Welcome to my November 2026 Newsletter! | |
Introduction
Welcome to the November 2026 issue of my free, local and fun monthly email newsletter!
Somehow this turned into the book issue! I put out a call for local authors, figured I’d hear from a handful of people, and ended up with a whole new section on my website. Which is why I’m delayed on getting this month’s issue out--it was so much fun interacting with a dozen authors all on the same day! It actually was, and I look forward to a follow-up story with the authors still finalizing and new authors who reach out. In the meantime, you’ll meet the first group this month, get a list of independent and used bookstores worth a Sunday drive, and find the local history books that taught me (among other things) that Princeton once had seven hotels.
If books aren’t your thing, stick around. Roots has moved to Fitchburg, Christmas tree season is just about here, and I’ve got a solid recommendation for the crew that cleaned my barn and has helped dozens of my clients. Looking for free family holiday photos? If we’ve worked together or you’ve sent someone my way, I’d love to see you at the free photo mini-sessions on November 19, and this year the pets can come too. And somewhere in here is the video about my stolen Byers’ carolers, which I did not expect to become my most watched video ever.
On a more serious note, I sat in on a scam presentation from the Worcester County DA’s office, and after hearing it, I may stop answering my phone just like my retired husband. Tyler Careau is about $5,000 away from fully funding his Eagle Scout pavilion at the Westminster VFW, and with Veterans Day on the 11th, I’m asking you to join me in getting past his fundraising goal. Zara Verelst, the young Westminster entrepreneur behind My Book Buddiez, just won $7,500 in a national contest. You’ll also find tickets for A Night for Excellence, details on the Country Roads Holiday Tour (do your shopping while supporting local, and it’s actually fun!), info about the Princeton Historical Society and how to make sure history isn’t lost in one generation, and this month’s look at the Central Mass real estate market with questions you should ask any realtor you’re considering hiring. Need firewood or want to help stock (or get help from) a food pantry? I’ve got you covered there too.
New to my newsletter? I recommend reading all the way to the bottom where I will put a big THE END, SO that you will know you've reached the end of this month's newsletter. Some email services clip newsletters after a certain length, so you might have to click on a button that says CONTINUE READING or something like that.
I have a goal this year of 100 Google reviews, and I’m at 95! THANKS SO MUCH to Ed, George & Barbara, Suzy, Sandy, Kathy, Holly and Tom for writing 5-star reviews about me this past month. If we’ve ever worked together, or if my newsletter has taught you something, inspired you to think differently, or just helped you as any kind of resource~~great news, you qualify to write a review. Here's a link to my reviews where you'll find the WRITE A REVIEW button. If not yet, then just keep reading every month, be a background fan, tell your friends, share my stories, or whatever works for you.
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Roots Natural Foods has just relocated, and is now so much more convenient to visit! After more than two decades on Crawford Street in Leominster, the store is now inside Emerson Falls, a converted factory building at 44 Old Princeton Road in Fitchburg, overlooking a beautiful spot on the falls of the Nashua River. My family has always loved Roots, but the previous location just wasn’t close enough to make it a regular stop. Marieke Cormier’s mother, Ellen Jonkers, opened the store in 2002, and Marieke has been the face of Roots since 2011. Before online shopping and Covid, it had a devoted following, even in a spot that was never exactly on the way to anywhere. I'm so excited to see what today's consumers (back to supporting local) and the convenient location with seasonal outdoor seating will do. READ MORE
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I love a good independent bookstore. One of my many teenage jobs was at the Book Corner in Gardner. The Book Corner was a small chain of bookstores. This was the late 1980s, so between having no internet and being a teenager, I don’t even know how many, or where the other stores were. I’m not sure I knew then. To me, the Book Corner was just me, a few other teenagers, and a small gaggle of very old women (in hindsight, probably not very old at all) in Timpany Plaza, Gardner. This story contains a list of independent booksellers throughout Central Massachusetts and a little beyond, because we do like a Sunday drive with a destination bookstore. I also mixed in used bookstores. Now those are fun. READ MORE
| | Meet Our Local Authors: Central MA Writers in Their Own Words
I was NOT expecting this. When I put out a call for local authors, I figured I’d hear from a handful of people. Instead, I was bowled over by the response, and what started as a single page has morphed into a whole books and authors section on my website. You may already know Sal Vassallo, Greg Smith, Matt Landry, Donna Decker, Robert Cress, Erin Cowell, Kimberly Hallinan, Stephanie Hoefsmit or Christine Noyes, but did you know they’re also published authors? Pretty cool. Meet them all, in their own words. READ MORE | |
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I love a good pictorial history book. No reenactments — just the real thing. And by history, I mean local history. My youngest son recently brought home a pictorial history of Princeton. There were so many photos in this book that reading it pretty much meant reading the captions. I was so fascinated to enrich my knowledge of the town I live in. Princeton goes out of its way to remain rural, and I love that. It really captured my attention to learn that there were actually seven hotels in Princeton at one time. I remember when we were living in Westminster and the 250th anniversary history book was published. That thing was a beauty. The detail and quality that went into that book must’ve taken forever. It looked and smelled like a real textbook. I literally read it cover to cover in a very short timeframe.
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A Night for Excellence: Community Night Out Tickets Available Now! The Ashburnham Westminster Foundation for Academic Excellence is one of my favorite charities, and I’m proud to have been involved since day one, for 15+ years now. If you haven’t heard of the Foundation, you can visit our website, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to find out more. If you have kids in the district, there’s a 100% chance they have benefited from one or more of the grants we’ve funded more than $210,000 in to Ash-West classrooms since 2009. READ MORE
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Back by popular demand for a second year, I'm offering my clients and referral sources a free professional photo mini-session — on me! I've arranged with a local professional photo studio for 15-minute mini-sessions on Thursday, November 19, from 3 to 7 PM. New this year: pets are welcome too, so the whole family can be in the picture. If we've ever worked together on a transaction, or if you've recommended me to friends, family, coworkers, or neighbors, this invitation is for you. Signing up is easy, and all you need to know is included in this story. READ MORE
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Cheese, Alpacas, and Maple Syrup: Country Roads Christmas Is Back
If you were to name 10 fun facts about me, two of them might be that I love supporting local businesses and that I do NOT enjoy shopping. Those two facts don’t always get along. But there is an obligatory gift-giving holiday coming up, and small businesses need our support more than ever, so this one felt important to write. This year marks the tour’s 21st season of The Country Roads Holiday Tour. From November 7 through December 6, 2026, twenty-one family-run farms, shops, and eateries across Winchendon, Templeton, Phillipston, Petersham, Barre, Hubbardston, and Gardner are inviting people to wander their back roads and do some of their holiday shopping close to home.
READ MORE
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Westminster’s Tyler Careau is in the final stretch of both fundraising and construction for a covered pavilion at VFW Post 7389 in Westminster, MA. To cut right to the chase, before the Q&A update with Tyler — I’m asking you to make a donation to his efforts, a small donation or a large? I’ll never know. The $50,000+/- project is about $5,000 away from being fully funded. Join me in helping to finish funding the pavilion, an ambitious project undertaken by a motivated teenager on a mission to say thank you to local veterans. With Veterans Day on November 11, the timing couldn’t be better. READ MORE
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You know how happy I am to promote youth entrepreneurship, kids who take initiative and even more so, giving back to the community. Back in June, I introduced you to a young Westminster entrepreneur named Zara Verelst. At the time, she was 12 years old and had just started a business called My Book Buddiez — born from a simple moment of not having a bookmark and deciding to make one. Her mom posted a TikTok video of the creation, it went viral, and here we are. Zara has just won $7,500 in a national contest! READ MORE
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'Tis the season ALREADY? Apparently so — the leftover Halloween candy is barely gone and I've seen a few wreaths out there already. Whether you're the type to tromp through a field with a saw and spend a lot of time carefully deciding on the exact tree or you’d rather grab one on the way home and call it a win, there are plenty of local spots to find this year’s tree. Here’s where to go, with both cut-your-own and grab-and-go options. READ MORE
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I recently attended an informational session with Kevin Donohue from the Worcester County District Attorney’s office Community Outreach division. I consider myself pretty savvy, but some of the scams Kevin talked about were incredibly creative and nefarious. I’ve always given my husband a hard time because he never answers his phone. I’m like how are you going to know if someone needs to talk with you? After hearing Kevin’s presentation, maybe I won’t answer my phone either. Not all that long ago, I encountered someone in my real estate realm who I was pretty sure was being duped by a scammer, who was pretending to be in a relationship with this person. No amount of gentle, tough love from me opened this person’s eyes to the very real potential, and extreme likelihood, that she was being robbed. How much tough love can I really give as a prospective realtor? The house was sold, not by me, and I’m pretty sure the money went to the imaginary/online boyfriend. READ MORE
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Think About It: Local History Can Be Lost in Just One Generation
Curious about the Princeton Historical Society? So was I. I’ve lived in Princeton, MA since 2016 (about 20% of my life at this point), and I’m only now getting to know its historical society. In a recent impromptu conversation, Phil Salerni, PHS Membership Coordinator, said something that stuck with me: history can be lost in just one generation. Think about that for a minute. It’s true. If you’re curious about the town you live in, or you’re looking for a place to volunteer, consider a membership to your local historical society. The Princeton Historical Society is looking to increase membership and awareness of the town’s rich history, and they make it pretty easy to get involved, whether that’s becoming a member, making a one-time donation, or offering an old photo or document before it heads to the dumpster. READ MORE
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We all have one: the space we close the door on and promise to deal with "someday." You know from my past stories I've been working on some of those spots in my house. A big project I was avoiding was our detached barn. During Covid, the second floor of the barn became the hangout for my teenagers and early-20s kids, and it did its job. The kids had privacy and something to do, and we had a little peace and quiet in the house when we were all 'at home' for all that time. Years have passed, and those kids are now largely out on their own. What they left behind upstairs: abandoned couches, cans of spray paint, sleeping bags, pillows, and more things from inside the house than I care to think about. I know that barn holds a lot of memories for them, but I don't see anyone heading up those stairs anymore. Kind of gross and embarrassing, the barn had also become a hangout for someone else: bats and mice. That changed the project from a weekend chore into something I definitely didn't want to tackle on my own. READ MORE
| | Central Massachusetts Real Estate Market This Month | | |
Writing about the Central Massachusetts real estate market every month is a challenge because I want to balance the light and readable nature of my content with data, and I don’t think you’re necessarily a charts and graphs crowd. When I meet with sellers in person, or by Zoom, or on a phone call, I make sure we hit some key points, but the conversation just flows naturally, and I welcome sellers and buyers asking me their top of mind questions – – because they are all over the place. About once a month during a conversation with a potential seller or buyer, they will ask me a question that I flat out answer with WOW, no one has ever asked me that before. I don’t mind that at all, as it requires me to come up with an answer on the fly and it piques my curiosity because if one person asks it, maybe someone else will want to know that same information. READ MORE
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So, if you have a question about something local, visit jenshenk.com and click the newsletter button and use the search feature. If I don't have a resource story that you'd like to see, just reply to this email with your ideas.
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This story contains resources for people who could benefit from a food pantry. I’ve been collecting non-perishable food donations in an XL gray outdoor box outside of my Keller Williams office right next to Vincent's Country Store since 2020, shortly after Covid began. The address for these donations is 107 Main Street in Westminster, and people continue, week after week (year after year!), to be so generous. READ MORE
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I decided to write a story that’s also a list of firewood suppliers–because right about now is when I see people starting to post on Facebook looking for firewood. At the bottom of the story is a list of firewood suppliers in Central Mass. Kids in this photo above are now all in their 20’s! READ MORE
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"We made an excellent choice having Jennifer Shenk as our realtor to sell our brother-in-law's house. Never having sold a house before, we had no idea what to expect. Jen explained everything in a way we could understand. She & her team kept us informed of each step in the process and what we needed to do and provide. She also gave us contacts we could use to clean out the house. She's a genuine helpful person who had our best interests at heart."
--George and Barbara Woodbury
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I’ve grown to be pretty adaptable over the years, as it’s proven to be necessary – – you just can’t predict what’s going to happen in your own world, and being able to bounce back and tackle challenges around you is necessary for emotional survival. As we get older, odds are we’re going to be hit with the unexpected – – and I’m not talking about winning the lottery, or getting a promotion at work, or one day waking up and being in prime physical shape. As we get older, we’re more likely to have people in our cohort who are getting divorced, widowed or have an unfortunate health diagnosis. Stay with me, I'm going somewhere helpful here. READ MORE
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Life is very expensive. All the costs related to housing, utilities, and insurance…for so many people they add up to not much left after these essential bills are paid. And when you have a surprise car repair, or unanticipated expense, inability to work – – you name it, the problem only compounds. I’ve put together these resources below specifically related to heating assistance.. READ MORE
| | Like what you're reading? Please share! | | YEAR-ROUND RESOURCE STORIES | Please share any ideas you have for additional Year Round Resource Stories! | |  | Seasonal Resource Stories are shown below. Some stories are off-season, and will be updated when in-season. | | | *DON'T MISS THE BEAUTIFUL VIDEO TOURS OF MY LISTINGS BELOW! | | BUYER SOLD
23 LEE STREET, LANCASTER | | SOLD
456 MOWER STREET, WORCESTER | |
Meet my team. Your partners in real estate.
If you, or anyone you know, are moving to (or from) Central Massachusetts, we’re here to deliver an exceptional experience. My team combines strong communication, proven strategies and deep local expertise to guide clients throughout the home selling and buying process. If you're considering the purchase or sale of residential real estate, you owe it to yourself to have a confidential conversation with me.
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JENNIFER SHENK
Real Estate Broker and Team Leader
Your Local Realtor since 2013 jennifershenk@kw.com
978 870 9260
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EMILY MORRISSEY
Realtor
On the team 2024+
emorrissey@kw.com
413 992 7562
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LAURA THOMASON
Transaction Coordinator
On the team 2018+
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AMANDA PECK
Administrative Assistant
On the team 2021+
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