Updated: This Week in Holliston High School History

It was January 9, 1982, 29 years ago this week, that a senior accomplished the unimaginable.

Steve D’Innocenzo, a center on the HHS hockey team, scored three goals in what was then a world record 12 seconds. Skating on a line with Jimmy Dunn and Paul Tobin, D’Innocenzo’s feat was long recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records.

As remembered by his coach, Ed Mantenuto, D’Innocenzo scored his first goal by roofing a 10-foot wrist shot past the Westwood goalie. On the ensuing faceoff, he took the puck and split the defensemen, and again went top shelf. The third goal was scored when D’Innocenzo again won the faceoff, split the defensemen, and faked the goalie. Mantenuto recalls that D’Innocenzo almost scored a fourth goal, the puck hitting the post at 15 seconds.

D’Innocenzo’s accomplishment earned him a spot in the February 22, 1982, Faces in the Crowd segment of Sports Illustrated.

GLEAMING "THE CUBE"

This weekend, O’Brien once again laced on his Super Tacks, and after almost 40 years, returned to a spot where he use to work his hockey magic. That spot is “The Cube,” the name given to the winter ice palace created by senior David Connors.

Located behind the Connors’ home on Andrew Lane, “The Cube” is a fenced-in skating surface located on a tennis/basketball court. During the 1970s, the Paparella family owned the property, and the rink was a regular part of Brentwood winter life for many. O’Brien would play there with many of his friends, and today, remembers a lot of hockey, and more than a few fights. But until this winter, the skating opportunities offered by the location had been ignored for decades.

Connors had considerable assistance in the construction of “The Cube”, particularly from neighbors and rink consultants, Dan Higgins and Jim Larracey.  Higgins and Larracey were the driving force behind “The Higloo,” a skating surface located behind Higgins’ home, which closed following the 2009-2010 season.

“The Cube” has become a nighttime attraction for Connors and his friends, who with steel in their hearts and the wind at their backs, pass the puck forward then skate for open ice.

TEA FOR TWO

By now, most area political observers are well acquainted with Christen Varley. An Ohio native, she and her family arrived in Holliston in 2004, bringing with them mid-west values and the fervent belief that through hard work, people are rewarded. The rise and success of the Tea Party movement has made Christen a frequent and articulate guest on many local and national forums. But at heart, she is a wife and mother whose passion and dedication to certain core beliefs, have thrust her to the forefront of a new American revolution.

I recently met with Christen, and while conversing over tea (my symbolic choice), we discussed the political road she had taken, and where it might lead. The beginnings, as one might expect, revolve around family.

“I come from a long line of entrepreneurs,” says Varley, “and I think it has a lot to do with why I really jumped on to this. Most of my family owns its own business or has at some point, or has worked in small business. In high school and college, we all worked for my mother and stepfather’s company. They paid for our education and we worked for them. We got paid a check and endorsed it over and got handed back whatever cash we needed. The exchange was, ‘We own you,’ and so you learned there were prices to be paid and that there are rewards at the end.”

Following college, Varley worked for a Prague restaurant, where she introduced changes that tripled profits over a four-month period.

“During my time in Europe, I realized that I could create something and have it be my own," she said. "That win, lose, fail or whatever, it was mine, and it shouldn’t be taken away from me.”

Eventually arriving in Holliston, her husband Tim took the first step in introducing Varley to a wider audience. 

“I had a blog that my husband set up for me because I think he was tired of listening,” she said. “As someone who was pretty much a supporter of George Bush, it wasn’t until I really saw things getting ugly that I felt compelled to push back in my own little way. So my husband set up a blog for me in 2006, and once a week or once every couple of weeks, I’d write some sort of essay. I started to develop a little bit of a following, definitely a following of people who did not appreciate my opinion, and by the end of 2007, I’d come out publicly and said this Obama guy is all wrong, that we didn’t want Hillary Clinton.

“I think I came out for Mitt Romney,” she added, “and of course it was McCain and I held my nose like everybody else. I loved Sarah Palin, loved her positions, loved her populist leanings and was very hopeful. I believed this was someone who could shake things up and was crushed by the election of Obama. Not because of him personally, even though I thought he was completely incompetent and unqualified for the job. But I really felt that people were not aware of what his true political leanings were.”

“At the same time we had the economic collapse, and the passage of TARP (Troubled Asset Reliefe Program) with Bush was a huge turnoff for me, and a realization that not only are they on the left, but they are right here amongst us. To me, the Tea Party movement was just a natural home. I saw protests starting to happen in January 2009 when talk of a stimulus program began. We had just done TARP, we didn’t know where the money went or how it was spent, and now this new administration was talking about giving away more money that we didn’t have.”

Varley was contacted by a college student and recent law school grad who shared her concerns. A rally was held on April 15, 2009 on the Boston Common with 2000 attendees. Only a few hundred or so had been expected.

“The Internet really gave birth to this,” she continued. “By the end of 2009, it was obvious that we needed some kind of organization. I looked at the names of the people who kept showing up at events, and picked a steering committee. We sat down and did some planning sessions, and elected a president, treasurer, and secretary, and registered as a non-profit for 2010.”

In 2010, the Tea Party movement steamrolled its way across the country, and locally, was largely credited with propelling Scott Brown into the U.S. Senate.

“I was introduced to Scott Brown at a fundraiser in Sherborn," said Varley. "I was introduced to him as the person responsible for the Tea Party in Boston. His ears kind of perked up and he asked what that was about. I was working on our mission statement, and told him ‘limited government, free markets, free speech, personal responsibility and individual liberty.’ He was like ‘wow,’ those are the same things that I stand for, and I thought it was nice that in this room with people who all wrote checks, that he spent a few minutes talking with me and seemed really interested.”

While the November 2010 Massachusetts congressional elections proved disappointing to Varley, she is planning a full slate of 2011 activities focused on educating potential candidates, lobbyist training, rallies, illegal immigration, and the establishment of legislative watch committees.

“I think people really recognize that we’ve reached a tipping point,” says Varley, “and there’s not a lot of rehabilitation of people who have gotten use to operating a certain way, and gotten used to government operating a certain way. Really, the only solution is a lot of turnover of representation. So I love all these new people who have gone to Capitol Hill this week, who have never served elected office before.”

“Being involved with the Tea Party made Massachusetts home to me,” she adds.  “Until a year ago, it was all about when we would move back to Ohio.  Now, I’ve met all of these people who think the same way I do.”

In closing, Varley contends that “what hasn’t changed is what I see as helping people sleep well at night.  That is knowing they did a good days work doing something they love for something they believe in, and that’s the human condition.  You’ve got to have that, or you’ve got nothing.”