Connie you nailed it. We need a Community Center at the ball park/ schools location! We are trying to build an intergenerational center- where kids who have grandparents who live far away can make GRANDFRIENDS ! Let us create activities that build community across generations-game nights-movies for all-exercise programs, trips, mental health support and the list goes on! As an aging adult I do not want to be isolated- if you want to do that why not put all the old people on ice flows and push us out into Flint/Sandy pond! Then we wouldn’t be a burden!
On Thu, 24, 2022 at 9:22 PM June L Matthews <[email protected]> wrote: > I enjoyed John Carr's account, partly because I lived in Cambridge near > Harvard Square for 17 years before moving to Lincoln. In 1990 I felt that > I had "been there, done that," and was eager for a quieter, greener > environment. I moved to Lincoln and ended up on Greenridge Lane, which > someone said had been advertised as "Cambridge in the country." For me it > was ideal, walking distance to commuter rail and the town center > (Donelan's, post office, etc.). Now retired, I don't use the commuter rail > as much, but I value the concept of a town or village center (aka Lincoln > Station). Even though I am still driving, I would be much more likely to > visit and utilize a Senior/Community Center if it were located within > walking distance from these other amenities (groceries, post office, > Something Special, dry cleaners, Twisted Tree, bank, et al.), rather than > -- not really "in the middle of nowhere," but still remote from other > probable destinations -- a location like Hartwell. I've thought a lot > about the issues, and am reluctant to vote approval for funds to study just > the two previous proposals. Things, and people, and people's ideas, have > changed in the past ten years. Could we not have a broader discussion, > including the scope, purpose, and location of the proposed new facility? > > June Matthews > Greenridge Lane > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Lincoln <[email protected]> On Behalf Of John F. Carr > Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2022 3:32 PM > To: Constance Lewis <[email protected]> > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] The meaning of community > > Those tables where people sometimes play chess in Harvard Square only > exist as part of an ecosystem that is everything the Select Board, police > department, and Planning Board fight so hard to keep Lincoln from turning > into. Many thousands of people pass through the square > in a day, more than live in all of Lincoln. Less than one in a > thousand of them stop to play chess. There are more things to do in > Harvard Square than all of Lincoln plus several community centers. > > For a while centered on two decades ago I spent Saturday afternoons and > evenings there. I would meet up with friends for dinner then we would > separate to do our own things before meeting again. Split up, we didn't > have a choice of shuffleboard vs. cribbage. We had a hundred shops for > those who wanted to shop. For the rest, listen to the street musicians, > walk along the river, or go for a smoke or a drink on the Common. If one > of us had been into chess that break would have been time to look for a > game. > > Maybe another 15 years of gentrification have changed things, but in the > 2000s the area was filled with what Lincoln residents would call > "suspicious" people. Around half the people I ate with any given Saturday > night would have residents here calling the cop. The white ones too. And > I didn't hang out with the really weird people. > Friends who could hold a decent job, and friends of friends. > > That is what happens when you have a dense urban environment with good > public transportation. That is why Arlington residents were not excited by > the offer to extend the Red Line to their town forty years ago. Urban is > not for everybody. > > We are not going to have lots of shops, activities, and good public > transportation around a community center. We are not going to have a lot > of people within walking distance of the building. The community center > will be an isolated facility visited by people who can get a car ride. If > we want to dream we should look at other towns, not cities. What happens > at other towns' community centers? Are there crowds watching chess games? > Is the site deserted except for a few hours every day? Is the building > near anything, or is it in the middle of nowhere like Hartwell? > > > John Carr > > On Fri, Nov 18, 2022 at 12:18 PM Constance Lewis <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > On a beautiful days in early November, I had an appointment in Harvard > Square and stopped for coffee at the Smith Campus Center (formerly the > Holyoke Center). The plaza in front that faces Mass Avenue has always been > well used by a great variety of people—from Harvard students to Cambridge > residents to visitors from near and far; and I have always enjoyed spending > time there, sometimes just idly watching the passing parade. But on that > Thursday, I looked at the plaza and the sidewalk in front of it in a > different way because of the LincolnTalk discussion about the building of a > community center. I saw people on their laptops pausing to chat for a > minute or two with someone who stopped by. Other people were talking > seriously or cheerfully with friends and often with strangers at the next > table. People of different generations were playing chess. All around the > plaza and even on the street, there was a subtle, but palpable, sense of > community. > > > > I thought about what a community center would contribute to the > well-being of Lincoln residents of all ages and situations. Those of us who > are primarily connected to the town through the Council on Aging and Human > Services will inevitably become more connected to the schools and the > students. Other adults who are focused on school activities and those whose > children have gone on to high school may fall into conversation with > strangers whose ideas are enlightening or annoying, both part of building > and maintaining a strong community. Parks and Rec will have space to engage > Lincolnites of all ages in old and new activities. > > > > For me, a building, no matter how well planned, is just bricks and > mortar until it is inhabited. Once people bring it to life, a building > becomes something no one could have entirely anticipated; before long, > people start to wonder how they lived without it. > > > > Those of us who are familiar with the space constraints in town know how > much we need more space for both administration and activities. Scattering > activities around town is often difficult or impossible to arrange. A > centralized community space makes it possible to manage activities > creatively, and the Community Center Building Committee has made this case > very well. Yes, building the Community Center will raise everyone’s taxes > though probably not as much some people imagine. But this investment in the > future will be well worth it if it makes Lincoln an even better place to > live and thrive. > > -- > > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > > Browse the archives at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
-- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to [email protected]. Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
