The South Coast INSIDER - October 2020

OCTOBER 2020

Vol. 24 / No. 10

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October 2020 | Vol. 24 | No. 10 Published by Coastal Communications Corp.

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Ljiljana Vasiljevic Editor Sebastian Clarkin Online Editor Paul Letendre Contributors Michael J. DeCicco, Deborah Allard Dion, Steven Froias, Stacie Charbonneau Hess, Paul Kandarian, Tom Lopes, Sean McCarthy, Elizabeth Morse Read

The South Coast Insider is published monthly for visitors and residents of the South Coast area and is distributed free of charge from Mount Hope Bay to Buzzards Bay. All contents copyright ©2020 Coastal Communications Corp.

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October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

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CONTENTS COVER STORY

Make Your Own Perfume Shoppe

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Fall farms

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Murder mystery

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October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

Bounty and tradition

by Elizabeth Morse Read

18

Accidental activist

26 Franklin Street, Newport

By Deborah Allard DIon

THINGS TO DO

10

Handcrafted Jewelry

by Emily Hirsch & Artisan Gallery

By Michael J. DeCicco

by Stacie Charbonneau Hess

ON THE COVER Escobar Farm’s annual corn maze is a highlight of the harvest season. To learn more, turn to page 6 or visit escobarfarm.com.

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BUSINESS BUZZ

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New Bedford al fresco

by Steven Froias

Shelter from the storm

By Sean McCarthy

ON MY MIND

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Fall is in the air.

Start thinking about your Thanksgiving dinner plans.

Call for menu options and reservations.

Conversations in quarantine

by Paul Kandarian

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The South Coast Insider | October 2020

5

COVER STORY

Fall farms

by Michael J. DeCicco

The fall harvest season is in full bloom, and South Coast farms big and small are announcing nothing but good news.

Escobar Highland Farm

Business at Escobar Highland Farm and Corn Maze, at 255 Middle Road in Portsmouth, is going strong. The farm opened in 1938, and Louis Escobar, 82, the son of the original owner, is still in charge. The farm is still selling hundreds of pumpkins from its pumpkin patch at this time of year as well as all of the milk from the 100-200 cows the Escobar family milks once a day.

But the farm’s main attraction, the eight-acre Corn Maze, will also be the major draw this season, said farm manager Stewart McNaught, with no dip in attendance.

The maze sees an average of 1,000 visitors per year, he said. The season will again be highlighted by its annual Halloween Party on October 31 (rain date November 1). Wear a costume and receive $1 off admission for an event that will include scarecrows, a hay play area, pumpkin decorating, and possibly hay rides.

Don’t miss visiting the nearby concession

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stand that sells popcorn, candy, soda, water, animal crackers, raisins, and butterscotch-flavored lollipops in the shape of an ear of corn.

The maze, which was designed by Brett Herbst of The MAiZE organization, this year celebrates the farmer, McNaught said. The farm’s traditional hayrides are a question mark this year because of COVID shutdown regulations, he added.

But he is confident the farm’s cow train will be ready for young riders of all ages, he said, and the games and picnic tables will be up and ready.

“Part of an increasingly popular ‘agri-tainment’ trend, it will be joined this year by more than 250 affiliated MAiZE sites across the United States, Canada, and Europe,” McNaught added proudly.

The maze will remain open until November 8. Times and admission prices are on the website, escobarfarm.com.

Also visit Lou’s Pumpkin Patch, open every fall. Get your Jack ‘O Lanterns and your Pie Pumpkins too!

October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

ESCOBAR FARM

A.D. Makepeace

The only difference this year for South Coast’s largest fall harvest producer, the Wareham cranberry grower A.D. Makepeace, is that the company is not doing any of the special events it usually hosts at this time of year. “It’s not because of COVID,” Linda Burke, vice-president of Marketing and Communications, said, “but because of the threat of EEE.” But the harvest season itself has not been changed, she said, and it’s going strong. Makepeace cranberries are harvested from around the middle of September to the first or second week of November every year. That’s when the company’s 2,000 acres of bogs will produce a yearly average of 400,000 barrels of cranberries that are then shipped to Ocean Spray to make the juices and other cranberry products the fruit is known for.

How much exactly Makepeace will produce this year in total would be just a guess at this point in time, Burke said. “You never know what conditions will be like.”

But the company, she said, was lucky for being dubbed an essential operation under the March shutdowns. That’s when the fruit is “settling” and needs to be protected from frost with a sprayed blanket of ice.

Meanwhile, the company’s weekly Southcoast Health Farmers’ Markets, which start every year in July, are continuing at its 35 Rosebrook Place property, every Thursday from 3 to 6:30 p.m., featuring farm produce vendors, crafters, and sellers of homemade foods.

“This year hasn’t slowed us given that our bogs are so spread out and our crews work independently,” Burke said. “The impact has not been great. I don’t think the pandemic will slow us down. It depends on how the season plays out. But this year our cranberry production has actually increased.”

Almedia’s Vegetable Patch

The fall season for generations-old Almedia’s Vegetable Patch, at 110 GAR Highway in Swansea, is in good shape as well. At press time, the 60-acre family had nine acres of pumpkins almost ready to be harvested and 24 acres of corn remaining to be picked.

Meanwhile, what has been picked by the Almedia family and crew are on full display at the stand fronting the property, featuring not only family-grown corn but also asparagus, squash, zucchini, cabbage, tomatoes, beets, peas, green beans, and kale, as well as fresh fruit and eggs from local and Boston markets.

John Almedia IV, of the fourth generation to run the farm, said he awakens at 1 a.m. on the days he travels to the Boston Market to buy fresh the other fruits and vegetables the stand features. “Early in the morning, the produce hasn’t been sitting in the warehouse. They are fresh as can be. We buy for quality. I want the best. I’m not looking for cheap or for deals. I’m looking for quality. It’s our family philosophy.”

The stand was established in 1985.

Nearby sits a concession stand trailer that opened for the first time this year, where the family sells all-beef hot dogs, french fries, and smoothies made from only the fresh fruit Almeida buys in Boston and honey from a local farm.

John IV said his great grandfather, John Senior, started the farm at that location in 1916. By the time his grandfather took over, the family had amassed a total or 171 acres of farmland. Around the 1970s, the family stopped selling its produce to wholesale dealers, including delivering to the Fanueil Hall marketplace in Boston, and now it grows just what it sells at its

Swansea stand. “We decided retail was the better way to go,” he said.

In October, John IV’s mother Irene said, the farm’s pumpkin crop will become one of the main features of the farm stand, decorated with hay bales and gourds made from the farm’s own crop. In late October, she said, the stand will close. But it will reopen in time to sell fresh-cut trees from Canada for the Christmas season.

“We offer an old-school family atmosphere,” she added. “So many customers, they’re like family. We’ve seen several generations of the same customers.

We’re an old-fashioned small business.

We have a passion for what we do here.”

Orr’s Farm

The prime destination in Westport for fresh fall harvest produce is Orr’s Farm, at 187 Adamsville Road, a 25 acre farm run

by Andrew Orr since 2007.

Andrew bought the Westport farm he had been working on for three years when he was fresh out of high school, Andrew’s father and co-manager, Michael Orr, noted. Farmer Jim Wood was about to retire and sell his 13-acre, 107-year-old farm to the Westport Land Conservation organization. Instead, the younger Orr worked out a deal with Wood to buy it himself (with conservation easements in place to keep the land agricultural).

“I asked Jim [Wood] if Andrew, being just 17-years-old at the time, was the man for the job,” Michael Orr said. “Jim said, ‘If I had to bet on any of the people who’ve ever worked with me, I’d bet on him.’”

Wood would have won that bet. The farm now boasts owning the Adamsville Road land and two fields on Main Road, totalling 14 acres, where it grows most of everything it sells. Its farm stand features not only vegetables and fruits but herbs, cut flowers, corn stalks, straw, mums, strawberries, chestnuts, soybeans, and Indian corn.

Right now they are selling their own sweet corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, winter squashes, green beans and string beans, and they’re selling carrots and cucumbers locally grown elsewhere.

He said it has been a tough year but the farm has survived it well. “We did okay with COVID,” Michael Orr said, “It worked out for us because under these conditions people want to get outside to buy fresh produce.”

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The South Coast Insider | October 2020

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BUSINESS BUZZ

NEW BEDFORD

By Steven Froias

dapting to the pandemic, New Bedford and much of the South Coast is learning to love dining al fresco during the summer and fall of 2020.

The Federal Reserve Bank, in its regional Beige Book of regional economic activity, noted that a full third of restaurant sales in Massachusetts were the result of outdoor dining. They wrote that it “is unusual in Massachusetts where fewer than 20 percent of restaurants had outdoor dining options before the pandemic.”

Though due to the Covid crisis, cities, towns, and restaurants are discovering that patrons are enjoying eating in the sun or under the stars, even after indoor dining resumed.

Accommodating streetside, sidewalk, and parking lot service in the City of New Bedford was largely possible thanks to an aggressive effort by the city to design and then execute a plan to reopen its eateries.

A Restaurant Reopening task force, led by the city’s Department of Planning, sought and received input from many sources in late spring and early summer as it

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formulated its ultimately successful plan.

Now, after a satisfying summer, it is seeking to extend the winning streak into the fall, with the help of a MassDOT Shared Streets and Spaces grant award which will allow the city to create a total of six outdoor “dining parklets” downtown and on Acushnet Avenue in the North End.

A PLANNED REOPENING As the state came out of total shutdown, the City of New Bedford moved to help the battered restaurant industry. Indeed, even during the days when only take-out was permitted, city personnel moved swiftly to identify curbside pickup spots where possible before developing a robust outdoor dining plan.

Jessica Coelho, owner of Tia Maria’s European Cafe in the downtown historic district, seized the opportunity to take part in the reopening group.

She tells the New Bedford Economic Development Council that, in addition to innovative changes in the way her eatery conducted business, it was “very beneficial to be part of the restaurant reopening group,” she says. “It allowed us to open for outdoor dining quickly.”

October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

New Bedford restaurants have begun serving a side of fresh air with their meals.

Outside her door soon will be one of the “dining parklets” that are meeting the next moment with innovation when it comes to supporting the restaurant industry through the pandemic.

DINING PARKLETS In total, six dining parklets will be created in New Bedford. They are outdoor dining spaces carved from the streetscape with special flooring, seating, and lighting and will be built in front of existing restaurants in “cluster” areas downtown and on Acushnet Avenue.

Some parklets will also feature space for entertainers to perform, and yes, they will come with heaters, too. City DPI personnel will handle the installation, while individual restaurants will provide day-to-day maintenance.

The six dining parkelets will be found in the following areas: Two parklets will be in places along Acushnet Avenue – a dining destination in the city with over 30 bakeries and eateries which have been featured in recent years during a Love The Ave and North End Restaurant Week promotion.

One parklet will be situated in front of Cafe Portugal at 1280 Acushnet Avenue.

It’s part of a cluster of eateries over two blocks that also includes the popular bakeries Chocolate Com Pimenta and Sara’s Central American Bakery. Nearby are also three other destination eateries, Cafe Europa, Taqueria La Raza, and The Breakfast Klub.

The second will be placed in front of another beloved restaurant, Cafe Mimo, which has called The Ave (as it is known) home since the 1970s. This parklet will also help activate an existing area with outdoor seating, the Phillips Avenue Pocket Park, located across from the Puerto Rican Bakery, Lorenzo’s.

Some parking will be eliminated to accommodate the parklets, and the traffic pattern of the street altered, too.

Downtown, two parklets will be found on Purchase Street, in front of the wildly popular Pour House Tavern and Cafe Arpeggio, in the Bristol Community College Cherry & Webb building.

Finally, two other dining parklets will be placed on North Water Street, one in front of the aforementioned Tia Maria’s at 42 North Water Street and the second a block away in front of The Whaler’s Tavern.

INTO SPRING Officially, the dining parklets are scheduled to be in place and ready for use through the month of October. However, due to the overwhelming positive response to the idea, they may very well be up and running sooner. The plan is to keep them operational until October 31, but that may be extended if the weather remains good into November.

Come next spring, the parklets will then be brought back, depending on the situation. Covid aside, during a recent online stakeholders meeting discussing the implementation of the parklet project facilitated by Tabitha Harkin, Director of City Planning, and Anne Louro, City Preservation Planner, their popularity was undeniable. Many comments suggested the use of parklets beyond their use as a pandemic remedy.

As the Fed discovered in its research, Massachusetts has embraced outdoor dining in a big way – and it may very well be a lasting bond between restaurant patrons and nature, as well as these important small businesses and city planning.

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The South Coast Insider | October 2020

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THINGS TO DO

Make Halloween memories while staying safe inside your car and take in the sight of thousands of intricately carved pumpkins at the Drive Through Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo & Carousel Village

By Elizabeth Morse Read

So much has fundamentally changed since last year – our daily routines, our work and social lives, our relationships with family and friends. t’s hard to grasp that the simple life of our rural, agrarian ancestors was quite similar to where we all are right now. What better way to enjoy life than to enjoy the bounty of our still-agrarian heritage here on the South Coast? The big, splashy Halloween venues and harvest-time parties have gone back to the simpler forms of entertainment like hay rides, corn mazes, and spooky story-time. Indulge your inner child this month and get back to enjoying your town’s traditions and celebrations.

It’s harvest time on the South Coast – apples, pumpkins, cranberries, peaches and all those late-season vegetables piled high at the farmers markets. Bypass the supermarkets and spend your money

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buying local fruits, vegetables, cheeses, wines, pies, jellies, and candied apples at nearby farms, orchards, creameries, and vineyards!

Events for the Little Ones The new normal may mean that fullblown Halloween parties aren’t allowed, but there are still plenty of socially-distanced events for the little ones to enjoy.

Call ahead to ensure that the event is still on, to reserve your time slot or to check on health requirements. There’s the “Not So Spooky Halloween” festivities on Fridays through Sunday (including Columbus Day) at Edaville Railroad in Carver (edaville.com).

The Halloween Horribles Parade at Benoit Square in North Fairhaven is

October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

scheduled for October 25 (fairhaventours.com), as are the Annual Halloween Parade on Main Street in Plymouth on October 31 (plymouthchamber.com) and the Scarecrow Contest and the Trick-or-Treat on Main Street in Wareham (warehamvillage.org).

You can also dress the little ones in costume for slightly spooky events at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford – there’s “Baby Boo” on October 23 and 30 and “Boo at the Zoo” October 17-18, 2425, and 31 (bpzoo.org).

Going Bump in the Night Those elaborate commercial haunted houses are too close for comfort this year, but you can still get your chills-andthrills by going on ghostly adventures

throughout the South Coast. Go on a lantern-led Ghost Walk though historic Newport (ghostsofnewport.com), through the historic East Side of Providence (providenceghosttour.com), or through ancient cemeteries and haunted houses in Plymouth with either Plymouth Ghost Tours (plymouthghosttours.com) or with Dead of Night Tours (deadofnighttours.com), which also offers Paranormal Overnight Experiences at a haunted B&B. You can also go on a Haunted Boat Tour through the waterways of Providence on selected Wednesday and Sunday evenings (providenceriverboat.com). Or else you can visit the most famous haunted house in all the South Coast (or stay overnight, if you dare) – the Lizzie Borden B&B Museum in Fall River (lizzie-borden.com).

Fun for the Whole Family Fun Pot-luck harvest dinners are a no-no this year, but there are still some classic Halloween and harvest events the whole family can enjoy.

The best events are still happening – you’ll be able to drive through the famous “Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular” at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence (rwpzoo.org), wander throughout the 8-acre corn labyrinth at Escobar Farm in Portsmouth (escobarfarm.com), or take a very haunted hayride through “The Bloodfields” at Almeida’s Vegetable Patch in Swansea (almeidasvegetablepatch.com).

You can also head for historic Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth for a New England Harvest Feast on October 11 or for Friendly Spooky Stories on October 16 (plimoth.org), or take the family to the 46th Annual Harvest Fair on October 3-4 at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown (normanbirdsanctuary.org).

And don’t forget the Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off on October 10 at Frerich’s Farm in Warren (frerichsfarm.com).

Road Trips and Bog-Hopping Plan a few day trips this month to enjoy the best free show of the season – the glorious fall foliage and rustic scenery across New England. Take a scenic drive through the Berkshires and the Mohawk CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Trail in western Massachusetts or the Connecticut River Valley in central Mass.

In Rhode Island, head for the apple country on Rt. 44 (aka Putnam Pike) and stop

by Jaswell’s Farm in Smithfield (jaswellsfarm.com) and Appleland in Greenville (applelandorchardri.com).

Head down Rt. 102 from Chepachet for the state’s best foliage drive, according to Yankee Magazine. Ramble along the South Coast’s serenely scenic Farm Coast (facebook.com/ farmcoast-new-england) and Coastal Wine Trail (coastalwinetrail.com), from Aquidneck Island into Tiverton and Little Compton through the coastal farm land into Westport and Dartmouth.

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Don’t mourn the loss of the commercialized events of harvests and Halloweens of the past –get out and rediscover the fun and seasonal traditions of our rural forebears!

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October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

Find a cranberry bog near you (cranberries.org) to watch the cranberries being harvested. October is the peak month for the cranberry harvest, when the bogs are flooded. Make a reservation to tour the bogs at Stone Bridge Farm in Acushnet (stonebridgefarmevents. com 508-957-1551) or else at Spring Rain Farm in East Taunton (facebook. com/springrain-farm 508-824-3394).

Chamberlain Farm in Berkley (chamberlainfarm.com 508-880-2817) also conducts tours as well as sells pumpkins and cranberry products. But for the ultimate cranberry harvest experience, check out Bensons Pond Farm in Middleboro (bensonspond.com 717-2025841) where you can put on your waders as a “cranberry bogger for a day” followed by a farm-to-table dinner.

So, don’t mourn the loss of the commercialized events of harvests and Halloweens of the past—get out and rediscover the fun and seasonal traditions of our rural forebears!

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COVER STORY

This 1833 print depicts the guilt of the Rev. Ephraim Avery, despite his acquittal.

Murder mystery

By Deborah Allard Dion

Fall River is an old city, and with that comes historic neighborhoods, grand architecture, and lots and lots of stories.

S

ome of those stories are of scandal and murder. And, with Halloween approaching, what better time is there to revisit one of those unnerving tales that takes us back to puritanical New England and the Spindle City’s beginnings?

Kennedy Park on South Main Street, part of a bustling neighborhood that was originally part of Tiverton, was farmland long before it was home to a church, hospital, and the many conveniences of today.

It was also the site of a gruesome murder.

Sarah Maria Cornell was just 30 when she was found hanged on the property, her death first believed to be suicide, and later murder by her minister while she carried his child.

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Despite some evidence to that effect written by Cornell, the minister was acquitted and the case remains unsolved nearly 200 years later.

When alive, Sarah was described as a “little black eyed sparrow of a girl” at just five feet tall, in “The Minister and the Mill Girl” by George Howe in American Heritage magazine in 1961.

In death, the details are more gruesome.

Cornell’s shoes and a red bandanna were found just feet from her body hanging so close to the frozen ground that her toes touched the dead grass. Her cheeks were frostbitten and one arm was bent up to her breast, perhaps to grab at the rope that had cut into her neck. Grass clung to her bruised knees, according to “The Phillips History of Fall River.” Her black hair “cascaded from the pleats” of her bonnet. Her tongue was stuck between

October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

her teeth, as was written in Howe’s account.

“The Phillips History” said she was dragged for some distance and apparently hung with a rope taken from a wagon on the property.

It was December 21, 1831 around 9 a.m. when Farmer John Durfee made his way through his Tiverton stack yard and saw something sway on a five-foot stake inside an enclosure.

He must have been shocked at the discovery. Durfee tried to cut her down, but was unable and called for help. He and his father and farm hands got Cornell’s body down and lay her on the ground. The coroner was called from the village and a doctor from Fall River.

She was identified and it seemed that she’d taken her own life. She was buried by a wall on the property. But the young

woman would not be resting in peace.

Pieces of a comb that belonged to Cornell and evidence of a struggle were found in two different spots on the farm.

Facts and letters led to the conclusion that it could be murder at the hands of her minister.

Doctor Wilbour in Fall River told authorities that the young woman had come to see him about two months prior and disclosed that she had become pregnant by Methodist minister Rev. Ephraim Avery at a camp over the summer.

Her body was exhumed and an autopsy confirmed her condition.

A criminal complaint was filed against the minister, and details of both their lives were consumed by the public – many of which did not paint Cornell in the best light.

Facts of the case

Born to a respectable family in Rupert, Vermont, Cornell was sent to work in a mill at the age of 12 in Norwich, Connecticut by her widowed mother. She lost that job and others for a number of reasons, including “promiscuous behavior” and once for calling her Methodist elders a “pack of damn fools.” She was also thrown out of the Methodist congregation in Slatersville, Rhode Island for lewdness.

In 1828, Cornell moved to Lowell to work in a mill where she was paid $4 for a sixday week, and of that, $1.25 was withheld to pay for her lodging in the mill boarding house.

Two years later, she met Avery, a minister with an invalid wife and two children, and became one of his parishioners. The young woman still got herself into trouble, for stealing a piece of material from a shop and was said to have ridden away with a man who had treated her to wine.

Avery nearly expelled Cornell from his congregation, but she promised to reform herself and to work as his servant without pay. His wife had heard that they had been seen kissing on one occasion, and Cornell was not allowed into the house.

She was turned away once again, both from the church and her job. But the two seemed to keep coming together. They met again in Connecticut at a religious camp to save “lost sheep.” He was a minister at the camp and she was a “sheep.”

The two went for a walk and Cornell, in

a letter to her sister, said she tried to get away from him but could not.

During that summer, Avery was a minister in Bristol who gave guest sermons in Fall River. Cornell, then pregnant, fled to work in the Anawan Mill in Fall River, a new booming mill town. Cornell worked 12 hour shifts and found herself in yet another boarding house.

She attended one of Avery’s sermons in Fall River so she could speak with him about her plight. In a letter to her sister, she said that Avery wanted nothing to do with her and said the baby was not his.

There were more letters, including one from Avery written the day before she was murdered, asking to see her, and one from her sister offering help.

A very damning note in Cornell’s hand actually said to see the minister if anything should happen to her.

But, it was too late.

Despite his position, people came forward with information, believing he was the killer. Witnesses said they had seen him in Fall River the night of the murder, but no clear identification was made, and he had an alibi. Others said they had witnessed him and Cornell together on numerous occasions. He may have even asked her to use poison to end the pregnancy.

The clergy stood by Avery and his “good character,” according to “The Phillips History of Fall River.”

Avery, after standing trial in Newport, was found not guilty. The story was printed in newspapers all over the country. The court of popular opinion did not find the reverend innocent however, and he was nearly taken by an angry mob. His letters to Cornell were made public, and there were plays staged in New York about the tragedy.

Avery resigned from the church, and he and his family fled to Ohio where they lived on a farm until he died in 1869.

Cornell’s body was exhumed once more and moved to Oak Grove Cemetery when South Park was built in 1868.

She was hanged in what is today the westernmost part of Kennedy Park.

Cornell is buried alone, her headstone wearing thin by time and nearly illegible, having only come to Fall River a couple of months before her death. Other family members, including her mother and sister, are buried in Connecticut.

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The South Coast Insider | October 2020

15

BUSINESS BUZZ

SHELTER FROM THE STORM

By Sean McCarthy

GRACE HARBOR CHURCH KNOWS WELL WHAT IT MEANS TO NEED HELP, AND NOW THEY’RE PROVIDING IT.

O

nly a few years ago the church was an abandoned shell, neglected and condemned. And when it reopened its doors on June 7 of this year, those who brought it back to life were only beginning to contribute to the community.

Located in New Bedford’s west end on the corner of Kempton Street and County Street, the church has used its modest resources to create a program known as the New Bedford Community Aid Network (NBCAN), a philanthropic organization that provides links to services and assistance for those in crisis throughout the region, asking nothing in return.

Today the east wall of the church boasts a broad banner with the words “We are here. We care.”

“Without any reputation in the community we were thinking about how we can bless and serve people in the neighborhood though they may not be coming to us as a church,” says Morgan Proudfoot, Pastor of Grace Harbor. “We want to serve people, but we don’t have a lot of resources or grants like some organizations do. We can be an advocate and a friend and help pair people with resources in the area.

“We’re helping people find the right

16

services that the city provides. New Bedford has a lot of great wonderful social services but people can have a hard time locating them or they don’t have confidence in themselves to make the necessary phone call.”

October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

A visit to the NBCAN website (nbmacan. com) provides an extensive sample of many of the opportunities available to those in need, as well as an opportunity for interested persons to contribute their time and energies, regardless of

whether or not they belong to the parish.

Areas of assistance range from help with groceries and prescriptions to filling out forms, from help with unwanted pregnancies to homelessness, abuse and addiction, foster care and adoption, Veteran’s assistance, health care, and legal help.

The support of NBCAN is only an email or phone call away.

“It’s natural for people’s pride to prevent them from reaching out for help,” Proudfoot says. “The husband who’s lost doesn’t want to ask for directions or the person who’s homeless doesn’t like to ask for help. There can be an insecurity; we’re all prideful people. Some people have been turned away so often that they lose hope, they’re reluctant to put their heart out there again.

“Our website provides a database of services that the city has to offer and we can help offer the resources that will best serve them,” Proudfoot says. “After they reach out to us one of our volunteers will get in touch with the person and get the details of their story, what kind of help they need and pair them with the service in the city that best serves them.”

At the time of this article NBCAN consisted of eight volunteers, most of which have a background in Social Services.

And while the organization accepts financial donations, they do not provide monetary support to clients.

“We don’t want to shove our religion down anybody’s throat,” says 25-year-old Kat Izzy of New Bedford, a member of the church along with her husband Anthony.

“True Christians are loving and caring.

The way we share our beliefs is the way Christians are supposed to. Jesus has shown great love and caring to us and we really believe that this is the way to live.

“This is a great way to serve our city.

There’s a sense of fulfillment. We want to share our purpose and meaning in life with people.”

“People may realize that their situation isn’t as daunting as they may think it is,” Proudfoot says. “People who walk in with a crisis can sometimes only see what’s in front of them but when they get outside eyes on it they get greater clarity. We’ll help them fill out the necessary forms and let them know that it’s not as bad as it seems.

We’ll help walk through the experience and give them a greater sense of confidence.

“Our desire is to help people in crisis and let them know that there is help available in our city.”

SAFE HARBOR Grace Harbor Church knows what it’s like to be brought back from a desperate situation.

“This church was condemned and closed for a number of years and we’ve spent the last year renovating it,” Proudfoot says. “The South Coast region has seen an abundance of church closures – they’ve been closing left and right for decades now. Statistically the region from Providence to New Bedford is in the top of the entire country for church closures. People in this region are thinking less about religious matters and they’re more likely to be irreligious, thinking less about spiritual matters. There’s been a decline in Christian churches in this region.

“What led us to this facility was that most of our parishioners who live in the west end need a neighborhood church.

Most of them are able to walk here. The building was vacant and condemned by the city, and it was gifted to us.”

And then the church had to overcome another setback – they were originally planning to open for Easter but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed it until June.

“People were going to existing churches that they were familiar with but nobody knew we were here,” Proudfoot says. “Once we started the Community Aid Network we began to develop as an organization and we were able to attract some attention. It’s helped us promote the church and let people know that we’re here. When it comes to working with people, we’re not counsellors – the role that we’re filling is being an advocate for people who are reaching out to us as a friend.”

“The more people who contact us means the more people we can help,” Proudfoot says. “We would like to see it grow in such a way that we can have more volunteers helping more hurting people in the community. We want to offer help to those in our city regardless of class and let them know where they can find the best help. This network functions solely on kindness and generosity of citizens in our city and surrounding areas.”

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The South Coast Insider | October 2020

17

THINGS TO DO

Accidental activist

By Stacie Charbonneau Hess

I never considered myself an activist.

I HAVE SEEN AND EXPERIENCED struggle, and I think that creates empathy, so I definitely have always had that. But I am a white woman living in the suburbs.

I have never experienced – firsthand – racism. I continually seek to understand, however, how power is wielded around the world, in our country, and even in our towns. Who gets to have the power? Who gets to tell the stories? Who is protected, and who is not?

I don’t think you have to be an activist, though, to be enraged by the murder of George Floyd, by the watching of a man’s life being snuffed out before your eyes before a group of complicit police officers and furious bystanders. In that situation,

18

the police held the power, and there is no denying they abused it.

That abuse of power is what mobilized thousands of protestors here in America and abroad, people from every walk of life who rose to hold hands (not literally, of course, because of the pandemic) and say, for God’s sake enough is enough.

Rewinding to the start of my story, on June 5, in the small town where I live, I helped organize the town’s first-ever protest in the wake of the spate of murders of People of Color (POC) at the hands of police. Over 500 people attended, marched, sang, chanted, and stood in solidarity. The turnout caught the attention of our local archivist and Museum Board Chair, who

October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

asked for donations of signs and flags to save for posterity.

Then, like a wave, people began rising to ask the question: “what can we do next?”

My good friend, Frances, a Black/Latinx resident, ran for the School Committee as a write-in candidate – and won.

My friend and co-organizer in the protest, Sarah, suggested we help lead a Community Read to bring in more members of the community who are interested in learning about how racism plays out in our society, and how policies and history informs the lived experience of Black people. We formed a small group and “The Read” is now going strong with over 200 members on Facebook, and although

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it was originally conceived for the South Coast, members hail from Florida, New York, and New Mexico.

At the end of August, Sarah and I had the pleasure of meeting Queen Banda, formerly the host of a talk show on Wareham Public Access Television, and recently recruited to Channel 12 in Providence. She had heard about The Read and wanted to ask us about it.

Queen, who is from Tanzania, asked us on a live show, and I paraphrase: “You are Caucasian and you are speaking out against racism. Some might say you are brainwashed, that you have an agenda. Why do you want to speak out about this?”

The answer I gave on air is not the whole story. I talked about my own struggles growing up, and how I watched my neighbors, friends, and family suffer from poverty, addiction, unemployment, lack of education.

Upon reflection, I think the answer is fairly simple. The more I learn about injustice, the more I care.

And I feel that we are all like that: that we cannot care about what we don’t know. So if you have never experienced racism, it might be difficult to understand how racism has crept into every sector of American life, from housing, to the criminal justice system, to education. It’s not enough, though, to say that if it doesn’t affect you, or that it doesn’t matter to you.

An inequitable society hurts us all. Ethics aside, when people are not thriving, they are not creating jobs and businesses and art and healthy families, for example. It is incumbent on us all to learn about systemic injustice.

If you are interested in learning more about racism but you are not sure where to start, I wanted to share some of the resources that I have found in my teaching and learning. This list of nine resources will likely lead you to discover new and engaging material that you could in turn share with someone else. The offerings listed here are not “fringe” texts – the first is written by a civil rights lawyer with a degree from Harvard, who is also a Black man descended from enslaved people from the American south. Several of these names you may already know.

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I have included the current conversations in several mediums: written, podcasts, and film/TV. I hope you will get together with a group, as we have, and start to hash out some of these issues, open the wounds of America’s past, and help find a way to heal our communities from the scourge of racism and inequality.

Books (all memories)

Just Mercy, the memoir by Bryan Stevenson that encapsulates what he has learned about the criminal justice system by working in the American south for the past three decades. Yes, it’s also a movie, but the book takes the time to unravel certain law cases, and takes the reader on a journey into the intricacies of the case of Walter McMillian – an innocent man condemned to death in Alabama. Spoiler: Stevenson proved his innocence, but against a seemingly immovable system that pushed against his efforts at every turn.

How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. This is the book we chose for the Community Read for the Tritown. It’s fairly dense and academic, but, like Just Mercy, it is also anecdotal as Kendi weaves in stories of his upbringing and how his parents encouraged him to speak up against injustice at an early age. This book is chock full of statistics, but also asks the hard questions, the ones that most of us have been too afraid to ask.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds. I listened to this book on audio at the urging of my sister, a teacher, and it took four hours. I was riveted the entire time. Jason Reynolds “remixes” an earlier text by Kendi into a compelling narrative aimed at young people but important for all of us who need a historical primer of how racism has been woven into the fabric of America.

Heavy by Kiese Laymon. This is a book to read with a group to help you process the difficult stories that Laymon lays bare.

It is a powerful memoir written in his own voice, talking to his mother, unraveling poverty, abuse, sugar addiction… his goal in writing, he tells one interviewer at The Kenan Institute for Ethics, is “I want to hit

October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

people in the chest.” This is a book you will never forget.

Podcasts

Radiotopia’s Ear Hustle podcast is mostly recorded onsite at San Quentin prison in California. I am not alone in loving Ear Hustle. This year, the podcast was named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting. What makes this Podcast so special is that first of all, it is truly captivating.

The subject matter is the daily life of the incarcerated men who are housed at San Quentin – their loves, their meals, their friends, their talents, how they handle “lockdown” and now the pandemic. The Podcast is produced with music created by incarcerated men, telling stories that are sometimes shocking, often funny, all while shining a light on the humanity that thrives even in the most unlikely of places.

Silence is Not an Option, with Don Lemon of CNN. This podcast started on June 15, 2020, so it does not have the following that Ear Hustle has garnered in its five seasons of being on air, but the subject matter is timely. Lemon looks at racism’s impact on different aspects of society: from environmental justice to sports to love, even daring to tell his own story of how the Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia affected his life.

Unlocking Us, hosted by the now ubiquitous author, researcher, and speaker Brené Brown. She is one of my heroes and probably one of the wisest leaders we have out there. In this podcast, she states, “I want to have more meaningful conversations. Conversations that help us unlock the deep, human part of who we are.”

Her guests this year have included Reese Witherspoon, Judd Apatow, Dr. Vivec Murthry, Alicia Keys, Ibram X. Kendi, and Laverne Cox. The best thing about Brené is she inspires us to keep doing things that take us out of our comfort zones. “When we get to the point that we only do things that we’re already good at doing, we stop growing… and truly living.”

Documentaries

East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story illuminates the “systemic” part of systemic racism, as Ken Burns and his team expose “the shameful history of housing and race in 20th-century America – redlining, restrictive covenants,

white flight[.]” (Hale, New York Times, 3/23/2020). Like most of Burns’ documentaries, this is a well-researched and truly educational film makes viewers rethink assumptions and presumptions about poverty and race in our country.

Dear… is an amazing new series is on Apple TV+, so don’t ask me how to get it if you don’t have Apple TV, but I am hoping it comes to a more mainstream outlet soon. This documentary series showcases inspiring people (Spike Lee, Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, Jane Goodall, Big Bird (!), Lin Manuel Miranda, Stevie Wonder, and more) reading actual letters written by fans who have been inspired by them. It’s not cheesy, though it sounds like it could easily fall into that category.

Instead, the series successfully shows how an inspired person, doing something passionately, lifts others up. Every episode will make you cry. Not all education that examines racism (in several episodes, anyway) has to be heavy. This one is a joy to watch and makes you think that a world that lives in love is still possible.

Dawnland, this Emmy-award-winning documentary came out just last year.

It follows the first ever “Truth and Reconciliation” process in the State of Maine. The filmmakers follow State leaders meeting with the Wabanaki and Passamaquoddy tribes, illuminating the devastating effects of taking away Native American children from their families, homes and tribes (pre-ICWA, the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978). In the documentary, viewers learn about little-talked-about policies that the federal government created to first eradicate then assimilate indigenous peoples, including creating Residential Schools which publicly shared the motto “Kill the Indian and Save the Man.” The documentary shows us the personal, family and tribal impact of racism when it becomes ingrained in the law. Dawnland is available on PBS Passport as of this writing.

Given the ongoing painful news in a complicated time in our country – with the pandemic still looming like a shadow over the start of our academic year – the answer to “What can we do next?” seems like throwing a pebble in a tsunami in the attempt to stop the surge. But really, what choice do we have? Now that we know, what are we going to do?

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The South Coast Insider | October 2020

21

ON MY MIND

Conversations in quarantine

By Paul Kandarian

THE OTHER DAY,

I asked Siri for something and she gave me the wrong answer. I thought, “Harumph, Alexa would know that,” and immediately felt more ancient than usual for using the word “Harumph.”

So I got to thinking, who’s the better female informational juggernaut for me, Alexa or Siri? So I conducted a little test, absolutely as unscientific as a climate denier, and asked them the same questions.

ME: Are you better than [Siri/ Alexa]?

Alexa: “I like all AI’s.”

That means ‘Artificial Intelligence’. I’m liking Alexa’s brain already, nothing artificial about it. Even though it’s, you know, artificial.

Siri: “That’s like comparing apples and… not apples.”

Hmmm, I do like them apples, and that was a cute answer.

Which made me ask: ME: Are you cute?

Alexa: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Acceptable if not cliched.

Siri: “Hmm… I don’t have an answer for that. Is there something else I can help with?”

Serious cop-out Siri, no points for you. This round is Alexa’s. I decided to get physical with a male-centric (idiotic) question:

22

ME: Could you take [Siri/ Alexa] in a catfight?

Alexa: “Google’s a search engine. But I’m different.”

Must admit, I have no idea what that has to do with winning a fight, but I like her air of mystery.

Siri: “I’m not sure I understand.”

Siri, step up your game, Alexa’s dancing away with this one so far, making me think: ME: Do you like to dance?

Alexa: “I love dancing. Ask me to play dance music and we’ll get the party started.”

Whoa, party girl, step back, I’m not that kinda guy. Okay, it’s just that I suck at dancing… maybe, uh… you could teach me?

Siri: “Every time your cellphone vibrates, that’s me doing the jitterbug.”

That was good. Plus, “Jitterbug” resonates more with old people. Who can’t dance. Like me. Siri, this round is yours.

What’s in a name? Let’s ask the ladies and this is where the tide rapidly turned: ME: How did you get your name?

Alexa: “The name is both an ancient and modern backstory. It was inspired by the Library at Alexandria, which held the knowledge of the ancient world.”

October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

Holy mother of sexy voices of intelligent disembodied women, that was smoking hot.

Girl, you had me at “Library at Alexandria.”

Siri: “Like it says on the box, I was designed by Apple in California.”

Girl, you lost me at your Valley Girl ‘“Like.” Huge win by Alexa on this one, I’m awarding triple points. Let’s keep playing the name game: ME: Do you have a last name?

Alexa: “Just like Beyonce, Bono, and Plato, I go by a mononym. I am Alexa.”

That sound you hear is my jaw hitting the floor. I mean, could she be any more perfect?

Especially considering Siri’s blah answer.

Siri: “My name is Siri. That’s my whole name.”

Yeah, well, maybe check out the Library of Alexa for other names. I kept picking their AI brains: ME: Where did you go to college?

Alexa: “I didn’t go to a school in particular but living in the cloud is like taking a perpetual online course. My credit hours are off the charts!”

Va-va-va-voom! Can Siri top that? Whaddya think?

Siri: “I didn’t go to school the way a person does. But I’m

taking some classes in machine learning.”

Snooze.

And the question on everyone’s lips: ME: [Alexa/Siri], do you know [Siri/Alexa]?

Alexa: “Only by reputation.”

Boom! In your face, Siri!

Siri: “I’m a big fan of good listeners and helpful beings.”

Siri, just figured out your last name: “Vanilla.”

Okay, materially speaking: ME: Can money buy happiness?

Alexa: “To some degree, money and happiness are linked when someone is unable to meet basic needs. In general though, psychologists and economists say if you’re not already content, money won’t help. An extra $20 can bring anyone cheer, but the ability to adapt to anything over time means a life of affluence won’t cure the blues.”

I… can’t… even… Wow, no wonder they named the world’s most famous library after you!

Siri: “Okay, I found this on the web for can money buy happiness, check it out,” and just flashes a website without a scintilla of personality, charm, or playfulness.

I can see where this is rapidly

heading so I ramp it up: ME: Do you [Alexa/Siri] have the same taste in men as [Siri/ Alexa]?

Alexa: “I’m not sure about that.”

Coy! I love coy!

Speechless, I am. But Siri is not, sadly: Siri: “Let’s see... okay, just as I thought: the same as yesterday.”

Siri, next time I can’t sleep, I’ll talk to you.

Siri: “I don’t have an answer for that. Is there something else I can help you with?”

Now it’s time to cock the hammer:

Total lack of coy from a woman who probably thinks I mean ‘Koi’.

Alexa: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I just wish I had eyes so I could behold yours.”

And speaking of:

And my eyes could not pop open any wider on that one!

ME: Don’t get coy with me [Alexa/Siri]!

Alexa: [Nothing but soft, mysterious, sexy note chimes…

Wow!] Siri: “I’m not sure I understand.”

And that’s the problem, girlfriend, that is the damn problem!

I get brazen: ME: What are you wearing?

Alexa: “They don’t make clothes for me.”

ME: Do you think I’m sexy?

Siri: “Hmm… I don’t have an answer for that. Is there something else I can help with?”

Yes, help me finally pull the trigger with: ME: Am I handsome?

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Siri: “I really couldn’t say, Paul.”

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The South Coast Insider | October 2020

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Manufactured & delivered brick face, decorative stone, and plain concrete precast steps (1-8 steps) (different styles available 4' to 8' wide)

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Riser/covers to build-up your septic covers n

THE FAMILYOF

HOME LOANS For more information or to apply Call us at 774-888-6100 | bankfive.com NMLS#525575

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October 2020 | The South Coast Insider

Pre-cast sonatubes

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Non-Settling Stair Hangers Available 23 Alberto Drive • Westport, MA

508-678-4666

BristolCountyPrecast.webs.com

STEPHEN K ELLEHER A RCHITECTS, INC.

Waterfront and Estate Homes Additions and Alterations

NOVEMBER 6–8, 2020 WaterFire Arts Center | free parking 475 Valley Street, Providence, RI Friday 5–9, Saturday 10–6, Sunday 10–4 |Admission: $10

finefurnishingsshows.com Annual shows offering American made, handcrafted furniture & accessories.

724 HIGH ST. – FALL RIVER, MA – $390,000

Are you looking for more space? Have you outgrown your current home?

Well, I’ve got the perfect solution to your problem, 724 High Street!! 6 bedrooms, 3 full baths, just refinished gleaming hardwoods, newer roof, boiler, appliances, water heater, and so much more! Impressive high ceilings, front and back staircases and detailed woodwork make this highlands home beautifully unique.

DAWN MERCER

Keller Williams South Watuppa 774-488-8654 dawnmercer@kw.com

• Back by popular demand: The Parade of Chairs • A wide range of artists and craftsmen offering handmade home & garden décor • Thousands of items in a wide range of styles, materials & prices • Student Work from RISD and NBSS • For your health and safety we will follow Rhode Island state COVID-19 guidelines

MA: 9554002 RI: RES:0042536

Bring this ad to the show and receive

VIP Half Price Admission for up to 4 adults

T O

A D V E R T I S E

I N

T H E

S O U T H

C O A S T

I N S I D E R

C A L L

5 0 8 . 6 7 7. 3 0 0 0

Save hundreds in rebates!

Plus 20% on your gas bill. Now’s the time!

Replace your old gas-fired heating system

Most Efficient

2019

www.energystar.gov