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Townsend

Quazy Quilters creating kindness and love

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TOWNSEND — It is always sad to know that there are children with life-threatening illnesses. The Quazy Quilters, who meet Tuesdays at the Townsend Senior Center, are doing their best to keep those children happy and smiling.

Since June this group of women, who meet weekly, have created and donated over 35 quilts and matching pillowcases to be given out to the children at Paul Newman’s Camp Hole in the Wall Gang in Connecticut.

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is dedicated to providing “a different kind of healing” to seriously ill children and their families, free of charge. “We are a community that celebrates the spirit of childhood, the sound of laughter and the feeling of endless possibility,” stated on their website.

And their kindness does not stop there.

Last year the Quazy Quilters raffled off two quilts and raised $3,000 to donate to Ukraine. They also made 80 flannel blankets to go to the “Dress a Girl Around the World” program, where dedicated volunteers throughout the United States and around the world gather to sew and distribute dresses to girls in need around the world “because we believe that every girl deserves at least one dress,” as stated on their website.

The material is purchased by the quilters, some is donated to the group. To learn more about the Quazy Quilters, please contact the Townsend Senior Center at 978-597-1710.

Townsend VFW sponsors Patriot’s Pen essay contest

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TOWNSEND — The Townsend VFW Post No. 6538 and its Auxiliary are sponsoring the Patriot’s Pen Written Essay Competition for students in grades six, seven, and eight.

The theme for this year’s essay is “How are you inspired by America?”

Although U.S. citizenship is not required, students entering the contest must be lawful U.S. permanent residents or have applied for permanent residence (the application of which has not been denied).

Each essay must be typewritten in English. No color or graphics may be added. The essay should contain 300 to 400 words.  Every word, regardless of length, and number, will be counted. The essay title or added footnotes do not contribute to the word count.

Students should not put their name on their essay, but a completed, official student Patriot’s Pen competition entry form must be stapled to the top of it.

Participants should not identify themselves, their school, town, state, race or national origin within their essay.

Their approach to the theme should be positive and clearly focused. Poetry is not acceptable. Quotations may be used sparingly if plainly identified whenever used.

The essay will be judged on knowledge of the theme, theme development, and clarity of ideas.

This is the 30th year the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and Auxiliary have sponsored a youth essay program which gives students in grades six through eight the opportunity to express their views on a patriotic theme while they compete for worthwhile awards and prizes. More than 73,000 students participated in this nationwide competition last year.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals has approved the Patriot’s Pen Contest for its National Advisory List of Student Contests and Activities for 2023-2024.

The program offers valuable prizes at several levels of competition. The top prize of $5,000 will be awarded by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and its Auxiliary to the first-place national winner. Additional national prizes include $4,000 for second place, $3,500 for third place, $2,750 for fourth place, $2,500 for fifth place, $2,000 for sixth place, $1,750 for seventh place, $1,500 each to the eighth-, ninth-, and 10th-place winners, $1,250 each to the 11th- and 12th-place winners, $1,000 each to the 13th- through 23rd-place winners, $750 each to the 24th- and 25th-place winners, and $500 each to the 26th- through 53rd-place winners.

At the local level $100 will be awarded to the first-place contest winner. The second-place winner will receive $70 and $40 will be awarded to the third-place winner. The Townsend VFW Post and Auxiliary will advance one of its highest scoring essays to the District 15 level of competition for each fifteen entries received at the local level.

The District 15 VFW and its Auxiliary will award a total of $225 in cash to their top three winners. The winning district entry will be entered into the Massachusetts VFW level of competition. The state’s top five winners will each receive monetary awards from both the Massachusetts VFW and the VFW Auxiliary. The first-place state entry will be entered into the national competition.

Essay entries should be submitted to VFW Auxiliary to Townsend Post No. 6538 President Betty Mae Tenney or to Townsend VFW Post No. 6538 Past Commander Natalie Call by Tuesday, Oct. 31.

Students attending the Hawthorne Brook Middle School in Townsend are asked to submit their entries through their classroom teachers.

Students being educated elsewhere may make arrangements to submit an entry by calling Tenney at 978-597-5644, Ext, 9 or at 978-665-4026. For more information, call Tenney at 978-597-5644.

Make your own hot sauce with Emily Makrez

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TOWNSEND — Emily Makrez, owner of F-Word Farm and educator on all things fermenting, farming, and foraging related, will show you how to turn your hot peppers into a fiery and delicious condiment that will last at her “Make Your Own Fermented Hot Sauce” presentation at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30, at the Townsend Public Library, 12 Dudley Road.

At this class, participants will learn the principles of fermentation via a demonstration of how to make a lacto- fermented hot sauce and hot pepper mash.

“The demonstration will include the basic principles of fermentation so you will leave with the knowledge and confidence to be able to safely ferment practically anything,” said Makrez. “We will also touch on the benefits of lacto-fermented food and how adding these foods to our diets are a benefit to our overall health.”

Makrez says she loves teaching people how easy and fun fermentation can be for so many reasons.

“One is my mission for people to eat local and reduce food waste,” she said. “When you have fermentation in your back pocket as a skill, you can keep those veggies that are starting to shrivel in your food drawer from going bad. All while making something delicious and great for your health.”

This presentation is funded by the Friends of the Townsend Library. For more information, or to register, call 978-549-7378 or visit townsendlibrary.org.

Townsend lawn party continues on Aug. 24

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TOWNSEND – Weather permitting, the Townsend Military Band will continue its 2023 Summer  concert series by playing a concert from the newly renovated band stand on the Townsend Common on Thursday evening, August 24, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

The Thursday evening concerts are funded by the Town of Townsend and are open to the public. Area residents of all ages are encouraged to bring their lawn chair or blanket to the Common on Thursday evening so they may sit and socialize with other concertgoers while they enjoy good music and fresh air.

The Townsend Military Band is managed by Betty Mae Tenney of Townsend and conducted by Thomas Souza of Chelmsford.

The Townsend Military Band will open its concert at 7:30 p.m. by playing Curnow’s arrangement of “Liberty Fanfare” and Kessler’s arrangement of “A Tribute to Harold Arlen.”  “Highlights from Camelot” arranged by Yoder, the “Cinerama March” arranged by Cacavas,” and “Selections from Mary Poppins” arranged by Ricketts will be performed. Barker’s arrangement of “Hoagy Carmichael,” Krance’s arrangement of “Begin the Beguine,” and Sousa’s “Washington Post March” will be included in the first portion of the concert.

Following intermission Erickson’s arrangement of “Bolero” and Anderson’s “Blue Tango” will be played.  “In A Persian Market” by Ketelbey and “The Maine Festival March” by Hall will be performed before the band concludes its concert at 9:30 p.m. by playing the “Star Spangled Banner.”

 

Lawn party and concert starts fundraising for playground

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TOWNSEND – The lawn party at the Townsend Military Band’s  Aug.17 concert on the Townsend Common will kick off the fundraising for a revised ADA compliant Kids Kountry Playground, which had originally been scheduled to take place at a July band concert which was rained out.

The playground is located behind the Spaulding Memorial School at the corner of Eastman Street and Turnpike Road in Townsend. Organizers hope the event will draw the attention of townspeople to support the fundraising effort by attending the concert and lawn party.

The Townsend Selectmen, town administrator, administrative assistant, and Cemetery and Parks Department superintendent will be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs to sell to concertgoers in an effort to raise funds to improve the Kids Kountry Playground. Fried dough, popcorn, cold soda and bottled water will also be available for purchase.

Young people attending the concert will have the opportunity to play the lollipop tree, noodle smash, and duck pond games to get a temporary tattoo.

The Townsend Military Band will open its concert at 7:30 p.m. by playing Bocook’s adaption of “Seventy-six Trombones” and Barker’s arrangement of “Cole Porter on Broadway.” Bennett’s transcription of “My Fair Lady,” “Bugler’s Holiday” by Anderson, Allen’s “Hall of Fame March,” and Barker’s arrangement of “Recorded by Sinatra” will be performed. “Fiddler on the Roof” arranged by Burden and Lithgow’s “Invercagill March” will be played during the first portion of the concert.

“The Avenger March” by King and Russell’s arrangement of “The Sound of the Tijuana Brass” will be played following intermission. Vinson’s arrangement of the “Pie in the Face Polka,” the “Poet and the Peasant Overture” arranged by Meyrelles, and “The Imperial Guards March” by Foss“ will be performed before the Townsend Band concludes its concert at 9:30 p.m. by playing the “Star Spangled Banner.”