More information at the Wellesley Health Department website.
Beyond Wellesley: the magnolias are in full bloom in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood
Boston is in the very grip of spring, and there’s no better way to enjoy the beauty right now than a stroll down Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay. There, on the sunny side of a street known for its style and grace, well over 100 magnolia trees are demanding your complete attention. A friend who knows all the best spots in Boston took me in as a gift for our shared birthday (cute, I know). We meter-parked on Hereford St., right in front of the historic Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Chi Phi fraternity house. Lore has it that when in the early 1960s Back Bay neighborhood organizer Laura Dwight made real her dream of lining the sunny side of Comm Ave. with magnolias, she enlisted the help of the Chi Phi men to plant the trees.
Dwight was a visionary, someone who reasoned that a neighborhood that looked untended would slide into further disorder. Today that way of thinking is known as the Broken Windows Theory, the idea that a simple broken window left unfixed (or general signs of disarray such as litter, spray-painting, and other visible examples that suggest residents don’t care) leads to increased decay. The logic suggests that by nipping small annoyances in the bud, larger headaches such as crime and further decay can be avoided. Make the neighborhood appear as if law and order rule the day, and law and order shall rule the day.
Dwight wasn’t interested in theory, though. Her magnolias idea came from a place of action and good common sense. Today, that common sense looks something more like sheer genius. Join me for a stroll down Comm Ave. and admire the Back Bay magnolia trees in full bloom.
Wellesley College professor publishes Passover picture book
In Wellesley College professor Susan Meyer’s newest picture book, Matzah Belowstairs, Miriam Mouse takes pride in her job as forager for her family, who lives “Belowstairs.” Every year at Passover, she’s been able to find and deliver the “crunchy, flat matzah” they all love, but this year things are different. The “Upstairs” dwellers, the human Winkler family, have put the traditional unleavened bread on serious lockdown, jeopardizing the Mouse family’s Passover celebration.
Even young Eli, who once could be counted on to drop food on the floor, has developed a steadier hand at the table, not letting go of even a crumb for Miriam to ferry off to her family. When Eli’s dad hides the afikomen, a piece of matzah he wraps in an embroidered napkin, Miriam is watching. Anything hidden at mouse-level is fair game, so Miriam sees her chance, takes the matzah, and runs.
But Eli’s family needs the afikomen to finish the seder, and it’s Eli’s job to find it. “Can you find it, Eli?” asks his dad. Eli finds the afikomen and comes face-to-whiskers with Miriam. What will happen? Both mouse and human families need the afikomen to finish the seder.
Eli and Miriam both learn how to make a friend, keep a secret, and save the day in this charming book in which the youngest members of the families manage their big responsibilities with even bigger hearts.
When illustrator Mette Engell’s uses split-screen pictures of the human family at the top half of the page and the mouse family below, he give readers an especially good look at how humans and mice are after the same thing — the time and the means to celebrate with their families.
Passover is the major Jewish spring festival which commemorates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Passover this year begins the evening of Friday, April 19 and ends the evening of Saturday, April 27.
Author: Susan Lynn Meyer
Full color illustrations by Mette Engell
Ages: 4 – 8
Pages: 24
Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing
Other books by Meyer: New Shoes; Skating With the Statue of Liberty; and Black Radishes, which was inspired by her father’s experiences as a Jewish boy in Nazi-occupied France. Black Radishes won a Sydney Taylor silver medal and was a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award.
Friends of Wellesley Free Library book sale, April 25 – 28
Restaurants in Wellesley — there are over 50 dining options
Wellesley offers a variety of eateries, from fancy to homey to chains. A slew of Asian restaurants dot the town, from sushi-and-more to Chinese to Thai. Or you can try out Italian eateries, Indian cuisine, Turkish specialties, or an old-timey diner with a Greek flair. And don’t forget those necessities — pizza, ice cream, donuts, and coffee. Wellesley’s got you covered there.
Thanks to the Rotary Club of Wellesley for their sponsorship of our restaurants page. Don’t miss their annual Spring Culinary fundraiser, Taste of Wellesley. Get tickets now for an exquisite evening of food, craft beer and boutique liquor tasting, cash bar, Live Auction, Giving Tree Raffle and silent auction showcasing unique art pieces from the Wellesley Society of Artists.
Here are all the local restaurants that will be participating in the Wellesley Rotary Club’s Taste of Wellesley, along with our Wellesley restaurant reviews…