Hanging with the gardeners of Wellesley — part two of the “ladies” series

April 19, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Wellesley Gardeners’ Guild (WGG) marked 50 years of digging in the dirt at a celebratory anniversary luncheon held at the Wellesley Country Club (WCC). About 80 women donned their floral brooches, pastel twin sets, and sensible heels to enjoy the company of like-minded sorts who have literally dug in and, with a growth mindset, coaxed flowers into bloom all over town.

Wellesley Gardeners' Guild, 50th anniversary — Here we are, a mix of current members, sustainers, and former members of the Wellesley Gardeners’ Guild. Photo credit: Beth Shedd Photography

After entering the WCC and heading to the upstairs ballroom, we settled in for social hour. Just another cacophonous start to yet another gathering of our club, only this time instead of conducting business under the bright lights of the Wellesley Library’s Wakelin Room, we circulated under crystal chandeliers. We weren’t greeted, per usual, with a buffet table set up with paper plates, some baked goods, and a couple Boxes O’ Jo from Dunkin. No, there were round tables covered with crisp white tablecloths laid with china, a floral centerpiece at each created by club member Carol Boudreau and a team of volunteers.

There was no doubt about it. The Wellesley Gardeners’ Guild had arrived.

And we hadn’t arrived quietly, as club president Nancy Jones came to realize as she tried to bring us to some semblance of order. Someone needs to get that woman a gavel. Maybe we’d finally talked ourselves out, or maybe our sense of decorum at last emerged, but eventually Jones was able to deliver her opening remarks and introduce Keynote Speaker Alan Banks, Chief of Visitor Services at the National Park Service.

“Who would have thought that a few women 50 years ago would start something with this longevity?” Jones asked. “We have continued the tradition of community service by planting and maintaining the post office window boxes planters and library planters…a lot of things have changed and so many things are the same…We are the Wellesley Gardeners’ Guild.”

From there we warmly welcomed Banks, who oversees the historical interpretation of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline. An authority on the Olmsted family, for 27 years he has researched and developed a variety of landscape walking tours, slide lectures, and presentations on the Olmsteds and their work across the country. Banks delivered a fascinating presentation about Frederick Law Omsted and his Massachusetts legacy that included slides and the kind of insights only his broad knowlege of the legendary landscape architect could provide.

MORE: Including Outtakes from Part One of my “Ladies of Wellesley” series, the sorority edition

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Friends of Wellesley Free Library book sale, April 26 – 29

April 19, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

The Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries 2018 Spring Book Sale

Main Library, Wakelin Room
Members’ Preview: Thursday, April 26, 5pm – 9pm (Not a member? Join NOW!)
Book Sale: Friday, April 27, 9am – 6pm
Book Sale: Saturday, April 28, 9am – 5pm
Fill a Bag Sale, $7: Sunday, April 29, 1pm to 5pm

Got books you want to donate for the sale?

The Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries would love to have your donations. Fiction, non-fiction, young adult, children’s, and your gently used CDs and DVDs are all wonderful contributions to the sale. (Thank you for not bringing anything water damaged, musty or moldy – recycle instead). Bring items to the main branch of the Wellesley Library and a staff member will direct you to the donation drop-off area.

Giving Wellesley teachers a little thanks could go a long way

April 19, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Thursday, April 26 Lunchtime Seminar Series topic at Wellesley Centers for Women will cover emerging research on how gratitude impacts teachers in elementary school classrooms.

Research has shown that gratitude can be transformational for both students and teachers, increasing their wellbeing and lessening teacher burnout. Jim Strouse, M.Ed., of Open Circle will discuss this theory in the presentation, “Exploring the Impact of Gratitude Practices on Teacher Wellbeing,” on April 26, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. at Cheever House, 828 Washington St, Wellesley.

Strouse is a program manager at Open Circle, an action program that provides evidence-based curriculum and professional development for social and emotional learning in elementary schools. It is used in over 300 schools across the United States including Wellesley elementary schools.

The Lunchtime Seminar Series at WCW is free and open to the public. Parking is available on site. Guests are invited to bring their lunches; WCW will provide tea and coffee. For accessibility questions, contact Disability Services at Wellesley College at [email protected]edu or call 781.283.2434. The Lunchtime Seminar Series schedule is subject to change. To confirm program lineup and location, call 781.283.2500 or visit wcwonline.org/calendar. For those who are unable to attend in person, the program will be streamed live on the WCW Facebook page (@wcwonline). Recordings from past seminars are posted online at wcwonline.org/video.

Wellesley Police Log: Threat reads “you can let us go but we can let you go too,” Nintendo Switch left on train, embarrassing Bitcoin scam is back

April 18, 2018 by bbrown 1 Comment

Wellesley Police Log for the Week of 4/09/18-4/15/18

Incidents

On April 9, 2018 at 6:39 p.m. Officer Wall responded to the Pavao construction site on Worcester Street for a report of vandalism to a light tower. The light tower had been stored in the Calvin Street parking lot on April 9^th around midnight. Officer Amalfi had noticed the damage to the light while doing building security checks at approximately 2:17 a.m. There are no suspects at this time.

On April 12, 2018 at 2:15 p.m. Officer Joseph spoke with a male party at the police station about a missing package that was delivered on April 11, 2018. The reporting party stated the tracking information showed that it had been delivered at 2:25 p.m., but he had not received it. The package contained a vehicle replacement part valued at approximately $70. There are no suspects.

On April 13, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. Officer Dixon was advised by the records manager at the police department that a resident had provided her with a letter he had received in the mail which he thought was suspicious. After reviewing the contents of the letter Officer Dixon recognized it as a scam where the sender provides a vague threat regarding having potentially embarrassing or compromising information about the recipient of the letter that will be revealed to his family if he does not pay a fee in Bitcoin. The letter appears to be a hoax and Officer Dixon was unable to determine the origin of the letter. [Read more…]

What the MBTA’s doing to address Wellesley commuter rail accessibility shortcomings

April 18, 2018 by bbrown 1 Comment

The MBTA says it has been looking closely at the Wellesley commuter rail stations, and the train system as a whole, to address accessibility barriers and map out a vision for prioritizing what steps it needs to take.

The T warns on its web pages for the three Wellesley commuter rail stations — Wellesley Square, Wellesley Hills and Wellesley Farms — that “significant accessibility barriers exist.” As we discussed in our recent post on this topic (“What will it take for Wellesley commuter rail stations to become accessible?”), residents are looking to make their voices heard and the town says it will push to get changes made.

Wellesley.Sq.Commuter.Rail

One strong possibility for the Wellesley Square station at least is if a redevelopment of the Tailby and Railroad parking lots sandwiching the station really does take place, then accessibility accommodations would be a part of the deal. Investment by Natick in a conceptual design plan has put its downtown commuter rail station on a fast tracker for improvements by the MBTA.

Spokesman Joe Pesaturo says the MBTA’s Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI) is still in the early stages, but outlined the following efforts that could affect accessibility at Wellesley stations and beyond (Note: We bolded key items below):

Staff developed conceptual designs for bringing accessibility to each of our inaccessible Commuter Rail stations. To meet federal standards, the renovation at Wellesley Square Station would have to include two full-length 4-foot high platforms connected by a pedestrian walkway (via elevators and stairs).
The PATI external advisory committee has voiced support for prioritizing bus and subway improvements based on the fact that the subway and bus networks carry far more customers than commuter rail.
However, relative to other inaccessible Commuter Rail stations, Wellesley Square ranks in the top tier of stations that would benefit from access upgrades.
A funding request for a full design of an accessible Wellesley Square station was recently submitted for consideration in the MBTA’s 2019-2023 Capital Investment Plan (CIP). Projects are evaluated and scored based on a set of consistent project selection criteria, including impact on system preservation, cost effectiveness, social equity, economic impact, safety, mobility, environment and health effects, and policy support. The final project prioritization is underway, and the draft FY19-23 CIP will be made public later in the spring.
Staff is beginning to discuss if a mobile lift would serve as an appropriate interim measure to provide a degree of access at the station, but it’s important to note that the use of a mobile lift is not ideal (and feedback from a number of customers has not been favorable).

The MBTA did not share any specifics about the Hills and Farms stations.

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