The Sturbridge Times - Sturbridge Times Magazine

Transcription

absolutelyfabulous! A green way
Inside the world of Sturbridge theatre— Page 13
THE INTERVIEW:
VOLUME 1
NUMBER 2
Sturbridge author Rita Schiano—Page 8
to battle mosquitoes
Page 11
The Sturbridge Times
WWW.STURBRIDGETIMES.COM
THE HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FOR STURBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS USA
THE AUGUST 2007 EDITION
Sturbridge native
Suddenly, it’s
Therese Hillman’s
raining newspapers odyssey through
all over Sturbridge local and national
politics
By Paul Carr
... and then there were three
During the month that followed
the inaugural issue of The
Sturbridge Times, two newspaper
firms in Massachusetts: Turley
Publishing of Palmer and Stonebridge Press of Southbridge,
launched regional weekly newspapers that are being mailed into
Sturbridge homes.
The Tantasqua Town Common,
from Turley Publishing, is being
mailed to residences in Brimfield,
Brookfield, Holland, Sturbridge,
and Wales.
Stonebridge Press of Southbridge, publisher of The Southbridge Evening News, has launched
two newspapers, The Charlton
Villager and The Sturbridge Villager.
The Charlton paper will be mailed
only to Charlton homes. The
Sturbridge paper will be going to
residences in Brimfield, Holland,
Sturbridge, and Wales.
With its two new titles, Stonebridge Press now publishes 13
newspapers in the area. Turley has
16 newspapers.
The Sturbridge Times, which
focuses on Sturbridge residents
and their interests, is a monthly
publication owned, operated and
created by Sturbridge residents for
Sturbridge residents.
Being Mrs. Hillman
By Erik Radvon
There are quite a few things
that can mark 1977 in our memories. It was during this year when
‘Star Wars’ lit up movie screens
across the nation, Elvis Presley
was found dead in his Memphis
mansion, and former peanut
farmer Jimmy Carter succeeded
Gerald Ford in the White House.
It was also the year when a
young
Sturbridge
waitress
named Therese met a state trooper named Reed. The place? None
other than the Friendly’s take-out
window on Main Street in
Sturbridge. The rest, as they say,
is history.
In the 21 years since that fateful Fribble purchase, Reed
STURBRIDGE TIMES PHOTO BY RICHARD MURPHY
Therese Hillman at home in Sturbridge with her horse, Apollo.
Hillman has gone on to lead a varied and exciting career, first rising
through the ranks of the state
police to become the agency’s
superintendent, and later in politics.
After he retired from the force,
Hillman ran for State Representative as a Republican in a largely
Democratic district and was solid-
ly elected. Last year, he was
nominated by his party to run
for the office of Lieutenant
Governor, and campaigned with
then Lt. Gov. Kerry Healy across
the Commonwealth.
In June of this year, Reed
Hillman was chosen by the
White House for the position of
Continued on Page 16
Burgess Committee plans April presentation to Town Meeting
By Stephanie Richards
The Burgess Building Committee is moving forward in the planning process for a renovated or
new building, hoping that the
town will approve a tax increase to
fund it.
“The committee is earnestly
moving forward with the process,”
said Angela Cheng-Cimini, chair
of the Sturbridge School Committee and member of the Burgess
Building Committee. “There is no
funding from the state and the
school and the community can’t
wait any longer. We hope to show
the town what the proposed building will look like with full details
A Hometown Newspaper for Sturbridge
This newspaper is brought to you by the merchants and
services who are advertising in these pages.
Please remember this when selecting goods and services.
and a fairly accurate price tag by
the next town meeting in April.”
Burgess Elementary Principal
Daniel Carlson said that forward
movement in the process is essential as the facilities have continued
to deteriorate over the last few
years.
Prsrt. Std
U.S. Postage
PAID
Worcester, MA
Permit No. 2
2 THE STURBRIDGE TIMES | AUGUST 2007
EDITORIAL
Christian Earl Frechette
T
here can be no greater pain in the
human experience than losing one’s
child. To live through the sudden
accidental death of a four-year son constitutes
unthinkable grief.
The sorrow following Christian Frechette’s
drowning has reached into the marrow of this
town. Parents have struggled over how to tell
their small children the coarse truth that their
friend will no longer be among them. People
who never knew Christian have connected so
deeply to this tragedy that they cannot speak
of it.
The death of any young person tears open a
breach in the natural order of things. Inside
our churches and schools, on playgrounds and
in living rooms, our neighbors console one
another, knowing that healing will come.
In and around us, the beat of life continues,
and the undulating daily routine will return
without much notice.
Most of us believe that the wonders and
mysteries of this world are now known to
Christian. That he has advanced beyond us.
We can all agree that he will be remembered
for a long time to come.
A
Welcoming
Guest Editorials
s we mentioned in our first issue, this page
will be open from time-to-time to Guest
Editorials.
A guest editorial in this paper will help us find
the Sturbridge “Vox Populi” — or Voice of the
People.
Here are the rules. You can write about anything
that has to do with Sturbridge and Sturbridge life,
as long as it is enlightening to all of us, makes good
sense, is non-defamatory and is coherent and
appropriate enough to be read aloud and understood by most members of a Sturbridge family.
We are all familiar with the arguments (pro and
con) on hot and controversial social issues so let’s
leave those out. Enlighten us with something new.
Challenge us all with an idea. Point something out
that will help us as neighbors. Give it to us in 350
words or less, sign it and give us your phone number. We look forward to hearing from you.
Let’s Talk
HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER OF
STURBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 01566 USA
TO SEND NEWS
OR A LETTER TO EDITOR
OR A GUEST EDITORIAL
PUBLISHED DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF EACH
MONTH AT STURBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
MANAGING EDITOR
SALES
CONTRIBUTORS
PAUL CARR
JOHN SMALL
DENNIS FINN
MOLLY FINN
ERIC LAVALEE
TOM CHAMBERLAND
RICHARD MURPHY
ERIK RADVON
STEPHANIE RICHARDS
THE STURBRIDGE TIMES
P.O. BOX 418, STURBRIDGE, MA 01566
TEL. 508-347-7077 FAX 508-347-8150
WWW.STURBRIDGETIMES.COM
DELIVERED INTO EVERY HOME AND BUSINESS
IN STURBRIDGE.
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RESIDENTIAL LIST UPDATED EVERY 3 MOS.
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MAILED BY CLARK MAILING COMPANY, WORCESTER
Brevity
by Guy and Rodd
E-mail: [email protected]
or go to www.sturbridgetimes.com
and select “Got News?” and write to us there.
or write to us at P.O. Box 418 in Sturbridge 01566
or call us at 508-347-7077
TO PLACE ADVERTISING
TO ORDER A DISPLAY AD:
Go to www. sturbridgetimes.com
and select “Advertise” and then “Order Your Display
Ad” (you can order right online) or Call 508-347-7077
TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD:
Go to www.sturbridgetimes.com
and select “Advertise” and then “Classifieds” (you can
order right online) or Call 508-347-7077.
See Classified Section in this newspaper for more information.
THE STURBRIDGE TIMES | AUGUST 2007 3
THE
VIEW
FROM STURBRIDGE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Our paper welcomed graciously by phone, e-mail and letters
RIGHT ON TARGET
CONGRATULATIONS
on
your terrific first issue of The
Sturbridge Times. There certainly
is a need for this newspaper
especially with the content you
have established.
I was in publishing for over
40 years. I know how difficult
and costly it is to establish a
new publication. I also have
seen how outside owners
have destroyed local newspapers.
If I am correct, your first issue
is right on target for whats needed in Sturbridge.
I wish you every success.
WILLIAM HASLAM
Sturbridge
JUST WHAT
STURBRIDGE NEEDS
LET ME BE ONE OF THE
FIRST to tell you how pleased I
was when I opened my mailbox
this afternoon to find my first
copy of The Sturbridge Times.
Being a resident of this wonderful town for the past 6 years, I
have always been disappointed
that Sturbridge did not have its
own newspaper. The Sturbridge
Times is exactly what our community and its residents have
been waiting for. Kudos to you
for realizing this need as well,
and doing something about it!
You may be a relative newcomer
to town, but you knew exactly
what Sturbridge needed. I anx-
iously await the next monthly
edition of your paper.
Thank you!
CHRISTY RZUCIDLO
Sturbridge
READ IT COVER-TO- COVER
... INCLUDING ADS
I’M HOOKED! It was very
exciting to find this informative,
well-written document in my
mailbox this morning. I read it
cover-to-cover, including ads, and
look forward to future editions.
In addition to being a
Sturbridge resident, I am a sixth
grade Language Arts/Social
Studies teacher in town. I plan to
make this paper part of my classroom library reading material.
I loved the inclusion of the
OSV movie schedule (I receive it
as an online notice, but this
makes it much more accessible).
The “Sugar After Dark” idea is
intriguing and I know that I'll be
discussing it on the beach with my
neighbors here at Walker Pond.
I could go on and on...Suffice
it to say you’ve created a fan.
This paper really works for me!
TERRI TSONGALIS
Sturbridge
ALWAYS FREE?
WILL this paper always be free?
M. HASSETT
Sturbridge
Yes. The paper will always be paid for
by the advertisers you find in its pages.
— Editor.
THE
VIEW
FROM STURBRIDGE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CONTINUED
A sampling of reaction from residents to the first Sturbridge Times
COUPLE APPRECIATES
THEIR HOMETOWN PAPER
MY HUSBAND and I recently
moved to Sturbridge from
Boston two months ago. We had
been building a weekend house,
but with the birth of our daughter, decided to make this our fulltime residence.
As my husband and I read
your letter in the inaugural issue
of your paper, we couldn’t
believe that you were writing
exactly what we had discussed
so many times ourselves.
Both my husband and I grew
up in Ware which has its own
paper, The Ware River News.
Even though we had not lived in
Ware for many years, we have
continued to receive the paper in
the mail. It has been our way of
staying connected with our old
community, friends and the
goings on in our hometown.
We too were a bit disappointed that we didn’t find a similar
paper for Sturbridge. We are
thrilled that you have undertaken this venture and wish you
much success. We read the first
issue cover-to-cover and can’t
wait for upcoming issues.
SHERRI PELSKI
Sturbridge
THE STURBRIDGE —
FISKDALE THING
I HAVE A REQUEST, a compliment and a wish that this
paper has staying power.
FYI ... Sturbridge starts (coming from the East and heading
West) at Rt. 49, Route 20 and
ends at Cedar St. (really part of
Cedar). From there-on everything along Route 20 to Brimfield
is Fiskdale.
That's a lot of territory just on
Route 20, never mind the side
streets that go up to the
Brookfields and Holland.
My request is this: Please try
to remember us here in Fiskdale
and write Fiskdale in any article
that may have to do with
Fiskdale. While we know that
we’re lumped together with
Sturbridge, we are our own
town. If you ever get a chance to
see a copy of the Sturbridge
History and Pictoral book you
will see that we have been here
just as long as Sturbridge.
The factories along Route 20
helped make this part of
Massachusetts thrive. There are
streets here that are named for
the owners of the factories and
the product they produced:
Snellville section of Fiskdale,
Snell Street and Auger Street are
the ones that come to mind
because that's where I live.
Maybe with this information
you would be more willing to
count us as Fiskdale residents?
I agree that a local newspaper
tells us about us.
Good Luck and Best Wishes.
PRISCILLA ADAMS
Fiskdale
STEVE KNOWS FUN
I AM VERY PLEASED to see
the first issue of The Sturbridge
Times.
I enjoyed reading the articles
that highlighted local residents.
I also enjoyed the articles on
the Worcester Tornadoes and the
FEB. SCHOOL VACATION 2/17/2008
Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas
7-night Southern Caribbean including air from Boston
Prices starting at $1485 pp, based on double occupancy.
Call for more details.
IRELAND - 6 night Fly drive, with bed &
breakfasts, from
$744 pp
MEXICO - 5 night all-inclusive vacation,
with air from Boston, from
$539 pp
JAMAICA - 5 night all-inclusive vacation,
with air from Boston, from
$629 pp
BAHAMAS/ATLANTIS
RESORT - 3 night hotel, with air from
Boston, from
$569 pp
Rates based on availability, midweek travel, thru 10/07,
restrictions apply. Departure taxes additional.
Jeff Burdick, Financial Advisor
113 Main Street
Sturbridge, MA 01566
508-347-1420
www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC
(508) 347-9511
1-800-222-5930
Check out our website at www.sturbridgetravel.com
for our weekly specials
129 Main St.,
Sturbridge Professional Center, Sturbridge
Sturbridge Trekker.
I have added a link to your
website from mine:
http://www.ssgreenberg.name/
RetirementEntertainment.shtml#
Newspapers
STEVEN GREENBERG
Fiskdale
Dear Neighbors,
Steve Greenberg’s website is
worth a bookmark on your toolbars.
It’s loaded with great contact information and links to an array of
resources and superb excursion
ideas. Bravo Steve!
— Editor
In Christian’s Memory
Donations in memory of
Christian Frechette can be
mailed to:
Christian Earl Frechette
Memorial Fund, c/o Jayne
Bowler, TD Banknorth, 295
Park Ave., Worcester, MA
01609.
Call with any questions:
508-890-3402.
SUMMER LESSONS
Fiddle, Mandolin, Drums,
Piano, Guitar, Flute, Bass
Guitars,
Mandolins, Violins
starting at
$99
THE
FIDDLE
CENTER
300 East Main St (Rt. 9)
East Brookfield
508-867-6600
www.fiddlecenter.com
STURBRIDGE
IN BUSINESS
Three
Moms
& Two New
Businesses
The Tale of
in Sturbridge
PHOTO BY BOB ARNOLD
BY STEPHANIE RICHARDS
Jennifer Looney, mother of
five, worked every holiday as a
waitress. The job fit a need for
her family since her husband
Kacey could be home with the
kids. But family time was at a
premium.
While Looney has always
enjoyed shopping, her sense of
frugality often led her into various consignment stores where
she found “great finds” for herself and, on occasion, for her
friends.
Looney recognized that her
talent for finding tony threads at
bargain prices might represent
an opportunity.
“I said to myself, ‘maybe I can
make something out of this’,”
and the idea of Great Gets, 425
Main Street, Sturbridge, was
born on May 6, 2007.
“Everything is expensive now,
especially mortgages and gas,”
Looney laments. “Women are
interested in looking nice and
finding bargains, but they don’t
have the time to go from store to
store or to consignment shops all
over the place.
“I do the shopping and then
bring everything from designer
jeans to evening attire into one
store, focusing on brands like
Ann
Taylor
and
Banana
Republic.”
Elsewhere in Sturbridge,
Angela Berthiaume was a CPA
when she met Julie Schutz, who
worked in sales and customer
service.
Jennifer Looney of Great Gets on Main Street, Sturbridge
The pair met on a ballfield
where their children played
together. The two moms became
friends and found a common
interest in scrapbooking.
One night last July, they talked
about the idea of opening a
scrapbook store in Sturbridge.
They each embraced the idea of
owning their own businesses,
narrowed their store concepts
and acted rapidly to make them a
reality.
Berthiaume and Schutz knew
they needed to be more than just
a store that sold scrapbooking
merchandise.
“For me, scrapbooking is really a social thing as well so we
decided we needed to offer classes and crops as well as merchandise,” said Schutz.
“Plus, there are new products
coming out all the time so we
knew we needed to educate our
customers and show them how
to use their tools, no matter
where they were purchased. So
often a new product is bought
and it just sits in the package.”
After nailing down their store
concepts, finding a location in
Sturbridge was the first step in
making their businesses become
a reality.
“We knew we wanted to be in
Sturbridge and on Route 20
because of the visibility. But we
Continued on Next Page
At the table with friends and family ... no one goes unloved.
One inspired family...
three distinctive locations
Route 20
Sturbridge, Ma.
108 Grove Street
Worcester, Ma.
Main Street
Rutland, Ma.
508-347-0100
508-753-4511
508-886-4600
Three moms and two brand new businesses in Sturbridge
Continued from Previous Page
also knew we needed something
reasonable,” Berthiaume said.
“The location we found really fit
our needs for the Scrapping
Corner because we could have
our products in the front and a
crop room in the back.”
Just four months after discussng their initial idea, Sturbridge
Scrapping Corner, 484 Main Street,
opened.
For Great Gets, Looney also
pursued a Sturbridge location.
She called real estate owners up
and down Main Street, checking
availability, and rent prices. She
chose the location for Great Gets
because it was a smaller space
and the rent was reasonable.
“There really isn’t a store like
this in the area,” she said. “The
atmosphere is more intimate, like
a boutique.”
Once Sturbridge locations
were secured, a strong support
system from family and friends
got both businesses off the
ground.
Berthiaume and Schutz did
COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
not hire contractors to renovate.
While they were busy painting,
their husbands completed carpentry work and put up shelves
while extended family members
pitched in.
Jennifer Looney’s parents and
friends were also heavily
involved in everything, from
designing the interior to helping
with marketing and design work.
Finally, insight from established owners on all facets of
starting a business was essential.
“The business end was the
Reminder:
ing to
m
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c
e
r
a
e
p
Shakes
ommon
C
e
g
d
i
r
b
r
Stu
(free)
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5
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Augu
A cultural fast track for kids
Top to bottom: Patrick
Hogan as Antipholus
Ephesus, Dan Lawrence as
Antipholus Siracusia,
Adam Reich as Dromio
Siracusia, Laura Mae
Baker as Dromio
Ephesus
WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING AT 2:00 P.M. ON AUGUST 5?
If you’re not working or otherwise engaged, you could be
gathered with your neighbors on Sturbridge Town Common
enjoying the opening moments of Shakespeare’s “A
Comedy of Errors,” performed by the New England
Shakespeare Festival.
This program will be brought to us through the
generosity of the Friends of the Joshua Hyde
Library and our head librarian, Ellie
Chesebrough, who arranged for this
afternoon infusion of culture for us and
our kids.
The New England Shakespeare
Festival has been taking Elizabethanstyle productions of Shakes-peare’s
plays on the road for the past 13 years.
The group performs full productions of
the Bard’s original plays, rather than
adaptations.
The Company remains true to
Shakespeare’s text and meaning while
“reviving the rollicking spirit of his theatre.”
The Boston Globe describes the Company as
offering “hip Shakespeare.” The plays are targeted for adults and children.
The Company describes their mission as
bringing Shakespeare’s works to
the widest audience possible
through professional performances and educational programs
that demonstrate the value of
the plays as entertainment for
people of all ages.
most challenging thing for me,”
said Looney. “It was really beneficial to talk with other women
who had opened businesses.
Their advice and tidbits on
everything from contracting with
accountants to obtaining phone
service was really great.”
Berthiaume agrees, saying:
“The initial order of merchandise
was the most difficult to do
because we didn’t have a customer base yet. We didn’t know
what people wanted.
“Julie and I went to a retreat
before we opened and talked
with established scrapbook store
owners about inventory, expectations, setup, and the rest of it.
That was very helpful.”
Business
ownership
has
impacted their families in a very
positive way.
Looney reports: “All my kids
are in school full-time now and
having this business allows me to
juggle scheduling. I work less
now. It’s good for my kids to see
Continued on Next Page
COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
Tear it up at
Hometown Bank
on August 18
Hometown Bank and Iron
Mountain, a Boston-based
records management firm, is
going to help residents safely
eliminate confidential documents.
Iron Mountain shredder
trucks will be in the bank’s
parking lot on Saturday,
August 18, from 8 a.m. to 12
noon.
You needn’t be a Hometown Bank customer to participate, and you may bring up
to 10 boxes of personal papers
to be safely and permanently
destroyed as you watch.
Senior-Benefit Bake Sale
The Friends of SturbridgeFiskdale Senior Citizens will
hold its annual Bake Sale and
Yard Sale on August 4 (rain date
August 11) on the lawn in front
of the Center at the corner of
Main St. and Arnold Rd.
The work of local artists will
also be showcased.
Three Sturbridge moms
me starting this business. I think
it establishes a visibly strong
work ethic.”
Berthiaume, mother of three,
concurs: “It’s tangible because
they understand what it’s about
more than when I worked fulltime for someone else. It’s the
novelty of ‘mommy owns a store’.”
And Schutz, a mother of one,
has seen a reduced stress level at
home compared to when she
worked in high-tech customer
service.
“I did a lot of traveling with
my previous job. Now I am home
more during the week; although
working on the weekends was an
adjustment,” she said. “Our
scrapbook customers are rarely
ever in a bad mood, which is a lot
different than the customers I
previously dealt with. I’m more
relaxed and happier and it makes
everything else better.”
Likewise, these women business owners have recognized
that they can have a positive
impact on the community at
large.
business and I’m grateful.”
Looney, who grew up in
Sturbridge, agrees. “I’m glad I tried
it (starting a business) and put
myself out there. If I can do it, anybody can.”
Two new
Sturbridgers!
Julie Schutz and Angela Berthiaume in front of their new business.
Sturbridge Scrapping Corner
has organized a Corner Crop for
the Cure in September, where a
portion of the proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen for the
Cure. Great Gets now sells
Nenny’s Necklaces for a
Sturbridge family who lost a
loved one to melanoma with all
proceeds going to JLT Family
Foundation to benefit research
and education.
Looking back, Berthiaume
says she has no regrets. “When I
am at the shop, it never feels like
work. Everything has lived up to
my expectations and I will never
look back negatively on this
experience. I am making wonderful relationships with our customers, have more time with my
family and am providing a service
to the Sturbridge area. Julie and I
have ownership of this scrapping
Twin boys
Nicholas Christopher
and Matthew Paul
Born July 13, 2007
at 10:30 am & 10:31am
to proud parents Christopher and
Christie George of Sturbridge.
“Cedar Street is gourmet greatness”
The Phantom Gourmet
“A glorious and far-reaching menu of carefully chosen, creative and varied dishes.”
Matt Quinn, Worcester Magazine
“Dinner at a place like Cedar Street (and
there aren’t many) is good for the soul.”
Bill Cory, Telegram & Gazette
NEW SUMMER MENU
Dinner daily from 5:00
Reservations highly recommended
A New Flavor Every Season
With fresh world influences, our menu takes on a new flavor every
season. If America is a melting pot, this is what real American food is.
12 CEDAR STREET STURBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS
CEDAR
street
restaurant
www.cedarstreetrestaurant.com
508-347-5800
The Interview
Sturbridge author
buries the past
with her
latest book
Writer Rita Schiano talks about coming to Sturbridge
and finding the truth about earlier events in her life.
During her senior year in college, her father was
murdered, the victim of a mob hit. She has
written a fascinating book about truth,
coincidence and forgiveness.
RITA SCHIANO
Rita, your mother sang opera and your
father, who worked in the produce industry, was mob-connected. As a child, what
were you thinking when you watched
“Father Knows Best?”
a year and a half, and then went to
graduate school in Ohio at Miami
University in Oxford. I majored in
Philosophy, which was also my
undergraduate major.
Hmmm. That’s interesting. Well,
when I was a kid growing up in
Syracuse I didn’t see my life as
unusual. What was around me was
what I knew as normal.
Did you have a big stretch of life between
graduate school and coming to
Sturbridge?
How did you find that work?
I liked it very much. It was the full
gamut of business law: H.R., banking, real estate. I like learning many
different things about one subject
area. An acquisitions editor finds
the trends. I found ‘The Managers
Guide to AIDS in The Workplace’
back in ’86.
Well yes, I came here after 8 years
in Manhattan.
So you spotted that one early on.
What did you do in New York? Where did
you live?
Yes. Actually, it might have been
even earlier than that.
I lived at 10th Ave. and 57th. The
west side. I went there to pursue a
career in music. I spent a few years
working as a jazz and pop singer.
Jazz wasn’t real big in the ’80s, but
my heart was always in that. I
formed a band in order to play the
big clubs. That was my passion job.
During the day, I worked for a publishing company. I started as an
acquisitions editor and became a
vice president.
Did you tire of Manhattan?
Was it a close family?
I have a brother. He’s seven years
older. My mother adored her nieces
and nephews.
“When I started
writing the book, a
lot of why I was the
way I was became
clear.”
You grew up in Syracuse?
Yes, and I went to college in upstate
New York, at Wells College in
Aurora. My father died during my
senior year. After that, I had no
desire to go back home. He died in
December. I graduated a semester
early in January. I had 16 bucks in
my pocket and moved to Boston.
Why Boston?
Did you specialize in any particular type
of book?
There were so many colleges in
Boston. The city was full of other
young people my age. I stayed there
Business law.
In ’85, crack really hit the scene in
New York. I started to feel unsafe
living there. Crack changed that
city for me. It got to the point where
it seemed to be everywhere and it
was getting more and more dangerous. That issue began the journey
away from New York for me.
How did you come upon Sturbridge?
In 1988, I decided to open a restaurant with a partner. We knew we
wanted to do it outside of New York
City. We went on a hunt for the
Continued on next page
Rita Schiano
Continued from previous page
right location. We knew the Cape
because we’d vacationed there, and
each liked Massachusetts, so we
went to down there to check it out;
we quickly concluded that it was too
seasonal. Then we aimed for the
Berkshires—to check out that area
— and, on the way, we stopped in
Sturbridge for an overnight stay.
We ended up staying for three days.
On Father’s Day weekend in 1988,
we came back to Sturbridge and
found a house, made an offer, and
moved here that August.
And you opened your restaurant.
Yes, we opened the Casual Cafe. It
was a small place and we were definitely just a two-person operation.
We had just 27 seats. We created
our own dishes — a blend of
Japanese and Italian meals.
Actually, we were the first place
around here where you could get
sushi. Within about a year and a
half we had a heck of a following.
Keeping that restaurant going was
a lot of work during the next 11
years. Finally I said I’d had enough
of it.
I imagine with the grueling hours of a
restaurant, over an 11-year span, there
wasn’t much time for writing.
Well, I did write to relax. One of
our customers at the restaurant, a
writer, always sat and talked about
writing. She encouraged me to take
a stab at it again. One of the short
stories I was working on back then
just kept getting longer and longer.
It ended up being Sweet Bitter
Love, published in 1997 (Rising Tide
Press). I wanted to continue working
for myself, but didn’t know if I
could make a living as a writer.
Then I found out that I could.
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After your debut novel, you also wrote for
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research for a client?
Yes, it was right after the 9/11
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Rita Schiano’s book takes on tough issues from her real life
Continued from Page 9
up in Wilmington, Mass. They
wanted to create a song for children
that would help kids deal with what
was happening. I had already done a
cd for them (co-wrote). My cousin,
Jamie, was up in the Syracuse area.
He had done a children’s festival up
there (where he had performed the
song) so my client asked if I would
go online to see if there was any
news coverage of it. I got online to
do the research at the local paper up
there and made a keying error.
Instead of ordering one article from
the archives, I hit 10. I got the article I needed and then started putting in names. I don’t know why I
put my father’s name in, but I did
and there were 37 articles that referenced him. The one that caught my
eye was about a mob enforcer who
was talking about a 20 year old
murder that he’d gotten away with.
It had gone to trial twice. When my
father died I took off and never
stayed around through all the trials.
None of us spoke about it.
So it was a mob hit.
Yes.
How did you find out your father was
dead?
I was home for Christmas break. It
was December 21st. I had got the
morning paper and my Mom said
‘Gee Rita, listen. They could be
talking about your father. ‘...well
dressed man in his 50s found shot
to death on a country road.’ We
were joking about it. That morning
my Mom, who was a choir director
at one of the churches, said she had
to go out and play a funeral. After
she left, I kept looking at that article. She wasnt gone 10 minutes
when there was a policeman at the
door looking for my brother. He was
very persistant. He said ‘I need to
talk to you brother because your
father was in an accident.’ I asked
repeatedly what happened and he
finally told me he was dead. I
punched him. I thought he was
lying. He was a very nice man who
knew I was just a distraught 20
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year old kid. I called the sergeant at
the station who confirmed this.
Then I knew that what we had read
in the paper was about my father.
All of the details are in the new
book.
about this but none of it is on the
page.’ I realized I was trying to
approach the project like a journalist.
You fictionalized this story. Why didn’t
you do it as a memoir?
That’s right. The writing came very
quickly after that.
A lot of what takes place in the book
goes back to when I was 10 and 11
years old. I used to carry a rubber
pellet gun, took pictures of everything, wore a vest that carried
smoke bombs to protect myself. I
had no understanding of why I did
these things. When I started writing the book, a lot of why I was the
way I was became clear. I had to
rely a lot on memory, had to create
and recreate some scenes from my
childhood. One of the major players
in the story is alive. There is a sense
of wanting to protect a few people. I
needed the distance to write in
terms of fiction. It took almost three
years to make the decision and
another two to get it done. At one
point my partner said ‘You talk
It must have been a tremendous relief.
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And then the floodgates opened?
You know — I always hated
Christmas because he was buried on
Christmas eve. Two Christmases
ago, when I was really into the
writing of this book, I pulled out the
ornaments that were from my childhood. I held them and made peace
with my parents. I realized that my
mother, who was a very public person, a tremendously beloved
woman, a phenomenal musician,
had to go through those very public
trials with her head held high. I
wasn’t there for her—and that realization was one of the most painful
moments in the writing. Even
though this is just a story, the book
An eco-friendly way to combat a summertime spoiler
Going batty over mosquitoes
By John Small
Living in Sturbridge inspires
many of us to live outdoor lives.
Whether it’s a stroll through Old
Sturbridge Village, a hike in Wells
State Park, or a barbeque in our
own backyards, we all run into
one itchy neighbor: the mosquito.
And the implications of running
into these little pests have never
been greater.
Mosquito bites can cause skin
irritation because of an allergic
reaction to the mosquito's saliva;
this causes the red bump and itching. A more serious consequence
of some mosquito bites might be
the transmission of certain diseases, including Eastern Equine
Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile
Virus. Also, don’t forget that our
best friend, the dog, can develop
heartworm from mosquito bites.
So, how do we fight back?
Let’s consider one of the more
unusual potential allies in our
defense — the bat.
According to Bat Conservation
International (www.batcon.org),
a single bat can capture 500 to
1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour,
feeding primarily at night. So, if
you want to eliminate mosquitoes
from an entire area for a backyard
wedding or barbecue, bat houses
might provide the answer.
If you’re shocked that people
are encouraging bats to live in
their backyards, consider that the
run-of-the-mill Sturbridge brown
bat is an eco-friendly alternative
to the expensive propane vacuums people purchase from large
home improvement stores.
Furry, graceful, but, well ... notso-cute, the little brown bat is our
friend. Although there are many
myths about their attitude, bats
are actually shy and timid. So, go
ahead and hang up a bat house to
give these flying bug traps a place
to rest their wings. They need it,
after flying around all night
devouring those mosquitoes.
Fear of fangs? Don't fret. These
bats are harmless, and their builtin echolocation (sonar-like ability
to detect objects) will keep them
out of your hair. But you will
want to keep them a good distance from your own house, highup, in a far corner of your proper-
ty. Those who have had bats take
residence in their own attics can
attest to the frightful problems
that ensue.
Quality houses can be bought
at naturesfriend.com, bestnest.com, batroost.com, and cleanairgardening.com.
Look for one that meets the
design recommendations of Bat
Conservation International (batcon.org).
Poorly proportioned shelters
will appeal to wasps more than
bats—and then you really would
have a problem on your hands.
According to Sturbridge Tree
Warden, Tom Chamberland, bat
houses should be hung on southfacing sites.
Under ideal conditions, mosquitoes begin breeding in stagnant water and can complete
their life cycle, from egg to adult,
within seven days.
Eliminate places that collect water
outside :
• Old tires
• Uncovered trash cans, recycle bins, buckets, etc.
• Empty flower and plant
vases
BATS are not as ferocious as they look. In
fact, they’re relatively shy and timid. To
learn more about bats, visit the Large Bat
Colony at Moore State Park in
Paxton. Take Rt. 20E to Rt.
31N in Charlton, follow for
about 20 miles.
K e e p
puddles from
forming:
• Fill in any
ruts or low places
• Repair leaky
pipes/outdoor
faucets
• Clear drains &
gutters of debris
Get rid of stagnant water:
• Change the water in plastic
kid pools and birdbaths every 4-5
days (or 2x week) — Empty and
store if you are away
• Keep water in swimming
pools properly chlorinated
• Empty and cover unused
swimming pools. Drain water
collecting on pool covers
• Fill in tree holes that hold
water and hollow stumps with
sand or concrete
• Empty drip trays under
planters
• Aerate ornamental ponds or
stock them with fish
And don't forget to:
· Keep mosquitoes out of your
home - repair holes in your
screen doors/windows
· Patrol your yard after a rain
for stagnant water (a fun activity
for kids to do!)
Avoid bites:
• Stay indoors when mosquitoes are most active, particularly
during dusk and dawn
• If you must be outdoors during this time, wear long sleeves &
pants
• Apply insect repellent such
as those with DEET
• Never use DEET on infants.
• Use products with 10% or
less DEET on children, 30% or
less DEET on adults
• Once inside wash off insect
repellents thoroughly with soap
and water
• Avoid bug zappers; they also
kill beneficial insects
(Source: Needham Health Department)
STUR BRIDGE Trekker
DAY OR WEEKEND A
W
AY
Shopping along the
South Coast of
Maine
ce
n
a
t
s
Di om
fr
DGE:
RI
B
STUR
STURBRIDGE TIMES PHOTO BY JOHN SMALL
T
here was a time not so long
ago when Massachusetts
folks would never consider
driving to Maine for a shopping
spree, but smart community and
tourism planning has changed all
that.
Today, thousands of die-hard
shoppers are driving across state
lines each day to shop in Maine.
The first and largest of the two
major Maine shopping meccas comes
upon us right after we cross the border — Kittery, which is a quick jump
off Rt. 95 just minutes north of
Portsmouth, NH.
The Kittery shopping district is
lined with plazas and outlet strips
for about a one-mile stretch of Rt. 1.
There, you will find outlets and
stores for Eddie Bauer, Gap, Hilfiger,
Timberland, Crate & Barrel, Brooks
Bros., Orvis, Banana Republic, J.
Crew, Royal Doulton, Bose, Corning,
Calphalon ... need we go on?
The Kittery Trading Post is worth
a stop if you want to buy a canoe, a
tent, and a good pair of Merrill’s and
don’t want to go all the way up to
L.L. Bean in Freeport.
If you are drawn to antiques and
haven’t had your fill right here in
Sturbridge, there are plenty of places
to stop and browse along Rt. 1 in
Kittery, York, Ogunquit and Wells. The
road is dotted with shops that sell
old and interesting things.
R. Jorgensen Antiques in Wells,
has a national reputation among seri-
Thanks to Routes 495 and 95, Maine’s south coast is an
easy approach from Sturbridge. The trek to Kittery is relatively painless and takes a little over two hours,
depending on the time of day and which day of the
week you’re traveling. A good rest stop is Cracker
Barrel in Tewksbury, which is on Rt. 133 at Exit 39
off Rt. 495 just shy of Andover. There’s a gas station
h next door with all the provisions and facilities.
s
e
l
i
m
120 Beac
rk
To Yo
PHOTO: NUBBLE LIGHT HOUSE
OFF YORK BEACH, MAINE
ous collectors for its traditional
unnoticed.
antiques from the Federal, Sheraton,
In a stroke of savvy planning, the
Hepplewhite, Chippendale, and
company took their leadership
Queen Anne periods. They boast one
position in retailing outdoor gear
of New England’s largest antiques
and created “discovery schools”
collections, displayed in two buildwhich actually train people to use
ings set off Rt. 1 on private grounds.
the equipment they sell.
About a half-hour north of
Portland, the town of Freeport, has
grown up around the world-famous
L.L. Bean catalog store.
The village area in Freeport feels
like an old New England downtown,
with robust activity in and around
the many medium- to high-end businesses that dot the main street and
adjacent lanes.
New outlet strips are going up
Crews lay down roofing on Bean’s
mammoth new Hunting & Fishing
every year along the access roads to
Store scheduled to open in November.
Freeport but the big daddy of retail
in Maine sits expansively (it always
seems to be growing)
in the center of town.
L.L. Bean never
closes. So if you happen to be in Maine at
3-in-the-morning on
Thanksgiving eve and
have a hankering for
a ceramic dog bowl
with a moose face
painted on the side,
Beans is your place.
Easily identified as
If this is the year you’re going to try sea kayaking, consider
one of the nation’s
L.L. Bean’s one-day course titled Kayak Touring Essentials I:
top outdoor outfitters,
Basic Skills Development & Safety. You’ll spend a day on
L.L. Bean will never
Casco Bay in a small group led by expert instructors. There is
be accused of letting a
no prerequisite skill assumed and the fee is $95.00 per person.
good marketing
Call: 888-552-3261 for more information.
opportunity go by
Bean’s
Concert
Series
in August
FREE CONCERTS
If you’re stay in Maine,
consider LL Bean’s free
concert series in Discovery
Park, adjacent to the Main
Store. Concerts are held on
Saturdays and “selected”
Sundays and begin at 7:30
p.m. When a particularly
large crowd is expected, the
store arranges for free satellite parking and shuttle
service.
4
11
Folk
ARLO GUTHRIE
18
Celtic Rock
GREAT BIG SEA
Contemporary
Folk
INDIGO GIRLS
25
WITH BRANDI CARLILE
Solo Acoustic
Contemporary
Folk
JOHN HIATT
& SHAWN COLVIN
G O O D L O C A L T H E AT R E A N D S H O W- B I Z S P R I N G B O A R D
The often fabulous world of
Ed Cornely’s
Stageloft
Theatre
By Richard Murphy
How could any good ever come
of murder? As the ghost of
Hamlet”s father called it, “Murder
most foul, as in the best it is.”
Well, some good did come of murder in the small Massachusetts
town of Sturbridge. Murder mystery theater that is.
It is a bit of a story. Ed Cornely,
high school English teacher and
department chairman was asked
by students to start a drama club
in the mid-to-late seventies in
Hopkinton, Massachusetts. He
directed the student productions,
and eventually adult players. He
found that he liked directing
adults as well as students.
Eventually, Ed started producing and directing murder mysteries. The murder mysteries came to
the Publick House and were well
received. So well received that he
recognized that Sturbridge was the
place and, in March of 1994, he
contacted the Chamber of
Commerce and in June of 1994 he
had his theater. Thus, the Stageloft
Theater was born.
Today, if you go by the theater
at 450A Main Street, just off Rt. 20,
you see a one-story building, that
is hardly a loft. So, how come the
name? The theater began in a loft
in a barn, behind the Sturbridge
Country Inn.
Five good years were spent
there, but The Stageloft theater
outgrew its loft. It was time to
move somewhere the Theater
could call its own, and not rent.
The new building was found by
Ellen Cornely, Ed's wife and partner in all things. Ellen also sings
and performs once or twice a year
Above, actors Mark Patrick, Chris Creelman and Doug Ingalls rehearse a
scene. Above right, a Stageloft Theatre camper polishes a tune.
STURBRIDGE TIMES PHOTOS BY RICHARD MURPHY
at the Stageloft and in Murder
Mysteries and Christmas Memories
at the Salem Cross as well. She
also manages costumes.
The renovation of the new
building was a labor of love,
according to Ed. The stage
Company’s performers pitched in;
in fact, one Stageloft actor built
all the risers.
As the theater family developed,
it settled in to become part of the
town. Not surprisingly, a substantial part of Stageloft’s audience
comes from the people of
Sturbridge. Some season ticket
holders have been subscribers since
the beginning, a very stable base.
Tourism has been playing a part
in the Company’s success, and the
Sturbridge Area Tourist
Association has been extremely
supportive.
Restaurants and hotels have
helped the theater and Stageloft
supports local businesses reciprocally as the opportunities arise.
The Publick House and the
Sturbridge Host Hotel sell packages to their clientèle. Rovezzi's
has even generously lent furniture
for a month.
The theater supports charitable
organizations such as Paul
Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang
Camp for children with cancer.
The play, The Boys Next Door was
performed to benefit Rehab
Resources, a charity that assists
men living in group homes.
In a small way, the theater feels it
is helping to raise some of
Sturbridge’s children. Stageloft has
a camp for young people. The
camp has been running for 13 years
serving between 60 to 90 kids.
Some of the children have
become veterans. Chris Zini started at eight or nine years of age
and appeared in the production of
South Pacific that just ended as a
seasoned 19 year old.
The camp runs in three sessions
covering different age groups. The
first two sessions are regular theater. The last session is devoted to
the production of a full scale
musical.
Others connected with Stageloft
have gone on to other things. One
Tantasqua sophomore came on as
a technical intern and worked
with the theater for three years.
She went on to get a technical theater degree and now works in the
field professionally.
The Company’s first stage manager graduated from Holy Cross
and earned her equity card working at the Burt Reynolds Theater
in Jupiter, Florida. While searching for work, she spent summers
at Stageloft. She has made it to
Broadway where she is stage manager for the play Avenue Q which
has been running for five years.
Stageloft takes pride in taking
care of their regular patrons, recognizing birthdays and anniversaries. They also do their best to
take care of the extraordinary
needs as well. Because all seats are
reserved, special needs can be
accommodated. There was a fellow with Parkinson’s whose only
outlet was the theater and he was
always seated so he could have
maximum enjoyment.
Surprisingly, there is even a
deaf gentleman who gets to enjoy
performances. He reads the scripts
beforehand, sits dead center in the
audience and lip reads during the
performances.
So what is coming up at
Stageloft in the next few months?
Now playing is “Woman in Black,”
from the ghost-story genre. It will
run from July 13 to August 5.
“Rumors-A Farce,” by Neil
Simon will run August 10 to
September 2. The author’s name
says it all: a party in Manhattan,
four couples, and a lot of dry
humor. For more information on
performances, call the theater at
(508) 347-9005.
August 5 to 10 & August 12 to 17
Boston Restaurant Week
worth a look and a taste
ith dining gems like Cedar Street
Restaurant, Publick House, Rovezzi’s
and Perennial’s within our daily
reach, it seems unnecessary to venture out of
Sturbridge for an extraordinary meal. But taste
buds are curious things, and those of us who
listen to them often find ourselves in new
places, trying on new tastes. That’s how many
of us get hooked into Boston Restaurant Week.
The idea was the brainchild of The Boston
Convention & Visitors Bureau and has done
great things for the area’s restaurant trade over
the past several years.
During Boston Restaurant Week, which
comes twice a year (summer and winter) some
of the best restaurants in eastern Massachusetts
W
Napoli Pizzeria, III
Serving Only The Best!
$5.00 Off Purchase
Of $20.00
Or More
Napoli I Springfield
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Closed Mondays
Tues.-Thurs. 11 am to 9 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am to 10 pm
Sunday 12 noon to 9 pm
57 MAIN STREET, ROUTE 131
FISKE HILL MALL, STURBRIDGE, MA
508-347-8225 • 508-347-9438
open their doors for prix fixe lunches and/or dinners.
More than 150 restaurants offer
the three-course lunches for $20.07
and dinners for $33.07.
A glance at the list of participating eateries reveals attractive
opportunities to enjoy meals at
some of the area’s priciest and most
illustrious restaurants at reduced
prices.
The three-course meals include
an appetizer, entrée, and dessert,
and the restaurants choose what
will be featured in the meals. The
price is per person and does not
include beverages, tax, or gratuity.
Some restaurants are participating
for only lunch or dinner but not
both.
The next Restaurant Week actually covers most of a two-week period
in August, beginning on Sunday,
August 5 through Friday, August
10, and then again from Sunday,
August 12 through Friday, August
17.
It is strongly recommended that
we make reservations. A complete
list of participating restaurants can
be downloaded at www.bostonusa.com/restaurantweek (no hyphen).
Many of the restaurants also accept
reservations online at OpenTable.com. (no hyphen).
1 COUPON PER VISIT
EXPIRES 3/2008
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Federated Church
to hold its 58th
Annual Auction
On Saturday, August 11, at
10:00 a.m., the Sturbridge
Federated Church will hold its
58th Annual Antique Auction on
Sturbridge Common, across
from the Publick House.
The event will kick off at 9:00
a.m. with an auction preview,
bake sale, craft sale and food
booth.
Robert H. Glass, who has
served the Church as its auctioneer for the past 33 years will
hold the gavel.
For more information, call the
Sturbridge Federated Church at
508-347-3915.
STURBRIDGE
THE
TIMES GUEST
KITCHEN
August
Sumptuous
Salmon
To submit your recipes for one complete meal to Sturbridge
Times Guest Kitchen, please send via email to:
[email protected], or mail them to us: The
Sturbridge Times Guest Kitchen, P.O. Box 418, Sturbridge,
MA 01566. Be sure to sign your correspondence and provide a way to contact so that we can confirm permission to
publish them. Please do not submit previously-published or
copyrighted material.
By Eloise Dubuc
GRILLED WILD SALMON
WITH MUSTARD SAUCE
Salmon fillets (5 - 7 ounces
each per person)
fresh juice from half of a
lemon
freshly ground black pepper
and sea salt (to taste)
Lemon Sauce 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons extra virgin
olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh dill
1 teaspoon fresh lemon
juice
Be sure to buy the fresh wild salmon (as opposed to the
farm-raised). The wild salmon is rich in Omega-3 fatty
acids. You should use the fish as soon as you can after
purchasing, the same day or next.
You can prepare the mustard sauce in advance. Whisk
together the mustard, olive oil and lemon juice. Add in the
dill and mix into the sauce as the last step.
Then, go ahead and fire up the grill and while it’s heating
up rinse the salmon under cold water and season with
some lemon juice, salt and pepper. Grill the fish on medium to high heat. Be careful not to overcook the salmon;
although it’s an oily fish it really gets dry when overcooked.
As soon as the fish is cooked drizzle some mustard sauce
over it and serve.
CORN SALAD
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black
pepper
3 cups fresh or frozen corn
kernels
1 diced tomato (approx. 1
cup)
1/2 cup diced green onions
1/2 cup chopped sweet
green pepper
1/2 cup chopped sweet red
pepper
In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar,
sugar, salt and pepper. In a large pan bring a quart of
water to a boil over high heat. Add the corn and cook for
two minutes or until just tender. Drain the water, rinse with
cold water, and drain again, then add to the mayonnaise
mixture. Stir in the remaining ingredients, mix well and
refrigerate. Serve cold. Keeps refrigerated for up to 4
days. Makes approximately 4 servings.
stur bridge motors plaza
Now Open
Our Customers Come First
Stop in to experience our award-winning service
Conveniently located at the junctions of
Rt. 20, Rt. 84 and the Mass Pike
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Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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MONDAY-FRIDAY
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Therese Hillman talks about life with Reed
U.S. Marshal. The appointment
will be subject to senate hearings.
Through all the twists and
turns of Reed’s career, Therese
Hillman has been right there
with him.
“After being the wife, and now
the mother of a police officer for
over twenty years, you learn to
take things like this in stride,”
she said.
During her husband’s state
police years, Therese experienced
all the stress and worry that the
spouse of any law enforcement
officer feels, while pursing her
own teaching career and raising
the couple’s two children, Ethan
and Amber.
As Reed moved up through
the chain of command, the nature
of the job’s stress changed along
with the rank. The worries shifted from concerns about physical
harm to injuries of a more mental
nature.
“There was a certain stress
level when Reed was Colonel of
the State Police,” said Therese.
When Governor Bill Weld promoted him to the top job in 1996,
Hillman suddenly found himself
in charge of a 200 million dollar
budget and a staff of 2,600 men
and women.
“Ultimately, he was responsible for all of those under him.
Anything any of his officers
might do or that happened to
them would be his responsibility.
The more you handle the more
you have to be responsible for.
That just comes with the territory
of being in charge of anything,”
said Therese, remembering the
years vividly.
Then, in 1999, the lives of the
Hillmans changed, quite literally,
over night.
“It was a Friday afternoon. I
had just gotten home from school
and Reed was still at work. I gave
him a call and he said to me, ‘I'm
not the Colonel anymore. Well, I
am till 5 o’clock, but after that I'm
no longer the Colonel. I'm
retired.’ Needless to say, I was a
little shocked!” Therese said.
The catalyst for this unexpected turn of events was a chance
meeting with former governor
Paul Cellucci.
“Reed had a talk that day with
Paul Cellucci. Cellucci encouraged Reed to run for state rep. He
told him ‘I'll do whatever I can to
help you.’”
And with that, Reed Hillman's
campaign for state representative
was off and running. He promptly retired from the State Police
and quickly mobilized to build
support.
“So, all of this happened on a
Friday evening. That Saturday
morning, the next morning, at
8AM, we were down at the
Palmer McDonalds meeting with
30 people. It happened that fast.”
“Reed had been in the State
Police for 25 years. Everyday he
wore a uniform, he drove a State
Police cruiser, all of that. We had
to scramble to put a car we had
bought for our daughter on the
road for him. He had one suit, so
I had to go out and buy him suits.
We didn’t even have a computer!” laughed Therese.
The campaign quickly consumed the Hillman household.
Reed and Therese traveled across
the First Hampden District meeting and greeting voters. Even
Ethan and Amber pitched in,
holding signs and stumping for
their Dad.
“Our dining room table disappeared during the campaign. It
was completely covered with
papers and campaign material.
Reed and I stayed up all night at
that table, putting together literally 10,000 letters. It was just an
incredible amount of work,” said
Therese.
Out on the trail, the family got
their first taste of party politics.
It’s been stated before in countless flowery analogies and clever
permutations, but the straight
fact is that it is tough to be a
Republican in Massachusetts.
“You meet a lot of people with
preconceived notions,” said
Therese. “There are people who
are just going to vote the party
line, no matter what. But I think
Reed really shocked a lot of people when we were campaigning.
I think a lot of people were
wowed,” said Therese.
Apparently so. Reed Hillman
handily won the election and
served as Sturbridge's representative on Beacon Hill for the next
six years.
“So many people seemed really thrilled with the job Reed was
doing,” Therese said. “People
would call from other districts
just to talk to Reed, because they
believed he could help them.”
In 2004, he opted not to run for
a fourth term and instead passed
ready to embrace retirement
when talk began trickling out of
the Governors office. This time it
was from Governor Mitt
Romney, who put forth the
notion that Reed ought to be considered for the position of U.S.
Marshal. Hillman was intrigued
by the position and agreed to
being considered. As is the case
with every nominee for the position, the FBI moved in to conduct
their exhaustive background
check of Reed.
“They had four agents who
spent something like 500 man
hours looking into Reed’s background, and they couldn’t find a
single bad thing,” said Therese.
The Hillmans looked to moving forward with the process that
would lead them to a Senate confirmation hearing. Alas, the hearing never came. The day that the
FBI finished their background
report was the same day Kerry
Healy called.
Healy had long had Hillman in
mind as a running mate.
Attracted by his law and order
experience, a strong theme in her
own campaign, and also his
west-of-495 address. With the
ring of their telephone, the
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Hillmans were once again swept up into the
winds of Bay State politics. “I can honestly
say that the State Rep campaign was a thousand times more difficult than the statewide
run,” said Therese. “Most of the venues and
speaking engagements were decided on by
Kerry’s campaign, so that took a lot of the
pressure off of us. Our daughter Amber was
there as Reed’s chief of staff, so that helped
as well. Still, we had our crazy moments,
when Reed would have to be down at the
Cape in the morning and then across the
state that night.”
Last November’s election has come and
gone, and most readers will be aware that
the Healy/Hillman ticket was not victorious.
Yet today the Hillmans are once again
preparing for another hurrah into public
service.
The U.S. Marshal confirmation process,
temporarily derailed by the ’06 election, was
once again in high gear. The end of June saw
President Bush officially nominate Hillman
for the position. Nearly immediately
Massachusetts Senators John Kerry and
Edward Kennedy voiced their opposition to
the appointment.
“Having both Senators come out against
him is pretty difficult,” said Therese. “But,
you know, there are a lot of encouraging
things happening as well. I've been hearing
that both Kennedy and Kerry have been
receiving a boatload of emails in support of
Reed.”
In Washington’s current political environment, it's often the single letter that follows
somebody's name (to designate party affiliation) that is the biggest factor in deciding
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bucks trends, delights
shareholders
Hometown Bank recently held its annual shareholder’s meeting, where CEO
Matthew S. Sosik reported on the Bank’s
financial results and accomplishments over
the last year.
The Bank grew 15% to finish the year
with total assets of $173 million. The Bank
also continued to grow its loan portfolio
during 2006, with loans up nearly 20%.
The Bank also reported record earnings
in 2006 during a time of generally declining
industry profits. Net income was more than
$2.14 million in 2006, resulting in a Return
on Assets ratio of 1.32%.
“That return on assets ranked
Hometown as the single most profitable
Cooperative Bank in the State of
Massachusetts,” stated Sosik.
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Sturbridge
Times
IT’S THE REDCOATS AND REBELS AT OSV AUGUST 4-5
Check out the Sturbridge Colonial Militia (above) at the two-day Redcoats and
Rebels special event where you’ll see the Village transformed into a military camp
spanning 200 years of history. Observe historic fencing and a mock battle. You can
even join the militia and learn to march. The fun continues into the evening on
Saturday night with “Twilight Encampment,” an opportunity to mingle with
troops and civilians and taste the flavor of camp life at dusk.
Burgess School situation
“Some of the boilers and air
units at Burgess have had to be
replaced, as have many of the
HVAC units which were more than
30 years old. And the roof has
already lived out its life expectancy. It will have to be replaced in the
next five to eight years,” he said.
Burgess Elementary School was
built in 1950, with additions in 1958,
1963, 1968 and 1972. The 2004
Feasibility Study of the physical
plant, conducted by Drum-mey,
Rosane, Anderson, Inc., states that
“although the facility has been well
maintained, the physical plant has
deteriorated. Throughout the building, original systems such as heating, ventilation, plumbing, electrical,
and technology are overtaxed, outdated, and in need of replacement.”
It also addressed the open plan area
of 1972 as “problematic in design by
today’s standards.”
The first step in the planning
process has already begun with the
updating of the 2004 feasibility
study, which also included enrollment projections. Last year,
Burgess Elementary had an enrollment of approximately 875 preschool to sixth grade students,
according to Carlson.
The updated study, which will
be completed before the end of the
year, will be more comprehensive
and include drawings for various
building options, according to
Cheng-Cimini.
Four options were previously
recommended for changing the
physical structure of Burgess
Elementary, including:
• Renovating the existing building,
• renovating the building and
adding two wings with more
square footage,
• building one large building to
replace the current structure and
• building two separate school
buildings.
The second step in the process
is getting community feedback.
The committee held an initial
Public Information Session on May
23, providing details on the
process and getting input from residents at roundtable discussion.
Two to three additional Public
Information Sessions have been
discussed, with the next one set for
7 p.m., September 26 at Burgess.
“These public information meetings keep residents current with
the process. Ultimately, it will be
up to the town’s people to decide
what kind of building we end up
with,” Carlson said.
Finally, the Burgess Building
Committee is holding additional
meetings to expedite the planning
and decision-making process.
“The Building Committee needs
to know what building option to
submit for the town meeting,”
Cheng-Cimini said. All meetings
are open to the public, with the
next one scheduled for 6:30 p.m.,
September 12 at Burgess.
“If the community passes the
proposal next April, we still have
to go out to bid for the architect.
Even if the process goes flawlessly,
we wouldn’t be looking at breaking ground until 2009,” ChengCimini said.
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AROUND
THE YARD
A monthly feature of The Sturbridge Times on the care of what’s growing in your yard.
BY TOM CHAMBERLAND, ISA
STURBRIDGE TREE WARDEN
The dog days of summer are here
as we enter the month of August.
One of the most important things
we can do for the plants in our
yards and gardens is to keep
them well watered.
Watering should be done
once a week, slowly and deeply.
This ensures adequate saturation of the ground and encourages the roots of your plants to
grow more deeply into the soil
— which helps them capture
more nutrients and aids in their
survival during the extended
dry periods that are so common
during this time of year.
To assist in watering and to
reduce the cost of watering
you should consider installing
a rain barrel (or several) and a
drip irrigation system.
How it works: For every
half inch of rain that falls on a
500 square foot roof, 300 gallons of water will run off.
Rain Barrel kits and down
Why August is a time for rain barrels
spout diverters are available
for purchase. When you set up
a rain barrel remember that a
55 gallon barrel will weigh
over 400 lbs. when full so set it
up on a firm surface, and elevate it to have a greater flow
pressure. Connect several barrels together or make sure you
have provided for overfilling,
and divert that water away
from your foundation.
Natural rainwater will
improve the health of your
gardens. It does not contain
minerals, salts, chlorine, fluoride and other chemicals you
may find in public water or
wells.
Most companies that sell
rain barrels also sell simple to
install drip irrigation systems.
Resources include: Aaron's
Rain Barrels, Leominster MA,
New England Rain Barrel Co. Peabody MA, Sky Juice New
England - York ME.
By collecting water
in a rain barrel
you will:
• Direct rainwater away from foundations
Reduce erosion, stormwater pollution
and improve water quality.
• Reduce household watering needs by
saving rain.
• Lower water bills, and reduce your
personal energy consumption by using
less treated water. A full 55 gallon water
barrel has almost 7 cubic feet of water.
• Water gardens during town imposed
watering bans.
• Water your garden naturally with
untreated water.
• Recharge your local ground water.
ON THE WEB:
http://www.northreadingma.gov/Pages/NReadingMA_Water/Rainbarrel
http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/Pubs/625R03003/32Sands.pdf
http://www.skyjuice.us/html/programs.html
Therese Hillman
whether or not they are qualified for a position.
“Reed is just anxious to get to
a hearing,” said Therese. “If he
goes before the Senate and they
decide against him, then so be
it.”
Therese Hillman remains as
busy as ever, tending to her
horses, playing volleyball (with
teammates closer in age to her
daughter than herself), and
looking forward to a new class
of third graders to teach in the
fall. If the sometimes stormy
weather of Massachusetts politics has affected her, it appears
to be in a positive way.
“You know, we go to a huge
amount of events, picnics and
things like that, and wherever
we go, people come up to us.
It’s really flattering. We have
I have a pilot for a TV series that
is banging around Hollywood
right now.
traditional therapy is no longer
working for them because they
can’t get past the ‘if onlys’ and
‘what ifs’. With a subliminal
implant at the moment in their
lives when the trauma happened,
they can go back in time and,
using free will, make a new
choice at the pivotal moment.
The result is no change to their
regular lives. We’ve taken the
idea that there are parallel time
lines and time is self-correcting.
So at the moment you leave the
timeline you aren’t changing
your personal history, you’re
just coming back with a memory
of what could have been different. — PC.
Rita Schiano
becomes very universal, I think,
because of the fact that so many
people have a family story that
needs to be looked at in terms of
how we move within our families.
I wish that when I was writing I
had been able to pick up the phone
and tell my mother ‘I’m so sorry I
wasnt there’. If one person reading
this book has a family situation
going on and that family member
is still alive, I hope it compels
them to pick up the phone or drive
over. In the end, after writing this,
I have found tremendous peace.
You’ve written a screenplay?
Are you represented out there?
No. The television series is represented by a few independent producers. we’ve gone through a few
rounds. It’s called T.I.M.E. Share
Inc. A drama/sci-fi. It deals with a
physicist and psych. team that use
time travel as an advanced form of
psychotherapy.
Sounds a little Dr. Who-ish.
It’s a show about people who have
some kind of psych. condition and
made so many friends throughout all of this,
it's just fantastic.”
While the final outcome of Reed Hillman's
U.S. Marshal appointment remains uncertain,
one thing is crystal clear: Therese will be there
with her husband through the thick of it, with
enough reserves of patience and support to
see them both through the arduous process.
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347-9221
ONE OF OUR
NEIGHBORS
Bob Briere could easily write the book on Sturbridge
By Richard Murphy
Bob Briere has long been part
of the warp and woof of
Sturbridge. Still, it has not been
home all his life. Born in
Southbridge, he changed towns
at age three. He may have not
been started in this town, but he
got here as fast as he could, and
other than the service and some
travel, nothing could drive him
away.
He is as much a part of
Sturbridge as any “native.”
Actually, you could say he is as
much a Fiskdale man and proud
of it
After all, how many people
know, born here or not, that the
town has had four names? Bob,
president of the Historical society, does. The Indians called the
area Tantuisquis. The early settlers called it Dummer after a
colonial lieutenant governor.
Then it was known as New
Medfield after the place some of
Bob Briere
the folks moved from. Finally, at
incorporation,
the
name
Sturbridge, place of ultimate origin of some of the first settlers,
was chosen. The English town is
actually named Stourbridge for
the town that is where the bridge
crosses over the River Stour.
He himself, has been part of
more modern town history. Did
you know, the New England
Patriots might have come to
Sturbridge? During Bob's tenure
as Selectman from 1970 to 1975, a
developer from Natick came to
pitch the idea of locating
“Schaefer Stadium,” the name of
an early Pat's venue, on the
Massachusetts-Connecticut border. He promised that high
school teams would be able to
use the stadium free of charge
and the field would pay the
town’s property taxes. The fellow
also said, “Aristotle was interested in it.” The implication was
that shipping magnate, Aristotle
Onassis wanted a piece of the
action. Now, the speaker never
mentioned Aristotle’s last name,
so we'll never know.
All of the people of Sturbridge
had to do was put up the money.
End of story. Bob and his fellow
selectmen knew there is no free
lunch, especially when you’re
asked to pay for it up front.
Another time a company with
an operation in Foxboro sent
some people to Sturbridge to propose building a recycling plant.
Their pitch was that the plant
would produce “eco-fuels,” briquets that could be used in fuel
oil.
The catch was that until they
got the plant up and running
they would need a landfill. The
highway superintendent suggested they go to Foxboro and
take a look at what was going on
there. In Foxboro, they found no
plant, just a four story deep hole
in the ground landfill. Bob thinks
that that hole is probably now
filled in four stories above
ground. A plant was never built
there, though one was built in
Bridgewater, ran for a few years,
and was shut down.
Bob and the boys from the
small town out west, knew
enough not to get taken in. One
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AUGUST 10 THRU SEPTEMBER 2
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FRIDAY AT 1 PM AND SATURDAY AT 11 AM AND 1 PM
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All tickets are $6 all ages.
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450A Main Street, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
If you’re going to have arthritis, it will probably be osteoarthritis
A MONTHLY FEATURE OF
THE STURBRIDGE TIMES
BY
THE FACULTY OF THE
HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
Q: Several of my fingers have
begun to feel stiff and painful,
mostly in the morning. Could I
have arthritis? What can I do to
ease my symptoms?
A: Arthritis is caused by
inflammation of the joints — the
place where two bones meet up.
An estimated 21 million
Americans have osteoarthritis,
which is by far the most common form of the disease.
Osteoarthritis often occurs in
the hands but also strikes the
knees, hips, feet and back. In
the hands, certain joints are
more vulnerable than others
(see illustration).
Many factors make people
prone to osteoarthritis. The incidence rises with age, with most
cases occurring in people older
than 50. Heredity seems to play
a role, particularly for
osteoarthritis in the hands.
Muscle weakness and a history
of joint injuries caused by sports
or accidents may also put people at risk for so-called traumatic arthritis. Ordinary, repetitive
activities such as typing or playing a musical instrument may
worsen arthritis symptoms, but
they do not cause osteoarthritis
of the hands.
Osteoarthritis affects cartilage, which is the resilient,
smooth tissue that cushions the
ends of your bones. Normally,
cartilage provides a smooth,
gliding surface so the joints can
move easily. In osteoarthritis,
the cartilage loses its elasticity.
As the cartilage breaks down,
the underlying bone may form
a bony growth called a spur.
Fluid-filled cysts may develop
in the bone near the joint. The
membrane lining the joints
becomes inflamed, triggering
the release of proteins that may
The bones and joints of your hand
•
DIP joints
•
PIP joints
Phalanges
•
IP joint
Metacarpal Bones
•
Carpal Bones
Ulna
•
•
CMC joint
Radius
ertain joints of the hands are more prone to
osteoarthritis. The last joint before the nail, the distal
interphalangeal (DIP) joint, is the most common site
for osteoarthritis of the hands. These joints sometimes develop fibrous, bony nodules called Heberden’s nodes.
The joint at the base of the thumb, where the thumb and
wrist come together, is knowsn as the basal or first carpometacarpal (CMC) joint. It is formed by wrist bones and
the first of the three bones in the thumb (metacarpal). The
shape of these bones allows your thumb to move up and
down, bend across the palm and pinch each finger. Past
injuries to this joint, such as a fracture or sprain, may
increase the odds of getting arthritis in this joint. This is the
second most common joint to develop arthritis.
The middle joint of each finger is the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint. These joints can develop osteoarthritis,
causing the fingers to stiffen and swell. Fibrous and bony
nodules, known as Bouchard’s nodes, may develop in these
joints.
© 2007 President and Fellows of Harvard College
C
Illustration by Scott Leighton
damage the cartilage further.
The most common symptoms of
osteoarthritis are joint pain and
stiffness in the morning. Often,
these symptoms gradually
recede during the day only to
return toward evening.
To diagnose any type of
arthritis, your doctor may order
blood tests to rule out other
possible causes of your symptoms. He or she will ask specific
questions about your symptoms, such as when they started
and how they affect your life.
Details of your personal and
family medical history may also
be relevant. Your doctor may
also take X-rays of the affected
joints. These can reveal evi-
dence of bone spurs and signs
of cartilage breakdown within
the joint. Most people older
than 60 have signs of arthritis
on an X-ray, but only about onethird have symptoms.
Managing pain and improving function are the key goals in
treating osteoarthritis. The best
approach is usually a combination of different therapies,
which can include exercise, rest,
joint protection, heat or cold
therapy, medication, alternative
remedies and, in some cases,
surgery.
If you are diagnosed with
hand arthritis, a physical therapist can teach you special
range-of-motion exercises for
the thumb and wrist to help
keep hand joints working as
well as possible. In general,
exercise can improve mood,
decrease pain and increase flexibility and fitness. But be sure to
check with your physician,
because you don't want to overdo it and risk injuring your
joints. It's important to take
steps to prevent pain caused by
overexertion. Learn to recognize
your body's signals to stop or
slow down. You can also use
braces or splints to support
painful joints. Specialized products and assistive devices (such
as electric can openers, jar openers, key and doorknob turners
and utensils and other tools
with built-up, padded handles)
can be especially helpful for
people with moderate to severe
arthritis.
You can often soothe painful
joints without medications. A
warm bath or shower can ease
pain and stiffness. Drug and
department stores carry paraffin
(wax) heating units, another
type of heat treatment for the
hands, which may be soothing.
Other times, usually after exercise or exertion, cold therapy
may work better. You can place
a bag of ice or frozen vegetables
wrapped in a towel on the joint
Bob Briere
only hopes the town always has
such savvy officers.
Generally, history as studied
in school has to do with great
events such as wars and social
upheavals. However, we all
have personal histories that
speak to who and what we are.
So it is with Bob. He has had regular jobs and town offices, but he
has had a life of service to others
as well.
That service has been greatly
expressed through his participation in the Lions Club. One day
at work, his boss approached
him and told him he had proposed Bob for membership in
the Lions. He joined as charter
member of the Sturbridge
Chapter and never misses a
meeting. He has served the
group as District Governor.
Most people know of the
Lions through their work on eyesight and hearing problems.
According to Bob, it was Helen
Keller herself who, in 1925, challenged the Lions to, “become
knights of the blind and eradicate all blindness in the world.”
The Lions are are still at it.
Through funds raised by
Lions here and elsewhere,
research was done that stopped
the practice of giving too much
oxygen to premature babies in
incubators. That practice caused
blindness in preemies. The
research was done in Massachusetts. Most people know
about the screening the organization does for glaucoma and
the Sturbridge Lions do this as
well as other screenings, including cancer.
After one local woman went
for a cancer screening, she was
able to tell her husband that she
was not sick, but was pregnant.
The Lion’s Club does much
good locally and over the world.
The most touching story Bob
related was of a small project
that local folks did for their
hometown. Bob had been part of
a committee that looked into
building a bandstand on the
Sturbridge Common. The project
did not happen.
One townsman, expert mason
Rosario Chamberland, came forward with the abandoned plans
to inspire his fellows to try again
in 1996. Bob became part of the
team, working with an architect
to build one wider than originally planned.
John Argitis of G & F Tool
pitched in with $10,000. The
craftsmen who volunteered their
work, were, according to Bob,
“more than craftsmen” and they
took time out to do their jobs to
exacting standards. Rosario himself, was not in good health. His
family called Bob to tell him of
their dad’s frailty and that he
was not to work on the roof. One
day, Bob noticed someone on the
roof with him and turned to see
Rosario. There would be no
stopping Rosario and Bob knew
it.
The Bandstand was built and
serves the town and through it
so does Rosario still.
Bob also served Sturbridge as
a call fireman for 20 years,
attaining the rank of Lieutenant.
He does not remember any great
catastrophes. Mostly, he recalls
the fires that started at the dump
and then the sparks that would
carry into the woods. He would
see the smoke and say, “I guess
I'm going.”
Another thing that made these
dump fires memorable was that
it seemed to Bob that they
always occured on Mother’s Day
or Easter.
In 1988, Sturbridge celebrated
its 250th anniversary. Bob served
as the event’s chairman. The
original idea was that there
would be a weekend event.
Instead, it blossomed into a yearlong celebration. There were
activities going on all year long,
including a “horribles parade”
for kids at Halloween and an
award for the best decoration at
Christmas.
The high point of the year was
the performance of the Gentlemen Choirsters of Stourbridge,
England at Tantasqua.
The visitors from the sister
town arrived October 14th. It
was planned thus so that they
could see our “New” England
foliage. They viewed it here and
in New Hampshire. According to
Bob, there are still great friendships between visitors from
Stourbridge and host families.
Not only was Bob a selectman,
he also served a number of years
as town moderator. Anyone who
has attended a town meeting
knows that at times things can
get heated. With Bob at the helm,
“When things would get a little
stressful, I’d crack a joke.”
Though, he enjoyed the job, as
time went on and new residents
showed up, he could not call on
everyone by name.
Though lauding the newcomers for the level of involvement
many bring to the town, he sees
it as a mixed blessing. Younger
people with children understandably want good schools
and are willing to pay higher
taxes for them. The older folks,
on pensions and social security
find any increases in benefits oft
eaten up by increases in costs
such as insurance, are hard put
to keep up with tax increases.
Part of town history is the
eight-hundred acres recently
purchased from Sturbridge
Village. The land was the site of
Camp Robinson Crusoe from
1932 until the mid-1960s. The
camp was the dream of social
worker Joshua Lieberman and
his wife Leah. They wished to
bring city kids to spend the summer in the country. The camp is
not just Sturbridge history, it is
part of American history as well,
because it was the first co-ed
youth camp in the country.
Bob went on a walk-through
that included former campers
including the Lieberman’s
granddaughter.
The town has the land for
recreation purposes subject to a
state conservation easement. As
interpreted by Mass. Fisheries
and Wildlife, this means the old
bunkhouses on the lake will
have to come down as well as
other restrictions on use.
Looking back, for Bob, service
was not just local. For a few
years, service actually meant
The Service. A former staff sergeant he served in the mid fifties
in Asia and Florida. Down
south, most of his friends were
southerners. He would scandalize them by going up to the segregated drinking fountains and
taking a drink from both and
exclaiming that he could taste no
difference.
Bob, of course had normal jobs
as most of us must. He worked
thirty-two years as a rural mail
carrier. He was also the first gatekeeper at Sturbridge Village in
1947, when visitors were let in by
a man opening a gate.
Easing
Osteoarthritis
Continued from previous page
or use a freezer gel pack, available
at drugstores. Check with a doctor
or therapist to find out whether
heat or cold is the best treatment
for you.
For osteoarthritis, doctors usually recommend acetaminophen
(Tylenol and other brands) to
relieve pain. The next step may be
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (NSAIDs), such as the overthe-counter pain relievers ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen
(Aleve), which lessen pain and
decrease swelling. Other drugs are
available, but all medications
must be used with care.
Arthritis can be a handful, but
treatment can usually keep you
comfortable, active and even
handy.
Copyright 2007 the President and
Fellows of Harvard College. Submit
questions to harvard_adviser@hms.
harvard.edu.
AUGUST
MOVIES
at Village Cinema
Village Cinema is located at the Visitor
Center, Old Sturbridge Village.
Showtimes are 7:00 p.m. and tickets are
just $5.00 per person. Snacks and sodas
The cinema will be closed on August 3 and 4
August 10 & 11
UNACCOMPANIED
MINORS
(PG)
August & 18
WILD HOGS
(PG-13)
August 24 & 25
13 GOING ON 30
(PG-13)
August 31 & September 1
BLADES OF GLORY
(PG-13)
OldSturbridgeVillage
Sturbridge
S
T
U
R
B
R
I
D
G
E
CLASSIFIEDS
Sturbridge Residents:
SELL YOUR STUFF
FOR FREE!
4 lines = No Charge!
ITEMS FOR SALE
Rowenta IS7800 Commercial
Garment Steamer $89.00
Retail price: $149.00
Holy Love
Love God above all things; love
your neighbor as yourself =
Holy Love.
www.holylove.org.
U
S
I
N
Jazzy 1107 Electric Chair
from Pride Mobility. Used
very rarely. $2000
Owner didn’t take to a mechanized chair. 23” w. Has
advanced suspension and is
very comfortable. These chairs
get high ratings for their comfort, rigid frame and power.
Retail price is around $5300.
Used: $2000. 508-347-8252.
E
S
S
The Dental Office of
Dr. Robert Audet
and Dr. James Dores
50 Elm Street
Southbridge, MA 01550
508-765-8881
Email:
[email protected]
Website:
eandkstaffing.com
located at
22 Main Street
Sturbridge, MA
is pleased to announce
new extended office hours:
Mon. 8 to 8
Tues.&Wed. 8:30-8
Thurs.&Fri. 8-5
ATTORNEY AT LAW
LAW OFFICES
OF ROBERT E. GEORGE, PC
508-347-7114
www.regeorge.net
YOUR LOCAL LAW FIRM
SINCE 1973.
• Estate Planning
• Real Estate
• Corporate Busines
• Bankruptcy
• Divorce
• Litigation
Bought for our last home, never
installed. In box. Mission style,
almond colored glass and green
accents. 18” diameter chandelier
w/intricate filigree border on the
handcrafted glass shade and
beautifully styled antique bronze
5-light fixture.
• Antique black patina finish
Tiffany style glass shade
• Overall size 19” wide x 19”
high
• Uses five 60w medium base
bulbs
Paid $168. Will sell for $125.
508-347-8252.
D
I
R
E
Please call:
508-347-7171
to schedule an appointment.
YOUR
AD
HERE
NEXT
MONTH
$30
508-347-7077
C
AD REP
For Sturbridge Times. Call on
area businesses. We’re flexible.
You’re dependable. Commission-based. Send letter and
resume to: The Sturbridge
Times,
P.O.
Box
418,
Sturbridge, MA 01566.
___________________________
MASSAGE
The Sturbridge
Massage Center
John Foley (formerly of Paul
Conzo Day Spa) is offering therapeutic relaxation massage at
the Sturbridge Host Hotel. By
appointment only. Call: 508867-3958 or 774-200-0872.
T
O
R
Y
Best New
Restaurant
in Town!
Cooking from the heart
Breakfast & Lunch
Open 6 am-2 pm • 7 Days
508-347-9300
25 Brookfield Rd.
(Rt. 148) Fiskdale
STURBRIDGE
RESIDENTS
1 Headline
+ 3 Text Lines
Each line = 24 characters
______________________
RESIDENTS
AND BUSINESSES:
$3 per line per month
Headlines
and Textlines = 24
Characters
including spaces, phone #.
$7.50 per photo
All ads in print also appear on
www.sturbridgetimes.com in the
pdf copy of this newspaper.
There is no extra charge.
328 Main Street
Sturbridge
508-347-6466
Now accepting new patients.
Our office provides comprehensive
dental care, including but not limited
to: family general dentistry, endodontics (root canal therapy), prosthetics
(partials, dentures and bridge work),
cosmetic dentristy, implant reconstruction, and minor oral surgery.
Let your comfort and smile be our concern!
Robert A. George
Jobs available for machine
operators, assemblers, draw
tower
operators
in
the
Southbridge and Sturbridge
areas. Must have high school
diploma or GED. Must be able
to communicate in English. Call
Lee at 508-765-8881.
Brand New
5-Light Sonoma Chandelier
Rowenta IS-7800 Industrial
strength, commercially rated
steamer removes wrinkles from
hanging garments such as curtains, bed skirts, and suit jackets. Also ideal for difficult to
iron fabrics such as sweaters
with beading and delicate
items.. 508-347-8252.
B
EMPLOYMENT
CLASSIFIED RATES
FREE for
Complimentary hot deluxe
breakfast. Free high-speed
Internet access. Indoor heated
pool and jacuzzi. King rooms
with micro-fridge, cable TV
with premium movie channel.
Exercise room. Just 1/2 mile to
Old Sturbridge Village.
(formerly HooYa’s)
ORDER YOUR
DISPLAY ADVERTISING
ONLINE
AT YOUR CONVENIENCE
www.sturbridgetimes.com
REACH EVERY HOME
AND BUSINESS IN
STURBRIDGE
DEADLINE:
The 22nd of each month at 4:00 p.m.
PLACE YOUR AD:
E-MAIL:
[email protected]
PHONE:
508-347-7077
ONLINE:
www.sturbridgetimes.com/classifieds
GREATER
STURBRIDGE
REAL ESTATE
Mortgage rates from selected
lenders in Sturbridge
Call Our Office
508-347-7077
or
PLACE YOUR AD
ONLINE
Classified or Display Ads
Sturbridge Sampler
from Jo Chiodetti, REALTOR®
“Jo Knows Sturbridge”
30 year fixed
Assumes 20% down; $365,000 loan
Bank of America*
SELLING? RENTING?
(as of 7/26)
APR: 7.157
RATE: 7.125
FEES IN APR: $1155
LOCK: 30
ESTIMATED PAYMENT: $2,459
Hometown Bank
(as of 7/26)
TD Banknorth*
(as of 7/25)
APR: 6.884
RATE: 6.859
FEES IN APR: $930
LOCK: 60
ESTIMATED PAYMENT: $2,394
* Source: bankrate.com
Got a new Sturbridger?
Go to our website,
click on
GOT NEWS?
and tell
Sturbridge
about
it.
Exceptional home + Beach rights
Water views from every room
400++ ft. Walker Pond Frontage
APR: 6.763
RATE: 6.75
FEES IN APR: $500
LOCK: 45
ESTIMATED PAYMENT: $2,367.38
STURBRIDGE: AMAZING 3400 sf OUTSTANDING luxury custom appointments.
Four large bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths. 9'ceilings,
beautiful millwork, mahogany decks,
absolute DREAM KITCHEN granite counters with Thermador gas cooktop & grill and
warming lights, Thermador convection double wall ovens, Sub-Zero fridge, refrigerated
drawers integrated into the 5x5' island
counter, Fireplaced familyroom, Fireplaced
livingroom, Fireplaced year-round sunporch,
vaulted master bedroom with spa bathroom,
Hydro Air heating, Central Air, Finished
basement, Private Deeded Big Alum beach
rights. $582,029. Jo Chiodetti 508.868.6826
STURBRIDGE: Incredible Classic, original
Wells family built waterfront home. Over
400++ feet of rare true Walker Pond
frontage! Favored western exposure offers
glorious sunsets. Very private pancake-flat lot.
Dock.Water views from every room. Pine
floors throughout. Heated sunroom offers
breathtaking panoramic views of lake and
Wells State Park. Stately fireplaced living
room. Fully applianced eat-in kitchen.
Oversized two car/two story garage offers
potential with additional recreation/hobby
space. Gem! $474,900.
Jo Chiodetti 508.868.6826
Charming. Great Neighborhood.
REDUCED!
STURBRIDGE: JUST
Charming Dutch Colonial, located in sought
after centrally located cul-de-sac neighborhood. Front-to-back LR, formal DR, kitchen
slider overlooks entertainment sized twotiered deck and giant level backyard.
Hardwoods, oil, attached two-car garage. SF
does not include freshly redone FP familyroom
and office in lower level! Flat driveway. Town
water and sewer. Call to set up a showing!
$293,800. Jo Chiodetti 508.868.6826
Jo Chiodetti, REALTOR®
508.868.6826
RE/MAX
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATES
49 Main Street
508.347.9595
Hear ye! Sturbridge Realtors!
Bring your listings into Sturbridge’s Hometown Paper!
508-347-7077

The Sturbridge Times - Sturbridge Times Magazine

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