The South Coast Insider - May 2021

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MAY 2021 Vol. 25 / No. 5

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May 2021 | Vol. 25 | No. 5 Take a scenic drive along the South Published by Coast’s Farm Coast (facebook.

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Go on a guided Seal Watch boat tour or a Seal Watch/ Editor Rose Island tour with Save the Bay, Sebastian Clarkin departing from Bowen’s Ferry Landing in Online Editor Newport (savebay.org/seals).

Paul Letendre Bundle up and brave the outdoors Sales Manager ice skating (and bumper cars!) at The Mari Burns (508) 916-0374 Providence Rink at the Bank Newport City Center – twice the size of the Contributors Jaime C. DeSousa, Stacie Charbonneau Hess, Rockefeller Center rink in New York Paul Kandarian, Tom Lopes, Sean McCarthy , (theprovidencerink.com). Or check out Elizabeth Morse Read, Carissa Wills-DeMello the schedule for indoor skating at Fall Layout Design Arena, New Bedford’s River’s&Driscoll Jess Andree Hetland Arena, Taunton’s Aleixo The South Insider isArmstrong published monthly for Arena orCoast Plymouth’s Arena visitors and residents of the South Coast area and (fmcicesports.com). is distributed free of charge from Mount Hope Bay about toHow Buzzards Bay.running in a virtual race?

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Inside derr

MAY 2021 Vol. 25 / No. 5

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5

COVER STORY There was a time when all I could do was mother.

It was so hard. The kids were little; I was divorced.

I paid the bills, picked them up from school, made dentist appointments, and tried to afford things like backpacks and good shoes. Giving them what they needed was my focus and I could never give them what they deserved, back then.

Maternal wisdom

By Stacie Charbonneau Hess

They are grown up now, in their mid- and early twenties, and we talk and text often. Now I see them care for things – not babies, yet, but geckos and Jeeps and girlfriends and plants and art a friend has made. It’s a sign of health and creativity – wanting to see things grow, feeling that kind of power that comes from nurturing something, from taking care.

Whether or not we have or want human babies, we can mother something. The earth. A drab, messy room back to life.

We can prune a plant, pick up trash, wipe a shopping cart when we are done using it. Plants, birds, trees, artistic endeavors, neighbors – all benefit from encouragement, attention, and care – three motherly actions that you do not have to be a “mother” to do. In fact, when you put it that way, I know plenty of men who make good mothers, and plenty of people without children who behave as if they are building something that will outlive them.

I am teaching a book right now called Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. One of the essays in this

6

marvelous memoir is called “A Mother’s Work.” In it, the author describes how she toiled for over a decade to make a pond on her upstate New York property swimmable for her daughters. In the process of cleaning the pond, the ecologist in Kimmerer considers all of the life that

Language shapes how we feel and how we separate ourselves, but it can also restore connection when used thoughtfully she would have to displace (the tadpoles, the algae) to achieve her goal of a clean pond for her girls. The mother in her wants not to care so much about those

May 2021 | The South Coast Insider

other creatures – she can set about the business of restoring a natural swimming pool. She realizes the tension in this task and writes, “We set ourselves up for arbiters of what is good when often our standards of goodness are driven by narrow interests, by what we want.”

When my students and I discussed that sentence, they totally got it. We justify killing a life when we consider it less important than our own. Language shapes how we feel and how we separate ourselves, but it can also restore connection when used thoughtfully.

Now that two of my children live thousands of miles away, I have more time to care for other, non-human creatures: hens, dogs, fish, cats, and the birds outside at the feeder. I can see them swirling about in early spring, feasting on seeds. I imagine they are preparing for little beaks to emerge from little eggs in nests they have created for this purpose.

I want to support their work.

I have a friend who is younger than I and in the throes of motherhood.

Jordan juggles working full-time with

caring for her two children, Archer and Andie, five and three years old. She is not a clock-punching kind of employee.

Her community advocacy work often encroaches on evenings and weekends.

I asked her about this recently, about this tension between wanting to be a “good mother” and fighting for justice in our community. “My biggest challenge is setting boundaries about when work is over,” she admits. “A fear I have is the

“A good mother grows into a richly eutrophic old woman, knowing that her work doesn’t end until she creates a home where all of life’s beings can flourish” kids are seeing me work too much.” Then she reconsiders. “I also love that we as a family are really active. Our love language is activity. So that’s the memory I want them to have – how active their mother was and how actively I worked to make their community better for them.”

It’s not so much about age, as it is the awareness of the beings outside of your own home who you have the power to positively impact when you care enough to do the work. If that’s not mothering, I don’t know what is.

In the words of Kimmerer, “the pond has shown me that being a good mother doesn’t end with creating a home where just my children can flourish. A good mother grows into a richly eutrophic old woman, knowing that her work doesn’t end until she creates a home where all of life’s beings can flourish. There are grandchildren to nurture, and frog children, nestlings, goslings, seedlings, and spores, and I still want to be a good mother.”

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Take a scenic drive along the South A.G.Farm BETTENCOURT Coast’s Coast (facebook. sales area in April along with some hardy INC. com/farmcoast-new-england) or herbs, and May first is when the first big along the region’s Coastal Wine Trail push comes. Tender plants may wait an(coastalwinetrail.com).

Go on a guided other week or so. Gardeners come from Seal Watch boat tour or a Seal Watch/ far and wide to indulge in these quality Rose Island tour with Save the Bay, plants. departing from Bowen’s Ferry Landing in Peckhams Greenhouse is open Newport (savebay.org/seals).

Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to Bundle up and brave the outdoors 5 p.m. Learn more at peckhamsgreenice skating (and bumper cars!) at The house.com.

Providence Rink at the Bank Newport City Center – twice the size of the Paradise Farm Bark Center MulchrinkBlue Stone Rockefeller in New York At Paradise Farm, found at 103 Cadman Clam Shells Natural Stone (theprovidencerink.com).

Or check out Neck Road in Westport, Shirley and Ted Fill Sand Compost the schedule for indoor skating at Fall Robbins grow fruits and vegetables but Screened Loam River’s Driscoll Arena, New Bedford’s specialize in herbs, sold retail and wholeHetland Arena, Taunton’s Aleixo Wood Chips Stone Dust sale by Shirley from their greenhouses.

Arena or Plymouth’s Armstrong Arena She stocks many varieties of the favored PICK-UP OR DELIVERY… (fmcicesports.com). culinary herbs that often double as dec821about Mainrunning Road inWestport, MA How a virtual race? orative plants in the garden. Imagine a Register for the three Virtual Trail Races greenhouse filled with lavender, rosesponsored by the Dartmouth Natural mary, mint, sage, and lemon verbena. A Resources Trust November 1-30, or for scented workplace!

Most of the herbs start from small the Post-Thanksgiving Walk November May 2021 | The South Coast Insider 7 plants that arrive each March on a tractor 29 (dnrt.org). And if you’re in the trailer that makes its way up the coast Wareham area, you can stay fit with Yoga from Pennsylvania, stopping along the with Laura at Shell Point Beach in Onset

• • • • •

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THINGS TO DO

t r a f o Work

By Sean McCarthy

For more than two decades New Bedford has been experiencing a renaissance,

and its arts and culture have played a major role. First published in December 2018, the city’s Arts and Culture Plan has been a significant catalyst for that progress, supporting and advancing arts and culture in this unique seaport metropolis.

N

ew Bedford is gaining international attention for what it has to offer and it shows no signs of stopping. The establishment of “New Bedford Creative” has become a vital stimulus for that prosperity.

“Arts and culture is the best way for us to market this city as a great place to be,” says Derek Santos, Executive Director of the New Bedford Economic Development Council. “People want to know if this is a good place to live, to visit, and to hang out in general. We can showcase the city as a place with a lot going on – people are out and great stuff is happening. That type of vibe says that this is a place where coming together is important, where culture is important.

“Artists are small businesses, they’re a part of our business community,” Santos says. “They produce a product and they get paid for that product. Arts and culture has a way of contributing to other sectors of the economy – it’s a community development tool, an economic development tool, and a great-place-to-live tool.”

In 2012, New Bedford found itself in the company of San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles when Richard Florida of The Atlantic magazine ranked it as the seventh most artistic city in America. In 2016, the Massachusetts Cultural Council recognized New Bedford as the most creative community in the state.

The city took steps to take advantage of their creative community when Mayor Jon

Mitchell proposed the Arts, Culture, and Tourism Fund in the spring of 2016. The fund allocated revenue generated from the city’s lodging tax (from city hotels) to be a catalyst for managing growth in its cultural and tourism sectors. A group of local volunteers from the community would soon come together to draft “New Bedford Creative,” a 10-year initiative with the slogan, “Our art, our culture, our future.”

“If you look at the people who were involved in the creation of the plan you’ve got a diverse group of folks,” Santos says.

“The people involved in this see it as a valuable thing. Getting all those folks in the room for that period of time, and coming together for an overall vision, was CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

8

May 2021 | The South Coast Insider

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Business 20 Stuffed on stuffing

By Deborah Allard Dion Saturday, Local and CONTINUEDShop FROM PAGE 8 BUSINESS BUZZ Support your an exceptional project. The folks from the tated by Saulnier, the group establishes community. community who came out to do that work long- and short-term goals and devises 10 Making waves

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is what made that product so good in the end.”

The Arts and Culture Plan led to the formation of two bodies: New Bedford Creative, and the New Bedford Creative Consortium.

508.676.7169 A body ofjjjewlery.com art

New Bedford Creative is a funded, threeperson group located in the offices of the New Bedford EDC on Purchase Street.

The group is led by Creative Strategist Margo Saulnier, a New Bedford native with a background in performing arts and the music industry. Saulnier lived in Boston We are sure to have the purrfect cat and New York before returning to the area or the cutest K-9 to steal your heart to spearhead New so if you are looking for love, Bedford Creative. check with us first!!

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474 Durfee St., Fall River, MA creative people, 26 Franklin Street, Newport 279 Water Street, Warren, RI 508-676-1061 and we’re building, 401-619-5639 • EmilyHirsch@hotmail.com www.faxonarl.org expanding, and 401.245.7071 facebook.com/athaliaofnewport supporting the creatives that are and doing 4 November 2020 | The South Coasthere Insider excellent work,” Saulnier says. “We want them to continue to thrive within a collaborative environment.

“There are many unique elements to New Bedford,” Saulnier says. “It’s a seaport 30+ years experience city with a working waterfront, there’s — HOURS — Pet boarding, owner on premises 24/7 Mon. & Tue. 8:30-4:30pm a history of whaling and fishing, lots of A/C, fenced in yard, outdoor kennels Wed. & Sat. 8:30-12 Noon people with different backgrounds who One-on-one training for basic obedience Thu. 8:30-5pm • Fri 8:30-6pm bring their culture to the city and make it continually interesting. It’s a culturally rich 1100to Reed Rd. forNorth Dartmouth, place live and a creative personMA to work.”Monday -Saturday 9am-5pm Functions of New Bedford Creative include managing grant programs, 9 promoting artists, maintaining their The South Coast Insider | November 2020 website and social media, acting as a liaison to many of the city’s public art and placemaking activities, and collaborating on programs of training and development for artists and cultural organizations.

The New Bedford Creative Consortium is a board of 24 community volunteers that meets no fewer than four times a year to oversee the execution and implementation of the Arts and Culture Plan. Facili-

Fall in love at Faxon

planning to make them happen. Members

by Steven Froias represent areas such as the arts, education, business, museums, and other local organizations and interests.

The squeeze on squash The Consortium is comprised of three

by Brian J. on Lowney “squads” that focus Public Art & Facilities, Placemaking, and Fundraising.

“Margo is providing great leadership and New Bedford Creative’s outreach has grown, people are becoming more aware of it,” says Patty A. Thomas, co-founder and Artistic Director Fall dropsof Culture Park, a local theatrical company devoted to

by Paul Kandarian new plays that represent themes aimed at resonating with the community and region. Thomas is the Chair of Thanksgiving is the quintessential New the Consortium’s England tradition, and isPublic an opportunity Arts & to recognize the important role farms and Facilities squad. farmers play in our community.

Learn how “Our audience has Gnarly Vines Farm (gnarlyvinesfarm.com) increased through awareness has found its place in thethe South Coast on provided

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Bedford Creative,” Thomas says.

“New Bedford Creative can help bring your ideas to life,” says New Bedfordbased artist Kat Knutsen. They’re movers and shakers, they make things happen.

They see potential and vision and they support it and fuel it. They provide information and connect artists to resources, we’re extremely lucky as a city to have them.

“Artists often operate with their right brain, and New Bedford Creative is providing the left, logical side. They’re helping to bring economic success. The emails that they send out are always giving access to information on opportunities, grants, and resources that artists can heavily benefit from.”

16

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grant programs, a toolbox for artists, and a description of the city’s cultural districts.

“Everything about the plan is right there.

It’s beneficial to artists, patrons, and visitors,” Santos says. “It can help answer a lot of questions and it will get you to what you want. When someone jumps on the site and sees what’s going on it looks like we have our act together – because we do. It’s great for those who are visiting and want to know what’s going on, or if someone wants to retain an artist. It’s super helpful.”

The website’s creative directory is a free and open catalog for those affiliated with the creative economy including visual arts, film and multimedia, food and culinary, music and performing arts, written works, and history and preservation. The Tool Box provides resources and opportunities for individuals or companies looking to expand and develop their skills, networking, or funding.

Every other month, New Bedford Creative issues an email with a bevy of information and opportunities for artists and cultural organizations.

“New Bedford Creative creates paths to give artists opportunities to make more work and succeed. I recently received a grant based on an email I received from Margo,” Knutsen says.

“The website has become a central platform for resources,” Thomas says.

New Bedford Historical Society, SuperflatNB, and the Fiber Optics Center.

The mural “Postcards To New Bedford” was created by SuperflatNB under the creative direction of Greg Pennisten and is displayed on the back wall of 674 Pleasant Street.

A lighting design at Wings Court in downtown was designed and created by students at UMass-Dartmouth’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, under the direction of Professor Stephanie McGoldrick, in partnership with the City of New Bedford Planning and DPI. New Bedford Creative has also contributed support to the Reggae On West Beach summertime event and the Guatemalan Festival held in September.

“When we are at our best, we are connecting people, developing partnerships, and being a catalyst for projects that shine a bright light on New Bedford’s strengths,” Saulnier says.

This upcoming summer, New Bedford Creative will help support an array of events, including 3rd EyE Youth Empowerment’s hip-hop events, BuyBlackNB’s pop-up market on Juneteenth, the New Bedford Symphony’s “Music In the Streets,” Fitzcarmel LaMarre’s “New Deadford” art youth workshops, and the traveling artMOBILE which provides activities for children.

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New Bedford Creative’s influence can be seen throughout the city in a variety of ways, not just downtown, but from the north end’s Acushnet Avenue to the south end’s Fort Taber. Some examples of their support include murals and public art, events, and design work. Knutsen was recruited to design the “Jazz Wall,” a 49-by-34 foot mural on a wall of the Fiber Optics Center on 23 Centre Street, devoted to internationally recognized jazz artists who found a home in New Bedford.

The project incorporated the input of the

May 2021 | The South Coast Insider

New Bedford Creative is responsible for facilitating two annual grants – Art is Everywhere, and Wicked Cool Places.

The Art is Everywhere grant aims to support creative ideas that impact a current challenge facing residents, visitors and/ or businesses in New Bedford’s neighborhoods – supporting the advancement of diversity, equity, inclusion and access.

Grants range from $1,000 to $25,000, and are funded by MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative, and the Barr Foundation. It was first awarded in May of 2020 to 3rd EyE

the region’s coastal charms. Their new property was a former tomato farm, perSarah Kocur is the fect for supporting the couple’s new hobowner of LOVEmoda, by: raising chickens. a purse and clothing Fortunately for them, they had a knack company based it. BeforeNew too long, the Bishops had infor downtown more eggs than they knew what to do Bedford. with. They began selling the surplus, and learning about how to expand the farm in a healthy and sustainable way.

To give a sense of how successful this expansion has been, the farm’s chicken population has ballooned from the original 20 to over 3000.

While her husband has kept his IT job, Ester has been able to commit herself to the farm full-time. She prides herself on providing her animals with joyful, stressfree lives. “People should know where their food comes from – you can really Unlimited for its “Yoursaid NewBishop.

Bedford” taste the difference,” project.

Wicked Cool Places grants are used Green acres Bishop’s “beyond for creativecommitment placemakingto that helps organic” farming beyond cuddles transform Newextends Bedford’s overlooked or and words of affirmation to her livestock. undervalued places, enhancing comShe ensures all the animals are provided munity development. with healthy, 2021, organic meals,Cool andPlaces that their In February Wicked waste is repurposed as$50,000 manure. to provided a donation of “You can see how green thecity. grass is various artistic groups in the where theWicked turkeysCool havePlaces been,”grant Bishop The first says.

“That’s because they fertilize the awarded $82,000 in October of 2019. soil with their manure. is thegoes “The amount of grant Manure funding that basis of organic fertilizers.

There are no back into the economy is quite impressive chemicals added, or needed, and important,” Santos says. when the animals theirthat job.”

Santos do claims the next 36 months Speaking of animals doing their jobs, in New Bedford are going to be “very Bishop has conscripted her goats and in interesting.” He anticipates an explosion pigs into clearing away swaths of underthe arts and culture sector, which will have brush on theeffect property – the “gnarly vines” a beneficial throughout the city. that givealways the farm itsamazing name. artists in “We’ve had Gnarly Vinesartists coordinates with renown,” neighNew Bedford, of national boring farms to provide its customers he says. “It’s all about vibrant, safe, with a variety of sustainable andbe organic wonderful places to gather and with products. Angus beef, for instance, will other people. Nothing is better equipped sell out almost as soon as it comes into to make that happen than arts and culture stock.

– it’s a unifier.”

But the farm is not bound by terrestrial “The future role of New Bedford Creative limitations: the Bishops have partnered is to not only be the arts and culture hub with Captain’s Finest and Sakonnet of the South Coast, we believe we are a Lobster to bring fresh seafood to market. global destination,” Saulnier says. “The Bishop is particularly proud of a new initalent is here and we want the world to tiative at the farm: food security commuknow.” nity supported agriculture (CSA) plans.

“A lot of people are returning to New CSAs, popular among farms nationBedford and saying, ‘I can’t believe that all wide, allow customers to pre-purchase this is happening, this is amazing!,” Santos “shares” of the farm’s produce, which are says. “I like the idea of improving the place where I live.”

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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I

THINGS TO DO

The land of herbs and honey

by Carissa Wills-DeMello

Oxymel: an ancient Greek word that translates to “acid and honey.”

Modern human translation? The most delicious way to practice some kitchen witchin’ for the herbally curious!

Oxymels have long been used as home herbal medicine, since cooking and herbalism have always been sister sciences practiced by mothers, herbalists, midwives, and healers. By blending herbs, honey, and acid, you’re left with a sweet and sour liquid that can support digestion, ease congestion, reduce inflammation and spruce up the most boring of recipes!

Traditionally the acid used in an oxymel is vinegar – any will do, but raw apple cider vinegar will ensure probiotic benefits and a wide range of application for your concoction.

Why vinegar? Well, in the creation of any herbal remedy we need extraction to take place, so that the plethora of medicinal compounds, minerals, and vitamins are made available to your body. In tea, your hot water is doing the extraction.

In a tincture, it’s the alcohol. Different compounds call for different solvents, and it so happens that vinegar makes a great solvent for vitamins, minerals, and other flavor-packed compounds!

An oxymel can be used in countless ways, medicinally and culinarily, so flavor is key. Let’s be honest: it’s hard to get this

16

wrong with sweet honey and sour apple cider vinegar. The two are practically born to be blended. What herbs you choose to add to your oxymel depends on the way you’d like to use it… and the options are endless! Sip it straight up to ease a belly ache. Pour it over cucs or radishes for homemade pickles. Mix it into a margarita or mocktail. Dress your salad with it. You get the picture! It’s the herbal utility tool that you’ll wonder how you ever lived and cooked without.

Making an oxymel

Fill a jar of any size ¼ to ½ full of herbs (which could include fresh or dried spices or vegetables).

Cover the herbs with enough vinegar and honey to fill the jar – a standard ratio is equal parts honey and vinegar, though you can modify based on your palate.

Line the rim with parchment paper under a metal canning lid, or use a plastic lid (otherwise the metal will corrode). Close firmly!

Shake up your jar until all of the ingredients are thoroughly blended.

Place your jar away from direct sunlight

May 2021 | The South Coast Insider

and heat (a cabinet will do) for 2-4 weeks as infuses. No need for refrigeration.

Shake your jar whenever you remember!

The more you shake it, the better your oxymel will infuse. Once a week minimum is best.

After 2-4 weeks (a longer steep = a stronger oxymel), strain your herbs through a fine mesh strainer. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible, that’s where all the goodness is!

Strain that liquid a second time through cheesecloth if you have it, to avoid any bits left behind.

Check out the special Pour your oxymel intoevents a jar –hosted make sure to Shop small, shop local! byWhy theand Dartmouth Cultural Center at the label date it.health risk your (and sanity) at Olde Southworth Library!

There’s the DCC Store in a cool dark place.

Refrigeration crowded malls on Black Friday? Take Member, Teacher and Student Art Show shouldn’t be necessary, but if you use a lot advantage incredible offerings in your May 24-Juneof23, and the Art Drive Tour of fresh veggies the water content will be own26-28. neighborhood Small Business July For moreon info, query kadels12@ higher, so you can refrigerate if you’d like. gmail.com or call 508-997-9975.

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For more call 508supportive oxymel made famous by craftsmen and artists byinfo, heading over to 938-5127 or visit roundthebendfarm.org. renowned folk herbalist Rosemary the Waterfire Arts Center in Providence Gladstar.

But not all oxymels are pungent to visitout thethe safe outdoor pop-up markets Check summer camp programs in and spicy.

Take a peek at the following (waterfire.org/art-mart). And on First coastal ecology at the Lloyd Center for the herbal combos todetails, get your oxymel gears Environment!

For 508-990Thursdays (November 5)call you can “shop 0505 or and visit lloydcenter.org. turning, once you get started, let and and dine local” in Barrington, Bristol, your imagination run wild! Feel free to get Warren (discovernewport.org).

Join the Dartmouth Natural Resources creative with ratios, ingredients, Kick-off theamounts, holiday at Frerichs Trust to prune bushes, season build boardwalks, and use these combos asaa“Work starting point pull out plants on Party” at Farm ininvasive Warren with “Girls Night Out” for oxymel explorations.

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Don’t miss the Chickweed Cherry Blossom Friendship ers, sweets, and specialty foods yearFestival on May 5 at the Whitfield-Manjiro Cleavers round to someone you want to thank Friendship House! For more info, go to or Dandelion to express your appreciation. fairhaventours.com or call 508-979-4085.

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9 23 17

BUSINESS BUZZ

Far East

Ricky Tith opened Hong Meas in January

on the South Coast

by Michael J. DeCicco

If the Asian-American immigrant business community across the South Coast has one thing in common, it’s that it wasn’t easy to get where they are today. But through a lot of pure determination and community support, they’ve succeeded.

A prime example of an Asian-American immigrant’s success on the South Coast is Ying Zhao. The first of his Ying Dynasty chain of restaurants opened at 724 Dartmouth Street, South Dartmouth, in 2003.

His second location opened in the former Cathay Temple building in Mattapoisett at 24 County Road in 2010. His location at 4422 Acushnet Avenue, Sassaquin, New Bedford, debuted in 2012, and the former China Garden eatery became “Ying” at 265 Marion Road, Wareham, in 2016.

Zhao and his family emigrated to Fairhaven from Xinhui, China in the small province of Guangdong, when he was 15 years old. A week after arriving In America he started working as a dishwasher at his aunt’s restaurant, Wah May in downtown New Bedford, as he overcame language and cultural barriers to earn his diploma from Fairhaven High School. His next job was working as a bartender at his uncle’s restaurant, Gumbo, in North Dartmouth.

18

He wasn’t seriously considering becoming a restaurateur until after meeting his wife on a trip back to China. Because his wife was pregnant by the time he had to return to America, he became serious with his career, and his Ying Dynasty chain of Chinese cuisine eateries were born.

“Believe it or not I didn’t really have a plan,” he said. “I just knew that I didn’t want to and couldn’t continually live in this fantasy life where everything is spur-ofthe-moment. So I guess I have to thank my kids for being the motivation for me to be serious about my career.”

For his Mattapoisett expansion, Zhao said he has to thank “a very special man in my life – Angelo D. Paolini Chicky. He was the landlord of Mattapoisett location.

I didn’t know him back then; one day he and his business partner Michael J. Penta walked into my Dartmouth restaurant and looked to speak with the owner. I sat down with them and he asked me if I am

May 2021 | The South Coast Insider

interested in taking over the old Cathy Temple. I learned that their company owns the property and land of 24 County Road in Mattapoisett; the tenant had been behind in rent for a long time. And they were looking for someone to take over the space. I went to check the place, thought about if I am capable of opening another restaurant, and I said yes.”

Similarly, he was able to open the restaurants in New Bedford and Wareham because of the good rapport he had with their previous owners.

Zhao’s former coworkers say there is another reason for his success, though, starting with his reputation for having a generous and trustworthy nature. Summer, who declined to reveal her last name, said his experience has taught him a lot

“

I guess I have to thank my kids for being the motivation for me to be serious about my career - Ying Zhao

about openingFamily a business successfully.

McGovern’s Restaurant “TheShove more Street, you do, Fall the River more you know to 310 do it right,” she said. “Getting a proposal 508-679-5010 up and running gets him excited. When mcgovernsonthewater.com he walks into a newrestaurant restaurantand space, This well-known ban-he knows whatoverlooking job needs toLaurel get done.” quet facility Lake Today,packs Zhao is working reopening usually them in foron a large buffetthe former China Lantern on Nauset Street in on Thanksgiving Day. The menu typically includes traditional turkey dinner with New Bedford.

Paul’s stuffing, butternut squash, prime He said there’s no set timetable for its rib, ham, and muchHe more.

The restaurant grand re-opening. acquired the prophas offering takeout, ertybeen two years ago,dine-in but theand challenges including locally famous corned beef of runningits a business in a pandemic has and cabbage, for 50 years. Here’s a probeen the biggest obstacle. tip: can’t for waithis until Thanksgiving for Heifisyou grateful success but realistic aabout roastfuture turkeyexpansions. dinner, you “We don’tare have to lucky– it’s on the regular menu. we can still keep on going,” he said. “I

know a lot of restaurant owners in Boston and New York thatWaterfront have had to shut down.

Merrills on the ButHomers I am stillWharf, hopingNew to get Nauset Street 36 Bedford 508-997-7010 open. I want to thank all my customers for merrillswaterfront.com all of their support right now.”

In Fallfavorite River, Ricky Tith has a unique This restaurant and function perspective onthe how the entrepreneurs facility sits on waterfront overlooking the busy fishing port. But if fish isn’t your of his community survive and thrive. He’s thing on traditional turkey day, be sure the owner of the Cambodian cuisine Hong to keep watch for their holiday offerings.

Meas Restaurant, at 418 Quequechan Last year, served up turkey and Street, andMerrill’s he’s founder/director of the prime rib, all American the sides like apple sage Cambodian Resource Organizastuffing, and sweet corn and polenta ravition. oli, plus pies galore.he formed in 2013 The organization helps Cambodian immigrants with a variety of services The Pasta Houserelated to their cultural and language differences and difficulties.

100 Alden Road, Fairhaven It assists with the naturalization and 508-993-9913 citizenship process, finding housing, and thepastahouse.net communicating better the public If their Pumpkin Patchwith Old-Fashioned and private through interpreter (now on the sector bar menu) doesn’t get you services, whether in court, city hall, or at a inside, nothing will. Luckily, you can find facility. amedical recipe in the sidebar for this drink and serve it with your Thanksgiving dinner Tith, himself a Cambodian native, said takeout the main focus is to help Cambodian and The Pasta House served up a spread other Asian immigrants network with last that included turkey dinner, ham any year organization they are having trouble dinner, fillet mignon, braised short rib, communicating with. There are only and more.

Currently, pickup and delivery seven Cambodian-owned businesses is available from the regular menu, includin Fall River, and the challenge for those ing their apple cider sangria to go.

We’ll entrepreneurs to succeed starts with the just have to wait and see what language barrier in dealing withthey citydream hall up for Thanksgiving. and running their business under all the right regulations and other practices, he said. Wharf He estimates that CARO has helped The Tavern 215 Water Street, Warren approximately 1,000 families and people 401-289-2524 since it formed. thewharftavernri.com He said all of his life, he’s lived with having toWhile workstuffed his ownquahogs way up. So now, he nibbled bysaid, the water may notneeds be a Thanksgiving “I know what to be done fortradiothers tion, the Wharf established inand to succeed.

I likeTavern, to roll up my sleeves

“

I didn’t want there to be only one Cambodian restaurant in Southeastern MA

1955 on the historic wharf that dates to the 1700s, isn’t all about summer.

Last year they served up a feast of turkey, roast prime rib, sausage stuffing, and more. The restaurant currently offers dine-in and takeout, including some oven-ready dishes like seafood casserole and stuffed lobster.

White’s of Westport

- Ricky Tith

66 State Road, Westport 508-675-7185 shop.lafrancehospitality.com help. My father told me, to every crisis, White’s has been offering family-style there is always a solution.” takeout and curbside meals pickup for This philosophy has also served him well months, so when Turkey Day comes in his personal journey. His family brought around, it’s a good bet they’ll have a hanhim from Cambodia to South Philadelphia dle (or rather a drumstick) on that too. when he was six years old, then to ProviCurrently, the restaurant is offering meal dence, where he graduated from the local packages and platters like its “Taste of middle school and high school. His father New England” that comes with chowthenquahogs moved the der, andfamily clam back cakestoorSouth its Italian Philly where Ricky and his helped package of salad, lasagna,father meatballs and with a family-run Cambodian grocery breadsticks. Both meals serve six. Also market there.

When his mother suffered available are dinner-for-two meal packs a stroke, they moved to a housing project like fish and chips, lobster rolls, bourbon in Falltips, River, because the medical care beef and even kid-sized pasta and benefits were better in this state. meatballs for two.

With more than 60 Tith was a quality control manager for years in the hospitality industry, White’s is accustomed to cooking for awhen crowd.

Tre-Mack Plastics in Fall River he heard the Cambodian restaurant at 418 Quequechan Street was closing. He jumped in to take ownership of it because he didn’t want to see Fall River lose one of its Cambodian eating places.

That was only two months ago, Tith said. cinnamon “It First was ayou’ll scaryneed thingtotoconcoct do, especially in Mix ½ cup sugar,want ½ cup water, asyrup. pandemic.

But I didn’t there to and a three-inch cinnamon stick inina be only one Cambodian restaurant small pan.

Bring it just to a boil, turn off Southeastern Massachusetts. I knew the heat and let it cool. Remove the about quality control and Cambodian food cinnamon stick and discard or use it to produce. So my wife and I said let’s take garnish the cocktail if you like. The syrthe risk.” up will last for three weeks in the fridge.

Hong Meas opened on Jan, 1, 2021. “It To make the cocktail, fill a shakwas scary fast,” he said. er halfway with ice. Combine ¼ cup But in two short months, he said, “Sales pumpkin puree with three ounces have doubled what we expected.” He said bourbon, two ounces maple syrup, ¼ that’s all due to tremendous support from ounce cinnamon syrup, one ounce orfriends, family, and the community. Both ange liqueur, and two their dine-in and takeout/delivery services dashes orange bitkeep them busy. ters. Shake well.

He easily relates his own business Fill two old fashsuccess to the need for his CARO ioned glasses with organization to succeed. “This is the comice, pour in the munity response strained cocktailI need to be able to push forward the and Southeast and garnishCambodian with a Asian community,” he said.

“Without the twist of orange peel help of the larger community, we all won’t and a cherry. be able to make it.”

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The South Coast | November 2020 May 2021Insider | The South Coast Insider

19 19

COVER STORY

Welcome to the post-pandemic future

by Elizabeth Morse Read

As we now approach the end of the Covid-19 tunnel that we entered fifteen months ago, we’re eager to get back to our pre-pandemic lives. But a funny thing happened on the way to recovery. Just as security measures at airports and government buildings were forever transformed after 9/11, so, too, have our daily lives after surviving the deadliest pandemic in over a century.

A man’s home is his castle… and workplace… and school… and gym…

After months of being cooped up with other family members in either a city apartment or a suburban home, we’ve all become acutely aware of how our open-plan “home-sweet-home” was not designed for homeschooling plus adults working remotely plus everyone exercising indoors plus, plus, plus. As our home address morphs into our work/study/play address, we need better definition of our interior spaces – we need sound-proofed walls, doors and flexible walls for privacy, and multi-purpose spaces, such as a garage subdivided into a workshop and gym, or schoolrooms/offices that convert into entertainment areas at night.

Also, we will expect improved HVAC climate control indoors, and sanitation features like mudroom/laundry/delivery

20

rooms providing a transition from the germ-filled outdoor world to the clean interior. Houses will include smart home features like voice/motion-activated appliances, lighting, home entry, toilets and faucets, even germ-resistant flooring and countertops, as well as more storage space for food, water, and energy generation/storage.

Post-pandemic home design will bring the outdoors in as much as possible – balconies, roof gardens, winterized porches with sliding glass walls, roof windows and atriums to provide light and natural ventilation and to create private “outdoor” space.

Home office sweet home office

Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg may expect his employees to return to the workplace once they’ve been vaccinated, but after a year of working

May 2021 | The South Coast Insider

from home (WFH), many Americans (especially women) aren’t looking forward to returning to the pre-pandemic commuter rat-race.

Half of the world’s white-collar workers (vs. only 11% pre-pandemic) are now working from home. A whopping 42% of the US workforce – white-collar office workers – have been working from home full-time since the pandemic began. Sixty percent of them want to work remotely indefinitely, and according to an online survey of more than 1,000 WFH professionals, almost 30% said they’d quit their jobs if they couldn’t continue to work from home remotely.

Employers who don’t provide this work-life flexibility are going to have trouble recruiting and retaining talented employees in the future. Human resource managers are already considering schedules that allow employees to work

sanitation crisis because worldwide, 4.2 consumerism that involves demonstrations, sit-ins and, I kid you not because I’m billion of us live without safe sanitation options. Think of that the next time you’re afraid of them, a “Zombie Walk,” where Now that you’re addicted to lucky enough to be relaxing with a magavolunteer zombies wander malls with shopping online and getting blank stares and explain “Buy Nothing zine in a comfy loo. home delivery for everything, Hungry? November is your month, with Day” to befuddled shoppers before, I asyou shouldn’t be surprised that tasty days sprinkled throughout, odes to sume, eating their flesh.

Amazon owns Whole Foods, everything from banana pudding to vinHow are ya, what’s new, how’s it goPillPack, Zappos, Ring video ing? Say that and more on November 21, egar and everything in between, includdoorbell andDay,” is now moving “National Hello created in into the hopes ing hot sauce, nachos, pickles, espresso, the telemedicine business, too. deviled eggs, French toast and more. that conflicts can be resolved through Amazon Carerather is an app communication thanthat the use of Honoring all that grub makes perfect connects users virtually sense that November 15 is National Clean force, a lofty goal that, givenwith there really nurse practitioners, andnot has doctors, never been a time when there’s Out Your Refrigerator Day. who can provide treatment over theIn phone 24 hours day, supplemented warnurses raging somewhere around the globe. closing, and inaobservance of with in-person services like pharmacy delivery and house calls from nurses who World Philosophy Day is an international November being an election month, I’d can take blood work and provide similar services.

Amazon Care is designed to be day proclaimed by UNESCO comes into like to add it is now National Impotency a supplement or additional benefit to existing health care coverage by an being every third Thursday of November.

Month, which has nothingoffered to do with the employer.

By this summer, Amazon Care will be available to all Amazon workers Republicans in Congress, much as it Or does it? Hmmm? nationwide toDay private employers across the country who want to join.

Silly as World and Toilet on November sounds like it should.

Happy winter, people! All eight damn 19 sounds, it is an actual United Nations observance day to tackle the global months of it. remotely at least part time, even after in-person services. Although telehealth vaccines have been widely adopted. For technology existed before the pandemic, instance, Twitter offers permanent WFH less than 10% of patient care was options for its employees. Ford Motor conducted remotely – and this ballooned to 95% overnight.

Co. has already notified its 30,000 WFH A virtual visit with the doctor has become employees that they can continue to work the new version of many face-to-face from home after the pandemic is over. appointments. Virtual visits will never They will only need to come into the office replace in-person visits when a physical for meetings and team-building events. exam or in-depth conversations are The shift from working-in-the-office necessary, but they will take more of a to working-from-home will have both role in coordinating a patient’s health profound and subtle effects on just about care, along with home-based diagnostic every aspect of our lives for decades to technology and remote access to come. psychotherapists, personal trainers, and “Is there a doctor in the other health-related personnel. We’re house?” already accustomed to home-test kits For instance, if any change has been for colon cancer screening – now you can apparent during the Covid-19 crisis, it’s even have DoorDash deliver same-day that health care has had to move towards Covid-19 test kits. decentralized delivery. Health care But “going virtual” doesn’t work for systems need to provide care outside the everyone, such as seniors who aren’t hospital and doctor’s office and bring it comfortable with digital technology, into the homes and neighborhoods. underserved communities that lack Approximately 150 million Americans reliable internet, or patients who are live with a chronic condition like heart homebound or have no access to disease or diabetes, for whom regularly transportation. We will see community scheduled care is critical to their overall health mobile units staffed with medical health. But during the pandemic, people personnel equipped with testing equipavoided doctors’ offices and hospitals, ment and supplies making house calls putting off critical tests, preventive [see sidebar]. screenings, and doctor visits for fear of We can’t go back again to pre-pandemic catching the Covid-19 virus. life – many of the lifestyle and societal At the start of the pandemic, insurchanges that emerged while we adapted to “the new normal” during lockdowns and ance companies finally agreed to pay daily interactions are here to stay. for telehealth services as they do for

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The South Coast | November 2020 May 2021Insider | The South Coast Insider

23 21

ON MY MIND

A daffodil by any other name

By Paul Kandarian

O

n Easter morning this year, I walked outside and saw spring’s first daffodils in bloom. I smiled, and shed a few tears. Happens every year. Always.

Every spring for most of my mother’s life, I would bring her the first daffodils I’d find, usually from the sun-drenched side of my grandparents’ house that was adjacent to ours. It always brought a smile and a tear to her face as well, a tradition of mother and son I sorely miss.

This maternal-floral connection has a bit of genetic history, I guess; my father, who grew up in that house next to us, would bring his mother the first lilacs of spring from a beautiful grove my grandfather had planted just for her.

My Grandpa loved my Nana with all his heart and having flowers planted to make her happy was just something he did because of it.

How unconditional was that love? He was a full-blooded Armenian, first generation American, my Nana 100 percent Italian, herself first generation. Grandpa was calm.

Nana was an Italian firebrand.

When Grandpa, a shortish, very rotund, clumsy sort, would bumble around a shop my Nana insisted on going

22

to, he would back into things, fedora in hands before him, apologizing profusely to the shopkeeper. Nana would growl at him to be careful, poking fun in Italian at his “big belly,” to which Grandpa would sigh and smile and say, “I love you too, Rosie.” And then stumble into something else and apologize.

My youthful exposure to flowers was minimal and now, like many men, I am decidedly not a flower guy. You could

May 2021 | The South Coast Insider

threaten me with death as you ask me to name a certain flower and unless they were daffodils or lilacs, well, just pull the trigger, I got nothing.

I write a lot about my Dad; of all the people who’ve made an impact on who I’ve become, notably an actor and writer, his was pretty powerful. Those were two things he always wanted to be and had the raw talent to do so. He just never followed through, instead

becoming, as was the norm then, a provider.

In many ways, my mom’s impact was as much if not more noticeable, and not just because she’s the one who gave me literal life inside her body, sustaining me and then birthing me into the world. A mother is often the first touch, the first kiss, the first hug, the first pure infusion of unconditional love a child will have.

The impacts my Mom

had on me were many. She bequeathed me her blue eyes, her beautiful, light, loving blue eyes. When I had hair, it was chestnut brown, as was hers before it turned gray and then white. As what’s left of mine has.

Her other lasting gifts included cooking. Some of my best and tastiest childhood memories were of being at her side at the stove or the counter, stuffing rigatoni with a luscious mix of ricotta cheese, hamburger, and

of them and dole them out to family members, always making sure I got at least two or three of them. She did this well into her later years and of all the things I make that she did, I have yet to attempt her rice pies. I could never even come close, so I don’t even try.

All of it, I love as she did.

And cats – my Mom adored cats and if she had her way we’d have lived in a house full of them but never managed more than two at a time.

Because of her love of cats, I

With every meal I cook now and every bit of the attention I pay to the task, every ounce of satisfaction it gives me, every aroma and flavor I create that makes me smile, all of it I owe to my Mom spinach, or creating the best Sunday spaghetti gravy (sauce, but many Italians call it gravy, as we did) in her mom’s old hammered aluminum pots that I still have, or rolling flattened beef into a succulent braciola, or spinning tiny meatballs in our palms to make Italian meatball soup.

At Easter, my Mom was famous family wide for making rice pies, these round (or square) gifts of love, thick and just the right amount of gooey flecked with pineapple pieces or whatever it was she put in them to make them even sweeter, even the crust itself and the criss cross of lattice strips over them sweet.

She would make 10 or more

have the same love and to this day, the second I pick up a cat and cuddle it, I am in my happy spot, the purr of a loving cat bringing me nearly as much contentment as the purity of a child’s laugh.

Mother’s Day is May 9, the one day of the entire year officially dedicated to mothers without whom none of us would exist, none of us would flourish, none of us would be blessed with the gifts they have bestowed upon us.

Quite obviously, one day is not enough to celebrate those gifts and those who gave them to us.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. I miss you more with every daffodil I see.

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