inspire continued change for good.

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Filed Under: Fundraising, Health

Wellesley High School athletes will run for sandwiches for front-line health workers

April 24, 2020 by Duncan Brown Leave a Comment

While the Wellesley High School distance runners have sadly found their outdoor track season cut short, they are now directing their efforts towards staying active and helping their community by raising money to help out Massachusetts hospitals. On  Saturday, April 24 the team will host a Virtual Run-a-Thon. Individual runners can be “sponsored,” meaning that their sponsor will agree to donate a certain amount of money for each mile that athlete covers.

Wellesley distance runners
Wellesley High School distance runners, back when they were allowed to hang out together. Runners on Saturday, April 24 will host a Virtual Run-a-Thon.

Team captain Jason Norris said, “We’re just glad we have an opportunity to help give back to the people who have been working their butts off day and night to try and save lives.”

Support for these workers can also be given through set donations through the team’s GoFundMe page. The team has reached its $2,000 dollar goal, and is feeling optimistic about raising even more funds.

Running to help our health care workers

All proceeds will go toward buying sandwiches from Comella’s restaurant for distribution to workers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Medical Center. When you sponsor an athlete, that runner will email and tell you how much distance was covered. The athletes will use GPS watches or phones in order to track mileage, and will run alone so as to respect social distancing guidelines.

Here’s the donation page and all the information you need to run the team ragged, all for a worthy cause.

All the athletes who were born to run:

[Read more…]

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Filed Under: COVID-19, Fundraising, Health, Sports, Volunteering

MOPO yard sale and Fiske Wild West Round-up round out Wellesley weekend

September 20, 2018 by Duncan Brown Leave a Comment

There’s no such thing as a slow weekend in Wellesley, especially not with events like the Fiske Wild West Round-up and the Morses Pond (MOPO) yard sale.

At Fiske, students and parents alike enjoyed the rides, games, and food, and many could even be seen dancing to country music. With activities varying from face painting to fastballs, there was something for everyone.

For those looking for something a little more calm than the high speed of the West, there was the MOPO yard sale on the other end of town. Many Wellesley residents were setting up shop, and even more were looking for treasures to acquire.

Here are some photos from both events.

Wellesley, Morses Pond Yard Sale
Morses Pond vendors looking to make some sales

 

Wellesley, Morses Pond Yard Sale
A vehicle-laden table

 

Wellesley, Morses Pond Yard Sale
A colorful assortment of jewelry boxes

 

Wellesley, Morses Pond Yard Sale
A satisfied customer headed home

 

Wellesley, Fiske, Wild West Roundup
Wild rides on the baseball field

 

Wellesley, Fiske, Wild West Roundup
Wanted criminals stopping for a photo opp

 

Wellesley, Fiske, Wild West Roundup
Wild animals from the Wild West

 

Wellesley, Fiske, Wild West Roundup
A participant at one of the many games available
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Filed Under: Entertainment, Fiske Elementary School, Fundraising, Kids, Morses Pond, Outdoors, Shopping

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