The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

News acorns

Spring market on Saturday

LincFam will host a Spring Market at the Pierce House on Saturday, April 5 from 9:00am–1:00pm with local food, handmade jewelry and artworks, flowers, and folk music with Art Grossman. Click here for details on vendors.

COA&HS activities this month

For a full list of Council on Aging & Human Services events — including clinics, exercise classes, regular meetings of interest groups, and online chats with town officials — see the COAHS’s newsletter page. Call 781-259-8811 or email gagnea@lincolntown.org for Zoom links and other information.

  • Lincoln’s Doo Wop group will host a concert and cereal drive on Thursday, April 10 at 3:30pm in Bemis Hall. Please bring boxes of cereal to benefit the Lincoln Food Pantry
  • Ray Anthony Shepard, Lincoln’s representative to the Special Commission on the 250th Anniversary Celebration of the American Revolution, will read from his work-in-progress, The Forgotten Patriots of Color: A Story of Local Black & Brown Patriots, on Friday, April 11 at 12:30pm in Bemis Hall.
  • “The Nettle Dress: A Tale of Love & Healing” (68 minutes) will be shown on Thursday, April 25 at 12:30pm. After the death of his beloved wife, textile artist Allan Brown spent seven years making a dress by hand just from the fiber of locally foraged stinging nettles.

Two plant sales coming up

  • The ordering deadline for the Middlesex Conservation District’s 2025 Spring Plant Sale is Monday, April 21 with pickup and cash sale on Friday, May 2 from 4:00–7:00pm, and Saturday, May 3 from 9:00am–1:00pm at Farrington Nature Linc. Click here to order.
  • The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust will hold its annual plant sale on Sunday, May 18 from 11:00am–1:00pm at Lincoln Station. There will be a selection of native perennials and shrubs for (no pre-orders) — click here to see the list of available plants. LLCT membership contributions support the sale and planting efforts on conservation land.

Lincoln School Librarian Gwen Blumberg joined Saige at the MSLA award ceremony on March 30 in Plainville.

Third-grader wins statewide contest

xLincoln School third-grader Saige Hamilton has won the Massachusetts School Library Association’s statewide 2025 Bookmark Contest for second- and third-graders in Division 2. Saige is the daughter of Lincoln METCO director Marika Hamilton. Students from schools across the state submitted designs for a bookmark themed “Find Your Path in the Library.” It was the first time Lincoln School participated. 

Gropius House tour and walk

Come see “A New Kind of Architecture in Harmony with Nature” on a tour of the historic Gropius House (68 Baker Bridge Rd.) on Sunday, April 27 from 10:00–11:30am. Walter Gropius (1883-1969) founded the Bauhaus school that united art, nature, and technology. The tour of his 1938 Lincoln home followed by a walk in the grounds reveal design strategies that have returned to architectural importance for sustainable design in the 21st century. Click here for tickets.

Get ready for Club Codman

Dust off your wigs, platforms, and polyester because Club Codman is coming to Codman Farm on Saturday, May 10 at 8:00pm. It’s an adults-only dance party to benefit Codman Community Farms with great music and great drinks. Purchase tickets here.

Preschoolers pitch in for food pantry

Children and parents from the Lincoln Nursery School recently contributed to a food drive for the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry. See more photos on the SVdP Facebook page. Adults, left to right: Lauren Lane, Jenny Rogers, Bridget Healy, Melissa McDermott, LNS Director Nancy Fincke, Alison Young, and Robin Blesius.

Dozens of luminaries petition Healey to stop Hanscom expansion

More than 40 leading historians, scientists, and climate and environmental advocates sent a letter today to Gov. Maura Healey asking her to stop the proposed private jet expansion of Hanscom Field.

The airfield is close to Minute Man National Historical Park (MMNHP), Walden Pond, and nearby landmarks which the National Trust for Historic Preservation and has designated as among America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Those areas are ground zero for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War, with events that will draw thousands to the region.

Minute Man National Park, Walden, and their historic environs represent and reflect our nation’s ability to prevail, evolve, and enlighten in the face of extreme challenge,” the letter says. Signers include musician and Walden Woods project founder Don Henley, actor/activists Ed Begley Jr. and Ashley Judd, 350.org founder Bill McKibben, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, musician James Taylor, historian Douglas Brinkley Jr., former Massachusetts secretary for environmental affairs John DeVillars, and Ellen Emerson and Mark Thoreau, direct descendants of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau.

Last June, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper rejected the draft environmental impact report for the expansion and asked the developers to submit a supplemental report with additional information about climate impacts, among other things. The proposal would add 17 hangars that could accommodate more than 60 additional private jets.

Healey is also the target of petitions from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere; the letter has garnered 14,000 signatures so far. The state legislature and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office do not have the authority to stop a Massport project; only Healey has that power.

Click here to see previous news and opinion piece in the Lincoln Squirrel about this issue.

Olson loses seat as two newcomers voted onto Planning Board

Longtime Planning Board member Margaret Olson came in third and thus lost her bid for reelection in Lincoln’s town election on March 31 as challengers Susan Hall Mygatt and Rob Ahlert won the two open seats. 

The vote was quite close among the three candidates. Mygatt came in first with 558 votes (33%), but Ahlert edged out Olson, 446 to 416 (26% to 24%). 

Though incumbents usually have an advantage, there was one element that probably determined the outcome: both Mygatt and Ahlert opposed the Housing Choice Act rezoning measure that Olson shepherded through last year as Planning Board chair. And in a “My Turn” piece in the Lincoln Squirrel on March 23, Flint (an incumbent who chose not to run for reeelction) endorsed the two challengers. He cited Mygatt’s experience on the Conservation Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals, as well as the fact that Ahlert of 185 Lincoln Road lives close to the South Lincoln area that was rezoned.

“With all the changes that are slated for this area, I believe it’s critical that the neighborhood has a voice on the Planning Board,” Flint wrote.

The tightness of the race echoed the contentious March 2024 Town Meeting vote on the rezoning measure, which passed by a slim 52%-to-48% margin. Not coincidentally, that was the first year that zoning bylaw changes could be approved by towns with a simple majority vote rather than the previous two-thirds. 

In the other contested race, John Ryan Jr. and Charles Morton IV were the top two vote-getters for the two openings on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee, beating out Eric Poch (all from Sudbury). In that town, which also held its election on March 31, Ryan won 1,528 votes, Morton received 1,436, and Poch got 836. Click here for the full Sudbury results. 

In Lincoln, 850 voters cast ballots, or 17% of the town’s 5,020 registered voters.

Precinct 1Precinct 2Total
Select Board
James M. Hutchinson462202664
Write-in/blank14838186
Total610240850
Board of Assessors
Bruce D. Campbell448193641
Write-in/blank16247209
Total610240850
Board of Health
Steven R. Kanner448194642
Write-in/blank
Total610240850
Cemetery Commissioner
Conrad H. Todd470199669
Write-in/blank14041181
Total610240850
Commissioner of Trust Funds
Douglas B. Harding455193648
Write-in/blank15547202
Total610240850
L-S Regional School District Committee (vote for two)*
Charles I. Morton IV367146513
Eric D. Poch6040100
John J. Ryan, Jr.395174569
Write-in/blank398120518
Total1,2204801,700
Parks and Recreation Committee
Thornton D. Ring, Jr.443178621
Write-in/Blank16762229
Total610240850
Planning Board (vote for two)
Setha Margaret Olson305111416
Robert D. Ahlert315131446
Susan Hall Mygatt389169558
Write-in/blank21169280
Total1,2204801,700
School Committee – three years
Kenneth R. Lepage437178615
Write-in/blank17162235
Total610240850
School Committee – two years
Abbey B. Salon439184623
Write-in/blank17156227
Total610240850
Town Clerk
Valerie Fox519215734
Write-in/blank9125116
Total610240850
Trustees of Bemis Fund
Sara A. Mattes447184631
Write-in/blank16356219
Total610240850
Trustees of Lincoln Library
Ray A. Shepard479197676
Write-in/blank13143174
Total610240850
Water Commissioner
Stephen R. Gladstone464197661
Write-in/blank14643189
Total610240850

* Totals do not include Sudbury votes; click here for those results.

Town Meeting free of controversy and “nay” votes

Lincoln’s Annual Town Meeting set a non-pandemic record for brevity, wrapping up in under three hours as every warrant article was approved by unanimous voice vote in a rare controversy-free edition.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the March 29 meeting was the confluence of past and future. It started out with a demonstration of the new voting clickers and later moved to a reenactment of Lincoln residents debating at a 1775 Town Meeting whether to allocate money for the war that many saw coming (see related story and “My Turn” piece).

Votes approved funding to buy the clickers last year and were thrilled on Saturday with the instant tallies during a test run, when they were asked to indicate whether this was their first Town Meeting or not (result: 149 no, 24 yes). They also tested the multiple-choice function. Ranked-choice voting will be an option in the future.

Saturday’s vote means that “we can add clickers to the list of techniques that the town moderator can use to ask for a vote,” Select Board member Jim Hutchinson explained. Voice votes will be the first go-to method and standing votes are still an option, but it’s at the discretion of the moderator. The only substantive and unavoidable change from traditional vote-counting is that voting by clicker is anonymous, so attendees can’t see how their neighbors are voting on an issue.

Hutchinson also encouraged officials to use the clickers to get a sense of attendees at future Town Meetings and those of boards and committees even if it’s not a formal vote. “We believe this is a good way to get more feedback from residents,” he said.

Budget

Revenues and expenses will grow by 7.9% in the budget approved for fiscal 2026. However, property owners will see a tax increase of only 0.9%, largely due to the Finance Committee’s use of $902,000 from free cash for tax relief. It’s a big change from 2020, when the tax rate ballooned by 14% due to borrowing for the school renovation project. “Preferred items” that were approved in addition to the FY26 base budget included a new police officer (the first in 25 years) and a part-time administrative assistant in the Planning Office.

These two charts show how Lincoln’s property tax rate has grown over the last decade in comparison to neighboring towns (click image to enlarge).

Future town budgets will be more unpredictable than usual, given the “sweeping and rapidly evolving” presidential orders on public health education, the environment, immigration, and more, said Select Board Chair Kim Bodnar. Pending the outcome of a flurry of legal challenges, “we have insufficient information to warrant making changes to budget and programs” in Lincoln, but the town will need to “evaluate what we need to do to maintain compliance with federal laws… while remaining true to the town’s vision statement and commitment to keeping Lincoln a welcoming community for all our residents, students, staff and visitors.”

Town Meeting Study Committee

Andrew Pang reported on the work of the committee, which was formed after last year’s controversial Annual Town Meeting (ATM) debate and vote on Housing Choice Act rezoning. Among its accomplishments so far:

  • The pre-ATM moderator’s meeting, seen by some as “proverbial smoke-filled room,” is now hybrid for greater transparency.
  • Publication of a Town Meeting primer
  • A two-minute timer visible to those who speak at the audience microphones, though by law, the moderator reserves the right to allow speakers to go longer. The group is also working on improvements to the audiovisual technology that’s used when an overflow room such as the Reed Gym is used.

Pang acknowledged that there have been “perceptions that differing viewpoints were not welcome” and said that the committee is “working on digesting and assimilating those comments [and will then] develop criteria and rules.” Other suggestions that the group is studying are having separate sessions for Town Meeting debate and voting; allowing remote participation in debate, which is complex from a technical standpoint. Remote voting is not permitted by state law, nor is absentee or early voting, he noted. Most would agree that boosting Town Meeting turnout is desirable, though Lincoln had the highest average rate in the immediate area in 2014-2023 (8.4% of registered voters, vs. a low of 3.7% in Bedford).

Pang urged residents to offer feedback on how Town Meeting went using this website, which the committee will consider as it reviews the primer and makes future recommendations. They expect to issue its final report to the Select Board in October and to residents at the November State of the Town meeting.

Water Enterprise Fund

Voters approved a bond issue of $6.79 million to fund Water Department projects, chiefly a water main replacement through the center of town for $6.2 million. Department Superintendent Darin Lafalam recapped his March 4 public hearing presentation outlining Lincoln’s aging water main infrastructure as Water Commission member Steve Gladstone noted that the town has never replaced an entire water main. Bids just came in for the first of two phases from the top of the hill on Bedford Road down Lincoln Road to Ballfield Road and were in line with estimates; work on that piece will take place this summer.

The bond interest and principal will be repaid from water rates, which rose 10% this year and are slated to do the same in the next two years as well.

Zoning amendments

A comparison of Lincoln’s previous ADU regulations (left), and what voters adopted last week to align with new state law (click image to enlarge).

Voters also approved zoning bylaw amendments to have the town’s rules on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) follow recent changes in state law. Those changes relax the rules around units of up to 900 square feet, though the town retained additional restrictions on units from 900 to 1,200 square feet. ADUs up to 900 square feet are now allowed by right with no special permit required.

Asked why the town didn’t simply adopt the same rules for all ADUs rather than keeping different ones for larger units, Planning Board Chair Margaret Olson said, “the Planning Board prefers to make small incremental changes [because] it’s extremely difficult to get regulations right.” It may make further changes in the future; “we’ll see what happens… but we’re making the minimum necessary changes today.”

My Turn: Revolution comes to Lincoln Town Meeting

By Lynne Smith

The 1775 Lincoln Town Meeting featured a heated but civil debate about the need for a tax increase to equip Lincoln volunteers to fight the British.

This debate came alive last Saturday at the 2025 Town Meeting as seven reenactors, led by Rick Wiggins as Eleazer Brooks, argued the topic. The passion and clarity of the different views rang out in the Donaldson Auditorium as they must have done in the Old Town Hall 250 years ago.  Those in favor of the tax were eloquent about the need for Lincoln volunteers to be armed and ready. Those opposing the tax and the revolution explained the difficulties caused by a tax increase, the loss of their sons to work the farm, and their hope that the problems with the British could be resolved without resorting to war. 

I was deeply moved by the elegant language of the reenactors. It was, in fact, a recreation written recently, but it captured the serious tone and reflected the views of the speakers, pro and con. That our town records preserved the outcome of this 1775 meeting illustrates the value our Lincoln forebears had for free speech and civil debate. Thank you to Kim Bodnar, the Lincoln Minute Men, and the Lincoln250 Committee for reminding us of what we are celebrating this year — and what we hope to continue.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Reenactors portray a controversial Town Meeting vote in 1775

Added April 2: Here are the transcript and video of the skit.

Most Town Meeting attendees dress casually, but seven of them in less comfortable colonial period costume rose in turn at last week’s meeting to argue for or against a 1775 funding measure, based on sentiments that their real-life counterparts expressed 250 years ago.

Lincoln historian Rick Wiggin and others examined minutes from the meeting on March 20, 1775, when voters were asked to approve “the sum of fifty-two pounds four shillings… to provide for those persons who have enlisted as minute men, each one a bayonet belt, cartridge box, steel rammer, gun stock, and knapsack; they to attend military exercise four hours a day twice in a week till the first day of May next.”

The measure had failed to win approval on two previous tries, but it finally got a thumbs-up at a gathering held in the old meeting house where the stone church now stands. Now in 2025, Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden called on each speaker as her counterpart would have done 250 years ago.

“How grave does the crisis have to be before we respond?” said the first speaker, Captain Eleazer Brooks, played by Wiggin. But Deacon John Gove (Hafner) countered, saying this would “drag us into war without our consent… belligerence of this sort will only inflame the situation.”

“The tyranny is upon us now!” declared Abijah Pierce (Tom Risser). “It is unreasonable that Parliament will restore our charter rights unless we make clear” our intention to fight if necessary.

But others objected. Ben Soule, playing Zechariah Wesson, noted that adopting the proposal would increase the town’s tax burden by one-third (the total town budget that year was £165). And the larger patriot goal of raising an army of 15,000 would mean that one in four men of military age would have to serve — including Wesson’s five sons.

The widow Ruth Gage (Bev Malone) tried to speak and was initially shouted down by Gove/Hafner, who objected that “it has never been our custom” to allow women to speak at Town Meeting. But Holden overruled him, noting that Gage’s late husband held property and therefore she had the right to speak and vote as long as she didn’t remarry.

In the wake of the Boston Tea Party two year prior, colonials had been asked to promise not to buy or consume British tea. “I took quill in hand and signed that pledge,” Gage said. “As a widow, I can ill afford to pay this extra tax… and as a mother, I worry about my son going to war,” she said. “But if our sons and husbands and brothers as Minute Men must face this danger, we need to assure they are properly equipped, for their own safety.” m.

“What will become of our town if declare as enemies those with whom we disagree?” said Ebenezer Cutler (Liam Lewis).

Nonetheless, when Holden called for the vote, the measure “passed” resoundingly, followed by a standing ovation. Select Board Chair Kim Bodnar noted the “poignant arguments” that are still relevant today, especially in light of the turmoil within the federal government.

The reenactment can be viewed in the Town Meeting video that will be posted on the Lincoln TV website soon.

News acorns

“Inundation District” screening and Q&A with director

MetroWest Climate Solutions will screen the award-winning documentary “Inundation District,” which explores the environmental implications of Boston’s decision to spend billions of dollars on building a new waterfront district, on Tuesday, April 1 from 7-9pm at First Parish Church in Weston (349 Boston Post Rd.). The city called its new quarter the Innovation District, but with seas rising inexorably, others are calling it the Inundation District. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with David Abel, one of the film’s directors. Abel is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who covers climate change for The Boston Globe. He is also a professor of the practice at Boston University. 

Concerts sponsored by the COA&HS

All are welcome at these upcoming music events sponsored by the Council on Aging & Human Services.

  • Abla Shocair and her grandson, Zaineddeen Kawaf, will play a classical piano concert including music composed by Schubert, Chopin, and Liszt on Wednesday, April 2 at 3:15pm in Bemis Hall.
  • The Lincoln-Sudbury Civic Orchestra Chamber Players will perform great musical works by Bach, Debussy, Haydn, and more, along with historical and contextual background of the works/composers, on Friday, April 4 at 12:30pm at Bemis Hall.

Library events on local farms, Lexington/Concord battle myths

A growing number of people are buying their produce, meats, and dairy products from local farms. Ashland Sustainability Coordinator Samantha Riley and a panel of farmers will explain the benefits of shopping locally grown and offer suggestions for growers in our area on Monday, April 7 from 7:00-8:00pm. Register here for the Zoom link.

On Thursday, April 10 from 7-8pm on Zoom, Lincoln Minute Man and Historian Rick Wiggin will discuss what truly happened in Lexington, Concord, and most importantly, Lincoln, on April 19, 1775 and how it became mythologized over time. The day was a one-sided massacre without return fire. By the centennial anniversary, the idea of the battle had become accepted history. Rick will dispel many of the popular myths of this pivotal day on Battle Road. Click here for the Zoom link.

Laura Vecchione

Talk on benefits of native plants

Soil ecologist and Lincoln Land Conservation Trust member Rachel Neurath will explore the potential of native plants to support pollinators, store carbon, and restore soil health in “Planting in Community and Planting for the Future,” a Zoom talk on Thursday, April 10 from 7:30-8:30pm. She’ll explore the above and below ground communities supported by some of the plants that LLCT will sell this year in their plant sale, as well as planting techniques that nurture soil health while helping plants thrive. Click here to register for the Zoom link.

Laura Vecchione at next LOMA

Laura Vecchione will be the headliner at the next Lincoln Open Mic Acoustic (LOMA) on Monday, April 14 from 7–10 p.m. in Bemis Hall. LOMA is a monthly open mike night event with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable for individuals or small groups playing acoustic-style. Come and perform (contact loma3re@gmail.com to sign up) or just come listen to acoustic music and spoken word. Free admission.

Time to pull garlic mustard weed

Garlic mustard season is right around the corner and there are lots of ways to get involved. Paper bags will be available at the transfer station on Wednesday, April 16 and Saturday, May 3 from 10am-noon. Starting on April 16, bags are also available from the Conservation Department and LLCT offices. If you’re pulling these invasives and bagging on your own, you can drop off bags at the DPW (30 Lewis St.) Monday through Friday from 7:30am-3:00pm. Leave bags in the designated bay at the base of the cell tower, not in the large brush pile. Paper bags only.

Conservation Department Land Manager Ryan Brown is also organizing several pop-up pull days. Join other volunteers to make a difference on conservation land on pop-up pull days on Friday, April 18; Thursday, May 1; Thursday, May 15; Friday, May 30; and Friday, June 6, all from 1:00-3:00pm. Email Ryan at brownr@lincolntown.org for locations.

“Eyes on Owls” at Farrington Nature Linc

Co-hosted with LLCT. Marcia and Mark Wilson of Eyes on Owls will introduce the audience to six owls found in New England, along with a hooting lesson, on Monday, April 21 at 1:00pm at Farrington Nature Linc (291 Cambridge Turnpike, Lincoln). This is a ticketed event ($12.50) with a family rate available; click here to purchase.

“Sprouting Up” for kids marking Earth Day

Celebrate Earth Day at the library with a hands-on gardening activity where kids will enjoy stories about the magic of gardening and nature on Tuesday, April 22 from 2-3pm. Afterwards, each child will have the chance to plant seeds in an upcycled egg carton perfect for taking home and watching their plants grow. Perfect for kids ages 3-8, this program combines reading, crafting, and a love for nature! Registration is required. This program is funded by the Friends of the Lincoln Library and LLCT. Please bring your own clean, biodegradable egg carton to the program (there will be extras on hand if needed). Register here.