By Bella Caggiano

January

Small Norwood Fire Reaps Large Consequences

On Tuesday, October 27, the Norwood Fire Department was called to investigate an odor of gas at the Norwood Commerce Center on Endicott Street. The original fire was a small one, and the fire department was able to extinguish it with little difficulty. 

The Norwood Commerce Center, however, had more troubles than the fire. The Norwood Fire Chief noted that the firefighters had a hard time reaching the fire because of clutter and improper modifications to the building and needed 350-feet of additional hose to get to the fire to put it out. A walk-through the building by the Chief found conditions that didn’t meet life safety or building codes and Norwood’s Building Commissioner, Matthew Walsh, was called to the scene.

The following day, Walsh went back to the site with the electrical inspector, plumbing inspector, and the fire department, and did a walk-through of buildings 23 through 26 where numerous building, electric, plumbing, and fire issues were discovered. Chief Morrice and Walsh noted that all of the building issues needed to be addressed before the Center could be opened again and a cease and desist order was issued by Walsh.

Any number of the violations – fire, building, electrical, health, plumbing, and zoning, all of which were found – would have been reason to close the building. One of the most egregious was an autobody repair shop operating out of the basement of the building, housing multiple cars, motorcycles, boats, flammable material, and other paraphernalia. The building had never been permitted or zoned for that purpose and the ceiling of the shop is not fire-rated for storing flammable materials. 

“To be honest. the thing that stood out the most was the amount of work that was being done with no permits – no building permits, no electrical permits, no plumbing permits,” Walsh said. “What they’ve done is subdivided the spaces that have created such hazardous situations that the fire department stated [and it was one of the bases for serving the cease and desist] that they would not send firemen into the building if there was an emergency because it was so subdivided it created hazardous conditions such that if firemen went in the building they may not get out – they’d get lost inside the building.”

February

Nomination Papers Now Available for Annual Town Election

Make a difference. That is the opportunity available for  Norwood residents who seek to represent their neighbors and run in the 2021 Annual Town Election, which will be held on Monday, April 5. Interested parties must commit in February to run. In order to compete for these municipal positions, candidates must pull nomination papers from the Town Clerk’s office in Town Hall and obtain at least 50 registered Norwood voters to sign the form in their support (the Town Clerk recommends obtaining additional signatures as some supporters may not be registered voters). 

New Town Meeting Members must obtain at least 10 signatures in their district. Current Town Meeting Members should have received a letter of intent mailed to their homes in January. To appear on the ballot, a Letter of Intent must be delivered to the Town Clerk’s office, in Town Hall by Tuesday, February 16, 2021.

March

Goodbye Norwood’s Friend, Bernie Cooper

Norwood Assistant Town Manger Bernard S. Cooper, better known to all as Bernie, passed away on Sunday, January 24, after a brief bout with cancer. Bernie was a man who took that call of good citizenship to heart every day of his adult life. Born February 24, 1948, Bernie graduated from Norwood High School, Class of 1965, and Tufts University. He served the Town of Norwood, its citizens, and three town managers for 49 years as Assistant Town Manager and Civil Defense Director. 

“I am just heartbroken,” former Norwood Town Manager John Carroll said. “I was just thinking about Bernie. He was a great husband to Connie, a great father to Sam, Alisha, Josh and Amelia, a great assistant to me – even though I had to get after him about his desk a few times – and a great friend.  He really cared about the town and its people.  We had lunch together nearly every day for 39 years. That’s over 9000 lunches. You really get close to someone when you eat together that often.”

April

Meet Clayton Cheever, New Director for Morrill Memorial Library

On February 8, Clayton Cheever took over the role of Director for Norwood’s Morrill Memorial Library. Cheever took what might be considered a circuitous route to this position. After graduating from Vassar College as a geography major, he worked as Assistant Director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) in Austin, TX, for a short time. He then moved to Denver, CO, where he grew up, and worked for fair housing, directed the Denver Community Reinvestment Association, worked for several lawyers while contemplating law school, served on some nonprofit boards, and joined a start-up medical research company. 

In the bio he wrote to introduce himself, Cheever shared how his love and appreciation for public libraries began.

“I came to appreciate the incredible history of public libraries in this country, and the power of public libraries in general after being inspired by a profile of a radical librarian in a magazine I happened to pick up,” Cheever explained. “That ‘radical’ librarian was Sanford (Sandy) Berman, a library cataloger who was challenging the Library of Congress to call people what they want to be called - rather than using names scientifically or arbitrarily assigned to them,” 

May

Impact Norwood’s #WeAreTheNorm Campaign Focuses on the Positive

The town’s youth-led Impact Norwood has launched a social norms campaign aimed at correcting misconceptions about youth and substance abuse. The campaign, #WeAreTheNorm, launched April 1, is to educate community members about the true behaviors of youth in town. 

Impact Norwood’s Program Director Aubrey Ciol, said one of the things the coalition does is collect data and look at it to see where they are seeing a problem as far as youth substance use and what’s putting them at risk. The social norms campaign is one of their strategies for combating that problem where instead of focusing on the risky behavior youth are engaging in, they flip it.

 “We talk about what the actual norm is,” Ciol said. “The actual norm is that the majority of youth in Norwood are not engaging in substance use. By focusing on that we’re letting youth know ‘hey your peers aren’t doing this as much as you think they are.’ Especially with the way youth are portrayed in media, TV shows, movies with big party scenes. That’s not the majority of youths. And it’s not only in Norwood but across the state. We want to do something positive to focus on the positive in the community instead of focus on the negative.”

June

Downtown Norwood ... A Destination Despite the Pandemic

It’s safe to say that people understand that the pandemic has created havoc across the globe. In our state, it has stressed healthcare and education professionals, and hurt small businesses in many ways. It’s also hampered the ability to socialize and, for many, created financial hardship. Our lives have been altered in many ways – some negatively, others indescribably. In many ways, the pandemic has challenged us to do things differently to adapt to the situations we’re facing.

Norwood residents have faced many of the same problems as our sister communities. But the Town of Norwood – from the selectmen, to town manager, department heads, and their support staff, have been working to keep the lines of communication open and to help local businesses during the tough economic times.

Charlotte Walsh, owner of Charles River Running, has been a significant contributor to the Norwood business community for the past nine years. Walsh has been active in supporting all Norwood businesses and is the current president of the Friends of Norwood Center, a non-profit group that connects local businesses, town leadership, and residents. The Friends’ stated purpose is “to help support a vibrant community and a thriving local economy.”

Walsh credits the Town for making Norwood a “destination” last year when other towns were still struggling to deal with the fallout of business closings.

“Because the Town was so proactive last spring when things were starting to open up in limited capacity, Norwood was way ahead of every other town around,” Walth opined. “As a result ... the day that the state allowed for outdoor dining, our restaurants were ready.” 

July

The 4th is On!

Just six weeks to plan a grand parade; not enough time you say? Plenty of time for Norwood’s A team! Yes, Norwood’s grand Independence Day Parade will take place this year, with just a few slight changes. First, the event will be held on July 3rd instead of its traditional date on the 4th of July. Also, the parade will begin at 10 a.m., and the Firecracker 5K Road Race will have a starting gun of 9 a.m. 

“It was tough with the late notice and competing with other towns [to confirm entertainers],” Norwood Recreation Assistant Director Catherine Seastedt said. “Also, with 4th of July on a Sunday, there are churches on the route and we wanted to make sure we didn’t conflict with that.”

The Grand Marshal in the parade this year will be the Cooper family, in honor of the Town’s beloved Assistant Town Manager, Bernie Cooper.

“We felt it was important as we want to keep this tradition going,” Norwood 4th of July committee member Maria Henry said. “I think it is a huge benefit to the town, especially after the pandemic. Especially after losing Bernie; he loved this parade. He would have been honored we were carrying it on. This is what makes Norwood Norwood.”

This year’s parade theme is Hometown Heroes. There will be a float designated to many of Norwood’s local unsung superstars who worked hard throughout the pandemic to ensure residents’ safety and health, and who provided services throughout the difficult year. Representatives will include a doctor, nurse, postal worker, teacher, grocery store worker, and others.

August

Planning Norwood’s 150 Year Anniversary

Interested in helping plan Norwood’s birthday? The Norwood 150th Committee has been meeting to plan a year-long series of events to celebrate Norwood’s 150th birthday in 2022. They are currently looking for “energized and committed” volunteers to join their team. 

There are many reasons to celebrate this great town that is drenched in history and exceptional communal support. This couldn’t be said better than the 150th committee’s mission statement:

To embrace the rich memories and capture the dreams of a bright future for Norwood’s citizenry ... yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

To engage our families, schools, and businesses in a collaboration of demonstrated and enduring civic pride.

To celebrate as one unified community Norwood’s rich cultural diversity, unparalleled work ethic, and extraordinary 150 year history as “The Crown Jewel of the Commonwealth”.

If you have an idea for a specific event to celebrate Norwood’s 150th birthday ... or if you want contribute to existing events ... or you want to help build Norwood’s legacy for the times to come, they hope you will apply to volunteer for the Norwood 150th Committee! 

September

Let’s Celebrate Norwood!

The 18th Annual Norwood Day Celebration will be Held Saturday, Sept. 18! The year 2020 is almost a blur. Most activities were restricted to home and people desperately missed events and traditions they look forward to all year long. The long wait is over Norwood residents, Norwood Day is back in 2021!

This annual celebration brings businesses, organizations, and residents together to share information, goods, and services, but just as importantly, celebrate this wonderful town. The event will be held Saturday, Sept. 18, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., with vehicle traffic closed from the intersection of Washington and Nahatan Sts., through the split at Washington and Walpole Sts., and all streets surrounding the Town Common.

It’s a great scene to take in as downtown Norwood and the Town Common are transformed into a community festival. The streets are filled with thousands of people enjoying live entertainment, games, sporting events, kiddie rides, crafters, food bites from local restaurants, sidewalk sales, and visiting tables of businesses and non-profit groups, and town department displays.

The 18th Annual Norwood Day actually launches the evening before, Friday, September 17, with a fireworks display at the Coakley Middle School. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., the school field is bustling with games the entire family will enjoy! As darkness approaches, the Norwood skies will light up with fireworks (again generously donated by David Spiegel) as a fitting prequel to the next day’s celebration. 

On Saturday, September 18, at 9:30 a.m., a parade kicks off the spectacular main event, beginning at the Morrill Memorial Library with the Norwood High School (NHS) marching bands and fall sports teams proudly strutting their school colors and entertaining spectators. The parade concludes at the town gazebo where the NHS Spirit Club will identify the King and Queen of the Court and the Ann Lydon Volunteer of the Year Award will be presented (the winner is a secret). The prestigious Award recognizes and honors a Norwood resident who has gone above and beyond to help the local community.

October

The Norwood Craft Affair Returns for its 27th Year!

Craft Lovers….it’s back!! After two longs years of waiting, due to its cancellation in 2020 due to health regulations from COVID-19, the Craft Affair has returned to Norwood!

This event brings together crafters and craft enthusiasts together for one of the largest fall shopping events in the area! The Norwood’s infamous 27th Craft Affair,  will be held on Saturday, Oct. 16, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., at Norwood High School. 

The ‘Affair’ has grown to include approximately 80 crafters who travel to Norwood from all over New England to showcase their creative wares. The list is so impressive, and includes: sewn, crocheted, and knitted pieces, there will be chocolate and honey, items for pets, jewelry, holiday decor, wreaths, stained glass, jams and jellies, mirrors, paintings, 3-tiered plates, bags, scarves, soap, wooden toys, painted glass, quilts, ornaments, hats and mittens, cards, plastic canvas, hand towels, hair bows, hen houses, ceramics, puzzle lights, decoupage plates and doll clothes, and much more! The huge assortments of raffles are always a popular corner with chances to win many handmade items, gift certificates and Mustang memorabilia!

November

Holiday Tree Lighting is Back!

There were so many missed events during 2020 due to COVID-19 health restrictions. One beloved celebration that was cancelled last year was the Norwood Holiday Tree Lighting. As the country adjusts and resumes its traditions, so does the town of Norwood, and this opportunity to resume ‘normal’ activities will be a breath of fresh (and maybe nippy) air to kick off the holiday season!

It’s a perfect long weekend. It launches Thursday with a lavish Thanksgiving meal, followed by masses of opportunities for retail bargains, and delicious leftovers. What could possibly top that? How about some well-deserved down time on Sunday, Nov. 28 to continue the celebration and further family time with a town tree lighting!

Norwood hosts a great afternoon free from the bustle of the crowds to offer an afternoon  that has become a favored holiday tradition,  The Holiday Tree Lighting! The fun-filled (and FREE) family event will be held on Sun day, November 28, 1:30-4 p.m., on the Town Common and the Norwood Civic Center. The celebration includes a reindeer dash, horse-drawn hayrides, festive entertainment, holiday readings, face painting, barnyard animals, a parade, and music. The afternoon concludes when Santa and Mrs. Clause make their dramatic entrance and light up the Norwood Town Common!

December

Town Birthday Celebrations Launch New Year’s Eve!

Norwood will be celebrating its 150th birthday celebration throughout 2022, however, the festivities will begin a day early on January 31 with the Town’s own version of First Night! The exciting New Year’s Eve event will begin at 3 p.m., and will include a road race, dancers, magic, music, singers, games, and so much more! 

The day/evening schedule is jam packed with events geared for all ages. The activities will be both inside and out at the Civic Center, Morrill Memorial Library, Town Hall, Saint Catherine’s gymnasium and cafeteria, the First Congregational Church, the F. Holland Day House, and the Town Common. On January, 1, the fun continues with a Comedy Night, at the Norwood Theatre. For up-to-date information, monitor the event website at  http://norwoodma150.gov. 

Contributors: Bella Caggiano, Donna Lane, Elizabeth Taurasi