By Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Special to The Express

Asa Wallace was the father of four children. His oldest daughter Ceara was 19, attended a local college and earned money babysitting. His second oldest, Ben, was 17, then Joel, 14. Both boys had after school jobs two days a week which they alternated at the market in their small town. The youngest, Cassy who was twelve, was just starting to babysit.
Asa was short on communication and sensitivity and long on gruffness, but he loved his family and was a good provider. He wished his job in construction paid more but with the help of his wife Jane who drove a school bus and was very good at managing their finances, they managed. Where Asa was gruff, Jane was the heart of their home.
Summer had ended and the Fall season was in full swing. Asa had seen an advertisement in Yankee magazine for a build -it-yourself grandfather clock that came with plans and all the parts. The ad showed a picture of what the clock would look like all put together and the cost was affordable. Jane had always wanted one and he was thinking about it for Christmas. Asa started saving money. He was sure he could put it together and have it ready for Christmas and his parents who lived nearby offered to let him use their garage to work on it. Very unlike him, he even showed the ad to his son Ben who thought it was a nice idea.
Ben told his sister Ceara what their father had planned to do for their mother for Christmas. She was surprised her dad told Ben but was excited and thought it a great idea. She knew how long her mother had wanted a grandfather clock and how much she would love it.
Asa picked up a part-time job on Saturdays operating a backhoe at a sand pit loading dump trucks so he would not have to take money out of his paycheck to save for the clock. He had to send for the plans in October to have the clock finished and ready by Christmas. The third week into October the weather turned very cold and there was a heavy snow storm. All the work at the sand pit came to a halt and it wasn’t sure when they would be back up and running. He was $80 short and could not send for the clock.
His family noticed he seemed more short-tempered than usual but it happened from time to time and they steered clear of him. Jane was used to his moods and didn’t think too much of it. Then he took Joel to task saying a C was too low a grade to get on one of his tests. He also got angry at Ceara’s boyfriend saying 11 o’clock was too late to get home from a party. Then he got upset at Cassy and told her she shouldn’t take phone calls after seven at night. He was upsetting the entire household and Jane and the kids were upset.
Jane tried to talk with him to see if there was something wrong and he became very argumentative. She told him he was turning his kids against him with his behavior by getting on them about every little thing.
Asa went down cellar after Jane told him he better do something about himself. He started working on a lamp that needed fixing when Ben came down to see if he could find out what was troubling his father. “Hey dad, looks like you’re in the dog house.” Asa just grunted. Ben tried again. “How’s it going with the clock?” “Not too good!” “How’s that?”, asked Ben. In his gruff way Asa came back with, “Well, I lost my Saturday job!”, he yelled. “You mean that’s how you were paying for the clock?” “Well ya, what’ya think!” “Well, said Ben, “I didn’t realize that’s why you took the job, you just said they needed you.” “They don’t need me now!,” exclaimed Asa. “Well, maybe some other place might need some part time help?” Ben suggested. “Extra work’s hard enough to find right now with such cold temperatures and all the snow and ice.” Ben looked at his father, “How much do you need?” “I’m $80 short, I’ll have to wait until next year”, Asa said looking down at the floor. “You better get your homework done Ben, I have to finish up down here.” “Okay dad.” Ben went upstairs to look for Ceara.
Ben told her what happened. “So that’s what’s been going on! Why doesn’t he ever tell us anything?” Ceara sighed, saying “He makes you so mad you just don’t even want to care.” “True”, said Ben, “but we do care, he’s really in a spot.” Just then Joel came looking for Ceara to get some help with his homework and Cassy came bounding into Ceara’s room as well. “How come everyone’s in here?” Cassy wanted to know. Ben looked at Ceara, “We might as well tell them, dad’s never going to.” Ceara nodded and they told Joel and Cassy why their dad had been in such a bad mood. “ It’s hard to feel sorry for him” said Cassy, “He gets so awful sometimes,” “Tell me about it”, said Joel. Ben said, “I know but he also works really hard and this is something he really wanted to do for mom and if it were us that needed help, he’d help us.” “Ya, after he yelled at us!”, said Cassy. After a good laugh they tried to figure out how to help.
Asa came up from the cellar late that night. Jane had kept his supper warm in the oven and she and the kids had gone to bed. Asa was feeling pretty miserable about not having enough money to get the clock and also about upsetting his family. After he ate he got ready for bed. Jane was sleeping soundly as he started to get into bed and he was careful not to wake her. He noticed something sticking out from under his pillow. He pulled out a long white envelope and walked down the hall to the bathroom to open it so he wouldn’t disturb Jane. He turned on the bathroom light and opened the envelope. It was full of paper money and change. There was a note with it that read, Merry Christmas Dad, love Ben, Ceara, Joel and Cassy. When Asa counted it there was $80. A tear rolled down his cheek and his heart burst with love and pride as he realized what his children had done for him.
The clock came out beautifully and Mom loved it. It’s still in our family to this day. It lives in my brother’s house still happily telling the hours as it chimes away. Dad was never one to say he was sorry but we knew he was by the better way he treated us.

Linda Hurd is a Halifax resident who grew up in Hanson. We are delighted to print her delightful musings of gentler days gone by.

By Linda Ibbitson Hurd

It was a Sunday night before Christmas in 1962. I was 15 and my sister Penny was 12. We had two younger siblings, David, 9, and Barbara, 6.
We belonged to the Hanson Baptist Church and that night our family was going to a candlelight service that Penny was part of. It was not uncommon for Penny and I to be arguing or fighting over something, most anything would do and me being the older sister Penny just loved getting on my nerves. I didn’t want to go to the service and couldn’t see why they all couldn’t go without me but my mother insisted and I knew if I protested my father would get involved and that would make matters worse so I complied.
As we were getting ready, Penny and I had an argument because she took a wool pleated skirt I planned to wear and didn’t even ask. I was so angry as she always stretched the waist band in my clothes and ruined them for me. I went into her room where she was getting dressed and told her I wanted my skirt back and made a grab for it. She was bigger and taller than I and packed a mighty punch which she shared often. I pushed her and she fell between the bed and the wall. She kicked me and I knew if I had screamed that would bring dad running and it would be bad for us both. I whispered in a nasty tempered whisper for her to let go of my skirt. She grit her teeth and in a mean whisper told me she had nothing to wear and I had all the good clothes. I did a slow boil and wanted to pull her blonde pony tail but didn’t. I whispered again for her to give me my skirt. She snarled back, put it under her and sat on it. I went to find my mom.
I tried to be calm and not whine when I told mom what was going on. She said she would take care of it and told me to go to my room. She came in a few minutes later with the skirt and told me to get dressed. Penny had to go out and feed her horse, Lady, before she got ready. She opened the door to my room as she passed by and snarled that I was a no good rotten tattletale. I told her she deserved what she got. To my surprise she didn’t slam the door.
When we finally were on our way to the church, mom put my little brother and sister between Penny and me in the back seat, for which I was relieved. I noticed Penny wasn’t giving me dirty looks or hissing at me, she just looked out the window and was very quiet during the ride.
Once we were inside the Sanctuary other people came in greeting one another warmly. There was a happy, festive yet peaceful atmosphere with a very special feeling filling the church. White candles were aglow all over the room as we all sat in the cushioned pews.
As the service started and the choir sang, out walked Penny. She was wearing a white choir robe and her silky blonde hair shone as it fell around her face. Her cheeks were pink and her light green eyes filled with happiness. There was a pause and a hush as the Minister nodded to her. She began to sing ‘Silent Night’ in the most beautiful angelic voice I couldn’t believe was coming out of her. It seemed like there was a halo around her head and I reasoned it was the candles behind her that were making it look that way until I realized there were no candles directly behind her. A light seemed to radiate all around her as she sang out to the Congregation.
Much to my surprise, tears filled my eyes and my heart swelled with pride.
In that moment I began to wonder if she behaved the way she did sometimes because she wanted my attention, my approval. Maybe if she had it things might be different between us. The truth, if I was different, things might change for the better.
When the service was over I ran out to the back of the church where Penny was hanging her choir robe back up in the big closet. I told her I was proud of her and that her singing was beautiful. She said, “really?” I said “Yes”. I smiled at her and said “you’re not so bad for a sister.” She pushed me gently in the shoulder saying, “You’re not so bad either.”

Linda Ibbitson Hurd is a Halifax resident who grew up in Hanson and graduated from Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in 1965. Her fond remembrances of life in a simpler time are a delight.

Plympton’s Special Town Meeting Nov. 30 saw the seven articles covering the town’s business conducted in only 28 minutes from start to finish.
The cold, rain-driven blustery night caused many to wonder if the 35-person quorum would be met, but it was met and then some, with 87 Plympton residents braving the weather.
The meeting was held at the Dennett Elementary School, 80 Crescent St., Plympton.
Town Moderator Barry DeCristofano called the meeting to order at 7 p.m., asking all to take this moment to silence their phones. Then, without ado, he began.
Article 1, asked the town to approve the purchase of substantial acreage of an area north of Maple St, east of Palmer Road, and south of Main Street. The vote was unanimous in favor of the land purchase. Turkey Swamp will be held in a conservation restriction so devopment will not be allowed.
Article 2 was approved, allowing the establishment of Tax Title Payment Plans to help citizens pay their delinquent real estate taxes over a term of five years or less, easing the burden.
Article 3 was approved to transfer $21,000.00 to the Unemployment Line in the FY 2023 budget to cover a shortfall.
Article 4 asked the town to allow the selectmen to petition the state legislature to allow the current Fire Chief Stephen Silva to continue in his position of chief for five more years until age 70, providing his health allows. Selectmen asked that the town pass over the article. The voters agreed.
Article 5 corrected an error in the Wage and Personnel Bylaw, that would allow unused sick leave to accumulate without limit. The corrected verbage would limit sick leave to accumulate up to 50 days. The article passed unanimously.
Article 6 asked the Town to transfer from the Overlay Surplus Fund $100,000.00 to help reduce the FY23 interim tax burden. The motion passed unanimously.
Article 7 asked the town to transfer up to $100,000.00 from Free Cash to repair or replace the roof on the Old Town House. The town approved the warrant article unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:28 p.m.

Halifax Selectmen select Haddad as next TA
Halifax hired Bernie Lynch of Community Paradigm Associates to find and vet candidates for the open Town Administrator position. A screening committee was also created that included the Town Accountant Sandy Nolan, the Town Clerk Sue Lawless, both the Fire and Police Chiefs, and three citizens-at- large. “We had those folks act as our first pass through with the help of Bernie as well,” Selectman Jonathan Selig explained during the Board of Selectmen meeting on Friday, Nov. 18.
Selectmen John Bruno and Naja Nessralla joined Selig and Lynch to interview the three finalists.
Edward Swartz was the first candidate to be interviewed. Swartz said that at 27 he was elected as a City Councilor for Taunton. “It was instilled in me, at a young age, to get involved,” he explained. He said that he moved to Dighton in 2000 when his children were young. “In Dighton, for 17 years, while I was the Chairman of the Finance Committee, we didn’t have a Town Administrator, so I acted as a quasi-Town Administrator,” Swartz said. He said he is very loyal having spent a decade or more with a few of the companies he has worked for, having been at the most recent one for the last 17 years. “I live by a motto of always look at what we can do, not what we can’t do,” Swartz told the Selectmen.
“I find, and I found it in Dighton all the time, the towns underutilize their opportunities of what they can get from their State legislators because they just don’t know how to proceed with it and they control a lot of what goes on with the grants,” Swartz said. Swartz also said that he is all about community involvement. “I love events, we have tree lighting ceremonies I always attend… doesn’t matter what parade,” he said. He also said that he is a runner and is involved in a running group out of Abington. “Going to events, getting to know people, that’s who I am,” he said.
Asked about how he would handle criticism, Swartz said, “When you put yourself out there as an elected official… whether it was in 1995, 2015, or here in 2022, the only thing is people are a little more vocal about it now and we have social media… you don’t get yourself into social media wars… I’m going to look you in the eye and we’re going to have a conversation.” Swartz added that he sees social media as a tool to relay factual information about what is going on in the town.
The Selectmen told Swartz that one of the roles fulfilled by the previous Town Administrator was Chief Procurement Officer which they noted required some schooling. Swartz said, “I took the first class… and I have plans to take the next one.”
Selig asked Swartz how he intended to maintain the small town feel of Halifax while also keeping growth in mind. “In order to keep the balance between residential and commercial taxes, you have to involve growth, you have to find a way to bring the right commercial into town in the right locations,” he answered.
Cody Haddad, the current Assistant Town Administrator in Dartmouth, was next to interview. He said that prior to that he was the Director of Development and Grants. “I’m ready to make the step to be a Town Administrator. It’s important for me to find a good fit; not just for me to be a good fit but also for the community to find me a good fit,” Haddad explained. He continued, “When I look at Halifax and I look at some of the projects you have upcoming, I think this is somewhere I can come in and be very successful.” He referenced the recent instability in Halifax and said that he feels that Halifax is the kind of place where he could put his roots down and stay for twenty plus years.
Haddad noted that he oversees affordable housing in Dartmouth and said that he helped to improve the Capital Improvement Plan there as well. He said that were he to be hired in Halifax, he would look to update the Master Plan. Regarding the Master Plan he said you need a “tool of some sort where you rank the items and say these are the items that we’re going to pursue. Not because we think the Highway Department is more important than the Police Department or anything along those lines, but this is where they rank, and we have a process… so the items get funded.” He also said, “I view it really as a strategic plan for the town… it sets the goals, the guidelines for how departments should work. Select Board goals is another important strategic plan based off of that. Your compensation and classification study is something that needs to be done,” Haddad said. He said he would also focus on recruitment and retainment of staff, noting that he recognizes that the town is limited in what they can pay.
Haddad was asked about his grant experience which he described as “quite extensive.” He said, “When I came in the town would average, on a good year, a million dollars in grants. Since I’ve overseen the grants in the town, 3 million is what we’re averaging and that’s completely me.”
“My management style is very open door,” Haddad said. He continued, “I’ve been very successful in Dartmouth of creating that atmosphere where staff and department heads have issues, I’m the one that they come to… they come to me with issues and we’re able to talk through them… I’m a big collaborator so I think teams on almost everything is very important.”
Haddad said that better communication with residents is vital. He said that in Dartmouth he launched a separate website that he referred to as “an engagement portal.” He explained, “It was an opportunity for the public to engage with the town. We would post updates on projects… it was a place you could go and still can go to get factual information about things going on in the town. What happens, lots of times, is misinformation gets out there and then that’s it once it gets out there, it’s really hard to control.” He said that there was a spot on the website called “what the fact” where people could post questions about things in town and himself or the Town Administrator would respond within 48 hours. “One of the things I like to say is if I don’t know the answer, I’ll get you an answer,” Haddad said.
Asked about his experience with collective bargaining he said, “I’ve really been involved with collective bargaining entirely from doing research in other communities, looking at contracts, costing out contracts – that’s one really crucial thing that you have to do before you even bargain. Looking at what the town can the town can afford, first… so we don’t get in a bad position where we offer something and then the town isn’t financially in a good spot…. I’ve actually been at the table leading negotiations with the unions – we have 11 unions in Dartmouth.”
Rebecca Meekins was the final applicant to appear before the Board. “I grew up with a mother who served as town councilor for the community that I grew up in in Vermont. So, it’s sort of always been in me… I like to say that I was born with the public servant gene,” Meekins said. “This is the career that I intend to pursue until I’m done,” she continued. Meekins said that she has served as the Assistant Town Administrator in Grafton and currently serves as the Assistant Town Administrator in Northborough. She said that her time in Grafton was largely finance based saying she was responsible for putting together the annual operating budget as well as the five-year capital plan.
Regarding her wanting to take a job on the South Shore when she currently works in central Massachusetts, she said her parents recently moved to Kingston. “My wife and I recently started a family and it’s amazing what having children will do to your worldview… and we are looking to move up here and get closer to family,” she explained.
Asked about community involvement, Meekins said, “Part of the reason that I love doing this work is that you really get to immerse yourself in a community. In seeking to become a Town Administrator it’s not about a steppingstone for me, it’s about developing a long-term relationship with a community and its members and seeing the fruits of my labor come to fruition over time.” She said she looks forward to coffee hours at senior centers and participating in public input sessions for various projects. She said that she doesn’t want to sit behind a desk and noted that she loves that every day is different, and you get to interact with many different people including legislators.
Bruno asked about grant writing and human resources saying, “In our town we have some holes in our process.” He said he believes Halifax loses a lot of opportunities in terms of grants. He also noted that problems sometimes arise in town due to a lack of a human resources department. With respect to the human resources issue, Meekins said the town she is in now doesn’t have a human resources department either, so she is familiar with how to handle those things. “Classification and compensation, I think, is incredibly important so that the staff understand that there is a fair and equitable way that this has been decided, that there is a process,” she said. Selig then asked about retention given a limited salary value. “I don’t think there’s a municipality in Massachusetts that hasn’t faced that challenge as of late,” Meekins said. She said that she believes in being transparent about salary ranges and steps at the beginning when hiring. She also noted that she believes in being creative in the steps taken to retain people.
Meekins said she was certified as a procurement officer. “Ninety-five percent of grant writing is just knowing that the grant exists. I like to think of myself as fairly tapped in. There are a lot of financial resources floating out there right now particularly coming out of covid,” she explained. “The Community Compact Program, I do believe will be continued by the new administration… that’s an incredibly valuable resource for cities and towns to be able to implement best practices in a variety of services,” she continued. She said she was able to secure the ADA grant in the town of Grafton. “The great thing about that grant is that once you complete the self-evaluation plan, you then become eligible for construction money, construction grants. We can identify all of the infrastructure problems we have but if we don’t have access to funds to improve it, that doesn’t do us any good… Every year you can apply for up to $300,000 from the State to make those improvements,” Meekins said.
Asked how quickly she could start, she stated that there was a relocation aspect involved as she would need to buy a house and move her family. “I am here because I am very interested in the opportunity to relocate,” she said. Asked what she sees as the role of the Town Administrator she said to the Board, “I am carrying out your vision.” Bruno asked how she would handle disagreement with the Board. She said, “I believe in civil disagreement; I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think that’s somewhat lost on people especially these days.”
Asked about her views on social media, she said that she had conflicting feelings. She noted that in larger towns that have staff available to be dedicated to answering questions on social media, she felt that it could be useful. For smaller communities, she said it was best used for one-way communication.
The Selectmen conferred with one another before making a decision toward the end of their meeting. “I think anyone would be fortunate to have any one of the three of them,” Bruno said. Bruno said that he felt that Swartz might be the best fit. Selig said, “those were the best three interviews I’ve seen for a Town Administrator on this Board.” He continued, “It comes down to flavors of ice cream.” Selig said he was leaning toward Swartz or Haddad with a slight advantage to Haddad. Nessralla stated his preference for Haddad as well. The Selectmen voted unanimously to hire Haddad pending contract negotiations.