Uncategorized

Originally Published on April 4th 2024 I have the privilege of joining my friend Jim Pollard for breakfast a few times a week at Connie’s Stagecoach. Alongside his coffee, Jim is given a shaker of cinnamon – an old-school approach to adding flavor without resorting to sugar. Did he learn that from his mother, Helen,…

Originally published April 19th 2024 I’ve pledged (to myself) to write 52 columns this year. Dave Rogers, the avant editor of The Daily News, first presented me with this chance last fall. I’m grateful for his generous offer to a novice writer who’s somewhat conservative, a tad long winded, and carries a few extra pounds.…

Curious Traveler: CJ Fitzwater On June 19th 2020, in the Judiciary Square neighborhood of Washington, D.C., a group of Black Lives Matter members protesting the murder of George Floyd gathered with ropes and chains, intent on removing the 11-foot statue of Albert Pike. Pike was the former Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of…

Originally Published on April 25th 2024 “Traveler, as you labor on your journey along the swift Powwow, with the summer sun beating down upon your brow, take a moment to heed the tranquility that surrounds you, to the gentle stream flowing from the hill.” This opening stanza from John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem “The Fountain’’ paints…

Originally published October 19th 2023 On the first cold Sunday morning of autumn, with leaves turning golden and the air crisp with promise, I was drawn to Salisbury’s heart – the iconic East Parish United Methodist Church. Situated at the center of the town, this historic edifice stands as a testament to a bond forged…

Oceanographer Robert Ballard undertook a secret mission funded by the U.S. Navy to locate two sunken nuclear submarines from the Cold War era, the USS Thresher and the USS Scorpion. The mission aimed to assess environmental risks from their nuclear reactors and investigate possible Soviet involvement. With his extra time, Ballard was allowed to search…

Originally published May 23rd 2024 “Persistence is what makes the impossible possible, the possible likely, and the likely definite.” — Robert Half In my column last week, I talked about Salisbury’s Colonial-style form of government and how open Town Meeting plays a pivotal role in governance. Every registered voter has the opportunity to cast a…

Originally published May 16th 2024 “The purest form of democratic governing is practiced in a Town Meeting. In use for over 300 years and still today, it has proven to be a valuable means for many Massachusetts taxpayers to voice their opinions and directly affect change in their communities. Here in this ancient American assembly,…

I stepped into Salisbury Town Hall last week to the vibe of a busy morning. There, amid the flurry of local civics, stood a familiar face, Lou Papandrea, or “Low Tide Louie,” a voice many in our community recognize from the oldies program “Tales and Co.” he co-hosts on 94.1, and a Vietnam War veteran.…

Originally published May 30th 2024 “My two favorite things in life are libraries, and bicycles. They both move people forward.” – Peter Golkin Three years ago, on a whim, my wife Nina, and I purchased E-bikes. At that time, E-bikes were becoming mainstream. Though they first emerged in the 90s, they were expensive, bulky and…