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Category Archives: Needham

Clyde Wheatley entertains Needham seniors

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By Daniel Curtin Hometown Weekly Reporter Senior citizens were serenaded by jazz saxophonist Clyde Wheatley last Wednesday night at Needham’s Summer Concert Series, held at Wingate Residences. The concert featured many different hits from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s from the likes of Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller and Louis Armstrong. Wheatley played over the recordings of...
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ScienceTellers take Needham by storm

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By Daniel Curtin Hometown Weekly Reporter ScienceTellers, an interactive science and storytelling program, was invited to help kick off the summer reading program at the Needham Free Library last Tuesday evening. Kids in attendance listened to a story called “The Mystery of the Golden Piano,” all while getting to conduct science experiments that related to...
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Needham High builds a global connection

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By Matt Liberman Hometown Weekly Intern While Ethan Lee remained focused on the screen at the front of his U.S. history class, every other head in the class turned toward teacher Doug Stanczak in awe, shock, and curiosity. In a video call between an 11th-grade U.S. history class at Needham High School and a class...
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Kids play with Drums and Dummies

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By Daniel Curtin Hometown Weekly Reporter About 30 young children, along with parents and guardians, came to the Needham Free Public Library to see ventriloquist Kevin Driscoll on Monday, June 18. Driscoll, a former band director at Marlborough Junior High School, entertained the kids with his different ventriloquist dummies and collection of drums. The kids learned...
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Rick Merson, parade Grand Marshal

In appreciation of the many years of service that he has committed to the town Of Needham, the Needham Exchange Club has recognized Rick Merson as this year’s Grand Marshal for the 4th of July Parade. Richard “Rick” Merson began his career in Public Works holding several positions in the Department’s engineering division while attending...
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Nissen, D’Addesio win Melick Awards

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Each May at Town Meeting, the Melick Foundation presents the Richard Patton Melick Award. Every recipient demonstrates a generous volunteer spirit which contributes to the quality of life in Needham. This year’s winners were Kathryn D’Addesio and Suzanne Nissen. Additionally, in 2010, the Melick Foundation established an annual $2,500 scholarship for a Needham High School...
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Needham High Speech and Debate excels

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter Xenophobia. Term limits in Washington. “My Year of Saying Yes to Everything.” These were some of the topics Needham High School students broached in the past year on Needham High’s Speech and Debate team. Throughout the 2017-2018 school year, the Speech and Debate team fiercely contended in about 20 interscholastic competitions,...
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Needhamites attend TMAC meeting

By Matt Liberman Hometown Weekly Intern In a town where 27 percent of the population is below 18 years old, safety on the roads is paramount. On June 13 the Needham Traffic Management Advisory Committee (TMAC) discussed a new town-wide traffic study that will begin the week after July 4. Originally focused just on school zones, the...
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Farm share program up and running

Residents are already taking of advantage of the community supported agriculture program that the Needham Community Farm recently kicked off.  Tuesday was the first day of the program that allows consumers to subscribe to the harvest. The Needham Community Farm, a local nonprofit whose mission is to educate the community on sustainable growing and nutrition, while also...
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Needham High graduates turn their tassels

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter No amount of rain could have dampened the day as Needham High School’s seniors prepared for their graduation. With their family and friends watching from the stands of Boston College’s Conte Forum, the students met their teachers and faculty on the floor of the arena, where a banner reading...
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Save the Children hosting Cokie Roberts

Save the Children’s Boston Leadership Council is set to present an evening focusing on the promise of education for children of war and conflict on Friday, November 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Downtown Harvard Club. The evening will feature Cokie Roberts, Emmy award winning journalist and senior analyst for NPR and ABC News, and...
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Conner Jahn is May RAY of Hope

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Conner Jahn has been named the May 2018 RAY of Hope recipient by Needham Youth & Family Services. Conner is a senior at Needham High School. He was nominated by Karen Mullen for the work he does in SALSA (Students for Life without Substance Abuse). “I have known Conner Jahn for three years. Conner...
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James Delaney remembered with bridge dedication

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter On May 29, members of the community gathered at the top of Needham’s PTC parking garage overlooking the Kendrick Street Bridge. Within an hour’s time, the bridge would officially have a new name: the James J. Delaney II, USMC Veterans Memorial Bridge. “Jim was a longtime Needham resident,” Bill Topham,...
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HOPE Blooms fundraiser a success

On Saturday, May 5, Circle of Hope held its second annual spring fundraiser, HOPE Blooms, to raise money to support their work on behalf of homeless individuals and families in Boston and Metro West. One hundred and forty guests came together to welcome spring and celebrate a record-breaking year of support for the homeless children,...
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CATH celebrates health with music

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter If you’ve ever felt your spirits lifted or your stress melt away after listening to a song, then you’re probably already aware that music has many health and wellness advantages. The Golden Tones, a chorus comprised of retirement-aged men and women, aim to reap the benefits of music and...
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Needham raises a flag for veterans

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter It’s not uncommon to see a few cars parked along the sides of the roads inside St. Mary’s Cemetery in Needham. Many buried in the cemetery are regularly visited by their loved ones, but on May 23, St. Mary’s saw an influx of visitors, and they were not at...
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Frequent tiny flyers return to feed

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By Ilene Hoffman Hometown Weekly Correspondent Imagine you weigh less than a nickel (five grams), are 3.5 inches long, and flap your arms 60 to 80 times per second. You travel about 1,000 miles a year from Massachusetts to Mexico and Central America to breed. What are you? A ruby-throated hummingbird. The ruby-throated hummingbirds are among...
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Chamber recognized for energy saving efforts

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The Newton-Needham Regional Chamber has received an award of excellence at the Massachusetts State House. The chamber was celebrated on May 1 for the Newton-Needham Business Energy $avers (NNBE$) program which has helped hundreds of local businesses take advantage of over $3 million to fund energy upgrades. “I am delighted to have the opportunity...
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Cassie Bailey, Youth of the Year

The Needham Exchange Club provides recognition to four very accomplished graduating high school seniors in its Youth of the Month and Youth of the Year programs. Additionally, its scholarship program provides recognition and financial assistance for graduating seniors. Of these, Cassie Bailey was chosen to be the Club’s Youth of the Year. Cassie was also...
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Needham Garden Club studies tulip history

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By Laura Drinan Hometown Weekly Reporter “We know them as spring flowering bulbs,” said Ila Cox, a plant lover and gardener. She pointed to a vase on the table inside of the Needham Free Public Library’s Community Room, where members of the Needham Garden Club met for their monthly meeting. Springing out of the vase were...
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