Fifty Plus Advocate

By Evan WalshContributing Writer HUDSON – The “clicking” and “clacking” in the Hudson Senior Center’s billiards room can be heard throughout the building. Often, curious visitors peek inside the door to catch a glimpse of the action. They’re almost always met by Will Kirkpatrick, who asks one question. “Hey, are you a pool player?” With enough people replying “yes” over the years, “Team Hudson” was formed.

By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer PEABODY – One of the most vivid memories from any child’s life, especially if you are of a particular age, is that of chasing down the neighborhood ice cream truck. Most notably, Good Humor trucks with their white-uniformed drivers selling Eskimo Pies, snow cones, and frozen sweet treats.

By Janice Lindsay Contributing Writer Cranky Consumer Lady was not happy. Crank Consumer Lady (CCLady) plays the ukulele. This makes her happy. When she plays her ukulele, she plays standing up, and she uses a music stand to hold her music. This does not make her unhappy. But that music stand! When she practices with her ukulele group, she needs a collapsable stand that she can easily carry to their meeting place. The collapsable music stand is not supposed to collapse of its own volition.

By Colin McCandless Contributing Writer DARTMOUTH – A popular amusement park destination from the 1920s up through the mid-1980s, Lincoln Park in Dartmouth created fond childhood memories for generations of kids. But it also endured more than its fair share of calamities and tragedies.

By Marianne Lyons Delorey, Ph.D. Marianne Lyons Delorey, Ph.D. “We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.” – Marshall McLuhan The year is 2040. I am now living in a retirement community. Technology has advanced so much that the building’s computer system tracks everything I do. I wake up in the morning; the computer notes the time and the quality of my sleep. I go to the bathroom and my output is measured.

By Michael Perna Jr.Contributing Writer WORCESTER – The history of theaters in Worcester goes back to the year 1857, when a playhouse (no movies had been invented yet) called Piper’s Worcester Theatre was opened on Front Street, across the street from Worcester City Hall. The venue went by a number of names over the years, including the Athenaeum, the Musee, the Front Street Opera House, and the Park.

By Matt RobinsonContributing Writer REGION – From the Berklee College of Music in Boston to Tanglewood in the Berkshires, Massachusetts is one of the most wide-ranging musical realms in the world. Holding it down at both ends is a dynamic married couple, Berklee professor George Oldziey and singer/songwriter/producer/event operator Suzi Stern. Musicians Suzi Stern and George Oldziey met in Austin, Texas in the 1980s when she hired him to play in one of her jazz ensembles.

By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer REGION – In 1971, Massachusetts legislature passed a bill introducing the state’s first lottery, beginning its sales with a game called “The Game” and its first drawing held in 1972 at Faneuil Hall where seven people won $50,000. Lottery game shows In the spring of 1975, “The Game” was changed to “The Big Money Game” and by the fall, a weekly half hour show of the same name made its debut. It was hosted by former WEEI personality Tom Russell.

By Michael Perna Jr.Contributing Writer SHREWSBURY – The history of crew racing on Lake Quinsigamond originally dates back to the years before the Civil War, when different colleges competed there. The “Lake” was an ideal spot for this particular sport, being a long, narrow venue. At that time it was also bisected by what was known as “The Causeway,” all of which made it an ideal place for spectators to cheer on their particular crew teams.