Hazel the cow. Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos.

Jonathan Seelig, chairman of the Friends of HOPS (Halifax Open Play Space) committee, was happy to announce that the recent “Plops for HOPS,” held Saturday, April 11, was a huge success, getting the project more than $9,000 closer to its goal.

The Plops event, generously sponsored by The Rockland Trust’s Halifax branch, was a lot of fun for all.  Pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting and jumpys were just some of the events on hand. DJ Keith was there playing the tunes… Bellas 2 was there selling delicious food.

Congratulations to the big plop winners:

First Prize: Joe MacDonald of Abington; Second Prize: 4-year-old Dylan O’Brien of Halifax; and Third Prize: Lynne Jamoulis of Brockton.

Thank you all so much to everyone who helped make the “Plop for HOPS” such a huge success.

It really was a great day. Hazel the cow came through…

Mother Nature finally cooperated … and we raised some serious money for the Halifax Open Play Space. We are still tallying things up but it appears the Friends of HOPS took in a little over $9,000!

Cow Plop indeed!

A HUGE thank you to Rockland Trust for sponsoring the event. Also to Walmart, Stop & Shop, Monponsett Trading Company, John the Barber’s, Cinderella Nails, A Fork in the Road and Lou Lou’s Cafe for all donating gift certificates, Bella’s for the pizza donation, Terri Carman, the Farming Association, and Hanson Grain for lending us their animals for the day. Fun Faces with a Twist for the face painting. Mr. Nessralla for helping us land a cow, The Well Church for providing the bouncy houses, Keith from “Just Dance Productions” for playing the tunes.  And a special thanks to Celebrity Judges Selectmen Kim Roy, Troy Garron and Youth and Rec Director Dick Steele.

The list goes on and on…

And please, please, please remember our local businesses the next time you need something. They ALL have been so supportive of HOPS and the children of this town. It would be great to return the favor.

The Friends of HOPS had a blast and hope you did too.

See you all on June 6th for the second annual “Hop for HOPS 5K”!

~ Jonathan Seelig

See more photos of the event on The Plympton-Halifax Express Face book Page:  https://www.facebook.com/plymptonhalifaxexpress/posts/1614507518764064

Rick Hamelin at the wheel.

Master potter Rick Hamelin presents Spouting Off! Teapots from Around the World, a pottery demonstration, at the Holmes Public Library, 470 Plymouth St., Route 106, Halifax, on Saturday, May 9, at 11 a.m.

Watch as these teapots take shape and hear the history of their form and function: the English “Brown Betty”, an Asian teapot made from one piece of clay, a Lebanese two-walled tea pot, and a unique, mythological-form tea pot.

Hamelin has been potting since 1976 and is committed to learning about the historical Redware potters after learning of the Colonial and Early American industries in his native Central Massachusetts.

Pied Potter Hamelin can be taken linguistically apart and understood as a “Colorful Potter from a Small Town”. 

Pied means multicolored, potter is his trade, and Hamelin translates as “one from a small town.”

Hamelin makes redware pottery that is hand-thrown on the wheel and after a drying period, his wares are bisques.  Following bisquing, they are covered with a lead-free glaze of his own formation, then fired again.  An antiquing finish is applied to the unglazed surfaces as a final step.

The running cat paw prints on the reverse of all the Kulina Folk Art and Pied Potter Hamelin plates and platters began by one of his cats leaping onto the slab of clay.  He had found an old brick with a dog’s paw print on it and thought it to be a unique way to make an association between our work.

Hamelin has taught and worked in museums and currently lectures and demonstrates pottery throughout New England.

This presentation by the Pied Potter, Rick Hamelin, is supported by a grant from the Halifax Cultural Council, a local agency funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

The pottery demonstration will be followed by a light tea to close out our week-long Books in Bloom event and to recognize our library volunteers!

Editor’s note: Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor, contributed to this story.

The New England Seismic Network Weston observatory confirmed that Plympton experienced a minor quake at 3:45 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Alan L. Kafka, of the Weston Observatory, told the Express this morning that a small earthquake measuring just 1.7 on the Richter scale struck the area about five miles east of Bridgewater, at 3:45 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21.  These tremors are not at all uncommon, he said, and in fact quite a few have been felt throughout the region, in Brockton, Middleboro, and even Martha’s Vineyard.  All coming down the fault line that goes through Cape Ann, north of Boston.

One Plympton resident thought he was awakened by a particularly strong thunder clap at almost 4 a.m. Tuesday, “but it was close to the ground, not really like thunder.”  He didn’t realize just how close to the ground it was.

With all this activity, are we getting ready for “the big one”?  You just never know.  Earthquakes aren’t easy to predict, although these little tremors are to be expected.

Kafka, author of “Why does the Earth Quake in New England?” said Thursday, that earth tremors and earthquakes really do occur on a regular basis in New England.