More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.
A handful of Natick High School student-athletes earned recognition for their efforts during the Spring and Fall II seasons through the Globe All-Scholastics program (a print version was available on Sunday, July 18). A bunch more athletes earned honorable mention and all-star honors.
Natick’s All-Scholastics:
Natick Service Council is touting the benefits of virtual races, from choosing your own route to getting up to do it whenever you want, in promoting its Fall for Natick event.
You can choice between a 5K run, 1 mile walk, or 10K bike ride, and have a variety of fundraising options to choose from as well. Do your thing between Sept. 18-26.
Proceeds support Natick Service Council’s work in the community.
Our motto is “Neighbors Helping Neighbors”. Those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will need our help in the long term. Please support the critical work we do by joining our race or making a donation today.
Register by 8/15/21 to be guaranteed a t-shirt.
For sponsorship opportunities contact Sonia Shah.
No license is required to fish any public lake, pond, reservoir, stream, or river in Massachusetts from 12am Sat., June 5, 2021 until 11:59pm Sun., June 6, 2021.
Trout stocking, Dug Pond, Natick. Spring 2021All other fishing regulations, including catch limits, apply during Free Fishing Weekend. Other than Free Fishing Weekend, you need a license to fish in fresh water if you are 15 or older. If you’re 15–17 or 70 and older, your license is free. Funds from fishing license sales support MassWildlife’s fisheries research, fish stocking programs, and angler education programs. Buy your fishing license here. For saltwater anglers, Free Saltwater Fishing Weekend is June 19–20.
All of the above are stocked by the state with trout.
Pickerel Pond is also a great place to fish and hike.
Natick retailers such as Natick Outdoor Store and Dick’s Sporting Goods can get you fully outfitted for fishing fun.
I wouldn’t call myself a closet candlepin bowler, but I never did mention to colleagues at my old job in Framingham when I’d head over to Fairway Bowling in Natick to get in a few strings during my lunch break. That made sure I was ready for our annual company bowling outing, where I was only too happy to trot out my own shoes and balls as an intimidation tactic in advance of inevitable victory.
But all that ended in 2011 when Fairway Bowling closed, and the building wound up as part of Dover Rug’s carpet and squash empire on Rte. 9 west.
Fairway’s demise after around 60 years in business has been one of many among candlepin bowling alleys, with just 18 centers now listed on the Massachusetts Bowling Association website. Perhaps venues like the Level99 one coming to Natick Mall will be the future of entertainment, but I keep hoping against economic reality that somehow candlepin can make a comeback more than 100 years after first appearing on the scene.
I come from something of a hometown bowling dynasty: My parents were perennial champs in their respective leagues, and my brothers and I largely dominated Saturday morning leagues at Milford Candlepin. I don’t ever recall us returning from one of the endless bowling banquets we attended without hardware.
The TV in our house was tuned into locally-produced bowling shows on the weekends, and my Dad did the “rolloff” rounds at regional bowling alleys to try getting on those shows (came sooooo close a number of times). Gifts for my Dad ranged from bowling towels to new bowling bags to bowling gift certificates.
Working at the now-defunct Milford Candlepin as a teen, first as a custodian and later as a pin machine mechanic, gave me no edge against my competitors. My bosses never let me bowl a free string, figuring my minimum wage afforded me the free cash to pay my own way. I’ll chalk that up to a life lesson or something.
Not sure why I still have these, think I’ll whittle the collection down to 1 keeper.
I largely abandoned candlepin bowling after high school, though toyed with joining an adult league now and then, coming out of nowhere to once again rule the lanes. Bowling didn’t really return into my life until we had kids, when the alleys became part of the birthday circuit.
We’ll always be thankful to Fairway Bowling for that time we had a birthday party for one of our boys scheduled for the Village Green miniature golf course that got thundered and lightninged out, and Fairway hesitantly worked our crew of 8- and 9-year-olds in at the last second.
Last-second Fairway Bowling birthday party
We’d visit the lanes from time to time with the kids outside of birthdays, and always for their spectacular animatronic Christmas decoration display.
While I’ve stopped lugging my candlepin bowling balls in my car’s trunk—just in case I came across an alley in my travels—I will to this day defend the small balls as being more fun than tenpin bowling (nothing against tenpin, just prefer candlepin).
And once the pandemic truly subsides, we will be paying a visit to Norwood, Needham, or one of the other communities that is still home to candlepin lanes, bowling bag in tow.
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I’ve been attending Opening Day at Fenway for ages, and it usually seems like a lot better idea leading up to the game than when I actually get there and freeze my butt off. But traditional pre-gaming with friends, and enjoying the sights, sounds & smells of the park do keep me coming back.
Last year’s Opening Day didn’t really happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year’s didn’t look particularly welcoming given how early we are along the vaccination path. The state gave sports venues the go-ahead to let in fans, at 12% of total capacity, as of March 22. For Fenway that meant between 4,000 and 5,000 fans sprinkled across 37,000 or so seats.
I was on the fence about going, but couldn’t help myself, and the night before Opening Day I scored 2 tickets. The Sox are only selling seats in 2-, 4- and 8-person pods, and they’re separating pods from one another at the park, as you can clearly see from tuning in to a game on TV or online. Black zip ties are used to keep fans from moving to off-limits seats, though there is some flexibility to relocate at the park.
Our Opening Day experience was nothing like any we’d had before.
I usually take public transportation, but am still avoiding that for now. My wife dropped us off and picked us up in Kenmore Square without hitting traffic either way.
The buzz around the park was muted, though fans were sitting outside and inside, and imbibing at staples such as Cask ‘n Flagon and the Bleacher Bar. A few food vendors were allowed to sell sausages and other ballpark delicacies. A David Ortiz impersonator mugged with fans, and a few TV reporters scrounged for fans to yak with.
There was no line to get into the park, except for a few clumps of fans here and there who hadn’t prepped their smartphones before arriving. The Sox are delivering all tickets digitally via the MLB Ballpark App, and before you arrive at the park you supposed to fill out an online health survey on the app. When you complete the survey it turns your e-tickets a slightly different color and signals to the ticket checkers that you’ve attested to a clean bill of health. The Sox return home on April 16.
Pro tip: If you already have the app on your phone, just make sure you update it to the latest version, as the older version doesn’t include the health survey.
The Sox at this point are only selling seats through April, as they evaluate their next moves as the state reopens. Tickets cost an absurd amount as always, though note that face value prices vary based on the teams being played and the day of the game.
Once in the park, the crowds are small and many concession stands are closed. Lines at the open ones are refreshingly short, or non-existent. No cash allowed: All payments are contactless.
We were relieved to see no traffic at the restrooms either.
Fans are required to wear face coverings, and we were happy to see everyone complying. You can unmask while eating or drinking at your seats.
Pro tip: to those of you who were glasses and have the option to wear contacts: You might want to go with the contacts if it’s chilly out since you’ll otherwise spend much of the game defogging.
We were a good 6 feet from anyone else, and loved the fact that we didn’t have a parade of fans traipsing back and forth in front of and around us the entire game as is usually the case.
Yeah, I’m one of those crusty types who goes more to watch the game than to take part in all the extracurriculars. I loved not being harassed by the official photo takers or being blocked by roving food vendors.
Ushers don’t quite know what to do with themselves, pacing back and forth among the empty seats. Some employees are relegated to walking around with signs reminding fans to wear masks.
Fans tried to rev things up, with occasional chants of “Let’s Go Sox!” breaking out and a weak wave attempt or two eventually giving way to the lack of a connected crowd.
Opening Day featured an elongated pre-game roster of activities, acknowledgements of healthcare workers, and a great flyover.
Pro tip: If you are a healthcare worker and you/coworkers want to go to Fenway on the Sox, have your organization hit up customerrelations@redsox.com.The Sox are doling out thousands of free tickets to healthcare workers this season.
Zoom @fenwaypark pic.twitter.com/ZrxGXHjzlx
— swellesley (@swellesley) April 2, 2021
The Friday afternoon game itself was awful, with the Sox managing just 2 hits and losing 3-0 to the Orioles. But it was mercifully short given temps that barely cracked 40 and the lowly performance by the team’s offense and defense.
Overall, we felt safe at the game though understood the risks, and credit the Fenway staff for doing a good job of being present but not overbearing. As for the Sox, we’re not getting ahead of ourselves, but at least things are looking up results-wise after their very rough start.
