Success is Wonderful, But Sharing Your Failures May Be Even Better

Crossroads.
                                      Forks in the road.
                                                                             Taking the road less travelled.

Colloquialisms all, but when you look in the rear view, they were all real places where a decision was made in your life that led you to another place, and then to another.  Eventually, those decision GPS directions led you to where you are sitting today. Now for the analogies:  that road that brought you to where you are had some bumpy parts, some down right smooth as fresh pavement parts, and some parts that were wash boarded, washed out, and rutted enough to cause you to bump your head more than once.

I took some turns that weren't the best.  They took me onto some bad terrain.  Some bad land, but I did learn to make better choices.  I still am, and I am putting those lessons into practice.

I guess most of us do learn from our experiences, and choices, and change our direction accordingly.  I could have done better at times, a whole lot better, but there have been times I have done very well.  We've all been told that experience is the best teacher, and I can confirm that.  It is just a question of whether or not we will listen to the teacher.

Recently I drove over to the town where I grew up to check on my step-mother.  Since my Dad passed away in March, she has been alone, and doing the all the things he protected her from all those years together.  Things like doing all the banking, paying the bills, talking to lawyers, and the like.  She has done very well.  He would be very happily surprised.  All those years, watching him, listening to him, and watching the results he obtained was like a classroom.  A course in learning to survive by dealing with things to come.  She learned very well.

Who'd a thunk it?

After my visit, I called an old friend, I had know since first grade, and I had not seen in years.  I asked him if he wanted to get together and grab a bite.  It was 11:00 in the morning, and my call had woken him up.  He was sleeping in.  Really.  A fifty-plus year old guy sleeping in till 11 on a Sunday morning.  I can't remember sleeping in long, even after a rough night, and there was a time, when I had my share of those.  He said grabbing a bite would be great, and asked me to give him an hour.

Okay, an hour it is.

An hour later I arrived at his apartment, I found my way up to his place, and he met me in the hallway.  He led me into his modest home.  A kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom.  Modest may not be the right word, but to my old friend, it was home, and he seemed happy. He owned his own company, paid his bills, and made his own choices, and he was happy.  That is what counts the most.

We went to a local restaurant that was offering brunch, and ordered a great meal.  While we ate, my friend shared some stories of other local old friends that had fallen on hard times over the years, and weren't doing that well in life.  I think he was using their bad times as a barometer in which to measure his own life against.  Something we all do from time to time.

He prefaced his stories by telling me that their tough times had nothing to do with the current economic climate, and went into detail about what these guys were up against, and it all had a common theme.  Poor choices, and bad decisions, something we all make, but the theme here was not learning from the results of those choices.  What made it worse was their not knowing how to correct the issue, how to find help, not having the strength  to fix things, or becoming so despondent as a result that they became paralyzed.  There was a time I was in a similar place.  I could feel for those guys, those former classmates, and friends.

After we finished brunch my old friend looked relieved.  He had spoken aloud about things that he had only been thinking about for some time.  He had received feedback in the form of my head shaking, and mild expletives, and according to his Barometer of Life, he had risen a few points.  He was in a better frame of mind than when he was when I called him, and all we did was talk, and have some awesome Eggs Benedict.

I guess the purpose of all this rambling is to maybe stimulate some reflection in you, and in me, as well.  Living in the past is never good, but learning from it is what we are meant to do.  Otherwise, we will languish back in the day, and never move on to all those adventures we promised ourselves when we were younger.

Yes, we do pay some dues along the way.  It's inevitable.  We loose jobs.  I have, and not by choice.  We suffer through bad relationships.  Our children will disown us, call us lame, ignore us, and cause us to age four years to every one we actually live.  Creditors will call us at some point when we forget a car payment, or the electric bill.  Life will always be there, but it is by our choice how we live it, how we respond to it, and that choice will determine how our ride will be.

I guess that is really the whole point.  Life will always be there, but it is our choice how to live, and respond to it.  It is also our responsibility to share our experiences with those that are in a position to learn from them.  That is one reason why we have been blessed with memory, and our children are number one on the share list.

Share your failures, don't hide them.  Don't pretend to be perfect.  They see right through us.  By sharing our experiences, good, and bad,  we might just help someone avoid being the topic of conversation at brunch someday.

Well Done, Veterans, Well Done

Very much alive Sturbridge, MA veterans
standing where their monument once stood
 in the front of the Town Hall, and may
soon be again. 

When one has a passion, an unswerving emotional connection to a cause, the focus can be as fine as sunlight through a lens.  Recently, here in Sturbridge, the passion, and focus of our veterans, and residents, was unrelenting, and it paid off.  That intense attention paid to a cause can be be hard to deny.

On Tuesday evening, the selectman voted 4-1 to restore the Veterans Monument that had stood outside of the Town Hall for years until it was dismantled during the recent restoration of the Town Hall.  The bronze plaques were then moved inside of the hall, and placed on the wall of the second floor, out of sight of all those except those that happened upon them in that out of the way place.

This did not settle to well with those that have family, and friends on the plaques, and above all, to those actual veterans whose names were on the plaques.  They felt slighted, hurt, and as if they had been put away on a shelf.  

Honoring those that have served is a public honor, a full time, twenty four hour a day  honor, and not something that is turned off when the Town Hall is closed for the night, or weekend, and restored on Monday morning.

Some feel that the plaques should remain in the Veterans Memorial Hall in the Town Hall, and there may lie part of the problem.  A "memorial" is associated with those that have passed, or a past event.  It is the difference between Memorial Day, and Veterans Day.  Many of those listed on the plaques are still with us, alive and well, not ready to be memorialized.  There is a "memorial" across the street, on the lawn of the Center Office Building for those killed in combat.  What the veterans had was a monument, not a memorial.  And, yes, in time those on the plaques will  join their comrades at final muster, but new names will continually be added as well.  It is truly a  "living monument".

Semantics?  Hardly.

On Tuesday night there was only one dissenting vote against the restoration of the monument.  It was also mentioned that evening that the cost of restoring the monument would be $20,000.

Now, that is something I feel may be accurate, but if done right, won't cost the town much at all.  Veterans are a resourceful group, with an enormous network of bushiness people, and tradespeople.   I can see volunteers donating their time to rebuild the monument.

This is only the beginning.  Now comes the real work of designing the replacement monument, deciding on a location, and organizing the construction. The focus cannot be diverted, the passion must be just as intense, and I am sure it will be.

Addendum

The Sturbridge Veterans’ Memorial Group is holding an initial meeting to form a committee to rebuild the Veterans’ Memorial

on Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. at the Sturbridge Senior Center, 480 Main Street, Sturbridge, MA. 

Veterans and interested parties are encouraged to attend. 

For information call Kathy Neal at 508-347-3588 or email:  kathy85569@gmail.com

Meeting information submitted by Kathy Neal--ed.

Tornado Relief Dinner Tonight At OSV

Good Afternoon Friends,
 
Happy 1st day of summer!  Just a quick reminder that the Oliver Wight Tavern at Old Sturbridge Village will be hosting a Tornado Relief Dinner tomorrow night (Wednesday, June 22) from 4 – 8 p.m.  All proceeds will be donated to the CMS Chamber’s Tornado Relief Fund to assist those in our community who were affected by the storms of June 1st.  Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children and may be purchased at the door or online here: http://www.osv.org/orders/listprograms.html?ID=55 
 
From the OSV website: The National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts has confirmed an EF3 tornado from Westfield to Charlton, Massachusetts on June 1, 2011.  A super cell thunderstorm developed over western Massachusetts Wednesday afternoon. This storm strengthened and produced a long lived... very significant tornado... that did extensive damage across southwest and south central Massachusetts. This storm will be noted not only for its intensity... but also for the length of the continuous damage path...approximately 39 miles. The tornado was also very wide at some points...reaching a maximum width of one half mile.
 

 
 
Thank you and we hope to see you Wednesday evening! (6/22/2011)
 
 
Alexis P.D. Conte
Director of Sales
Old Sturbridge Village
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road
Sturbridge, MA  01566
(508) 347-0396
 

BOS Meeting Concerning Veterans Monument June 20

Submitted by a reader--ed.



Some Answers About The Veterans Monument

Below is a comment left on an earlier posting about the Veterans Monument that once stood in front of the Town Hall.  After the comment, there is a reply written by Tom Chamberland.  Thank you to anonymous for expressing your concern for the monument, and to Tom, for taking the time to respond.--ed.

Mr. Chamberland,
Thank you for your continued hard work. While you are here, though, could you just take 2 minutes to jot a sentence down, if you know where our stone monument for the Veterans of WWII, and the Vietnam and Korean conflicts ended up? Can the stones be reused to rebuild it?
We have people here who are hurting from this loss, too. Yesterday we picked up the Town Common Newspaper and saw the huge picture of the "Sturbridge Colonial Militia" on the front page. The headline was "Sturbridge Honors its Real Heroes." One would think that a headline like that would have been over a picture of the parade stopping by our stone monument at the town hall which contained so many names familiar and dear to us.
In speaking with local heroes we know and love, living heroes from the wars from the 1940's to the present, I can tell you they are hurt. Please, just a sentence or two, to let them and their friends and families know why the monument disappeared, and what can be done to bring it back. Thank you. 

Reply:

To Anonymous:

First, let me say I do not routine reply to anonymous requests, however, compassion is a true human virtue I try to practice, and given the tone of your concern let me briefly, as you requested, try to provide a reply.  The stones from the monument are long gone.  The plaques themselves were completely restored and refinished and now hang in places of honor alongside those of all our past veterans, in the Veterans Memorial Hall, except for those of our true patriots and minute men, an oversight that was just funded at this past annual town meeting to correct.

  As for the removal of the monument that action was from the very early stages of discussion as I was involved, always a part of the “plan” and at every meeting that was held on these plans this was available for residents to take note of, be it at Bd of Selectmen’s meetings, the Planning Boards site plan meetings and the TOWN MEETING (my emphasis) where all voted to approve the project.  In addition as these plans were vetted and reviewed the only veteran’s organization, American Legion Post 109, whose members were the main sponsor and builders of this monument were personally contacted by me at several of their regular meetings to discuss the removal, which was approved by them, the very veterans who worked for funding and built the monument.

As for Sturbridge honoring its real hero’s, let me say that Memorial Day is a day to honor those who have died, and not the living, In addition, attendance at our Memorial Day ceremonies has grown, and for safety of all, moving the concluding ceremony to the Town Common has been widely supported by many, including the Police Dept., in their concern for traffic and safety as well as the Veterans who make the commitment to participate in the parade.

As you may know me, I was very involved and actually administered the construction of this monument, I worked side by side with my father, family and fellow veterans building this monument, It was a tough decision to make, however in setting my personal emotions aside, I realized that for the longer term, and for the honor of those names inscribed on these plaques, our true place of honor and protection is where they hang today, alongside the plaques of my fellow Veterans of Sturbridge.

Tom Chamberland

Tornado Debris Removal Plan

TOWN OF STURBRIDGE

TORNADO DEBRIS REMOVAL PLAN

APPROVED: Board of Selectmen

DATE: June 8, 2011

CONTACTS: Shaun Suhoski, Town Administrator: (508) 347-2500

Erin Jacque, Conservation Agent: (508) 347-2506

Tree Debris Removal Dates

The Board of Selectmen approved a tree debris removal plan on June 8 designed to assist residents and property owners directly impacted by last week’s devastating tornado. Clean-up will occur in three phases in directly impacted neighborhoods with the following deadlines:

• Stallion Hill Road, Douty Road and Holland Road Area: June 20
• Fiske Hill Road, Whittemore Road, Regep Lane and Farquhar Road Area: June 27
• Willard Road and Streeter Road Area: July 11

Any tree debris remaining after the above dates shall be the responsibility of the property owners.

Tree Debris Guidelines

• Only tree branches, limbs and logs (the longer the better) will be accepted.
• The above material must be placed within ten feet of the edge of the roadway.
• A one foot setback from the edge of pavement is required for safety and vehicular access.
• Lawn waste including leaves, twigs and other raked material is not included and will not be removed by the Town. It is recommended that this material be placed in compost bags and properly disposed of by landowners.

Other Debris

The Town is in the process of devising a plan to assist landowners with removal and disposal of other debris. Until the plan is finalized, the Town recommends that landowners stockpile all non-tree debris in the front or side yards in an upland location accessible and visible from the road. Debris must be separated into the following categories:

• Burnable material (plastic, glass, carpeting, etc.),
• Metals (metal siding, sheds, swing sets, lawn furniture, screen doors, etc.), and
• Construction and Demolition debris (wood siding, doors, shingles, pressure treated lumber, windows, etc.).

These materials must not be stockpiled within the Town’s ten foot right of way and must be separate from the tree debris.

Affected residents may also bring separated burnable and construction/demolition debris to the Recycling Center free of charge on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 7:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. and Saturdays 7:00 AM - 2:45 p.m.

All residents are cautioned that the Recycling Center has limited capacity to accept these materials. Please call Recycling Center Manager John Booth in advance at (508) 347-7608 to ensure there is adequate space to accept delivered materials.

Residents are highly encouraged to stockpile materials at your residence until the town can provide further guidance and assistance with debris removal and disposal.

For Debris Removal Assistance

For volunteer assistance in removing the debris please contact:

• Selectman Thomas Creamer: (774) 696-0903
• Selectman Priscilla Gimas: (774) 230-5572
• Christine Jensen, Volunteer Resource Coordinator Asst.: (508) 365-7227
• Susan Waters, Volunteer Resource Coordinator: (774) 402-4387

Information For Residents Impacted By The Tornado

Erin Jacque

Conservation Agent

Town of Sturbridge

508-347-2506 

ejacque@town.sturbridge.ma.us

INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTS IMPACTED BY THE TORNADO

Sturbridge, MA, June 9, 2011 – In the aftermath of last week’s tornado the Town of Sturbridge would like to relay some very important information to impacted residents.  

Residents are reminded to hire only licensed and insured contractors to conduct work on their properties.  It is important to solicit bids or quotes for services rendered to insure you are being charged a fair rate and speak to your friends and neighbors for referrals of reputable contractors.  You may call the Worcester Better Business Bureau at (508)755-2548 or visit http://boston.bbb.org/consumers/.  If you would like to file a complaint against a contractor please contact the Public Inquiry & Assistance Center Hotline of the Office of the MA Attorney General at (617) 727-8400 at (508) 792-7600 or visit Attorney General Martha Coakleys web site to file a complaint form.  You may also contact the MA Department of Consumer Affairs Consumer Hotline (toll free) at 617-973-8787 or 888-283-3757. 

To look up a contractor to determine whether they are licensed you can visit http://www.mass.gov/dps (MA Department of Public Safety) or call 617-727-3200.  This web site also explains the licensing procedure and provides information on filing complaints.  All contractors should be filing building permits with the Town of Sturbridge Building Department as required.

The Town strongly encourages all homeowners to ensure that any volunteers not personally known to you have been sanctioned through the Town's Volunteer Resource Center.  Sanctioned volunteers have forms on file that waive any liability claims against homeowners or the Town.  Also, approved volunteers are tracked with a schedule that identifies where and when work assignments will occur.  This provides additional protection and accountability for homeowners and volunteers alike. Unfortunately, some residents have encountered a few cases of unscrupulous “volunteers" appearing at properties who are in fact not "volunteers" at all.

Sanctioned volunteers will be provided with methods of denoting them from non-sanctioned volunteers within the next few days. In the meantime and beyond that, residents should contact the following to ensure the volunteers on their site are in fact sanctioned by the Town's Volunteer Resource Center:

• Selectman Thomas Creamer - 774-696-0903
• Selectman Priscilla Gimas - 774-230-5572
• Christine Jensen, Assistant to the Volunteer Resource Coordinator - 508-365-7227
• Susan Waters, Volunteer Resource Coordinator - 774-402-4387

Currently, national volunteers from the Southern Baptist Convention are working through the Town's Volunteer Resource Center to provide services to residents at no cost.  These individuals all wear yellow shirts, adorned with patches specific to the Southern Baptist Convention and carry identification denoting same. This organization has been sanctioned by the Volunteer Resource Center to conduct assessments and provide services. If, however, you have any concerns or doubts, please make contact with the individuals listed above.

Selectmen Approve Tornado Debris Removal Plan

CONTACT: Town of Sturbridge

Shaun A. Suhoski, Town Administrator

508-347-2500 or 978-821-7772

ssuhoski@town.sturbridge.ma.us

Erin Jacque, Conservation Agent

508-347-2506

ejacque@town.sturbridge.ma.us

STURBRIDGE – The Board of Selectmen approved a tree debris removal plan last night designed

to assist residents and property owners directly impacted by last week’s devastating tornado.

Following a two-hour community discussion with affected residents, Selectmen met with

department heads to discuss the Town’s response to the storm and to review a plan for tree debris

removal from neighborhoods in the tornado’s path, according to Town Administrator Shaun A.

Suhoski.

Clean-up of debris will occur in three phases in impacted neighborhoods with each area having a

specific deadline by which to place tree debris along the edge of the property. The debris will then

be removed by a tree removal contractor assisted and monitored by public works personnel, he said.

“The Board of Selectmen recognize the immeasurable toll that the tornado has placed upon

impacted residents and have developed a plan to ease part of that burden,” said Mr. Suhoski, who

noted that the Town’s Volunteer Resource Center can arrange assistance for residents needing help

to move the debris to the edge of the property.

Conservation Agent Erin Jacque outlined the following guideline for debris disposal:

• Only tree branches, limbs and logs (the longer the better) will be accepted. These items

must be left within ten feet of the edge of the roadway. A one foot setback from the edge of

pavement is required for safety and vehicular access.

• Lawn waste including leaves, twigs and other raked material is not included and will not be

removed by the Town. It is recommended that this material be placed in compost bags and

properly disposed of by landowners.

Following is the schedule for residential pick-up of tree debris. Material not placed along the

roadway by the following deadlines will not be removed by the Town:

• Stallion Hill Road, Douty Road and Holland Road Area: June 20

• Fiske Hill Road, Whittemore Road, Regep Lane and Farquhar Road Area: June 27

• Willard Road and Streeter Road Area: July 11

Any tree debris remaining after the above dates shall be the responsibility of the property owners.

The Town is in the process of devising a plan to assist landowners with removal and disposal of

other debris, according to Ms. Jacque.

Until the plan is finalized, the Town recommends that landowners stockpile all non-tree debris in

their front or side yards in an upland location that is accessible and visible from the road.

Debris must be separated into the following categories:

• Burnable material (plastic, glass, carpeting, etc.),

• Metals (metal siding, sheds, swing sets, lawn furniture, screen doors, etc.), and

• Construction and Demolition debris (wood siding, doors, shingles, pressure treated lumber,

windows, etc.).

These materials must not be stockpiled within the Town’s ten foot right of way and must be

separate from the tree debris, said Ms. Jacque.

Affected residents may also bring separated burnable and construction/demolition debris to the

Recycling Center free of charge on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 7:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. and

Saturdays 7:00 AM - 2:45 p.m.

All residents are cautioned that the Recycling Center has limited capacity to accept these materials.

Residents may call Recycling Center Manager John Booth ahead of time at (508) 347-7608 to

ensure there is adequate space to accept delivered materials.

Residents are highly encouraged to stockpile materials on the property until further guidance is

provided by the Town.

For volunteer services please contact:

• Selectman Thomas Creamer: (774) 696-0903

• Selectman Priscilla Gimas: (774) 230-5572

• Christine Jensen, Volunteer Resource Coordinator Asst.: (508) 365-7227

• Susan Waters, Volunteer Resource Coordinator: (774) 402-4387

“The remarkable efforts of Town staff, Selectmen and our citizen volunteers cannot be overstated,”

said Mr. Suhoski.

-

The Unseen Damage

Damaged trees along the Quinebaug River on
Old Sturbridge Village Road.

This morning I had some errands to run, and drove to town.  I noticed the Old Sturbridge Village Road was now open, and decided to drive that road, and view the damage.  I had my camera with me.

Now, the reason I take my camera with me is to record the events of the day here in town.  Today it's the present, the happening now, and tomorrow, on Wednesday, it will be history.

We will always need to record the present in order to have an accurate history.  That's the way it has been since we drew on cave walls.  There have been times in our history that there have been folks that have actually tried to stop the recording of history, mostly for political purposes.  Expect it.  That will always happen, but in a free country. There should never be a reason to stop a person from recording history, or current events in the United States.  I am not talking about paparazzi, or people crossing the line and invading the space of people in disaster. That is a different story.  I am talking about surveying aftermath of a storm, and recording it for posterity just as the Hurricane of 1938 was recorded, the floods of the 1950's were recorded, and the Blizzard of '78 was recorded.  Nothing more.

So imagine my surprise when I parked my car on the side of old Route 15, and walked over to the front of the Days Inn with my camera.  I had just driven down the Publick House Road beside the motel, parked in several places, and had taken photographs, and was now approaching the corner of the Publick House Road, and Haynes Street with my camera.  As I approached, two National Guard soldiers approached me, and asked what I was doing.  I told them I was taking photographs of storm damage in my town.  The sergeant then told me that the "state does not want pictures taken".

I'm sorry, say what?  I asked her if she was saying I could not take photographs of the storm damage, and she said, "That is not what I am saying.  I am saying that the state does not want pictures taken.  They want people to respect those that have had a loss".

That goes without saying.  Respect for those that have suffered any kind of loss is paramount, but I am not taking photographs of people, I am taking photographs of broken trees, and the front of a broken building.

The sergeant stepped back, nodded, and thanked me for understanding.

I smiled back and started to walk down the Publick House Road.  A few steps down the road I was called by a Sturbridge Police officer leaning on a motorcycle in the parking lot of the Days Inn.  I walked over to the officer, some 50 feet away from the road, in the driveway of the motel.  He asked me where I was going.  I told him.  He asked me what I was doing.  I told him that, too.  He then told me, "OK, but stay out of everyones way, and stay on the road, not on private property".  Except for the two soldiers, the officer, and a couple of workers on the roof of the motel, there was nobody else around.  Nobody.  I would not be in any ones way, and would remain on the road, I assured the officer.

They all may have been awkward in saying it, but I knew where they were coming from.  Respect those that have lost the world around them.  Don't put camera lenses in their faces, or bother them with asinine questions like, "What are you most thankful for after the tornado now that your car is on its roof,  your house flattened and your dog missing?"

As someone commented here on a previous posting, 

"Nods, smiles, help and direction where needed, careful listening to stories that need to be spoken, and kind words...the healing begins."

Respect those that have, and are suffering, help out where you can, and however you can, and be thoughtful as you wander about town touring the damaged areas.  Keep in mind there is damage that you do not see:  the scores of broken hearts amidst those shattered trees.

The Path

The path of the tornado.  Click on image for larger detailed image.

Just A Nod And A Smile

The morning after the tornado I drove to old Route 15 to see in the daylight what I had barely seen at dusk the evening before.  The evening before I was scared, but not so scared not to be able to drive about to satisfy my curiosity.  In the daylight, I was no longer scared, but dumbstruck.  I pulled the car over to the side of the road just past the Days Inn, got out, and just stood there, staring off at the heap of pine trees surrounding the motel .  Then I noticed that there were no trees standing behind the motel.  The thick woods behind the motel were gone.  I could see all the way over to route 131 near Hall Road.

Behind me, across I-84, there was a large highway sign knocked part way to the ground.  It was like I was standing somewhere in tornado ravaged Missouri, and the evening news was playing all around me in 3-D.

The Public House billboard that stood back from the roadway for decades was now lying flat, it's steel girdered legs bent over in submission to the storm.

I returned to the car, pulled a u-turn, and headed back towards route 131, and towards Southbridge.  I got as far as Hall road, and was detoured down that road because all of route 131, as far as I could see was a mass of tree service trucks, downed trees alongside, and in  the road, utility cables strewn about, and men working.  It didn't look good.

Down Hall Road a short way and then took a right onto Whittemore Road, and up to the top of Fisk Hill.  There, at the top of the hill the damage I had seen on the way up the hill was magnified a hundred fold.  Two hundred year old trees pulled out of the ground, and onto their sides.  Some trees split in so many pieces that they had to be taken down completely.  Tall one hundred foot tall pines snapped  in half, de-limbed, and standing at attention as if they were war weary soldiers surveying the field after the battle. The more I saw on the top of that hill the more I realized that was exactly what they were.

I parked my car on Fox Run Road, and walked around with my camera for a  long while.  I saw the damage, the people, the lost looks on their faces, and the  nods, and small smiles on their faces as they acknowledged me as I walked by.  The smiles were not so much meant to greet a stranger in their midst, but acknowledging to themselves that on this particular morning they were actually alive, and very glad they could greet anybody.
Big difference.

From Fiske Hill Road I drove down and onto Route 131 and headed towards Shaws Market.  131 was blocked off in front of the plaza, and I headed down the road, on foot, towards the common.  The scene that lay before me was disorientating.  Landmarks gone. There was sunlight where there had only been shadows at this time of day for decades. All the old growth trees were gone along route 131.  A third of the auto body building was gone.  The newly planted trees across from the Sturbridge Service Center were untouched as if there was a predestined master plan in place all the time, and those trees were planted to fill the voids soon to be left by the storm.

It gives me shivers if I read too much into it.

We lost our lights for about six hours.  We were lucky.  We've lost power for twice as long for one pole being down last year, never mind an entire town being knocked out.  National Grid did well for those of us on Brookfield road that night, and for restoring the rest of the town in the time they did.  They deserve a lot of credit, and thanks.  The same with the other utility companies.  They worked non stop to get the essentials back up and running.

For days we have been had the National Guard, Mass Highway, the State Police, the Environmental Police, Army Corps of Engineers, the Red Cross, the countless trees services, and cable companies amongst us.  Helping us.  Thank you, all.

Tomorrow is the Town Meeting at the High School.  Mary and I will be there.  We'll bring some non-perishable donations, participate in the meeting, and most importantly, acknowledge others we see with a nod, and a smile.

National Trail Day Cancelled Due to Tornado

The National Trails Day events for Southbridge, Sturbridge and Brimfield have
been cancelled due to the tornado.

As active volunteers in our communities, this is the time we all need to help
ourselves and our neighbors  thru this difficult time.

Although our trails have suffered much tree damage we can get to that latter.
Now is the time to support one another in rebuilding and restoring the basic
necessities and quality of life.

Please take care and be safe!

Tom Chamberland
Park Ranger
East Brimfield lake.

An Update From Selectman Tom Creamer

As I maintain limited group contacts in my Blackberry, I respectfully request your consideration in forwarding this correspondence out, in hope this information will reach those without power but who may be accessed via other means.


Per National Grid Conference Call I participated in earlier: 1,166 (approximately 25%) of Sturbridge customers without power. It may be up to 2 1/2 days for power to be restored fully due to Transmission + Distribution damage along the route of the tornado.

Residents should be aware that National Grid crews are working as quickly as possible, as are local and State assets. Please be advised that trucks and crews in the area does not necessarily mean power restoration is imminent as Transmission damage further away is likely.

Additional information can be found on Town website and via National Grid's website Storm Center, which will be periodically updated.

As there is no power or internet access from many locations, it is hoped that residents receiving this information will be able to update those with no access.

Minor to significant damage to homes, property, trees, and infrastructure (i.e. power, phone, cable) along Fiske Hill Rd., Whittemore Rd., Willard Rd., Rt 131 between Farquhar and Hall Rd., as well as Stallion Hill Rd., and Holland Rd. has resulted in road closings or reduced access in order to address issues.

Residents are encouraged to refrain from traveling those areas unless absolutely necessary in order to reduce any possibility of hindering work crews as they strive to bring relief to those most affected by.

Fortunately, despite the extensive damage to areas of our community, we have experienced no loss of life and only a small number of minor injuries reported.

Our thoughts and support are with those struggling to cope with the damage they have sustained.

Thomas R. Creamer

The Morning After the Tornado

Amazingly, everyone in town is safe.

Thank God.