This Week: Special Town Meeting (Maybe) Monday, A Cappella Night Rescheduled

February 8, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo:

The government side of “This Week”:

Special Town Meeting will convene at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 8 at the Chenery Middle School concerning a vote to approve or reject a new regional agreement for Minuteman Tech.
The Board of Selectmen will be meeting briefly in public at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 8 at the Chenery Middle School to vote the warrant for the Presidential Primary and the amendment to the creation of the Belmont High School Building Committee before going into executive session to discuss Trapelo Road and Cushing Village.
The Energy Committee is meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 8 a.m. in Town Hall to discuss its priority projects including a discussion of whether to use dryer heat waste in the home as one of those priorities.
The Community Preservation Committee will be preparing for the annual Town Meeting and will hear an update on the PQ Playground application on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. in Town Hall.
The Board of Health will host a meet and greet with Belmont Public School’s Director of Nursing Service Mary Conant Cantor at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. in Town Hall.

• This month’s Books and Bites event will feature Belmont Public Library librarian Miriam MacNair who will discuss the life and work of poet Denise Levertov. The talk will take place on Monday, Feb. 8 at 11 a.m. in the library’s Assembly Room. Levertov was acclaimed by Kenneth Rexroth in The New York Times as “the most subtly skillful poet of her generation.”

• ESL Conversation Circle for beginners takes place on Monday, Feb. 8 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

• Girls Who Code will meet on Monday, Feb. 8 from 4:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library.

Not attending Special Town Meeting? Bummer! Here is a pair of outstanding counter-programming you can attend instead:

The Belmont After School Enrichment Collaborative‘s Parent Lecture Series continues with “Social Success for Tweens and Teens; Understanding and Supporting Social Development in the Middle School Year” with Peter Rosenmeier, LICSW, clinical director of The Gifford School, will be held on Monday, Feb. 8, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Burbank Elementary School Cafeteria (new location). Drawing on current research into the developing adolescent brain, best practices in social work and psychology, and more than 30 years’ experiences working with adolescents and their families, Rosenmeier will help unravel some of the mysteries of middle schoolers’ emerging social selves. We will be sure to make time for discussion about practical solutions to real-life dilemmas.
Another special night of singing at Belmont High School as the school is holding its annual A Cappella Night on Monday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in the school’s auditorium. (snow date, Tuesday, Feb. 9)

• Tuesday is story time at both of Belmont libraries.

Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer-run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may visit with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.
The Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue will have preschool story time at 9:30 a.m.
Story Time for 2’s and 3’s is at 10:30 a.m.

• State Rep. Dave Rogers‘ staff will be available for walk-in office hours on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 9 a.m.

• Experience El Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage route to the shrine of the apostle St. James the Great in Galicia, Spain, with Nancy Nee Hanifin, founder and co-chair of the Boston Chapter of the American Pilgrims of the Camino, at the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 9. Snow date will be Feb. 16.

• Elementary students now have their own book club so come join other 2nd and 3rd graders to talk about this month’s book, The World According to Humphrey, by Betty G. Birney on Thursday, Feb. 11 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the Flett Room. Register online or by calling the Children’s Department at 617-993-2880.

• The developers of Belmont Uplands will be holding an information session concerning the affordable housing lottery for Acorn Park (that’s the name being used) on Wednesday, Feb. 10
from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room.

• The Chenery Middle School Symphonies Concerts will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11 in the Chenery Auditorium.

• The monthly meeting of Belmont Against Racism will be held in the Flett Room on
Thursday, Feb. 11, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

• Literacy Playgroup is a parent and child group that supports child’s language and literacy development on Friday, Feb. 12, 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Flett Room. You’ll play, read, sing and take home new ideas. Presented by educators from the CFCE grant program; for children age 4 and under.

• The Senior Book Discussion Group will discuss Deephaven by Sarah Orne Jewett on Friday, Feb. 12 from 11 a.m. to noon in Classroom A at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. Published in 1877, Deephaven is a nuanced work of fiction that explores life in a town in Maine. The Senior book discussion group is co-sponsored by the Belmont Public Library and the Belmont Council on Aging. All are welcome to attend.

• Attention teens at Belmont High School: Looking for a new community service opportunity that will look great on your college applications? Come to the Belmont Public Library Teen Advisory Board meeting on Friday, Feb. 12, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the library’s Young Adult Room. Sign up to attend by stop by the library’s reference desk, or call 617-993-2873.

Snow Day! Belmont Public Schools Closed Monday

February 7, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Snow day.

To the 4,100 students in Belmont: Sleep in, have pancakes for breakfast, take the inner tube to the hills and watch Netflix.

Unlike Friday’s snow event in which Belmont was one of a few school systems that remained open, there was no waiting around on whether the central office would keep the doors of Belmont’s six public schools closed due to Monday’s pending snow storm.

Word came at 8:37 p.m. that Belmont Public Schools will be closed for a snow day on Monday, Feb. 8.

The announcement means Monday’s A Cappella Concert at Belmont High School and all other after-school events are postponed. The concert will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Pizzi Proud: Belmont Celebrates Marathon Champion’s Return Home

February 5, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Becca Pizzi and her daughter, Taylor.

Becca Pizzi came home to Belmont on top of a fire truck fueled by a wave of communal love.

Pizzi, both the first American woman to finish and win the World Marathon Challenge – in which participants run a marathon (26.2 miles) on seven consecutive days in a different continuant each day – arrived back to her hometown on Thursday, Feb. 4, to be the centerpiece of a parade from Belmont High School to Belmont Center.

Lead by town officials and the BHS Marching Band, Pizzi rode on a siren-blaring Belmont Fire engine with her daughter, Taylor, her family and boyfriend, followed by hundreds of residents – and a small army of television crews – celebrating the marathon champion and her accomplishment, destroying the previous record while running an average three hours and fifty-five minutes per race and finishing third overall all in one week’s time while traveling 25,000 miles.

“Just flying seven continents in seven days is extraordinary, and they stopped to run a little bit,” said Bob Mahoney, CEO and president of Belmont Savings Bank which sponsored the parade and reception.

Noting that Pizzi had seven “red letter days” in winning each race during the Challenge, “it’s important that you are sharing your fabulous red letter day with 20,000 people in your hometown and we really appreciate that very much,” said Mahoney, adding that young children will be able to look at her accomplishment “and face challenges and now will honestly be able to say, ‘I can do it’.”

After receiving proclamations from the town, the Massachusetts House and Senate as well as from Gov. Charlie Baker, Pizzi – who was wearing the winning medals from each continent she raced – kept her remarks short and sweet.

After thanking her daughter – the race had been the longest period they had been separated in their lives – family and friends, Pizzi the response from everyone before and during the races “makes me fortunate that I am a Belmontian, and I could never have done this without your support.”

Pizzi would then head inside the Belmont Savings Bank main branch to sign countless autographs, be interviewed by all of Boston’s television stations and bask in the spotlight reserved for local heroes.

Independent? Maybe Not! Know Before You Vote March 1 in Presidential Primary

February 3, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Voting in Belmont.

Belmont voters will cast their first ballot in 2016 Election Cycle on Tuesday, March 1 in the Presidential Primary Election. But just because you’re a registered voter doesn’t mean you can take any ballot that’s available.

Ellen Cushman, Belmont’s Town Clerk, reminds residents the deadline to register to vote in the Presidential Primary is Wednesday, Feb. 10. The Town Clerk’s office is open daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m. on Feb. 10 for walk-in voter registration.

Because March 1 is a primary election, a voter who is a member of one of the four Massachusetts political parties – Democratic, Republican, Green-Rainbow and United Independent Party – can only vote with that party’s ballot. A Democrat cannot take a Republican ballot, and a Republican cannot take a Democratic one.

Feb. 10 is also the deadline for registered voters who wish to change their party enrollment either to another party or to “unenrolled,” which is commonly referred to as “independent.” This should not be confused with the United Independent Party (UIP); a party that will have ballots available but with no candidates printed on them.

While “unenrolled” voters or voters enrolled in political designations – let’s say the Pirate or Pizza parties – can ask for any party ballot on Primary Day, voters registered in UIP will NOT be eligible to take a Democratic, Republican or Green-Rainbow ballot.

And it’s likely some Belmont residents may have inadvertently joined UIP as nearly 50 voters are registered as members of this fairly obscure outfit.

“With spirited contests in both parties, pervasive advertising and intense coverage in early primary states, some voters may want to vote for a candidate in a different party from the one they are registered in now,” said Cushman.

Residents who are United States citizens, reside in Massachusetts, and who will be at least 18 years old on or before March 1 are eligible to register to vote. Those meeting these qualifications who have a Massachusetts Driver’s License can submit their registration online. Those registering by mail should have their form hand-canceled by the Post Office to ensure it is postmarked before the deadline.

To find information about your current voter registration, visit the Massachusetts Secretary of State office or visit the Town Clerk’s web page, (and select Town Clerk/Elections: Register) to vote or check your voter status.

See the Conquering Hero: Pizzi’s Parade Through Belmont Thursday

February 3, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Becca Pizzi.

Welcome home, Becca.

The first American woman to both complete and win the World Marathon Challenge – which consists of running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days – Becca Pizzi will be feted with her very own parade and celebration in her Belmont hometown on Thursday, Feb. 4 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Pizzi and her daughter, Taylor, will ride on top of a fire truck from Belmont High School to Belmont Center accompanied by the Belmont High School Marching Band and local youth sports teams.

Pizzi will arrive at the Belmont Center headquarters of parade sponsor Belmont Savings Bank where she will join town and bank officials before addressing and have photos taken with her fans and residents.

At the World Marathon Challenge, Becca finished with the best time in the women’s group in each of the marathons, averaging the third best time overall for runners, male or female.

Food will be provided, and music will be performed in the bank.

This Week: Pizzi’s Parade Thursday, Hotel at the ZBA Monday, Cushing Village Tuesday

February 1, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Parade Thursday.

This week in government:

The Zoning Board of Appeals will hear the appeal for four special permits by a Waltham businessman who hopes to put a hotel at the corner of Pleasant and Brighton at the former location of Mini Mart. The fun starts at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 1 in the Belmont Art Gallery, third floor in the Homer Building off Moore Street in the Town Hall complex.
The Public Library Feasibility Committee will be holding its inaugural meeting where officers will be named and the overview of the process of having a new building or renovate the existing structure will be discussed. Hopes and dreams start here; Monday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room.
The Municipal Light Board will get an update from Belmont Goes Solar as well as discussing existing and new projects at Town Hall, Monday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.
It’s Ground Hog Day, Feb. 2, and it’s only appropriate that Cushing Village dominates the Planning Board‘s agenda as it has every day for the past decade. Do not be surprised if Bill Murray gives the developer’s side of why they won’t close on the municipal lot adjacent Trapelo Road. At Town Hall, 7 p.m.
The Belmont School Committee will discuss and vote on next school year’s Program of Studies and will hear the good news from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. At the Chenery beginning at 7 p.m., Ground Hog Day (Tuesday, Feb. 2).
The Board of Selectmen and the Warrant Committee are holding a joint meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. to discuss a proposed amendment to the new Minuteman Regional Agreement that will be before the Special Town Meeting next week.
The Capital Budget Committee meets right after Becca Pizzi’s parade at 5 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 4 to vote on the Minuteman Regional Agreement and discuss ongoing capital projects.

• Quarterly property taxes are due Monday, Feb. 1 by 4 p.m. at the Treasurer’s office in the Homer Building.

• Music & Movement with Rubi, a movement and music program recommended for ages 3 to 5 (but 2-year-olds are welcome) will be held in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room on Monday, Feb. 1 There will be two sessions: 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• ESL Conversation Circle for beginners takes place on Monday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

• Girls Who Code will meet on Monday, Feb. 1 from 4:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• Tuesday is story time at both of Belmont libraries.

Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer-run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may visit with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.
The Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue will have preschool story time at 9:30 a.m.
Story Time for 2’s and 3’s is at 10:30 a.m.

• Staff from U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark’s office will be available for walk-in office hours at the Beech Street Center on Tuesday, Feb. 2 from noon to 1 p.m.

• The Beech Street Center will be holding a Chinese New Year Dance Demonstration on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 11:15 a.m. Come early for lunch and see a beautiful dance by the Center’s local performers in celebration of Chinese New Year, which occurs Feb. 8. Welcome the year of the monkey. Enjoy desserts from Chinatown after lunch. Cost: Free.

• Chenery Middle School students are invited to head over to the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room on Wednesday, Feb. 3 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., to do your homework while enjoying some hot chocolate. This is for middle schoolers only so high schoolers are on their own. This event is provided for free, thanks to the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

• Sustainable Belmont will be meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 3 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

• Parents of Music Students will be holding a meeting in the Conference Room at Belmont High School at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 3.

• Belmont Historical Society will be holding its Board Meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 3 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Claflin Room located in the Belmont Public Library.

• The Friends of the Belmont Public Library will be meeting on Thursday, Feb. 4. , from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the library’s Assembly Room.

• Belmont will come to a halt for a parade for Becca Pizzi, the first American women to finish and win the World Marathon Challenge, at 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4. The route will run from Belmont High School to Belmont Center ending at the Belmont Savings Bank for a presentation.

• If you love building with LEGOs, the LEGOs Club is for you. Kids in grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade will build with our LEGOs and we’ll put all the creations on display in the Children’s Room. The fun Thursday, Feb. 4, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the library’s Assembly Room.

• Everyone is invited to Chinese Storytime which takes place in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 0n Thursday, Feb. 4.

• Thursday, Feb. 4 is Jazz Night at Belmont High School as student musicians get to show their chops. In the auditorium at 7 p.m.

• An Art Exhibit Opening Reception will be held on Friday, Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. for the artists who gather at the Open Art Studio every Wednesday afternoon at Belmont Senior Center. The exhibit runs from Feb. 5 through Mar. 18 at the Center. Art works include pencil drawing; water color, pastel, oil paintings and photography. All are invited to an opening reception with snacks. Cost: Free.

• The Beech Street Center is hosting a talk on “When an EMT Visits at Your Home” this Friday, Feb. 5 at 1:15 p.m. How can you make your home ready for safe Fire Department access in case of an emergency? How can you share pertinent medical information quickly? Join Firefighter Ross Vona from the Belmont Fire Department to learn the answers to these questions and more. Cost: Free.

Diamant’s ‘The Boston Girl’ Selected As One Book One Belmont 2016

January 28, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: The cover of the novel, “The Boston Girl” by Anita Diamant.

Anita Diamant’s best-selling novel “The Boston Girl” has been selected as the featured title for One Book One Belmont 2016, Belmont Public Library’s sixth town-wide reading program.

The library and 11 co-sponsoring community groups invite town residents to read the book and participate in book discussions and other related activities throughout the month of April.

Diamant, the author of “The Red Tent” and “Day After Night” will speak in Belmont on Tuesday, April 26.

Author Anita Diamant.

Dora Levy Mossanen in the Huffington Post, called the book,“the story of every immigrant and the difficulties of adapting to and accepting an unfamiliar culture.”

The novel unfolds as 85-year-old Addie Baum attempts to answer her granddaughters’ question, “How did you get to be the woman you are today?” Baum begins by describing the one-room tenement apartment in the North End where she grew up with her Russian immigrant parents, two sisters, and sometimes a boarder during the early years of the 20^th century.

Through a book club for young women at the Salem Street Settlement House and several life-changing summers in Rockport, Baum is introduced to a new world where women can go to high school and college, have a career, and live on their own. Against the opposition of her parents, Baum charts her own course during a time of upheaval; World War I, Prohibition, the great flu epidemic, the Depression and passage of women’s right to vote.

The One Book One Belmont Planning Committee, made up of representatives of the library and various town departments and commissions, selected the book after reviewing suggestions from library patrons and staff.

“’The Boston Girl’ was the third most checked-out book at the Belmont Public Library in 2015,” said Library Director Peter Struzziero.

“So you can see it strikes a chord with our readers. I think it reminds them of their grandmother’s story, or their mother’s story, or even their own story, the immigrant experience of being torn between two cultures,” he said.

One Book One Belmont Co-Chair Emily Reardon hopes the book will inspire readers to share their own stories with other family members. This spring, the Library is collaborating with the Council on Aging, the Belmont Media Center, and the Belmont Citizen-Herald on an oral history project along the lines of StoryCorps, recording interviews of Belmont citizens conducted by their grandchildren and other relatives and friends.

One Book One Belmont 2016 is supported by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library and the cosponsors: Belmont Against Racism, Belmont Citizen-Herald and WickedLocal Belmont, Belmont Gallery of Art, Belmont Historical Society, Belmont Library Foundation, Belmont Media Center, Belmont Public Schools, Belmont World Film, the Council on Aging, Porter Square Books, and the Recreation Department.

You can borrow “The Boston Girl” from the library in many different formats: hardcover, paperback, large print, book on CD, ebook or audiobook from the Overdrive catalog, and on some of the Library’s circulating Kindles. To place a request, visit the library website at belmont.lib.ma.us or call the reference desk, 617-993-2870

To place a request, visit the library website at belmont.lib.ma.us or call the reference desk, 617-993-2870.

This Week: Cooking Tasting, Valentines for Veterans, Transition to College

January 25, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Pasta e Fagioli.

On the government side of “This Week”:

The Board of Selectmen is meeting on Monday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall to extending the trash contract and open and discuss the Special Town Meeting warrant.
Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee will hold a meeting updating the committee’s work from 8 a.m. to 9. a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at Town Hall.
The Warrant Committee meets at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 27 at the Chenery Middle School to discuss its recommendation on the Special Town Meeting and review the four-year financial model.
Precinct 5 Caucus to elect a new Town Meeting Member when it meets at the Beech Street Center at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28.

• Music & Movement with Rubi, a movement and music program recommended for ages 3 to 5 (but 2-year-olds are welcome) will be held in the Flett Room on Monday, Jan. 25. There will be two sessions: 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• The Burbank Elementary School grade 3 and 4 band, orchestra and chorus will perform at the school on Monday, Jan. 25 at 9 a.m.

• ESL Conversation Circle for beginners takes place on Monday, Jan. 25 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

• Girls Who Code will meet on Monday, Jan. 25 from 4:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• Belmont Boosters is meeting Monday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. in Room 113 at Belmont High School.

• Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer-run library, at 10:30 a.m on Tuesday, Jan. 26. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.

• The Wellington Elementary School grade 3 and 4 band, orchestra and chorus will perform at the school on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 9 a.m.

• There will be a free Cooking Demo and Tasting on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at noon in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. It will include the preparation and tasting of the traditional and simple Italian Pasta e Fagioli (pasta with beans) to be followed by sharing of ideas on how to create other healthy and low-budget Italian dishes using legumes. Sponsored by the Belmont Food Collaborative.

• Learn iPad Basics on Wednesday, Jan. 27, from 11 a.m. to noon in the Young Adult Room of the Belmont Public Library. Register by calling the Reference Desk at 617-993-2870.

• Teen Book Club will discuss Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom on Tuesday, Jan. 26
7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Young Adult Room of the Belmont Public Library. Snacks will be provided. If you have any questions, please e-mail Kylie Sparks at ksparks@minlib.net or call 617-993-2873.

• The Winn Brook Elementary School grade 3 and 4 band, orchestra and chorus will perform at the school on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 9 a.m.

• Valentines for Veterans program will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 27 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Come make valentines that will be given to U.S. military veterans. For children of all ages.

• The Belmont High School Speakers Series presents: “The College Transition: Embracing Challenges” on Wednesday, Jan. 27 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Belmont High School Little Theatre. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, PhD and Catherine Bell from McLean Hospital will speak and take questions from the audience. This is free and open to the public.

• The Butler Elementary School grade 3 and 4 band, orchestra and chorus will perform at the school on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 9 a.m.

• Storytime for 1’s – for walkers and toddlers under 24 months – will be held Thursday, Jan. 28, 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room. We’ll share simple stories, songs, and nursery rhymes, and end with time to play.

• Everyone is invited to Chinese Storytime which will take place in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library from Thursday, Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

• Literacy Playgroup is a parent and child group that supports child’s language and literacy development on Friday, Jan. 29, 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library. You’ll play, read, sing and take home new ideas. Presented by educators from the CFCE grant program; for children age 4 and under.

• Midterms are over so it’s time to celebrate; Belmont High will hold its semi-formal, all school dance at Belmont High School on Friday, Jan. 28.

Obituary: Vinny DiGiovanni; Owned Hillside Garden

January 21, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker 1 Comment

Photo: Vinny DiGiovanni.

The final time Dante Muzzioli saw Vincent DiGiovanni was the day before his friend passed away.

“I knew Vinny since I was four years old and, along with my father, inspired me and made me who I am today,” said the Belmont businessman and long-time Belmont High School Boys’ Hockey Coach.

Muzzioli said he was able to tell DiGiovanni of his love for the lifelong Belmontian and the quiet, honest way he lived his life.

“He taught me the biggest lesson of my life, that hard work is the great equaliser, that you are not entitled to anything,” Muzzioli said.

“I saw a man who lived his life through perseverance and that’s why I admired him,” he said.

DiGiovanni, the owner of Hillside Garden & True Value at 280 Blanchard Rd., who spent his entire 95 years in Belmont, passed away on Tuesday Jan.19, 2016 surrounded by his family.

“My heart is heavy but make no mistake, Vincent went to heaven, I’m sure of that,” said Muzzioli.

Known just as “Vinny” to generations of gardeners and frustrated handymen, DiGiovanni’s dedication and hard work made his little supply store a success.

“He was there every day, getting to know the customers. He knew where everything was in his store. There wasn’t a time when he wasn’t around the store,” said Stephen Rosales, a former member of the Board of Selectmen.

When age caught up to him, DiGiovanni would continue to man the key-making machine, cutting and buffing duplicates that performed better than the original.

Born in 1921 into a house that would soon be filled with nine brothers and sisters – Guy, Rocco,”Skippy,” Anna, Tony, Mary, Louis, Joe and Charlie – he attended Belmont schools graduating from the High School in 1939. When war broke out in 1941, he quickly joined the U.S. Army Air Corp, serving in China, Burma and India until the hostilities ended in 1945.

Coming home, DiGiovanni did two things: start his gardening and supply business and marry his lifelong business partner and best friend, Antonette Mazzola. They were married for 64 years when Antonette died in 2010.

Soon after opening, Hillside became the “go to” store for gardening and household needs. DiGiovanni was known both for the quality of his supplies and material he sold.

“In our house, we always went to Vinny’s, not Hillside Supply,” said Ellen Cushman, Town Clerk and lifelong resident. “He grew all his flowers and plants from seed. I still go to pick up my Memorial Day geraniums from him,” she said.

And there was DiGiovanni’s key-making skills, which Cushman said he “had a real art for.”

The reason his duplicate keys worked so well “is because he took pride in everything he did,” said Rosales.

That attention to detail was just part of his character.

“[Vinny] was so generous. A really lovely, soft-spoken man who would greet patrons with a real idea of customer service, like the old days,” said Cushman.

“If someone can say, ‘what a good guy. He conducted himself with integrity, people liked him and he liked people,’ that’s not a bad way to go,” said Rosales.

As he said his goodbye to his friend, DiGiovanni told Muzzioli how proud he was of him.

“I wasn’t his kid, his son, but he found the time to tell me that,” said Muzzioli.

DiGiovanni was the devoted father of Anne Carignan of Bedford, Alice DiGiovanni of South Portland, Maine, Joseph DiGiovanni of Ipswich, Mary DiGiovanni of Waltham, Gerard DiGiovanni of Belmont, Joan Klos of Ipswich, Rose McBride of Amesbury, and Carol Calabro of Acton. He is predeceased by Vincent DiGiovanni Jr. He leaves behind many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his surviving brother and sisters and a community of friends.

Visiting hours will take place in St. Joseph Church, 130 Common St., on Thursday, Jan. 21 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph Church on Friday, Jan. 22 at 9 a.m. Burial, next to his wife, will take place at Belmont Cemetery after Mass.

Instead of flowers contributions in his name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or St. Vincent DePaul Society, 18 Canton Street, Stoughton, MA 02072 or Pine Street Inn, 444 Harrison Ave. Boston, MA or to the charity of your choice.

‘We Have Work To Do’: Challenges Continue As Belmont Honors MLK

January 20, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: State Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry.

While many national political figures have decided to ride the popular wave of refusing to assist the refugees from a chaotic world, State Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry will not stand silent.

“When Dr. King said the measure of a man is not where he stands in a moment of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy,” she told a full house during her keynote speech at the 22nd annual Martin Luther King Day Breakfast held on Monday, Jan. 18 in the Belmont High School cafeteria.

We face these choices every day, said Forry.

“It is the choice of an elected official to remind us that this country welcomes all people, especially those who seek refuge in a time of war or terror because it is the right thing to do,” she said to the applause of those in attendance at the yearly event which serves as a fundraiser for the METCO Support Fund which provides services to those students who travel from Boston to attend Belmont schools.

Samari (left) and Merly Winklaar performing at the MLK Breakfast.

“We have work to do,” declared Forry, as she spoke of the lasting legacy of King and how his life continues to influence the pursuit of civil rights in today’s America.

Forry told the crowd King knew that equality could not be won through violence but by boycotts, marches, and peaceful demonstrations.

“But today we see both,” she said, pointing to events in Baltimore and Fergeson, Missouri, where violent actions “have overshadowed, but no silence the peaceful calls for change from demonstrators from across our country.”

Follen spoke about her upbringing in a Haitian household and recognize the struggle of both an African-American and first-generation immigrant family, and how through hard work she would be speaking Monday as the state senator from the First Suffolk District.

“Only in this country could this happen,” she said.

She spoke of falling in love and marrying an Irish Bostonian (Bill Forry, editor and publisher of the Dorchester Reporter, Boston Irish Reporter and Boston Haitian Reporter), of raising four children in a multicultural household in their Dorchester home.

Forry said it was ten years ago that she ran and won a state House seat from Boston, serving for eight-and-a-half years a district that encompassed urban neighborhoods and suburbs including Milton where she worked with Belmont’s current school district superintendent John Phelan.

During that time she sought to bring urban and suburban leaders to the table “although we think there is nothing in common, there is always common ground.”

In 2013, she won the election to succeed Tom Finnerian whose state senate seat includes South Boston, the bastion of opposition to racial desegregation in the 1970s and 1980s.

One of her first challenges was that, as South Boston’s state senator, she would host the long-standing St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast, a political roast that was until 2014 the bastion of Irish-American men. Soon after winning the seat, Boston City Council President Bill Linehan and some press outlets said only a South Boston native should host the event.

“But the thing those guys didn’t know realize is that I’m the real ‘Black Irish,’” Forry said. And while the incident was hurtful, she had her champions including the former state senators William “Billy” Bulger and current US Rep. Stephen Lynch, who spoke up and declared that “Of course she’s going to host it.”

“I saw the best of my friends and supporters during that period. They did not stand silent. They stood with me and … that they would be there for me,” she recalled.

Forry said moments like that when she feels like lashing out, “I remember Dr. King’s words. ‘Love is the only force capable of turning an enemy into a friend’.”

“We have an opportunity in these times of challenges and controversy to work to realize King’s dream. As a nation, we have already come far, but there is so much more we can do,” she said, including advocating for diverse education, supporting growth in local businesses to lift families out of poverty along with creating jobs and combat income inequality.

“We have work to do,” she said.

The Belmontonian

Belmont's Independent Media Outlet Covering the 'Town of Homes'