Deborah Brown, Author at Natick Report

Natick votes today—polls open 10am – 7pm

June 30, 2020 by Deborah Brown

Natick’s local annual election will take place today, (Tuesday, June 30, 2020). In-person voting for all precincts will be held 10am – 7pm. All polling locations will be open.

Residents are being asked to vote for candidates to serve on the Board of Selectmen; School Committee; Planning Board; Board of Assessors; Board of Health; Recreation & Parks Commissioner; and Natick Housing Authority. None of the races is contested.

In addition, there are two questions on the ballot:

Question 1 has to do with participation in Town Meeting by non-Town Meeting members.

Question 2 asks voters whether the term “Board of Selectmen” should be replaced with the term “Select Board.”

Here is a link to a sample ballot.

Here is a link to the warrant.

The polling locations:

The voters of Precinct 1…………………………..Brown Elementary School
The voters of Precinct 2…………………………..Cole Recreation Building
The voters of Precinct 3…………………………..Brown School
The voters of Precinct 4…………………………..Wilson Middle School
The voters of Precinct 5…………………………..Wilson Middle School
The voters of Precinct 6…………………………..Lilja Elementary School
The voters of Precinct 7…………………………..Community Senior Center
The voters of Precinct 8…………………………..Morse Institute Library
The voters of Precinct 9…………………………..Community Senior Center
The voters of Precinct 10…………………………Community Senior Center

Unsure of your precinct?

Here’s how to find out where you should vote.

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Pond Road project is back on Planning Board agenda Monday night

June 29, 2020 by Deborah Brown

You’re forgiven if you’ve lost the thread on the Pond Road drama that surfaced in Natick and Wellesley in late winter. It’s been several months since Wellesley’s Planning Board has met about a Boston developer’s proposal to build 2 homes relatively close to the scenic road toward to the top end of Pond Road (near Rte. 135) due to COVID-19-related delays.

The developer has made concessions since the project started making its way through town channels, scaling back the buildings and pledging to plant trees and set the homes back enough to help preserve the road’s aesthetics. But neighbors and town officials still have their concerns, which range from the visibility of the proposed homes from the road to significant tree removal to sewer and lighting issues. The aesthetic impact of the side-by-side projects is the main concern on this road, which mainly includes Wellesley College property on the east side.

You’ll have a chance to catch up on the action and weigh in (if you email the planning director in advance) at the joint Wellesley Planning Board and Wellesley Natural Resources Commission hearing during the Planning Board meeting, set for Monday, June 29 at 6:30pm online.

upper Pond Road — Pond Road in late winter, 2020

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Natick garden visit—it’s like stepping into a painting

June 27, 2020 by Deborah Brown

When it comes to how much time they spend planting, weeding, and generally fussing out in the yard, gardeners can be a coy lot. “Oh, I wander through before breakfast, deadhead the roses, pull a few weeds, and that’s pretty much it,” they’ll claim with a straight face.

Gardeners are such liars.

Joyce Hannaford is different. She comes clean right from the get-go. “I’m out here 60 hours a week,” she tells me when I stopped by recently for a tour of her almost quarter-acre property just outside Natick Center. When she copped to that 60 hours, it was the second time in two minutes my jaw had dropped. The first time was when I entered the garden. I wasn’t sure if I’d walked into a painting or a dream.

Joyce and Charlie Hannaford, Natick garden — Joyce and Charlie Hannaford in their Natick garden. Joyce says the ever-changing color combinations are the result of decades of trial and error.

From the front, the home Joyce and her husband Charlie share looks like your average Natick home that’s maybe better tended than most. The lawn is perfectly edged, the windows sparkle, and there’s not so much as a stray leaf on the brick sidewalk leading up to the front door of the almost 100-year-old, two-story Colonial. But once you go around back, the concept of “average” disappears. This is no ordinary suburban spread.

Color is everywhere you look. A pink clematis vine winds its way up a wooden lattice fence next to a yellow rosebush. The Asiatic lilies look like they’re going to burst any second now, which will make the combination of three neighboring perennials in bloom at the same time complete — the gardener’s trifecta. Further along the path, purple delphiniums tower, leading the eye visually to the red maple tree, and the stacked stone wall behind. On a small stone patio near the detached 2-car garage, an enormous clay pot bursts with pinks, blues, and whites. A light-green galvanized watering can on a battered table completes the sense of a still life.

The garden, divided into seven rooms, is filled with such vignettes. It wasn’t always that way. The Hannafords bought the home in 1999. “It was a dump,” Joyce says. But it was a dump that met the seven criteria she’d demanded of her realtor: “It had to have a wood-burning fireplace; my oriental rug, grandfather clock, and canopy bed had to fit; it had to have garden space; the basement needed to be dry; and I wanted gas heating — no oil tank.”

Boxes checked, the Hannafords closed on the place and got to work. Although Charlie’s supposedly not much of a gardener, while I was there he looked pretty proficient with the extended clippers as he tamed the climbing hydrangea threatening to make a break for it and cover the garage. He’s also had a hand in creating the many stone sculptures scattered throughout the garden, and apparently takes orders from Joyce cheerfully enough. But for the past 21 years it’s been Joyce’s endless passion to experiment with color, form, and combinations. There’s no question that there are over 1,000 perennials in this garden, in various stages of bloom. “There’s always something popping,” the retired personal chef and caterer says.

Natick garden, Hannaford — Purple delphinium towner on one of seven garden “rooms” in Joyce Hannaford’s Natick garden, while perennial sweet peas go wild on, covering part of the fence.

A member of the Natick Garden Club (the people who design and tend the planters on the bridge over the Walnut St. commuter rail tracks, among other civic projects), Joyce frequently opens up her garden for tours. She also keeps a vegetable garden at the Hartford Street Community Gardens. “I’ve been gardening since I was 3,” she says. “Dad in New Hampshire had a huge vegetable garden. We ate from its bounty right through winter.”

She and Charlie aren’t all work and no play. Their place is made for entertaining. I eye their two-car garage and ask if they keep their vehicles inside. Gardeners are notorious for giving over garage space to gardening tools and equipment. Don’t ask me how I know this. But no. This is Joyce, and she keeps things just so. Charlie opens up the garage and behold, a car occupies one of the two bays. There are also twinkle lights that sparkle on the ceiling, and draperies that can be drawn to hide the workbench and hanging tools. A screen on the same type of track system as the garage door can be pulled down to keep the bugs out. It’s a working garage, but with a flick of the wrist, it’s also a party garage.

I take a few more pictures, then reluctantly leave Eden. Comparisons are unhealthy and all, but personified, my garden looks like a bohemian who’s had a too much absinthe (for details on that hot mess, check out my rack and ruin garden). Personified, Joyce’s garden looks like a top model who has her life together. I vow to make a better effort in my own yard. Truthfully, though, I ‘d rather just be Joyce’s backyard neighbor, who has a view of the garden without having to do all the work.

“Come by anytime,” Joyce calls out, with a wave.

Oh good. I haven’t been cast out of Eden. I’ve been given a chance to return and maybe and learn a few things.

MORE PICTURES:

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Natick education spotlight: the college admissions essay story

June 26, 2020 by Deborah Brown

Thank you to education writer and guest columnist Martha Collins of Admit Fit College Admissions Counseling for the following post:

The college admissions essay. Just the mention of it is enough to create a pit in the stomach of any rising senior. And by senior year, although most teens have gained plenty of experience writing essays on assigned topics, this may be the first time they find themselves writing a personal story. And it can be uncomfortable.

I use the word “story,” rather than “essay,” for a reason. The best college application essay reads much more like a short, compelling first-person narrative then a dry recounting of adolescent accomplishments.

It’s all about YOU

What are the experiences you love to laugh about with friends? What are the stories your family members relish telling about you? What are the first three words that come to mind when people describe you? What are you “into”? Use examples from your life that demonstrate what you’re all about.

These are the topics that result in a college admissions essay that demonstrates your ability to write, tells the admissions reader more about who you are and what makes you tick, and conveys this information in a way that is genuine to you. (BTW, that is pretty much all the essay needs to accomplish.)

Unfortunately, most teens (and their well-meaning parents) place far too much emphasis on the college admissions essay. This can be utterly paralyzing. Instead, keep it simple. The essay is a 650-word story that tells a tale about you. It’s not the memoir of your life up until age 17.

Do not feel the need to recount your high school honors and accomplishments, since those will be listed elsewhere in the application. Do be true to who you are, or as one student I’ve worked with put it, “Don’t overthink it. No words will be the perfect words. As long as the writing is yours, your personality will shine through, especially if you choose to write about something that you’re passionate about.”

Freedom of speech

Ready to dip a toe in the water, or still need a little push? Scan the Common App or Coalition App essay prompts. Both include a prompt that gives you the freedom to write about a topic of your choice.

Still seeking inspiration? Ask a few friends or family members to describe three qualities about you, including anecdotes of when they think you demonstrated those attributes. Or instead, write about an object from your life and its special meaning to you.

Alternatively, give yourself a ten-day, ten-topics assignment. The rules: nothing is out of bounds, the topics must be different, and you must resist self-editing. Take a look after ten days and see if something speaks to you.

Or pretend for a moment that you’re a seminar day speaker, or that you’re leading a teen TED Talk, or even that you’re a stand-up comedian doing your bit on stage. What story would you tell, and how would you tell it?

Write as you would speak, and be descriptive. Be in the moment: show or demonstrate, rather than describing as an observer. Consider the reader, and how they are “hearing” your story. Free-write your first draft — no editing.

Only then consider the conclusion. Summarize your story and the personal qualities you want to highlight. Land on how you’ve changed, the insight you gained, how this experience has shaped you as a person, or even how this experience has inspired you to contribute to your future alma mater.

Next up in Natick Education Spotlight: avoiding common essay errors.

Martha Collins is president of Admit Fit College Admissions Counseling.

Natick postpones Flag Day ceremony, encourages residents to display flags

June 9, 2020 by Deborah Brown

Flag Day, celebrated nationally on June 14, is a ceremonial time when a community collects worn and damaged flags from residents, area cemeteries, and those in use in local government capacities for appropriate disposal.

It’s a duty that Natick Director of Veteran Services and Korean War veteran Paul Carew takes seriously. But he also takes the need for social distancing during a time of pandemic seriously, and has decided this year to postpone the usual controlled burn that is a centerpiece of the flag retirement ceremony.

Wilson Middle School, Natick flag — American flag at Wilson Middle School

“Every year there are a lot of groups involved in Natick for Flag Day,” Carew said. “The Natick Elks Club is involved, and the Amvets Post by Lake Cochituate is there. Scouts troops are always involved too, and it’s just a great educational experience for them and a great way to keep Flag Day going.”

Carew hopes that Natick residents and businesses will bring to Flag Day the same spirit they brought to Memorial Day. With no Memorial Day parade through town or service on the Common this year Carew, in partnership with a committee, challenged residents to display flags in their windows.

“I hope residents will do this again, for Flag Day this time,” Carew said. He suggests that the flags be drawn by children or grandchildren or a talented adult.

Of course, displaying American flags outside on flag poles or hanging horizontally or vertically on a wall is always appropriate on Flag Day or at other times. Here are the guidelines for doing so.

A date for a postponed ceremony in Natick is to be announced. “We will be doing something,” Carew said. “We just have to wait until we can get others together.”

Memorial Day ceremony in Natick Center, 2020

Natick war memorials tour