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November 24, 2024
~ Building Community One Positive Story at a Time.
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West Bridgewater Community Comes Together for First-Ever Turkey Trot 5K! | | |
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The West Bridgewater Youth Athletic Association spread lots of holiday cheer in the town on November 17th with its first-ever Turkey Trot 5K. Participants of all ages laced up their sneakers and hit the course. The event brought people together in a spirit of camaraderie and celebration.
The WBYAA discussed the event’s success in a Facebook post with gratefulness saying “Thank you for joining us at our first Turkey Trot! We are so thrilled to see the community come together, and we hope to continue this tradition for many more years to come.”
Thank you to everyone who made this event possible and here's to the many more Turkey Trots to come!
Source & Photo Credit: WBYAA FB Post
Story written by Jamie Puhi, BuzzAround Board of Directors
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Historical Tidbit: The National Day of Mourning takes place on the fourth Thursday of November, coinciding with Thanksgiving. | |
We grew up hearing the story of the first Thanksgiving... how the Pilgrims and Native Americans shared a feast.
According to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian: The Indians in attendance, the Wampanoag, played a lead role in this historic encounter, and they had been essential to the survival of the colonists during the newcomers’ first year. The Wampanoag were a people with a sophisticated society who had occupied the region for thousands of years. They had their own government, their own religious and philosophical beliefs, their own knowledge system, and their own culture. They were also a people for whom giving thanks was a part of daily life. The ubiquitous Thanksgiving feast of turkey, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes would not
exist if not for the knowledge and ingenuity of the
Native peoples of the Americas.
Native peoples were and continue to be an integral part of the American story.
Since 1970, Indigenous people & their allies have gathered at noon on Cole's Hill in Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning, organized by the United American Indians of New England. Many Native people do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims & other European settlers. Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands and the erasure of Native cultures. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Indigenous ancestors and Native resilience. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection, as well as a protest against the racism and oppression that Indigenous people continue to experience worldwide.
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Town Hall
508-894-1200
WestBridgewaterMa.org
WB Public Library
508-894-1255
westbpl.org
Council on Aging
508-894-1262
COA
Food Pantry
Proof of residency is the only requirement.
1st & 3rd Wednesday each month
1:45 - 3p & 5:30 - 6p
457 rear, South Main St., Suite #1
508-510-5274 westbridgewaterfoodpantry@gmail.com
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Congratulations!
Louise Domingos
won
A choice of one of Salon Esprit's travel gift sets. Good for a wide variety of hair types.
Shampoo One & Detangler
or Color Protect Shampoo and Conditioner.
Bee sure to play our Historical Tidbit Trivia Game at the bottom of this newsletter.
Enter for this week's prize of
a free month of training and a free uniform from Premier Martial Arts, Raynham
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Donate to Support Local Families and Win with Organize N Rise!
Now until Mon, Nov 25
120 West Center Street
Please donate to help families in need and get a chance to win a gift card from “Organize N Rise”! Please remember to only donate non-expired food items. All contributions will support the West Bridgewater Food Pantry, Inc.
For more information, please visit the Let’s Talk: SLP & OT Services FB page.
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WB School Building Committee Mtg
Nov 12, 2024
Video Courtesy of WB Community Access TV
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WB Special Town Meeting 2024
Video Courtesy of WB Community Access TV
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Bridgewater Garden Club
Get into the festivity of the season and shop our annual greens sale. We have just what you need to decorate your home for the upcoming holidays: wreaths, arrangements, and more!
Save the date:
Saturday, December 7th at 9am
BTV, 80 Spring St, Bridgewater
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One Book, One Community Events
Explore the legacy of abolitionist Charles Sumner and the history of early Black communities in Bridgewater through author talks, lectures, and discussions listed below:
Book Discussion
The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner by Stephen Puleo
Tue, Nov 26 at 1p
Bridgewater Senior Center
Participate in a discussion on Stephen Puleo’s book, with guest historian Willie Wilson providing insights into local Black history.
For more information call 781-789-2517.
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As part of the One Book, One Community Project, Evelyn DeLutis explains the origin of the nderground Railroad sampler quilt on display through the end of the year at the West Bridgewater Library. | | |
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Indulge in the flavors of fall with our new Pumpkin Lava Cake, now available at our West Street and Plymouth Street locations.
eat well * laugh often * love much
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St. Anne's Vendor Fair for James Baker Memorial Fundraiser
Sun, Dec 1
10a-4p
St. Ann's Parish Hall
103 N. Main Street
The Church of Saint Ann will be holding a vendor/craft fair on December 1st in order to raise funds for the James Baker Memorial Fundraiser, which will be going to scholarships. Entrance to the event will be free.
For more information on the event, you can get in contact with: Tina Anthony-508-245-5481 or Chris Baker-774-240-8095
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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
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Bridging the Bridgewaters
NRT is searching for volunteers to work with "Bridging the Bridgewaters," a group of residents in East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, and Bridgewater working to lengthen and maintain the land and water trails in all three communities, connect them to each other and to the AMC / Bay Circuit Trail, and publicize their existence.
Please contact the Natural Resources Trust of Bridgewater at: Kitty Doherty at riverland927@gmail.com for more information and how you can participate.
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Best Buddies Club at WBMSHS
Video courtesy of wbtvpro
Produced by Video 3 students at West Bridgewater Middle Senior High School.
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Become a Founding Member of the Mom's Work & Play Lounge!
We're creating something new at The She Shed and we're thrilled it's almost here!
Learn more about Founding Memberships: thesheshed.info
Follow us on Facebook
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GRANTING GROWTH
Economic Development Grant Programs for Communities & Business
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Pre-Recorded Webinar with Old Colony Planning Council Grantology Series – SPECIAL EDITION
OCPC "Grantology" webinar series, led by Grants Specialist Paul Umano, provides educational content to help navigate the many grants & programs available. This Special Edition w/ OCPC’s Economic Development team focuses specifically on key economic development programs. Check this out! oldcolonyplanning.org/grantology
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St. Ann’s, First Church, and Cochesett Methodist Church present:
West Bridgewater Community Christmas Sharing 2024
Sun, Dec 1 & Thu, Dec 5
St. Ann, First Church and Cochesett Methodist are all working together in the Christmas spirit to help out those in need.
"Christmas will be here before you know it, we have begun our annual Christmas Sharing Program. We will be providing gifts and gift cards to needy families, Project Grad Teen Moms, and senior citizens in town who are needy or have no family to remember them. We will also be collecting new toys for children aged 1 – 16 for parents to choose from for their children.
For families, we ask you to purchase a gift card in any amount up to $50. This will allow us to give them an amount appropriate to the number of children and their ages in the family. We will also need $25 grocery cards for families to purchase the makings of a Christmas dinner.
For the Project Grads program for teen moms and babies in Brockton, we ask you to donate a Walmart gift card or CVS gift card in the amount of $25.
For Senior Citizens, we ask you to donate a Trucchi’s, Market Basket, or CVS gift card in the amount of $25. One of each will be given to each Senior Citizen on our list, along with a small goodie basket. Items for goodie baskets include toiletries, slipper socks, boxed cookies, candy, or other items suitable for seniors.
Toys for the children and gifts for the senior citizens may be placed in the decorated boxes at the back of the St. Ann’s or First Church or left at Linda Santry’s home, 54 Tiffany Circle, WB, by December 5th so they can be packed and delivered.
All gift cards should be placed in an envelope marked 'Christmas Sharing' in the St. Vincent DePaul box at the doors of St. Ann’s or given to a
member of first Church or Cochesett Methodist, or contact Linda Santry for pick- up. They must be received by December 1st, to allow the parents’ time to purchase gifts before Christmas. There is a bin at the back of the churches for toys for the children."
For more Information on the "Christmas Sharing", questions or volunteering call or email:
Linda Santry: 508-586-6535 or linda@santry.org
Lesley Anderson: 508-587-3118 or lesleyanderson52@icloud.com
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Say goodbye to unsightly stumps and overgrown trees! At Stump Grinders, we make it easy to maintain the beauty of your landscape. Schedule your professional stump grinding or tree removal service today! | (508)-942-3942 * stump-grinder.net | | |
Local Advertising - BuzzAround | |
What do you want everyone to know about you?
Let's put it where it will bee seen positively!!! 2 sized ads: Featured Five or Logo Link With either ad receive: Guaranteed ad views w/customized analytic reports for real feed-back!. Assistance with ad design. Opportunities to interact with our readers.
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Giving Tuesday At Old Bridgewater Historical Society
Tue, Dec 3
162 Howard Street
The Old Bridgewater Historical Society is celebrating Giving Tuesday by joining millions of people around the world participating in the global generosity movement on December 3rd. Giving Tuesday was launched in 2012 as a simple idea: to create a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past twelve years, the idea has grown into a global movement that inspires millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
In a Press Release from Old Bridgewater Historical Society,
"The Old Bridgewater Historical Society is celebrating Giving Tuesday by joining millions of people around the world participating in the global generosity movement on December 3rd. Giving Tuesday was launched in 2012 as a simple idea: to create a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past eleven years, the idea has grown into a global movement that inspires millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
The Old Bridgewater Historical Society is a totally volunteer organization that exists to promote education and research relating to the original township of Bridgewater, its inhabitants, and its history by collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting material, artifacts, and information pertaining to
'Old Bridgewater'
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The Society owns and maintains two buildings in West Bridgewater – the Keith House on River Street, which is the original 17th century parsonage inhabited by the Reverend James Keith and his family; and the OBHS Memorial Building on Howard Street, which is a small museum/library built in 1900 on land donated by the Howard family. These buildings are supported by members’ dues, donations, fundraisers and small grants.
Those who are interested in contributing to the Old Bridgewater Historical Society’s Giving Tuesday initiative can visit the website. A donation of $10, $15, $25 or even a more generous $50, $100 or $250 donation will help to keep OBHS fully operational."
For more information on the event, Visit: Old Bridgewater Historical Society FB or Old Bridgewater Historical Society
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West Bridgewater Open Space Committee & Conservation Advocates for the Town Purchase of Open Land.
"The residents of West Bridgewater rarely have a say in the growth and development of open space in the Town. When chapter land becomes available for sale the Town has an opportunity to acquire it at the market price. This does not happen often and there are fewer parcels available today. Many of these are active agricultural parcels or are forested land with a vast and diverse ecosystem.
We hear all the time that the Town is losing its rural and agricultural identity. This is an opportunity for the town’s residents to have a real say in what the future of West Bridgewater looks like. When you lose State listed Prime Agricultural Soils you can never get them back. Over the past 10+ years the Town has lost far more acres of open space to development than we have preserved.
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Whether we just leave land as open space, lease it for agricultural use, or save it for future municipal needs, it is land that the town has control over. Acquiring these parcels is part of the West Bridgewater Open Space & Recreation Plan. Once these natural resources are lost to development
we cannot get them back."
Reposted From: WB Open Space Committee & Conservation Commission FB
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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 year did Indigenous people & their allies start gathering at noon on Cole's Hill ?
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: Paris Hugley,, 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 | | |
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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
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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
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Copyright 2024 Buzz Around Brockton. 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 West Bridgewater 11/24/24")
Your BuzzAround supports the dignity of all human beings, is actively anti-racist, and supportive of good law enforcement policies. At the Buzz Around, we promote community. The links provided are for informational purposes. BuzzAround is not responsible for the media content of other organizations.
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