Updated: A Day at the Park

It was not too long ago that musical productions were the equal to any Glee highlights show. Erica Stenquist (HHS 2006) was the primary reason that tickets for these performances were as difficult to find as never-convicted former Massachusetts House Speakers.

Stenquist, professionally known as Erica Leigh, returned to Holliston as part of the Fourth of July Music Celebration at . It was a wonderful day full of family fun, music, swimming and barbecues. It was a job well done by all the performers, as well as the .

CORMIER A STRONG VOICE FOR MUDVILLE CAUSE

You’ll have to excuse Jimmy “Pipes” Cormier if he looks a little tired this week. You see, he had a pretty busy Fourth of July.

Jimmy is a member of the Mudville Base Ball Club, and he took the mound Monday against the Melrose Pondfeilders in a game played in Needham to celebrate that town’s 300th anniversary. All he did was pitch his team to a complete-game, 10-7 victory, while slapping two base hits and driving in two runs. He also sang the National Anthem to begin the game, and closed the afternoon with a stirring rendition of his classic, “Ode to Mudville."

Jimmy had help, with stellar defensive work from teammates Marc “Go-Go” Golding and David “Hops” Robinson, as well as timely hitting from new teammate Todd “Ace” Kagno. The game was played using rules from 1860.

The win, Mudville’s first of the season, will provide a proper sendoff for the boys, who will find themselves in Gettysburg, PA on July 16 and 17 for a tournament featuring some of the best vintage base ball clubs on the East Coast.

Check out an earlier performance of "Ode to Mudville" by “Pipes:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1eK8hfSLY0.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?

Confession time.

Every May, the lovely Sue runs off to her cousin’s garden center in Hopkinton, and every May, I think 'what a waste of money.'

To me, flowers are generally an unnecessary expense as well as an impediment in my desire to mow my lawn in less than an hour. Some might say “Leaves of three, let them be,” but my aversion to most things horticultural extends beyond poison ivy.

However ...

One would have to be blind not to appreciate how phenomenal our downtown area is looking these days. And once again, Bobby Blair is at the center of things.

Bobby, and his Downtown Marigold Project, has turned our town center into a virtual botanic bonanza. I’ve seen Bobby out evenings watering the plants, and obviously some residents and businesses have caught his fever, as evidenced by their own impressive displays.

I wonder how William “Least Heat" Moon, author of the fabulous “Blue Highways” travel novel from the early 80s would describe the town now. Moon was a keen observer of his surroundings, and he documented his trip through town with a quick lunch and stop at the next to the .

No doubt a current review would include a detailed description of the flowers that border the cemetery, and help to make Holliston the most attractive downtown area in the vicinity. By far.

WHO AM I NO. 25

This week I have my birthday,

As fast as you can drive

How much I am celebrating

The years I’ve been alive.

My husband was a classmate,

We both grew up in town.

Our children are adults now,

I love when they’re around.

Who Am I?

A STREAK OF INDEPENDENCE IN HOLLISTON

On July 4, 1776, Congress approved the wording of a July 2 vote, and published the Declaration of Independence, a listing of grievances and “unalienable rights” that provided an explanation for the breaking of ties with Great Britain. Subsequently, copies of this document were widely distributed.

In her history of Holliston, Dorothy Drinkwater Rees wrote  “It was at a town meeting in May of 1776, that Holliston voted to support with their “lives and fortunes” any measure taken by the congress “declaring them independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain.”

Rees wrote that it was on October 1, 1776 that the entire Declaration of Independence was entered into the town record, where also can be found a document signed by Holliston men pledging their allegiance to the continental congress, and renouncing any “obedience to the King, Queen or government of Great Britain.”

Residents of Holliston today can take great pride in the decisive decisions of our forefathers, who were willing to sacrifice personnel benefit for the ideal of preserving life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.