Merrimack Valley Magazine

Trustees Partners with Big City Mountaineers to Create More Youth Access

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The Trustees of Reservations is partnering with Big City Mountaineers to provide underrepresented young people in communities that lack access to expansive open spaces with an introduction to some of The Trustees’ 120 properties.

Made possible by a $12,000 REI grant, The Trustees will work with Big City Mountaineers to provide outdoor experiences and programs to underserved youth in the form of guided half- and full-day hikes at Trustees’ properties. From hikes at Rocky Woods in Medfield to guided kayak trips at Ipswich’s Crane Beach to overnight camping experiences at Dunes’ Edge (Provincetown) and Tully Lake (Royalston), youth from Greater Boston will enjoy an introduction to the transformative power of nature.

“One of our mottos is ‘You Belong Here’ and programs like this one back up our commitment of ensuring our properties are accessible to everyone,” said Jen Klein, Director of Outdoor Experiences. “Thanks to a generous grant from REI and the help of Big City Mountaineers, we’re able to introduce young people from historically marginalized communities to this state’s most special places to foster a lifelong love of nature.”

For more than 30 years, Big City Mountaineers has been providing free, fully outfitted, and professionally led backcountry trips to youth ages 8 to 18, helping them to connect with nature and as well as their individual strengths, skills and resilience.

The first events will be a day of hiking at Rocky Woods and kayaking at Crane Beach, both taking place this month.

To Be Here in America

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A Look Inside the Lives of Four Young Adults During the Year of COVID-19

[In the winter of 2020, we asked Christa Brown to profile four young adults, living in the Merrimack Valley, whose lives had been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Brown is the founder and executive director of the Free Soil Arts Collective, a Lowell-based arts organization that has recently been named Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s first-ever Company in Residence. She is also a director, actor, writer, podcaster and consultant. Learn more at FreeSoilArts.org and follow her on Instagram: @choice2bhappy. For this feature, Brown was paired with photographer Rita Tinega, the editor-in-chief and founder of the quarterly magazine VisualMag. Learn more about Tinega and her work at MoritzPhoto.com and follow her on Instagram: @thelovelyrita_. — Editor]

 

Cassie Van Der Hyde
— Registered Nurse at Lowell General Hospital

“All right, we gotta get the rooms ready. We have COVID patients coming in.” 

Cassie Van Der Hyde, a 35-year-old registered nurse with Lowell General Hospital, says that the pandemic came on very quickly.  

Once COVID-19 cases began to surge in March, Van Der Hyde isolated in a trailer on the front lawn of her home in order to protect her husband and three children. “My brother and his wife had been trying to sell this camper for a long time,” she says. “So that same afternoon, they carted it over. My brother dropped everything.” 

Van Der Hyde recognizes the luxury it was to have that option: “That’s also my privilege, that I have a yard and my kids don’t have to play on a strip of sidewalk out front. I’m not trying to entertain my kids in an apartment.”

At the hospital, she was faced with the harsh realities of the virus. “All of a sudden, our floor was pretty much full of just COVID patients,” Van Der Hyde recalls. “We were putting people up with iPads to talk to their families. It’s really isolating for our patients. When people are talking about this like, ‘Oh, it’s no big deal,’ I’m like, this is awful.”

“There’s a lot of anxiety,” she says. “Anxiety about how we’ll be supported, not by my hospital, but by the government, by the state, by the national government, like, are we going to be supported in this?”

Romany Meas
— Owner of Nibbana Cafe in Lowell

Romany Meas, 38, and her husband, Saran Chea, opened Nibbana Cafe on Aug. 25 in the midst of a global pandemic. “We expected the worst, to be honest,” Meas says. Instead, she says, the community rose to meet them. 

Meas credits her success to being authentic. This includes using her store and social media platforms to advocate for marginalized communities. “People say don’t mix politics with business,” she says, “but how can we not? When it involves people’s lives? It doesn’t work that way.” She has set up the cafe with a community food pantry and mini-library, which features books that highlight LGBTQ+ issues and the Black Lives Matter movement. 

For Meas, advocating for others goes deep. An immigrant from Cambodia, she reflects on the difference between her home country “that is oppressed [and] marginalized against women” and the United States. “To be here in America,” Meas says, “it allows me to use [my] voice. Here, at least I have that choice. Maybe I don’t get killed.”

And the community has largely embraced her. “The community is very supportive,” she says. “I feel like many people are more aware of the issues that we are facing right now, small businesses especially, during this time.”

So why decide to open a coffee shop in such difficult times?
“I wanted to challenge myself,” Meas says. “Do I have what it takes to open a business?” 

Ralph Saint Louis
— Chemistry Teacher at Lowell High School

Ralph Saint Louis, 24, has been teaching chemistry to 11th and 12th graders at Lowell High School for the last three years. He is hyperaware of how the pandemic has exacerbated issues in the education field: “We have a lot of students who need to be in person to learn. We are losing so much learning time. We are bare-boning our curriculum, doing what we know students need to know, but not doing everything that we did [before].”

Saint Louis says many students, particularly early language learners and special education students, have been left behind. But he also acknowledges positive changes. “Because of COVID,” Saint Louis says, “we are suddenly recognizing that we are capable of doing things that we never said we could do before.” But he questions the sustainability of these superhuman efforts. “I know too many teachers who are taking an enormous amount of time out of their personal life working regularly through the night to make sure that our students get a quality education,” Saint Louis says. “Our workweeks have shifted from
40 or 50 to 60-, 70-, 80-hour workweeks. … Education, like I always tell my students, is number one. That’s how you bring upward mobility. It’s the only reason why I am where I am today. I’m a first-generation American. My mom is from Haiti. She raised me and my sisters by herself. She’d always be at work, so where I found my greatest support was my teachers.” Saint Louis is committed to playing that same role for his students, now more than ever, despite the personal sacrifices he must make.

Rev. Heather Prince Doss
— Pastor at Eliot Presbyterian Church in Lowell

The services Eliot provided for the homeless in their community have been reduced by state guidelines. Before the pandemic, Eliot housed a ministry called St. Paul’s Soup Kitchen. Heather Prince Doss, 38, says that on busy nights “180 people would be sitting shoulder to shoulder. Well, you can’t do that anymore.”

In May, the city gave Eliot permission to be open for homeless people during the day with a maximum capacity of 35 at a time. So, Eliot developed a day center program in mid-May, hiring a congregation member, Tabitha Karanja, to run it. “We just basically stood that up in two weeks,” Doss says. “It was like, OK, this is a need. How do we answer it?”

The future is uncertain, after having decided to return to their sanctuary no earlier than Easter. But Doss thinks the day center will continue to be a much-needed addition to their services to the community. “It has the potential to be transformative for our congregation,” she says. “We’ve been thinking about poor folks who are homeless in our city as our neighbors for a couple of years. But this really takes it up a notch. … What does it mean to be a good neighbor here?”   

 

 

The Joy of Giving – Merrimack Valley Children’s Charities

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Whether it’s a monetary contribution to a nonprofit or giving up a Sunday afternoon to cook meals for the homeless, few things are as gratifying as improving the life of another human being. We are reminded of this most often during the holiday season, when many of us look for opportunities to share our treasure and talent.

Often unable to help or speak for themselves, disadvantaged children and teens are among those most in need of assistance. Below, you will find a list of charities in the Merrimack Valley that work to help young people in a variety of ways, organizations that are always in need of donations and volunteers.

 

Catie’s Closet — With “closets” in several schools across the region, Catie’s Closet, which is based in Dracut, helps elementary and high school students living in poverty gain discreet access to clothing, toiletries, winter coats, shoes, bus passes, backpacks and even grocery cards. According to the organization’s website, Catie’s Closet has helped increase attendance and graduation rates in the schools it serves by meeting students’ basic needs and providing them with clothing they are proud to wear.

CatiesCloset.org | (978) 957-2200

Community Giving Tree — Providing low-income families with basics such as diapers, car seats, baby furniture, children’s clothing, school supplies and toys, Community Giving Tree has donation centers in Boxford, where the organization is based, and Middleton. The organization prides itself on keeping useful items out of landfills while helping local families. Donations during COVID-19 are by appointment only.

CommunityGivingTree.org | (978) 223-5767

Debbie’s Treasure Chest — Based in Lawrence, Debbie’s Treasure Chest provides clothing, books, toys, toiletries, school supplies and other essentials to local children in need. The organization also holds annual coat and toy drives, and partners with local police and firefighters to grant the holiday wishes of the kids with whom they work. During the current crisis, the need for donations is high.

DebbiesTreasureChest.org | (978) 360-4007

Horizons for Homeless Children — The largest organization exclusively dedicated to helping homeless children in Massachusetts, Horizons for Homeless Children provides early education classes and safe play spaces for children living in shelters, allowing parents time to look for work and take advantage of family services.

HorizonsChildren.org | (978) 557-2182

Lydia’s Kids Foundation — A private charitable fund established to provide for the short-term physical, emotional and intellectual needs of disadvantaged students in Newburyport’s public schools, Lydia’s Kids Foundation collects donations to pay for a wide range of essential items, including eyeglasses, warm winter clothing, snow boots and even summer camp tuition. 

Send tax-deductible donations to Lydia’s Kids Foundation c/o Institution For Savings, 93 State St., Newburyport, 01950.

Merrimack Valley Food Bank — Although the Merrimack Valley Food Bank’s programs help families in general, its Summer Food Service and Operation Nourish programs are geared toward kids age 18 and under. During the months of July and August, the food bank provides children in Lowell with free daily lunches and programs that help them learn about the importance of good nutrition and exercise. Operation Nourish provides students in Lowell’s public schools with bags of nourishing food two Fridays each month to help reduce weekend hunger. They continue to operate as normal during the current health restrictions.

MVFB.org | (978) 454-7272

Speedway Children’s Charities — Affiliated with New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the local branch of this national organization is located in Concord, N.H. Money raised by the charity through events and promotions at the speedway is distributed through grants to organizations in the Northeast that help children in need.

SpeedwayCharities.org/NewHampshire | (603) 513-5738    

A Day on the Trail with Diana DiZoglio

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On the morning of Oct. 16, we met the senator at the western border of the commonwealth.

The we in question was myself and Glenn Prezzano, the owner and publisher of this magazine. And the senator was Diana DiZoglio, who serves the First Essex District in the state legislature. When we arrived, she had just been dropped off by one of her colleagues, state Sen. Adam Hinds, who represents the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden District in Western Mass.

The route began underneath the sign for Williamstown and headed east, following the Mohawk Trail — a section of Route 2 — to a modest but scenic hotel in the town of Florida. Earlier in the week, weather forecasters had been predicting mild and sunny weather in the region. However, as the days passed, the accounts grew daunting, and we were threatened with heavy rain and chilly temperatures.

I showed up suitably ill prepared in shorts, a T-shirt, and a rain poncho. And I shouldn’t forget — I was also wearing a 13-liter fanny pack, which I wore rear-facing, and with the pride suitable to wearing what might be the world’s largest fanny pack. Unfortunately for my humility, an unyielding rain began to fall after the first leg of the tour, a gentle descent amid postcard-ready scenery. We would spend the next seven or so hours slashed by downpours so cold they made our fingers shake uncontrollably and our teeth chatter. As for the fanny pack, it stayed hidden under my poncho and made me look like I had a massive behind, jiggling and swaying in time with my footsteps.

 

On Oct. 16, state Sen. DiZoglio began her March Across Massachusetts, a 159-mile walk that began on the New York border (above) and continued, over the course of a planned 10 days, to Salisbury. The journey was undertaken to raise money for a proposed youth center in Methuen.

Whatever discomforts Prezzano and I faced on that cold day, it was nothing compared to what lay ahead for DiZoglio, whose planned 159-mile march across northern Massachusetts was scheduled for 10 grueling days, over hilly terrain and battling New England’s varying autumn weather and narrow roads not designed for pedestrians. This was all to raise money for a proposed youth and community center in Methuen. 

While we walked, we passed yard signs that reflected the divided and often combative national political scene. Part of the appeal of this project, DiZoglio explained to me, was that it reflected a different reality from the division we saw in the signs around us. A youth center is a nonpartisan, uniting issue. She, after all, grew up in Methuen, and remembers the feeling of having no place to go. The senator, for all her prominence as a public figure, lives modestly, and comes across as the “Methuen girl” she often calls herself. Throughout the 10-day walk, she would be staying in simple, affordable hotels, and all this work was being done as a private citizen, on top of her duties in state government. If Prezzano and I hadn’t gone with her on the first day, she would have walked alone.

For this project, DiZoglio is partnering with the Methuen public schools and Inspirational Ones, a Methuen-based nonprofit. She was assisted in her route planning by Lane Glenn, the adventure-loving president of Northern Essex Community College, and William Shuttleworth, an Air Force veteran and Newburyport resident who completed a 109-day walk across the United States in 2019. DiZoglio’s goal was to raise $159,000 for the youth center. That’s $1,000 for every mile all the way from Williamstown to Salisbury, where she planned to arrive on Oct. 25. Her spirits had been bolstered the previous evening by Pentucket Bank, which surprised her with a $30,000 donation. 

On the first day, she was joined by mvm Editor-in-Chief Doug Sparks (right) as well as publisher and owner Glenn Prezzano.

She would need those spirits. The first day wasn’t easy. Beyond the rain, she faced steep climbs up winding highways and trucks whizzing past in distressing proximity. The route included the famous hairpin turn next to the Golden Eagle restaurant on the border of Clarksburg and North Adams. Under normal conditions, the views are astounding, but on this day our visibility was limited to layers of fog and icy rain revealing brief flashes of colorful fall foliage in the receding valley below. While the senator looked at the trees and ecstatically noted the brilliance of their colors, I muttered to myself about blisters and wet socks, and began silently reciting Thich Nhat Hanh mantras to keep myself going, wondering which hurdling 18-wheeler would skid into the guardrail and knock me into the gray beyond. 

By the time we were finished, my fitness tracker indicated that I had walked 38,332 steps for 17.92 miles in 380 minutes. The senator, with typical humility, suggested the actual distance was shorter. My weary bones vehemently disagreed.

 

Update: On Sunday, Oct. 25, Sen. DiZoglio safely completed her journey. The next evening, the Methuen mayor and school committee voted to transform the Pleasant Valley School into the Methuen Youth & Community Center. As of Tuesday morning, her efforts had raised over $101K. 

If you’re interested in supporting this project, visit InspirationalOnes.org/MarchAcrossMA.

Aces High

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Teen Pilots Discover the Joys and Rewards of Flight

Football season was over for 2017, and Kim Marotta knew her son Ryan would need a new activity to keep busy. 

So she asked Ryan, then 16, what he’d like to try. His answer was surprising. 

The Windham, N.H., teen, who had only recently gotten his driver’s license, said he wanted to take flying lessons.

“It was different for sure,” Kim Marotta recalls. “It came out of nowhere.”

While her son had always been interested in movies such as “Top Gun,” he hadn’t expressed a desire to fly. Kim and her husband, Cliff, did some research and found Eagle East Aviation, a flight training school at Lawrence Municipal Airport in North Andover.

Ryan took an introductory “discovery flight” and was hooked.

 

Last summer, shortly after graduating from high school, the 19-year-old earned his pilot’s license. He’s now in his first year at Kent State University in Ohio, studying aeronautics, with plans to become a professional pilot. Marotta is among a growing number of teens and young adults who are seeking a pilot’s license when most of their peers are still mastering their ability to drive. 

His first few lessons were eye-opening, Marotta says. Single-engine planes fly slowly and low to the ground. From his seat, he’s able to see some of the towns he’s flying over. It’s a perspective you can’t get from behind a steering wheel while battling traffic, he says. 

“Up there, everything gets simplified,” Marotta says.

Still, the time he took the controls on his first solo flight was a terrifying couple of moments, he says. 

“[You think], ‘it’s all on me, I’m really going by myself,’ ” he says. But, after about five minutes he settled down and it was a smooth ride.

Marotta and his family appreciate the friendships they have made through Eagle East Aviation, and the support they have received from others, including Dave DeVries of Windham, an advocate for aviation culture who offers scholarships to students. 

That support enabled Marotta to pursue his dream — and get a boost toward his future career. He began his freshman year of college with some credits.

Ryan Marotta stands with Tim Campbell, owner of Eagle East Aviation in North Andover.

After acquiring his certification, Ryan took his first passengers on separate flights — his mother, Kim, his grandmother, Judy Marotta, and his older brother, Andrew. During lessons, he’d ask Eagle East Aviation owner Tim Campbell to take some photos of him behind the controls, Ryan says, which he sent to Andrew, who was studying abroad, just to show him that he wasn’t the only sibling doing some astounding things.

Flying in a Cessna with her son at the controls was an incredible experience, Kim Marotta says.

Was she nervous?

“Honestly, no,” she says, recalling how a more confident Ryan explained all the steps he was taking, as well as what they were seeing out the windows. 

Still, she jokes, Ryan can’t do his own laundry, yet “he can go in a plane and fly from here to Maine.”

As for other passengers, Ryan will wait a little longer before taking his friends up for a trip, but they are all impressed — both with his certification and the fact that he already has a career path he wants to pursue.

“They joke around and call me ‘Fly Guy,’ ” he says. 

Griffin Stella started taking lessons at Eagle East when he was just 15. He believes aviation has taught him skills that go beyond how to control a plane, such as the ability to think clearly under pressure.

Griffin Stella, 18, has long dreamed of a career as a fighter pilot. A 2019 graduate of Andover High School, he started taking flying lessons at Eagle East Aviation when he was 15 and completed his training in just under two years. 

Making his first solo flight (at a distance of over 50 nautical miles) was “a surreal experience,” Stella says. “It’s the first time you’re dependent on yourself.”

But then, he says, you get to a point in the trip when you relax and start to take in the sights and experience of it all.

“It’s a really beautiful thing,” Stella says. 

In addition to providing knowledge on how to operate a plane, flying lessons teach many other valuable tools, Stella says, including how to be resilient and calm in tough situations. Flying also requires an understanding of meteorology; pilots need to learn about clouds, weather patterns, precipitation and wind speeds.

“Flying is such a great thing to have on your resume,” Stella says. 

Success stories like Marotta’s and Stella’s motivate Campbell. The flight school draws interest from many young people, he says, including some who intern. 

For those who want to fly, Eagle East Aviation accepts students starting at around age 15 1/2.

“In Massachusetts, you can solo an airplane before you can drive a car,” Campbell says. “It’s a skill you can take with you your whole life.”    

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