Belmont High Graduates 315 In The Misty Chill Of Harris Field

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Caps tossed into the overcast as Belmont High School graduated 315 in the Class of 2023.

In weather more attuned for a fall football game, parents, siblings, relatives, and friends bundled up to witness the graduation of the members of the senior class of Belmont High School on Saturday, June 3.

The anticipated rain never came during the event, but the mist, wind, and 50-degree weather put an unseasonable chill on the ceremony underway at 10 a.m. outdoors at Harris Field. Retiring Superintendent John Phelan and retiring Assistant Superintendent Janice Darias (“I’m finally graduating,” she said before the ceremony) lead the long crimson procession for a final time from the high school to the field with the Belmont High School Wind Symphony playing Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance.”

With parents and friends taking photos and umbrellas opening in the stands and on the field, the graduates strode down the 50-yard line to their seats in the center of the field, where the ceremony began with the Belmont High Chorus performing the National Anthem.

In his speech, Belmont High School Principal Issac Taylor addressed the assemblage the “fear and uncertainty in a world that is undergoing enormous changes compressed into one generation.” And while these “new tools are powerful and where there is power, there is both opportunity and danger.”

“Technology responds to you, and you respond to it. And the ease with which you navigate the modern world is a dynamic tool that will help you succeed. You will also be the people who helped steer the direction we take as a species, how we use this technology, and to what ends. This is an enormous responsibility and a great opportunity,” said Taylor.

“I hope that you all find your version of success. In a world that is changing so quickly, defining a successful life can be elusive. Like happiness, success comes from within. Partly success and happiness comes from the skills that we develop. Partly they come from the experiences that we have. But mostly being successful comes not from the pride of what we know and what we can do.”

Class of 2023 President Nicky Mosharaf reminded her classmates and graduates, “the most abundant challenge for us this year was making a tough decision. Deciding which college you’re going to go to, if you’re going to go to college.”

“However, we haven’t gotten to life’s hardest decisions yet. From what I’ve seen, I think the most difficult life decisions are the ones where you have to decide whether to give up or not. Usually the first thing that comes to mind is never give up,” said Mosharaf, using her mother’s decision to return to school to seek her MBA with two small children and an infant.

“On the other hand, there’s a second option to give up. I know it doesn’t sound as motivational as never give up. But I think sometimes it can be better to scrap the current plan and go down a new path. Maybe sometimes it is better to give up.,” she said, remembering how she decided gymnastics wasn’t her cup of tea.

“So deciding between the two options is tough, and there’s no specific Tiktok that’s gonna give us the right answer,” she said. “Whether we give up or not … is not as important as we think. The most important thing is to make your decision positively and take joy in your decision and what you do.”

The Belmont School Committee awards for outstanding achievement and scholarship were presented to seniors Leo Son and Ana Lehmann. Son, whose accomplishments in the classroom and as a student leader run an entire printed page: he is a math and STEM scholar, took 11 AP courses, and plays and teaches chess, among numerous other accomplishments.

“And I’m sure many of us were thinking about this idea on our last day of high school, navigating thethe hallways for the last time on route from yellow to light blue to pink, already missing the comfort of a weekly club, where you found a community that you belong to.”

“But as this meeting place for all of us comes to an end … be proud of how far you’ve come. Remember all the connections and routines we’ve let slip by, and we look forward to the opportunity to find a new lunch table for the first time and new club communities again next year or sooner. Do not let go of what you’ve gained from the sources of joy that you once knew and grasp more tightly onto the experiences we have now.”

When Lehmann – an international Math Olympian, a harrier, and a talented German speaker whose language proficiency is at the university level – heard she would be receiving the award and expected to make a speech, “I procrastinated.” While admitting she was “mostly excited and honored to be speaking,” the suggested subject concerning the future was “nerve-racking.”

“What can I, a 17-year-old, impart to an audience – at least half of which has much more life experience than me – about the future? I don’t even know which college I’m going to in the fall!” Instead, Lehmann decided to speak “about the uncertainty of it all.”

Lehmann spoke of her parent’s immigration story – her Serbian mother and German father who came to the US and met in Pennsylvania – and how their journey became hers. “I’ll technically follow in their footsteps as immigrants. They didn’t know what to expect when they came here. And like many of us here today, we don’t know exactly what’s awaiting us at college.”

“On the journey into our inherantly uncertain futures, we can choose familiar constants to keep with us and help us along the way, whether it be family, friends, mentors, pets, or even hobbies. We’re not all about to be immigrants, but we are all starting an exciting and unknown new chapter in a new environment with new labels of high school, graduate or college students,” she said.

A rendition of “Landslide” by the Belmont High A Capella was followed by the presentation of diplomas – the names masterfully handled by Mosharaf – then the moving of tallases and tossing of caps into the air. And it wasn’t surprising that not that many people stuck around Harris Field as the chilly wind picked up had the clouds grew dark.

Memorial Day In Belmont: Remembering Those Who Gave Their Lives For The Country

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Memorial Day in Belmont, 2023

Memorial Day Monday arrived in Belmont under a brilliant blue sky as residents, town officials, and veterans came to the Grove Street Cemetery to commemorate the war dead since the Civil War two years after Belmont was incorporated.

For Select Board Member Roy Epstein, those sacrifices include the men and women who fell outside of the wars this country fought. In his speech before the hundreds at Grove Street Cemetery, Epstein told the story of US Army Air Corp Captain Billy Phelps, a pilot who flew B-17 Flying Fortresses over Germany during WWII, surviving the war after his plane was shot down and he was held as a POW.

Three years after that war ended, in June 1948, the Soviet Union, in an attempt to force the American, British, and French forces out of Berlin, blockaded all the roads and railroads to the western sectors of the city to ultimately claim most of post-war Germany for themselves.

“They cut off the supply of food, electricity, and coal to hold the civilian population hostage. President Truman responded by trying to break the blockade by air. This was the Berlin Airlift, which began almost exactly 75 years ago.”

“Amazingly, Phelps volunteered to go to occupied Germany for the Airlift, to fly coal to Berlin instead of bombs. It was again desperate, dangerous work. New Soviet jets harassed the flights and sometimes tried to force American planes down in the Russian zone. Coal dust in the planes caked the controls and blinded the pilots. In letters home Phelps wrote that their planes had become ‘flying wrecks.’ Twice his engines caught fire and he was forced to crash land.”

The few loads of food and supplies grew to a massive unbreakable lifeline thanks to the determination of American and British crews. They eventually delivered millions of tons. It was the Soviet dictator Stalin who gave up and called off the blockade in May 1949.

Epstein remarked that “the Berlin Airlift changed the course of the Cold War. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created at the end of the crisis. The security created by that alliance has preserved Europe from again becoming a battleground. Our commitment to that alliance is still being tested.”

“In Germany today, memorials fittingly honor the Airlift by calling it ‘a gigantic operation that turned former enemies into friends.’ Do not forget what Germany had been. The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany, where Anne Frank and countless others perished, was only a few miles from Phelps’ airfield. The Airlift had much more than military importance.”

“Showing we could and would stand up against aggression and injustice helped Germany renounce the inhumanity of the Nazi past. It took another 50 years, but Berlin finally became the capital of a peaceful, united, and democratic Germany.”

“Captain Phelps was part of a small and very special group of pilots in the history of the Airlift. Here’s why. In December 1948, he had a few days left before rotating home to his wife and two new babies. He had to fly another mission after making three round trips the day before. A mile after taking off, his heavily loaded C-54 banked in the rain and fog – and plunged to the ground. Phelps, his copilot, and his flight engineer were all killed.”

Just like in 1948, “[a]s we confront problems in the world today, let’s remember and draw inspiration from people like Billy Phelps. Let’s hope that the American ideals, generosity, and sacrifice that made the Berlin Airlift possible will always be a beacon for those who struggle for freedom, dignity, and human rights,” said Epstein.

This year’s observance included speeches, prayer, and the Belmont High Marching Band accompanying the marchers from the cemetery to the Veteran’s Memorial at Clay Pit Pond.

Belmont Veterans Agent Bob Upton and Kip Gaudet, Jr., Waverley VFW Post 1272’s commander, hosted the annual event recognizing the town’s fallen heroes. “We remember those of Belmont who have served those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Upton.

United States Army veteran and the newly installed pastor of the Open Door Baptist Church Tim Robinson, gave the day’s prayer, thanking those who had fallen for their courage, selflessness, and devotion to duty and praying for those who have lost loved ones and service to this great nation that you would continue to comfort them with the peace that only a supreme being can bring.

State Sen. Will Brownsberger and State Rep. Dave Rogers read a proclamation together from Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy, saying it was appropriate that all Massachusetts citizens remember the bravery of those who gave their lives so that their sacrifices serve as a reminder of the cost of our freedom.

Keynote speaker retired US Marine Colonel, combat veteran, and lifelong Belmont resident Mike Callahan spoke on learning more about those to sacrificed their lives for future generations.

“So as we read the names and play taps, and again recall stories of features that never played out,” said Callahan, the Belmont Veterans Memorial Committee chair. He encouraged residents to learn more about the men from Belmont who gave their lives, like James Paul White, for which the Field House at Harris Field is named, who was killed during the Battle of the Bulge, and MIA Jerry Burns, who was presumed died in the Korean War. There are Belmont football teammates Edward Teddy Lee and Walter Donny Ray, who both died in Vietnam, and Jonathan Curtis, who died in Kandahar nearly 13 years ago today.

“As we reflect on their ultimate sacrifice to the friend, the freedoms that we all enjoy each day, and freedoms that far too many Americans take for granted, let us pledge to keep their memories alive. Doing this is as much for them as it is for future generations. For if we are to retain our freedoms, that has been one for us, then similar sacrifices will almost certainly be required in the future.”

What’s Open/Closed Memorial Day 2023: Trash/Recycling Collection Delayed A Day

By Leave a Comment

Photo:

Memorial Day is a federally FCC holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died in the performance of their military duties while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The holiday this year is observed on Monday, May 29.

Belmont will commemorate Memorial Day with an observation at the Grove Street Cemetery beginning at 11;30 a.m. to be followed by a parade to the Veterans Memorial at Clay Pit Pond off of Concord Avenue.

What’s Closed:

  • Belmont Town offices and Belmont Light are closed. They will reopen to the public on Tuesday, May 30.
  • US Postal Service offices and regular deliveries.
  • Banks; although branches will be open in some supermarkets.

MBTA: Operating buses and subways on a Sunday schedule. See www.mbta.com for details.

Trash and recycling collection: There will be no collection Monday; trash and recycling will be delayed ONE DAY this holiday week.

What’s Opened:

  • Retail stores.
  • Coffee shops: Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are serving coffee all day.
  • Supermarkets.
  • Convenience and drug stores (CVS/Pharmacy) open regular hours.
  • Establishments that sell beer and wine are also allowed to be open.

Let’s Talk Budgets: Warrant Briefing On Segment B Of Annual Town Meeting

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Budget discussion this Thursday

The Belmont League of Women Voters is hosting a Warrant Briefing before the start of Segment B – the budget related articles of the annual Town Meeting on Thursday, May 25, at 7 p.m.

At this virtual meeting held over Zoom and broadcast via the Belmont Media Center, the briefing – cosponsored by the Warrant Committee and the League’s Education Fund – will allow Town Meeting members and residents to ask questions on budget articles prior to the first night of Segment B on Wednesday, May 31.

Town officials and department heads will be present to provide information. Moderating the meeting will be Geoffrey Lubien, chair of the Warrant Committee.

Viewing options include:

Participating on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87860421130

Zoom meeting ID: 878 6042 1130

Watching on cable television or live stream

Live broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast); Ch 28 (Verizon). Livestream or on-demand: belmontmedia.org/watch/govtv

Memorial Day Observation With Parade (Abbreviated) Starts At 11:30 AM Monday

By Leave a Comment

Photo: The Memorial Day parade will go from the Grove Street Cemetery to the Belmont Veterans Memorial on Clay Pit Pond.

It will be an abbreviated parade at Belmont’s Memorial Day Observation ceremony held on Monday, May 29 at 11:30 a.m.

This year, the parade assembly and starting point has been relocated from Cushing Square to Grove Street just outside the entrance to the Grove Street Cemetery. Assembly for parade participants should begin at 10:30 a.m.

“So we’ll march from [Grove Street] in somewhat of a truncated parade,” said Mark Paolillo, chair of the Select Board. “We’ll miss going down Trapelo Road.”

The traditional observation will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the cemetery with speeches, the Belmont High School marching band playing the National Anthem, decorating of graves, reading the names of Belmont residents who died in service of their country during conflict, and the playing of taps.

This year’s parade will step off immediately following the ceremony and will march down Grove Street to Bright Road. The parade will turn left on Concord Avenue traveling to the new veterans memorial at Clay Pit Pond.

The Belmont Police is also reminding residents that blocking sidewalks in any way is prohibited and can create hazards for pedestrians. 

“Please make sure your vehicles are legally parked at all times and not blocking sidewalks,” said the press release.

Belmont Farmers Market Opens Thursday, June 1 With A POP And A Food Assistance Fair

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Opening Day for the Belmont Farmers Market is Thursday, June 1.

Mark your calendar: the Belmont Farmers Market will open for the season on Thursday, June 1.

The Opening Day celebration will take place at 1:30 p.m. in the Claflin Street Parking Lot in Belmont Center with a ribbon cutting, a speech and the ringing of the market bell.

The market is open weekly on Thursday afternoons, 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., until the last week in October.

Market favorite vendors are back, bringing produce, baked goods, prepared foods and knife sharpening to Belmont each week. In addition,

In addition, the Just Hummus food truck will be a Market regular throughout the summer.

Opening With A Pop

This year the market will participate in the POP Club, a nationally-recognized program aimed at empowering kids to make healthy food choices and learn where their food comes from. Each week, POP Club members get a $3 POP Club coupon to spend at the Market on fruits, vegetables, or food-producing plants of their choice.

Signing up is simple. If your child is between the ages 5-12, fill out this POP Club form or stop by the Manager’s Tent at the Market to grab a POP Club Passport. Then collect your $3 coupons, get a stamp, and go shopping.

Food Assistance Fair To Inform Shoppers How To Stretch Budget

The Market will host their second annual Food Assistance Information Fair as part of the Opening Day celebration. The fair’s primary goal is informing shoppers about the many benefit programs that can help them stretch their food budgets.

BFM’s food assistance doubles SNAP benefits – formerly Food Stamps – up to $25 weekly for each shopper. They are one of the few farmers’ markets that double Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons (FMNP) for eligible seniors and WIC families.

The Market’s food assistance program grew significantly in the 2022 season:
• $26,000 in matching funds for SNAP and FMNP, an increase of 60 percent over 2021.
• $22,000 in produce purchased from HIP farmers, an increase of 15 percent over 2021.

Donations from the community and sponsorships from local businesses pay for the matching program, while the Commonwealth reimburses vendors for HIP purchases. Spending those additional funds at the Market also supports local farms and businesses.

The Market is a project of the Belmont Food Collaborative, Inc. BFC is a nonprofit whose goal is education about food and nutrition, and helping families in need get fresh produce.

Editor’s note:

A reader asked: Why does the Belmontonian use “farmers” rather than “farmers'” in the title of the market? Here is an explanation from Kevin Hessel, a top-notched copy editor:

“[Farmers Market] is a descriptive phrase, not a possessive – a market for farmers, not a market belonging to farmers – so there’s no need for a possessive apostrophe, which is the only thing an apostrophe here would seem to indicate. Boys basketball, girls basketball, teachers union, farmers market, etc.”

“Descriptive phrases like children’s hospital (a hospital for children, not a hospital belonging to children) get an apostrophe because the plural children doesn’t end in s, also e.g. men’s basketball, women’s basketball.”

“A complete explanation of the applicable rules is under the apostrophe entry in the Punctuation chapter of the [AP] stylebook.”

Breaking: Town Day Cancelled Saturday Due To Wet, Cold Weather; Rescheduled Sometime In The Fall

By Leave a Comment

Photo: See you in the fall

The 32nd Belmont Town Day celebration scheduled for Saturday, May 20, has been cancelled due to a daunting weather forecast for the day. According to Gerry Dickhaut, president of the Belmont Center Business Association which sponsors the annual event, will be rescheduled sometime this fall.

Showers are expected early on Saturday than becoming a steady rain by noon with the potential for heavy rainfall resulting in a half-an-inch sweeping the area. In addition, the expect high temperature is not expected to breach 64 degrees with wind gusting to 15 mph.

This is the second time in a decade the event has been postponed by weather with the day pushed back three weeks. The COVID pandemic forced the cancellation of Town Day in 2020 and delayed it into the fall of 2021.

Hosted by the Business Association along Leonard Street, the Town Day is filled with events including musical groups, classic cars, tours of the Belmont Center fire station, carnival rides, a bouncy castle, trinkets for sale, booths sponsored by civic groups and businesses and and lots of food. 

Belmont Community Path Phase 2 Hybrid Public Forum Set For Thursday, May 18

By Leave a Comment

Photo: A conceptional image of the Belmont Community Path above the MBTA commuter rail

Join the first Public Forum for the Belmont Community Path Phase 2 project. 

At this presentation and listening session, the Belmont Community Path Project Committee and consultant team from Pare Corporation will provide a brief overview of the project, a summary of the community input received thus far, and project work to date, including the draft route recommendation. The public’s input at this meeting will provide guidance for the development of the project.

Belmont has retained Pare Corporation and Toole Design to recommend the final alignment and to design Phase 2 which will connect from the Clark Street bridge to the Waltham city line with a linear trail and park.

The Belmont Community Path is a generational off-road, multi-use path that will provide recreational opportunities and a safe, walkable, and bikeable route to cultural, economic, and social anchors. It will also serve as a critical piece of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) which will connect Boston and Northampton.

The forum is taking place on Thursday, May 18 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. It will be a hybrid meeting 

For those who wish to attend via Zoom, the link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85658595262 

For those who want to participate live, the forum will take place at Belmont Town Hall in the Select Board Meeting Room, 455 Concord Ave.

Get To See ‘Out Of The Bunker’ At Trinktisch Sunday, May 21

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Members of Out of The Bunker who will be performing at Trinktisch this Sunday, May 21.

By Monica Collins

Michael Shea, ad hoc leader of a new jazz quintet, says the name of the group, “Out of The Bunker,” is a testament to the world post-COVID after an epoch of isolation. People now go out without masks and cluster again in groups to hear music. And one place with a new listening audience is Trinktisch, the beer hall at 87 Leonard St. in Belmont Center where live jazz has become a vibe repast at Sunday brunch. 

The first time I heard “Out Of the Bunker” play jazz standards such as “Bluesette, “Body And Soul,” “Skylark” and “Fly Me To the Moon,” at Trinktisch, I was transfixed. The music was wonderful, the food and drink tasted delicious. The whole event just seemed like one of those rare occasions when all was right with the world – and the town of Belmont.

Two quintet members live in Belmont: Casey Jones, the drummer, is also a software engineer, and Gregory Schneider, saxophonist, is the Head of School at Belmont Hill. Keyboardist Shea, who has masters degrees in jazz and composition, is a professional musician and bassist John Capello is a high-tech entrepreneur who has also played with jazz groups through the years.

The guitarist Bunker (George) Henderson graduated from Belmont Hill School in 1968 and after college and law school went on to have a long career as an environmental lawyer and U.S. Attorney. He’s the husband of Dita, my college roommate and, yes, Bunker still carries the childhood nickname that inspired the quintet’s moniker – although Henderson is too self-effacing to admit that or other accolades in his backstory, notably his early career as an assistant attorney general focused on the Boston Harbor clean-up. When after decades, Henderson finally retired from the government, he homed in on another of his passions – the guitar. He yearned to become proficient as a jazz guitarist. 

At the Powers Music School, these players found each other, jammed and learned to play together. They rehearsed until they decided to go wide. Shea and Jones had long been craft beer aficionados and patrons of Trinktisch. One thing led to another. Chef Kate Butler and CEO Suzanne Schalow offered them the gig to play every other Sunday, alternating with the MAC3 Jazz Trio. (“Out Of the Bunker” plays again on Sunday, May 21). 

Now, Butler says she couldn’t be more pleased with Sunday’s sweet strains at Trinktisch. “Beer goes well with music,” she says. “This seems to really work.” Back in the kitchen, Baker gets much joy “hearing them play and hearing people at the tables clapping, it’s an overall amazing experience.”

Good music can lure you out of any bunker. 

State Rep Rogers Announces May Office Hours

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Dave Rogers, your state rep, front and center

State Rep. Dave Rogers has announced his May office hours in Belmont. They are:

Please feel free to contact Rogers’ office at any time with questions by phone at 617-722-2263 or by email at dave.rogers@mahouse.gov