Few people achieve an internet presence by 10 months old.
But for little Castiel Kelly. there is little choice, whose devoted aunt, Mekailia Gabbert of Whitman, is using platforms like GoFundMe – as well as TikTok (castielvscancer), Instagram (castielvsneuroblastoma) and Facebook (Castiel Crushes Cancer), to ensure that her precious nephew has a fighting chance against Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma. She and a team of friends are also working offline to plan fundraising events in the community to help him and his family.
A social worker had sat with his parents about a week into Castiel’s treatments and told them their uncovered medical expenses, including travel and related expenses, typically costs families between $100,000 and $200,000 for this type of cancer, according to Gabbert.
The GoFundMe Goal is set at $100,000. The last time Gabbert checked, the fund had reached nearly, $34,000.
“We just don’t want this to ruin them completely,” she said of her aunt an uncle, Michae and Leidiane Kelly of Weymouth. A basket raffle will be held at the Whitman Knights of Columbus on Aug. 9, for which a lot of businesses have contributed.
“It’s what you do for family,” Mekailia said of the fundraising work. “I’ve always been very blessed with the people in my life – they show up for me. … and this has been a group effort.”
Her friends, calling themselves Castiel’s Crew, have helped hand-deliver more than 250 letters to local businesses in Whitman, Abington, Weymouth and the Bridgewaters, seeking donations door prizes. They also donated to events already held, as well as working to write those letters to businesses, picked up raffle tickets and have helped get T-shirts printed and are wearing the shirts.
“They’re stepping up every way that they can,” she said
“Castiel is a very loved little boy, and most of the people who are doing this haven’t met him … because he can’t have visitors,” she said.
Mekailia’s parents have also gone the extra mile for their nephew who, she jokes, they may love more than their own kids.
“They’re very hands-on,” she said. “[They] always know what’s going on medically, always knowing what his parents need, and that allows me to focus on the fundraising part.”
Diagnosed on April 30th at just over 7 months old, Castiel had endured “intensive chemotherapy, six surgeries, blood transfusions, emergency room visits and multiple infections” Gabbert stated in a press release to the Express this week.
“He had a couple symptoms like fatigue, and loss of appetite – a few of those generally concerning, but, where he was a baby, he got brushed off a lt,” Mekaiia said. “His parents got brushed off. It wasn’t until a lump formed on his neck and one on his head, that the family was taken a little more seriously. Even still, trying to get in for a scan of those was difficult.
After waiting a few days, Castiel was scheduled for an ultrasound.
“They got a call almost immediately after the ultrasound was done.” Mekailia said Monday, July 21. “They weren’t even off the [hospital] property yet, I don’t think, and they were told to go to Children’s Hospital. They drove straight there [and found that] there was a medical team waiting for them in the lobby. … It was awful, obviously, probably the worst-case scenario to have doctors there, waiting for you.”
Less than 24 hours after the ultrasound, the family received the devastating diagnosis – Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. After a biolpsy and blood work it was also determined to be-risk, as well, which is worst-case scenario.
Mikailia went right to work to help her family.
“They’re bouncing back and forth,” she said of her uncle and his family. Originally from Weymouth, where her uncle Mike grew up there. He and his wife Leidy, had moved to Nashua, N.H., not long ago for work, and must now drive to Children’s Hospital whenever Castiel needs care.
“The out-patient [care] is where it gets really expensive – with the back and forth,” Mekailia said. “If the Boston House or the Ronald McDonald housr doesn’t have a room for them that night, then it’s a lot of either driving all he way back to Nashua or paying for a hotel – and then there’s the medical bills and everything like that.”
Despite all the medical care he’s been going through, Castiel is a “sweet. Happy baby,” his proud aunt said, but she noted that the last couple of weeks have been the hardest so far. “He hasn’t been so much of his happy self of late.”
The 10-month-old has been through four rounds of chemotherapy, seven surgeries, with an eighth scheduled for Friday, July 25, being done to go after his primary tumor, which is right beside his kidney, according to Gabbert. From there, another round of chemotherapy is planned, as well as an appointment with an audiologist, because the specific type chemo he has been getting is known to damage hearing.
A full body scan is also being scheduled at that time to figure out if the tumors are responding to the doses of chemotherapy.
Besides raising some awareness of the disease, as well as raising funds to help Catiel’s parents, who have another child with special needs. .

HANSON – A little more than a week after following Chief Michael Miksch in the job of Hanson’s Police Chief, Michael Casey was officially sworn into the role during the Tuesday, July 8 Select Board meeting.
Miksch, who had served in the job for 13 years, retired effective July 1, and had recommended Casey, who had come up through the ranks at the department, was most recently serving as deputy chief.
But first, there were two retirements to honor – the first of those being Miksch’s, “who you know loves to have attention paid to him,” Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said, with a touch of irony.
Chief Casey had hosted a retirement party for his predecessor and former boss on Sunday, June 29. At their July 8 meeting, the Select Board presented Miksch with a citation, read by FitzGerald-Kemmett, which saluted his nearly 30-year career in law enforcement, as well as the 12 years he has served Hanson residents.
“I’ve said this before, I really value the leadership you have brought to this town, the support that you’ve given all of us in some very weird moments … and you’ve always been on the other end of the phone, talking us off the ledge and giving us sound advice,” she said.
The Board also presented a citation to Michelle Hughes as she retired from a 32-year career in law enforcement. She had been the Hanson Police Department’s first female officer.
“Thirty-two years, raising kids and giving back to the community – amazing,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We’re so lucky to have such dedicated employees … but, it’s more than that.”
Then it was Casey’s turn in the spotlight as Town Clerk Jessica Franceschini swore him in and Casey’s wife pinned on his new badge.
“We want to wish you the absolute best on this new chapter,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “You’re inheriting a force that’s in really good shape and Chief Miksch has laid an amazing foundation and we can’t wait to see what you do with it as you make it your own, and you’ve got a great staff to do it with.”
Casey thanked the Board for honoring him with the position and a unanimous vote.
“I’ve always dreamed it since I got here 30 years ago, and it means a lot,” he said, noting that he and the retiring Michelle Hughes started on the department together in 1996. “I’m excited for a new chapter.”
In other business, the Select Board heard an update on the MBTA Communities issue from Town Administrator Lisa Green.
“We need to wait and see what’s going to happen,” Green said, noting the town would be in compliance until July 13. “On the 14th we may know, or we may not know what action the attorney general’s going to take, because there are [fewer and fewer] communities that are going to be noncompliant,” she said. “More and more communities who were non-compliant, have adopted some form of a zoning district,”
“If we can come up with our own plan, which is compliant. then we maintain control” said Select Board Vice Chair Ann Rein.
FitzGerald-Kemmett also said the Select Board could use some clarity from the Planning Board on the matter.
“Are they planning on reproposing it, or are we going to talk with them about 40R?” she said, noting that board had been looking at 40R regulations before the state received Supreme Jucicial Court,
Middleboro was among a small group of towns that successfully took the 40R route successfully, but FitzGerald-Kemmett said Town Counsel’s opinion is that Middleboro has been successful mainly because they had their 40R program in place beforehand.
She added that Hanson’s Planning Board as already done the work toward implementing 40R zoning in the town.
“I want to check back with them what kind of timing are we looking at and then check with our town counsel – does he feel as though he could have a conversation and influence some outcome there, so perhaps we can use that as some leverage,” she said.
Green said she had already begun a conversation with Town Planner Anthony DeFrias and would check back with him on what further steps are needed for the town to pick up the 40R again. The Board also voted to again sign intermunicipal agreement governing the ROCCC 911 call center so the town’s emergency calls would continue to be answered.
“I know when we originally entered into this contract part of what was extremely appealing to us was that there was a portion of our costs that were being reimbursed by the state,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Of course, that gravy train has stopped and we’re now bearing the full cost of that.”
Aside from that, she asked Green if there were any other major changes. Green replied that there were none. The board voted to re-enter the agreement and to empower Green to do so, as well and to negotiate any changes the Board might seel.

HANSON – In Court papers signed by Plymouth Superior Court Justice Brian S. Glennny on May 27, 2025, another legal salvo was fired in the ongoing dispute between the town and owners of a commercial building at 1057 Main St.
This particular outbreak has been building over several years of motions and delays as Hanson officials have tried to achieve what Glennny ruled in response to requests of the Court from Hanson Fire Chief Robert O’Brien, the Building Inspector and the Hanson Fire Department..
Citing safety violations which “have continued over a long period of time,” Glenny ruled that Joseph Marangiello, in his capacity as Trustee of J&M Realty Trust, and owner Plymouth County Superior Court Justice Brian S. Glennny of the building at 1057 Main St., in Hanson is in civil contempt for failing to comply with the court’s July 16, 2024 order to evacuate some building tenants, permit safety and health inspections and to maintain a safe building.
Meanwhile, Maria Marangiello insists that the properties she and her husband own as J&M Realty Trust at 1011 and 1057 Main St., have been the target of hostile filings made by the town.
“In reality, their (the buildings) are old, they don’t want to see them there, they feel its unsafe, but, my thing is, we haven’t had any issues with fires in there – or anything, to be honest,” Mrs. Marangiello said Tuesday, so I don’t see the logic of being singled out just because it’s old. It was being used correctly. It wasn’t being abused.”
“We’re not making this guy tear this building down,” said Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “We’re not making him sell the building. We’re merely holding him to a standard that everybody else is being held to, which is, if you’re going to own a property, it needs to be safe an if you’re going to rent it, it needs to be safe for other people to be coming in and out of the building.”
“We don’t stand a chance,” Maria Marangiello said on Tuesday, July 8. “Everybody’s moving out. There was an auctioneer in.”
Mrs. Marangiello said she understands that town officials are concerned about public safety, but questions why that same concern is not evident toward similarly aged commercial buildings in town. As to the reason, she just looks to the two new mixed-use commercial/residential buildings not all that far down the street.
“Personally, I think whoever owns those apartments is paying off, to be honest. I don’t care what anybody says. We were doing fine. We didn’t have any issues there,” she said, adding that she and her husband are fine and have accepted the situation. She added that, for town officials like the Select Board, just because they are elected, does not make them perfect.
“For over two years, we’ve been going to Plymouth Court [to challenge Hanson’s demands for those inspections and improvements,” said; “The judgment was that the building is technically condemned, so he has to move everything out. He had tenants in there who were kind of pushed out and everything.”
“The thing that pisses me off is that people are saying [largely on social media] that,’ the town is just doing this because they want to develop [the property],” Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said Monday. “No. We literally had the state fire marshall come to the site, as well, on more than one occasion.
Deputy Fire Chief Charles Barends could only confirm that the court order was made “after a long take with code enforcement.
“That’s pretty much all we have,” he said. “Everything else is a legal matter at this point, so unfortunately, we’re limited as to what we can say.”
Is the town trying to take possession of the building?
“Nope. No. Not at all,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “No. No. No, you don’t want to own that liability.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett said the town, especially, the Select Board, had been trying to help Marangiello with his plans to develop the property.
“We offered him a TIF,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I personally offered a TIF (Tax Increment Financing plan) to him, with [then-Select Board Administrative Assistant] Merry Marini. We said, ‘If you want to do the work to bring his building up to code, we will defray taxes until you get the building up to the point where it needs to be, and then we’ll tax you. We figured the town would win because we’d get the building fixed up and we’d ultimately get taxation on a more improved building.”
But, she said Marangiello had turned down the offer.
Before her, former Selectmen David Soper and James McGahan had also sought to assist Marangiello.
Mrs. Marangiello countered that “everything was an issue, from Day One.”
“They’re just trying to clean up shop. It’s very discriminatory in my mind If I had the money, if I was that rich, I would definitely try to sue that town, she said, pointing to the town’s fight against th MBTA Communities program.
“It’s not right, people have to live,” Maria Marangiello said, noting that the town is “very cliquey, they have the lawyers that they hire which are paid for by the town.”
She also charge the building commissioner with having the mission of shutting them down.
“We have a whole group of people, ready and willing to work with him – the Select Board, building commissioner, our Planning Board and our planner, all ready to work with this guy,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “He’s been offered help multiple times. He just doesn’t want it,”
In 2016, he had also been approved for converting some of the building into apartments, but that was never done. FitzGerald-Kemmett said there is a problem on the property, but was uncertain how much that contributed to the lack of follow-through on the apartments.
She did say that the DEP recently reached out to the Select Board to let them know the agency “has some problems with 1057 Main St.,” concerning contamination of the property.
“He’s put so much money into fighting the town instead of just doing what he should do,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “You don’t get to have all the benefits of owning a property and making money off of it, without having the responsibility of keeping that property up to code. … It’s not your house. It’s a commercial property.”
Even after the court order to evacuate the property, FitzGerald-Kemmett said Marangiello had been advertising for commercial tenants on Craig’s List and other outlets, and the building is still for sale, for $1.25 million.
“It takes up such a huge chunk of Main Street, that every single person who’s run for Selectman has come in and said, ‘I’d love to see something come in and get improved there,” she said. “And I have tried … and it killed me to know that court order was going to mean that some businesses might not have a location, but I knew there was available space across the street, so if they’re legitimate businesses they can relocate, or find another spot because we do have some vacancies in town.”
On the other hand, Assessor Denise Alexander has told FitzGerald-Kemmett that she is not certain the town is receiving revenue from any of the businesses at 1011 or 1057 Main St.
“A different path we could have taken – had we had a competent building inspector at the time – would have been to have that building condemned and then order [Marangiello] to have it taken down, but we didn’t take that path, its for sale,” she said. “We thought maybe someone will buy it … The main thing we’re concerned about is fire hazards and the tenants that are in there.”
Conditions
The court’s conditions include evacuating the property at 1057 Main St. fortwith except for nine businesses and a residential unit occupied by Joseph Marangiello Sr., “and no others;”

• permit inspection and evaluation for building, fire, health and sanitary code issues, specifically for tenant businesses King’s Ransom Antiques, the cabinetry warehouse/supplier, a gunsmith/firearms dealer and any areas, units or portions of areas within the property used as storage;
• keep the property free of occupants for all areas, units and businesses not already exempted unless the town explicitly allows reoccupancy in writing or the court rules otherwise. Use of some areas for storage only – and no other occupancy – may be permitted with written guidance from the Hanson Fire Chief to the defendant through counsel and reinspection of storage units;
• arrange for and complete the inspection and certification of the building’s automatic sprinkler and fire alarm systems and provide reports and confirmation tp the Hanson Fire Department; and
• correct any and all violations of state building and fire code violations.
• Marangiello was given 14 days to complete the terms of the order, but it could be extended so long as good cause was shown, and King’s Ransom Antiques.

HANSON – If you arrived a few minutes late, you missed it.
The Wednesday, June 25 special Town Meeting to decide whether the town would approve the assessment proposal put forth by Whitman, which had accepted it at their special Town Meeting two weeks before, must have set some sort of speed record for town meeting government.
The whole thing, from pledge of allegiance to Town Moderator Sean Kealy’s final gavel for adjournment clocked in at 3:18.
The session was held in the Dr. John F. McEwan Performing Arts Center at W-H Regional High School, as the Hanson Middle School auditorium had already been booked for the evening for a dance recital.
Therefore, we present to those unable to attend a transcript ot the entire proceeding:
KEALY: “Welcome, everybody, to a special Town Meeting. My name is Sean Kealy, I’m the town moderator. To my left is the Finance Committee. To my right is the Select Board, and we have town officers behind me. Before we get going, as we always do, would you please rise and join me in the pledge of allegiance.”
Following the salute to the flag, Kealy returned to the podium for his traditional opening greetings.
KEALY: “So, one – I think we only have, really, one piece of housekeeping.
“The rules of tonight’s Town Meeting will be governed by “Town Meeting Time,” which is the official handbook of parliamentary law by the Massachusetts Moderators’ Association, and, as I said, we onl have one article.
“I’m hoping that we can all get back to the air conditioning as quickly as possible, and so, what we’ll do is, I’ll read the article, it’ll be seconded and then we’ll have an explanation.
“So, Artcle 1 – to see if the town will vote to transfer $262,669 from free cash to supplement Article 5, line 57, as appropriated at the May 5, 2025 annual Town Meeting to meet the Whitman Hanson Regional School District assessment, or take any other action in relation thereto.
“Seconded by Mr. [Robert] Hayes.
“Explanation. …”
Town Clerk Jessics Franceschini corrects Kealy out of range of a microphone.
KEALY: “Oh, thank you very much.
“I’ve been corrected for the very first time by our new town clerk,”
[Applause for Franceschini]
KEALY: “I won’t tell her it was just a test,” he said in a mock stage whisper as a joke.
“But, I hereby declare that we have a quorum. More than 100 voters have checked in, and are in attendance. And I see the youngest voter right over there. She’s doing magnificently,” he said, gesturing to the small child a resident was holding in the audience.
He then returned to the explanation of the article.
KEALY: “So, we have a motion and it has been seconded. Explanation – This article is to supplement Article 5, Line 57, as appropriated at the May 5, 2025 annual Town Meeting to mee the Whitman Hanson Regional School District operating assessment to the town of Hanson.
“Do I see any questions or concerns?” he asked, scanning the audience.
He did not
KEALY: “Seeing none [his emphasis], all those in favor of Article 1, signify by saying, ‘Aye.’”
AUDIENCE VOICES: “Aye.”
KEALY: “All those opposed, ‘nay.’
FEWER AUDIENCE VOICES: “Nay.”
KEALY: The ayes have it, Article 1 is adopted.
Scattered applause was heard.
KEALY: “And, with that, I will adjourn this special Town Meeting, sine die.”
[“Sine die” adjournment means a legislative session is adjourned without setting a date to reconvene – a Latin phrase meaning “without day,” effectively ending the session.]

By Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Special to the Express
My Uncle Sandy was my mother’s step-brother and served in the Air Force during WWII as a U.S. Army pilot first lieutenant.
His full name was Sandy Royal Austin. In 1944 on July 22 while flying a B-17G over the Ploiesti oil fields in Romania, his plane had engine trouble and dropped out of formation before being shot down by enemy fighters. All on board bailed out right before the plane exploded; it was a parachute landing and the men were taken prisoners. The POWs were held in a schoolhouse in Bucharest, Romania until Rumanians surrendered to Russians Aug. 23, 1944. Sandy was among the 1,150 POWs flown out on B-17s early in September 1944 to return home.
Sandy somehow rescued his parachute for his bride-to-be so she could make her wedding dress out of it, as fabric at that time was scarce. After the War, Sandy and his wife Jean moved to Alaska and then they moved to Dover Foxcroft Maine with their three children. Their son Dale was my age and their two daughters, Diane and Janet were about the same ages as my younger siblings. 
In the Summer of 1961 when I was 14, Sandy and Jean invited our family to spend Fourth of July with them in Maine. My mom’s father and stepmother, who was Uncle Sandy’s mother, lived twenty minutes away from Sandy and Jean. Since we had not seen any of them for several years and Dad had the week off, he and Mom decided to go.
The Fourth of July was on a Tuesday that year; we left for Maine on Monday and pulled into their driveway four hours later. Every building and house we passed was decorated with flags and patriotic bunting, including theirs. 
 Their spacious yellow and white Victorian house was set back from the street with a flagpole beside it flying the American flag, the POW flag and an Air Force flag. There was a big olive drab colored tent on one side of the expansive lawn. We found out that it was for us kids if we wanted to sleep outside instead of upstairs in the house.
We were warmly greeted with hugs that were returned and all the usual comments of how big or tall some of us had grown in both families. My sister Penny and I remembered Aunt Jean, Uncle Sandy and Grandma and Grandpa Austin and although our brother Dave and sister Barb were too young to remember them, it didn’t take long for them to warm up to Grandpa Austin, who was a kind, loving man.
The first night’s supper was lobster for the adults and burgers or hot dogs for us kids. The younger kids were a little shy with one another but by the end of the meal they were running around laughing and playing. My cousin Dale was now taller than me with a reddish cast to his light hair and a few freckles across his face that brought out the blue in his eyes. He was a bit less standoffish than he used to be.  
After supper all of us kids played outdoor games that even the little ones could play; from Hide and Seek, Simon Says, Blind Man’s Bluff and more. Our parents and grandparents watched from across the yard as they reminisced, caught up on family news and had many laughs under a beautiful full moon until bedtime. I slept in the tent that night with the other kids, except for Barb and Janet, the two youngest, who wanted to be with their mothers.
 Fourth of July dawned bright and beautiful. Mom and Aunt Jean told all of us to get dressed and to be at the breakfast table if we wanted to eat before the parade started. Dover Foxcroft was a small town that reminded me of Hanson.
People were friendly and you couldn’t get away with much as everyone knew who you were. All along the sidewalk that went through the main part of town, people were sitting or standing as Clowns entertained and interacted with the crowd. My cousin and I watched our younger siblings having a good time, and our Dads and Grandpa as the Antique cars passed by sounding their horns.
Grandma Austin was on a float that went by with other ladies and all their delicious looking homemade pies. Our moms liked the Float from J.J.Newberry’s and the one from the Textile Plant. I loved everything about the parade, especially the patriotism, the tradition and the meaning of it. 
Off to the lake
When the parade was over, we spent the rest of the day at beautiful, scenic, Sebec Lake. Uncle Sandy had a roof rack on his truck to secure his canoe. He also hitched his boat and trailer onto the back of the truck. He had his fishing gear, plenty of beach toys, chairs, food and Grandpa Austin and Dad in the front seat with him. Grandma Austin and the rest of us rode with Aunt Jean in her station wagon.  
 When the vehicles were parked and the boat was tied to the dock, we found a beautiful shade tree and put our chairs under it. Uncle Sandy asked who wanted to go for a boat ride and all the younger kids were jumping up and down yelling in unison. We all got in the boat except our grandparents, who wanted to sit in the shade. My brother Dave sat up front with Sandy and Dad; my cousin Dale and I sat way in the back and everyone else was in the middle. 
After the boat ride Dale and I challenged our mothers to a race to see who could swim the furthest. My cousin Diane blew her whistle to start the race. We swam out to a boulder and back again, both our mothers keeping up with us. Both Dale and I reduced our pace as we wanted them to win, and they did. Even though they knew what we did, we were proud of them and impressed with what excellent swimmers they still were. There were big hugs all around. The rest of the day the younger kids were jumping off our Dads’ shoulders and being caught by our Moms. Dale and I took turns pulling the kids around on the rubber rafts.
We loved climbing on the rocks and helping the kids to dig holes while Grandpa and our Moms took pictures. Before we knew it, we were packing up to beat the sunset home, as Uncle Sandy put it. 
Fireworks were not allowed in Dover Fox-croft, Maine at that time so Uncle Sandy drove home by way of Bangor, Maine, which was closest to his house, so we could see them. Quite a few of their neighbors were there; it was the perfect end to a perfect Fourth of July day.
When we got back to the house, everyone got ready for bed. When Gram and Grandpa Austin left to go home, they invited us all to their house the next day to teach us how to make homemade ice cream the old fashioned way and to see Grandpa’s clock collection from when he was a clock maker, which made us excited and Mom happy. When I was getting ready to go into the tent where Diane, Penny and Dave were, Dale tapped me on the shoulder and wanted me to follow him.  
He asked me if I knew what a cherry bomb was and I told him yes, we have them in Hanson, too. He blushed a little and grinned, telling me he has one and wants to set it off on the pond in the center of town as the grand finale of today’s celebration. I looked at him and grinned and said okay and off we went.
The moon lit our way as we walked to a sizable pond surrounded by a metal split rail fence. Swimming wasn’t allowed and there were benches to sit on and shade trees all around. We walked towards a hollow tree and he pulled a box out of it that contained a board with the cherry bomb wired to it. He flattened the box and threw it in the water. I could see the street and the town beyond the benches and was glad there were no lights on. He picked up a long stick, put it down on the ground beside him, took out his matches, set the board on the edge of the water, lit the cherry bomb, pushed it gently with the stick until a breeze sent it out onto the pond, grabbed my hand and we started running until it was safe to stop. We stood in the silence until the explosion shook the night and sent us running again.
Lights began to come on as we ran through the woods and we heard a siren. We kept running until we reached his yard. We practically leaped into the tent, relieved the kids were asleep and that all the lights in the house were off. It was so hard to keep from laughing, we kept putting our hands over our mouths. He finally raised his hand to mine, shook it and whispered, thanks. We finally settled down and went to sleep.  
During the remainder of the time I was there, to our relief, nothing came of it. In 1966 The Child Safety Act came into being and they were banned. The more I grew up and the more I learned about these particular explosives and how many people had been harmed, the more I realized how foolish we had been and how very fortunate we were that nothing happened.  
 

By Tracy F. Seelye, Express editor
editor@whitmanhansonexpress.com
WHITMAN – It was, to say the least, a busy Sunday on Temple Street.
The members of Whitman Fire Department observed Firefighters’ Memorial Day, with ceremony at the fire station and parade to Colebrook Cemetery to place memorial wreaths in honor of firefighters lost in the line of duty.
Once back at the fire station, color guards were included in a solemn rededication of the WWI Memorial Arch, after it’s face lift courtesy of restoration stone cutters. At the same time, entrants in the 5K road race were arriving and registering for the event that sounded the starting gun after the rededication ceremony ended.
This was the kind of life-affirming energy that moved the planners of the Arch to place it here – next to the fire station, and under which the town’s young baseball players would have to pass to arrive at the ball parks where the Armory and the American Legion are now located.
Historical Commission Chair Mary Joyce introduced the speakers and thanked those who made the ceremony possible.
“No project is done alone,” Joyce said.
The event was attended by all five Select Board members, with Shawn Kain giving the main address as the liaison to the Historical Commission. Past Veterans Agent Shannon Burke and current Veteran’s Agent Declan Ware, Al Howe who helped with the research that went into the biographies of the men whose names appear on the arch.
Joyce also thanked the voters of Town Meeting who approved the funds for the restoration work.
“It may be difficult to remember the history that you learn in the classroom,” Kain said. “Facts that you memorized about WWI sometimes feel distant and not too relevant, but our ancestors that stood on this ground 100 years ago went to great lengths to make sure we remember.”
They wanted to remember the names of 21 men who sacrificed their lives abroad for their community back home. So, when the war ended, the Legion dedicated the arch to bear their names as a lasting memorial.
“But stop and consider why they chose this location,” he said, noting there were other prime locations in town, including Whitman Park. “They chose to place the arch here – and it was a deliberate choice. At the time, the Fire Station was built, but the armory and the Spellman Center weren’t there yet. Those were baseball fields.”
The fire department has been a pillar of the community and a symbol of public service throughout its history.
“They wanted the children and families of our community to walk beneath the arch on the way to a Little League game,” he said. “That is a powerful image and a beautiful gesture. Today we remember. We remember the names of the sons of Whitman who made the supreme sacrifice, so that our children can listen to the national anthem and have a safe place to play.”
Asking for an observation of silent respect, Kain slowly recited the names of the soldiers honored in bronze plaques on the arch.*
On the east side

• Peter Paul Brown, KIA – Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, Belleau, France;
• Leo Joseph Buckley, accidental drowning – buried at sea;
• Vernon Kendal Churchill, MD, influenza – Melrose Cemetery, Brockton;
• • Albert Henry Cook, influenza – Colebrook Cemetery, Whitman;
• Robert Lester Hain, influenza – Aulenbach Cemetery, Reading, Pa.;
• Charles Timothy Haynes, influenza — St. James Cemetery, Whitman;
• Warren Haven Joyce, KIA three weeks before armistice – Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Lorraine, France;
• Hezekiah Rufus Lombard, KIA – Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, France;
• John Duncan Matheson – influenza, Colebrook Cemetery, Whitman and
• Raynor Bassett Nye,, MD, influenza – Colebrook Cemetery, Whitman.
  On the west side
• Martin Richard O’Brien, KIA -Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, Belleau, France;
• Walter Pease, influenza; Robert J. Pillsbury, influenza;
• George H. Simmons, influenza – Colebrook Cemetery – Whitman;
• James McNeil Smith – Dominion Cemetery, Hendecourt-les-Cagnicourt, Departement du Pas-de Calais;
• Julian Mozart Southworth, KIA near Cunel, France – Union Cemetery, Carver;
• Elwin Sweney, KIA – Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Lorraine, France;
• Shirley Sampson Thayer, influenza – Colebrook Cemetery, Whitman;
• William MacIntosh Warwick, KIA with 1st Canadian Cavalry – body left behind, no burial site – Belgian Croix de Guerre;
• Leeson Albion Whiting, influenza – Mount Vernon Cemetery, Abington and
• Dwight Clifford Wood, influenza – Colebrook Cemetery, Whitman.
  Fire Chief Timothy Clancy spoke of Whitman’s pride.
  “We’re proud of who we are and what we do and where we came from,” he said, thanking the CPC for funding the restoration. “To sit here and watch, while we were coming and going, the restoration of the arch, was truly a feat, They meticulously worked on the arch to secure it, they made it safe, it was quite a feat and I’m proud of it.”
  Ware put the dangers facing U.S. Servicemen heading for France in 1917-18 in context.
  “I’m going to bore everybody with a history lesson, but it’s important that we know our history,” he said.
  In what was to be the final year of WWI, the Russian Revolution of 1917 ensured things would become more dangerous for the powers of the Entente – who, except for Italy, would be known as the Allies in the next war – as Germany could focus its full attention to the Western Front. The armies of the Entente were already badly bloodied.
  In 1916, the French Army suffered 400,000 casualties defending Verdun, that same year the British and Commonwealth forces suffered 57,000 casualties in the first day alone of the Battle of the Somme. They needed an infusion of fresh troops by 1917 and, when the United States entered the war in April 1917, they got them, and by 1918, the American troops were at full strength with 2 million men in France. Ware spoke of one of them, Pvt Peter Brown of Whitman
  Just two months after enlisting, Brown was already on the front lines in France, where his 77th Division fought in the 100-Days Offensive. He was killed on Aug.26, 1918.
  “Today, we rededicate this Memorial Arch to the brave servicemen like Pvt. Peter Brown,” Ware said. “Their sacrifices must never be forgotten. Not only must we honor the fallen, but we have a duty to remember the heroes of the American Expeditionary Force. They were regular people, just like you or I – they held jobs, they had families. They were members of the community.”

*Editor’s note – Select Board member Shawn Kain did not read out the cause of death or final resting place [as was printed in the Historical Commission’s program]. All these men were heroes who, after three years of viscous trench warfare and the German use of mustard gas, were well aware of what they were heading into – one of which was influenza, known then as the Spanish flu. Many of them had survived the shooting war, only to succumb to influenza at American bases when they were sent home, many military doctors and nurses also died after prolonged exposure while treating ill servicemen.

From the start, commencement exercises at WHRHS on Friday, May 30 were a bit different – and not because of the brisk wind that threatened to send mortarboards airborne before the graduating class sat down.
Easily noticeable on the crimson graduation stoles worn by the seniors were bright green mental health awareness ribbons, and the first speaker on the program – Class President Francesca Ruffini helped explain why in her speech, a welcome on behalf of the graduating class.
“This class has been through so much together, and I hope we all learned something from each other,” Ruffini said.
As she concluded her speech, Ruffini addressed the presence of and “empty chair.”
“Scanning our crowd today, we are missing one of the brightest lights of people, and that is Ava Patete,” she said. “She was a light that lit up our graduating class – we all knew her, we all loved her and we will all miss her forever. Let us remember her today, especially on her anniversary and for many years to come.”
Ruffini personally asked the class to live like Ava: spontaneously, kindly and compassionately, She then asked the graduates and families to observe a moment of silence for her late friend.
“Let’s carry her light forward in everything we do,” she said.
It was a message of hope in community, echoed by a school official who spoke with humor about his anxiety, a valedictorian who had worked to overcome insecurity and a principal whose words had to be spoken by someone else, as he recovered at home from hip surgery.
Kindness, resiliency and hope were themes repeated by the speakers as they sent the Class of 2025 out into the world to forge their futures.
Focusing on the adversity the class has seen, and will no doubt encounter in their future lives, Ruffini also spoke of a book her mother gave her that helped her work through some of the toughest times she has so far faced in life.
“The book involves the theory called, the ‘let them’ theory,” she said. “’the let them’ theory reveals who people really are, and when you see them, show their true colors is when you choose what to do next.”
The upshot is to learn how to stop trying to get other people to meet your expectations – how someone treats you is how important you are to them.
“Instead of trying to change yourself, or even that other person, let them be who they are and let yourself be who you are,” she said. “Life is about finding people who value you for your true self.”
Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak kept to the message on the importance of mental health as he opened his remarks by repeating an anecdote from a previous graduation speech concerning the anxiety he feels, which is more intense before giving speeches and his wife’s reassurance.
He spoke about “The Power of You,” which means “showing up, even when it’s hard.”
“It means trying again, even when you didn’t get it right the first time, – or the fifth time,” he said. “It means being a Panther, not just wearing the red and back, but representing the strength, the pride and the heart of this school. … You’ve been building something powerful – not just knowledge, but character, not just skills, but purpose and not just memories, but mementoes – the power of you is not just in what you’ve learned, but how you’ve learned, how you faced adversity and kept going, how you’ve lifted others when they needed a hand and how you’ve asked bold questions or dared to be different.”
Valedictorian Patrick Hurley spoke on “Who We Are” and how one of the most important gifts the class had received from W-H has been a sense of community, which provide a foundation for who we want to be and how to get there.
“While that may seem like a given, for someone like me it took a bit longer than usual to really come to engage with that part of life,” he said. “I entered high school a far more reserved and insecure person than I am standing here, someone who perceived themselves as more awkward than anything else, and who felt stunted in their social life. While I doubt that that aspect of myself is completely gone, I’m overjoyed to be in a place where, looking out at you all, I see friends—people I’m fond of, whose aspirations to become teachers, doctors, engineers, artists, businesspeople, tradespeople, and so much more — I’ve come to know and understand.”
The health of a community, he noted, requires individual responsibility to make it the best that it can be, Hurley noted.
“As we set out into the world, there are going to be challenges far greater than anything high school had to offer. As you rise to face the difficulties of an increasingly complex and hostile world, I encourage my classmates to ask themselves who their community is,” he said. “Who do you trust and support, and how can you show that? What can you do to make your world a kinder place?”
Salutatorian Nolan Keyes, meanwhile, reflected on the meaning of success.
“Deep down, I truly do believe that each individual here has what it takes to succeed,” he said. “Success is not determined by others, but by yourself, and the different goals, aspirations, and plans for the future that you create. While I do believe it is important to dream big, I believe it is far more important to dream for yourself. Chase your own goals, find your own personalized passions, and make your own impact on the world.”
Selected from among her fellow seniors for the opportunity to speak for the Class of 2025, Karyn Stone spoke about “Your Moment” by enumerating the ways in which graduation is not one’s “moment,” the defining moment of one’s life.
“Because those things, as amazing as they were, don’t define you,” she said, explaining that high school and the accomplishments made there are just a chapter of a bigger story. “They are a part of your story, sure, but not your whole story. … Graduation is an incredible accomplishment, and we should all be proud. We made it through the early mornings, long nights, big tests, and even bigger doubts. We supported each other. We laughed, we learned, and sometimes we crashed and burned. But we kept going. So yes, celebrate this moment. Hold it close. But don’t let it be the finish line.”
School Committee Chair Beth Stafford injected some humor into the program as she spoke about memories, by putting on a fabric Pharoh’s crown as she addressed members of the graduating class she taught as sixth-graders at Whitman Middle School in 2019 – her last students before retiring.
“To bring back some happy, funny memories, I thought I would add this to my outfit today,” she said. “I would start each unit in costume and this, of course is Egypt. I hope that when you look back at your years at school … that you have a lot of memories. … I would ask you to use these memories to help shape your future dreams. Even unhappy memories can affect how you go on about achieving your dreams.”
Reading Principal Dr. Christopher Jones’ speech – as he was home recovering from surgery — Assistant Principal David Floeck related Jones’ comments on dealing with anxiety and fear.
“Let’s be honest, success isn’t about living without anxiety, it’s about walking through it,” Jones wrote. “It’s about learning to pause. Breathe in. Breathe out, and take the next step anyway.”
Discomfort, Jones says, is not the enemy, it may be one’s greatest teacher.
“Growth doesn’t live inside your comfort zone,” he stated. “Dreams don’t chase you down, they wait in places that stretch you, scare you and require you to show up differently.”
Floeck, offered thanks to Class Advisors Daniel Moriarty and John Rosen for the hours they have dedicated to the senior class, Administrative Assistan Siobhan Horton and Megan McDonald for the herculean task of planning and overseeing the setup of the graduation ceremony and Chris Googins for his assistance in that work, Courtney Selig and the school’s counseling department for their unrelenting support for W-H students and Marcus Casey and Jason Cook for the audio and visual equipment setup.
He also recognized retiring teachers: Michelle Gentile, who taught history at the high school for 18 years and Rosen, who retires as a science teacher after 31 years.
The ceremony was broadcast live on Whitman-Hanson Community access TV, where it will be rebroadcast and on their YouTube channel at Whitman-Hanson Educational Channel – YouTube.

WHITMAN – Under a bright sunny sky, Monday, May 19, with a wind blowing silt from where the actual construction of the new Whitman Middle School had already begun, W-H district officials, School Committee members, and elected and appointed town leaders gathered in one of the parking lots in front of the building to officially break ground for the new school building.
“Whitman Middle School will be more that just a building,” said Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak. “It will be a place where young minds in grades five through eight will grow, explore and prepare for their future. This school will be the hub of learning, creativity and community engagement – especially [by] using the new auditorium. It will be a place where students are encouraged to dream big, challenge themselves and discover their apassions.”
This was a day a a long time coming – somewhere in the neighborhood of seven year, since then-WMS principal George Ferro wrote up the statement of interest to the Massachusetts Building Committee. Ferro is now assistant superintendent.
Seven years later, Szymaniak, wearing sunglasses against the glare of the morning’s bright sunlight, strolled to a podium situated between two excavators – which suspended an American flag between the bucket loaders – to welcomed the small crowd of dignitaries.
“This event isn’t just the beginning of a building project, it’s the start of a new chapter in the educational journey of our students and a symbol of our collective commitment to shaping a bright future,” Szymaniak said.
He thanked state legislators, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), Whitman Select Board, the W-H Regional School Committee the WMS Building Committee, many parents, students and especially Whitman taxpayers, who supported the project both at Town Meeting and at the voting booth in 2023.
“I’d also like to give a shout-out to our former Facilities Director Ernie Sandland, Science Teacher Crystal Regan and … Ferro, for starting this project in 2018, writing a statement of interest (SOI) and submitting it to the MSBA for a new middle school for the students of Whitman,” Szymaniak said. “Together our vision, hard work and support has turned a dream in reality,”
Symaniak also recognized architect AI3, owner’s project manager Colliers, MSBA representative James McConnell and building contractor Fontaine Bros., who have worked on school construction across the state, according to McConnell.
He also said the new school is a testament to the strength of the Whitman community, representing the shared values of a commitment to education, equity and ensuring that every child has the resources they need to succeed.
“In the years to come, this school will grow to be more than a place of education,” Szymaniak said. “It will be a space that fosters collaboration, creativity and connection. … We envision a school that is not only academic, but rich in extracurricular activities, sports and the arts, offering out students a well-rounded experience.”
State Rep. Alyson Sullivan-Almeida, R-Abington, and a representative from state Sen. Mike Brady’s office brought certificates from both wings of the Great and General Court to present to citations of congratulations on the occasion from the state House and Senate, presenting them to Szymaniak and Whitman Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter.
Noting that, having been elected in 2018, Sullivan-Ameida said the WMS project has been at the forefront of legislative work for her for much of that time. She also honored the late School Committee member Fred Small.
“He was a strong advocate [for] the school district when it came to reaching out to my office and advocating for the town of Whitman and W-H Regional School District,” she said.
Building Committee Vice Chair Kathleen Ottina thanked the taxpayers who approved the school project as well as the members of the school building committee.
Ferro the offered brief remarks before guiding participants of the groundbreaking to their places.
“We’ve thanked all the adults,” Ferro said. “But we also remember that, because of the actions of the adults, students will get a brand-new education. … When we talk about a building, we talk about the life blood of that building, and that is the students and the staff that are in it.”