GROTON: Groton Conservation Trust will hold their Annual Meeting on April 24 at 7pm at the Groton Center. The focus this year is on the environment. Groton resident Jason Petralia, CEO and Founder of Anthropogenic Inc. will be speaker. Petralia is a serial innovator and tech entrepreneur and global solutions pioneer with a passion for developing software and data analytics capabilities that boldly transform the planet and its inhabitants. He has an extraordinary portfolio of corporate and product success across a broad spectrum of sectors including: AI, climate, mobile applications, Esports, health, education, and entertainment. TEDx speaker and advisor to leading ventures, Jason is an internationally recognized leader in sustainable finance solutions. The event is free, but please register at gctrust.org/about/events.

FITCHBURG: Atomic Artistry, a juried exhibition at the intersection of art, science, and climate activism that features nuclear power in a positive light, goes up March 6-30 at Fitchburg Art Museum Community Gallery. Members and the public are invited to the opening reception is March 9, 2-4pm. Museum admission is free on March 5, noon-7pm.

Artists created interpretations of the benefits of the power of nuclear energy for the juried contest with cash prizes. Entries came from seven states and ten countries, including 12 from Massachusetts. Submissions were judged on artistic merit and how poignantly communicated the themes of safety, reliability, and being an earth-friendly solution that can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and meet the world’s escalating energy demands. The winning artists received cash prizes.

On display are drawings, acrylic and watercolor paintings, sculptures, mixed media, digital prints and posters. They are opposite of the decades-long media representation of nuclear power in a dark, foreboding way. This exhibition bluntly contradicts the meta-narrative about atomic energy and posed a challenging project for artists. Nuclear power is a dependable, safe, and stable base of energy that provides New England and the nationwide electrical grids with 20% of its electricity, with zero CO2 emissions. The safety record of nuclear power plants is on par with wind and solar facilities.

Atomic Artistry is sponsored by Eco-Nuclear Solutions (a grassroots group of scientists and environmentalists based in Ayer), the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Fitchburg Art Museum and Generation Atomic. For information go to www.eco-nuclearsolutions.org

PHOTO: An Atomic Artistry submission from Jenny Jasmin Lacay of the Philippines

SHIRLEY: Stop by the Hazen Memorial Library, 3 Keady Way, on March 7 at 7pm for an engaging evening with popular Boston/WCVB Chronicle reporter Ted Reinstein. Reinstein will give a multimedia presentation on his latest book, “Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier.” Admission is free, light refreshments will be served. This program is funded by the Hazen Memorial Library Endowment Fund.

When Jack Roosevelt Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, he made history by breaking Major League Baseball’s longtime ban on Black players.  His uniform number (42) is the only one permanently retired by all of Major League Baseball’s thirty teams. What’s less well-known— and largely lost to history—is that a small army of men, women, and institutions of many types fought for many long and bitter years prior to Robinson’s triumphant debut in Brooklyn. This hidden story includes former stars of the legendary Negro Leagues like Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, and “Cool Papa” Bell. It includes the founder of the Negro Leagues themselves, the inexhaustible and indomitable Rube Foster, whose own story is both inspiring and tragic. It includes the Black press whose publishers and courageous journalists like Robert Abbott, Sam Lacey, Ida B. Wells, and Willa Bea Harmon raised the consciousness of Americans both Black and white to the ugly, racist underside of the national pastime. The sweeping struggle extended to America’s railroads and its Pullman Porters, who risked their jobs to become the Black press’s most unlikely but vital ally, covertly distributing copies of African-American newspapers as they crisscrossed the country. The story crossed oceans amidst World War II, when fabled all-Black units like the 761st Tank Battalion smashed both Nazi strongholds and racist stereotypes. And it even played out at Boston’s own Fenway Park where an extraordinary collaboration between a Black reporter (Wendell Smith) and a white city councilor (Izzy Muchnick) would light the final fuse that brought the barrier down in Brooklyn a scant few months later.

These and more unsung heroes were true pioneers, battling the color barrier for sixty years before Brooklyn, while making a path possible for Jackie Robinson. It was a battle largely in the shadows. But like Rosa Parks on a Montgomery bus, or John Lewis on a bridge in Selma, it was a battle of dignity and defiance in a hard-won war for justice. And this is their story.

AYER: Nashoba Park Assisted Living celebrated their newest centenarian, resident Mabel Hansen, on her 100th birthday on February 8th, 2024. This intergenerational celebration included everyone from fellow Nashoba Park residents and staff to elementary school students from all over the surrounding areas, giving everyone a chance to honor Mabel on her special day.

The party kicked off with a performance from accordion player and polka singer Dan Mackowiak, and Mabel was delighted with this showcase of her favorite European folk music. Mabel also received an outpouring of love and support from students from Page Hilltop Elementary and Florence Roche Elementary. They presented her with several birthday cards in addition to the ones she received from residents, bringing the total up to over 200! The students were excited to perform for Mabel as well, and showcased their gymnastics and singing talents for the birthday honoree.

Mabel also requested a golden layer cake with lemon icing and fresh strawberries. The dessert was the perfect way to cap off the birthday party, and Mabel was overjoyed.

SHIRLEY: On February 28 at 6:30pm, Shirley Democrats will convene via Zoom to elect three delegates and three alternates to represent Shirley at the 2024 State Democratic Convention on June 1, 2024. Registration of attendees will open at 6:30pm and close at 7pm. This will be a virtual meeting. For the Zoom link to the meeting, email ShirleyDTC@yahoo.com.

Registered and pre-registered Democrats in Shirley, 16 years old by February 15, 2024, may vote and be elected as delegates or alternates during the caucus. Youth (age 16 to 35), people with disabilities, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community not elected as delegates or alternates, are encouraged to apply to be ‘add-on delegates’ at the caucus or by visiting massdems.org/convention.

The 2024 Massachusetts Democratic Endorsing Convention will be held on June 1, 2024, at the DCU Arena in Worcester, to formally endorse a candidate for President of the United States and for U.S. Senate.
For information, email ShirleyDTC@yahoo.com or visit @DTCShirley on Facebook, or bit.ly/ShirleyDems.

SHIRLEY: On February 26 at 9:30am, enjoy a new presentation with NRWA Educator Gaynor Bigelbach - Wild & Scenic River Stories: Otters, Beavers, Mink and Muskrats.  This is a free interpretive presentation about the behavior and physical adaptations of four semi-aquatic mammals, the otter, beaver, mink and muskrat, who depend on our nationally recognized Wilde & Scenic Rivers, the Nashua, the Squannacook & the Nissitissit.

This free public program will take place at the Shirley Senior Center, and is funded through the generous support of the Nashua, Squannacook, and Nissitissit River Wild & Scenic Stewardship Council.

GROTON: History At Play, LLC (HAP) has garnered nationwide acclaim for their Immersive Living History Experiences, chronicling the lives of legendary figures who changed society. Their performances have received accolades from journalists, actors, and historians alike and have earned statewide and national recognition. The acclaimed solo performance, “CHALLENGER: Soaring with Christa McAuliffe,” will be performed on January 27 from 2-4pm at the Groton (Senior) Center, 163 West Main Street. This one-time-only, unforgettable, free event is sponsored by the Groton History Center, with thanks to the Groton Commissioners of Trust Funds, as well as corporate and private donations. The performance runs approximately 80 minutes, followed by real-time audience Q&A. Suitable for all ages. For more information, see grotonhistory.org, email, info@grotonhistory.org, or call (978) 448-0092.

This production features HAP Founder and Artistic Direct Judith Kalaora (pictured) as the educational pioneer and internationally recognized Teacher in Space. Kalaora renews McAuliffe’s legacy in this multimedia immersive performance experience. It pays homage to the United States’ Teacher in Space Program and the crew of the NASA 51-L shuttle mission. The production received honors from the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives, and is produced with the approval of both the McAuliffe and Corrigan Families.  

History At Play, LLC was founded in 2010 by Artistic Director Judith Kalaora to create Immersive Living History Experiences that chronicle the lives of influential and often forgotten figures. Kalaora is a professional educator, published author, and award-winning living historian. After graduating from Syracuse University, she completed the Globe Education Program at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre of London, England. Kalaora is a four-time winner of the Bob Jolly Charitable Trust Grant; the recipient of the 2019 Dr. Bobby Gilmer Moss Lectureship Series Award, conferred by the National Society for the Sons of the American Revolution; and the 2021 recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Women in the Arts Award.