We’re excited to share an inspiring story from our Silver Lake Youth Football Pee Wee Varsity team as they gear up for the Super Bowl once again! After their 2022 championship win as Varsity Mites, the Warriors advanced to a more competitive division this season with one goal in mind: re-turning to the Super Bowl in 2024.
Saturday night, Nov. 2, The Silver Lake Pee Wee Warriors faced off against the Duxbury Dragons, battling on their home turf in Duxbury for a spot in the championship. Both teams fought hard, and as regulation time ended in a tie, the game headed into an intense four rounds of overtime. Our defense held strong, making block after block, including a game-saving block from #85 Faolan Mahoney of Plympton, sending our offense back in for one final shot at victory.
In the final moments, all eyes were on #16 Deegan Rondeau, who charged toward the end zone. With a perfectly timed pass from quarterback Jack Calter, Deegan made a game-winning catch, securing the Warriors place in the Super Bowl with an unforgettable play! Silver Lake, led by head Coach Erik Barrette, slew the Dragons.
The Silver Lake Pee Wee Warriors will take on the Plymouth North Vikings on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 1 p.m. at Hanover High School. We’re calling on our community to come out and support these dedicated young athletes as they pursue their dreams.
Thank you for helping us share our team’s journey with the community!
~ Katie Sances,
Team Mom

Sunday, Oct. 20, was a perfect day for the Laker Strong Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness, raising funds for Dana Farber Cancer Center’s research.
Working with Silver Lake’s Key Club and its advisors Kristen Shoaf and Nichelle Armstrong, this fundraiser was one of many over the past 14 years to help bring attention to breast cancer awareness and has raised more than $125,000 through the many events.
This year was the sixth Laker Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness. In addition to the walkers, there were many great gifts and raffle items to add to the final tally.
More photos by Linda Redding on page 7.
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Sunday afternoon the grounds of the Dennett Elementary School were jumping with costumed kids and decorated vehicles to celebrate the coming of Hallowe’en. Kids had great fun, and collected enough candy treats to last until Thanksgiving!

The Plympton Zoning Board of Appeals hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 9, to hear the proposal for a special permit to allow Four Silos Farm event center, was rescheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 6:30 p.m. because a quorum could not be reached due to the illness of one of its members, and another member away.
About 30 people were in attendance and they asked proponent Jeffrey Perette to give an overview of his project, realizing that it would not count as an actual hearing, just an informative gathering.
ZBA Chairman Suzanne Jefferian told Perette “Honestly, we’re dying to hear about it.”
Perette told the assembly that it is his intention to make a quality venue at 387 Main St., across from Outback Arms. He admited, “I have a thing for antiques …” as he told about the white oak barn that he has purchased from Ohio that was built in 1793. “I’m trying to keep the rustic antique look.” The barn is truly breathtaking. That will be used for functions, weddings, birthday and holiday parties, In the future he hopes to have another barn strictly for equestrian use, including an indoor riding area, all tying in to the agricultural feel.
Vicki Alberti asked about the significance of the four silos. Perette answered that those four are stricktly decorative.
The venue will hold up to 400 people. Perette also noted that the five dots on the map are actual grain bins, that he plans to convert into lodging for overnight guests to the event.
He hopes to break ground in the spring.

Sometimes, it seems, one makes the best decisions when there’s not much time to think about it.
That was certainly true for Matt Wood, who found himself losing an automotive job about seven years ago – one that he held for 16 years.
“My wife’s like, ‘do something else,’” he recalls, “I said, OK, I want to open a coffee shop, so I just started that.”
It’s a people-centered business, whose founder used to love working behind the counter and hearing customers greet him by name.
That is reflected in the people he hires – happy people – because those are the people skills he feels can’t be taught and is just as welcoming to people who like to work or hold meetings in his shops. So far, the business is making fixtures of some of his regulars.
“We have a lot of people who come in every single day,” Wood said. “We have a guy who’s writing a book who comes in every day and just sits at the counter and does his research and writing. That’s what [the shop] is here for.”
It’s a can-do attitude that is in synch with how this small business chain was born and was among those few businesses that enjoyed expansion during the COVID pandemic.
“We opened two shops during the pandemic, in Whitman and Bridgewater,” he said. Some of that was luck of location as the Better Bean in Bridgewater center had closed, during COVID and never reopened. Since Wood had already rented space for his photography studio from the same landlord, on the third floor of the same building, he called as soon as he heard the Bean was not reopening.
“I told him we need to take the space,” Wood said. The place needed a lot of work, but he got it done and finds the shop is something of a magnet for the Bridgewater State University community, especially.
He opened his first Restoration Coffee business as a corner counter in the Bostonian Barbershop in Whitman in 2017 and recently opened his latest shop in a new mixed-use apartments and commercial property at 999 Main St., in Hanson. He left the Bostonian during COVID when occupancy regulations would not allow the coffee counter to stay and Hanson embodies the most recent growth.
“I’ve been waiting for a while for this, but I’m glad it’s all done,” he said of the property investment. “Once we got the OK to start putting stuff in here, we were open about two weeks later.” He had already been accumulating the equipment he needed. “My whole basement was full of everything,” he said.
The Steve Egan development replaced the burned-out remains of a former dress shop torched during a string of South Shore arson cases about a decade ago, an abandoned, building where a construction firm used to be and the vacant house where “The Whole Scoop” ice cream parlor had also been located at 965 Main St.
The coffee shop business is not Wood’s first career change. He had also been a wedding photographer for six years at one point.
“I was always meeting with customers in coffee shops,” he said. “I always liked that whole vibe. It’s kind of like that ‘Cheers’ thing with ‘everybody knows your name,’ and they come in every day.”
Wood still has locations in East Bridgewater, the Bridgewater common area and Whitman center.
It took a little while to get the Whitman location, he said.
“The owner of that, who also owns this, would come into the East Bridgewater shop during COVID, telling me ‘I’ve got a spot for you, I’ve got a spot for you.’” Wood recalled. But at the time, he wasn’t ready for that leap and he had been trying to get a spot in Hanson in the plaza where Shaw’s is located. A non-competition clause in the plaza owner’s agreement with Shaw’s, which also sells baked goods, ended that quest.
“I called Steve and said, ‘Let’s just do it,’” he said.
It was the first location he’s moved into that didn’t require work on an older building, such as straightening walls, and the apartments on the upper floors were already rented out. Egan is building another similar business at 965 Main St.
“I’m glad that Steve built this,” Wood said. “The place looks beautiful and he did such a good job.”
Wood said there were Hanson residents who were upset about losing the house where The Whole Scoop had been, but noted there were no takers even after Egan offered the house free of cost to anyone who wanted to move it.
“The people that owned the house were going to do something like this,” he added. “They were going to knock it down.”
Egan has built a similar project in Whitman center, where Supreme Pizza, Whitman Wellness Center and John Russell Studio have moved.
When Wood started his business, it was just coffee, and finding a name was the first order of business.
“It’s wild, trying to figure out business names,” he said. “Every single name’s been taken. He hit on Restoration Coffee because it’s a beverage that restores you.
“Coffee brings you back to life, but also both the Whitman and Bridgewater shops both needed full rehabs before you could do anything – like a full restoration.”
When they added a menu, they started out easy with toasts and simple fare, and chicken salad sandwiches adding what they’ve wanted to the menu as they go along.
Much of that took place during the pandemic when business was slow.
“We were all very tight and [at times] were just hanging around for hours, waiting for people to come in,” Wood said. “It was so slow, so that was when we ended up kind of experimenting with things, going with cravings and stuff like that.”
One of those sandwiches, the Marley, leads some customers to wonder if there’s “something different” in it, he said with a laugh.
“It’s got [tomato] jam,” he said. “We have a food team now, that makes all the sauces, the tomato jam and things like that.” Most of that, as well as the bean roasting is done out of the Whitman shop at the corner of Washington and Temple streets and distributed to the other locations. The muffins are baked on-premises in each shop.
They buy green coffee beans from Colombia, Ethiopia and Guatemala through a supplier in Rhode Island who, in turn, deals directly with the farmers. Then Restoration roasts their own beans.
At the very beginning he used another roasting company, but before long Wood started roasting his own coffee.“I watched every YouTube video [on coffee roasting] I could possibly find and read every book I could on roasting,” he said.
The décor is practically identical in each shop, bowing only to differences in the lay of the floor plan. The tables and chairs are something of a logo and he builds all the main counter tops and even paints the sign affixed to the front counter in each shop.
“I’d like to have 10, but that makes it that much more of a headache,” he said of his ultimate goal for the business, he said, adding it is “just a number at this point.
Stay tuned.

Fred Corrigan
Special to the Express
Route 106 in Halifax was treated to a facelift last week when a process “Hot-In-Place” asphalt recycling was used. Hot In-Place is an eco-friendly asphalt paving method.
The surface recycling is done by “ovens” heating the existing road surface up to 350 degrees, then scarifying teeth dig into the existing road to a specific depth. The asphalt is then combined with a rejuvenating polymer oil applied to the asphalt with recycling agents, heated and the hot mess is recompacted. Next a paving screed makes the roadway flat again and a new finish layer is applied and a roller compacts the asphalt. The new surface is left to cure for about a week .then the final surface layer can be applied.
This Hot In-Place process eliminates the need to scarify and haul away the asphalt to be recycled in another area and saves on the use of oil. The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement began in the 1970s in response to the oil embargo.
The pictures are of a section of route 106 east of route 36 and is complete to the Kingston line.

The Kingston Foundation for Education (KFE), a parent-run, non-profit organization committed to enhancing the educational experience for Kingston students, presented their 10th annual check in the amount of $60,000 at the Sept. 16 school committee meeting. Since 2014, the KFE has raised nearly $1 million to directly support Kingston schools.
Over the last year, KFE has funded the repaving of the Kingston Elementary School recess yard and the new KES outdoor classroom project that just broke ground in August 2024. This outdoor classroom is a space designed for educational activities that takes place outside of a traditional indoor classroom. It can be used for a variety of purposes such as nature-based learning, physical education, art and creativity, team-building, science experiments, mindfulness, and exploring local history and cultures.
At Kingston Intermediate School, KFE funded the purchase of new camera and AV technology, as well as five TouchView Interactive displays. Having these new displays on carts gives teachers flexibility on how they structure their room layout vs the fixed projector. The adjustable height stand gives even the youngest students the ability to interact with the board. The built-in PC with wireless keyboard/mouse means all a teacher will need to do is plug the unit into power and have it all hooked up and ready to go!
Traditionally, KFE will raise money by planning several fun, charitable events including the Booster Fun Run and Parents’ Night Out fundraiser event called Back-to-School Brews at Mayflower Brewery. Back-to-School Brews took place this year on Friday, Sept. 20, with the. SLHS alumni band, The Rippers, back again with their musical talent, amazing raffle prizes donated by many of our Kingston business community members, and a thrilling pong tournament. It was such a success last year, that we plan on doing it year after year!
Our mission is simple: to help members of the Kingston community channel their positive energy into improving the already phenomenal public school system. As parents, we all love our kids, and we want to set them up for success. And we also want them to have the best opportunities and latest technology available when it comes

By Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Special to The Express
When we heard the peepers in August we knew Summer was coming to an end. September would bring Labor Day and the start of the school year which would replace our carefree days of fun and playing outside until it was so dark we couldn’t see. Then came the year things changed for a time. I always think of it as the golden, stolen days.
We were used to Hurricanes that came and went during the 1950’s but in September of 1960, along came Hurricane Donna. At the first mention of a bad storm, our dad had the Coleman stove, lanterns, kerosene and the sterno at the ready. Mom made sure there were enough baked and canned goods, candles, matches and other foods on hand that didn’t need much preparation. Laundry had been done and water frozen in the refrigerator for the cooler when needed. We were ready, now we wait.
Monday, Sept.12, no one went to work or school. Dad turned the radio on during breakfast while we still had power. The newscaster reported that Donna made landfall in Southern New England near Connecticut. and Rhode Island. The Blue Hill Observatory reported winds were 140 miles per hour and Donna was a category 4 storm. The four of us kids noticed the concerned look that passed between our parents.
A big expansive gravel and dirt driveway was between our house and the big two story, blue asphalt shingled house, where our dad’s parents lived. After a phone call from Grampa, we got ready and walked over to their house. Aunt Sam was already there with her kids.
The big old windows in Gram’s house shook and rattled as the whistling winds raised havoc. Trees fell before our eyes, landing in the side yard. Telephone wires came loose and thrashed about in the wind. At that point, Gram and Mom closed all the curtains, telling us kids to stay far away from the windows. Before darkness set in they turned their attention to lighting the lanterns. Aunt Sam took the kids into the dining room to play games. Fearing a tree might hit the house, I quietly retreated to the attic where I could look out at everything. Dad and Grampa were in the car listening to the radio. I saw them get out, hunching over to brace themselves in the wind as they made it to the kitchen door. I snuck back down before they came in.
To our surprise the news was good. The winds had been less ferocious in our area and Donna was on the way North to New Hampshire. The mood instantly lifted and there were hugs and smiles all around and a few tears of relief. Thanks to the old wood stove and Gram and Mom who made American chop suey and apple pie the day before, we had a good feast!
We woke the next morning to a beautiful day. My sister Penny and I were so happy there was no school. Dad was a bulldozer operator and was needed at his job. There was no damage to our house or yard except some debris scattered about which our younger brother and little sister helped us and mom clean up. After lunch, Penny and I went to see the trees that came down in the storm.
There were three good sized maple trees lying near one another about twenty feet from Gram’s and nearly the same distance from the house on the other side. We began climbing on the trunks and over the branches and leaves. Other kids in the neighborhood were drawn to the trees and soon there was a group of us walking and climbing all over them.
The September days after the hurricane were warm and golden. Where the trees lay became a haven for us kids in the neighborhood. Every day after breakfast we were there and we went back after lunch until it was time for supper. One of the boys was good at doing hand stands holding onto a branch that was close to the ground. Some of us liked balancing ourselves on the tree trunks while walking on them. The big leafy branches were good hiding places when we played hide and seek and they also became part of a tree house when we played the Robinson family from the book, Swiss Family Robinson. Another day we imagined we were in Sherwood Forest with Robin Hood hiding from the Sheriff of Nottingham.
The day we had to go back to school, we couldn’t wait to get home to the trees. When we got there, we stood and stared. Our hearts sank. Our haven was gone. It made us sad to see our trees cut up into piles of logs. We all turned away, no one talked on the way home.The stolen days in the September sun were a magical time that we all shared and reminisced about through the years.

Aerial and truck-mounted spraying to control mosquitoes began Tuesday of this week, as communities in Plymouth County continued to register in the moderate to high risk levels for Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or EEE, according to information from the Massachusetts Dept. of Agricultural Resources.
Three towns in Plymouth County are at the critical level, according to a risk map from Mass.gov -Arbovirus. The five stages of risk are Remote, Low, Moderate, High, and Critical. Plympton, Halifax, and Kingston are all rated at Moderate risk, meaning that some mosquitoes sampled in these towns have been found to carry the Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus. High risk would mean that animals have been found to be infected with the EEE virus, and a Critical designation means a human has been infected. Middleborough, Carver, and Plymouth have all been designated as High, as of Tuesday, Aug. 27. Four towns in southern Worcester County have been deemed Critical, due to a human case of EEE in Uxbridge.
The Plymouth County Mosquito Control project initiated aerial spraying in towns deemed Critical, beginning Tuesday, weather permitting. It will continue its truck-mounted spraying program, including spraying yards by request throughout Plymouth County. To see a list of the street-by-street itinerary for each town, go to https://www.plymouthmosquito.org/spray-routes-for-adult-mosquito-control.html. The spray routes will be posted at 3 p.m. for the following day. They list only the streets they expect to be on and not exact addresses. PCMCP honors all pesticide exclusion requests.
Residents can call up to eight times per season to be sprayed barring any spray restrictions in the area. The spray used will kill the mosquitoes in the area at the time that they spray and is not a preventative. Residents must make a request each time they have a mosquito problem, including name, address, phone number and email address. A confirmation email stating that PCMCP will come the requested property the next morning and a confirmation email on the day that spraying was done. Spray request phone calls are answered Monday – Friday from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at PCMCP phone: (781) 585-5450 and Fax: (781) 582-1276.
Pesticide applications are made via an ultra-low volume sprayer that is on the back of a pickup truck. Typically spraying is done from the street and can travel up to 300 feet. Weather permitting, the sprayers are operating from 2 a.m. to ½ hour before sunrise each weekday.
There is no cure for the EEE virus and the best treatment is prevention, according to the Mass. Dept. of Public Health.

The Marshfield Fair, the premier event for Plymouth County 4-H members and young people from across New England, offers open youth participation for kids ages 5-19 exhibiting livestock shows, equine events, dog shows and numerous agricultural opportunities.
Young people play an active role participating at the fair, including offering demonstrations, interacting with fairgoers, care and maintenance of the barns, and fair planning.
Youngsters learn valuable life skills through raising and showing animals including responsibility for others, public speaking, leadership, and community service. 4-H members and others also gain experience in animal science, local agriculture and volunteer experience.
The Marshfield Agricultural and Horticultural Society presents many awards for excellence in scholarship, livestock, agriculture, and country craftsmanship.
Among these is the Cave Canem Challenge Cup, honoring longtime Plympton resident Rita LaPointe, volunteer leader, teacher, and friend of 4-H young people. It is awarded to the Junior or Senior 4-H dog exhibitor who earns the highest total combined score in both Marshfield Fair Dog Shows.
The Marshfield Fair runs through Sunday, August 25.