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Grafton275.org

My latest web project:

This year marks the 275th anniversary of the incorporation of the Town of Grafton Massachusetts. As part of this yearlong celebration, the Grafton News is compiling a virtual scrapbook of the towns history at www.grafton275.org. The site will include ‘then and now’ photos, old historic photos, documents, videos and events celebrating this milestone in our towns history. Grafton275.org is a volunteer project through the Grafton News to help celebrate Grafton’s Birthday. This site will be a work-in-progress throughout the coming year.

I’m having lots of fun learning about our towns long and interesting history. Grafton, MA is a perfect example of a quaint New England town with it’s Native American roots, and town history dating back before the American Revolution. The Grafton News has been a part of the towns history for over 50 years and we have lots of historic documents and photos to share.

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Local Community | cindy | | 3 Comments |   275 Grafton grafton275.org GraftonNews.com history Massachusetts new england thegraftonnews.com web developement website

Boston SUPER Megafest 2009

Boston Super Megafest or SMF is the largest gathering of celebrities, fans and memorabilia dealers in the New England area. This weekend event, which took place on Nov 21 & 22, 2009 at the Sheraton in Framingham, MA is lots of fun for only $20.

The people attending are often more interesting than the celebrities. People come dressed in all kinds of elaborate costumes and really get into the fantasy of being a super hero or sci-fi character. The most popular costumes tend to be from Star Wars and Star Trek, but Batman and the Joker are also popular.

Parked outside the hotel was the Batmobile from the original TV show. I was a big fan of the TV show when I was a kid. It is so funny to watch those episodes now. If you are too young to remember the show, there are lots of episodes and clips on youtube.

The vast majority of people who attend these events are geeks, nerds, and dorks, with a few typical folks along to ‘people watch’ the geeks, nerds and dorks. All together it’s a nice bunch of folks just having a good time. For me, it’s a fun escape from everyday life; add that to the nostalgia thrown in and it’s a blast!

The highlight of this years event for me was meeting Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek: TNG). OK, so I’m a bit of a Star Trek geek. I’ve enjoyed the TV shows and movies since the original, but my favorite Star Trek is the Next Generation (TNG). For movies, Star Trek IV has always been my favorite, but the new 2009 movie, is pretty darn good. Brent Spiner is a friendly guy and very funny.

I also got to meet Larry Storch (Corporal Agarn on F Troop). F Troop was another of my favorite shows in the 60’s and Larry still looks pretty darn good in his 80’s!

Also at the Megafest were two of the Monkees, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. I met both of them and saw them preform on Saturday night. Peter played “Day Dream Believer” solo with his guitar, which I really enjoyed. Micky is still quite an entertainer.

Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz

 

There was a whole lot more going on at the Megafest, but these were a few of my favorites. More photos on Flickr.

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Local Community | cindy | | 4 Comments |   2009 Batman batmobile Boston Brent Spiner dorks F Troop Framingham geeks Larry Storch Micky Dolenz nerds Peter Tork Star Trek star wars SUPER Megafest The Monkees

Fall Foliage on Grafton Common

November 8th and no blog posts so far this month. It’s been a bit busier than usual, which tends to happen with the holidays right around the corner. To be honest, I’m always glad when the holiday season is over. Life is already too busy without adding a bunch more things to do.

I’ve also been busy building a bedroom for Anthony on the first floor. I’m trying to get this done before the holidays, so this is taking up a lot of my time. I’ll post some photos of this project soon.

I just uploaded some fall foliage photos to my flicker account that I took at the Grafton Common a few weeks ago. Grafton common is extra beautiful in autumn and many people have been married at the gazebo in October. Grafton Center is a quaint little New England common. Some say it is a perfect example of small-town New England. The town has been careful not to allow too much change to the area, so even though the town has grown a lot, the common has remain relatively unchanged for decades.

One of Grafton’s claims to fame is the Grafton Gazebo, which sits on the common. The gazebo was built for a Hollywood film called Ah, Wilderness! in 1935, which starred Lionel Barrymore and Mickey Rooney among others.

Grafton Common

Grafton Common
Fisheye photo

Grafton Common
TtV photo

More photos here.

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Local Community | cindy | | Leave a comment |   autumn fall fisheye Foliage Grafton Common Massachusetts photography TTV

Koomey Family Donates Handicap Accessible Van

grafton

(L-R) Eric Bissell, Evan Fredette, Brendan Griffin, Rachel Hull-Gordecki, Brian Hanna, Taylor Dee, Marika Jolovcich, Lee Coz, Johnathan Carlson
(L-R) Eric Bissell, Evan Fredette, Brendan Griffin, Rachel Hull-Gordecki, Brian Hanna, Taylor Dee, Marika Jolovcich, Lee Coz, Johnathan Carlson

 

The Grafton Public Schools accepted the very generous donation of a handicap accessible van at a dedication ceremony Wednesday morning in the Grafton High School parking lot. The van was donated by the Koomey Family in memory of longtime Grafton resident Dr. John G. Koomey.

Shortly before he passed away, Dr. Koomey recognized the need for van transportation at Grafton High School. His family said, “This is a way of fulfilling his wish and we are pleased and honored to do this in his memory.”

The vehicle will become a part of the Functional Academic School-to-Work Program at Grafton High School. The program assists students with functional academics, life-skills, and vocational skills needed to become independent adults within the Grafton Community.

“We tailor each program to the individual child,” Mrs. Barry, Grafton High School Special Education teacher said. In the past, the students access had been limited to establishments that were within walking distance of the school.

“This van allows us to get out into the community; it really expands what we can do.” Mrs. Barry went on to say, “I can not overemphasize what this means to our children and to the school as a whole. It is incredibly generous.”

Superintendent Dr. Joseph Connors and School Committee members Daryl Rynning and Peter Carlson were on hand to accept the donation along with Special Education Director Kathleen Baris. A special plaque, signed by the students in Mrs. Barry’s class, was presented to the Koomey family.

Dr. Koomey was fondly known as “Poppy” by his grandchildren, two of whom are special need students in the Grafton public schools. The words “In Memory of Poppy” are inscribed on the back of the van.

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Library Local Community | cindy | | Leave a comment |   donation GHS Grafton MA Poppy School to Work van

Public Access TV

In 1984, a piece of legislation called the Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act became law. This Legislation requires U.S. cable television companies to fund local organizations to provide training and access to media technology and cable distribution on the local cable systems. Public access TV is an excellent example of democracy and a vehicle for free speech for all citizens. Any member of a community may take advantage of public access TV.

Here in Grafton, MA, we have many resources available free of charge, including a TV studio, trainings, and all the equipment needed so that anyone can produce a TV show, either live or pre-recorded. Grafton Community Television manages three channels, 11, 12 and 13. Channel 11 is for general interest (public access) programming, Channel 12 is for local government programming, and Channel 13 features school programming and high school sports events. Three channels are fairly common on public access television and is called “PEG access”, short for Public, Educational, and Governmental.

Aaron is very interested in film making and spends much of his free time making movies, including filming, acting, and editing his own movies for youtube. He would like to eventually work in the film industry. Last summer he took the GCTV Kids Summer Video Class and he really enjoyed the class.

A couple of times a year the station also offers adults a producers class. Aaron wanted to take this class too, but since he is under 18, he needed an adult to be responsible for him and he also had to get special permission from the Grafton Cable Television Oversight Committee, as well as several references. Permission for Aaron to take the class was granted and last fall Aaron and I took the course together. We both had a great time and we learned so much about television producing. Now, Aaron has is own TV show on Grafton Public Access and I think he is the youngest producer with a regular programing slot. His show is called “Dark Nights of Grafton” and it airs 3 times a week.

The same show airs 3 times a week for 2 weeks, so he has to have a new video every two weeks. Since he is such a prolific film maker, this is not a problem. He just dropped off episode #17 at the studio yesterday.

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Aaron Local Community | cindy | | 1 Comment |   "Dark Nights of Grafton" GCTV Grafton GraftonTV.org lightscameraaaron lightscameraaaron.com MA Public Access TV Television