Mechanics Hall is Worcester’s most historic musical venue
Natick sculptor and garden designer finds inspiration in nature
Natick artist Karin Stanley combines her passions for both sculpture and garden design. (Photo/Deborah Burke Henderson)
We're
in your corner.
People today can spend nearly half their lives over the age of 50. That’s a lot of living. So, it helps to have a wise friend and fierce defender like AARP in your corner and in your community so your money, health and happiness live as long as you do.
AARP offers custom tools, resources and local expertise to help you achieve your goals and stay connected. Find us at aarp.org/ma.
New Year, New Job: AARP Helps 50-plus Workers in Massachusetts
By Jennifer Benson AArP MAssAchusetts stAte Director
As the new year begins to unfold, many people may be considering a fresh start in their careers. Navigating the world of employment has always been a challenge for older Americans. Most have felt age bias in the workplace — from a preference in hiring younger workers to the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle hints that the field has passed you by. The rapid pace at which technology changes can be daunting as well. That all comes as more people look to stretch their work lives past “traditional” retirement age or start a new job at 50, 60 or even 70.
Whether you’re looking to re-enter the workforce or switch to a new field, AARP offers valuable resources to help you succeed.
The AARP Job Board was specifically designed to match older workers’ priceless experience with employers who value it and who have made a commitment to age-diverse workplaces. People looking for work can sign up for free. More than 500 companies, with hundreds of available jobs all across the country, enter those opportunities into an easy-to-use database. Check it out at aarp.org/jobs.
The technical abilities needed in today’s workplace constantly change. AARP Skills Builder for Work offers everyone who registers a free online course to get started. Learn more about it at aarp.org/workskills.
Your résumé probably needs a facelift. You have valuable experience from years of working, but the way you show those skills on your résumé can be the difference between getting hired or seeming “too old.” AARP has helpful guidance on how to age-proof your résumé, explain time off from working and other résumé-writing advice specifically designed for people age 50 and older. Visit aarp.org/resume for more information.
Even though the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), forbids age discrimination against people who are 40 and older, ageism is still a reality in some workplaces. Research conducted by AARP found that two in three adults age 50 and over think older workers face discrimination in the workforce based on age and 93 percent believe age discrimination against older workers is common in the workplace today.
If you think ageism may be preventing you from landing a job, experts suggest being honest and ending a job interview by saying something along the lines of, “I’m in good health, have no plans to retire soon and I see myself working in this field for the next 10 years.”
Searching for a new job can be both mentally and physically exhausting. Sending out hundreds of résumés, receiving a lack of response from employers and the uncertainty of a long job search can all lead to job search burnout. Older workers can be particularly vulnerable to job-search fatigue because they are more likely to face long-term unemployment.
To avoid job search burnout, career experts caution against letting a job hunt completely take over your life. They recommend carving out a specific time each day or committing to sending out a certain number of applications each week. It’s also advised to practice self-care by doing things like taking daily walks and getting a good night’s sleep.
We know job hunting can be tough for older workers. That’s why AARP offers valuable tools to help those over 50 find meaningful employment. If there’s a new job in your future, good luck!
Jennifer Benson is the State Director for AARP Massachusetts. For more articles visit www.fiftyplusadvocate.com.
Jennifer Benson
Natick sculptor and garden designer finds inspiration in nature
Crescent Moon Celtic Stela
By Karin Stanley
You were flamed and curved this crescent moon, and made ready for sky.
Swinging gently, cradling with strength and mystery like a celestial lullaby.
Can I sit on the edge and hold you tight and look to the Milky Way?
Look up to the halo radiant, like Philolaus—with his heavenly gaze.
With your craters and valleys, I brought you to earth to create you to be close by.
Wrapped with the unfurling ferny fractals, like wispy wings enveloping you.
When I look up each night to follow you round now I have you by my side.
Your patterns show rivers and oceans, swirling ovals and caves so deep, reflecting the light of the sun on your face.
Bowed and luminous, you orbit us, like a steady friend, to hold and keep.
By DeBorAh Burke henDerson contriButing Writer
NATICK - On a recent visit to Carrara, Italy, artist Karin Stanley acquired new carving techniques from master sculptor Boutros Romhein that she now applies in her home studio while finding what surprises lie within stone.
“Working stone is a slow process of discovery,” Stanley said, chipping away at a chunk of marble. “A story lies within each piece that is only revealed as the work deepens. I never know what to expect.”
The dance between light and shadow
She admits to being an umbraphile — loving the dance between light and shadow. She loves quarries, finds old stones that speak to her, and works them. Entranced by ancient landscapes, history, and hieroglyphs, the award-winning Irishborn sculptor and garden designer has a reverence for megalithic art and Celtic archeology, which is integral to her work.
A recent sculpture called “Alluminata Umbra,” inspired by April’s total solar eclipse, is in Stanley’s terms “a diaphanous monolith that explores the dynamics of light and flow through translucence and shadow. The umbra surface creates flowing forms through the hieroglyphs that projects them into alternate and contrast-
Firm in the soil your night shadow reflecting up the sky, your curving shape settled like a cradled bow.
An ancient continuum swerving, opening to full night, bright and beautiful sight.
But your silver sliver of light fills me with love and strength, illuminating my inner soulful and spiritual recycling station.
Month by month you begin that natural rhythm, as we gaze upward with wonder and comfort as we count the days and you gently appear as we look for you and where do you lie?
Ah, back and forth, there you are, the lullaby in the sky.
Natick artist Karin Stanley’s sculptures are on display in healing gardens, institutions, and numerous private collections around the world.
(Photo/Deborah Burke Henderson)
Natick artist | 4
Natick artist Karin Stanley’s Crescent Moon Celtic Stela monolith.
Natick sculptor and garden designer finds inspiration in nature
ing shape-shifting forms from noon light to moonlight.”
Stanley sees gardens as extensions of our spirits, our sanctuaries. She uses the term “anam loci,” a blend of Latin and Gaelic, meaning “soul place.” She is infatuated with the magical, mysterious, and mystical.
To uniquely showcase art and spirit in gardens, she developed “Creating the Inner Quiet Garden Room” — a focal point in the garden tours and lectures she delivers to audiences at flower shows, arboretums, and garden clubs. Essentially, she helps gardeners discover the joy that can be found when fully accessing their green spaces through the placement of sculpture and ornament.
When commissioned, she likes to work closely with clients, involving them in every aspect of their outdoor room and garden design. She gathers all their interests from colors, poetry, music, and inspirational elements. As well as from images on their travels to magical childhood memories, she distills it all, and along with her intuition and compelling knowledge of horticulture, the gardens emerge.
Ancient pathways inform modern art
Spherical, carved stones and monoliths are a main theme, serving as ornamental elements in her own gardens, lush with plants, bushes, and trees cultivated nearly thirty years ago as she transformed a desolate, hilly yard into a meditative sanctuary and dreaming space.
Finding great comfort in gardens, Stanley said she revels in sharing these tranquil spaces with others, showing off the variety of flora and intricately carved sculptural work that dominates the property.
Garden accents include a labyrinth path, four- and five-foot stone monoliths, or stelas, marked with Celtic hieroglyphs or Ogham (pronounced “om”), an ancient Irish alphabet using hatches and lines. A vertical garden mirror impersonates water. A giant, polished steel portal not only invites the visitor inward on a journey of exploration and reverie but reflects a 100-foot arc of sunlight at certain times of day.
“I love creating art in a three-dimensional world. I always have; I just keep changing my media,” she confided with a smile. “I visualize a mod-
artist Karin Stanley likes incorporating the spiral—which represents the continuity of life. (Photo/Deborah Burke Henderson)
ern interpretation of ancient ideas. This isn’t something you learn in art school.”
As she continues to experiment with material and form, Stanley has eagerly cast some of her signature spheres in bronze, aluminum, and resin and is working on a new, six-foot stela project in art plexiglass that will withstand weather and can be illuminated night or day.
“It is so exciting to witness the transformative alchemy of new materials and dimensions and directions,” she stated.
Stanley also creates both life stones and memorial stones, often engraved with an ancient hieroglyphic expression — the spiral — which represents the continuity of life. While life stones honor a loved one celebrating a milestone event, memorial stones are healing objects that resonate through her to the family involved.
“Everyone loves to hold a rock,” she note. “I am honored that my work can, in some small way, help people grieve.”
Move to the United States
When she was just a young girl, Stanley loved sitting in her mother’s garden, amidst the amazing display of colors and textures, and that love became her passion. At eight, she started writing poetry. After copying poems by William Wordsworth, she wrote her own response poems and illustrated them.
Stanley lived and studied in Paris and spent time briefly in the Middle East. She emigrated from Ireland to America in 1985 bringing a collection of original knitwear to a prominent New York designer. Her work was based on traditional Irish designs, but she converted to using silk, cotton, and leather in her handiwork. She fingered an old photograph showing a sampling of pieces and immediately recognized familiar features and shapes in her fiber art that have predominated her ongoing creations of water fountains, monoliths, and spheres.
She recalled a woman back then noting, “You really are an artist, dar-
In her garden design work, Natick
Natick artist | from page 3
ling, because if I cannot wear it, I can hang it on the wall.” A compliment Stanley still cherishes decades later.
Stanley returns to Ireland regularly as she finds the experience and the landscape “restorative and forever enchanting, keeping my dreaming spirit nourished and full.”
Passionate about learning
Stanley graduated from the Radcliffe Landscape Design and History program in 2000 where she expanded her working knowledge of horticulture and design. Her thesis focused on creating an Irish garden in a Celtic landscape and a Celtic garden in the Irish countryside. This work has served as the foundation for numerous lectures about evolving garden history through the centuries.
“I believe the core principles of art and garden design both involve balance, proportion, rhythm, and focus which come together to create a complementary and dynamic presentation, elevating each other,” Stanley observed.
As her love of nature flourishes within, Stanley has also been integrating her poetry and sculpture together while exploring new dimensions within both disciplines.
Viewing opportunities
One of Stanley’s largest and most significant sculptures to date, “The
Celtic Shadow Sundial,” was featured at a Garden in the Woods show called “Rock On” in Framingham and later moved to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (MHS), where she is a member.
Her sculptures are on display in healing gardens, institutions, and numerous private collections around the world. Here in New England, her work is featured in the Marsh-Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont, the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, and the Old Frog Pond Farm Sculpture Walk in Harvard.
You may have walked her “Lunar Crescent Path” at Elm Bank in Wellesley or visited “The Celtic Goddess of the Seasons” in the Wellesley College chapel. A commemorative 10-foot “Stela — Nurture” and her garden designs welcome folks to the Carroll School in Lincoln.
Sculptures are also on display at the Flying Horse Sculpture Exhibit in South Hamilton, and the Cape Cod Museum of Art.
Stanley is a proud member of the New England Sculptors Association (NESA), the oldest in the United States; the National Academy of Women Artists (NAWA), and the American Academy of Women Artists (AAWA). You can see examples of her work online at karinstanley.com. For those
begins with your ability to choose. Choose us for exceptional results.
Legacy of Alice Brock and ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ lives on
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
GREAT BARRINGTON – Folk singer
Arlo Guthrie’s timeless Thanksgiving anthem “Alice’s Restaurant” will forever have an even more special meaning. The octogenarian and longtime Provincetown resident who inspired the 1967 song, Alice Brock, passed away at the age of 83 just days shy of the 2024 Thanksgiving holiday, of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Among those who paid the most humbling tribute was the folk singer himself, who wrote in a social media post through Rising Son Records, his music label based in Great Barrington.
“…Alice went into the restaurant business, and I began my years as an entertainer. We were, both in our own ways, successful,” said Guthrie. “As well as being a restauranteur, Alice also became an author, and an artist. We worked together on various projects. During the next few decades, we remained friends while our lives kept us busy. She was a no-nonsense gal, with a great sense of humor. ... This coming Thanksgiving will be the first without her.”
Restauranteur Alice Brock was immortalized by folk singer Arlo Guthrie’s 1967 song and debut album about the events that transpired when they spent Thanksgiving together in 1965.
Fateful meeting
Arlo Guthrie, son of famous folk singer Woody Guthrie, met Alice in 1962 when she was the school librarian at The Stockbridge School in Stockbridge, where he was a high school student. It is also where he met fellow student and musician Rick Robbins.
Alice Brock, Arlo Guthrie, and their friend Rick Robbins reunited at the old church in Great Barrington, now The Guthrie Center, where the 1965 Thanksgiving dinner that inspired Guthrie’s song took place, for Thanksgiving in 2022. (Photo/Marti Ladd Guthrie)
Alice Brock, who inspired folk musician Arlo Guthrie’s signature 1967 song “Alice’s Restaurant,” died in November at age 83. (Photo/Wikimedia Commons)
In 1965, Guthrie and Robbins went to visit Alice and her husband Ray for Thanksgiving, and the rest is history.
The satirical 18-minute song “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” commonly known as “Alice’s Restaurant” is a talking blues that pays tribute to Alice, and is about that 1965 Thanksgiving visit. Alice and Ray Brock lived in a desanctified church that had been converted into a home while running The Back Room Restaurant nearby. Guthrie and Robbins helped clean out garbage from the Brocks’ property, which subsequently led to their arrests for illegally dumping trash over a cliff on private property because the trash dump was closed due to the holiday. The conviction was later believed to make Guthrie ineligible for the draft.
Anti-war protest
Guthrie used the story about the arrest and how it supposedly helped him get out of serving during the Vietnam War to turn the song into an anti-war protest song. In reality, his draft
number never came up. His signature song, and the story behind it became a worldwide sensation, leading to a movie in 1969, several books, and a cookbook, as well as fame for Guthrie and the Brocks, who sold the church in 1971. Alice closed her last restaurant in 1979. In 1991, Guthrie purchased the church building and turned it into The Guthrie Center, a community center that offers cultural programs.
Alice Brock owned and operated three restaurants in the Berkshires — The Back Room, Take-Out Alice, and Alice’s at Avaloch — in succession between 1965 and 1979. She agreed to participate in the production of the film “Alice’s Restaurant,” including taking part in promotions and making cameo appearances in the film but declined to portray herself.
A final Thanksgiving together
Guthrie concluded his post: “Alice and my daughter, Annie, had spoken together recently and Alice, knowing her circumstances, approved an exhibit at the church to tell her own story. Alice and I spoke by phone a couple of weeks ago, and she sounded like her old self. We joked around and had a couple of good laughs even though we knew we’d never have another chance to talk together.
A couple of years ago, Alice, Rick and I went to Rick’s home for Thanksgiving dinner. Marti and I, along with a lot of old friends, celebrated 60 years of friendship. Some couldn’t be there, as time has taken its toll. But the spirit was all that mattered, and we got to celebrate it.
This year we get to add one more to those whose life we celebrate — an important one. Alice was a lifelong friend.”
Meanwhile, it has become a long tradition for many classic rock and adult album alternative radio stations to play the song every Thanksgiving. The memory of Alice Brock will live on.
Estate planning is especially important for later in life marriages
Many couples who marry later in life or get remarried have different goals for passing on their estates.
By Jennifer flAnAgAn AnD kAthryn cAlo
REGION - Finding love later in life comes with many advantages, including blending families with adult children or grandchildren and the financial freedom to enjoy each other without many of the stressors that exist earlier in life. However, because couples over fifty have likely spent more than two or three decades working hard to save for retirement and grow their individual wealth, they need to be mindful about how those assets are treated in the event their spouse predeceases them or in the unfortunate case of a divorce.
Plan early
Death and divorce are the last things we want to consider when starting a life together, but the opportune time to plan for either of these events is before getting married. From a divorce perspective, couples seeking to protect their assets should execute a prenuptial agreement. A prenuptial agreement allows you to determine, well before you’re even married, how your assets are treated in the event of a divorce or upon the death of either party.
A prenuptial agreement is a contract that provides you with the freeEstate planning | 15
Narcissus left its mark on Boston’s club scene
By colin MccAnDless contriButing Writer
BOSTON - Located in Kenmore Square at 530 Commonwealth Avenue directly across the street from another iconic night club, The Rat, Narcissus began as a disco/dance club with DJs in the 1970s, fully-equipped with a giant, spinning disco ball.
The age of disco dancing
A popular hangout spot for Harvard and Boston University students, the building itself at one point actually contained three nightclubs: Narcissus, Lipstick and Celebration, according to a write-up in 543 Magazine from a former Narcissus employee. As they noted though, Narcissus was the “gleaming, Studio 54 jewel of the crown.” Even the marquee was conspicuous, with a massive, silver, upside-down awning that protruded out into Kenmore Square.
Over its relatively brief existence, Narcissus brought in prominent disco acts such as The Trammps (“Disco Inferno”) and Gloria Gaynor (“I Will Survive”) to its stage.
With floor-to-ceiling mirrors lin-
ing the club, the name was fitting as a place where you could admire your own reflection and indulge in watching yourself boogie down and strut your stuff in your bell-bottom pants and platform shoes should you feel so inclined. However, if you preferred to watch others dance, the seats at the bar faced the dance floor and a balcony overlooked it.
Mary Donnellan, who hails from Dorchester, spent weekends frequenting clubs like Narcissus in addition to many other clubs in that area such as K-K-K-Katy’s and King’s Row, and has fond memories of her experiences. “It was the age of disco dancing and flashing lights,” she reflected.
One woman reminiscing about Narcissus in a post on the Dirty Old
There are many tests that come
way every
In 1 Peter 4:12, Peter tells us not to be amazed and bewildered by the test that we have to endure because by them God is testing our “quality” or our character. We all go through them, and we shouldn’t be confused about why they come our way. Our hearts are being tested to prove our character. Every time God gives us a test, we can tell how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go by how we react to the test. This is a good thing because we can never get to where we need to be if we don’t recognize where we are. ~ Closer to God Each Day, Joyce Meyer
Sponsored by Chief Joseph Robert J. Terkanian, P.O.
The façade of Narcissus.
Gloria Gaynor, 1976 (Photo/Wikimedia Commons)
Boston Facebook page recalled how a rivalry developed between patrons of The Rat and Narcissus that resulted in many animated “exchanges” out in Kenmore Square pitting punks against disco fans. For her part, she found the feud rather silly and eventually enjoyed visiting both clubs, which she regarded as equally “nasty” yet fun. “Truly the good ole’ days,” she mused. A couple of people responding to that same post even remarked that they met their future spouse at the club. Others waxed nostalgic about Narcissus as one of the places that defined their younger partying days and became an integral part of their weekend revelry. One individual quipped: “Many, many, many nights in that place. My liver aches just thinking of it. I miss those clubs, we had so much fun.” Another person recalled: “Many college and fraternity parties there back in the day. Good times.” A number of former employees from bartenders and cooks to dancers and bouncers also weighed in to talk about how much they loved working there. A dancer who worked at Narcissus shared: “They paid us to partner dance to get people in the club.”
Heavy Metal Wednesdays
Narcissus, which for a time in the 1970s was called Lucifer, later featured heavy metal nights in the ’80s. According to the Boston Herald, Narcissus “hosted the city’s biggest, loudest heavy metal night” every Wednesday. National headlining hair/glam metal bands such as Extreme, White Lion and Poison once played the club. A person commenting on the Dirty Old Boston page recounted, “Anyone who saw Extreme there in the ‘80s saw a great show.” Another individual recollected seeing White Lion on Heavy Metal Wednesday in 1988, adding enthusiastically, “still have Greg D’Angelo’s drumstick!”
But it also gave aspiring local metal bands looking to break into the scene an opportunity to showcase their talents, and it ultimately led to other Boston clubs hosting metal nights. One musician whose band played there a few times during heavy
metal nights joked, “We actually had our record release party there during a 1986 Red Sox playoff game. Bad timing.”
Narcissus metal nights attracted a community of like-minded fans and musicians, with attendance sometimes exceeding 1,000 people, according to an article in The Boston Globe. There has even been Narcissus Heavy Metal Wednesday reunions, including one held in 2012 featuring groups like Steel Assassin, Flesh, Jealous Dogs and Mass.
And while some sources mark 1979 as the year disco died, the disco groove was still alive and kicking then at Narcissus. A woman reminiscing on the Historic Boston Facebook page about their experiences at Narcissus in the ‘80s, exclaimed, “I danced my ass off to some great disco, R&B and soul music! Awesome memories!”
The end of an era
Narcissus, along with Lipstick and Celebration, closed in 1993 when Boston University, which had been renting out the space to the venue, took over the building for use by the university.
An opinion piece in The Harvard Crimson written at the time it shuttered its doors asserted that “Narcissus had power over Boston — the real Boston” — and lamented that “it will be sorely missed.”
The article proclaimed, “there wasn’t an ounce of pretense or pretentiousness at Narcissus.” They further mourned that Narcissus’ closure left a prodigious void in the club scene that could not be filled as “there’s no alternative to the alternative anymore.”
The writer even referred to the experience as a rite of passage of sorts: “A night at Narcissus should have been required of all Harvard students, followed maybe by a midnight stroll on Nantasket Beach.”
Whether you were stricken with Saturday Night Fever, and the only prescription was more disco dancing, or you needed to satisfy your midweek metal fix, Narcissus provided an outlet and an escape for both worlds to vibe with their tribe.
MORTGAGES GOOD OR BAD?
Learn From a Local Expert
A reverse mortgage gives qualified borrowers, 62 years old or older, the option to receive cash as a lump sum, a monthly check for life, and/or a line of credit that grows every month with NO required monthly principal & interest mortgage payments. All guaranteed by the federal government. You are, of course, responsible for your real estate taxes, insurance, and meeting other loan guidelines.
You’ve Worked Hard All Your Life, Now Let A Reverse Mortgage Work For You
By not having a monthly mortgage payment, hundreds of thousands of eligible homeowners have utilized a reverse mortgage to:
• Receive tax free monthly cash for life
• Pay off a current mortgage or home equity line
• Payoff credit card debt
• Pay real estate taxes & property insurance
• Complete desired home repairs
• Finalize divorce situations or other legal matters
• Only one spouse needs to be 62 years old
• Gain peace of mind knowing that cash is available if ever needed
• And the list goes on!
The TOP Benefits!
NO monthly payment is required
You continue to own your home
Only one person needs to be at least 62 years old Easier to qualify for than a conventional loan You may receive cash when needed There is no cost to learn!
A reverse mortgage might not be the magic wand to solve every life challenge, but it very well could be the next best thing. Take the first step and get informed. I have helped hundreds of people and would enjoy the opportunity of having that conversation with you over the phone or in person.
Alain Valles Reverse Mortgage Specialist 781-724-6221 ARE REVERSE
Take Action!
A great place to start is get your free “How to Use Your Home to Stay at Home” 36-page book. This is the official reverse mortgage consumer booklet approved by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and published by the National Council on Aging.
To receive your free copy, please call or text me at (781) 724-6221 or email me at av@powhse.com
I am also available to evaluate your specific situation, answer your questions, and calculate how much money is available to you.
Alain Valles was the first designated Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional in New England. He obtained a Master of Science from the M.I.T. Center for Real Estate, an MBA from the Wharton School, and graduated summa cum laude from UMass Amherst. He is the senior reverse mortgage loan officer MLO#7946 at Powerhouse Funding Corp. NMLS #1740551. He can arrange but does not make loans. Alain can be reached directly at (781) 724-6221 or by email at av@powhse.com
Art Dobson:
Korean War veteran, supermarket aficionado, and Rotary Club mainstay
By evAn WAlsh rePorter
SHREWSBURY – Ask Arthur “Art” Dobson about himself and he’ll go back to the very beginning.
In 1934 when he was two, Dobson fell out of his family’s apartment window, plummeting four stories, colliding mid-air with some tree branches and hitting the ground below. Frantic, his mother raced to her son, who was immediately rushed to the hospital. She could only hope for the best.
Turns out, Dobson was just fine. He wouldn’t return to the hospital for another 90-odd years.
“I came home the next day. I had no injuries,” Dobson told the Fifty Plus Advocate in an interview. “From that day on, I’ve been extremely lucky. I’ve had a great life.”
Born in Boston in 1932, the now 92-year-old Dobson has lived one action-packed life, filled with accomplishments and success in just about every direction. Along the way, he’s found community and formed
“I’ve
Colony Retirement Home III is congregate housing for seniors. Enjoy nutritious “Home Cooked Meals,” served in our attractive dining room with your neighbors and friends.
apartments at
long-lasting friendships in Shrewsbury, his home of 60-plus years.
Korean War veteran Dobson graduated from Brookline High School in 1950 and had two main interests — marriage and the Marines.
The following year, he accomplished both of his goals. After enlisting to serve in the armed forces and finishing boot camp, he married Dorothy, his high-school sweetheart.
“It was one of those things that just worked out beautifully,” Dobson shared.
As Dobson joined the Marines, the Korean War erupted. Dobson was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for six months to start his military career, spending time in Spain, mainland Italy, Sicily, Greece, Malta and Crete. The tour was — all things considered — a good experience, Dobson said, noting the crew spent time exploring Rome and the Vatican City.
In 1953, Dobson headed to Korea, but peace was declared en route, and his boat was turned northward to Ja-
Call Monday thru Friday, 9am to 5
had a great life,” says 92-year-old Shrewsbury resident Art Dobson. (Photo/Evan Walsh)
pan, where he served for six months instead. Dobson spent three total years in the Marines and was discharged in 1954.
Although he wasn’t involved in any boots-on-the-ground fighting, Dobson finally visited South Korea in June 2019, taking part in the country’s “Revisit Korea” program, which is meant to honor and thank U.S. veterans who fought in the Korean War, including those who were stationed in Japan.
Dobson landed at Incheon International Airport alongside nephew and U.S. Army veteran Brian Conlon. The two were treated to six days of activities and tours; Dobson felt well appreciated for the entire week.
“It was the most unbelievable week of my life. We were treated like kings,” he said.
Shrewsbury, Spag’s, and supermarket success
After his military service, Dobson took the first opportunity he had to move to Shrewsbury.
“I said, ‘I’ll look at houses.’ So, I found a real estate agent and we saw a house. I bought it — the first house I ever saw. The population of Shrewsbury was 12,500; now there’s roughly 40,000. I lived in that house for 60 years,” he said, speaking of his Brookway Drive residence.
Dobson started to work at Iandoli’s Supermarkets — and it was a match made in heaven. Dobson focused on the bakery section, working to make the area more efficient by adapting shipment schedules, reviewing item codes and revising shelf placement. The work soon became his pride and joy.
“I was just fascinated with the bakery. I used to spend nights watching people shop for bread,” he said. Dobson wasn’t just good at his job — he was passionate. After reading an edition of “Baker’s Weekly” that touched on supermarket bakeries, Dobson wrote to the editor to express his disagreement with certain practices. The editor responded to him, and next month Dobson’s picture was on the magazine’s front cover. Before long, he left Iandoli’s and managed 520 markets located between Maine and New Jersey.
Dobson soon became a manufacturer’s representative, serving as a liaison between food producers and supermarkets. Trying to find products and accumulate accounts, Dobson returned to what he knew best — bread.
“They had the best Italian bread,” Dobson said, referencing a small Eastern Massachusetts bakery. “I pulled into the bakery one day, I got 50 of
those breads out of the oven. I went to Spag’s and I said, ‘I have hot bread from Italian bakeries. Would you be interested?’ They brought the bread in and had an in-store announcement. It was gone in five minutes.”
After another wildly successful week of selling Italian bread, Dobson was tapped on the shoulder. It was Anthony “Spag” Borgatti, Jr. — Shrewsbury legend and owner of Spag’s. Dobson remembered that the owner asked one casual, but high stakes, question: “What else do you have?”
The answer — as it would soon turn out — was cheese. Dobson promoted his client Cabot Cheese, the same company on supermarket shelves today, to Spag. Spag was immediately interested and the two made plans to travel to the Cabot headquarters in Montpelier, Vermont.
The visit went well, according to Dobson, and when 10 cases of cheese arrived at Spag’s soon after, the product was gone in two minutes. Dobson doubled his order, but it didn’t matter — the 20 cases of Vermont cheese went just as quickly as the first batch.
With the business success, Dobson and Spag quickly formed a long-lasting friendship.
“I used to meet Spag every Sunday… He’d call me up and say, ‘Do you want to come down to the store?’ We became very, very good friends… Then, I’d have lunch at Spag’s house every day,” he said.
With Spag’s support, Dobson began his own private label of cheese — The Charlie Cheddar Company. Dobson copyrighted the name, and before long he owned and distributed roughly 25 cheese products.
Shrewsbury through and through
Throughout his decorated business career, Dobson remained part of the Shrewsbury community.
For the last 44 years, he has been an active member of the town’s Rotary Club, currently serving as the sergeant at arms. He has never stopped loving the organization.
“I just enjoy it so much. There’s 1.2 million members worldwide… It’s just amazing the amount of work they do locally, in the state, nationally, and globally,” Dobson said, noting how he and Roy Balfour helped bring the Rotary Club to Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1992.
Dobson has been to more than 30 countries, but the town of Shrewsbury will always be home.
“People generally are very nice — very friendly, community-oriented… I’ve gotten to know everyone… It’s just a nice, nice place to live and raise your kids,” he said.
1. How did you make the decision to move into the willows? There came a time when we decided we had taken care of a home for too long. We had a large house but we needed to downsize We wanted to have an easier life. It was also important for us to have convenient access to our existing network of medical providers, friends and family.
2. Are you still able to maintain your favorite activities? Yes, I am an ordained Rabbi and I still go online every Monday with my group to study Rabbinic text. I have been doing that for 30 years.
3. What offerings keep you busy at the Willows? I read... we have a wonderful book club. The fitness facilities are fantastic as well. I visit with friends here and family outside the facility - our days are full!
4. What gives you peace of mind? We are so glad that the management has an empathetic approach... they care. When we have a problem, they respond to it. As we age we know we will have additional needs. It’s great to know that someone is here looking out for us as our needs evolve.
5. What is a key lesson you learned by living at the Willows? When we were considering moving to a retirement community, all of our friends told us not to wait too long. They urged us to take advantage of an active facility while we were still young enough to take advantage of all the activities - and I can tell you we have found this to be very true.
Patients experience innovative treatment and quick response at Associated Foot Specialists business spotlight:
By kAthryn AcciAri contriButing Writer
HOLDEN – Podiatrist Dr. Anthony Tickner is committed to supporting the health of the community. With three offices in Central Massachusetts, he and his team at Associated Foot Specialists are able to provide quick, convenient care to patients with foot problems.
While many podiatrists focus on one specialty area, Tickner prefers to serve as a generalist for any type of foot problem.
“We treat every age of patient, from infants and children to adults and senior citizens,” said Tickner. “Our patient base includes athletes, executives, and people with specific health problems, like diabetes. Quite often, we see the weekend warriors, such as dads who think they can still slam dunk a basketball but end up injuring their foot.”
Patients at Associated Foot Spe-
cialists receive special insights into treatment when they see Tickner and his team. They get to hear about new developments in the treatment of foot issues.
One up-and-coming procedure that Tickner offers is Lapiplasty, a form of bunion correction that stabilizes the affected joint of the toe.
“Usually, bunion treatments are 50-70% successful, but with Lapiplas-
Structural/
Podiatrist Dr. Anthony Tickner and his team at Associated Foot Specialists provide quick, convenient care to patients with foot problems.
(Photo/Kathryn Acciari)
ty we are seeing over a 95% improvement,” said Tickner. “The patient is able to return to normal activity much faster than with traditional bunion treatment.”
Another non-traditional treatment involves the use of medical grade honey. Originally used by the Egyptians and Mesopotamians, medical grade honey prevents bacteria from growing on wounds and bedsores.
“We were able to save a diabetic patient’s leg through the aggressive use of medical grade honey,” said Tickner. “She was in danger of amputation, but treatment with Medihoney saved the leg. She regained function with the treatment of honey and long-term therapy.”
Tickner sees new skin graft science emerging that involves the use of synthetic dressings that contain glass particles. This creates a structure similar to scaffolding that supports the skin and helps to heal wounds faster. Fish skin grafts are in development and are showing promise for wound healing and pain relief. Another innovation is the development of 3-D printing to reconstruct replacement parts in the body. Tickner hopes to see this applied to foot reconstruction at some point in the future.
In addition to his practice at Associated Foot Specialists, Tickner serves as Medical Director of the St. Vincent Hospital Wound Care Center. In this role,
We treat every age of patient, from infants and children to adults and senior citizens. Our patient base includes athletes, executives, and people with specific health problems.
Dr. Anthony Tickner
he oversees the treatment of patients who suffer from chronic, non-healing wounds. “The advances in wound care are impressive,” said Tickner. “We successfully treat diabetics as well as cancer patients who have suffered skin damage from radiation therapy.”
Tickner’s team at Associated Foot Specialists treats most foot ailments, including plantar fasciitis, hammer toes, arthritis, warts, and flat feet. Each patient undergoes gait analysis, vascular testing, and a biomechanical examination. The practice has its own digital x-ray machine so that patients can stay on-site for x-rays. Tickner often recommends shoe inserts for diabetic patients and offers a custom molded shoe program.
Associated Foot Specialists is known for its attentiveness to its patients. The practice sets itself apart with its standard of responding to patient calls within 48 hours. Tickner said, “Quite often, when you call a medical office as a new patient, you are given
an appointment several weeks out. We don’t make people wait; we make it a priority to set an appointment as quickly as possible.”
The team at Associated Foot Specialists takes a holistic approach to treating its podiatry patients. “We communicate with each patient’s other care providers, so that their medical conditions are considered in conjunction with our recommended treatments,” said Tickner.
Associated Foot Specialists now has offices in Hudson, Holden, and Worcester in order to conveniently serve its patient population. Tickner intends to continue to seek innovative treatments for his patients.
“My patients amaze me every day,” said Tickner. “We pride ourselves on getting our patients back to the way they want to live. That makes my work all the more rewarding.”
Visit masspodiatrists.com for more information about Associated Foot Specialists.
SENIORS
Are you healthy and vaccinated, mentally active, and over the age of 65?
Schacter Memory Lab is looking for participants!
The business of aging
By MAriAnne Delorey, Ph.D.
We are all apprentice old people.
~ Dr. Caroline Green
Most people have heard the term “gerontology” but I would guess that far fewer could define the term without pause. Perhaps because the audience of this newspaper is people who are interested in aging, you may be more able than most. But let’s talk a bit about what it is and what it is not.
Gerontology, at its core, is the study of aging. Many people mistake gerontology for geriatrics, which is strictly a medical view of aging. Gerontology, on the other hand, takes a much broader look at aging. Gerontology tends to be academic but can be very practical and often looks to drive public policy. For instance, when COVID-19 was first identified as a threat, the media and governments across the globe quickly tried to get the message out to older adults about how to keep safe. They used marketing efforts to make sure they were reaching the right population. These marketing efforts are part of studying aging — where do older adults tend to get their news? What media do they consume? How do we reach caregivers also? Who is likely to be left out of such messaging? What languages should the ads be in?
Because gerontology is multifaceted, it is easy to get lost in a sea of perspectives. In addition to studying aging from a medical angle, gerontologists can study aging and:
• Psychology
• Economics
• Biology
• Race
• Technology Gerontologists can also study:
• Aging across cultures
• Aging through history
• Sociology
• Business
• Literature
• Sexuality
• Images of aging in art and media
• Social determinants of health
At its core, gerontology became a field because of demographics. There are more people 65 and older in this country now than ever before. Our population is so significantly different than at any time in our history because people are living longer. This creates a whole world of problems and opportunities. While we may have fewer young people to help support our older adults as they age, the older generation is living longer and healthier so they can support themselves well into their later years.
As my subfield has always been housing, I am particularly interested in these facets of aging:
• Where do older adults live
• What environments are preferable and why
• What factors influence their decision on where to live
• What amenities do they most value
• What amenities have proven to save lives or improve health
On a very practical level, these are topics we think about every day. Right now, we are designing our next new building. Our whole team, including architects, interior designers, builders, lighting professionals, and others are thinking every day about each and every choice through the lens of what works best for an aging population. For instance, what way-finding mechanisms should we include? What floor covering is best for an aging person who is already at risk for falls? Do pull cords provide some security or is it a false sense of security over personal bracelets and pendants?
While none of us can know everything, we are pleased to surround ourselves with professionals who are also studying aging from their perspective, and helping us make the best decisions for future generations of older adults.
Marianne Lyons Delorey, Ph.D. is the executive director of Colony Retirement Homes. She can be reached at 508-755-0444 or mdelorey@colonyretirement.com and www.colonyretirementhomes.com.
Grown-ups muddle through
By JAnice linDsAy contriButing Writer
When I was a child, I envied grownups.
They seemed so self-assured, confident, and in control. They knew how to cook, and drive, and make you feel better if you were sick or hurt. They understood how to make important decisions, like whom to marry, what job to have, and where to live.
In short, grown-ups seemed to move smoothly through life without doubt or hesitation, knowing which steps to take at every turn in life’s rocky path.
Now that gray hairs have appeared willy-nilly on my head, I must finally admit that I am officially a grown-up. I have technically been a grown-up for quite some time. I’m still waiting for that magic moment when
I move smoothly through life without doubt or hesitation. I don’t always know which step to take. Sometimes I can’t even see the path.
I have figured out that, when I was a child, all those grown-ups who seemed so self-assured were seeming that way so as not to worry the children. They were just as uncertain as I am now.
And I imagine that I am not alone. I’m surrounded by uncertain grownups who are trying their best to look less uncertain so as not to worry their families and friends.
In my brain, two competing impulses argue about what I should do. Part of me wants to retreat. Part of me wants to charge.
Part of me wants to live in a cabin in the woods and be a hermit and not read newspapers or watch TV or check my iPhone, see only people I’ve specifically invited, and write pithy, timeless thoughts in my journal.
The other part wants me to rush out and embrace the world in all its
maddening contradictions and do what I can to save it from itself, spend my time doing good works for humanity, and forget about having great thoughts. Only action counts in this half of my brain.
Neither a total retreat nor a total charge is practical. There are all those pesky details: livings to earn, people to take care of, houses to tend to, meals to cook, not to mention limitations in my natural abilities.
I recently took an adult education class about World War II. When we look back, knowing that we won the war, and remembering so many war movies about courageous soldiers, we might think that all those grown-ups knew what they were doing, that they took the right step at every turn in the path. We would be wrong.
In fact, consider “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” a song written in 1943, nearly two years after America entered the war. We sing different lyrics now, but in the original they sang, with hopeful wistfulness,
SUPER CROSSWORD PUZZLE
“Someday soon we all will be together if the fates allow. Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow.”
It’s what grown-ups do. We muddle.
We choose a few values that we really care about: love for family, friends, humanity; freedom; nature; faith. We each choose our own.
Those are the flashlights we aim at the bumpy path before us. Sometimes the beam shines brightly enough to show us where to step. Sometimes it doesn’t and we have to guess.
As former president Harry Truman is said to have remarked, doing the right thing is easier than knowing the right thing to do.
Being a grown-up means being uncertain. We wobble, as we try to figure out the right thing to do and how to do it. We muddle through as best we can.
I wonder if we should tell the children. Contact jlindsay@tidewater.net
dom to create a plan that works best for each of you and your family. Any assets you intend to keep separate should remain in your individual name and should not be comingled in order to best preserve them as your separate property. It is often advisable to open a joint account after you are married into which you each contribute and from which joint or other agreed upon expenses are paid.
Planning for the death of a spouse will depend on many factors, including your net worth, your age and whether you have children from a prior relationship. At the very least, if you are planning to marry, you should update your wills, health care proxies and durable powers of attorney after the marriage takes place.
Depending on where you live, marriage could revoke a prior will or have other unintended consequences. In Massachusetts, for example, marriage does not automatically revoke a will that one spouse executed prior to the marriage, especially if children are involved. For example, let’s say that Alice has two children prior to her marriage to Bob. Alice has created a will leaving her entire estate to her two children. If Alice dies before Bob, Bob has no claim against Alice’s estate as to any property that Alice left to her children. If Alice left 75% of her estate to her children and 25% to her favorite niece, however, Bob would have a right to a portion of that 25%, as if Alice had died without a will (the “intestacy share”). Under Massachusetts law, Bob’s share in that case would be the first $100,000 of the 25%, plus ½ of the balance of the 25% share.
Will before marriage
If Alice intends to leave Bob a share of her estate, she should consider executing a will before their marriage. The will should specifically state that the will is signed “in contemplation of marriage.” If Alice does not execute such a will before their marriage, she and Bob should do new wills as soon after the nuptials as possible.
On the flip side, Massachusetts law deems an ex-spouse named in a will or a revocable trust to have predeceased the maker of the will or revocable trust. The will is not invalidated. Rather, the terms of the will or revocable trust will be read as though the ex-spouse is not living. For example, let’s assume Bill and Jane have two children of their marriage, and Jane’s will leaves her estate “to Bill, if he survives me, or to my children in equal shares if Bill does not survive me.” If Jane and Bill divorce and Jane subsequently dies, her will is read as if Bill is not living (even if he is). Hence, Jane’s entire estate would pass to her two children equally. The same
Many couples getting married later in life or getting remarried have different goals for passing on their estates. Most want to take care of their spouse, but want to make sure that children from a prior relationship, other family members, or charities that are important to them will ultimately benefit from their estate.
reasoning works for revocable trusts.
Similarly, if Jane names Bill to be her personal representative (the Massachusetts term for executor) or trustee, with her son Sam as the successor, Bill will be disregarded and Sam will step in as personal representative and trustee.
If Jane names Bill as the primary beneficiary of a life insurance policy or a retirement plan and her two children as equal contingent beneficiaries, Massachusetts law says that, so long as she can “revoke” the designation or change it, Bill will be deemed to have predeceased Jane and her two children will step into the primary beneficiary position. To be safe, however, and especially with beneficiary designation property such as life insurance and retirement plans, you should change the beneficiary as soon as the divorce is final, so as to avoid any issues with the life insurance company or financial institution.
Many couples getting married later in life or getting remarried have different goals for passing on their estates. Most want to take care of their spouse, but want to make sure that children from a prior relationship, other family members, or charities that are important to them will ultimately benefit from their estate. Many couples come in and say, “I trust my (second) spouse to take care of my kids when I am gone.” Once the estate passes to the second spouse, however, it is up to that second spouse to decide how the assets pass on their own death. Perhaps the second spouse intends to leave what he or she inherited from the first spouse to the first spouse’s children – but someone in their life exerts undue influence or pressure on the second spouse and they instead leave the first spouse’s assets to the second spouse’s own children or relatives, a subsequent spouse, or even
a charity.
Revocable Trusts are a great way to ensure that your children or others receive a portion of your estate either upon your death or upon the death of your spouse. The Trust allows you to predetermine how the balance of your estate should be distributed even if you are the first to die. You can divide the Trust into different shares for your spouse and children (or others). The Trust share for your spouse can be used for their benefit during their lifetime, and anything that remains on their death can pass to children, other family, or charities. The Trust could also hold your real estate, ensuring that the surviving spouse can live there during his or her lifetime, but the value passes equally to the spouses’ intended beneficiaries.
Couples in a second marriage should be very careful about owning property jointly. Regardless of what a will says, if a couple owns property jointly, under Massachusetts law, that property will pass to the surviving spouse on the first spouse’s death. The same is true for bank and investment accounts. For example, let’s say a spouse has always owned a bank account jointly with his daughter. When
that spouse dies, he cannot leave the bank account to his spouse, even if his will leaves it to the spouse. Under the law, the account passes automatically to the daughter.
If you are insurable, life insurance is also a great tool to set aside something for your children without impacting your spouse’s inheritance or net worth after your death. The insurance could be paid directly to the children or held in a trust for their benefit, depending on their ages. Life insurance payable to the children (or to a trust for their benefit) can be a very useful tool, especially when there is a significant age difference between the spouses. The children can inherit from the parent on the parent’s death, rather than having to “wait” for the spouse’s death. This type of planning can be very beneficial to family harmony. Celebrate the beginning of your life together and the joyous occasion of your marriage, but make a point to at least consult with an attorney about what your impending marriage may mean for the two of you and your individual families.
Jennifer Flanagan and Kathryn Calo are attorneys at the law firm Mirick O’Connell.
A veteran and former television repairman,
Frank Brown is
By evAn WAlsh rePorter
NORTHBOROUGH – Frank Brown
grew up in a small town in Vermont 10 miles from Montpelier. The son of a wood-chopper, Brown was educated in a one-room schoolhouse. He went to high school for all of two weeks before he’d had enough.
At 15, he came by train to Worcester to live with his mother. His love of movies made the decision to move easy — there were few theaters in the wilderness of Vermont — but he was motivated by something deeper. Though World War II was raging, 17-year-old Brown decided to join the U.S. Navy — he wanted to see more of the world.
“I never saw anything but Vermont,” Brown told the Fifty Plus Advocate at Dunkin’, where he eats every morning. “I never saw the ocean and I couldn’t swim, either. My brother joined the Navy, so I figured that was a good place, so I went into it. I didn’t know anything at the time.”
He imagined traveling the world and sailing the high seas on a brandnew warship. But Brown’s far-flung dreams of exploration were squashed when, after finishing bootcamp, he was ordered to a tugboat in Boston. The in-state assignment wasn’t exactly the adventure he envisioned.
However, Brown’s ironic twist of fate would foreshadow what the rest of his life would look like. Through sheer happenstance and several strange coincidences, Brown entered the television industry, started an iconic Northborough business, and, eventually, became an artist.
From Navy to Northborough
Brown’s time aboard the Boston tugboat did not mark the end of his military service, though he stayed
there as World War II ended. After a brief stint at the Great Lakes Naval Station, Brown received perhaps his dream assignment — a placement on a brand-new destroyer touring South America. It was the world travel he’d dreamed about from his earliest days in Vermont.
Except the next day, Brown came down with the mumps. As the ship bound for South America left the port, he remained in the hospital and was eventually sent to San Francisco, California, to do work on radioactive ships. The role involved lots of show-
ering, geiger counters, and blood tests. Brown finished his U.S. Navy service in 1948.
He bought a house in Northborough in 1954 — he still lives there today, 70 years later — and married his wife, Rhea. The family had four children: Frank, David, Paula, and Michael. Northborough was like “the boonies,” said Brown, but he didn’t have money, land was cheap, and the location enabled him to work at a Worcester Wyman-Gordon factory.
That’s when another fortuity happened. Brown loaned someone money, but when payback day arrived, the person didn’t have the cash on hand. Instead, he offered Brown a used manual on radio and television equipment. Brown wasn’t happy about the offer, but “something’s better than nothing,” and he started reading the booklet.
“My coworkers told me afterwards that I should’ve never trusted that person. I took the book. I started reading it one day, and I kind of liked it. I learned how to fix radios and TVs and became a TV guy. When my son got out of school, we opened a store,” said Brown.
From industry to art
Brown’s TV & Appliance is now known by most Northborough resi-
dents. First opened in the 1970s near Sawyer’s Bowladrome, the store moved to its current location inside the Northboro Shopping Center along Route 20 in the 1980s. Brown later gave the business to two of his sons, who later sold it to another group, but the store still remains today.
“I just got lucky, I guess. That’s why it was successful. I had my whole family working there. It just seemed that things took off. That’s when the VCRs came out and the movies. I got into the movie-rental business. It just took off,” said Brown.
And in another serendipitous twist, the television business led to another unexpected chapter in Brown’s life. Brown was fixing a television one day and, after doing his repair, turned to a random channel to ensure it worked. German art instructor Bill Alexander popped onto the screen.
The television screen lit up as it was supposed to — and so did the lightbulb above Brown’s head.
“The guy comes on, and he starts putting stuff on the painting. I said, ‘That’s pretty nice.’ I’d like to do that. I thought I could do that. I went to Spag’s and got the canvas, paint, and brushes,” said Brown, who went as far as Cape Cod to source materials for his paintings.
Bob Ross — an American painter who hosted television shows — was another inspiration.
“I used to tape it on my recorder upstairs and I’d run down to the cellar and paint a little bit. I’m running up and downstairs watching it, doing a little bit at a time. Finally, I got pretty good at it. I started doing it for the heck of it,” Brown said.
The art spent some time in the garage, but decades later, it was made available to the public at Applefest to raise funds for a new kitchen at the American Legion post. He remembered painting 30 or 40 pieces, but when he went into the garage to retrieve them, he found over 100 paintings.
The paintings aren’t the only thing that Brown — a Quilt of Valor recipient — has given away. He’s well-known for offering his homegrown vegetables to the community. He also makes pens in his spare time.
For Brown, it’s been a strange road filled with coincidence, but one thing links his military service, TV repair business, artwork, and, finally, his vegetable garden.
“I just like helping people out,” he said.
Northborough resident Frank Brown at Dunkin’, where he visits every morning. (Photo/Evan Walsh)
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
REGION – When it comes to the Land of Oz, everyone is familiar with the story of Dorothy’s quest to return home to Kansas. However, Massachusetts cannot be counted out for its connections to this magical land. First, several of the actors in the 1939 film classic “The Wizard of Oz” were natives of or had some type of connection to the Commonwealth. Interestingly, things are not much different for the 2024 American musical fantasy film “Wicked.”
Concord author penned revisionist novel
The movie “Wicked” is based on the 1995 revisionist novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” written by Gregory Maguire and is a two-part feature film with the second film expected for release in November 2025. It had been adapted into a Tony Award winning Broadway musical in 2003. In 2005, ten years after its publication, “Wicked” spent 26 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
The 70-year-old Maguire was raised in an orphanage in Albany, New York until his father remarried. He attended SUNY Albany where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English and art. He later earned an M.A. in children’s literature from Simmons College in Boston in 1978 which is the same year his first children’s book, “The Lightning Time” was published. He taught at Simmons from 1979 to 1986, when the children’s literature program was founded. The following year he and other former Simmons faculty members organized Children’s Literature New England, a nonprofit educational organization that fostered the role of literature in children’s lives and served as co-director for twenty-five years.
Maguire earned a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University in Medford in 1990 and has
Concord novelist Gregory Maguire, who wrote the novel “Wicked” in 1995, saw it turned into a Broadway musical in 2003, and now a feature film.
(Photo/Wikimedia Commons/ Jeremy Goldstein)
The movie “Wicked,” based on Concord author Gregory Maguire’s novel, came to the big screen in November 2024.
(Photo/courtesy of Universal Pictures)
lived in Concord since 1999. During his time at Tufts, Maguire took a required class taught by the highly regarded Professor Jesper Rosenmeier on Puritan and Colonial literature in America before 1800. Maguire said to MSN. com, “I had thought the Puritans were the driest, dullest, ugliest, most scowling, least fun, most oppressive peoples on the planet, in the history of peopledom. And in fact, a lot of that is true, but it’s not all true.”
However, Maguire credits the class with teaching him to rethink the challenges of the Puritans and how that might have influenced their thinking. He explained, “No different, as my teacher pointed out, than if people in our century were to be able to gather in a group of 300 and take a flight to Mars. Never to return. That’s how far away they went. And the psychological crises impressed upon their God-fearing souls were Shakespear-
ean in their pressure and in their forces, sometimes in their effect.”
Movie version
In the movie, Elphaba’s father, Frexpar Thropp, is a governor and minister whose character was shaped by the Puritans of Massachusetts. Ministers at that time “went out into what they
called the wilderness, and they tried to correct it through liturgy.” Elphaba’s father does the same, which is why he misses Elphaba’s birth in the book. Frexpar, though not genetically Elphaba’s father is the biological father of Elphaba’s younger sister Nessarose whom he gives preferential treatment and emotionally rejects Elphaba because she was born with green skin. Maguire was also inspired by a street he previously lived on in Cambridge — Upland Street. Therefore, Glinda Upland of the upper Uplands, through her mother is a descendant of from the noble clan of the Arduennas of the Upland.
Before they were sworn enemies, the Wicked Witch (Elphaba) and Glinda were best friends and roommates at the prestigious Shiz University. While the pre-eminent college shows striking similarities to Harry Potter Hogwarts-like fantastical courses in magic and spellcasting, the campus grounds will remind moviegoers of grand old institutions like Harvard University.
“Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Glinda, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard and Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible.
Mechanics Hall is Worcester’s most historic musical venue
By sAnDi BArrett contriButing Writer
WORCESTER – One could easily stroll past the pre-Civil War facade of Mechanics Hall and not know it is a treasured gem of architectural engineering and approachable culture. The beautiful building housing an almost acoustically perfect concert hall is a gathering spot to inspire and entertain patrons seeking to experience a panorama of musical interludes.
A popular music venue, Mechanics Hall offers free concerts, live musical performances, and other musical opportunities. The hall’s exceptional acoustics and intimate seating make it one of the top performance halls in the world. The venue rooms are draped in elegant decor and offer open floor plans; perfect to host elegant galas, corporate gatherings, and beautiful weddings.
History
When the Industrial Revolution came to the Blackstone Valley men like Ichabod Washburn took the lead. He helped organize the Worcester County Mechanics Association, taking Worcester straight into the industrial foreground. The association provided classes and amassed a technical library to support the new skills workers needed to navigate the booming wave of industry. Worcester’s Mechanics Hall was dedicated on March 19, 1857, and became a place where tradesmen expanded their skillset and honed their craft. Additionally, they were exposed to expansive political ideas and proper social etiquette. It was the perfect mar-
riage of the arts and sciences.
The mid-1900s brought new, modern venues to the Worcester area and Mechanics Hall fell out of fashion. It was relegated to holding professional wrestling events, dance classes, and even utilized as a roller skating venue to stay afloat. The building deteriorated considerably from misuse. However, in the early 1970s the building was heading towards the wrecking ball, going the way of many tired, albeit historic buildings. The rallying call trumpeted across Worcester, funds were raised, and Mechanics Hall was saved from demolition. Today we are privileged to have the opportunity to experience this splendid building reflecting her historic glory days.
The Great Hall is where all the magic happens. The stage is set in front of the massive organ and the audience floor seating is flexible — arranged
ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES
perfectly for each performance. The hall’s second tier encircles the floor and is lined with beautiful portraits. It reflects a mix of important locals like Ichabod Washburn and Stephen Salisbury II along with American greats like George Washington and Clara Barton. The collection began in 1866 and continues to grow with the Portraits Project. It includes recently installed paintings of four visionary Black Americans: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and William and Martha (Tulip) Brown.
Variety of events
Mechanics Hall is home to free musical events, youth programs, performance artist concerts, orchestral events and more, encouraging guests to explore and enrich their artistic knowledge.
The Brown Bag Concert Series is a
Bigelow Village – Rutland
Congregational Retirement –Melrose
Brookhaven Assisted Care – West Brookfield
Heywood Wakefield Commons – Gardner
SUBSIDIZED HOUSING
Colony Retirement – Worcester
Green Hill Towers – Worcester
Sherwood Village – Natick
phone
Worcester’s Mechanics Hall opened in 1857, and became not just an event venue but a place where tradesmen expanded their skillset and honed their craft.
free, hour-long performance. The concert begins at noon on select dates and guests are encouraged to bring their lunch while enjoying a live musical presentation. From chamber music to smooth jazz, the spring and fall concert series offers a midweek musical interlude from the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day routines.
Club 321 is a monthly concert series where guests are treated to live performances hitting a variety of high notes in rhythm and blues, American classics, pop, and a variety of other genres. Tickets for Club 321 performances can be purchased online.
Offering unique, youth-oriented programs, Mechanics Hall is home to Concerts for Kids and the Many Voices programs for Worcester children. These free programs allow the children to experience performing on a worldclass stage in front of a live audience.
(Photos/courtesy of Mechanics Hall)
Its spring concert is scheduled for midMarch.
Stop by to enjoy a free brown bag performance of Mechanics Hall’s massive Hook Organ. Installed by Elias and George Hook in 1864, it is touted as the “oldest unaltered four-keyboard pipe organ in the Western Hemisphere located at its installation site.” While the bellows have been upgraded from
the original hand-pumping manual system (quite a task) to more modern methods, the pipes still retain their magnificent tone.
Mechanics Hall is also home to Worcester Music concerts where guests can experience the full acoustic perfection of the Grand Hall.
For more information about upcoming events visit mechanicshall.org.
V66 offered a brief local alternative to MTV
By shAron oliver contriButing Writer
BOSTON – As MTV, launched in 1981, continued its reign on cable TV, a Boston local UHF channel, WVJV, sought to disrupt the music television network’s supremacy in 1985. This was particularly thrilling news for young people living in households still relying on rabbit ear antennas since cable had not become available in New England until the mid-80s. Music videos were all the rage during this time and helped boost record sales, giving many artists household name status.
Local radio personality and Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee John Garabedian was the brainchild behind the launch of V66, a music television for Boston-based college crowd. Using MTV’s concept, Garabedian aimed to focus on Boston’s interests.
Launched by local radio and television veterans
Radio veterans Arnie “Woo Woo”
Newly Remodeled Apartments with a contemporary flair
Within the building amenities include:
• A Theater-like media center
• Handicap-accessible lounges on every floor
• Library equipped with two computers and free internet access
• Physical fitness center
• Game room with billiard table
• Community room with bingo board and large screen TV
Green
Mount Vernon Street, Worcester, MA
Now
Applicants
Ginsburg, Roxy Myzal, and television veteran David Beadle helped Garabedian prepare for this new venture on WVJV-TV channel 66. VJs David O’Leary, Perry Stone, Bill Stephens, and Mary Jo Kurtz were hired as onair personalities. VJs Susan Beauchamp, Tracy Cox, Ian O’Malley, and Anne Saxon came on board later. Not long after airing their first music video, Steve Miller Band’s “Abracadabra,” the station gained a devout following.
• Contemporary styled 1 & 2 bedroom apartments
• New kitchens with built-in microwaves and granite-like countertops
• Small pets welcome
• Heat and Hot water included
• Bus route / ample parking
• Beautiful landscaped grounds with gazebo
and those who are under 62 years of
The Great Hall at Worcester’s Mechanics Hall features a variety of musical performances, some free and open to the public.
V66 was a Boston-based broadcast TV alternative to MTV for a few years in the 1980s.
V66 | from page 19
The timing was perfect for V66, “The Beat of Boston.” By 1985, music superstars from Boston like Aerosmith and The Cars had emerged and rising local bands like ‘Til Tuesday and The Del Fuegos had another platform to showcase their talents. V66 would even play videos produced by local bands who did not have recording contracts if they were good enough. They also broadcast local live events and concerts and were the only non-cable TV channel besides ABC to broadcast the historic Live Aid concert in 1985. Fans of the program were often pleasantly surprised by unannounced visits from celebrities and rock stars.
Fans remember
Fond memories of V66 still linger strong and thanks to the “Life on the V: The Story of V66” documentary, those memories can remain fresh. One comment on Facebook by Rob Palmer stated:
“My parents wouldn’t get cable, so I got my MTV at friends’ houses. Once V66 arrived I was in heaven. “Just Got Lucky” by the JoBoxers was the first video I saw in V66.”
John Griffin wrote:
“I didn’t have MTV, so I watched it all on V66!! U2 doing “Bad!” What a moment!!!! I had just seen them at the Centrum a few months earlier and had become obsessed with them.
V66 was the only place you could see their videos, especially “A Celebration.” I’ll never forget this day, and the only reason I saw it was V66. Thank you, folks, forever, from someone who later became a musician.”
Affordable Living at its Best
Now accepting Applications for 62 years of age and older and those that are under 62 years of age and are permanently disabled.
• Heat and hot water included
• Qualified Applicants pay 30% of adjusted income
• 24 hour emergency maintenance
• Non-Smoking Community
• Monthly activities include: exercise classes, birthday parties, book mobile, blood pressure screens and podiatry
• Manicured walking paths with garden plots
• Ideally located in Natick residential bus route
• Pets okay under 20 lbs.
“Life on the V: The Story of V66” documentary director Eric Green admits he was glued to V66 as a child.
Decline and sale
Much to the dismay of fervent viewers, V66 would come to an end in less than two years despite adding magazine news shows, comedies, music profiles, and sports highlight shows to its programming to increase ratings. Despite the number of teens and young adults who wanted their V66, advertising sales were not sufficient enough to keep the station going.
V66 signed off on September 21, 1986, and its frequency was sold to the Home Shopping Network.
As for Garabedian, he went on to start the popular “Open House Party” syndicated radio show, which he hosted for nearly 30 years. It included segments like “Make It or Break It” (or Rate the Record) wherein Garabedian played a new song each week and listeners called in with their votes and opinions. Another segment was “Who Sings It?” The fourth song of the show would be a “throwback” song and listeners called in to guess the artist in order to win a prize.
Local radio personality John Garabedian, who would later go on to greater fame hosting the popular “Open House Party” syndicated radio show, was the brainchild behind V66.