Worcester Magazine July 30 - August 5, 2020

JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2020 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CULTURE • ARTS • DINING • VOICES

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The brief, legendary life of Worcester’s long-lost punk club, Xit 13

T S A F D N A UD LO

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IN THIS ISSUE

J U LY 30 - A U G U S T 5, 2020 • V O L U M E 45 I S S U E 49 Find us on Facebook.com/worcestermag Twitter @worcestermag Instagram: Worcestermag

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17 Featured ......................................................................................4 City Voices...................................................................................8 Cover Story ...............................................................................10

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Artist Spotlight .......................................................................15

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the cover Fast and loud: The brief, legendary life of Worcester’s long-lost punk club, Xit 13.

Story on page 10

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Design by Kimberly Vasseur

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FEATURED

Abbreviated hiking fundraiser becomes family affair STEPHANIE JARVIS CAMPBELL

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to participate as well — her other daughter, Gabriella Mailloux, and her cousins, Esperanza and Liliana Silva, of Grafton. Of the three, Esperanza had participated one previous time, while for Gabriella and Liliana, it was their first year.

The team also decided to invite the men in the family to participate in Wilderness Heals, which is usually for women only. That included Licea-Mailloux’s husband, Jonathan Mailloux; her brother, Marcos Licea, of Barre; her father, Gustavo Licea, of Grafton; and Esperanza’s boyfriend, Mike Dewar, also of Grafton.

“The guys in the family constantly hear about how the hike is so awesome,” Licea-Mailloux said. “It’s been 25 years of all women; thankfully, the

world is changing. It was really cool to have my dad and my husband and my brother there. There was a coolness doing it as a family.”

Together, with a goal of raising $10,000, they hiked Mount Wachusett on July 14, opting for a time that would potentially be less crowded due to the size of their group. They had never hiked the mountain before, and it took about an hour and a half to reach the top. Currently, they have raised more than $6,500, according to the Wilderness Heals website.

The family said it has been amazing to give back to their community and to raise awareness for domestic violence, while being grateful for the things they have. Licea-Mailloux said

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or the past seven years, Rosa Licea-Mailloux has participated in Wilderness Heals, a three-day event backpacking through the White Mountains to create awareness of domestic violence and to raise money for a Boston-area shelter and housing facility. With the hike modified this summer due to COVID-19, Licea-Mailloux took that as an opportunity to involve even more of her family in the event.

A fundraiser to benefit the Elizabeth Stone House in Roxbury, the 25th Wilderness Heals hosted a virtual send-off and closing ceremony this year, while allowing teams to hold their own self-guided hikes

in local communities the weekend of July 17. Grafton resident LiceaMailloux joined with her original three teammates — first-year hiker daughter Josephine; third-year hiker and sister-in-law Maricela SolorioLicea, of also Grafton; and first-year hiker Melissa Ruiz, of Worcester, her brother’s girlfriend – to form the team WE hike. WE lead. We care.

“I think it was a good way to get outdoors,” Josephine said. “Because of COVID, there’s not many things you can do.”

Licea-Mailloux described her family as close-knit, saying they all have been quarantining during the pandemic. Because of the changes to Wilderness Heals this year, some of the other women decided

Rosa Licea-Mailloux, in center with bandana, was joined by family members and friends for a hiking fundraiser for domestic abuse survivors.

CHRISTINE PETERSON

funds raised for Wilderness Heals often go to special needs beyond operating costs.

“A lot of times when women come to seek shelter for them and their kids, they don’t have clothes other than what they’re wearing,” she said.

Licea-Mailloux became involved in the cause more than 10 years ago through her former employer, which was a sponsor of the hike. She first began volunteering at the Elizabeth Stone House, eventually started participating in Wilderness Heals and became vice chair of the board of directors in 2016. But, like many who participate in the walk, she also has personal ties — her father was a child victim of domestic abuse who broke the cycle with his own family.

Licea-Mailloux recalled the first time she visited the Elizabeth Stone House, which operates a domestic violence shelter and a transitional housing facility for victims of abuse and their children. A young boy ran past in her in the hallway, she said, but, “I really wasn’t expecting to see little kids. I couldn’t help but think about this — oh, wow, that could’ve been my dad.”

Domestic violence, Licea-Mailloux said, “does impact women more, but it does impact men.”

This year would have been her fourth as a team leader, had Wilderness Heals taken place as usual.

But, “when I hiked the first year,” Licea-Mailloux recalled, “I didn’t own hiking boots, I had to borrow a pack and I overpacked snacks.”

Normally, Licea-Mailloux said, the women — numbering between 50 and 60 — are divided into teams of approximately 10 people each, based upon their skill level and a previous training hike. Though the participants may not know each other at first, a certain camaraderie settles in by the end of that third day.

“You learn to figure out who they are at that time,” Licea-Mailloux said. “A lot of those stories are very personal. There is a reason why they decided to hike for this cause.”

Esperanza Silva agreed. Even though there is a lot of physical and emotional feelings to overcome on the three-day hike, she said, “you have to take moments of this, that it’s nothing compared to what people are going through.”

FEATURED

Hike Worcester Challenge spotlights city’s numerous trails STEPHANIE JARVIS CAMPBELL

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ith the Greater Worcester Land Trust unable to lead hikes through Worcester’s trail system because of COVID-19, the staff wanted people to find a way through the woods on their own. What resulted was

Above, The Alonso girls splash in the stream at Nick’s Woods. The family finished first in the Hike Worcester Challenge, sponsored by the Greater Worcester Land Trust.

Left, Michelle Ann Gour and her dog Wilson completed all the trails together and continue to hike.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

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The first to finish the hike was the Alonso family of Worcester — Alvaro and Alejandra and their three daughters, Isabel, Sofia and Beatriz. They had already spent time hiking prior to the pandemic and welcomed the opportunity to participate in the challenge.

“They really enjoyed it,” Alvaro Alonso said of his daughters. “What is really amazing is the unbelievable amount of the trails we have in Worcester and the woods we have right at our doorstep.”

His daughters, who enjoy the Cascades trail, like looking for wildlife, playing with salamanders, splashing in the streams and seeing the transformation of the woods

who finished the challenge fifth, said, “I grew up in Worcester, and I never knew there were all these trails. I discovered all these parts of Worcester I never knew existed.”

A triathlete, Gour had foot surgery and didn’t want to return to running right away, but she also didn’t want to be stuck inside her house during the pandemic. Doing Hike Worcester was an easy decision. “I love a challenge,” she said.

Gour and her pit bull, Wilson, did all the trails together and continue to hike after completing the challenge. “I’m glad I stumbled across it because now I have new adventures,” she said.

That sums up the reason for the Hike Worcester Challenge.

“We have seen more hiking and more people than ever before. In decades of watching this, it has never been as busy as it has been now,” Novick said. “People are accidentally, or intentionally, finding out about where they live, and that’s really cool.”

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the Hike Worcester Challenge, a trek through 10 of the city’s trails that so far 19 participants have completed.

“Who will be number 20?” asked Colin M. Novick, GWLT executive director.

To complete the challenge and earn a special patch, participants have to hike 10 trails: Asnebumskit, Bovenzi Conservation Area, Cascades, Crow Hill, East Side Trail, God’s Acre and Tetasset Ridge, Holbrook to Donker Farm, Kettle Brook, Nick’s Woods and Southwick Pond. Moreland Woods is an alternate trail that can be swapped for any of the others.

from late winter through the seasons.

“I think in general, contact with nature is very important. We tend to forget about it,” he said. “It’s very gratifying and relaxing.”

Novick agrees. “I’ve been walking around for a couple decades now, and I love to get surprised by new things all the time.”

Novick said he is amazed with the number of participants outside of Worcester who decided to take on the challenge. The second-place finisher, Eric Chu, lives in Boston and is a biology instructor at MIT. Chu moved from California on Jan. 1 and had already spent time hiking throughout the Boston area. When he heard about the Hike Worcester Challenge, he decided to take advantage of the opportunity to explore different parts of the state.

“When I ventured to the area at the end of May, early June, there were flowers everywhere. In Boston, we don’t have anything. I think I went there at the best time,” Chu said of hiking through Worcester.

Sometimes, the surprises come closer to home. Michelle Ann Gour,

FEATURED

Worcester arts and wellness center regroups in wake of coronavirus RICHARD DUCKETT

Burncoat St. But “We quickly thought this isn’t what we need to be doing … It hen the Burncoat quickly morphed into something Center for Arts and else,” Mowers said.

Wellness opened in Both were mindful, so to speak, of January in Worcester, a “long-term goal was to have a more arts and wellness.

Mowers said, “There’s a conneccohesive streamlined concept of arts tion between the two. A lot of people and wellness classes” in place after use their creativity as therapy. I do as a certain period of time, said Kim Mowers, who co-founded the center a sewist. If I’m not able to (sew) I find myself getting anxious a little bit.” with Barbara Alteri.

So with their own place and space, Perhaps some meditation, jourBCAW was formed. naling and yoga classes and some As a psychotherapist Alteri arts classes that could be good fit for specializes working with children them, for example. and teens. At BCAW she decided That period of time would have been around right now, Mowers said. she wanted to teach arts and crafts classes for children and adults, But what happens when an arts including an afterschool class for and wellness center opens, and a children called “Make a Mess and pandemic breaks out?

In the case of the Burncoat Center Decompress.”

As a professional sewist of 14 for Arts and Wellness, the short term years, Mowers has been running a answer is they started making face masks. Mowers is a professional sew- small business selling her handmade bags and accessories. At BCAW she ist, and she taught Alteri, a psychowants to teach all skill levels of sewtherapist, how to make a face mask.

“They took off like wildfire,” Mow- ing, and arts and crafts classes.

On its website, BCAW says it will ers said. “We’ve been making face be “an oasis for people of all ages masks nonstop since mid-March. who want to explore both their creOrders are still coming in.” ative and artistic potential and overSo although BCAW was closed all wellness of the body and mind” and Mowers and Alteri donated more than 600 masks, “we were lucky with “classes, programs, workshops, to be able to survive with the income and periodic market days to draw the community together for arts, from making masks,” Mowers said.

Now BCAW is starting to get back crafts, sewing, and health and mindon its feet again, offering classes and fulness. The act of being creative can help decrease everyday stress community events outside on the lawn at 78 Burncoat St., where a tent and anxieties. Participating in the arts can also help with depression has also been set up. Yoga classes, and increase positive emotions, and taught by yoga instructors or yogis, are taking place, and a “Make a Gar- daily well being. The added bonus?

If you create, or practice mindfulden Mosaic” class would have taken place last Thursday afternoon were it ness in one of our many wellness classes, you will form supportive not for the threat of thunderstorms, relationships and friendships in your which led to it being a postponed. community.”

A free “This Neighborhood Rocks” “We opened in January had two event was scheduled for last Saturand a half months,” Mowers said. day featuring rock painting.

It’s all part of a re-learning process Then BCAW stopped classes and shut down. in the “new normal.”

“We were really upset about it. We Doubly so since none of of this is were really taking off. The communinecessarily quite what Mowers and ty was interested. We were worried, Alteri first had in mind. ‘are we going to survive all of this?’”

Introduced via a mutual friend, she recalled. they shared an interest in repurThen they said, “Let’s make some posing antique and vintage items, face masks.”

Mowers said.

Now BCAW has begun “turning Their initial idea was to open a the focus back on classes. We’ve repurposed and salvage store. They been starting to brainstorm some found a space they could rent — outdoors classes,” Mowers said. the first floor of the building at 78

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Above, Co-owners Barbara Alteri and Kim Mowers at the Burncoat Center for Arts and Wellness. Below, Addison Daly, 12, paints rock during an outdoor art class at the Burncoat Center for Arts and Wellness.

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PHOTOS/ASHLEY GREEN

FEATURED

PHOTOS/ASHLEY GREEN

Meanwhile, “We’re also looking for new avenues of how to reach teachers and artists who can bring their expertise to our place so we’re not just limited to what Barbara and I know,” Mowers said.

Also, “We are hoping to be able to supplement art and wellness programs once school starts again. Even if students do go back to school in person, a lot of schools have cut art/ electives. And for those who will be doing school virtually, we think they will be looking for creative outlets.

We are hoping to fill that void,” she said.

Just seven months old, BCAW continues to evolve.

“We’re really ready to adapt to this now,” Mowers said.

For more information about the Burncoat Center for Arts and Wellness, visit www.bcawworcester.com.

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Besides yoga, these should be classes that also do not need electricity and an instructor who doesn’t need to be close together with people. “Of course we’ve got to stay safe. That’s our number one priority,” she said.

Prior to shutting down in March because of COVID-19, BCAW was putting on a free community event a month. These started up again in June with a poster-making event for Black Lives Matter and continued in July with “This Neighborhood Rocks.”

On Aug. 29, BCAW will have an outdoor art gallery for ARTivism Initiative and its show, “This Is a Movement, Not a Moment,” which focuses on Black Lives Matter and racial justice issues. ARTivism Initiative will have an initial virtual reception for the show via Zoom.

BCAW hasn’t put on any virtual classes or events yet. “It’s still trial and error,” Mowers said. “It’s really a full-time job to try to do this in the new way.”

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The Burncoat Center for Arts and Wellness has been holding outdoor art classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CITY VOICES

FIRST PERSON FILE PHOTO/CHRISTINE PETERSON

Just a game RICHARD KLAYMAN

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t was a long while ago, but there was once a square, made up of dilapidated buildings, two stories high, and stores where pickles, a deli, and two full service drugstores, and ice cream stools, waited for all that ails us.

Did you have a square like this?

More than several three-decker tenements danced all around us living, as my family did, in what was our spot. How about that: we had a front porch and a back porch, too!

Uninformed about ourselves, unaware of how poor we were, dutifully, we went to school and, I suppose, that is were it all began to change. It was an Irish town, and all my teachers were Irish-Americans but this was where success seemed most to matter, and it did. We worked and worked at our lessons: got it wrong, got it right, and did it all again. It was our practice for a life that we hardly understood. Yes, practice was an end result.

And we tried so hard to get the equation correct, to display our understanding of the scientific principles, of microbiology, and of all the angles that made up this world or whatever world might come; back to practice, once again.

Then, somehow, at 10, my father died. And my brother was 9. But we were truly not alone.

Thinking back, other’s fathers and mothers might have died, too, but no one I actually knew.

Just the way it was, so we thought.

We scrapped by, sort of like our own infantile pandemic. Just the way it was.

We had no car, no one to drive us anywhere; we had no money, and there was nowhere to go.

And we knew the square quite well, and we walked its streets and the tiny shops and we were adept.

And we walked again. That was fun. It made up our day. Or maybe we took a bus. My mother paid a dime to ride the bus, but sometimes she would rather walk; again, so we were told.

Sure, there were bikes to ride, balls to toss around, yards that had grasshoppers, peach and plum

trees to climb, and grapevines that invited us to eat our next doors neighbors grapes.

And then, from someplace else, my mother saw that other kids had tennis racquets. She bought me one.

“Just a game,” my mother said.

“Just a game,” I repeated.

“Can you play,” someone asked me the rest of my life?

“Sure, I can play.”

But maybe it was the house we lived in, to my brother Mel and my mother, too.

Yes, we lived in a “third” of the house.

That house, the three-decker, is where we shared ourselves with shopkeepers, laborers, factory workers, housewives, and all the other people, like us.

It was an ancient three-decker and our home.

Our three-decker had a place of tiny alcoves, tiny bedrooms and our linoleum kitchen floor, forever in search of wax.

We lived on the bottom floor; an extended Irish family, living with Grandparents, and a married couple who occupied the second floor; and an African-American family lived on the top floor. Together, there were nine kids in the building.

No one had a shower: just a tub.

Everyone used the stairs to climb up and down, front and back stairs, as I explained. All rutted stairs to mark our lives, as though our lives of work and leisure kept us in rhythm with the cold, the rain, the heat; our little protective shell.

“Is that you, Eva,” the neighbors questioned when my mother returned home from shopping?

A little woman, with longer arms from carrying all of her goods from one section of the square to our house, buying meats, various breads, and all the essentials of running a household. All in two bags, one in each of her longer, extended hands.

Everyday, in two bags, she did all of this.

“Is that you,” a voice from one of her neighbors could be heard, a call from some distant upper floor,

built by Frederick Law Olmstead we came to discover, just a crust of a park, something we cherished.

And there were benches all around it, and a sprinkler system under the trees to keep all of us cool in the heat, and my mother sat over there. (Watching. Forever watching.)

And we played near the sprinklers and my mother brought some towels to dry us off.

And when no one was around we stayed there into the summer’s night and, later in the evening, we walked home before it got too dark.

We were not alone.

We were never really alone.

But one day led to other days, and into a lifetime, and there out there in the street, somewhere was my mother and my younger brother and it made all the obup in the air, from a middle or top stacles of life just a stretch of our floor, way up high. life together.

“Hi Eva!” “Was that the phasing of the And she waved, with a hand moon and the stars,” I asked? heavy from a short but extended Maybe both. arm, careful and attentive to the It reminds me now, how I must apartment which she bestowed her admit, of enjoying our starry gracious expression. nights.

But we had hope, too. And we Richard Klayman, PhD., is Emerichatted on our steps, late into the tus Professor of History at Bunker summer evening; we offered inspiHill Community College and the ration to one another, and gave our author of the book, “The First Jew: counsel.

Do not forget of our park. Call it Prejudice and Politics in an AmeriFerryway Green: Yes, it had a name, can Community, 1900-1932.”

CITY VOICES

WORCESTERIA

POETRY TOWN

It’s OK to change your mind ‘Boot on the Throat’/La Bota Sobre El Cuello VICTOR D. INFANTE

THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING: A few weeks back, Worcester

(To Black Lives Matter’s martyrs in light of the BLM mural of Worcester) On the throat of History there is a suffocating black boot that bears the weight of dominant whiteness.

The hands of History are bound behind her by modern shackles (white, of sharp-edged plastic) that also hobble the black ankles of History as she gasps and moans, I can’t breathe!

The ancestral boot is powerful, knows its own authority, ignores the clamor of History.

Unfeeling toward that throat and the life being snuffed out under its weight of white centuries, the boot perpetuates suffocation for centuries — repeated, castrating.

It discriminates, pursues, accuses, beats imprisons dehumanizes buries the tombs to keep History hidden away the same History murdered by the boot.

Dead, ignored, silenced, forbidden History is now attired, enhanced with cosmetics, combed by the force of the boot, that centuries-old oppressor omnipresent in the streets, in the prisons, falsified in the schools denied before the altars blindfolded in the courts of law.

I CAN’T BREATHE!

Las manos de la Historia están atadas a su espalda por grilletes modernos (blancos, de plástico cortante) constriñen también los pies a la altura del negro tobillo de la Historia que exhalando gime: “¡no puedo respirar¡.”

La bota ancestral, poderosa se sabe autoritaria, indolente es al clamor de la Historia.

Apática al cuello a la vida apagada bajo su blanco peso de centurias la bota blanca perpetúa una asfixia de siglos cíclica, castrante.

Discrimina, persigue, acusa, golpea encierra deshumaniza sepulta los sepulcros para esconder la Historia la misma Historia muerta bajo su bota.

Muerta, ignorada, silenciada, proscrita la Historia vestida, maquillada, peinada al rigor de la bota opresora de siglos se repite en las calles, en las cárceles, se desdice en las escuelas se niega en los altares se hace tuerta en los tribunales.

No importa el nombre de la Historia.

Tantos han sido que uno más de sus hijos bajo la bota es eso, uno más. Y otro más igual que ayer y mañana otro más hasta que un volcán de cuellos asfixiados revienta el universo tras aquel otro muerto (que no ha de ser el último de los muertos) brotan como lava todos los muertos del pasado con el grito presente por las calles plurales con el clamor del mundo que indignado anega las paredes del odio, la estructura del odio, con un ¡basta! oceánico quebrador del oprobio un latido telurico, un alud vocifera ¡no puedo respirar!

Y las calles se pueblan de pechos indignados y en todas latitudes y de todas las razas sale el estruendo unísono, el estrépito único quebrador de las botas genocidas, irrumpe el fragor reluciente decidiendo el futuro sin las infames botas sobre la nueva Historia que ha de escribir el Pueblo.

Juan Matos is the Worcester Poet Laureate. This poem was translated from Spanish to English by Rhina Espaillat.

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And the streets fill with angry hearts and at every latitude among all races there swells a roar in unison, a single fanfare determined to destroy the genocidal boots, and a shining clamor reinvents the future without those infamous boots on the body of a new History to be written by The People.

Sobre el cuello de la Historia hay una bota negra asfixiante, ella lleva por dentro el peso del blanco dominante.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

It doesn’t matter what name History is given.

There have been so many of her sons stifled under that boot that another is simply that, one more. And one more like the one yesterday and tomorrow one more until a volcanic eruption of asphyxiated throats bursts the universe apart after that other corpse (who will not be the last of the corpses) and all of yesterday’s corpses explode like lava with today’s howl down the multiple streets with the cry of the world whose indignation floods the walls of hate, the structure of hate, with an oceanic shout of “Enough!” full of shame and a telluric beat, a vociferous avalanche,

(A los mártires de Black Lives Matter a propósito del mural BLM en Worcester)

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Magazine columnist Sarah Connell Sanders wrote about having the DefundWPD organizers on her podcast, “Pop It,” and how conversations and research after that show had changed her opinion, bringing her around to the “Defund the Police” position.

Soon after the column was published, we received an email to her accusing her of “flip-flopping” on the issue. This raises two points. First of all, Connell Sanders wasn’t flip-flopping. “Flip-flopping” is when you change your position frequently, usually depending on who you are talking to. Famous examples are almost every politician you have ever heard of, particularly the current president, who is capable of changing his opinion within the exact same sentence.

The larger issue, though, is something far more culturally insidious: The strange idea that it’s somehow a weakness to change one’s mind on an issue, even when exposed to new information and differing perspectives.

It’s a puzzler pulled from the deepest depths of the comments section of any daily newspaper article, and it seems almost absurd. If no one can change their mind, then why are we spending so much time arguing over everything even remotely political? Shouldn’t we give up on the pundits and the Twitter feuds and the protests, and just go hunker down in our separate camps?

To get to the root of the issue, I talked with a local politician whose views have evolved over time on a number of issues, Councilor-at-Large Gary Rosen.

“I always say only a fool never changes his mind,” says Rosen. “I’ll tell you one thing that I certainly won’t change my mind on, and that’s running for re-election!”

Rosen is stepping down from the City Council at the end of his current term, after a storied, off-and-on career, and in recent days, he’s waded into issues including fare-free busing and police reform, and has, by his own account, allowed his research and conversations with constituents to change his positions … sometimes slightly, sometimes starkly.

“I try to keep an open mind,” says Rosen. “I try to listen to people. I was a teacher, and I think you have to listen to the students, to hear what they’re thinking. I try to be independent and a good listener.”

To be fair, he doesn’t feel his opinions on busing or police reform have changed so much as deepened, but there is one issue he’s willing to admit he straight-up changed his mind on: Needle exchanges.

“In 2005,” he recounts, “when I was on the City Council, (needle exchanges) came to us … I’m guessing the vote that night was probably unanimous against.” He says that people told them that if they voted for that, they’d be encouraging people shooting up drugs. “In 2015,” he says, “it came back to us. I remember saying that night, ‘I’m not making the same mistake I made 10 years ago.’ I think our vote of 10 years ago, it cost people their lives. We know more about AIDS and addiction now … I felt that getting a second chance as a public official, even 10 years later, it was a chance I wasn’t going to waste. I was proud that night I had finally taken the right vote.”

Rosen thinks that, as with needle exchanges, a lot of the issues that look intractable now will look different over time, and that includes the movement to defund the police.

Rosen says “DefundWPD came to our meetings, and I try to listen to them,” adding that he finds policing models such as Eugene, Oregon’s — where for 31 years things such as welfare, suicide and addiction checks have been handled by a team of medics and social workers who don’t arrive armed — to be interesting. “They go out and try to defuse the situation,” he says. “We don’t always need to send out someone with a gun.

That’s what I learned from talking to people, I thought it was good for Worcester. It’s good to improve, it’s good to learn along the way. I think we’ll see better policing. You’ve got to listen. You just have to.”

JUAN MATOS

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Last Xit to Wormtown

g n i r e t a w g n i m u s s a n u k n u How an p y r a d n e g e l a e m a c hole be club overnight rock

“T

By Craig S. Semon

he light that burns twice as bright burns half as long” – Blade Runner.

On March 11, 1982, a new rock club called Xit 13 opened in the city and, almost overnight, it became the coolest place in Worcester.

But, if there’s something Worcesterites know all too well, nothing lasts forever. If you don’t believe me, drive through Kelley Square or, better yet, go down to Spag’s and wait in line for your free tomato plants.

Xit (pronounced like “exit”) 13 (meaning one more than 12) was located right off I-290, at exit 13, hence the name.

For those who never went to Xit 13, it was the coolest bar you never heard of. And, for those who did go to Xit 13, it was the coolest place the city has had in the last 40 years.

When we talk about Xit 13, we’re talking specifically the Tom Daley-Bruce Mitchell Era, which started March 11, 1982, and ended June 4, 1983. While the bar did come back for a few months with a new owner before closing for good, it wasn’t the same.

“Xit was a two-act set: ‘Xit 13,’ my thing, and ‘Xit,’ Bruce’s thing,” Daly said. “Nowadays, whenever it comes up, Bruce and I simply refer to it as ‘Xit.’ Back then though, it was two distinct yet interrelated chapters in a short torrid play directed by each of us, respectively.”

On March 18, 1982, there was a Ted Bunker article in The Evening Gazette sporting the headline, “Xit 13: new club fills the void of contemporary rock in the city.”

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Clockwise from right: San Francisco’s Flipper headlined the first night at Xit 13; Flipper was the first band to play (and destroy) Xit 13. This club listing is a great piece of nostalgia; The Odds, The Chesterfield Kings and The Slumlords flyer; Probably the most notorious show ever at Xit 13 and it was only the second night.

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“We never had any trouble. Why would we? We had Artie as our doorman, as our bouncer,” Daly said. “Who would want to mess around with Artie?”

Artie is Wormtown rock legend Arthur “Artie” Sneiderman, singer of The Actions, The Belmondos and The Crybabies. But, in the spring of ’82, Artie was merely working the door at Xit 13 and about to embark in his first band, The Slumlords.

“It’s really funny that people were scared to go to Xit because they had this image of people with knives and that they would slash them to ribbons if they came in there,” Sniederman said. “And it really was a bunch of pretty meek people for the most part. It was pretty much a live and let live crowd.”

Daly said the thing that made Xit different were these crowds of people who were not necessarily there for the

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es, a payroll company in Worcester, until his retirement in 2010, Davis was sentenced on May 11, 2016 ,to six months in federal prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and three counts of tax evasion.

Roughly two months after they both turned 21, Daly and Mitchell opened Xit 13.

“While we loved going to Ralph’s (Chadwick Square Diner), Ralph (Moberly) was like a cool dad or uncle,” Daly said. “But, at Xit 13, we were with people our own age. We were their peers. We were a club run by young people, which is, kind of, unique.”

Xit 13 quickly established itself as the city’s premiere progressive nightclub, bringing in established regional acts and giving local garage bands an opportunity to be heard and develop a fanbase.

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Boy did it ever.

And it all started in the fall of 1981 when Daly and Mitchell placed a classified ad seeking an investor for a nightclub in both the Worcester Telegram and The Evening Gazette.

“Eventually, we were contacted by a Porsche-driving Citadel grad named Gary who kept a nickel-plated revolver in his glove compartment. He handed us the keys to the bar, a decent sized check and said, ‘Have fun, just don’t burn the place down,’” Daly was quoted as saying in Wormtown’s Minister of Culture Brian Goslow’s extensive “Worcester’s Rock History,” which ran in Worcester Magazine on Oct. 26, 2006.

Gary was Gary H. Davis, Wormtown’s equivalent to Daddy Warbucks.

A former owner and president of Harpers Data Servic-

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music but because the energy was different.

“They were a different kind of person. I never saw them anywhere else throughout Greater Central Mass. or even in Boston,” Daly said. “It seemed that one or two of them would come from Ware or Charlton, Northbridge, Southbridge, Southboro and Westboro, and all of a sudden, they all came together and they found each other at this one little club on Millbury Street. And they found a place to be themselves all together.”

One of those different kind of persons was Deborah Beaudry of Southbridge.

“I went to a Billy Idol concert at E.M. Loew’s and ( future Crybabies’ bassist) Cheryle Crane’s behind me and we started chatting,” Beaudry recalled. “And she was like, ‘Oh, I have a club for you’ and she took me to Xit 13 and I was like, ‘Holy moly, mother-(expletive) (expletive)!’ It was like ‘The Island of Misfit Toys’ … It was like you were in a frigging John Hughes movie. I thought, these are my people.”

Not only did she become an Xit regular (and a prominent fixture in the Worcester rock scene), Be-

audry started working the door.

“I worked the door that time those guys came in wearing Journey T-shirts and I made them leave,” Beaudry recalled. “So they threw a brick through the window, sailed right over my frigging head … Everybody teared ass out of the club and beat the (expletive) out of them in an alley. Spike Viper (real name Carl Rasmussen) came back, he’s like, ‘I broke his ribs real good, Deb, for you.’ That was hilarious.”

Xit 13 became synonymous with “Wormtown,” the city’s growing punk rock movement of the late ‘70s-early ’80s. The club had two rooms, one with a bar, one with a large dance floor and a barely furnished stage. The torn up walls were painted black. The ceiling was made of rafters. This was all topped off by one-stall, his and her bathrooms that were, apologize for the Valley Girl speak, grody to the max.

“The bathrooms at Xit rivaled CBGB’s. People used to say CBGB had a pretty rough bathroom, which it did,” Daly said. “But Xit gave CBGB a good run for its money.”

Flipper played Xit 13’s opening

night, Thursday, March 11, 1982, along with the Freeze and Gang Green.

Daly said Flipper destroyed most of the club’s microphones.

“I vividly remember Flipper toasted every mike on the first night,” Daly said. “The only reason we were able to open the next night was because of Bob Peters (of the Blue Moon Band). Bob loaned Tom (Moore, Xit 13’s sound guy) all of the mikes of the Blue Moon Band. Bob had a lot of trust in rock ‘n’ roll back then.”

“The building used to be a furniture store and there was still a rug there, so somehow, a Freeze’s fan wrapped the singer in the rug and they were pouncing on him and he was still there with the microphone,” Goslow recalled. “And that was only night one.”

“Before the Freeze, we had these kids called Gang Green,” Mitchell added. “They were like 15 years old, five feet tall, if that. They played all their songs in 15 minutes and we had them play them again … They were awesome.”

Despite Flipper collectively flipping the bird at Xit, Daly said he knew it was going to work out.

Richard Harnois, with his band The Aggressions at Xit 13.

BRUCE MITCHELL

“I had enough faith to open a place,” Daly insisted. “I wasn’t going to let a noise rock band from San Francisco discourage us on the first night.”

Ex-New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders was scheduled to play the second night, Friday, March 12, 1982.

“Johnny Thunders was in no shape to play,” Daly said. “But, when was Johnny, God rest his soul, ever, really, in shape to play.”

“Johnny Thunders came. He ended up not playing,” Mitchell added. “We offered refunds to the crowd. Everybody refused it. They had fun anyways.”

“A whopping $6 cover charge,” Daly snapped, “it helped us buy mikes for the following week.”

Boston legends The Neighborhoods and Worcester legends The Odds both played during the second weekend, on Friday, March 19, 1982.

“The Neighborhoods were getting ready to set up and the drummer, Carl Coletti, was setting up his drums,” Wormtown Mayor L.B. Worm (real name Leonard B. Saarinen) recalled. “Somebody upstairs dropped an M-80 through the ceiling and it landed right in his lap but it didn’t go off. He just jumped up really quick, waiting for it to explode but it never did.”

During their first year with Henry Rollins as its singer, Black Flag also played Xit. “Not only did Black Flag play Xit, they stayed with us at our house and Tom (Daly) and I helped book their first two East Coast tours,” Moore said. “And, Spot, who was their road manager, completely demolished their touring van, slid-

ing all the way down Vernon Hill in an ice storm, the night after they played at Xit. I went and rescued Scott out of the flipped van and all the band’s gear.”

On its “Hootenanny” tour, The Replacements played Sunday, April 24, 1983, at Xit to Daly, Artie and four other people.

“I was one of the six people there that night. It was pouring rain. The Replacements hadn’t really broken yet,” Sneiderman recalled. “They played their hearts out. They were great that night … I think they pulled out stuff they didn’t usually do and had a good time.”

Touring behind their I.R.S.-fulllength debut “Roman Gods,” The Fleshtones was another memorable show at Xit 13. How memorable? Sneiderman insists the Fleshtones was the best show ever at Xit, followed by the Lyres, his most favorite band in the world.

“Xit was the best place in Worcester if you wanted to see a punk rock show,” Worm said. “It was so popular that the bands from Boston were coming out to play there. No problem. There was no place like it.”

“Before Xit, we were spending a lot of our lives going back and forth to Boston for four or five years. So it was great when suddenly you could bring punk bands to Worcester. It was a heck of a lot easier,” Goslow said. “Tom (Daly) pretty much booked everybody that he could get. So the first month or two schedules were amazing, in some cases, even better than what was being booked in Boston at the time.”

JJ Rassler of the Odds said Xit helped create “a scene” in Worces-

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ter.

“A scene isn’t just one place. A scene has to have competition. It has to have a counter-point. It has to have a reflection in the mirror,” Rassler said. “CBGB wouldn’t have been as popular if there wasn’t Max’s Kansas City. It takes two.

And, if Ralph’s was Max’s Kansas City, then Xit was definitely CBGB. I really liked the atmosphere at Xit and I liked the guys who ran it.”

local bands than any other while bringing in top-flight bands from all over the Northeast, including The Aggressions, Ashcan School, Band of Outsiders, Blue Moon Band, the Chain Reaction, the Chesterfield Kings, Creatures of Habit, Dangerous Birds, The Del Fuegos, the Dial-Tones, Fear, Hi Beams, The Hopelessly Obscure, Holy Cow & the Calves, Johnny Thunders, Limbo Race, Lou Miami

Primitive Romance at Xit 13.

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and the Kozmetix, The Lynch Mob, The Lyres, Mission of Burma, Muffy & the Patriots, The Neats, The Neighborhoods, The Outskirts, Peter Dayton Band, Plan 9, The Post Moderns, Prefab Messiahs, The Prime Movers, Radio Novena, the Replacements, Rubber Rodeo, Salem 66, Sex Execs, The Slumlords, Smegma and the Nunz, The Solicitors, the Unattached, Wayne Kramer ( formerly of MC5) and Willie “Loco” Alexander.

“We gave bands a chance because we were young and we were given a chance,” Daly said, “We saw that there was an unmet need and we met that need and, obviously, on the first night it was jammed.

There were a lot of nights when it was empty but there were a lot of nights that it was jammed full.”

“Xit was our clubhouse,” Mitchell said. “It was an opportunity to see the bands that we wanted to see by having our own club. We got to book them. If we wanted to see Black Flag, we booked Black Flag. If we wanted to see Mission of Burma, we booked Mission of Burma.”

Mitchell said he was especially

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Beth LaFrenier was a cocktail waitress at Xit, who sometimes helped at the door.

“When Tom and Bruce had it going, Xit was all about punk rock and alternative music, showcasing a lot of local talent and also getting some big names in town like Flipper, Black Flag and Mission of Burma,” LaFrenier said. “I just remember dancing the night away and the good camaraderie. Xit was a place where you could cut loose and have a good time.”

Doug Geer was a 16-year-old attending Doherty Memorial High School when he first played Xit 13 with his band, The Performers.

“At first, when the punk bands got together, we were playing in people’s basements or renting out Legion halls. So when Xit 13 came along, it was like we had a home,” Geer said. “What balls they (Daly and Mitchell) had to do something like that at that time. I didn’t know how to play an (expletive) instrument. They gave our band a shot and a year later, I put out a record.”

Xit 13 gained the reputation as the most progressive club in Worcester, booking more original

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fond of all the local acts.

“They weren’t always headliners, quite often they were openers,” Mitchell said before rattling off several local acts. “I have a special place in my heart for the Aggressions. God bless them. They were awesome and good people, just good people. Whenever they played, always memorable.”

“Many people did not realize this, but I was dirt poor, all the time,” Mitchell said. “For one thing, people robbed us blind. Every band raided the cooler downstairs because I didn’t bother to lock it, like duh. You turn your back and things disappear from the bar.

Week two, poof, my camera’s gone.

And I couldn’t afford to replace

Top, Xit 13 regulars, from left, Murp Murphy, Ed Gopoyan, Beth LaFrenier and Kenneth Mahan.

Gang Green comprised, from left, Chris Doherty, Mike Dean and Bill Manley. It was the first band that played Xit 13.

PHOTOS/BRUCE MITCHELL

The first incarnation of Xit 13 closed in early June.

“I was exhausted,” Daly insisted.

“That was it. I was an exhausted 21-year-old guy.”

In October of 1982, Mitchell reopened the newly crowned Xit with a new color scheme, red and blue, instead of black and white.

Despite the Wormtown Press giving Xit 13 its “Niteclub of the Year Award” in 1983, the DalyMitchell Era ended on Saturday, June 4, 1983, with The Odds and The Chain Reaction playing “a private party to drink the bar dry.”

that. That’s why there are not too many pictures. If there was money in it, I would have kept doing it.

There was no money in it, just love, just rock ‘n’ roll.”

“Why does something that meteorically rises like the Sex Pistols burn out after one album?” Daly asked. “Sometimes people collectively come together and they create something and a tidal wave occurs and then it dissipates real quickly. That’s, kind of, what Xit was. We had our holiday in the sun and we took it. We also knew when to bow out.”

CITY LIFE If you are an artist, or know of a local artist, email WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com. Fair warning, in order to publish your work, you’ll need to provide a small bio and high resolution digital copies of some of your art. We reserve the right to choose what will run, based on resolution and what will reproduce best on newsprint.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

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kinton who has been consistently creating art for his whole life. He paints in his shed that was converted into a studio. Ristaino’s current series is best described as psychedelic stained glass effect. Most of the pieces contain abstract images of people and animals.

Check out his Facebook page at https://m.facebook.com/CarlRistaino/.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Carl Ristaino is an artist from Hop-

CITY LIFE

LIFESTYLE

Virtual learning expands opportunities to host guest speakers in the classroom SARAH CONNELL SANDERS

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ducators have always been expected to adapt to novel situations, but 2020 has demanded levels of resilience I find downright absurd.

In a rush to recreate the comforts of in-person instruction, some teachers across the country regressed to outdated methodology like lecturing. Others used the disruption of COVID-19 as a way to help students document their thought processes and take part in developing a student-centered virtual curriculum.

The latter was no easy feat.

In situations of instability and vulnerability, I look to my most innovative colleagues for guidance. Last week, Burncoat Middle School teachers Andrea Cook and Amy Chacharone welcomed me into their summer school classroom. The Zoom lesson I witnessed not only eased my anxiety about the coming year, it stirred excitement for the possibilities ahead.

“It has been surprisingly easy to build rapport,” said Cook, adding, “We’ve never actually met some of these kids in real life.”

Students begin class with a physical activity like an academic scavenger hunt before greeting a special guest from the community. Chacharone expressed surprise at how simple it has been to arrange for Zoom visitors who can impart formative stories and advice from the comforts of their own homes or offices. The students meet four days a week as part of a program funded by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, awarded to BMS, where Mary Scully is the principal.

Last week’s guest was City Councilor Sean Rose, for whom students had prepared a wide range of insightful questions. Rose praised them, saying he felt, “inspired by youth who pay attention.”

The virtual forum provided a

Burncoat Middle School students and staff members prepare for guest speaker City Councilor Sean Rose to join them on Zoom.

SARAH CONNELL SANDERS

surprising layer of comfort for both youth and adults, some of whom sat alone in their bedrooms while others were joined by siblings, parents and pets at their kitchen tables. Rose told students that because he had grown up without great financial means, it was important for him to offer a vision of what a “poor kid” can become. “You can’t assume anything about anyone,” he told the group of 12- and 13-year-olds who nodded along encouragingly.

He painted a dramatic picture of his first run for office when data analysts told him that he would lose by 100 votes.”My district had never elected a person of color before,” he told the class, “On election night I kept to myself while my supporters were gathered in the next room. I was so worried about having to give a concession speech that I couldn’t bring myself to join the party. Then, I looked out the window and saw my opponent walking across the parking

lot to come congratulate me.” It was at that moment he knew he had won. “Don’t ever put a cap on what you think your greatest accomplishment will be,” he concluded.

When asked to leave the class with some parting wisdom, Rose said, “The best advice I ever got is that education is like real estate — it increases in value and no one can take it away from you.”

I exited the meeting feeling refreshed and hopeful for the creative

and collaborative opportunities in our future. Education will persist, but we can’t be stubborn in thinking it will look like it used to. Would you want your doctor to use the “best practices” of a decade ago? I wouldn’t. As far as I’m concerned, the same goes for teaching. I can’t wait to see what this school year holds as educators like Cook and Chacharone lead the way.

CITY LIFE

TABLE HOPPIN’

Harry’s waitress marks half century of service BARBARA M. HOULE

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eborah Foster vividly remembers the first time she met Harry Cohen, founder of Harry’s Restaurant in Westboro.

tions of customers. One of the best waitresses ever!”

Work has shifted for a lot of people due to the coronavirus pandemic, including Foster who recently retired. She said her decision was voluntary. “I love the restaurant

Foster recalled her worst day in food service happened more than 25 years ago when a customer came into the restaurant to ask travel directions. “When I tried to help out he abruptly told me that he didn’t take directions from a woman. I’ll

Deborah Foster has been a waitress for 50 years at Harry’s Restaurant in Westboro. She retired in June.

CHRISTINE PETERSON

Worcester Tech student wins scholarship

Georgina Gutierrez Galan, a 2020 graduate of Worcester Technical High School, received a $2,000 scholarship from the Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub, awarded this

month at the 2020 Massachusetts Restaurant Association’s Ernie Tremblay Drive-In Scholarship Awards Gala in Saugus. Due to COVID-19, the MRAEF event was an alternative to the annual scholarship gala.

Gutierrez Galan will attend Johnson & Wales University in Providence in the fall. At Worcester Technical High School she was a student in the culinary arts program and also worked at Ed Hyder’s Mediterranean Marketplace in Worcester. She was on the team from Worcester Technical High School that competed at the 2020 Massachusetts ProStart Invitational held in March, sponsored by MRAEF. The team took first place for best appetizer and second place overall for menu. Judging criteria included how well the students worked together as a team, menu, food costs and taste.

Gutierrez Galan was her team’s main competitor.

Chef/instructor Kimberly Youkstetter at Worcester Technical High School who mentors students said Gutierrez Galan worked hard and showed dedication to the trade and the culinary team. “She was relaxed and fun to be around. A true professional and great student,” said Youkstetter.

Congrats, Georgina!

If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.

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never forget it, but I believe the good outweighs the bad.

“Harry’s Restaurant is an iconic mom-and-pop kind of place,” said Foster. “The meals and desserts are made from scratch and made with love.”

She rattled off belly plate ( fried whole clams), seafood, corned beef zippy with onion rings, burgers, beef liver, meatloaf and American chop suey as a few menu favorites. “I tell friends that Harry’s American chop suey is almost as good as mine,” said Foster with a grin. “Oh, and the restaurant’s pot roast melts in your mouth. I really mean it’s that good.”

A New England diner favorite, grape nut custard pudding is one of the restaurant’s classic sweet treats.

Foster said Harry Cohen made the desserts when she first started working. “Harry’s puddings were my very favorite, and I had the habit of put-

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and the people, and I plan to pop in to say hello whenever I can,” Foster said. “As a senior and with the pandemic health risks I knew it was finally time to leave.”

A Westboro resident “all her life,” Foster admits food service is hard work, but also rewarding and even fun. She raised two children while working day shifts at the restaurant, waiting tables and cashing out customers.

Being a waiter or waitress requires diplomacy, the ability to interact with a variety of personalities and a good memory, according to this longtime worker. “We all get our share of cranky customers,” said Foster, admitting she became more relaxed on the job as years passed.

It has been her experience, she said, that a cranky customer turns into a different person once served coffee or food.

Kevin Layton, chef instructor/department head at Worcester Technical High School, with scholarship recipient Georgina Gutierrez Galan.

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“I was a single mom looking for a job and the restaurant was just a few miles from my home,” said Foster.

“It was summer when I walked into the restaurant and Harry asked me to fill out a 3x5 card. I had zero food experience and didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “Harry looked at the card, turned to me and asked, ‘Can you start tomorrow night?’”

In June, Foster celebrated 50 years as a waitress at Harry’s Restaurant.

Deborah (“Deb,” “Debbie”) Foster is more than your average waitress, and that’s for sure, according to Janine Sander, who manages the restaurant with Suzanne Ryan, also a manager. “Customers love Debbie, we love her. She’s family,” said Sander, a 31-year employee of the restaurant. She described Foster as a kind, humble and compassionate person.

“If Debbie has a day off, customers ask where she is and when she’s coming back. She has served genera-

ting some in a little dish and spoon tasting it,” said Foster. “Well, maybe I did more than one tasting in a shift and Harry joked, ‘We’re not making puddings anymore when you’re here.’

He really was a great guy. I’m lucky to have worked with Harry and then his son Jon.” Harry Cohen’s son Jon Cohen and wife Linda are current owners of the eatery. Visit www.harrysrestaurant. com for the family’s story and more info about the restaurant.

Foster has an awesome collection of memories she has put together in a photo book. Newspaper clippings about the restaurant, owners, awards, parties, distinguished guests, employee weddings, you name it.

“Retired, I’m trying to put things in order,” said Foster. “You know how you toss things into a box and sort of forget about them?”

Foster’s love for travel has been put on hold as a result of COVID-19, and these days she spends time in her yard and getting things done around the house. She also likes to get together with friends and family.

She has two granddaughters and one great-granddaughter.

Harry’s is one of the countless restaurants that has had to change their operations amid the pandemic, according to Sander, who said limited staff now serves customers at several inside tables and on the new outdoor patio.

Hours at Harry’s Restaurant, 149 Turnpike Road, Westboro, are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Telephone (508) 366-8302. Takeout and curbside service available.

“I definitely will miss the people I worked with and the customers,” said Foster about retirement. “The restaurant was like a second home.”

Foster may have hung up the apron, but it’s a sure bet she will join the celebration when Harry’s Restaurant observes its 75th anniversary in April 2021.

It’s all about family, after all.

Wishing Debbie a healthy and happy retirement!

CITY LIFE

THE NEXT DRAFT

Raise a glass to accord between breweries, distributors MATTHEW TOTA

FILE PHOTO/MAT T WRIGHT

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ay we have a brewery, call it Sully-Tota Brewing Co., and signed a deal with a distributor in January, but now that wholesaler wants to move away from craft beer into more wine and spirits, we can’t just leave.”

Keith Sullivan, co-founder of Medusa Brewing and the vice president of the Massachusetts Brews Guild, was explaining the crux of his industry’s decade-long dispute with wholesalers over distributions rights.

Although I was disappointed Sullivan didn’t choose a cooler name for our fantasy brewery, I did not miss his point: The current law locks breweries into lifetime contracts with wholesalers after a mere six months of doing business. They can only end the relationship if they show “good cause,” which is a tiny list of difficult-to-prove conditions, such as a distributor disparaging their products or showing preferential treatment to a competing brand.

Distributors, meanwhile, wield all the power. They can woefully underserve a brewery, to the point of doing the bare minimum to market its beer, and can even buy and sell the brand to other distributors without permission. Trapped in a failing marriage without the possibility of divorce, the brewer has had no choice but to take it.

Change, though, has arrived in the form of a compromise. Breweries and wholesalers have ended their dispute — as old as Wormtown Brewery — and finally agree on the best way to part ways. The proposal allows breweries producing fewer than 250,000 barrels (about 3.4 million cases) a year to end their relationship with a distributor as long as they give 30 days’ notice and pay “fair market value” for their brand rights.

With the legislative session closing Friday, the two sides worked with lawmakers to quickly get a bill to the State House, which the Senate approved last week. The House expects to vote Thursday (depending on when you read this column, the vote may have already taken place). Assuming the bill passes the House and Gov. Charlie Baker signs it, the new

law would take effect immediately.

As craft beer consumers, we should applaud this accord. We should urge our local representatives in the House to approve the changes to this archaic law; you can do so online at the Massachusetts Brewers Guild Take Action page. And if by the time you see this, the bill has already passed, send them a letter of thanks and offer to buy them a beer at their taproom of choice, or mail them a four-pack of their favorite brew.

The new law matters because it will benefit the state’s smallest breweries the most. They are fearful of signing a contract with a wholesaler because of how the current law works or already trapped in a deteriorating relationship with one.

Indeed, Jack’s Abby co-founder Jack Hendler once described choosing a bad distributor as “the kiss of death” for a small brewer.

“That relationship between brewer and wholesaler is very important.

And a lot of breweries have been afraid to get into it,” Sullivan said.

With the pandemic closing their taprooms for months, breweries have had to rely more on their relationship

with their wholesalers. Breweries lost that crucial on-premise market and are only just getting it back. In the interim they turned to curbside and to-go sales, and for many of them, wide distribution was not an option.

Some have been waiting for a change like this to jump to distribution or move from self-distribution to a wholesaler, according to Sullivan.

“What you’ll see in terms of activity will be more breweries seeking a new partnership, because they’re tired of self-distributing or business is drying up because of COVID,” he said. “I know of breweries that have been waiting for this. They’ve got a distributor in mind, and as soon as this bill passes, they will start those discussions.”

The 250,000-barrel cap included in the bill applies to 99% of the state’s breweries, including what I’d consider larger operations like Harpoon Brewery and Wachusett Brewing Co. The notable exception is Boston Beer Co., which brewed more than 5 million barrels of brands like Samuel Adams and Truly Hard Seltzer

last year. A big reason the deal got done was Boston Beer founder Jim Koch opting to step down from the negotiations. The number of barrels a brewery must produce annually had proven the main sticking point.

The MBG historically has pushed for 6 million barrels a year, which meets the Brewers Association’s definition of small and independent brewers.

“You’ll have the Harpoons of the world, the Wachusetts, the Jack’s Abbys and the Night Shifts, all breweries well under the cap that still have the flexibility and autonomy to make the right decisions concerning distribution for their businesses,” said Joe Salois, president of Auburn’s Atlas Distributing Inc. It also protects Atlas from a brewer on the scale of Boston Beer leaving, which would be devastating for the company.

When the law changes, though, Salois doesn’t see breweries suddenly cutting ties with their distributors en masse. “It absolutely could happen; the law gives the brewers the right to leave if they choose to. But I don’t see that happening,” he said. “I only see

the relationships we have with our brewer partners. We wake up every day and try to provide great service and build relationships for our brewers. When they’re successful, we can be, too.”

If anything, the law will put distributors on notice: Make sure you’re treating your breweries well and working as hard you can to promote their brand, or they’ll take their talents elsewhere.

“The wholesalers will have to adapt a little bit to having even more brands to represent. You may even see more wholesalers pop up — especially smaller models that focus on smaller breweries,” Sullivan said. “It also puts the pressure on the distributors to perform.”

And I welcome a flood of new beer on the shelves. In some ways, breweries do, too, Sullivan said. It’s good competition.

“You’re going to have a lot more breweries willing to go wholesale, so the beer is going be even better,” he said. “The distributors are going to get even pickier. Competition will increase in a positive way for everyone involved.”

CITY LIFE

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KATIE FORAN - MCHALE TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE “Deadwater Fell”: Four-part British critically acclaimed Netflix mystery follows an investigation series comes to an end in the after a murder in a sleepy Scottish top new DVD releases for the town. Stars David Tennant and Cush week of July 28.

“Orange Is the New Black: Sea- Jumbo.

“End of Sentence”: A man (Logan son 7”: It’s wild to think about now, but Jenji Kohan’s “Orange Is The New Lerman) heads to Ireland to scatter his mother’s ashes with his estranged Black” premiered as Netflix’s third father (John Hawkes). In English and original series in July 2013, months Icelandic. after the now-disgraced “House of “Fisherman’s Friends”: Much Cards” and the largely forgotten “Hemlock Grove.” Originally the story to the surprise of the jaded music exec that signed them, an English of Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), countryside musical group scores a a privileged 30-something white woman who ends up in upstate New big hit. Stars James Purefoy, Meadow Nobrega and David Hayman.

York’s Litchfield Penitentiary after getting caught for moving drug mon- “Hawaii Five-0”: The reboot of the classic CBS Hawaii-set detective ey for her international drug smugseries says its final aloha. gler girlfriend, Alex Vause (Laura Prepon), the series was groundbreak- “James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction”: The Academy ing in its storytelling centering on queer women, Black and Black trans Award-winning director interviews legendary sci-fi directors and stars in women, Latina women and other marginalized populations. The series this AMC documentary series.

“Legacy of Lies”: An ex-British spy really found its footing after moving on from Piper’s melodramas to these (Scott Adkins) searches for the truth behind a Russian operation. far richer and more complicated “NCIS: The Seventeenth Season”: stories.

The crime series returns just after In the series’ final season, which Special Agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon) premiered in July 2019, we see how has been told his life is in danger.

Piper’s life struggles to bounce “The Other Lamb”: A young woman back after being released early from (Raffey Cassidy) begins to question prison, a cake walk compared to the motives behind the cult in which many of the other former and curshe has grown up. rent incarcerated women’s lives.

“The Outsider: The First Season”: The women most involved with the The hit HBO series based on the prison’s uprising after the murder Stephen King novel follows an invesof Poussey (Samira Wiley), crushed tigation that sprouts supernatural to death by a police officer, have faced far greater consequences. Daya elements.

(Dashca Polanco) is now a killer; Red OUT ON DIGITAL HD JULY 28 “Deep Blue Sea 3”: Dr. Emma (Kate Mulgrew) is losing her mind, Collins (Tania Raymonde) and her asunable to be reached by her formal sociates return to Little Happy island rival Gloria (Selenis Leyva); Taystee to study sharks as a suspicious team (Danielle Brooks) has lost her spirit. puts all their lives in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, a sinister evil lurks: ICE has opened a holding pen adjoined to “Nose to Tail”: A chef with anger issues (Aaron Abrams) must save his Litchfield, where women, including high-end restaurant by playing nice Maritza (Diane Guerrero), live in with the investors who could help another kind of prison as they are picked up one by one for their depor- him.

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CITY LIFE

ADOPTION OPTION Welcome to Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League highlighting their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes.WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at (508) 853-0030.

EAST DOUGLAS PHOTOGRAPHY

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Meet Milo! Milo was surrendered for litter box issues. Although the owner wrote that Milo liked the other cat, the man also stated that Milo peed in the tub because he couldn’t get to the litter box. We think Milo needs a fresh start as a neutered male in a new home without other pets. Milo is a typical yearling: he explores and naps then explores again. Give him lots of window seats so he can see what’s going on outside.

WARL COVID-19 Procedures As of March 25, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, we want to share with you some changes we have implemented so that we can continue to serve the pets and people of our community while keeping our team protected.

• ADOPTIONS: At this time, adoptions are being held BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. If you are interested in adoption, please visit our website worcesterarl.org/adopt/ to learn more about our available animals then call us at (508) 853-0030 ext.0 or email us at info@worcesterarl.org to schedule an appointment.

• Casual visits to the shelter are prohibited.

We will strictly enforce this in order to keep our animal care team protected while still maintaining the most essential function of our operation... finding homes for animals in need.

• ANIMAL SURRENDERS: Our business practice for surrendering a pet remains the same. All pet

owners must contact WARL in advance of surrendering a pet. Please call (508) 853-0030.

• SPAY/NEUTER CLINICS: All scheduled appointments will be honored. If you have a scheduled appointment, we will be contacting you to discuss changes to our drop off/pick up procedures.

• DONATIONS: We will not be accepting linens of any kind or used, stuffed dog toys. While we are grateful for your thoughtfulness, we will not accept these donations if brought to the shelter.

• Pet food, cat litter, and other shelter supplies will be essential in continuing to provide for our animals and to assist community members in need. To avoid unnecessary travel and exposure, items can be purchased online from our Amazon Wishlist - https://www.amazon.com/gp/ registry/wishlist/3AX342JIL73M0 • Weekly training classes are suspended until further notice.

• The WARL Volunteer Program is temporarily suspended. All regular volunteer shifts are on

hold. We look forward to welcoming you back as soon as we can.

We have many animals in our care who depend on us to stay healthy and well. The above measures help to protect our staff and community from the spread of COVID - 19 by minimizing face-to-face interactions while continuing to operate only core essential services. Please continue to follow our Facebook page for additional updates. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the shelter at (508) 853-0030 or info@worcesterarl.org.

Thank you for your continued FURiendship and support.

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By Matt Jones

Across 1 4 9 13 14 15 17 19 20 21 23 25 26 27 28 32 34 36 37 41 42 43 46 47 50 51 53 55

62 64 65 66 67 68 69

Down

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Chris Defensive specialist in volleyball Cyclops feature Did some videoconferencing, maybe Passing remarks?

Hold up Operatic solo “Shepherd Moons” Grammy winner Online crafts marketplace Christopher Robin’s “silly old bear” Ending for pepper

Last week's solution

©2020 Matt Jones (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com) Reference puzzle #999

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1 Pale imitation

7 8 9

Passionate fan Fine specimens Teensy invader Salad with bacon and egg Waltz violinist Andre with PBS specials “Colors” rapper Profoundness Oscar winner for playing Cyrano de Bergerac in 1950 Basic travel path Closet-organizing device Dance in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” $100 bills, slangily It has a bed and a floor Period of importance Garbage bag brand Pac-12 athlete Long ride to the dance Laundry piles Kindling-making tools Paris’s Rue de la ___ Barber’s cut No longer worried Villainous sort Name of anonymity Melville sailor Billy Litter Lined up British singer-songwriter

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J U LY 30 - A U G U S T 5, 2020

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LAST CALL

Nicole Coleman artist and activist DYLAN AZARI

want our lives respected. We don’t want our people to be brutalized and murdered without consequence. We want to be treated like human beings because that’s what we are. And we believe that all humans should be treated equally with respect and dignity.

Thank you for your willingness to be vulnerable and speak the truth. What can you tell me about the damage done to the mural?

I am not a professional assessor.

But, I can see that people did burnouts. There is a fairly significant amount of damage done to part of the “L.” There are burnouts all the way down and it does look like there might be feces in the middle of one of the letters. That’s all I can tell from just walking down and checking it out. People are definitely trying to come against it.

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How did you get involved with the mural?

I had been in contact with Che Anderson about what we’ve been doing in the city around the Black Lives Matter movement and what we should do next. He hipped me to the fact that there were talks of a BLM mural. I said, “You

What was the energy like while you were painting?

It was like a cookout. It was like a family reunion. Many of the people I had never met before in my life, but it seemed like we had known each other for years. I told them, “I feel like I’ve known you forever.” That’s just kind of how artists operate. We could all be from different places, different spaces, but we’re on the same wavelength. Creativity is what brings us together.

I saw you speak at the “Say Her Name” rally where you spoke about healing as a Black community. How can we as a society begin to overcome the fear and anger that you’re faced with as a Black woman every day?

It’s been really interesting, especially as a Black female femme artist. For me, art has been my one sanctuary. It doesn’t really depend on the medium. It could be music, could be painting, could be dance.

Art has been my saving grace for my whole life. And it’s always been an area where I felt like I could be Black out-loud, you know?

And even though people try to discourage Black female femme artists, our work is pivotal to this movement and it provides us with a space to release energy into our art we don’t want to keep bottled inside. We’re so strongly rooted in our culture and our heritage.

Recently, especially after painting this mural and seeing the amount of hate that’s come against it, it’s been really challenging. The Black

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

What is your history with Worcester?

I was born at UMass Memorial on February 10th, 1986. I’ve lived in other cities. I spent time in Southern California, New York, and down in Tennessee, but something always brings me back. There’s no place like the Woo.

know, man, you just let me know however I can help.” I didn’t know that would turn into me actually being one of the main artists for this project. I’m not mad about it!

I’ve been an artist since I was 6, and I’ve done smaller-scale wall murals, but nothing of this size or on pavement. This was definitely a really special experience on a multitude of levels.

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icole Coleman designed and painted the “B” in Worcester’s Black Lives Matter mural on Major Taylor Boulevard. On Friday, Coleman caught up with Worcester Magazine over the phone while she inspected the damage to the mural incurred by a vandal just hours before.

What does the future look like for you as both an activist and an artist?

I am doing everything I can to be a part of the progress. I’m hoping to create more public art here in the city and get more involved in the arts community. I’ve traveled experience is so filled with hardship and with struggle and with a so much over the last few years. lot of difficult mental health issues This is the first time I’ve really felt like, “Okay. This is where I’m most that we don’t discuss publicly. needed and this is my home.” I’m There’s generational trauma that hoping to help build some comexists within the Black commumunity spaces and work with peonity here in America. It’s hard to ple I’ve met around the country on deal with that on its own, and even harder when you wrap up the nonprofit work to increase unity and inclusion. I wrote, “Choose hateful things that are being said and done to us and about us daily. love, not hate,” in the middle of my The artistic outlets where I can go piece for a reason. I think that hate and feel free are now under attack is so divisive and it’s really a tool of evil. Love can do such incredibly too. I really just want people to powerful things. Even this mural understand that saying, “Black project alone showed that people Lives Matter,” is not a statement from all different backgrounds of superiority. It’s a statement of and cultures could come together acknowledgment. We are saying, “Please make note of what we have to create something with a really beautiful message and to celebrate done to contribute in so many Black life and Black heritage and different areas of this country. culture. That’s what means the We’ve helped build this country most to me, not the people out along with other BIPOC groups here trying to create division and of people. We are a part of what tear others apart. My career, my makes America beautiful. We life, my mission, and my legacy are are part of what makes America dedicated to cultivating love and ‘great.’ America can’t be great without Black people.” That’s what togetherness.

– Sarah Connell Sanders we’re trying to tell y’all. We just

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