Merrimack Valley Magazine

NoteWorthy – 5/9/21

May 9, 2021 by Kristin Cole

AROUND THE VALLEY

MCC Board of Trustees Selects the College’s Fifth President

The Middlesex Community College (MCC) board of trustees voted unanimously to select Philip Sisson, MCC’s current provost and vice president of academic nad student affairs, as the next president of MCC. The MCC Board will bring their vote to the board of higher education and commissioner of higher education Carlos Santiago to approve the selection at a meeting to be held later this month.

Sisson has over 30 years of college leadership experience in the areas of campus administration, strategic planning, academic and student affairs programming, fiscal management, resource development and business, community and K-16 partnerships.

“Phil is a trusted campus leader within the college community and has a strong state and national reputation for developing innovative programs to support assessment and pathways for student success,” said Dr. James C. Mabry, MCC President. “He knows the college inside and out and is respected by the faculty and staff he leads. His work advancing the equity agenda has been ground breaking and will continue to help the college better connect with its diverse student body.”

Sisson served for six years as the director of student support services and evening administrator in the division of continuing education at Bristol Community College, where he served for six years. After serving there for a year in an interim promotion as the assistant dean of continuing education and community services, he accepted a position as the assistant dean of academic affairs and chief academic officer at the Edward J. Liston Campus at the Community College of Rhode Island, the largest community college in New England.

Sisson was promoted twice to the positions of Dean of Workforce Education & Lifelong Learning and the Dean of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences. Sisson moved next to the Cape where he served as the Dean of Language & Literature, Mathematics, Natural Sciences & Life Fitness at Cape Cod Community College. Within a year he was selected as the Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs for three years.

For the past 11 years, Sisson has been serving in his current position at MCC. In this role, he has established and maintained a number of noteworthy and innovative academic, student affairs and enrollment initiatives.

Baker-Polito Administration Announces Reopening of Additional Phase 4 Industries to Go Into Effect May 10

The Baker-Polito Administration announced that Massachusetts will move forward in the commonwealth’s reopening plan to reopen certain outdoor Phase 4 industries effective Monday, May 10.

On March 22, Massachusetts loosened restrictions and advanced to Phase IV of the Commonwealth’s reopening plan. Since then, daily new COVID-19 cases have dropped by 45%, hospitalizations have dropped by 23%, and deaths have dropped by 69%. All these metrics have dropped by around 80% or more since the beginning of the year. The commonwealth also remains a national leader in COVID-19 vaccinations, and over 3.9 million people are fully or partially vaccinated, and Massachusetts is on track to meet its goal of vaccinating over 4 million people by the beginning of June.

Effective Monday, May 10:

Amusement parks, theme parks and outdoor water parks will be permitted to operate at a 50% capacity after submitting safety plans to the Department of Public Health.
Road races and other large, outdoor organized amateur or professional group athletic events will be permitted to take place with staggered starts and other appropriate safety measures after submitting safety plans to a local board of health or the DPH.

Additionally, large capacity venues such as indoor and outdoor stadiums, arenas and ballparks currently open at 12% capacity as part of Phase 4, Step 1 will be permitted to increase capacity to 25%.

Youth and adult amateur sports tournaments will be allowed for moderate and high-risk sports.

Singing will also be permitted indoors with strict distancing requirements at performance venues, restaurants, event venues and other businesses.

Grocery stores and retail stores with a pharmacy department should consider dedicated hours of operation for seniors, but will no longer be required to offer senior hours.

Additional Changes Anticipated to be Effective Saturday, May 29:

Contingent on continued positive trends in the public health and vaccination data, on May 29, additional sectors will be permitted to reopen and gathering limits will increase to 200 people indoors and 250 people outdoors for event venues, public settings and private settings.

The additional sectors that will be permitted to open include:

Parades, street festivals and agricultural festivals, after submitting safety plans to the local board of health including measures for maintaining social distance, staffing and operations plans and hygiene and cleaning protocols.
Bars, beer gardens, breweries, wineries and distilleries, which will be subject to restaurant rules with seated service only, a 90-minute limit and no dance floors.

Subject to public health and vaccination data, the restaurant guidance will be updated to eliminate the requirement that food be served with alcohol and to increase the maximum table size to 10.

GLCF Announces Fiscal Sponsorship of 100+ Women Who Care Boston Metrowest

The Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) announced the recent fiscal sponsorship of 100+ Women Who Care Boston Metrowest, a group of philanthropic women dedicated to amplifying the awareness and support of deserving nonprofits in the region.

With a mission to strengthen communities west of Boston through the power of collective giving, 100+ Women Who Care Boston Metrowest brings together women who care deeply about local causes and are committed to making an impact. The group meets four times a year to donate $100 each to a nonprofit organization serving local needs.

“By supporting 100+ Women Who Care Boston Metrowest, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation embraces their vision of strengthening the local community through collective giving,” said Jay Linnehan, GLCF President & CEO. “We are proud to help these generous women continue to foster positive change.”

Lawrence Partnership Announces Grant To Help Area Food Businesses Meet Digital Demand

The Lawrence Partnership has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Baker-Polito Administration for a pilot program that will help area food service businesses increase their digital business capacity so that they survive the pandemic and are positioned for long-term success.

The Digital Optimization Program will provide businesses access to free or subsidized digital technology tools, including new or enhanced websites, social media programs, contactless technology, customer management systems (CMS), financial management systems, and online ordering systems. In addition, the businesses will have access to food-based industry workshops and individual consultations with digital experts.

Open to independently-owned food based businesses in Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Andover, North Andover and Boston, the program is a collaboration of the Lawrence Partnership, Groundwork Lawrence, Commonwealth Kitchen, ReThink Restaurants, Essex County Community Foundation, and Merrimack Valley Business Relief Coalition.

Baker-Polito Administration Celebrates COVID-19 Business Relief Program, Awards Final Round of Grants

Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, legislators and key partners celebrated the success of the Baker-Polito Administration’s COIVD-19 business relief program administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC). Gathering in person at Panela Restaurant in Lowell, a program grantee, the administration announced the end of the program, which has provided over $687.2 million in direct cash grants to 15,112 businesses across the Commonwealth. Among the awardees included in the final round were 108 additional businesses that received a total of approximately $4.8 million in COVID relief grants.

First launched in October 2020 as part of the Administration’s Partnerships for Recovery initiative to stabilize and grow the Massachusetts economy, this program became the biggest state-sponsored business relief program in the nation after being infused with an additional $668 million in December. Established to provide direct financial support for businesses, the administration has tapped numerous partners to ensure specific economic sectors and priority demographics known to be the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic applied to the program and were prioritized for aid.

Greater Haverhill Chamber Welcomes Haverhill Print Cafe to Merrimack Street

The Greater Haverhill Chamber helped Haverhill Print Cafe celebrate their grand opening with a ribbon-cutting celebration on Monday, May 3.

Located at 126 Merrimack Street, the Haverhill Print Cafe does not offer coffee, but a relaxed well-equipped alternative for all printing needs right in downtown Haverhill. Clients have the option to work with a printing specialist to take their project from concept to production or simply take advantage of the cafe’s Instant Print Kiosk to fax, scan and print with WiFi or thumb drive. Other services include free local delivery, USPS direct mail services and authorized UPS packing process and shipping center.

Fresh Pearl MedSpa Opens in North Andover

Last week, Fresh Pearl MedSpa opened its doors in North Andover, Mass., to offer the community an innovative medspa that makes aesthetics services more accessible. Fresh Pearl MedSpa offers flexible options that enable more people to invest in themselves. With a personal, warm and welcoming approach, Fresh Pearl Medspa also offers three convenient ways to receive treatments: at its medspa location in downtown North Andover, via its concierge services in which Fresh Pearl comes to clients’ homes, or at events or parties.

Museum of Printing Acquires Major Vintage Type Collection

The Haverhill-based Museum of Printing has acquired the type collection of T. J. Lyons, who collected Victorian wood and metal type from the 1820s to the 1880s. Lyons amassed over 2,500 unique typefaces for his small print shop in Allston, Mass. Eventually the collection was housed at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston before its relocation to Haverhill.

“Tom Lyons spent two years in the AEF Airforce during WW1,” said his grandson Steve Lyons, “and he returned from France for a stint in an advertising agency, where he was inspired by a freelance designer, George Trenholm, who used Old Fashioned Ornamented Typography. … When the Great Depression struck, printers began dumping the old ornamented type, and TJ went all in to build his collection.”

This type was then in demand by ad agencies anxious for type that would stand out. Some of his type was made into film and digital fonts by VGC and Compugraphic in the 1960s and 1970s, but it all exists as individual pieces of wood and metal, to be set by hand, one letter at a time.

“This collection cries to be used,” said MoP president Frank Romano, “and the museum will have workshops and student projects that use this type for design and print projects.”

In addition to special collections and small exhibits, the museum contains hundreds of antique printing, typesetting, and bindery machines, as well as a library of books and printing-related documents. It is located at 15 Thornton Avenue and you can find them on the web at MuseumOfPrinting.org.

Penacook Place’s New Chapel Opens with a Special Blessing from Auxiliary Bishop of Boston

Penacook Place, a member of Covenant Health’s family of organizations, recently welcomed Most Reverend Robert F. Hennessey, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston and Vicar General Bishop — Merrimack Region to bless its new chapel, a sanctuary that came to fruition during the challenges of a pandemic.

Penacook renovated its ground floor into a chapel — a space that offers residents and their loved ones, staff and the community a place for reflection and religious services. The chapel is adorned with Stations of the Cross that were donated by Teresa Drelick, it can accommodate individuals aided by walkers and wheelchairs and has a folding glass partition to accommodate small and large occasions.

Bishop Hennessey then blessed the chapel as well as extended a blessing on behalf of Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Boston. Bishop Hennessey shared, “We are in the season of Easter — a season of hope. The chapel’s opening conveys a message of dedication, hope and resilience.”

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Project LEARN Welcomes New Board Members

Edward Crockett works as a strategist and consultant with experience within financial services and diversified industrials sectors. Crockett, a Lowell High School alum, obtained an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Since 2018, Crockett has worked as a consultant at EY-Parthenon. In his spare time, Crockett’s an avid fan of independent cinema, European soccer, the NBA, bookstores, craft beer, and creating a better future for his hometown of Lowell, Mass. He’s also currently engaged in a multiyear hunt for the world’s best pizza (Current Leader: Roberta’s of Brooklyn), and he counteracts that search with CrossFit, yoga and the occasional half-marathon.

Magaly Ronan serves as the assistant principal at the Greenhalge Elementary School in Lowell, where she has worked since 2017. Prior to this role, Ronan worked in various capacities for the district supporting curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Ronan was the first in her family to receive an undergraduate degree. A proud Lowell High alum, Ronan continues to be a lifelong learner through participating in ongoing graduate courses and workshop webinars. She lives with her family in Lowell and loves gardening, do-it-yourself projects like furniture refinishing and upholstering, attending music and art shows, relaxing by the pool or beach and most of all, spending time with her daughter, Corey Jayne.

Narin Sinuon works as an IT specialist that supports over 200+ employees within Lexia Learning and also serves on the company’s cultural committee. The Lowell High School alum worked at Lowell Catholic High School as their only full time IT support technician where he helped roll out their Chromebook initiative. During his spare time, Sinuon enjoys spending time with his two daughters and his wife. He enjoys anime, photography, and keeping up with the latest technology. Sinuon was one of the co-founders of Cultural Shock Apparel, having served as their director of marketing for six years. He is also involved with the local Lowell community having served on UTEC’s board as a teen, formerly served as a committee member on the Clemente Park Committee, and a former board member of the Angkor Dance Troupe.

Phitsamay Sychitkokhong Uy is associate professor in the college of education’s Leadership in Schooling Program and co-director of the Center for Asian American Studies at UMass Lowell. Uy went on to graduate from Boston College as the first and only Lao-American refugee to receive a Doctor of Education from Harvard University. With 25 years in the K-21 education field, her teaching experiences include being an elementary teacher, a literacy specialist, an Asian American studies instructor and a teacher education professor. Uy has been involved in various community boards of directors including Southeast Asian Resource Action Center. She currently serves on Mass Humanities, Pencils of Promise, and the Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund and is a member of the Merrimack Valley DEI Consortium.

Lawrence Nursing Grad will Represent NECC at Statewide “29 Who Shine” Event

Yashana Rivera of Lawrence will graduate from Northern Essex Community College (NECC) with high honors and an associate degree in Nursing in May. A bi-lingual nursing graduate with a passion for delivering health care in Greater Lawrence, Rivera has been selected to receive the “29 Who Shine” award which honors class of 2021 graduates from each of the state’s community and public colleges and universities for their service. Rivera works part time as a medical assistant providing rapid COVID testing and has also volunteered with the Movement Family, an organization that helps the homeless by delivering meals and COVID care packages. She recently began administering vaccines in Lawrence as a volunteer. After passing her nursing boards, Yashana plans achieve her ultimate goal of becoming a family nurse practitioner serving the Lawrence community. In her free time, Rivera circuit and weight trains, practices yoga, and hikes. She also loves to travel and has been pirana fishing in the Amazon, climbed Macchu Picchu, and dined aboard a floating house in Lake Titicaca.

Lazarus House Ministries Welcomes Five Dynamic Board Members

Deacon Mike Curren is a nonprofit manager and member of the Order of the Diaconate at St. Augustine Parish in Andover.

Art Durkin is a real estate agent and consultant at Keller Williams Realty in Andover.

Todd Johnson is a senior vice president at USI Insurance, as well as an attorney, who lives in Tewksbury. He is passionate about serving those in need.

Olivia Rosa works in resource development and marketing. She favors the quote: “The trees act not as individuals, but as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Jesus Suriel is a senior branch service manager at Enterprise Bank in Lawrence and is strong supporter of the fight against poverty and hunger.

The People of the Merrimack Valley

October 9, 2016 by Dana Benner 2 Comments

The Native population, particularly here in New England, has long been overlooked. Ours schools, if they cover Native American history, barely scratch the surface. History has shown that if it weren’t for the Native People living here when the Europeans arrived, many of our ancestors wouldn’t have survived the ordeal they faced. With this article, I hope to shed some light on the lives of the People living in the Merrimack Valley before and during European colonization.

Six hundred years ago, there were no such things as “New Hampshire,” “Massachusetts” or the “Merrimack Valley.” There was only Wobanaki, or “Dawnland.” The People who lived here were known as the Alnobak, or “People of the Dawn.” We now call them the Abenaki. Who are these Native People and how did they live before the arrival of the Europeans?

The area now defined by Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and northern Massachusetts was home to the Abenaki. In this large region, which also included parts of southern Canada, the Abenaki were broken into three divisions. The “Eastern Abenaki” lived east of the White Mountains, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean and into Maritime Canada. Going west from the White Mountains, all the way to Lake Champlain, and then north into parts of Quebec and south to western Massachusetts, were the “Western Abenaki.” In the middle, in the Merrimack Valley, were the Benokoiak, which means “Falling Hill People,” referring to their main village along the Merrimack River in what is now Concord, N.H. Today they are known as the Penacook. The land of the Penacook ran from south and central New Hampshire, east to southern Maine and then south to northeastern Massachusetts.

Some historians try to put the Penacook either with the Western Abenaki or the Eastern Abenaki, but in fact, though the Penacook were Abenaki, they held a confederacy of their own, linking all of the groups residing from the Lakes Region of New Hampshire south to the mouth of the Merrimack River in present day Newburyport, Mass. The Penacook Confederacy was very capable of taking care of itself, though it would ally with other Abenaki in times of trouble, especially if the Mohawk and other Iroquois warriors were in the area. At other times, the Penacook may have fought with their Abenaki neighbors over territory. It is estimated that before the English settlement of Massachusetts in 1620, there were as many as 12,000 Penacook living in the Merrimack Valley, scattered throughout 30 different villages.

The Penacook were known by many names. In the Lower Merrimack Valley, they were known as the Pawtucket. In some places they were called the Merrimac. And the Penacook who resided in the area where present day Manchester, N.H., sits often were called Amoskeag. Though the Penacook and other Abenaki often recognized their relatives and neighbors by places where they lived, the Europeans named the Native People based on where they were encountered, or where there was a major village, thus the multitude of names for the same group.

The Penacook survived by hunting, fishing and farming, with residents of the Lower Merrimack Valley doing more farming than their northern cousins due to a more favorable climate. No matter where a village was located, every task was done with the good of the entire village in mind. In early spring, before the snow was gone, the People would venture to the maple groves and tap the trees. The gathering and boiling of the sap was the women’s job; the men did their share by gathering enough wood to keep the fires going and by repairing any equipment that had been damaged since the previous year. Once everything was ready, the men would leave the women to their work and head into the forest to hunt. Their cache of food would be depleted after a long winter, and fresh deer or moose meat would be welcomed by all.

As winter lost its grip on the frozen rivers, the spring runs of salmon, trout, eels and shad would begin. At this time of the year, entire villages would get involved. Men and women would line the banks of the Merrimack River and its tributaries to take full advantage of the bounty. Using long-handled dip nets, the villagers would scoop fish out of the water as they tried to climb waterfalls. Clubs, spears and even bows and arrows were used to dispatch exhausted fish sitting in the shallows or trapped in weirs. Larger nets, made from the woven fibers of spruce and elm and weighted with rocks to hold them on the bottom, were dragged through the deeper pools. Along the banks, women, children and elders, using stone bladed knives, cleaned and filleted the catch. The fish was then laid out on racks or over rocks to dry in the sun. Some of it would be eaten fresh, but most was stored for later use.

When the danger of spring floods had passed, gardens of squash, beans and corn were planted in the fertile floodplains. As soon as the gardens were planted, many of the People would head to the coastal area, visiting relatives and participating in the gathering of shellfish, lobsters and crabs. Some would venture out in large dugout canoes to fish and hunt small whales and seals. Still others would move deeper into the forest to hunt. Food was always a driving force. The People were always hunting, gathering, fishing and picking food items. There was no such thing as excess, especially when forced to face the long, cold New England winters.

Summer would find the People heading back to their villages. Tending to gardens would be the women’s main priority. Women and children also would spend time collecting a multitude of berries and wild fruit, which was ripening at this time. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and wild plums were harvested. What wasn’t eaten or used in cooking right away was dried and stored for winter. It was during the summer when young men were taught to be warriors and providers for the village. Lacrosse, often called “the little brother of war,” was a highly physical sport that honed the skills of the warrior. Young boys often were taken by their uncles and taught to use a sling, lance and bow and arrow. Daily lessons would teach them the skills needed to be a worthy man of the village. When their teacher thought they were ready, these new hunters would be allowed to test their skills on small game. Anything killed by the new hunters would be added to the pot for all, thus teaching valuable lessons about sharing and putting the needs of others first. The Penacook liked to have fun, so anything that brought the People together, such as dancing, was encouraged. If the spring had been plentiful, summer was a time of little worry.

Late summer and early autumn was harvest time. Acorns, walnuts and beechnuts filled the forest and were ready to be gathered and added to the food stores. Crops from the gardens were being harvested, dried and stored. Hunters were out gathering all of the meat they could before winter. Besides deer and moose, the hunters would take waterfowl of all kinds and small game, including rabbits and squirrels. Enough food needed to be put away by each family to see them through the winter. As the days grew shorter and the nights cooler, it was time for the large village to begin separating into smaller family groups. Moving deep into the forest, each family group, or extended family group, would establish a winter residence in a sheltered area that would provide protection from the worst of the winter’s fury. This was done because it is much easier to survive when you have only a few mouths to feed. During winter, game becomes scarce, and what is found can become depleted quickly.

Once in their winter quarters, the men and women took on chores they didn’t have time for during the warmer months. Men often would spend time making new arrows, repairing tools and telling stories to educate the young ones. Women would take this time to repair or make new clothing and teach the girls the skills they would need when they took a husband. There also would be more stories, usually told by the elders. Men and women both would share the sacred tales that had been passed down from generation to generation and recounted the history of the People. If the weather permitted, the men sometimes would go to a nearby pond or section of frozen river and try to fish through the ice.

With most of their villages located inland, the Penacook had very little direct contact with the Europeans before 1620, but that is not to say they didn’t feel the effects of their presence. Through trade with other Native groups, the Penacook obtained items brought to North America by the English, French and Dutch, but it was not these material things that affected the Penacook most. It was the diseases that the Europeans brought with them. As early as the 1500s these illnesses started taking their toll, not only on the Penacook, but on other Native nations, as well. Between 1564 and 1570, an unknown epidemic struck the Northeast, followed by an outbreak of typhus in 1586. Around 1614, English slave traders visited the Wampanoag villages in southern Massachusetts, starting yet another epidemic. The disease spread quickly through the Native American population of southern New England and then made its way north. The disease hit the Penacook, leaving a 75 percent mortality rate in some areas. By 1620 the Penacook population was down to an estimated 2,500. In 1631, a smallpox epidemic began in the Merrimack Valley and quickly spread throughout New England. Another wave of smallpox began in 1639. This was followed by influenza in 1647, smallpox in 1649 and diphtheria in 1659. It is estimated that the Penacook population in 1675 was down to about 1,200. By 1676, because of disease and military conflict with the English, the Penacook were forced to abandon the Lower Merrimack Valley.

Once embraced by Penacook leaders, the English were now becoming unwelcome guests. Every year, more and more English settlers pushed their way up through the Merrimack Valley. Eventually, the Penacook were forced to their northern limits. By the 1750s, most of the Penacook had been displaced from their homeland and had joined up with other Abenaki nations in Maine, Vermont and Canada. Though they had been driven from the Merrimack Valley, the Penacook were not through with the English. They became their worst nightmare, leading raids against settlements throughout New England and taking active roles in the wars waged during the 1600s. The Penacook’s goal was to re-claim their homeland in the Merrimack Valley. They never succeeded.

After years of trying to live peacefully with the colonists, the Penacook and many of their neighbors had been pushed to their limits. With their numbers severely reduced by diseases, the Penacook were unable to hold their ground against the encroaching newcomers. Many of the Penacook left the area to join up with other Native Americans, but many more stayed behind, hiding their “Indian-ness” and living within the dominant society, all the while trying to keep their old ways alive. Today, many families are finding out that they are descendants of these proud People, and that is a good thing.

( Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2010 issue of Merrimack Valley Magazine. )

Sources:

Caduto, Michael. “A Time Before New Hampshire”. University Press of New England, 2003.

Calloway, Colin G. “The Western Abenakis of Vermont, 1600-1800”. University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.

Mashantucket Pequot Museum, Mashantucket, CT 06339

Russell, Howard. “Indian New England Before the Mayflower”. University Press of New England, 1980.

Wiseman, Frederick Matthew. “The Voice of the Dawn”. University Press of New England, 2001