Man About Canton: Fall is Here

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Now that Labor Day has come and gone, summer is over, and signs of autumn are all around. Fall officially began on September 23. The weather is noticeably starting to change, and temperatures are starting to slowly slip downward, causing crickets to chirp a little slower in the evening. With their two-plus months of summer freedom over, students, dressed in their new school clothes, have returned to their classrooms; and most, if not all beaches and swimming pools have closed until next year. Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers have finished ripening on the vine, and this year’s corn crop is now history. Summer flowers will soon be replaced with fall flowers, and it won’t be long before we will be wearing long-sleeved shirts during the day and sweaters in the evening to keep the chill away. Baseball games of the last-place Red Sox don’t seem to be that important, but at the same time, we are looking forward to cheering on this year’s defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots.

It won’t be long before the leaves on the trees begin changing from green to more colorful yellows, oranges and reds before they fall to the ground, leaving bare trees behind to cope with biting winter snows. While we can look forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and a few pleasant Indian Summer days, we have to face the fact that winter will soon be knocking on our doors, and that is not a very pleasant thought (for some of us), especially after the record-breaking snow and cold of last year. MAC hates to say this, but it is time to dig out your winter clothes and boots, replacing what no longer fits or has worn out and try to remember where you stashed the old snow shovels when last winter thankfully ended.

Canton residents Tom and June Martin are the recipients of the 2015 Bethany Health Care Center’s “Making a Difference” Award. Tom and June have supported Catholic organizations in the Archdiocese of Boston and are being commended for their commitment to the center’s mission to promote unity in the community. They will be honored at a dinner on Thursday, October 15, at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. The Martins also founded Cramer, a marketing and events studio in Norwood. Clients include nonprofit companies and health care businesses.

Matt Egan of Canton, a graduate of Thayer Academy, has won multiple New England Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) tournaments this year, the most recent being its elite event. His final score of 69 edged out the next closest competitor by a stroke.

Senator Brian A. Joyce (D-Milton) has had a perfect attendance record in the state Senate, making all 159 roll call votes for the 2015 season.

Almost 20 percent of all imports to the United States come from China. According to the National Association of Realtors, Chinese buyers purchased an estimated $28.6 billion worth of housing in the United States over the past year. Boston and its suburbs, with its elite universities and direct flights to China, is a favored market, just behind New York, Seattle, and California.

Town Spa Pizza, which has many Canton patrons, is celebrating its 60th year in business. In 1955, Henry and Rena Phillips opened the Town Spa in a former furniture factory at the corner of Rose and Porter streets in Stoughton Center. It is interesting to note that the Phillipses called it a “spa” because they purchased an existing license from the town and that was the name. In 1986, the pizzeria moved to its current 260-seat location on Route 138. The Spa is now being run by second-generation owner Dick Phillips.

Selectmen recently approved a request to place six to eight outside tables in the driveway area of Rosetta’s Italian Restaurant in Canton Center.

On average, more than two people per day died of apparent heroin overdoses in Massachusetts this year. The average age of the victims was 35, and about 80 percent were male. Police officials blame the large number of deaths on the increased strength of heroin on the street, much of it tainted with the deadly drug Fentanyl. It is a crisis consuming hundreds of families.

Niche.com, a national research group started by Carnegie Mellon University, recently released its 2015 list of the best public high schools in Massachusetts. The top two were Dover-Sherborn and Westwood. Among the top 100, Sharon was listed at No. 15, Milton at 38, Oliver Ames at 40, Foxboro at 71, and Franklin at 89. Canton was not listed in the top 100.

Talking about Foxboro, their superintendent of schools, Debra Spinelli, has an annual salary of $179,375. The town manager of Foxboro, William Keegan, earns $180,137 a year.

The Canton American Legion is sponsoring a trip to Foxwoods on Sunday, October 4. The bus will leave from the Legion at 9 a.m. and return at 6 p.m. The cost is $30 per person and includes $15 in slot money and $10 for food or for the full buffet. Those interested should call the Legion at 781-828-9766.

The 28th annual Daytime Halloween Motorcycle Run is scheduled for Sunday, October 4, starting at the Garden Cemetery on Baker Street in West Roxbury and ending at the Canton Town Club.

It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.

This is all for now folks. See you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

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Posted by Joe DeFelice on Oct 1 2015. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.