In collaboration, three local organizations focused on creating a more equitable and inclusive community, are collecting stories of impact as part of a larger effort to promote awareness and support surrounding incidents of discrimination in the Bridgewater-Raynham community.

These stories will be shared with town leaders in an upcoming community listening session. We encourage respondents to share their own candid and personal stories or experiences they have witnessed directly of identity-based discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identification, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, disability, mental health and sizism. The collective impact of these personal reflections is aimed to accomplish two goals: to empower those who have experienced and/or witnessed discrimination and to promote healthy lines of communication with those in positions of authority to make a difference.

Hosted by DICE (Diversity & Inclusion for Community Empowerment), BCCR (Bridgewater Communities for Civil Rights) and Stand Up for Justice

Dear Community,

We are proud to offer an exclusive presentation on aging and memory to you next week. Join us on Zoom with Dr. Budson, Chief of Cognition & Behavioral Neurology at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, for a conversation on how older adults can better manage their memories.

This presentation is ideal for seniors and their family caregivers.

All attendees will be entered to win a copy of his book Seven Steps to Managing Your Memory

Please call or email the center to sign up.

Bridgewater - Raynham School

Drop-offs located at each school building.

Contact your local school with questions.

Ken, who is also a frequent guest appraiser on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow, will talk in part about the history of his historic bookshop (www.brattlebookshop.com), which goes back to circa 1825. He is a second-generation owner.

Ken will talk about and show some of his favorite finds and describe some of the joys of the "hunt," as well as explain what makes a book go up in value. He has many fascinating anecdotes to share as well as guidelines for what to look for when starting a collection. There is also a Q&A session after the conclusion of his talk.

Following the talk and question-and-answer session, he will give free verbal appraisals of all books that attendees have on hand or will do so at his shop in Boston at a later scheduled date.

Yankee Magazine Editor's Choice Award for Best of New England, the Brattle Book Shop is one of America’s oldest and largest antiquarian bookstores. 2021 is the 72nd year of Gloss family ownership. Kenneth Gloss succeeded his late father, George Gloss, a well-known figure both in Boston and national antiquarian circles. He had worked in the store since childhood and chose to go into the book business rather than pursue a doctorate in chemistry. He became the sole proprietor upon his father's death in 1985. "I found that books were in my blood and that I would never be really happy if I abandoned the business.”

To participate in the Zoom session, it is necessary to reserve your free ticket in advance, as participation in this event is limited. An email will be sent to you after your sign up that contains the necessary log-in information to participate. 

Visit www.oldbridgewater.org to register.

Join Jenny this week as she shows you the ox head fold in celebration of the New Year.

Zoom Meeting ID: 953 3467 3191

Passcode: 673940

"The Stationery Shop of Tehran"

by Marjan Kamali

Copies available during curbside pickup. Let us know you would like a copy.

Happy New Year! We hope this new year finds you well. We have certainly learned a lot and had our patience tested this past year because of the COVID virus. That being said, BSU has some exciting news to share.  Within the next month or so, you will see small Robots around campus and crossing town streets within campus to make food deliveries. Please click on the link below to get a look at these dynamic little Robots. We have worked in collaboration with the proper Town of Bridgewater inspectional entities on implementation to ensure safety. These robots are designed to sense objects to avoid collision; but for us humans, they may be a little surprising to see for the first time, so please keep an eye out. We are the first university in New England to utilize these neat little delivery Robots!

BSU tries to stay ahead of the curve and do whatever we can to always keep our students, staff and faculty healthy and safe. While the robots had been planned for the past two years for implementation, their arrival during the pandemic provides one more tool in our toolbox in developing ways to deal with the COVID virus and the restrictions it has rendered to our campus.

While we are not exploring “Space, the final frontier…” (am I dating myself?) we are certainly embarking on a new mission that includes Starship Robots and food delivery. Please check out this link. www.starship.xyz.

If you have any questions about the Robots please contact Staci DeSimone, Dining General Manager, Staci.DeSimone@sodexo.com

Best Wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year!

2020 HIGHS – watching a community of strong seniors overcome a pandemic & care for one another, community, staff who coordinated countless classes, appointments & programs to help the community, interns, outdoors exercise classes, Elder Affairs Commission feedback & encouragement to get through this as a TEAM, The Reunion Project, new partnerships with Bridgewater State University, virtual programs, vigil to remember those we lost, reinventing our programs & services to meet the needs of the community, listening to you & how you’re doing, volunteers who delivered over 6,000 Meals on Wheels & 3,520 bistro-to-go meals to seniors, an infinite number of cards & notes from the seniors to COA staff AND university & elementary school students to seniors – just to name a few!

2020 LOWS – closing the building to the public & not seeing the groups & participants who call the Cole-Yeaton Senior Center their home-away-from-home  this alone says it all.

This winter, we will be bringing you more connection to one another, the outdoors, & better health. We want each of you to try something new. It can be hard to try new things and change our behaviors, but this year give at least one new thing a try. We curated new outdoor social programs, virtual fitness classes, outdoor en plein air art classes, Alice’s Café – a new program for people with memory loss & their caregivers, programs held over the telephone (not to be missed!), bistro-to-go home cooked meal program (waitlist listed, $5/meal charge includes delivery), & new interns Rachel, Allison, Zachary, Tamara, & Aubrey to boot. Please welcome them.

Happy New Year everyone. As a community member once said to me, “Stay up until midnight, not to welcome the new year in, but to make sure the old year leaves.”

Be well.

Emily Williams, Director

Bridgewater Council on Aging Cole-Yeaton Senior Center

10 Wally Krueger Way, Bridgewater

Join us and OCES for a 6-week class on healthy eating starting next week. Together we can eat a little healthier, stay active mentally & physically all while socially engaging with one another on Zoom.

All residents from all towns welcome!

Register: seniorcenter@bridgewaterma.org

508-697-0929

The family of Stella A. Wagner would like to invite you to join us for a 100th Birthday drive by greeting on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 2:00p. We will meet on Jennifer Circle in Bridgewater and drive by to extend our wishes to her.

Stella is a lifelong resident of Bridgewater, raising three children here and working at the Independent Nail for many years and then retiring from the Graduate Dept. of BSU. After retirement, she volunteered many hours to different groups here in town.

We are looking forward to celebrating this milestone for Stella with all of you.

Cable 98 - Bridgewater, East Bridgewater & West Bridgewater COA's collaborated to present you with these quality programs. Enjoy!

Anyone interested in attending, RSVP to Kim Allen, Director of Community Relations & Marketing, United Way of Greater Plymouth County, kallen@uwgpc.org.

For more info: www.uwgpc.org/funding.

Committee Co-Chairs Margarida Baganha & Betty Rada welcome co-plungers  Nick McCummings, Janet Dye & Frances Jeffries.

Fundraising efforts assist in fighting hunger and homelessness at the local & international level.

Here is the PAYPAL link to donate.

Copyright 2021 Buzz Around Bridgewater. 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 Bridgewater 1/10/21")

Disclaimer: At the Buzz Around, we promote community and family. Occasionally, there will be links to town committees and other non-profit groups, as a way of sharing local information. Individual groups are responsible for how they represent themselves on their websites and in their promotional materials.