November 24, 2024



~ Building Community One Positive Story at a Time.

Harlem Wizards Event Brings Halifax Community Together

The Harlem Wizards visited Silver Lake Regional High School for an exciting basketball game featuring the staff and faculty of Halifax Elementary School (HES) and members of the Halifax Police Department. The event, organized by the HES PTO, combined basketball skills with entertainment to create a memorable evening. 

Halifax Police brought it home with their post: "Who needs the NBA when you've got the Harlem Wizards? This sold-out game was pure magic, with Team HES showing off their silky skills. Big props to the Halifax Elementary School PTO for making it happen. We had a blast, and our community came together like a perfectly executed pick-and-roll!"

The game highlighted the strong sense of community in Halifax, with local educators stepping onto the court for a good cause. We had a great time raising funds for the school. The success of the evening is a testament to the PTO’s efforts and the town’s enthusiastic participation.

Source & Photo Credit: HPD FB, HE PTO FB



Story written by Paris Hugley, BuzzAround Intern, Boston University

Christmas Bazaar and Luncheon

Sat, Nov 30

9a-2p

Halifax Congregational Church

503 Plymouth St

Halifax Congregational Church is holding a Christmas Bazaar and Luncheon! This holiday event will feature several crafters offering handmade soaps, handmade crafts, hand-painted pictures and other artwork, handmade wreaths, handcrafted jewelry, beautiful decorated lighted bottles, homemade jam and jelly, and much, much more.

There will be a Missions table with items

handmade/donated by church members, and its proceeds will help those in need. There will also be a White Elephant Room, raffles, delicious homemade baked items, and the

popular cookie walk, which offers a large assortment of freshly baked cookies to choose

from.

The Christmas Luncheon will start at 11a and will include various sandwiches and soup, along with other selections. Bring your

hearty appetite for lunch, and join us for a fun day of holiday shopping!

Source: Halifax Congregational Church

Small Business Saturday

Sat, Nov 30

10a-3p

430 Plymouth St

Crystal Connections Shoppe presents its 3rd Annual Small Business Saturday! Come and shop local vendors, free entry. Start your holiday shopping this November by supporting small businesses. Vendors will be announced soon.

Source: Crystal Connections Shoppe FB

Soul Purpose's

Fall Market

Sat, Nov 30

11a-2p

Soul Purpose Wellness Studio

274 Plymouth St

Soul Purpose Wellness is hosting its biggest event of the year! Come get some holiday shopping done, support local business owners, explore the handmade goods of local crafters, see the Soul Purpose Wellness studio, and enter some free giveaways for attending during their Small Business Saturday. Additionally, photos with the Grinch will be available from 11a-1:30p.

For more information, visit Soul Soul Purpose Wellness Wellness.

Johnny Macaroni's Restaurant

www.facebook.com/JMacaronis

johnnymacaronis.com • Instagram

HPL November Newsletter

Holmes Public Library has released its November Newsletter, and here are just a few of the events and programs they have to offer!

1:30p Mondays COA Writer's Group

10a Tuesdays Drop-In Knitting

6p Mon, Dec 2 Tetiquet to the Sea: A History of the Taunton River by Dr. William Hanna

To discover more programs and resources offered by Holmes Public Library, visit www.holmespubliclibrary.org.

Halifax Board of Selectmen

November 19, 2024

Video Courtesy of Area 58 Cable Access

Halifax Planning Board

November 21, 2024

Video Courtesy of Area58 Cable Access

Free Fabric!

Linda Taylor has six kitchen trash bags filled with scraps of fabric that are free to anyone who would like it. The fabric is panne velvet and stretch velvet, and it would be great for making craft projects and craft fair items! If interested, call or text Linda at 617-851-2391.

Halifax Beautification Committee Author Talk: “Titiquet to the Sea"

Mon, Dec 2

6p

Holmes Public Library

Join the Halifax Beautification Committee and the Friends of the Holmes Public Library for an author talk with Dr. William Hanna. He will discuss his book "Titiquet to the Sea," sharing insights and stories behind his work. The renowned historian chronicles the history of Taunton River from settlement to today. 

For more information visit Holmes Public Library

December TRIAD Meeting

Tue, Dec 3

10a

Halifax Town Hall in the Great Hall

499 Plymouth St

The December TRIAD meeting will be held on the 3rd in the Great Hall, and there will be a $10 Yankee Swap and holiday party!

All are welcome to join and refreshments will be available. To learn more about TRIAD, visit www.halifax-ma.org.

Source: Jeanne Kling, Halifax TRIAD

Halifax Police Department Toys for Tots Toy Drive 

Thu, Dec 14

5-8p

506 Plymouth Street

As part of the 'Holiday in Halifax' celebration, the Halifax Police Department is organizing a toy drive to benefit the Toys for Tots Foundation. Bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate.

For those who cannot attend, a donation box will be available in the police station lobby.

For more info: dchahine@police.halifax.ma.us or call (781) 294-8713, Ext. 174.

Source: HPD FB

Climate Can Do:

Shop Local

$68

REMAINS HERE



For every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $68 recirculates and remains in our local economy.

Only $43 remains in our community when it’s spent at a national chain.

Local businesses are owned by your friends and neighbors who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in our community’s future — just like you.

Repost courtesy of sustainableconnections.org

Veterans Services Office Unveils 70 Hometown Hero Banners at Annual Veterans Day Celebration



This Veteran's Day, the Veterans Services Office gathered the community on the Town Green for their annual Veterans Day celebration and the unveiling of 70 new Halifax Hometown Heroes Banners. As the Halifax Council on Aging (COA) posted about the ceremony, Veterans Services and Director Steve Littlefield "displayed a Nation of Stars: past, present, and current Veterans who shined." Set to be hung up all throughout town following the assembly and unveiling, the banners will serve as a reminder of the continued dedication of our U.S. Armed Forces and as an everyday tribute to our gratitude as a community.

Among the heroes commemorated, the Halifax Police Department honored some of its own veterans for their service: Deputy Chief Theodore Benner, U.S. Marine Corps; Sergeant William Caprio, U.S. Navy; Sergeant Robert McDonnell, U.S. Coast Guard; Sergeant Patrick Sterling (Retired), U.S. Marine Corps; and Officer Ryan Simpson, U.S. Army. The Halifax Council on Aging also honored its own Frederick Corrigan, who continues to serve the senior community.

Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the annual Veterans Day celebration, including the Halifax Fire Department, Halifax Police Department, Town Administrator Cody Haddad, the Board of Selectmen, the Council on Aging, and all members of the community. Most of all, thank you to Halifax Veterans Services for hosting this beautiful ceremony and for your commitment to serving and honoring our veterans. To learn more about the Halifax Veterans Services Office, visit www.halifax-ma.org/veteran-services.

Source & Photo Credit: Town of Halifax FB, VFW Post 6258 FB, HPD FB, Halifax COA FB, & Mary Luscinski-Gravinese

Story written by Sara MacKinnon, BuzzAround Intern, Providence College

WEEKLY TRIVIA GAME

Have fun with us and bee entered to win:

a free month of training and a free uniform from Premier Martial Arts, Raynham

Historical Tidbit Question:

What was the first year for the National Day of Mourning?

Email us your answer at:  Prizes@buzzaround.info Please include your name and phone number with your answer.



Prize Box Rules By entering, you give us permission to print your name in next week's Buzz Around.



On November 27, 2024, before 2p, we will randomly pick a winner from the correct answers.

The Buzz Around is brought to you this week by: Sara MacKinnon, Jamie Puhi, Jacquelyn Rose & Greg Venezia

Your BuzzAround supports the dignity of all human beings, is actively anti-racist, and supportive of good law enforcement policies. 

Turkey image credits: Sue Basile

What am I doing with Thanksgiving?

I no longer say: “What am I doing for Thanksgiving?” It's now: “ What am I doing with Thanksgiving?”

I love Thanksgiving, each year is a celebration, expressing gratitude and having fun with family. My first reaction to hearing about the National Day of Mourning, was to accept it as how “they” acknowledge the day. That was a mistake. That IS the problem. 

When we and our society doesn't recognize the Wampanoags' part in Thanksgiving and the pain they have suffered since; when we publicize only the positive ideals; we are ignoring their suffering, and treating them as if they don't matter in a story where they are essential. 

In 2011 BuzzAround hired our first employee; a Craigslist ad for PT office support brought Marla to us. She had a calm demeanor to balance my extra energy. A wiz at software; what Marla didn’t know, she learned quickly, she was a huge benefit to our BuzzAround Team. Marla had relocated here from Canada, and was a full-blooded Ojibways of Onigaming from Ontario. Marla had courage, how much courage I did not know, but I would learn. 

As we approached Thanksgiving, Marla shared that she would be going to Plymouth to attend the peaceful National Day of Mourning march. Since 1970, Indigenous people and allies have gathered to remember and honor their ancestors at Cole Hill. She shared with me how the European settlers took this land, killed the inhabitants, and tried to erase their culture. To native peoples, Thanksgiving serves as a reminder of the unjust treatment they have received since the 1620 Plymouth landing. Marla would stand in solidarity.

Then she continued to share her own story: In Canada, as well as in the US, residential schools operated to “kill the Indian, save the man.” (Capt. Richard H. Pratt on the Education of Native Americans) In Canada from 1894-1947, an estimated 150,000 native children were forcibly taken from their families and placed into these schools. The schools were funded by the government and run by various church groups. At the school, Marla's parents were forbidden to speak any language other than English, their rituals, their songs and their traditional clothes, forbidden, and the children suffered tourchous treatment.

Beginning in 1819, the United States, like Canada, working with several denominations of the Christian Church, adopted an Indian Boarding School Policy expressly intended to implement cultural genocide. There were more than 523 government-funded, and often church-run, Indian Boarding schools across the U.S. in the 19th and 20th centuries. Indian children were forcibly abducted by government agents, sent to schools hundreds of miles away, and beaten, starved, or otherwise abused when showing signs of native culture in any way.

When living in community, a pain suffered by a part of us, is a pain suffered by all of us. Learning about all parts of American history gives us the opportunity to mourn together and our civilization is stronger as a whole. When we ignore people's pain we are deciding they are not worth acknowledging. 

What will I do with Thanksgiving? Rethink its core: I can have gratitude and family, AND I can relearn American history. Attempt a native dish, learn about native culture. Walk in solidarity in Plymouth. Start somewhere. Start anywhere. 

Sources:  US Dept of Interior Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative

boardingschoolhealing.org

For more about National Day of Mourning, visit www.firstnations.org

In the 1970's The Ojibways of Onigaming were the First Nation that transferred the responsibility of the elementary and later secondary education to their own self-governance structure. Onigaming First Nation School

Your BuzzAround supports the dignity of all human beings, is actively anti-racist, and supportive of good law enforcement policies.

Copyright 2024 Buzz Around Halifax. You have our permission to share and copy this issue in its entirety as much as you like. If you take it in part, please give credit. ("Buzz Around Halifax 11/24/24")

Disclaimer: At the Buzz Around, we promote community and family. There are links to town committees and other non-profit groups, in the newsletters. Individual groups are responsible for how they represent themselves on their websites and in their promotional materials. BuzzAround is not responsible for the media content of other organizations.