community

To Live In
Westwood

Located on Route 109/High Street, just before the Walpole Town Line, Bubbling Brook Restaurant has been a beloved summer hangout and source of ice cream in Westwood since 1951. Check out their website http://www.bubblingbrook.net/ and Facebook Fan Page (7426 fans and counting).

Bubbling Brook opens tomorrow, March 23, 2010, at 11am to kick off the season. Perhaps it will not seem so summerlike as this weekend, but this is New England and a little cold and rain is no excuse to hold back on the ice cream and think of warm days to come!

We were lucky this past week--only 4 inches of water that quickly started to subside Tuesday night. David Feyler lent me a pool pump and that made what was left go away even faster. I was able to lend that pump to another friend to help keep their basement from overflowing too. Half an inch of water was the difference between shutting off the heat and ruining the washer/dryer.

My next door neighbor was not so lucky. She awoke to find 2 feet of water in her basement and a furnace on fire. The Fire Department showed up and quickly observed the source of the problem--the neighbor behind us was pumping all his water out of his basement directly into his back yard. When he finally agreed to hook up a hose and send the water out to the street, the water started to go down and the river that had formed between our houses disappeared.

This week was a unique situation--almost everyone had some amount of flooding. But that's no excuse for literally dumping your problem into your neighbor's yard.

To Live In
Westwood

My challenge here and on the Facebook fan page a few weeks back to supply "100 Reasons" to live in Westwood produced some good ideas. These are not bragging or putting any other towns down, but celebrating the things we've found special here. I'm going to add this weekly recurring feature and randomly work my way through those items (over the next couple years!) until we get to #1.

But I will start high. On the lists people submitted, I saw many general statements about "neighbors lend a hand," "great community," etc. and I wanted to draw out some specifics about the #3 reason to live in Westwood: Small is Great.

One of the things we liked about moving here from a larger town was how we ran into people we know on a regular basis. Even as newcomers, we quickly started to see people we knew at various events and pretty soon, it was impossible not to bump into somebody. As we loaded up a moving truck on Gay St to move over to Fairview St, I think at least 6 people stopped in the road to ask me where we were going--and this is after only living here for 3 1/2 years!

At our new place, we were greeted by a neighbor with cookies...and we quickly started to meet other neighbors on the street including one who saw that our two kids needed bigger bikes and proceeded to pull a couple bikes from his garage and give them to us.

That's pretty cool for a town that is 13 miles from downtown Boston.

A knock at the door last night...but no one there...just a bag of treats and a note. We've been BOOed! This Halloween custom involves secretly leaving a bag of treats with a note asking the person to pass on the favor to two more neighbors. Join the fun and BOO or be BOOed today!

from the Town web site...

Interested in serving in local government?

If you would like to serve the Town of Westwood on one of the following committees: Communications & Technology, Conservation, Council on Aging, Cultural, Health, Historical, Recreation, Youth & Family Services, as well as the recently established Roy London Award Committee, which will choose a worthy recipient who has served the community, please contact the Board of Selectmen’s office at 781-326-4172 by July 3, 2009.

Henry Gale, a long standing member of the Planning Board, has indicated that he is moving to another community and will be stepping down from his membership on the Planning Board. If you are interested in being considered to fill the expected vacancy on the Planning Board, please contact the Board of Selectmen’s Office at 781-326-4172 by July 3, 2009.

A couple of people have asked me about leading some kind of group in Westwood for people who are looking for work. I think that might be a good idea for many reasons. I meet with the Salty Legs Career Club in Cambridge every two weeks, and our group is a mix of unemployed and self-employed which makes for a very positive dynamic. It's not so much about discussing the job search as talking about what people are doing--and how they are looking for "work" where work is not necessarily a job.

There are many challenges in the unemployment experience--and one of the biggest is just to keep a postive outlook which can be defeated by too much time thinking about things on your own. If people have interest in having an informal meeting in Westwood...suggest a time and place and let's see...

Here's a question for readers of this blog who are more familiar with Westwood than I am...are there civic/business groups in town that already exist to help improve the town centers? How did the work in Islington center happen--obviously it has recently been improved with the municipal parking lot, clock, and sidewalk work around the center? Is there a group of business owners? How about along 109?

Would you believe Bubbling Brook's Facebook fan page has 5,688 fans? Given that the population of Westwood is only 15,648 that's pretty impressive, although I'm sure many fans are from neighboring towns. I set up a fan page for WestwoodBlog, but we've only got 2 fans so far and they both live at the same address! Hale Reservation is also on Facebook with 21 fans. Feel free to comment here to publicize any other local fan pages. And if you know me, feel free to friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter...I'll post again with some more details about how Twitter can be relevant locally...

Seasons' Greetings from the Atkins' family! We hope everyone has a great holiday and New Year!

The chore program of the Council on Aging assists seniors with small tasks that they may be unable to do themselves. These tasks may include common repairs and minor maintenance jobs that are likely to be completed in one visit, and do not require the skill of licensed trades people, such as electricians and plumbers. Some examples of tasks with which the chore program may help are the replacement of small parts, such as faucet washers and toilet mechanisms, trimming shrubs and raking leaves, replacement of broken electrical switches and outlets, repair of door locks and passage sets, and difficulties with using a computer, including help with applications and access to the internet. Only volunteer labor is provided. Expenses, such as parts, are the responsibility of recipients. The program is seeking volunteers who may have skills that they would be willing to share with seniors in need of their help. Individuals with an interest in volunteering should contact:

Pat Carty-Larkin
Director, Westwood Council on Aging
(781) 329-8799
plarkin@townhall.westwood.ma.us

It's a great opportunity to serve the community of Westwood by offering your know-how to people who may need your help.