SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – Return for a 12th year and enjoy this popular holiday tradition in Shrewsbury.  The annual carol sing with the Worcester Brass Consort  takes place on the town common in front of the First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury on Friday, December 23, 2012 at 7:00 PM. This event has never cancelled because of weather. In the event of extreme winter conditions, this event is moved into the church hall.

Each year the carol sing seems to attract a larger and more enthusiastic crowd. This year’s event is jointly sponsored by the community concert series, “Arts on the Green” and Scissors Hair Salon. According to series director Malcolm Halliday: “this event was first envisioned, and then implemented by  Shrewsbury resident Kay Reynolds, with encouragement and funding for the brass from the Music Committee at the congregational church. Since its first season the event has grown and taken on quite a life of its own. We are glad to continue sponsoring the brass players through “Arts on the Green” and grateful to Scissors Hair Salon for their underwriting of the hot chocolate.

The event is free and open to the entire community, though a donation will be collected to support the Worcester County Food Bank. The Worcester Brass Consort is a professional ensemble directed by Douglas Weeks, Professor of Music at WPI, and they do a fantastic job ringing in the spirit of the holidays. Please bring a flashlight. We also encourage you to bring toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner and.or deodorant which will be distributed to the more than 280 families living in Shrewsbury who are served by St. Anne’s Food Pantry.

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – One of the most amazing things about this time of year is the true spirit of giving that abounds. To help those less fortunate here in the Shrewsbury area, there are several toy drives being conducted.  On Saturday December 8, 2012 from 9am-12noon the Shrewsbury Patrolman’s Local 426 will be holding a Toy’s for Tots drive at the Shrewsbury Police Department 106 Maple Avenue Shrewsbury MA.  The event is titled “Fill the Wagon” as the will be trying to fill our patrol wagon with new/unwrapped toys.  Hot chocolate will be served and Santa will be making an appearance.  

In addition, the annual Leaders of Tomorrow Toy Drive to benefit local shelters is being held all this month at Shrewsbury Health and Racquet Club.  Bring over a new/unwrapped toy, and just give it to the wonderful people at the front desk.  Those toys will be split up into groups and used to help several of the local shelters provide gifts for children who otherwise would have nothing under the tree.

Anything you can do to help would be fantastic.

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – Heald & Chiampa’s annual “Santa at The Sumner House” event will take place on Saturday, December 1^st  from 12:30 – 3:00 PM.

For two years now, Heald & Chiampa Funeral Home have helped kickoff the holiday season by welcoming a visit from Santa Claus to The Sumner House.  Last year hundreds of area families enjoyed this special holiday gathering and festive atmosphere on the grounds of the historic Sumner House.

Bringing special holiday cheer to area children, Heald & Chiampa have arranged for Santa Clause to pose for photos with all those who attend.  A note from the North Pole indicates Santa will be arriving around 1 PM.  Santa promises to meet all the good boys and girls and hear their Christmas wishes.

Santa’s elves will be handing out coloring books to kids and serving hot chocolate, munchkins and much more to all the guests.

Heald & Chiampa Funeral Directors is uniquely positioned as a Life Celebration® Home. Partners Jim Heald, John Heald and David Chiampa, open the Sumner House to the residents of Shrewsbury and beyond many times throughout the year for community functions. It has become a place where people gather in life’s challenging times of loss and sadness, but also serves as a hub of joy, excitement and exploration for community oriented events.

As long-time residents of Shrewsbury, the Heald & Chiampa partners are committed to giving back to the community where they live and serve area families.

As noted by John Heald, “From the outset, we have always wanted ‘The Sumner House’ to be where the Community could gather on all occasions and we have and will continue to do that.  We want people to pass by The Sumner House and feel like it is a place that is theirs and to give them a real sense of community.  Without question, the ‘Santa at the Sumner House’ event gives us the opportunity to create and foster those special memories.  As members of this vibrant community, we take great pride in giving back all year long.”

Please contact John Heald at 508.842.3700 orjohn@healdchiampa.com to learn more.

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SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – We live in the age of the superstore, and with the upcoming black Friday that is more apparent than ever before.  You can go into a box store, by an evening gown, a few pairs of socks, and some dog food, all while having your new tires put on.  Those stores most definitely serve a purpose, and perhaps for some, owning such a business would be a dream come true.  For Shrewsbury native Victoria Plotnick, owner of the thriving Niva Boutique, however, nothing could have been further from the dream.  She set off instead to bring to the area a true “boutique,” setting, where personal service and attention to detail was far more important than having the same dress in thirty different colors.  ”Getting to know your clientele,” Victoria said, “…is they key to starting and operating a successful brick and mortar business in a challenging economy.”  At Niva, there are no customers, “only friends we haven’t yet gotten to know,” and that’s a motto that she brings to work with her each and every day.

I don’t recall ever writing here about clothes shopping, but this is something special.  Spending time in the boutique is just so vastly different than a trip to the mall.  Much of that begins with the selection of clothing, jewelry and accessories that she chooses to bring into the store to begin with.  She’s looking for quality, above all else, as well as style, uniqueness, and affordability.  The feel is light and airy, without the pressure to cram in a million different styles, instead focusing on the fact that the wardrobe you buy at Niva is not something you will see on every colleague at work the next day.  Not worried about the high pressure of the sales industry, her team instead chooses to focus on your needs, dreams and desires.  I stopped by for just a few minutes to take some photos, and had to patiently wait for almost a half hour while Victoria called some different clients personally, just to let them know that she’d just gotten in something special that she thought they would like, and was going to hold onto it until they had a chance to get back in.  Now that’s a level of service that you just won’t see from the majority of the large stores, and  what the true “boutique shopping experience” is supposed to be like.

For those who live in the Boston area, this is probably nothing new, and likely what they’re used to in their regular Newbury Street shopping trips.  For us here in the Shrewsbury area, however, it’s one of the rarest commodities you can imagine, and very refreshing little island in the world of retail.  I know so many people who’ve had the opportunity to stop by, usually while visiting a restaurant within the plaza, and once that happens, they instantly have become fans for life.   If you have a chance, why not stop by in person, and you’ll immediately see just what I mean.   Niva is located at 290 West Main Street, Northboro, in the same building as LalaJava, my favorite coffee place.  Let me know what you think, and whether you came away with the same sense of warmth and quality that I’ve seen so many times before.

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – Shrewsbury’s Sherwood and Oak Middle School will be holding their annual combined shopping night on  Thursday, December 6th, 2012 from 6:00 – 8:30 pm in the Oak gym.    Open and free to the general public, this event has always proven to be a fantastic place to pick up those holiday gifts, and see the incredible creativity of many of your friends and neighbors with  handcrafted items large and small, home party based vendors, merchandise raffles.

They are currently open to new vendors, so if you’re interested in displaying your wares, contact: Mary-Beth Turner 508/754-7777 or mbturner@aol.com

See PTO webpage to access the application form, www.sherwoodoakpto.org

To secure your spot please mail completed form along with your check no later than November 8 to : Mary-Beth Turner 211 N. Quinsigamond Ave. Shrewsbury, MA 01545 .

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts - “The Knights of the Lego Table” were crown first-place champions at the Blackstone Valley FIRST Lego League (FLL) Tournament on November 17, 2012.  Fifty-nine FLL teams competed at the tournament held at Blackstone Valley Technical School in Upton, MA on a sunny Saturday.

Members of the winning team are: Scott Sheffield of Northborough a 9th grader at the Advanced Math and Science Academy (AMSA), Alden Vedder of Shrewsbury  an 8th grader at AMSA, Zarius Dubash of Shrewsbury an 8th grader at AMSA, and Linus Adler of Shrewsbury a 4th grader at Patton Elementary School.  The team is coached by John Vedder of Shrewsbury who is coaching FLL teams for his sixth year.

This year’s FLL challenge had a theme of “Senior Solutions.”  Each team worked with a senior citizen partner and other experts to identify a problem that senior citizens face and to create an innovative solution to the problem.   At the tournament, teams competed in many areas.  First, they operate  an autonomous robot they have previously built out of Lego to perform specific tasks.  They present an informative and entertaining research project and communicate their technical knowledge of the mechanical and programming aspects of their robot to a panel of judges.  Finally, they must complete a surprise challenge and are judged on how well they work as a team.

At the end of the day-long competition, “The Knights of the Lego Table” were awarded a trophy for the First Place Champions Award — the highest honor you can win at an FLL tournament.   This has earned the “The Knights” a chance to compete in the Massachusetts State Championship Tournament on December 15 with 83 other teams from across the state.

For their research project, The Knights identified that due to poor memory, seniors may leave food in the refrigerator too long and allow it to spoil.  Ingesting spoiled food can lead to food poisoning.  They developed an automatic timer that can be placed on food containers to display how many days the item has been in the refrigerator.  The timer starts automatically when it detects the temperature drop and can also indicate if an item has been left out too long.  The Knights built a working prototype of this timer using a microcontroller, thermistor, and LCD display.

After receiving the trophy, Linus Adler stated, “Winning the Champions award did not seem real” and Alden Vedder added “It was really exciting”.   The team will continue to meet three times a week as they prepare for the state tournament.

FIRST is an acronym for “For Inspiration and Recombination of Science and Technology.”  The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.   The FLL mission is to get children ages 9 to 14 excited about science and technology.  To learn more about FIRST visit their website at www.usfirst.org

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – As Thanksgiving week rolls around again, it’s time to wish a Happy Birthday number 3 to the Shrewsbury Lantern itself!  (Oh it’s also my birthday next week, and I’m older than 3.)  I was visiting my folks that year, down in New Jersey, when I first came up with the idea, and the day after turkey day, while everyone was hanging out watching football, I decided to do a bit of programming, and voila, the Shrewsbury Lantern made it’s debut.   Long before the “Patch,” and the “Daily Shrewsbury,” long before the other newspapers saw the efficiency and value of an online presence, I kicked it off with nothing more than an idea of creating an open media platform designed to focus only on Shrewsbury issues, to do so with “near real time” precision, and provide a way for local residents to tell the world about the great work they do every day.

One of the real goals, and something which I’m happy to say we accomplished, was to help inform the community about the great things that are happening each and every day here in Shrewsbury, that weren’t able to get the attention of the traditional brick and mortar newspapers.  As I have said before, when the SHS varsity football team plays St. John’s, every newspaper in the area covered the game, but who was there covering the cross country or field hockey achievements, the sprinters competing at the state championship, the amazing presentation of Almost Maine at SHS, the cub scout can and bottle drives, or the bell ringers at the First Congregational Church.  As advertisers pulled back from the actual “newspapers,” the number of pages shrank precipitously, and with it the space available for running community related events, making it harder than ever for groups to get the word out.

One thing that hadn’t been expected, but has been a big asset, as been the ability to become the “go to news source” in the case of emergencies, both in Shrewsbury, and around the region.  When tornadoes approached, when the ice storm took out power to most of the town, when the Halloween blizzard hit with little warning, or even during Hurricane Sandy, we were on the job reporting the news in real time, and connecting Shrewsbury residents both with information, and in many cases with each other.   Another surprise has been the huge reach on a national level that we have seen.  The first glimpse of that for me was that simple restaurant review I did earlier in the year that mentioned Tommy Bahama, that resulted in their donation of hundreds of amazing new outfits to Andy’s Attic.   Surprisingly, that kind of thing happens all the time now.  We mention Walmart in an article, and hear from their corporate team the same day.   An article about the Leaders of Tomorrow Adopt a Family drive has generated not only emails from Shrewsbury families wanting to donate, but from companies around the area that want to pitch in.  Even the review we did on the new Crosby, Stills and Nash CD/DVD (a perfect holiday gift by the way), was picked up by AP and broadcast around the world.  Yes, for all it’s pro’s and con’s the internet is a pretty amazing thing, so thanks Al Gore for that.

Since that time just three years ago, things have grown more exponentially than we could have ever imagined,  to the point where we have sometimes seen over 8000 page views in a single day, and for that we send out a huge thanks to the people of Shrewsbury who turn to it each day for the most up to date information on this great town we call home.  The best part, at least in my opinion, is that we’ve done that while maintaining some class and decorum, without trying to make a “news story” out of every falling leaf, without emailing 2000 people every day, and without trying to crank up page views by imploring you to vote for your favorite donut each week.  As Sgt. Joe Friday said, we give you “just the facts.”  I suppose one reason for that is that we remain committed to the fact that the Shrewsbury Lantern is the only news site that isn’t drive by ad sales, page views and profit, which it was never about anyway.  No, we exist purely for the love of the town of Shrewsbury itself.  Any advertisements we do allow, which is rare, are really reserved usually for local businesses and friends we know and love, are not brought in to generate money, but to provide a little extra exposure and encourage people to shop local at a time when we all need to stick together.

We still are looking for people who want to contribute in some way.  Perhaps that’s you!   We need people to do restaurant reviews, cover local sporting events, interview local officials and more.  This could be student interns from college or high school, looking to build their resume, or just as easily anyone with a passion for Shrewsbury, and a love of writing. If that’s you, why not drop an email and describe what your particular field of expertise is, and we’ll make a spot for you as a regular columnist.

Thanks again to everyone for all of your love and support.  Keep on reading, and most of all please keep the story ideas coming.  We are here to be your hometown news source and to serve the community.  We can only do that with your suggestions coming in all the time.  Oh by the way, someone asked me just the other day what our “biggest story” has been over the years, so I took some time today to go back and check.  The answer surprised even me, but it most definitely put a smile on my face.  Can you loyal readers remember which one it was?   If you guessed the April Fools story about the 100 pound catfish in Lake Quinsigamond, you’d be right!  If you’d like a chuckle, check out the story again at this link, and be sure to read the comments that went along with it.  http://shrewsbury.net/?p=17430

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – The other day I was over at the Shrewsbury Stop and Shop, my daily home away from home, picking up some extra turkeys for a local shelter.  While I was rummaging through the case looking for a couple of 20-24 pounders, and finally finding them buried under some smaller ones, I found myself standing next to a woman with her two young sons, also going through the bin flipping over each bird, and scouring the tags.  Since I’m a nosy chatterbox, as those of you who know me will surely attest, I commented that if she was looking for the twenty pounders, they were tucked over into that corner.  She kind of surprised me a bit when she said there was no way she could afford a twenty pounder, and adding that she was actually trying to find something smaller than the 12-14′s that might be cheaper, and then she was going to just use some extra stuffing and powdered potatoes to “fill up the family.”  ”Not a whole lot to be thankful for this year,” she said, and she was “lucky to have any turkey at all.”   It was really early in the morning, and my mind wasn’t yet warmed up for the day, and the matter of fact way she said it, to a total stranger, really caught me off guard.  With her kids still rummaging through the bins and a bit out of earshot, I told her that St. Anne’s usually was able to help out with dinners and food for people who needed some help, but she said that she had never been to such a place and that she’d rather just make due that ask for help.    She just sounded so sad.

Anyway, in the end, I told her that I helped run a local charity that provided for people in need in the Shrewsbury area, which is true, and that I wanted to buy her family their turkey this year.  She refused at first, but I basically told her that I wasn’t taking no for an answer, pressed two twenty dollar bills in her hand, said Happy Thanksgiving, and scampered off with my cart before  she could argue about it.   Now I’ve been helping out with food donations in Shrewsbury for a long time, but I couldn’t help but wonder, though somewhat in amazement, that right here next to you and I in the supermarket, there are people that are just so forlorn over their situation, that they truly feel they have nothing worth giving any thanks for.  After all, in even the bleakest of situations, surely there must be some light, whether in the form of good health, the love of our children, or the fact that we have the joy of living in a nation where we can go to bed at night feeling safe and free.

As we celebrate this weekend, and join together with the ones we hold dear, I challenge each of my loyal readers to go out this week and commit just one random act of kindness.  I don’t care what it is, but know that if you reach out and do one little thing for someone else, it will truly be giving thanks for all the wonders that you have.  Perhaps today, when you make that last trip to the grocery store, stop at the service desk and buy five $10 gift cards.   As you walk around in the furor of the pre-turkey-day rush, be just a little bit more aware of those around you.  Find someone who looks like they may need a hand, perhaps someone elderly who toiled for 50 years to make this community what it is today, or maybe a young couple scouring the prices on everything before placing it in their cart. Just walk by them, hand them one of the gift cards, say Happy Thanksgiving, and keep walking.  When you’re lined up on Black Friday morning, let someone else use your chair, maybe refrain from tackling a fellow shopper over a $20 CD player, or drive through the Mass Pike toll or Dunkin drive-through, and pay for the person behind you – really anything that will spread the love.

I’m a firm believer in the fact that truly “giving thanks” is only possible if you share those feelings of sincere gratitude with those around you.  For many, it’s been a long, tough year for one reason or another.  For some it’s been financial, others medical, or just personal.  Some have dealt with the loss of a loved one, the disaster of a storm, or perhaps seen a life’s dream go down in flames.  I’ve faced some challenges with my family as well, and have no doubt I will face more in the year to come, but we all have, and I know for sure, that most others have had it far worse.   As the Indian proverb laments, “I pitied myself for having no shoes, until I met a man that had no feet.”   To give of yourself is truly the greatest joy of all, and that which separates us from the other species on the earth, all of whom focus solely on how much they can consume, with no intellectual capacity to put their own needs secondary to those around them.

As you sit down to celebrate with your loved ones this week, do talk for a moment about the deeper sense of the Thanksgiving holiday.   Most of all, instill upon your children from the earliest possible age that spirit of self-sacrifice that is so precious, yet becoming more and more rare as time goes on.  These children truly are our future.   I had the opportunity to read a letter the other day, written by a pretty wonderful person here in Shrewsbury, and a great friend of many years.   I won’t embarrass them by naming them here, but I’ve alway admired this persons uniquely eloquent ability to speak in public, without a script, and move people in a very deep and unique way.   She was speaking in this letter about volunteerism among local youth, and to paraphrase her brilliant words said, “….some say that leaders are born that way.  It may be, however that children are nurtured in a family that cares passionately about helping others.  ….At some point, the mature and self-confident child must recognize their ability to influence those around them….and make helping others an integral part of their own life.”  It seems so logical, so simple, and yet so intuitively brilliant in scope.  We all engrain our children from birth with a sense of values and morals, and an understanding of how we as their parents approach our role in society.  Then it’s up to them to decide where they will take those beliefs, and how they will use them to shape the world around them.  Children will usually become that which they see practiced in the home.  I know that was the case for me.  My parents had very little, and my dad often worked three jobs to put food on the table, but there was always food, and if there was food for us, then their approach was that there was food for others. I can vividly remember my mom taking me with her to volunteer at events in our community to help those in need.  Oddly, by todays standards, we probably were “in need” ourselves…but others, my mom and dad assured me, needed help far more than we did.   They carried those standards with them for their whole lives, and still do, and it was from them, and from my wonderful wife, that I learned compassion for others, and a sense of personal responsibility for the world as a whole.

From my whole family to yours, may you have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving, may you be surrounded by those you love, and may we all look forward to a year living in peace.

Steve

A couple of interesting observations to note, and then I’ll leave you alone for the night.

First, I was really excited to receive multiple emails and Facebook messages about yesterdays article here in the Lantern (Giving Back) that encouraged people to go out and do just one unexpected good deed for someone else.  People reached out to me in droves to let me know they did just that, and I was so excited to see several people posting online that someone ahead of them at the drive through window paid for their coffee!!  Who would have though, people actually read my stuff and take action!  Keep spreading the love through the holiday season and let’s see just how much we can change the world around us.

Secondly, for those who think there is no real estate market this time of year, and that homes should be held off the market until after the holidays, I’m thrilled to say that today, yes Thanksgiving Day, I have multiple offers on two homes that we’ve been negotiating between dinner courses.   In the end, you just never know who’s out there looking to buy on any given day.

OK, you’ve all been patient and listened to me on a holiday, and for that I’m grateful.  Back to the Pats game.   Keep spreading the holiday spirit everyone….