The Swellesley Report

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

Special holiday Tollhouse Shop hours & Historical Society meet/greet

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Wellesley Historical Society Meet & Greet (outside)

Special Tollhouse Shop Hours (inside)

Sunday, Dec. 5, 1pm-3pm at the Dadmun-McNamara House,  229 Washington St.

Be the first to check out new holiday inventory in the Tollhouse Shop. 100% of sales go towards the Society’s general operating fund. This is also a chance to learn more about the Historical Society and opportunities to support its mission while enjoying hot cider and cookies.

New Executive Director Taylor Kalloch, members of the board, and other supporters will be on hand to chat about the Society and its work in the community.

In the event of bad weather, the event will be postponed by the morning of Dec. 5 and rescheduled for the following Sunday, Dec. 12.

Questions? Please contact Executive Director Taylor Kalloch at director@wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org

Wellesley Tollhouse Shop

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

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Linden Square, Wellesley
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Wellesley Historical Tollhouse Shop is now online

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For those customers missing the treasures often found at the Wellesley Historical Society’s Tollhouse Shop since it closed in March due to COVID-19, the techno-challenged volunteers have stepped up their game and created an Instagram account and on-line shopping site where select items can be purchased and delivered through contactless arrangements.

Currently available are Waterford goblets, Mariposa hostess gifts, Shelley tea cup and coffee pot, Williams Sonoma Lobster Boil Plates to name a few.  Additional items are added every week.  Photos of available items can be seen on Instagram at Tollhouse229 or viewed in greater detail along with purchasing instructions at www.wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org/tollhouse-shop.

(Shared by Maura Shoulkin)

WHS Tollhouse Shop WHS Tollhouse Shop WHS Tollhouse Shop WHS Tollhouse Shop

Page Waterman, Wellesley
London Harness, Wellesley
MassHort, Festival of Trees, Wellesley

Writing history: a new chapter at a Washington Street house in Wellesley

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The following Sponsored Post has been researched and written by Dede Long, a Realtor at Pinnacle Residential Properties.

Every house has a story to tell, whether through the styles and methods of building from 200 years ago or by showcasing the advancements of modern construction in the present day. Wellesley’s rich architectural diversity gives us a visual history lesson, preserving the heritage and personalities of each unique neighborhood while effortlessly blending the old with the new.

Pinnacle, Wellesley
Dede Long (left) and Kerry Miles hold a copy of letter from Eleanor Early.

My affection for older homes is rooted in their ability to serve as time capsules and is one of the reasons I became a Realtor at Pinnacle. There is something magical about imagining the world as it was during the time the house was under construction. Who were the original homeowners and what was their occupation? From where did they come? Who designed the home, and what special labor was required to build it? What did the world look like as owners looked through the ‘wavy’ glass of the old windows? It is this collective history of the people and bygone days that gives older homes a soul as unique as a fingerprint, and in turn, endears them to their owners as they become a part of the story that a house is always writing.

It just felt like home

That is certainly true for my friends, Kerry and Damian Miles, who remember a connection that was ‘hard to describe’ when they entered the Washington Street house on the Lower Newton Falls side of town. “There was just something about the way the house felt”, says Kerry. “Damian and I knew that we had found our home from the moment we walked in the door.”

[Read more…]

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Wellesley Business and Non-Profit Buzz: Salon news; Tollhouse Shop holiday hours; Volvo moves

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Our round-up of the latest Wellesley business news:

 

Sleek Salon coming; Nails Studio has new owner

A new business called Sleek Salon is heading to 245 Washington St. in the building where Yama serves up sushi and more upstairs. More details to come closer the salon’s opening, but the business takes over the spot formerly occupied by Id Salon.

sleek yama wellesley

Not far from there, at 451 Worcester St., Nails Studio has a new owner in Rachel Lee. It’s her first business. “I used to work in Newton Highlands then I heard about this business selling, that’s why I bought it,” Lee says. She understands that there are many salons in town, and pledges to provide good customer service. “At Nails Studio, we don’t do acrylics or anything that harms peoples’ nails. We do manicure and pedicure, and dip-powder, which is very healthy and organic,” she says. You can book reservations at the Nails Studio website.

Got tips on business openings, closings or whatever, feel free to email us here: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Also email us if you’re interested in sponsoring our weekly Wellesley Business Buzz roundup.

Wellesley Historical Society Tollhouse Shop, holiday hours

Worried about finding that unique gift for your loved one or friend? Stop by the Wellesley Historical Society’s Tollhouse shop, Wellesley’s best-kept secret. The Shop offers an array of ever-changing treasures, and all proceeds from sales go to support the non-profit organization.

Wellesley Tollhouse Shop

Regular shop hours:
Wednesdays, 10am – 2pm (closed on Christmas Day)
Saturdays, 10am – noon

Special holiday hours for those last-minute gifts:
Monday, December 23, 10am – noon

Note: All donations are to be made during Tollhouse hours.

Volvo of Wellesley moves down Rte. 9

Volvo of Wellesley has moved west on Rte. 9 to Bernardi Volvo Cars in Natick. The new location at 910 Worcester St. is just a few minutes’ drive from the old site.

Skin center also moves along Rte. 9

Forever Young Laser and Skin Center has announced it is moving its main office in Wellesley to a larger facility. As of Jan. 1, it will be seeing clients at 170 Worcester St. (Rte. 9), just 3 doors down from the current facility.  In addition to its main office, the business will continue to see clients at its satellite facility at Precision Pilates in Danvers.

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The Cashmere Sale, Wellesley

Beyond Wellesley: Peabody Essex Museum’s Carolyn & Peter Lynch exhibit

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Carolyn and Peter Lynch — Marblehead residents, travelers, philanthropists, and powerhouse American art collectors — lived among  historic and beautiful objects every day, antiques they went on the hunt for together, brought home, then used and enjoyed. The couple, their three daughters (Mary, Annie, and Elizabeth), and family and friends ate meals around the vast Sam Maloof dining room table, glanced at their reflections in the Girandole mirror, and moved among paintings by Winslow Homer and Georgia O’Keeffe.

Peabody Essex Museum
Welcome to the Peabody Essex Museum. For many years Carolyn Lynch served as PEM Trustee and Overseer. She also helped fund the museum’s American Decorative Arts Committee.

The furniture, paintings, ceramics, and textiles the Lynches’ collected are outward expressions of  a life well lived, and that life is currently on display  at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) through December 1, 2019. The exhibit, titled “A Passion for American Art: Selections from the Carolyn and Peter Lynch Collection,” is so much more than just its 120 works of decorative art; 76 pieces of furniture; 35 paintings and sculptures; and 10 Native American artworks. The show is an intimate look at how the Lynches  visually mixed and lived with three centuries of creative works. The mediums they collected vary, but the message is the same: American art matters and has an important place in the world.

The Lynches’ had their separate interests, to be sure. He ran a little mutual fund at Fidelity called Magellan (just the best performing mutual fund in the world), she won a couple of bridge tournaments here and there (the Grand Life Master bridge player was a five-time national gold medal world champion). Carolyn died in October 2015 at age 69 from acute myeloid leukemia, leaving Peter, their daughters, and six grandchildren. This exhibit is something of a labor of love as Peter not only helped the PEM put it together, but donated three major artworks to the museum, all on display now, in his late wife’s name.

If you want to know how to collect and decorate like a financial genius and a bridge maven, here’s how it’s done, folks.

Peabody Essex Museum
“The March Into Boston from Marblehead, April 16, 1861: There Shall Be No More War,: circa 1925, by Marblehead folk artist J.O.J. Frost. This painting captures Frost’s childhood memory of watching his father and other Marblehead men depart on foot to march the 16 miles to Faneuil Hall in Boston to enlist in the Civil War. This painting is one of three Peter has donated to the PEM in memory of Carolyn.

 

Peabody Essex Museum
As you move through the exhibit, simply admire the classic elegance and good taste on display in every corner. It’s all meant to evoke America’s place in history. The Lynches were big on tablescapes, such as this one. The painting is “East Headland, Appledore, Isle of Shoals,” by Childe Hassam, 1911, and is one of the three paintings Peter donated to the PEM in memory of Carolyn.

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The hardest working butterflies in Wellesley

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This spring the Wellesley Historical Society‘s Denton butterfly collection made its way to all 7 elementary schools’ third-grade classes. The rotating set of 24 butterflies are part of a collaboration with the schools, now in its fourth year, to conclude a unit focused on the defense strategies of the butterflies. The students previously raised painted ladies and released them.  The traveling exhibit gives students an up-close look at the Denton butterflies, most of which are in their patented glass cases and were collected back in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Prior to the elementary school visits, the Cub Scouts visited the Historical Society’s Dadmun-McNamara House and had a preview of the collection, which includes between 2-3,000 butterflies (plus other insects) from across the globe.
In addition to the student immersion in butterflies, adults had an opportunity to see the collection at the Wellesley Council on Aging. Spearheaded by Society archivist and collections manager Taylor Kalloch, the butterflies on June 4 were the center of the first of what will be a series of “show-and-tell” presentations.
wellesley butterflies
Wellesley 3rd graders and budding lepidopterologists
Kids and adults asked a lot of the same questions, including: “Why did the collectors need to kill the butterflies?” The answer: Among other things, studying insects from around the world decades ago wasn’t as simple as jetting off to another country and snapping high quality digital photographs.
If you are interested in supporting the collection through Society membership or scheduling an appointment to view the butterflies or other items, please contact Amanda Fisher at director@wellesleyhistoricalsociety.org or 781-235-6690.

An abundance of bargains expected at Wellesley Village Church rummage sale

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Wellesley Village Church Rummage SaleThe Wellesley Village Church at 2 Central Street in Church Square will host its 77th annual Rummage Sale on Saturday, November 3, 9am – 1pm. Each year savvy shoppers flock to this bargain haul to search the “pop-up” shops for women’s clothing and accessories, jewelry, furniture, menswear, kitchenware, antiques and treasures, children’s, toys, and more.

The Chic Boutique is a big favorite, specializing in higher-end women’s designer clothing, purses and shoes. Last year featured Prada, Armani, D & G, Michael Kors, Burberry, Jimmy Choo, Stuart Weitzman, Vera Bradley, Bottega Venita, Tory Burch, Ann Taylor, and many more.

The treasures, furniture and antiques are also popular. “I normally don’t go to rummage sales, but this one is totally worth it. Last year I got a very cool vintage mirror and a gorgeous wooden serving bowl,” said Kathy Hastings of Natick.

More than 100 volunteers work tirelessly to make this sale phenomenal, said Rummage Sale co-chair Cherie Hoffman. “After 77 years, we’ve raised more than $350,000 for charity and have helped a lot of people.” The 2017 proceeds of $22,000 were donated to local charities such as Family Promise MetroWest, Wellesley ABC house, H.O.M.E, The Walker School, Women’s Lunch Place and more.

The entry fee is $2.00. Doors open at 9am on Saturday, but the early-birds get there at 8am to be the first in line.

Wellesley Village Church Rummage Sale
Saturday, November 3; 9am – 1pm
2 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02482

Gorgeous Wellesley homes recognized for historically sensitive renovations

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The Wellesley Historic Commission (WHC) last week awarded plaques to homeowners who completed historically sensitive renovations of two of Wellesley’s proud older structures. The homes themselves, 51 Glen Rd., built in 1721 and 309 Walnut St., built in 1900, seemed to glow right along with the delighted families at the praise heaped upon them by the WHC. The plaques read:  “The Wellesley Historic Commission commends you on your outstanding home renovation and expresses its appreciation of your efforts to preserve our town’s historic character.” The plaque was signed by Grant Brown, Chairman (no relation to The Swellesley Report Browns) and Lawrence McNally, Vice Chairman.

51 Glen Road, in pictures

51 Glen Rd., Wellesley
Gary Vanasse and Angela Sousa share 51 Glen Rd. with Vanasse’s sons Nicholas, 17 and Andrew, 13. The boys attend Buckingham Browne & Nichols school and have a very sweet 3rd floor set-up that includes their bedrooms and a teen hangout room for video gaming. Vanasse and Sousa are expecting a baby in October to help fill the 7 bedroom, 4 bathroom 5,000 square foot house.  Sousa led me on a tour that touched on four centuries without ever leaving the house. “As we worked on the house, we had to remember at this point the walls are horsehair plaster, then over here they’re not.” she said

 

51 Glen Rd., Wellesley
Angela Sousa is presented with a plaque from the Wellesley Historical Commission Chairman Grant Brown. See that little circle on the molding, just above the plaque? That’s part of the area where the gas lines used to run. The circle moulding covered up the sight of wires, and the family has left that and other such historical markers intact throughout the house. What’s brand new to the home is what you’d expect — a new HVAC system and fully updated bathrooms. Some windows are new, some are not, but all are done the expensive way — with historical accuracy.

 

51 Glen Rd., Wellesley
This section of the house dates from the 1700s. The chimney is no longer functional but remains as a reminder of the home’s past. The wide-plank floors are also original. The exercise equipment, not so much.

 

51 Glen Rd., Wellesley
The kitchen has been completely renovated to work for today’s family. The space it occupies has served as the heart of the home since the 1700s, so you know the flow and logic of the house still work.

 

51 Glen Rd., Wellesley
The floors in this section of the house are mid-1800s old-growth oak.

 

51 Glen Rd., Wellesley
The big family room was added on in 1901 and was built to be a library. The door offers easy access to the backyard.

“When we were first looking at it my stepson said, ‘Angela this place is so old it could be haunted. We can’t move in to a haunted house.’ So we saged the house before we moved in.” Problem solved. That’s how Sousa rolls.

For the record, there’s never been any suggestion of paranormal activity detected at the house. The sage ceremony, a ritualistic way to cleanse a place of negative energies or influences, was more of a family bonding activity than an actual spirit shoo-ing.

The for-real part has been the trials and tribulation of a major renovation. At one moment Sousa concedes, “We bit off more than we were expecting. We didn’t fully understand the level of renovation and the amount of time this would take.” But at the next moment Brown, Sousa, and I are all swooning over the original fireplace tile and the rich look of the hardwood and original moldings, and the gracious flow of the house and the size of the rooms. For a moment, all the work and construction challenges are forgotten as we revel in the beauty of the results.

You’d have to be nuts to tear down 309 Walnut St.

Next I stopped in at 309 Walnut St. to check in with Luke and Zemira DelVecchio and their 5 kids, Agnese, 11; Isaiah, 9; and Miriam, 6; who attend Schofield Elementary School. There’s also Mark, 3; and John Paul, 8 months — you’ve still got time to prepare yourselves for them, Schofield.

Luke’s got serious Wellesley chops having grown up in town on Apple St. He’s done the Triple Wellesley:  Hunnewell Elementary, Wellesley Middle School, and Wellesley High. Then for good measure he went for the quadruple and did his undergraduate at  Babson. Luke and Zemira are our former neighbors, and they swear they didn’t move out of the neighborhood because The Swellelsey Report was just getting too loud. And even if the’re telling a little white lie, as you can see we just follow them wherever they go. There’s no escaping The Swellesley Report.

I walked into the kind of party atmosphere that’s always happening in a house with five kids. “Hi!” said one as I walked in, waving so exuberantly he fell off the sofa. No tears though, because what good would that do when in two seconds another “crisis” will surely crop up, eclipsing his own? I barreled right in and inserted myself into just another day in paradise with an active family living life in a house that was built to take it in 1900, then renovated in 2017 to take it some more. The six bedroom, 4.5 bath 4,500 square-foot house graciously absorbed me into the controlled chaos.

We’ve posted about this house before, back when contractor Jim Mealey first bought the place in an online bidding process. As he got going on the restoration he was treated as a mini-celebrity. People stopped and thanked him for what he was doing as he worked to bring the house back from years of neglect.

Here are a few pictures:

309 Walnut St. Wellesley
General contractor Jim Mealey (jamesdmealey@comcast.net) bought 309 Walnut St. in 2015 an online bidding process. The house, which abuts the Warren Recreation Center, had stood empty since 2012.

 

309 Walnut St., Wellesley
Wellesley homeowners Luke and Zemira DelVecchio, and general contractor Jim Mealey receive a plaque from Wellesley Historical Commission Chairman Grant Brown in appreciation of their outstanding renovation of their 309 Walnut Street home and their “…efforts to preserve our town’s historic character.” The house dates to 1900. Eight-month old John Paul approves.

 

309 Walnut St., Wellesley
The newly renovated kitchen stands up to heavy-duty action, as it’s been called upon to do for the last 118 years.

 

309 Walnut St., Wellesley
Welcome to the DelVecchio’s. The front door boasts a stained-glass window with the house number.

The Wellesley Historical Commission isn’t done yet. They have plaques to hand out to two more homes. Those addresses have not yet been made public.