NOVEMBER 5 - 11, 2020 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
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Taking flight Bald eagles are soaring in Worcester County
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N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020 • V O L U M E 46 I S S U E 11 Find us on Facebook.com/worcestermag Twitter @worcestermag Instagram: Worcestermag
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Featured ......................................................................................4 City Voices.................................................................................10 Cover Story ...............................................................................12 Artist Spotlight .......................................................................15 Connell Sanders......................................................................16 Table Hoppin’...........................................................................17 Screen Time..............................................................................18 Listen Up....................................................................................18 The Next Draft..........................................................................19 Adoption Option ....................................................................20 Games .........................................................................................21 Classifieds .................................................................................22 Last Call .....................................................................................23
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the cover Taking Flight: Eagles making a soaring return to Worcester County Story on page 12 File photo by Christine Peterson; Design by Kimberly Vasseur
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Lydia Fortune still singing The Blues RICHARD DUCKET T
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N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
n January, a new show featuring Worcester singer-songwriter Lydia Fortune titled “Bessie, Billie and the Blues” sold out at Carter 19 in Berlin. With Roland Ochsenbein, keyboards, Tim Fiehler, bass, and Pat “Hatrack” Gallagher, harmonica, Fortune explores the music, lives and influence of legendary blues singers Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday. “It allows me to sing the music I really love,” Fortune said. Things were getting rolling. Then, of course, the pandemic stalled matters.
“We’re kind of waiting on it until things blow over because we were just getting started,” Fortune said. But although she noted that right now, “I’m just starting to get out a little bit. I’m kind of lying low,” Fortune has still been singing the blues. That shouldn’t be a surprise since her soulful voice has been delivering not just the blues but also jazz, folk, spirituals, pop, country and more to delighted audiences in the Worcester area since the 1970s. On Aug. 5 she did get out to the Senior Center in Worcester where Stephen A. Bourassa of the The New England Jazz Enrichment Foundation and organizer of the Worcester Jazz Festival filmed some segments
from “Bessie, Billie and the Blues” that have appeared on local cable TV and video on demand. Fortune was scheduled to be back at the Worcester Senior Center Nov. 4 to record a holiday song with Bourassa’s band. At home, she’s been working on a project with The Black Women’s Creative Group telling the real story of Bethany Veney, who was born into slavery and wrote “Aunt Betty’s Story: The Narrative of Betty Veney, A Slave Woman.” Tina E. Gaffney of the group called Fortune a storyteller through her musical work. When it comes to music, “I call myself eclectic,” Fortune said. “I
love all of it. I’ve done all of it in Worcester.” Fortune didn’t start out in Worcester. Her parents were from South Carolina where they were both members of choral groups. Her father was in the Army, and the family traveled the country to various postings. Along with being from a musical family, “I listened to the radio and I really took a love to music,” Fortune said. “I ended up in Worcester in the 1970s.” She initially made an impression audiences here singing folk music, including for the former Summer’s World.
Lydia Fortune SUBMIT TED PHOTO
Meanwhile, Fortune helped form a local R&B band called Broken Ground and performed as an independent jazz soloist. She was also a featured vocalist for the Crown Hill Jazz Sextet and later joined Worcester jazz pianist Jim Heffernan to form the Heffernan/Fortune Trio. In 2000, she teamed up with husband-and-wife duo Dan and Gail Hunt and they backed her as Lydia Fortune & Company on her first recording, “Songs from the Road,” which earned Fortune Best New Artist in the 2001 Worcester Wormtown Sound Awards. The CD featured 10 original songs and established her as a singer/songwriter. Her second CD, “All Over the Map” (2003), succeed in further blurring musical lines. The nine cover tunes highlighted her ability to create fresh new approaches to old tunes, while the four originals served to sharpen her songwriting skills. From 2007-2009 Fortune was featured as a jazz vocalist with the Paul Combs Pocket Big Band. There have been other bands, gigs and venues along the way. In 2010 she and local guitarist Phil Nigro formed a songwriting team writing and performing original material that borrows from folk, blues and jazz. Fortune and Nigro opened for “An Evening with Dr. Maya Angelou” at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts in 2012. Angelou acknowledged their performance as she took the stage, earning the duo a second round of enthusiastic applause. “That was the thrill of a lifetime,” Fortune said. She is also a former host for the John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse open mic series. “I’ve been all over the city,” Fortune said. Outside of music, Fortune began her professional career serving in the Navy and later was director of multicultural studies at Clark University and is a retired professional mediator. She’s watched the events of 2020 unfold, including calls for racial justice and the rise of Black Lives Matter countered by overt racism. “Black Lives Matter — I understand where that’s coming from. The biggest thing is not wanting to be killed and not wanting to be disrespected,” Fortune said.
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glad I’m living here, but I know that there is racism,� Fortune said. “I  feel unsafe with people that are looking for trouble. But I’m old so people leave me alone.� Returning to the subject of her musical career, Fortune was asked if she had ever wanted to make singing a full-time professional endeavor. “I think about it. My issue is I feel music. I don’t really read it,� she said. “In some bands we had some promoters, but generally they’d get on my nerves. I was in an R&B band doing pretty good. We were doing some jazz and we had two singers.� But a promoter “wanted us to wear these slinky gowns.� This idea did not sit well with Fortune. She told the promoter, “I’m here to provide my music. I’m not here to provide my body. Why don’t you wear one?� That ended the conversation. “I’m a little bit too independent. So that was that,� she said.  She didn’t like arguing about it, however. “I was a professional mediator. I help people resolve fights without getting into them. I was just too shy to go after anything professional.�  With that, Worcester has been a good place to be for an eclectic singer-songwriter who is still singing and collaborating. “Worcester has such a fantastic music community. I know a lot of musicians from different genres,� Fortune said. It was Ochsenbein, a well-known area keyboardist, who approached Fortune about putting together what has become “Bessie, Billie and the Blues.� “Roland said ‘How would you like to do a show with me?’ and I just jumped at it,� Fortune said.
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N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
 Alongside protests have come people from racist groups deliberately burning buildings or breaking windows to make it look as if these were the actions of Black Lives Matter supporters, she noted. “There are set-ups. It’s scary,� Fortune said. “What worries me now are those who set out to create a distraction.� When she was in the Navy, “I saw organized racism from the top down,� she recalled. However, “the racial tension in the country is growing. It’s been an underlying thing that’s been growing since the ’80s.�  In the 1990s she saw increasing images of Black people in films “being perceived as thugs.� Some people told Fortune it was a way for an actor to make a living, but “I pay attention to what people say and do.� In Worcester, “It’s a real mixed bag,� she said. “I think things were kind of getting better in terms of connecting with kids.� Racism can come in many forms. Fortune knows of one regular at John Henry’s Hammer who was targeted in a violent act unrelated to the coffeehouse because he was Jewish. Not too long ago, Fortune said, she inadvertently drove through a red light and the police officer who stopped her was pleasant enough about it, telling her to “pay attention next time.� But in the 1990s, Fortune remembers driving the wrong way down a one-way street and “an officer chased me and got out of his car with his hand on his gun.� His manner was very confrontational. “He just wanted to egg me on,� Fortune said. Still, in Worcester, “I feel safer than I would in other places. I’m
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Holy Cross examines its foundations built on Native American settlement VEER MUDAMBI
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ith the 400th anniversary year of the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620, it is fitting that the College of the Holy Cross celebrate this keystone year in American history. After all, it is situated on Pakachoag Hill — or “where the river bends,” in the native Massachusett language. Didn’t know there was a river there? Well, you aren’t alone. When Sara Luria, director of environmental studies and professor of English at Holy Cross, started teaching the course, “The Story of Here,” students didn’t even know there was a river at the bottom of the hill. Interstate 290 used to hide the Blackstone River, before access
was restored with the construction of Blackstone Park. “We are living on a layered landscape” she says, and “with my students, there is a hunger for knowledge about the native experience.” Thomas Doughton, senior lecturer of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Holy Cross, emphasizes that native and American history are really the same thing. American history, according to Doughton, tends to relegate native history to just a prologue and the narrative of the “disappearing native has shaped how natives have been imagined at Holy Cross since the 1840s.” Therefore, the indigenous history of the land on which Holy Cross was founded in 1836 is incomplete and requires re-examination.
The sign on Malvern Road, Worcester, marking the location of the Pakachoag settlement.
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STEPHEN ST. DENIS, THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE
To this end, Luria, Doughton and Colin Novick of the Greater Worcester Land Trust have been working on a film called “Pakachoag: Where the River Bends” for about 15 months. The film is designed as a walking tour to map Nipmuc life before and during European settlement in the format of a conversation with Doughton, who is of Nipmuc descent. The historical and environmental expertise make a good pairing for the movie, Luria said. “There isn’t nearly a big enough awareness of the specificity and richness of the Nipmuc presence in our area and not enough knowledge of its history and continuity.” In fact, the story of indigenous people in the region did not end with their conversion to Christianity, and they continued to be a presence in
the history of the area. For instance, the Nobscot Indians from Maine made annual pilgrimages to Worcester to receive the sacraments, because they did not feel welcome in Boston churches after France ceded land to England. The opportunity to highlight what is a hidden history of the indigenous people at Pakachoag Hill has been eagerly seized by Holy Cross through the 1620 project. While much of the history of New England has been predicated on the premise that the native people were doomed to disappear, it was felt that the 1620 project could showcase the land and its peoples before the Europeans arrived. As an English professor, Luria is particularly interested in how
“our imagination is affected by the environment and how our imagination affects the environment.” She points out that Thoreau put Walden on the map with Walden and good writing changes the world as well as how we treat the environment. Thoreau’s philosophy goes beyond Walden Pond and can be applied anywhere that people are engaged in their landscape. “I see us as part of our landscape’s stories,” she said. The landscape illustrates the ongoing story between humans and the environment. Since this summer, the country has been in the grips of a conversation on race and privilege that has been in the making since its founding. “It is appropriate that Holy Cross and other cultural institutions
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revisit their relationship to people of color — indigenous people, people of color and African American,” said Doughton. He also feels that there is another aspect of timeliness to this project as “over the last generation, there is an openness of the general public to native history and African American history.” An awareness, he said, that many of the issues concerning people of color are issues of justice and social responsibility, as evidenced by the movement to call the second Monday in October Indigenous People’s Day. The 1620 project is a culmination of a year and half of work in which a group of researchers at Holy Cross realized that with the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower, there would be a number of activities happening across the state. While they understood that those would be centered around the Wampanoag on Cape Cod, the Nipmuc are equally significant. The Nipmuc are the inland Massachusett people, separate and distinct from the Wampanoag the pilgrims encountered on Cape Cod. The Massachusett tribes, including the Nipmuc, had settlements in what is now Worcester and shared
a common language. Unfortunately, both tribes were decimated by smallpox just prior to the arrival of the Mayflower due to exposure from European traders in Maine. The 1620 project speaks to the essential question of how do we create effective memorials to our past? As Luria indicates, “we shouldn’t have to live with the 1910 decision of having a Columbus statue everywhere.” So as an alternative, we can reexamine colonial history and revisit the history of New England and indigenous people. The Holy Cross initiative is yet another step in a more equitable and even-handed view of our history. Doughton points out that it is “definitely good that this has synced with this summer’s conversations about race and white privilege.” The ongoing 1620/2020 Speaker Series, which began Oct. 7, and will air 2 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 7. You can register at https://www.holycross.edu/campuslife/diversity-and-inclusion/diversityand-inclusion-events for the screening and discussion of the film.
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Clark University’s Black Student Union demands admin do more for Black students GARI DE RAMOS
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hiela Watson and Kadijha Kuanda, a senior and junior, respectively, at Clark University, are spearheading a student movement advocating for eight demands as members of the University’s Black Student Union. “All we want is to be heard and have the support we deserve,” said Kuanda, BSU press secretary. The demands BSU laid out do not come from a desire to be “trendy” with the national Black Lives Matter movement. Instead, they come from the lived experiences of Black students like Watson and Kuanda on campus. “I did come here to be a student,”
Watson said, but as president of BSU, “it feels like I’m doing other people’s jobs for free.” The job Watson is referring to is ensuring the eight demands BSU submitted to the University in June are met. Those demands are: (1) for University Police (UP) to cut ties to the Worcester Police Department, (2) for UP to stop carrying weapons, (3) for everyone hired by the university to undergo mandatory semi-annual anti-racism training, (4) for all students to undergo cultural competency training every semester, (5) for a BSU representative, a Black faculty or staff member to be part of the search for the new Chief of Police, (6) for racial bias incident reports to un-
Protestors at Clark University KAILA SKEET BROWNING
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N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
dergo an investigation that can lead to disciplinary probation and that a BSU representative be present in the investigation, (7) for the university to hire more Black mental health practitioners, and (8) for the administration to report on its progress to students every semester.
In the classroom
Kadijha Kuanda speaks at a protest at Clark University. KAILA SKEET BROWNING
The demands concerning antiracist training and more stringent bias incident reports come from experience after experience of being microaggressed by faculty or peers in the classroom. For Watson, a moment that stands out for her is when the professor for whom she was a peer learning assistant routinely got her name wrong and often called her by the name of the only other Black woman on the team. “I wasn’t a stranger,” she said. “I had to apply and be accepted into this role, and still (the professor) repeatedly got my name wrong and never had the decency to ask or correct himself.” Later on, Watson brought this incident to a dean. According to Watson, she was told that she could write a letter for the university to put on file, but that a case wouldn’t be
made until other students had also written letters to establish a pattern of behavior. Additionally, Watson said she was reminded that class was still in session, that her grade could be affected by writing a letter, and that the professor would be going on sabbatical the following semester. Because of this, Watson decided it wasn’t worth writing the letter, but she recognizes the need for increased funding and manpower at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to make the investigation of incident reports easier to see through. Experiences such as Watson’s can leave Black students feeling “diminished or questioned” in the classroom, said Kuanda. “It heavily impacts the way you perform in class. You feel like you can talk to no one, shut down, lose motivation, and feel like you don’t belong here.”
With University Police
A different kind of trauma exists for Black students when they see armed and uniformed police officers on campus, which is why BSU is demanding for UP to disarm. “Black students look at police officers and we don’t have the same feeling of
safety that others do,” Kuanda said. In the fall of 2019, BSU held a dialogue with UP facilitated by Watson. Watson said it took a lot of convincing to get UP to come without their weapons and in plain clothing. BSU requested this because seeing weapons and uniforms can be traumatizing for Black students, especially in a country with so many instances of police brutality toward Black people. “Some Black students shared some pretty bad experiences that they’ve had with officers that were in the room,” said Watson. “At the end of that event, it kind of just felt like it went through one ear and out the other.” “Our highest priority is the safety of all Clark University students,” said former Chief of Police Stephen Goulet in a statement. At a protest BSU and the Clark Undergraduate Student Council held on Oct. 12, one of the demands made by the roughly 150 in attendance was for UP to no longer follow up with students who are two days or more out of compliance with COVID-19 testing policy. Goulet stated that the Testing Center now has additional capacity and student workers will take over this task, but the fact UP
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A chart showing the progress of the Black Student Union’s demands at Clark University. GARI DE RAMOS
artists CITY LIF E
ng, ia.com . Fair warni itor@gatehousemed digital copies artist, email WMed bio and high resolution will e a small or know of a local tion and what need to provid based on resolu If you are an artist, e what will run, h your work, you’ll in order to publis We reserve the right to choos art. of some of your newsprint. on reproduce best
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To make sure the eight demands are met, BSU partnered with Clark Undergraduate Student Council to put pressure on administration. Beyond the many emotionally exhausting meetings they have with administration, BSU and CUSC organized the Oct. 12 protest. The protest made its way through three stops across campus. First, to UP to demand UP disarm. Second, to Dana Commons to demand an end to classes held in the building reserved for cultural- and inclusion-related offices and programming. Finally, outside President David Fithian’s office where they staged a die-in by lying on the ground for eight minutes and 46 seconds – the length of time Police Officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s neck in May. Watson wants to make sure that all members of the predominantly white student body are in this fight for the long run. At the protest, white attendees were asked to recite an oath to allyship, where white folks vowed to recognize their white privilege, acknowledge Black Lives Matter is not a trend, and to protect
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Kuanda, an international student from Germany, chose to study in the United States because she wanted a community of fellow Black people, since her hometown was incredibly white. She found that community through BSU, a place where students could come together to both learn about and celebrate their Blackness. She had always known about systemic racial oppression, but George Floyd’s death back in May and the uprising that ensued hit close to home. “I felt very alone and beaten down,� she said, “like the country I chose to be in, study in, and be successful in just naturally hates me.� Now halfway through her junior year, Kuanda is deciding whether she wants to try and stay in the United States after graduation. So many of her loved ones are here, but she feels troubled by the realization that racism is everywhere. Does she remain and advocate for herself and her loved ones, she wonders, or does she go back to Germany where racism may be less talked about, but at least Black people aren’t shot and killed by police on a regular basis? In the meantime, Kuanda has no
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choice but to stay and fight to make her home at Clark University work for her and others like her. “We wouldn’t do this work if we didn’t have some love for this place,� Kuanda said.
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was used in the first place reminds Kuanda of how American police at large are used in community processes in unnecessary amount.Â
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Black bodies with their own in times of violent incidents. After the protest, students have been encouraged to call members of administration on a regular basis about the demands. “Clark is going to have this problem on their hands for at least another four years,â€? said Watson. “We’re making sure the first-years and sophomores are very much included ‌ so the movement can survive when we graduate.â€? Doing the work, however, isn’t easy. It takes a toll on organizers like Watson, who is, at the end of the day, just trying to graduate. “I wouldn’t be doing this work if I didn’t love it or if I wasn’t passionate about it,â€? said Watson, “but every day I wake up with this pressure on me to still perform at the highest of my abilities in everything else.â€? “But we are, and we’re going to keep doing it,â€? said Watson, “because we have a passion for it. And we have a goal to reach.â€?
CITY VOICES
FIRST PERSON
LETTERS
COVID asides on a visit to Maine
JOE FUSCO JR.
behind the plexiglass seemed nonplussed by our arrival five minutes before closing and charged us $1.50 yndi and I went to Maine extra for whipped cream and nuts. for four weekdays. She took “Attica, Attica,” I mumbled into some vacation time and I’m my mask. sort of retired. The four days in Maine also gave With plenty of masks, we left the Cyndi and I time to examine our afternoon of Columbus Day. My current situations. She is worried I won’t have enough retirement stuff to do and will become sullen and bored. I’m hopeful that she will enjoy her job at UMass Hospital enough to work into her seventies. “You are our Gravy Train and I’m fine with being melancholic,” I summarized. We also touched briefly on my COVID weight gain. “I need to find a program whereby I can lose weight and still keep my dietary desires and exercise output at their current levels,” I offered. “Cut out the Italians for lunch every Tuesday and Thursday,” my wife countered. A visit to Maine just isn’t the same in the We agreed to disagree then Age of COVID-19. watched the sunset behind the RGOEHL/PIXABAY Hannaford Supermarket as we planned a trip to the casino. Life is … OK. The first night in Maine, I feasted car displayed “low tire pressure” as Joe Fusco Jr. is a poet and humorwe turned off the Wells exit. It was on seafood chowder, stuffed ist who lives in Worcester. raining domesticated animals. We mushrooms, and picked lobster found a car repair shop on Route 1. drenched in butter along with two Tanqueray and Tonics. “My car is saying the tires are The second evening in Maine, low and we didn’t see any self-serve air pumps and my wife is expecting I gorged on hearts of lettuce with blue cheese, veal Parmesan with very soon,” I lied to the proprietor. raviolis, and two Painkiller cock“I charge $3 to check the tires, tails. “he replied. The third morning in Maine, I almost suggested that he I awoke at 4 a.m. to a throbbing, should charge a buck-a-tire but bright-red right toe the size of a thought better and thanked him bicycle horn. with a fiver upon completion. “I think I have an ingrown “Why was he looking at me so toenail,” I exclaimed to my sleepy strangely,” my wife asked. better-half. “Told him you had a bun in the “Might be gout,” she replied then oven, “I replied. At the motel in Maine, they gave re-slumbered. The might-be-gout worsened as us the keys to our room by passing them through the registration win- we attempted to walk Ogunquit Beach Wednesday afternoon. I dow in a COVID-19 metal bucket. limped back to the motel like ChesThe TV remotes were wrapped ter on “Gunsmoke” and googled my in COVID-19 plastic which made apparent malady. changing the channels very dif“Gout — the rich man’s disficult so we endured the “Jurassic Park” movies late into the evening. ease.” I went back to my ingrown toenail theory. The shower had three plastic That evening, the pain subsqueeze-tubes attached to the wall. The first contained shampoo, sided so we went to Dairy Queen after steak dinners for hot-fudge the third had conditioner, and sundaes to go. The young person the middle tube to my surprise
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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
C
and infantile delight read “douche (shower gel).” “Can’t wait to douche with my pouf,” I would shout seductively to my wife from the bathroom at every opportunity. “Moron,” she would softly reply as the slots tumbled on her iPad.
WoMag’s not fake news? Ya gotta give ’em credit and you won’t regret it; WoMag entertains diverse views, from Antifa to Corrigan. That’s more than you can say for the mainstream news; Dem Party coatholders and stenographers, spewing out manufactured views again and again. You’re burnin’, lootin’ and rioting, oh what a joke. You just scored some new Nikes; you’re so woke. I’m guessin’ you got it all figured out - tear down Frederick Douglass’ statute, that’s what it’s all about. Dems put kids in cages, it’s a dirty shame. The GOP forged emancipation but the media just
plays the bogus information game. “Big Guy” gets his Ukrainian cut, while Hunter fills the crack pipe and smokes it up. Facebook and Twitter got the censorship goin’. They don’t want the truth for the public to be knowin’. Scores of brothers locked up under Big Guy’s watch without clemency; he claims he’s got their back yet he terrorized them without mercy. A Marxist Trojan Horse, the Big Guy’s gonna bring Chairman Mao to you with unrestricted force. Socialists support infanticide with clinics in minority hoods; a disproportionate number of black babies killed; as long as Planned Parenthood’s coffers are filled. Check out founder Margaret Sanger’s creds; she promoted eugenics to keep white folks ahead. William Thomas lives in Worcester.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY There is no word limit, but we reserve the right to edit for length, so brevity is your friend. A full name and town or city of residence are required. Please include an email address or phone number for verification purposes only. Please note that letters will run as space allows. Send them to Worcester Magazine, 100 Front St., 5th Floor, Worcester, MA 01608 or by email to WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com.
CITY VOICES
WORCESTERIA
Bias on the Board of Health? VEER MUDAMBI
If the Worcester NAACP released a letter calling for the resignation
N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
of the chairman of of the Board of Health, Edith Claros, one would have to sit up and take notice. On Oct. 22, they did just that. On the grounds that she attempted to silence members of the BOH as well as community voices. The letter stated that it appeared to be an attempt to tilt the discussion in favor of the police representatives who were present at the meeting. I received a copy of the letter from a Worcester resident following my article discussing the Defund WPD movement. I watched the video of the Aug. 24 meeting and then the follow-up discussion on Sept. 14 for good measure. My takeaway was serious doubt about the ability of Claros to be impartial in this discussion about the effect of systemic racism on public health. Everyone has their personal opinions, but in a position such as hers, Claros should be expected to hide any biases she may have. When public officials fail to do so, it will foster doubt in the integrity of city boards and departments. This past summer, David Fort, former BOH chairman and current member, proposed a set of 12 recommendations on how to address systemic racism regarding law enforcement, including the establishment of a community police misconduct review board, composed of city residents with at least 50% of those members being persons of color. The August meeting was intended to discuss these, but Claros extended a “surprise invitation,” according to the NAACP letter, to WPD leadership. It was at this meeting where Chief Steve Sargent said he had not witnessed any racism in the WPD. Initially, Claros maintained an almost apologetic attitude when talking to the police, making it as clear as possible that she personally felt they should not have to attend this meeting or listen to the recommendations. As the meeting progressed, she cut off a fellow BOH member Chareese Allen, after allowing Local 504 Police Official’s Union President Rick Cipro to attack other members of the board. He went so far as to call Fort’s comments “pretentious” and said the BOH “had no idea what they were talking about.” He ended with the implication that those who view racism as a public health issue should not be on the board. After such an aggressive statement, one would think a response would be called for, but Claros, speaking over Allen, stated that “everyone had their chance to talk” and suddenly they were pressed for time. Interestingly, I would not have known about this from just reading the minutes of that meeting. This is because when Claros refused to acknowledge the critics, she prevented the segment from being recorded in the minutes, allowing the WPD to officially get the last word. Since the chair cut off the rebuttal to the statements by Cipro, a reader would likely think that WPD statements ended the debate with a statement that went unquestioned by BOH members. At the following meeting on Sept. 14, BOH members stated they were prevented from responding to Cipro’s attacks - this discussion would have been the only reference to Claros’s conduct. Unless you took the time to watch the video. After the NAACP called for the resignation of Claros, Cipro went after the two NAACP members on the BOH, calling them “frauds and phonies” on the union Facebook page. Interesting that he chose not to mention the other two BOH members who tried to question Claros, focusing his ire on the NAACP.
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COVER STORY
N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
Bald eagles are soaring in Worcester County
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Taking flight
WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
FILE PHOTO/PAUL KAPTEYN
COVER STORY
VEER MUDAMBI
W
hile 2020 has been a barrage of negative headlines and personal loss, there are still measures by which it could be considered a success. The Commonwealth’s bald eagles are nesting in areas where they hadn’t been seen in over 100 years. Nests have been recorded in at least 14 towns throughout Worcester County. Back in May, the Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife Department announced that 2020 had been a great year for the iconic birds. For Dianne Davis, this has been almost 40 years in the making. Along with her husband, Bill, she worked in the program to reintroduce the eagles to Massachusetts.
When the first set of eaglets or baby eagles was successfully fledged (left the nest) in 1989, a reporter from the Telegram asked how many breeding pairs they could expect in Massachusetts. Bill said they were hoping for about 10 if they were lucky. Now, she said, in 2020 there are more than 80 breeding pairs. “These are fantastic results,” said Davis, who currently lives in Grafton. The project went from 1982 to 1988. Eaglets were brought in from nests in Maine and Canada, where they were raised by the attendants until they were 12 weeks old. At that point, they were fitted with transmitters and a color-coded band before being released at Quabbin Reservoir. A total of 41 fledglings were released over the course of the project – this process of relocation is known as “hacking.” As an Eagle Hack Site At-
tendant in 1985, she lived at Quabbin for three months feeding the chicks. The first fledglings came from a breeding pair christened Betsy and Ross. Eagles breed at around 5 years old - producing usually two to three eggs, or a clutch. They are traditionally thought to mate for life, with both parents caring for the young; however it’s not unknown for a male to mate with more than one female and help care for multiple nests, said Davis. The fledglings will stay with the parents until they are about 5 months old. The first few years away from their parents are extremely dangerous and mortality is around 50%, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Though no more birds were brought in after 1988, they have been monitored closely down through
the generations. While juveniles will – and have – widely dispersed, eagles have high “nest fidelity,” meaning they return to the same nesting area every year, often the same nest. This helps researchers keep tabs on breeding pairs, and when the chicks are about 6 weeks old, project workers would climb into the nest to place a band and transmitter on the chicks, weigh them, “then return them to the nest with a fish or two,” Davis explained. Martha Gach, education manager and conservation coordinator at Mass Audubon’s Broad Meadow Brook sanctuary in Worcester, is on the Shrewsbury Conservation Commission and has seen this banding of eagle chicks. “It’s good to have these creatures back because they are part of our biofauna,” said Gach. The Shrewsbury nest is located on Lake
Quinsigamond and the resident eagle pair are something of a local celebrity couple - regularly attracting visitors during nesting season who watch them from boats on the lake. The eagle population dropped dramatically due to habitat loss from massive tree clearing operations throughout New England during the early 1900s. Following pollution from DDT pesticides in the 1960s, the national bird was extirpated in Massachusetts as well as much of the region. DDT worked its way up the food chain, from the insects it was aimed at to the fish that ate the insects. It was then passed on to the birds that preyed on the fish such as ospreys, loons and bald eagles. The chemical caused eggs to be formed with soft shells that were crushed when the parents tried to incubate them.
N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
KRISTEN LECLAIR/ KRISTEN LECLAIR’S PHOTOGRAPHY, LUNENBURG
WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
Bald eagle photographed in Leominster
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COVER STORY
Left, Dianne Davis puts eagle chicks in an artificial nest box at Quabbin Reservoir in 1985. BILL BYRNE, MASS WILDLIFE
Above, a bald eagle with its prey. KRISTEN LECLAIR/KRISTEN LECLAIR’S PHOTOGRAPHY, LUNENBURG
N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
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As a conservation success story, Gach agrees that the eagles should be celebrated. “Their return is a step forward on a path towards a more balanced ecosystem.” The bald eagle is a bird of prey (raptor) and occupies a position at the top of the food chain. However, the reintroduction of one species, even one as iconic as the bald eagle, Gach cautioned, is still just that one step. Environmentalists should be wary of conflating charisma with ecological impact. Conventional wisdom says that predators play an important role in an ecosystem by controlling the population of the animals they hunt. As predators, Gach said, eagles will “certainly be putting some pressure on prey species” but they are not the only thing keeping these animals in check, they’re part of it.
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Eagles will always hold a special significance for most people beyond naturalists. “It’s never ‘oh yeah, I saw an eagle, big deal.’ People are so excited to see them back,” said Davis. “When they see them, they just can’t believe it.” An animal with uniquely broad appeal, the eagles can serve to not only raise awareness of environmental issues but as an example of the resiliency of nature and endangered species, especially when given proper protections. Eagles have now spread throughout New England, thanks to the Massachusetts project, expanding to Connecticut and Rhode Island. “They’ve been given a chance to come back, and they’ve taken the opportunity to do it,” said Davis.
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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
N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
recently started painting on canvas.
WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
Joe Sikes is a Millbury native who
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CITY LIFE
CONNELL SANDERS
Beyond sneakerheads, or why recommerce is the retail grail SARAH CONNELL SANDERS
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N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
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hile a record number of large retailers close their doors to pivot toward online platforms, luxury resellers — once relegated to the web — are pouncing on the opportunity to create unique in-person experiences for shoppers. Many of them are taking advantage of this moment to open brick-and-mortar locations for the very first time. Take, for example, the largest reseller of Hermès Birkin bags — Privé Porter. The company opened its first storefront this week where cult followers including Kris Jenner, Cardi B and Paris Hilton can request a branded Bentley for door-to-door service at their Miami shop. Used goods are dripping and landlords are clamoring to fill empty spaces. Consignment speaks to the environmental values of Generation Z in addition to a larger shift toward deliberate shopping in the COVID era. Here in Worcester, when we say “luxury resale,” we’re talking deadstock, grails and colorways. We are a sneaker city. We’ve got sole. You can’t raise Worcester’s sneaker scene without mentioning Dee Wells, the legendary “kickstorian,” photographer and film producer who lives right here in our fair city. Wells founded the “Obsessive Sneaker Disorder Talk Show” in 2007 after a three-year stint at Sole Collector Magazine, the leading news source for sneakerheads. His dedication to footwear has paved the way for Worcester’s rich sneaker culture, which lives on in a new generation. Vaughn Slowaski was born and raised on Providence Street, just up the hill from his new shop, Scoop Drip. “Sneakers were my hobby and my passion as a youth and I just stuck with it,” Slowaski explained, “I got a factory job at night, and I just kept buying sneakers every week until I had a couple hundred pairs in my closet. I didn’t wear them and eventually, I decided, ‘Why not open a store with them instead of letting them sit here?’” Slowaski was tired of working
long nights; he decided to take control of his own destiny. While the pandemic was decimating many small business owners, he watched the resale business soar. The sneaker community had always thrived on flipping shoes, but a combination of environmental dread and economic collapse had erased any semblance of second-hand stigma for the mainstream market. Slowaski saw an opportunity. “It was now or never and I decided, ‘Why not? I might as well take a crazy chance in a crazy time,’” he said. Scoop Drip opened in September to overwhelming support from the community, including Slowaski’s landlord. “When the world started getting weird and things started getting crazy, he came to us and actually said, ‘Look, I don’t want to kill you guys. I know you haven’t even opened yet. I want to just make this work.’” He gave Slowaski a break on rent to keep the dream alive, and
Vaughn Slowaski was born and raised on Providence Street, just up the hill from his new shop, Scoop Drip. Scoop Drip sells exclusive sneakers, snacks and streetwear. SARAH CONNELL SANDERS
the result has been a thriving new business on Millbury Street. Slowaski wants local youth to feel like they have somewhere to go to talk sneakers. He hopes to add more apparel, more shoes and more “crazy snacks” from all over the world. The snacks are no joke. In addition to a Supreme Oreos haul, Scoop Drip offers a wide variety of exclusive international Lays, Cheetos and Doritos that have become a popular fixture at sneaker conventions. As for Slowaski’s post-pandemic wish list, it’s all about the shoes. “I want to find a deadstock pair of Jordan 18’s from ‘03 when he made his last comeback,” he explained. For context, the Air Jordan 18 (XVIII) OG was the first pair of sneakers Slowaski ever bought with his own money. “I worked hard, hard, hard
for them,” he remembers, “it’s just a personal thing. That’s my overall grail.” Is recommerce Worcester’s overall grail? We’re a city with great bones known for repurposing and rejuvenating old mills and factories into apartments and art galleries. We’re already home to antique and consignment hubs like Crompton Collective, Sweet Janes, Grime, Modern Muse and Alexis Grace. We don’t need Bentleys or celebrity sightings to fuel our spending. We just need more sneakerheads with big ambition energy. Scoop Drip is only the beginning. Thank you to Worcester’s latest podcast, Food & Convo, for my intro to Scoop Drip. Find them on apple podcasts and Spotify for more recommendations.
CITY LIFE
TABLE HOPPIN’
Webster House cookbook for sale to benefit Worcester food bank J BARBARA M. HOULE
Bake for 1 hour. Insert thin sharp point of knife near center of pie. Knife should come out clean although the pie may look shaky when moved. Remove to rack to cool. Keep at room temperature. Note: ¼ ounce of bourbon may be added to mixture before baking. The pie has a long shelf life and delicious served with a dollop of ice cream.
Thanksgiving at Sonoma
Rod Lee, Cynthia Garvin, Deb Alcorn, Joan St. Denis Clarico, Gloria St. Denis, and Ann Robert inside Barrows Hardware. RICK CINCLAIR
on his face. He would tell staff that the squares reminded him of home in Longos (Albania).” Many of us hold fond memories of Chris and Helena Liazos. The cookbook is sure to stir up even more! Pie recipes from the Webster House Restaurant Cookbook:
APPLE CRANBERRY CRUMB PIE
Crumb Topping: ¾ cup sugar ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¾ cup flour 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) cold butter
1¼ cups white granulated sugar ⅛ teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) butter, melted 4 large eggs 1½ cups light corn syrup (Karo brand recommended) ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 5 ounces pecan halves 1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together sugar and salt in large mixing bowl. Add melted butter. Mix with paddle or hand mixer on medium for approximately 3 minutes. Sugar will look crumbly. Add eggs. Beat until light and fluffy. Blend in corn syrup and vanilla. Place pecans on bottom of unbaked pie shell. Note: Pecans will rise to top in baking.
Thanksgiving to go at Chuck’s
It’s Thanksgiving Dinner to go at Chuck’s Steak House in Auburn. The restaurant offers dinner for four to six people, packaged, precooked and ready for pick-up on Nov. 25, the day before the holiday. Call (508) 832-2553 to order. On the menu: Roasted turkey breast, mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing and gravy. Cost is $75 plus tax. “Reheat for a perfect no fuss, no mess dinner,” is word from the Chuck’s owners. If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282; send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.
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Crumb Topping: Sift together dry ingredients. Cut butter into mixture with pastry blender or fork until coarse crumbs form. Set aside.
PECAN PIE (Southern Style)
WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
5 cups (5 to 6 medium) Cortland or any other firm apple, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick 1 cup frozen sliced cranberries ¼ teaspoon cinnamon 1 pinch salt ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg ⅔ cup white granulated sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 9-inch fluted deep-dish pie shell, unbaked
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In large bowl, combine apples and cranberries. Add cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, sugar and flour. Toss together and place mixture into pie shell. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake for 20 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees; bake additional 30 to 40 minutes until apples are soft. Test with fork for softness. Makes one 9-inch pie.
Thanksgiving Dinner at Sonoma Restaurant at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester will include reserved seating at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. The three-course prix fixe menu will include seasonal farm-to-table selections such as Sonoma’s Sweet Pumpkin & Apple Bisque, fresh Autumn Salad and other traditional favorites. The holiday menu also will offer guests a choice of roasted turkey or roasted 12-ounce prime rib, Faroe Island salmon or butternut squash ravioli. Pumpkin Crème Brulee with Fresh Berries, Decadent Heirloom Apple Pie with Vanilla Gelato lead off signature desserts. To reserve for Thanksgiving, call BetteAnn Wallen, (508) 4531113, or send email to bawallen@ beechwoodhotel.com. Visit https:// www.sonomaatthebeechwood.com for complete menu. The restaurant follows “stringent COVID-19 safety protocols.”
N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
ust in time for gift-giving this holiday season is the newly published “Webster House Restaurant Cookbook, Recipes, People, History,” written by former employees of the restaurant, located for more than 30 years in the city’s Webster Square neighborhood. Cookbooks, $20 each, will be sold from noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 8 at a “drive-through event” in the Barrows Hardware parking lot, 15 Webster St., Worcester, the site of the former iconic Webster House Restaurant. “For COVID-19 safety, customers are asked to remain in their cars, entering on Webster Street and exiting on Cambridge Street,” said Deborah Alcorn, cookbook committee spokeswoman. One hundred percent of book sales will go to the Worcester County Food Bank in Shrewsbury. Cash or a check made out to the Worcester County Food Bank will be accepted. No credit card sales. Alcorn and committee refer to the cookbook as a “labor of love,” but it’s so much more. Christos T. Liazos and his wife, Helena, together owned and operated the Webster House Restaurant, highly regarded in the area for its food and hospitality, wine dinners and special events. And, holiday pies by the hundreds! In food articles about the couple, Chris often is referred to as the “chef/ restaurateur” and Helena, “baker extraordinaire.” They were married 53 years before Helena’s death in 2017. Chris passed away in 2019 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. The Webster House Restaurant Cookbook really is a time capsule, looking back on the success, history and life behind the scenes of the business. Nearly 200 recipes in the book include everything from the restaurant’s popular lamb shanks to all-time favorite desserts. A painting of the restaurant by Helena’s brother, Chet Dymek, is depicted on the cookbook cover designed by Gloria St. Denis. Recipes for Apple Cranberry Crumb Pie and Southern-style Pecan Pie featured in today’s column are
courtesy of the cookbook committee. Chris planned for the cookbook long before he was diagnosed with cancer, according to Alcorn, who said regular committee meetings and days of testing recipes took place at his home. “Chris first told us about the cookbook at a staff reunion,” she said. “A few weeks before he died he called us in and said he wanted all the book’s proceeds to go to the Worcester County Food Bank. This was all done before COVID-19. We know that his donation will go to help people in the community affected by the cornavirus.” A Worcester County Food Bank representative is expected to attend the cookbook sale at Barrows Hardware. Alcorn said the Liazos’ sons, Andrew Liazos of Westboro and Theodore “Ted” Liazos of Washington, D.C., have been instrumental in the production and sales of the book. Cookbook committee members include executive chef Joan St. Denis Clarico, Cindy Garvin, Ann Robert and Ray Young, all former Webster House Restaurant employees, and Gloria St. Denis and Rod Lee. Alcorn shared a few tidbits about the restaurant: Boston Cream Pie topped sales for pre-ordered holiday pies, and the staff worked day and night alongside the owners to prepare for the holidays. Helena Liazos created the restaurant’s signature Baklava Cheesecake, a popular menu and holiday item. Chris and Helena were doting grandparents who enjoyed family time, especially during Christmas when they made gingerbread houses with their grandchildren, Chris, Rachel and Stephen Liazos. True cookie gourmets, the couple made every kind of cookie you could imagine for the holidays. Chris personally delivered their cookie trays to family and friends. Who knew that Chris Liazos had a passion for fig squares? Alcorn said twice a day Chris would head to the restaurant’s dessert case for a fig square. “Even Helena hadn’t realized how much sugar he was eating,” joked Alcorn. “Chris would wrap the fig square in bakery paper, walking away with a big smile
CITY LIFE
SCREEN TIME
‘Octopus Teacher’ conjures Thoreau
JIM KEOGH
M
ore than 160 years ago, Henry David Thoreau roamed the shores and woods around Walden Pond in gentle pursuit of simplicity and connection. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not when I came to die, discover that I had not lived,” he wrote. I thought of Thoreau while I watched “My Octopus Teacher,” the Netflix documentary about a man named Craig Foster who spent more than a year forging an unlikely bond with an octopus in the kelp forest off the South Africa coast. Foster was adrift in his own life — overworked and feeling disassociated from the world around him — when he plunged into the frigid waters to learn what secrets lay beneath and
discovered beauty and savagery, playfulness and affection, perhaps even love depending on how one defines the term. Foster returns to the cove day after day to observe the octopus and track her movements, eventually coaxing a friendship from the shy cephalopod who burrows beneath a rock on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean to avoid hungry sharks. Hesitantly, she begins interacting with this giant interloper until curiosity evolves into comfort. At one point, the animal snuggles against his chest, her eyes shut, as he reassuringly strokes her the way you would an affectionate cat. It is one of the most spirit-affirming images I have ever seen in a movie. Not only was this story lovely, but I needed it. I won’t slam you with details about how fraught 2020 has been — what’s the point? We’re all enduring it together. I clicked on “My Octopus Teacher” at a co-worker’s
suggestion at the end of another long day, in the midpoint of a long week, ensconced in The Longest Year. I was assured by my friend that I would be submitting to something quiet and contemplative; something immersive yet in its own delicate way, escapist. After I watched “My Octopus Teacher” I checked out user reviews on IMDB, and there I found a thread about Foster’s decision not to chase away a predator who stalks the octopus. Foster contends that to repel a shark from its prey is an unnatural disruption of a natural ritual hardwired into Earth’s creatures for millennia. I found that a reasonable position, even as I cheered on the octopus — an amazingly intelligent creature — to use all its wiles to avoid capture. Some reviewers were unforgiving. They argued that Foster had inserted himself into this animal’s world, earned its trust, and then betrayed it with his inaction. If you’re going to be
An image from the documentary, “My Octopus Teacher.” NETFLIX
a friend, they said, then act like one. I doubt Thoreau had similar ethical struggles when he was observing armies of ants going at it in the Walden woods. Of course, he did not befriend any ants, and he was not subjected to flames of global criticism for making a difficult decision in a hard moment. What would Thoreau have made of these decidedly
non-simplistic times of public revelation and instant condemnation? My bottom line is simply to thank Craig Foster for diving into the sea to cure his burnout and for giving us a tool to relieve our own. Never have I thought so deeply about the humble octopus, a creature worthy of respect and admiration, and, if you’re lucky, friendship.
LISTEN UP
Pamela Means’ ‘Northfire’ is, sadly, always timely
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N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
VICTOR D. INFANTE
B
ecause of production deadlines, this review is being written a bit before the Nov. 3 election, which seems like a problem for an album that begins with a song called “Impeachment Now!” That supposition is mistaken, though, because Pamela Means’ and the Reparations’ recent album, “Live at Northfire,” is more than a collection of topical songs, as illustrated in the song “Color of the Skin.” “My father was born in Jim Crow, Tennessee,” sings Means, “A sharecropper’s son, far from luxury/Moved up north in 1952/Ain’t a damn thing changed from his point of view.” The United States’ struggle with institutional racism and the legacy of slavery is nothing new. It didn’t start with Trump, and it won’t end with
his exit. “Seen the Rodney King riots in 1992,” sings Means, later in the song, “a Black president, I seen that too/Ain’t a damn thing changed from
my point of view.” With that thought in mind, a song such as “Impeachment Now,” which
is very much of the current political moment, seems no less prone to being dated than Neil Young singing “Tin soldiers and Nixon coming/ We’re finally on our own.” Trump may be out the door as you read this, or he might be settling in for four more years, and ultimately that’s not the point: As with Young and “Ohio,” it’s important to keep a record of this moment, so as to not forget the anger and pain that permeated everything. “Trump calls ‘very fine people,’” sings Means, each line transforming her smoky, velvety voice into a bullet. “the khaki clad klan/With their Tiki torches/And racist chants/But the silent protest/Non-violent focus/Peaceful and courageous/He calls ‘sons of bitches.’” That seems worth remembering, how the demons of racism and white supremacy had stepped out
of the shadows when so many were willing to pronounce them dead. Means knows better, and one thing that “Northfire” does well is take the Trump administration’s excesses and puts them into a context, both personally, with “Color of the Skin,” and historical, with “James Madison,” where Means transforms a quote by the fourth president into a chorus: ““The purpose of the government/ is to protect the minority of the opulent/from the majority,” which sounds like something that could have been said by Tucker Carlson. The country’s problems are nothing new, and Means presents a prescription for them: “Ellsberg, Manning, Snowden, Davis/Heroes and dissidents/We all could use a daily dose/ Of civil disobedience.” It’s in “Color of the Skin” that the necessity of protest is illustrated in concrete terms: “Everything dark comes out in the light/We keep marching on but our souls are tired/ Here we are again, here we are again/A black child gone cause of the color of the skin.” Means is, traditionally, a solo act, but here she’s accompanied by
Cinamon Blair on bass and I-Shea on percussion. The musical accompaniment and vocal harmonies bring a richness to Means’ singing and guitar, but it’s also surprisingly subtle. It’s all beautifully wrought, but nothing takes the listener’s attention away from Means’ vocals and lyrics. Still, the subtle backbone of percussion and bass creates a sort of musical continuity as the topic matter pivots toward more personal subject matter with the smoldering “Cinnamon and Chocolate” and the torch song warmth of “My Love.” They’re lovely little songs about love and heartbreak, the kind that are timeless, but Means doesn’t allow the listener much respite from the real world, closing the album with the defiant “Hands Up,” where she sings, “Hands up/Don’t shoot/We’re tough but not/Bulletproof ” and “Ho hey! NRA!/How many souls did you kill today?” It’s a heartrending note to end on, because it’s a reminder that this is the world we live in, that indeed, we have always lived in, and repairing it will take much more than a single election.
CITY LIFE
THE NEXT DRAFT
Springdale cans a bean-to-beer epic MATTHEW TOTA
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take it in Tanzania and trade it as a commodity product. A company like Folgers would buy it to use it to bring aroma to their coffee.” JNP Coffee sells Burundi coffee to roasters of all sizes, paying her farmers — a network of more than 2,000 and Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian helped Springdale Beer Co. source cofgrowing — a premium fee beans from her homeland, Burundi. Niyonzima-Aroian owns for their beans. She JNP Coffee in Shrewsbury, which imports and exports green coffee helps the women in other ways, too, includ- from Burundi. SPRINGDALE BEER CO. ing funding education initiatives for financial literacy. For the people enjoying Burundi proud about the people we get to “The story of this beer is reBRIG here, she said, it’s a chance for work with and step into someone ally how Jeanine helped build an them to learn about a different part else’s perspective.” infrastructure that allowed these of the world. For the first time last week, Niwomen-owned businesses in one of “My hope is they can discover yonzima-Aroian tasted the Burundi the poorest countries in the world BRIG, which she described as sweet, Burundi, that they can learn more to compete in a global market,” Con- but still well balanced. “The acidity of about the beautiful crop that can nolly said. come from this poor country,” she the coffee makes it bright and light, The collaboration with JNP Coffee which you would not expect in a said. “They are indirectly empowerwas about trading knowledge and ing the farmers of Burundi.” stout,” she said. perspectives, not money and beans, To learn more about Jeanine She has already sent a picture he said. Niyonzima-Aroian and JNP Coffee, of the can to her family back in “We’ve learned from each other,” Burundi. Burundians love their beer, visit www.jnpcoffee.com. To find out he said, adding, “We will use whatmore about Burundi and how you can she said, but they likely have never ever tools we have to be loud and help, go to bufri.org. seen anything like Burundi BRIG.
N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
oe Connolly had never treated coffee with so much reverence. The director of Springdale Beer Co. in Framingham, Connolly recently used 70 pounds of beans imported from Burundi, one of the world’s poorest nations, for his latest iteration of the creamy mocha stout BRIG. In the history of brewing BRIG, Springdale has probably gone through thousands of pounds of roasted coffee beans. But these Burundi beans were different. These beans had a story to tell. The narrator of the beans-to-beer epic was Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, founder of JNP Coffee in Shrewsbury, a producer, exporter and importer of green coffee from Burundi, a landlocked East African country about the size of Maryland. Born in Burundi, NiyonzimaAroian would explain how long the supply chain that got the beans to Framingham was and how hard the people at the start of it had worked. The coffee began as cherries, clinging to the branches of a tree somewhere in Burundi. Farmers, mostly women, picked and harvested the beans, which Niyonzima-Aroian then had shipped out of a port in Tanzania for sale to a roaster in Brooklyn. Coffee farming hardly makes the women wealthy, barely providing enough money to support their families and villages. But NiyonzimaAroian’s mission at JNP Coffee is to offer a trustworthy, caring, consistent outlet for them to monetize their seemingly endless labor. She always has her mother, once one of those farmers, in mind. “I see this as an opportunity to empower these farmers, especially the women,” she said. “My mom has been such a great role model in my life. And I know if you empower one woman, especially in a place like Burundi, you are empowering a whole village.” Springdale’s Burundi BRIG, released last month, but still available in cans and on draft, came about after the brewery went looking for a different perspective. “The summer has been an awakening for a lot of people,” Connolly said. “We started having serious conversations about who we were as a team, and what diversity, equality
and inclusion means to us. We found that we could do more than post about it. We could find a Black-owned business to work with.” Springdale was not the first brewery to call Niyonzima-Aroian looking for beans and a partnership in the name of social justice. Over the summer, she sourced Burundi beans for Casa Agria Specialty Ales in California, which used the coffee for its version of the “Black is Beautiful” imperial stout. Black is Beautiful beers raise money for organizations supporting inclusion, equality, police reform and legal representation for those who have been wronged. Casa Agria donated the proceeds from its stout to the ACLU Legal Defense Fund. Niyonzima-Aroian’s knowledge of beer pales in comparison to what she knows about coffee. She is a licensed Q Grader — essentially the coffee equivalent of a sommelier — and has spent around a decade learning about the supply chains and politics that control how coffee moves from Burundi to roasters around the world. “I knew coffee growing up,” she said. “As a matter of fact, my mother and my grandfather grew coffee. My family members were able to go to school because of the money they got out of coffee. I would see the cherries on the tree, and would be told, ‘Don’t touch this, it’s precious.’” She started JNP Coffee in 2012. At the time she had already been aiding her homeland through Burundi Friends International, a nonprofit she founded five years earlier. With coffee, she saw an opportunity to use her business savvy to represent some of the hardest working people in her country: the farmers. “They don’t have any way to represent themselves in the marketplace. There are so many barriers of entry,” Niyonzima-Aroian said. “Prior to 2015, Burundi coffee was actually traded as a commodity. They would
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.
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This handsome man is Remington. He was surrendered after his family went through some personal problems and were no longer able to keep him and the other pets they owned. He bonds strongly with people he becomes familiar with, but it takes him some time to get there as he appreciates a slow introduction to new visitors. His ideal home would be with adults only and no other animals. He will need to go home with a family who has large dog experience and who are familiar with dogs that need their space respected. Remington, Remy for short, is very smart. He knows how to sit, lay down, give paw and is a great listener. He loves his toys and has used them at the shelter as a source of comfort, often carrying them around from place to place. If you are in his circle of trust, he will gladly bring them to you and show them off. If someone unfamiliar tries to take them, Remy will growl and if pushed may snap. He loves attention and scratches from his people and will make a great companion for a single person or older couple looking for a dog who likes to walk and have fun with them and then go home for snuggles and naps. If you would like more information about Remy or you would like to meet him, contact the shelter today.
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.
GAMES
J O N E S I N’
“Going Dim” — turn down for what? By Matt Jones
Across
Last week's solution
©2020 Matt Jones (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com) Reference puzzle #1013
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1 Apple variety from Japan 2 “FoxTrot” cartoonist Bill 3 “On the Media” medium
41 Like one 42 Took advantage of, as a system 43 It may get crushed 45 Gary who’s 13 days younger than Gary Numan 46 Danish, for example 49 Dominican Republic neighbor 50 “It’s nobody ___ business” 51 Adoption agcy. 52 They do it for a living 53 “This is exciting” 54 Comedian and “Love Island” narrator Stirling 56 Caesar’s “to be” 58 Target of early-2000s U.N. inspections 59 Drink with a high IBU
WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
Down
4 Worthy of copying 5 ___City (classic computer game) 6 Nut and bolt spacer 7 Part of SATB 8 Went quickly 9 Goo in a prehistoric pit 10 2019 Zachary Levi film 11 Reply to “No offense” 12 Jim’s counterpart in recent “SNL” cold opens 13 Garden route 18 “Get ___” (GSN show of 2020) 22 Kitschy plant from the mint family 24 Diner staple letters 25 Items stuck in some car changers 27 Kingdom 28 Nightmarish street 29 Central idea 30 Uber ___ (delivery service) 31 Luxury resorts (remember those?) 32 Lemminglike rodent 33 Entertaining displays of ineptitude 37 Symbol of the golden ratio 38 Emmy-winning 2019 HBO miniseries 40 One of an elephant’s four
N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
Enjoy Fun By The Numbers puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test! Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!
1 Actress Anna who left “Mom” after season 7 6 Carry through the air 10 Lose it 14 The “fifth taste” 15 Penne ___ vodka 16 Cuban greeting 17 Yoda, for one 19 Caught in ___ (trapped) 20 Letter opener, for short? 21 Grub 22 Language that gave us “robot” and “howitzer” 23 Not out of the question 25 Written companion to a Twitch stream 26 It might obscure identity 31 Lithe 34 “Frozen 2” character 35 Sorento maker 36 Francis’s title 37 Nonstick brand 38 TV Batman Adam 39 Kentucky-born boxer 40 Chancellor Helmut 42 Team that won the most World Series in the 2010s 44 Creator of another crater, maybe 47 Got out quick 48 “Cocoon” Oscar winner Don 51 Part of a black suit 53 Insightful 55 Tony of “Veep” 57 Overly formal 58 Question from someone who just resurfaced (like me after running “best of” puzzles?) 60 Carbonated drink 61 Israeli Golda 62 “___ Dragon” (2016 Disney remake) 63 One “A” of AAA 64 Just say no 65 Flavoring for Greek cookies
CLASSIFIEDS
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LEGAL Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Worcester Division NOTICE OF INFORMAL PROBATE G.L. c. 190B, § 3-306 Docket No. 2OP2420EA Estate of: Vincent P Leahy Also known as: Date of Death: July 21, 2020 To all persons who have or may have some interest in the abovecaptioned estate and, if interested, to the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Veterans Affairs, notice is hereby given on August 18, 2020 that the Petitioner John V Leahy of Auburn, MA intends to file with the abovenamed Probate and Family Court, not sooner than seven (7) days after this notice, a Petition for Informal Probate of a Will and Petition for Informal Appointment of Personal Representative, to serve without surety on the bond John V Leahy of Auburn, MA The estate is being administered under informal procedure by the Personal Representative under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code without supervision by the Court. Inventory and accounts are not required to be filed with the Court, but interested parties are entitled to notice regarding the administration from the Personal Representative and can petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, including distribution of assets and expenses of administration. Interested parties are entitled to petition the Court to institute formal proceedings and to obtain orders terminating or restricting the powers of Personal Representatives appointed under informal procedure. A copy of the Petition and Will, if any, can be obtained from the Petitioner. 11/05/20 WM
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LAST CALL
Alexandra Martin and Kevin Armata developers of ‘2020 Sucks’ wine
W
hen Alexandra Martin first met Kevin Armata at Piccolo’s on Shrewsbury Street, they struck up a conversation about their mutual love of wine. Both came from sales and marketing backgrounds and the pandemic had left their careers on pause. Armata told Martin about a friend who had recently founded his own wine and olive oil label, Manny Rovithis. That’s when Martin proposed a commemorative bottle for 2020, a year in which alcohol consumption has reached record highs. At home, she scoured the internet for a producer with the same idea but found that what she had in mind did not yet exist. They workshopped ideas that would toe the line of respect and satire before settling on the name: 2020 Sucks But at Least I Found a Great Wine. Mediterranean Wine Company launched the new brand in October, and consumers have embraced their apropos bottles by posting countless photos across social media.
And, Kevin, what is your connection to Central Mass? KA: I eat dinner there a lot! I really enjoy the community.
Where did you first meet Manny? KA: Selling appliances.
What is it called? KA: There are three distinct labels — Manny’s Three Faces, Arhorn, and 2020 Sucks But at Least I Found a Great Wine.
And he’s from Crete in Greece? KA: Yup.
Can you tell me about the profiles of your 2020 Sucks offerings? KA: We have a chardonnay, a cabernet and a merlot. And this week, we introduced a red blend.
What about you, Alexandra? How did you become involved in the wine business? AM: I lost my job due to COVID. I sold lighting for 17 years. I happened to meet Kevin at Piccolo’s and I told him, “I’ve been bored out of my mind, being locked up and unemployed.” Once we got talking, I thought, “I’d really like to help this guy out.” That’s how I began hanging out with these guys. It’s been a great ride.
If you’re not from the world of wine, how did you manage to launch your own brand? KA: I’m a marketing guy and I’ve known Manny for 45 years. When he asked for my help, I proceeded to learn the wine and olive oil business very quickly.
Have you ever visited? KA: Nope.
What does production look like from your end?
KA: As for the label, most likely, KA: We sell and market the wine to restaurants and package stores. yes. Understand, this wine is all of a week old. Where can we find it? Have you found any silver linAM: The idea for a fun label only came about a couple of weeks ago. ings to 2020? AM: I would say it has definitely I was thinking that there was no made me look at my life and it commemorative bottle for 2020. I looked online and I thought, “This has brought me closer to a lot of people. Just realizing, what’s most will be fun.” I mean, everybody important is family and friends. I at this point really needs a good hope the wine will bring everylaugh. Austin Liquors brought it one a good laugh and help them in right away. Colony Liquors has remember what we’ve all been also brought it in along with Dithrough this year. Vine Wine & Spirits in WestborKA: I second that. It has been a ough. It has already been really successful and people are contact- terrible year and we’ve all had to reshuffle our priorities, but a lot ing me from all over. of good can come out of it too. We’ve all had a chance to spend I have a feeling the legacy of more time with our families. Busi2020 will live on after the new nesses have learned to reinvent year, but can your wine label? themselves. We’ll take all of these I mean, will it still be available lessons with us for the rest of our in 2021? lives. AM: The wine itself will certainly – Sarah Connell Sanders be available.
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How did the idea come about to develop your own wine label? KA: I was helping a gentleman named Manny Rovithis who has an award-winning olive oil imported from a village in Crete. He recently introduced wine from the same village. Like Alex, during COVID, I was looking for something to do until the world
goes back to normal. That’s how I got involved. I’ve been working to promote Manny’s wine.
WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
How did you become invested in the Canal District? AM: It’s an organization that I joined five years ago, through people I met doing charity work. It’s obviously been a great success with the ballpark coming.
DYLAN AZARI
N O V E M B E R 5 - 11, 2020
What are your connections to Worcester? AM: I live in North Oxford, actually, but I volunteer for Veterans Inc. in Worcester and I’m also on the Canal District Alliance Board.
Kevin Armata and Alexandra Martin
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