T-Mobile has announced its latest round of 25 Hometown Grant recipients, each set to receive as much as $50,000 in funding from T-Mobile to support local development projects to revitalize their communities. The town of Kingston will receive a $29,000 grant to update the Kingston Public Library lobby, replacing 27-year-old furnishings and making the space ADA compliant, providing a welcoming, accessible space to patrons.
Since kicking off its five-year commitment to small towns and rural communities in April 2021, the Un-carrier has provided more than $16 million in Hometown Grants to 375 communities across 48 states and Puerto Rico. Hometown Grants has sparked more than 150,000 volunteer hours, bringing people together to uplift their communities in big ways.
“When we started Hometown Grants nearly four years ago, we knew T-Mobile could make a real difference in small towns across the country, but the impact has exceeded all expectations,” said Jon Freier, President, T-Mobile Consumer Group. “With this latest round of grants, communities will be able to fund everything from new fire hose technology to expanded food pantry space — creating important, life-changing improvements for the people who call these towns home.”
Waiting for Godot
Celebrating its 25th season, True Repertory Theatre will bring Samuel Beckett’s groundbreaking play “Waiting for Godot” to life this April. Performances will be held at the Beal House, 222 Main St. in Kingston with evening performance on April 4, 5, 11 at 8 p.m. and matinees on April 6, 12, 13 at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $25 general admission and $22 for seniors and students. Group discounts of $20 a ticket for 10 or more available upon request. Tickets can be purchased online or at the performance. Online purchases can be made at TrueRepTheatre.com.
“We chose Waiting for Godot because now, more than ever, this feels like the right work at the right time,” said Donald Sheehan, who serves as the Artistic Director of True Rep.
The play is about two people living in a chaotic world who struggle to hold onto hope, who have invested in someone they know nothing about, Godot, to deliver their future. As they wait, they entertain one another, debate their existence, test their resilience, and provide unexpected humor, wisdom, and hope.
“The challenge of this play, for the actor, is to be completely honest and open — only then do we, as an audience, begin to recognize ourselves in these relationships,” remarked director, Victoria Bond. “Hopefully, people will not only recognize themselves, but one another, as well.”
As the author of the play Samuel Beckett said, “What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in the immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come.”
Directed by Victoria Bond of Plymouth this modern production stars Mark Reid of Hull as Estragon, Donald Sheehan of Pembroke as Vladimir, Ryan Guimares of Pembroke as Pozzo, Stephen Lee of Randolph as Lucky, and Robby Silenzi of Halifax as the Boy.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit TrueRepTheatre.com.
Women’s History Month author panel to be held at Adams Center
Writers Emily Franklin, Dawn Tripp, and Adelle Waldman will visit the Adams Center (33 Summer Street, Kingston) on Sunday, March 23 at 2 PM, for an author talk celebrating Women’s History Month.
The trio will talk about the female characters in their novels, the ways in which authors researched individuals in stories, and the subject matter. Franklin and Tripp recently authored books featuring Isabella Stewart Gardner (The Lioness of Boston) and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (Jackie) while Waldman published a fictionalized book inspired by her experience unloading boxes at a big box-store, Help Wanted.
Franklin is the bestselling author of more than 20 novels for both adults and young adults, as well as a poetry collection titled, Tell Me How You Got Here. Her award-winning work has appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, The Kenyon Review, and other numerous publications. The Lioness of Boston was a Boston Globe and Indie Bookstore bestseller, as it was featured on WBUR’s “Local Authors.” She has been featured on NPR and named notable by the Association of Jewish Libraries.
Franklin lives outside of Boston with her family and two large dogs. You can follow her at https://emilyfranklin.com.
Tripp is the nationally bestselling author of Jackie and Georgia (a fictional novel about Georgia O’Keefe), was a finalist for the New England Book Award and winner of the Mary Lynn Kotz Award for Art in Literature. Her three other previous novels are Game of Secrets, Moon Tide, and The Season of Open Water, which won the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction. Her poems and essays have appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Harvard Review, Conjunctions, AGNI, and NPR.
Tripp graduated from Harvard and lives in Massachusetts with her sons. For more information about Tripp, her website is https://dawntripp.com
In addition to the novel Help Wanted released in March of 2024, Waldman has also written The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. It was named one of the years best books by the New Yorker, The Economist, NPR, Slate, Bookforum, and the Guardian. Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, e Wall Street Journal, Slate and other publications.
Waldman lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and daughter. You can read more about her by visiting https://adellewaldman.com.
Books will be on sale following the event for all three authors. This event is generously sponsored by the Kingston Public Library Foundation.
To register for this event, please visit – https://kingstonpubliclibrary.org. For more information, you can contact Steven Miller, Reference Librarian at (781) 585-0517 x6272 or at [email protected].
Learning is Loud!
Samantha Perry
Express correspondent
Officially known as the Head of Youth Services for Kingston Public Library, Holly Iannucci is better known to the kids of Kingston as “Miss Holly”. She is warm and welcoming, a joy for parents and children alike. Holly’s dedication to what she does is clear to all who have the pleasure of spending time in the Kingston Public Library’s Children’s Room. An education major in college, Holly spent the first 14 years of her career in early childhood education before moving on to the Holmes Public Library in Halifax, and then the Kingston Public Library she now calls home.
Holly’s family has lived in Kingston for generations and it was always a goal of hers to give back to the community she grew up in. You may know her grandfather as the owner of Kingston Block which has been in business since 1948. She recalls spending her free time at the Kingston Public Library growing up, shelving books alongside then-librarian, Joan Enriquez. Joan quickly became one of Holly’s greatest mentors.
Holly describes the library the way some people describe trusted family and friends: safe, comforting and resilient. “If you are new in town and don’t know anyone, if you need a safe place to go, go to the library,” she says. “Libraries have been here since the ancient Greeks, they will always be here, they just won’t always look the same.” Holly explains that the landscape of libraries has already changed drastically to accommodate for the shifts in our world. It used to be a space where community members typically came to work quietly or in solitude. Children’s Programs such as Storytime were offered in the past, but often felt serious and structured. “Now,” Holly says, “Learning is Loud!”
Kingston Public Library offers many Children’s programs that Holly refers to as educational entertainment. Kids can come as they are, pick up a variety of skills and have fun while doing it. Holly describes the Children’s Room as a “community living room where children can come and learn through play.” As a Kingston parent myself, I have had the pleasure of joining Miss Holly for Babies and Bubbles where parents, caregivers, and their little ones gather together for songs, stories and – of course – bubbles! It is a wonderful chaos of little voices, tiny hands clapping, caregivers chasing after fast feet, knowing glances from one mama to another, and many wide-eyed babies just taking it all in. At first glance the program is very much geared towards babies and creating a safe space for learning, but in so many ways it is for caregivers also. “There are mothers at home who need to get out of the house for their own mental health, nannies can make friends with other caregivers, and infants can make their first friends,” Holly says. The benefits are boundless. Babies and Bubbles is offered on Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for children 0-2 years.
Preschool Storytime is also offered at Kingston Public Library on Thursdays and most Fridays at 11:30 a.m. for children 3+ years. Children can expect lots of laughing, silly songs, learning their numbers and letters, crafts and – of course – storytime! For children who have not yet entered Kindergarten, Preschool Storytime is great practice for them. “When kids go to kindergarten so much is expected of them,” Holly explains. For some children, particularly those who are not enrolled in preschool programs, this is the first time adults other than their parents or caregivers are giving them instruction. Holly has created a safe space where kids can be free to have their first outside-of-the-home learning experience with loved ones nearby.
Holly’s passion for her work, and for libraries, is contagious. She explains that libraries have the ability to level the economic playing fields within the communities they support. “For lots of kids it is the first time they use a computer,” Holly shares. Kids who are looking for the latest book, video game, or even boardgames can get them for free at the library. There are a variety of apps included with a Kingston Public Library card such as Kanopy, Hoopla and Libby where members can access eBooks, audiobooks, movies, TV, music and more – all for free.
Holly urges us all to explore these resources and get involved in your local library. “It doesn’t matter if you use our library, just use a library. No matter where you stand in this world, how rich or poor, your race or your gender, you are welcome at the library.”
The Kingston Public Library is located at 6 Green Street in Kingston, MA and their website is https://kingstonma.gov/219/Library.
Sen. Dylan Fernandes in support of Gov. Healey’s pause in planned facility closure
Senator Dylan Fernandes issued the following statement in response to Governor Healey’s announcement directing the pause of the planned closure of the Pocasset Mental Health Center.
“I am deeply grateful to Governor Healey for supporting mental health beds in our region and working to keep the Pocasset location open. We spoke out and rallied against the Department of Mental Health’s decision to close the in-patient center and we are incredibly fortunate to have a Governor who listens and deeply cares about the closure’s impact to our geographically isolated region and to people struggling with lack of access to care.
We are going to keep fighting for healthcare access on the Cape & South Shore and I want to thank everyone who stood alongside us – especially the Pocasset mental health workers and patients who understand what these beds mean to our district more than anyone.”
Halifax seniors enjoy Valentine’s Day luncheon
Valentine’s Day, Friday, Feb. 14, Halifax seniors were treated to a Valentine’s Luncheon in the Great Room of the Halifax Town Hall.
The Singing Seniors of Halifax, left, were the stars of the Halifax Council on Aging Valentine’s Day celebration.
Special guests included Plymouth County District Attorey Tim Cruz and his crew.
Guests enjoyed a lunch of pizza and salad after listening to a variety of songs with the theme of love, romance, and friendship.
Trivia and sweet treats rounded out the afternoon celebrating Valentine’s Day.
~ Photos and text by Linda Redding
Middleborough police look for car thieves
Middleborough Police Chief Robert Ferreira reports that the Middleborough Police Department is investigating two motor vehicle thefts reported early Monday morning, Feb. 10.
At 7:38 a.m., on Monday, Feb. 10, Patrolman Cameron Amaral was dispatched to Ashley Lane to investigate two stolen vehicle reports.
One resident told police that their 2024 Chrysler Pacifica was stolen overnight. A second resident reported their 2016 Hyundai Elantra GT also was stolen overnight.
Middleborough Police broadcast an alert about the thefts to departments in surrounding communities.
The incidents remain under investigation.
Adventures with the Lindas; finding the tunnel…
By Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Special to the Express
When I was eight years old, a new family moved to Hanson at the very end of Elm Street where it turns onto Hudson Street. They were from Hingham and moved into a big two story post and beam colonial house that had been owned by a doctor at one time.
I boarded the school bus one morning and noticed a new girl sitting with two of my friends. They were smiling at me when I sat in the seat behind them and I wondered why, when one of them turned to me, pointing to the new girl, and said, “Linda, meet Linda”. I realized then why they were grinning. Linda and I exchanged grins and hellos. As time went on, we got to know each other and became not only fast friends but life long ones.
Linda was the youngest of six. Two sisters still lived at home, the other two and her brother were married with families. Her mother, Minnie, was a registered nurse. Her father was Lou Brouillard, one of the first professional fighters to win both the welterweight and middleweight World titles and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The local boys tried to date or make friends with the sisters so they could meet their father. I felt honored to meet him myself; he was a quiet, modest man with a good sense of humor.
The first time I was invited to Linda’s, I was impressed. The circular driveway went from the red brick walk that led to the front door, to a two story barn on the far right with a field beyond. There was a kennel for boarding dogs between the house and the barn with a gate that led to the backyard. Their dogs of choice were golden retrievers; I met and loved theirs right away.Her name was Molly.
When Linda and her sister Judy had friends over for the first time, they held an initiation. They brought me upstairs, blindfolded me and directed me to crawl around in what felt like storage space in the eaves. I was told to keep moving and to not touch the blindfold. Suddenly I felt fur underneath me. I kept going until I felt what I thought was a head and I screamed and ripped off the blindfold. I was on a big black bear rug and beside it was a white one, also with a head. We were laughing as I looked around at a very nice room with knotty pine walls and a long cushioned window seat.
Before I left that first day, I met Linda’s grandfather, Joe. He was her mother’s dad and they were from England. He had a workshop on the top floor of the barn where he made beautiful things out of wrought iron. He had also helped her father in his boxing career. I remember him as a good-natured man who almost always had a smile on his face and in his eyes.
During the next few years Linda and I had many good times. One winter during February vacation, we had gone ice skating. Grampa Joe met us as we came in the back door to hang up our coats and skates, telling us he had hotdogs, beans and cocoa warming in the dutch oven in the living room fireplace and a fire going so we could warm ourselves. He sat in his chair entertaining us with stories about growing up in England while we sat on a warm braided rug on the floor beside him. Eventually he fell asleep. Linda’s parents weren’t home and neither were her sisters. She looked at me and gestured for me to follow her.
She led me into one of the front rooms that was a spare bedroom and quietly shut the door. She asked me if I remembered asking her what a post and beam house was and that one day she’d show me. I nodded yes. She opened the closet door, reached for the four-foot ladder inside, climbed up and pushed a board at the top of the closet away. I realized I was looking up at the inner structure of the house. “Be quieter than quiet”, she whispered, as up she went and I followed.
I found it hard to keep quiet as we climbed. I likened it to a huge jungle gym with it’s vertical timbers and horizontal hand-hewn beams. Linda was on one side of the structure, I on the other as we kept climbing and exploring, until we heard a voice. “You both come down here, slowly!” “Okay Gramp”, Linda shouted down.
He was waiting for us at the closet door. He didn’t raise his voice but was very stern when he looked at us, saying, “This won’t happen again and we’ll never speak of it, agreed?” In unison, we said yes. He looked weary as he said goodnight and that he’d see us in the morning.
The next morning when we came downstairs for breakfast, Linda’s parents and sisters were up and Grampa Joe had just finished eating. He smiled when he saw us and said, “Sometimes all a body needs is a little sleep.” When he got up to leave he gave us each a nod on the way out. Everything was back to normal.
When summer came that year, we explored the woods near Linda’s house looking for an Indian burial ground that our sixth grade history teacher told us was supposed to be in that area. One hot, humid day we were walking across the driveway and as we passed by the corner of the barn, I noticed rocks that looked like they had been part of a building. Linda said when the house and barn were built there had been a carriage house there. I noticed a door that was slightly opened and pointed it out. “Oh my gosh, the tunnel, I forgot all about the tunnel, follow me.” When she opened the door I realized it was the cellar underneath the barn. “This is usually locked”, she said, “No one is supposed to be in here, it’s dad and Gramp’s workshop.” When we went in, there were stationary drill presses, lathes and saws. We walked past them until we came to a dark opening. It was a tunnel.
We rushed to the house to look for a flashlight, to no avail, grabbed a book of matches, ran back to the tunnel and started walking. The dirt floor was solid and we were surprised there was no trash or clutter other than an occasional stick, some paper, a few mouse remains and no graffiti. We were determined to find the end to see where it came out. There were places we felt fear, even danger. We had no doubt this had been a tunnel to hide and help keep slaves and possibly others, safe. It got darker in the tunnel and we both lit matches. They went out. We lit two more. They went out again. We realized we were were running out of oxygen. We turned around and headed back, dying of thirst.
We knew we were getting closer to the entrance of the tunnel when it became easier to breathe. We heard someone yelling, “I can see them, they’re okay!” Linda’s sister Joan helped us the rest of the way out.
Linda’s mother gave us water, telling us to take small sips. When we were back in the house Linda’s mother looked at us, “I was just about ready to call the fire department when Joan saw you in the tunnel. What do you have to say for yourselves?”
Linda and I looked at one another. I could see her thinking.“I’m glad we did this, we could feel a little bit what it felt like for those people and I’m proud of our house and the owner during the Civil War who helped people.” Linda’s mother said with a smile, “you’re saved by depth of thought. Can you both guarantee me a stress-free rest of the summer? ”
Everyone laughed when we said yes.
Adams Center will Host Three Homebuying Seminar Programs
The Kingston Public Library will put on three homebuying seminar sessions sponsored by a local mortgage lender, a real estate agent, and a lawyer during the first two weeks of February at the Adams Center.
They will include “How to obtain a mortgage” on Tuesday, Feb. 4, put on by Michael Fleming of Rockland Trust, “Looking for a new home and the new MLS agent compensation rules” presented by Caty Starr of Jack Conway Realty on Wednesday, February 5, and “Closing on a Real Estate Property” hosted by Christopher Knoth, of Moody & Knoth, P.C. on Tuesday, Feb.11. All three programs will be held at 6 p.m..
Whether someone is looking for a new home, trying to downsize, a first-time home buyer, considering an investment property, or anyone in between, the sessions are structured for any potential homebuyers to learn about the three key phases of the process.
Fleming is presently a Vice President and senior loan officer at Rockland Trust. Over the last eight years he has held mortgage loan officer positions at BayCoast Mortgage Company, St. Anne’s Credit Union, Bank of England, and Leader Bank. Previously, he owned New England Golf Management for 25 years, maintaining several golf courses and serving as a proprietor of a number of driving ranges.
Starr has been an agent at Jack Conway Realty for the last 10 years. During this time, she has worked with buyers and sellers in over 130 transactions. Previously, she has worked as a franchising specialist and contract administrator of Dunkin’ Brands, a real estate paralegal in the law offices of Daniel W. Murray in Sudbury and Wellesley, and as a property manager and marketing specialist for apartment communities in Norwood, Beverly, and Marlboro.
Knoth received his undergraduate degrees at Roger Williams University in Criminal Justice and Psychology, and his Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School. He started his practice at Cilmi & Associates PLLC in New York, before joining Moody’s law firm in 2012 focusing on residential and commercial real estate transactions, estate planning, business law and land use/title matters. Knoth was made partner in 2019 and is a member of the Plymouth District Bar Association.
To register for this event, please visit – https://kingstonpubliclibrary.org. For more information, you can contact Steven Miller, Reference Librarian at (781) 585-0517 x6272 or at [email protected].
Holmes Library hosts Ted Reinstein at author talk
Monday, January 6, the Holmes Public Library was host to author Ted Reinstein who spoke of his book, A New England Notebook, as well as other titles he has written over the years.
Ted Reinstein is best known in New England as a journalist and reporter for “Chronicle,” Boston’s celebrated—and America’s longest-running, locally-produced—TV newsmagazine. While he appears occasionally in the studio at the anchor desk or delivering an opinion commentary, it’s out in the field where viewers are most familiar seeing Ted. From every corner of New England, he’s found the offbeat, the unique, the moving, and the just plain memorable, all while telling the enduringly colorful stories of the region’s people and places.
Ted has also been a regular contributor for WCVB’s political roundtable show, “On The Record,” and has been a member of the station’s editorial board since 2010. In 2002, he was part of a “Chronicle” team which received a national DuPont-Columbia Broadcast Journalism Award for coverage of Boston’s controversial Big Dig, and how such massive public works projects compare around the world. In 2018, he received an Emmy Award for his story on the “Good Night Lights” phenomenon in Providence, Rhode Island.
Elsewhere on television, Ted hosted the premiere season of the Discovery Channel’s Popular Mechanics show and brought viewers up-close to some of America’s most iconic landmarks for the HGTV network’s special, “Lighthouses.” For the Travel Channel’s photo-adventure series, FreezeFrame, he explored Hawaii’s volcanoes, the caves of Puerto Rico, and the South Pacific islands of Tahiti.
His first book, A New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories (Globe Pequot Press/2013) was selected by National Geographic Traveler as a “Best Pick.” He is also the author of Wicked Pissed: New England’s Most Famous Feuds (GPP/2015), and co-author, with his wife, Anne-Marie Dorning, of New England’s General Stores: Exploring an American Classic (GPP/2017). Ted’s most recent book is Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier (Lyons Press/2021).
Ted received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brandeis University. He has two daughters, and lives just west of Boston.
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