2nd Grade Concert, Karin Foley's best work yet

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Award-winning vocalist and music director Karin Foley led the second graders of North Pembroke Elementary School in a hopping and waving good-time holiday choral concert and poem-reading Thursday night, December 12th in the institution's cafeteria and stage area.

 

Patrons entered through the front doors and were approached and greeted by a trio of smiling students delivering holiday wishes and waving blue, dancing snow man decorated programs.

“I want to thank our ushers this evening who passed out programs, “said Principal Summergrad, referring to those animated and welcoming girls.  “They passed out programs with enthusiasm, you might have noticed.”

“The biggest 'thank you' for the evening goes to Mrs. Foley,” Summergrad continued, “whose patience and skill make possible what you are going to hear tonight: the joyful singing of our second graders. So without any further words from me, welcome and enjoy.”

The crowd of parents, relatives, and friends answered with resounding applause.

Foley then instructed each of the four second grade classes dressed in bright red, green, and white to wave.

“Mrs. Weir's class, wave to your parents,” Foley directed,  followed by Mrs. Snee's, Mrs. Batchelder's, and Mrs. Callanan's classes shaking fully out-stretched arms and hands.  One boy even jumped.

The entire performance is available at www.pembrokecommunitymedia.com.

“Jingle Jolliest Season” was sung first, then “Jingle Bell Boogie,” and a snow poem recited by classmates Kate W. and Jason F.

Mrs. Snee's and Mrs. Weir's classes belted out “Shalom Chaverim,” Bella G. read a dreidel poem, and Mrs. Callanan's and Mrs. Weir's classes sang a Hanukkah festival melody.

It's a brave second-grader who stands behind a microphone to read verse for a standing-room-only audience of over 300.  Besides the 3 courageous children mentioned above, Benjamin D., Vera R., Brendan A., John F., and Sophia P. also recited poems.

 

All four classes sang “Penguin Polka” for the grand finale.

The 25-minute video made by Pembroke Media shows teacher Mr. Moser after the concert saying “good job” and “high fiving” each student passing him while returning to classrooms where parents and youngsters rejoin to go home. 

So, let's have another round of applause for the amazing concert tonight,” ended Summergrad “We thank you again Mrs. Foley.”

Foley's masters degree in vocal performance is from the prestigious Boston Conservatory here in New England; and besides being a wonderful voice and general music teacher for Pembroke's public school children, she still finds time to sing with local church and choral groups.

Pembroke Media is a volunteer group of Pembroke residents of all ages interested in keeping local coverage alive.

 No funding comes from either the town or Comcast, all support is fully tax-deductible, and donations of $20 or more are recognized with a DVD of the show of your choice.

Community service hours can be earned towards the forty required for graduation from Pembroke High School by calling 781-910-8899 and talking about what is important to you in the world of media.

11 Pembroke Pack 105 boy scouts win "Best Show" Award

Eleven scouts in Pembroke's troop 105 were given “Best Show” awards for the “Sustainability in Recycling” comedy video they made August 18, 2013 while collecting electronic devices to help raise money for summer camping and other outings. That silly five minutes of gallivanting fun is playing on www.pembrokecommunitymedia.com in the “more fun videos” section.

The boys did double duty by collecting donated items and recording themselves at the same time.

Pembroke Media's Executive Director of Marketing Cathie Briggette and Assistant Scout Master Jim Twigg organized the event which was advertised a week earlier with flyers distributed at the Pembroke Arts Festival, announcements posted around town, and an e-mail blast sent to interested residents.

Leaders and dads Jim Lapham, Rob Larsen, and Matt Giese were on Pembroke Green during a concert to supervise uniformed scouts Luke Lapham, Connor Giese, Nick Shea,  Ryan Larsen, Kyle Keogh, Riley Larsen, C J Perry, Justin Gaiser, Lenny Lapham, Ryan Gaiser, and Evan Stockdale during both the shoot and drive which started in sunny conditions and ended with a light rain.

In an appreciated letter to Troop 105, Pembroke Media wrote:

“The combined efforts of our two organizations provided the motivation for donation of nine Hewlett Packard, two Kodak, four Cannon, and four Lexmark items.  Seven cell phones, one small camera, and ten miscellaneous electronic pieces also were donated by the public and collected by Troop 105 scouts.

“The recyclables were sent to and processed by Planet Green in Chatsworth, California.

“Pembroke Community Media applauds and congratulations all the young men who actively helped that rainy August evening both with the recycling drive and with making the light-hearted commemorative video.”

Twigg expressed his pleasure with how well the Pembroke Media event went and the money raised for scouting. “We are going to put the check from Pembroke Media in the general fund, mainly for camp which is the third week in July in Plymouth.

“The boys do a lot of community service like the bottle drive and popcorn sales for the cub scouts, and the October coffee cake sales for the boy scouts. Cakes bought in October were delivered before Thanksgiving so you could have it as a desert or as an appetizer,” Twigg joked.  “Did you know that Grandma's cakes come in about 15 different flavors?  We bought some of them to try at the meetings for research to make sure they all tasted good.”

Pembroke Media is an all-volunteer group of local residents interested in keeping local programming alive.  All support is fully tax-deductible under IRS 501(c)(3) regulations and Commonwealth of Massachusetts non-profit guidelines. Call 781-910-8899 to talk about what's important to you.

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Watch the Pembroke High School Thanksgiving Game Here

Thank D J Mattinson for same-day football viewing

The Mattinson family of Pembroke has taken pride in getting Thanksgiving high school football games ready for immediate public viewing ever since the Pembroke/Silver Lake rivalry began. This holiday it was Pembroke Media volunteer D. J. Mattinson who accomplished the nearly impossible “same-day” feat that his dad, professional media entrepreneur John Mattinson, pulled off other years.

D. J. filmed the entire game and half-time show from the top stands at the 50-yard line, braving freezing wind and cold to capture all the festivities on tape with his professional-grade camera. He then rushed home where the quality footage was uploaded, edited, and burned to disc Thanksgiving Day afternoon.

Same-day viewing is far different from live feeds needing no editing. The refining process which removes, adjusts, adds, and removes pictures and sound can take days. The job of placing graphics, introductions, endings, and credits can continue for days, weeks, and months more.

D. J.'s remarkable, same-day, polished production can be seen at pembrokecommunitymedia.com in the sports section.

“I was recording for the coaches while D J was catching the action for all the rest of us,” the elder Mattinson said. “I look forward to being here every year, but it was damn cold. Players and fans were fighting the elements, and D J said he saw some parents shaking.”

The traditional Thanksgiving Pembroke Titans vs Silver Lake Lakers football game started 10 am with Titans first winning the toss, and finished with a 21-17 Titans win.

Pembroke Media is an all-volunteer group of students and others interested in keeping local media coverage alive in their town and surrounding area. The organization is Commonwealth of Massachusetts 501(c)(3) non-profit, and IRS tax-exempt. All support is fully tax-deductible.

Call 781-910-8899.

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Rt 36 Landowners unaware, eminent domain takings coming

The Town of Pembroke was supposed to notify each and every landowner along 2.06 miles of Route 36 that a Commonwealth of Massachusetts highway project hearing was scheduled October 23, 2013, the same evening as baseball's World Series opening game featuring the region's own Red Sox team.
224 residents should have been told about the undertaking and the Town's intention to take land by eminent domain if property is not voluntarily surrendered.



 Of the 11 people who came to the meeting, three were politicians: Lew Stone, Dan Trabucco, and Josh Cutler.

Only 67-yr-old Roger Rehs of 432 Center Street spoke, saying that the project would make his already steep driveway impassable.

Commonwealth engineers showed a map of  27 proposed permanent easements, a proposed 60 or more temporary construction easements, and other proposed changes to land on both sides of the street.

The entire event took less than 30 minutes.
Chief engineer Patricia Leavenworth will accept comments from landowners and others for ten days only, and the clock started ticking at the October 23rd presentation.

Concerns and comments sent after November 2, 2013 will be banned from the official hearing transcript.

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WWII Tail Gunner George Bent, Jr.'s story

Pembroke Community Media's series about WW II continues with episode 5 in which Robert Kopper interviews tail and waist gunner Sgt George Franklin Bent, Jr., originally from Milton, Massachusetts.

Episodes one through four of this series have been airing weekly on television to over 3 ½ million viewers in PA, WI, IN, CA, ME, NH, and MA, and are  playing in 30 Massachusetts towns, including Marshfield, Hanover, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Danvers and Plympton. It is not playing in Pembroke.

A commercial for episode 5 shot September 18th by Pembroke Media volunteers with James Whooley making his acting debut, was shown as a promotional around the country prior to this video's release.

"You won't believe the original WW II documents you see," Jim says in the 55-second spot. "You have to watch this show."

If the Bent name sounds familiar, it's because the G H Bent company has been making crackers in Milton since 1801.  Locals call it "Bent's Cookie Factory."

Here's some information about George Franklin Bent, Jr.'s grandparents on his mother's side:

His maternal grandparents were US citizens.  They formed the Wiseman family of four.

Harrison S. Wiseman and wife Mary were born in NewYork in 1868 and 1873 respectively. In 1910 they lived in Pontiac, Michigan with 13-yr-old daughter Ruth Julia Wiseman (that's George Bent's mom-to-be)  and eleven-year-old son James Harrison Wiseman.  Both children were born in Michigan. Another child had since passed away.

24-year-old William Herzog from New York lived with them as a roomer, and worked as factory foreman in an automobile plant.

Mom Mary was a homemaker, and Dad Harrison fashioned leather for the auto industry.  On the paternal side, males named Shepherd, Joseph, Junior, and Josiah Bent all lived in Milton in the year 1800 according to the Census. Josiah was 29 at the time, having been born in 1771 to John Bent and Hannah Coller.

 Josiah is the relative who started the George Bent Cookie Factory in Milton, Massachusetts, famous for flour-and-water hard tack that became known as the first "cracker."  The staple required no refrigeration and was part of nearly every soldier's wartime diet.

It wasn't until 1873 that births were recorded in a family bible purchased by George and Edna who by then had babies Frances and Annie. These parents must have know their household would be expanding, since the illustrated and leather-bound book was a heavy thing with many empty pages for entries.

The children of George Henry Bent and "first wife" Edna Louise Hayden Bent as recorded in their bible:

Frances Ashton Bent was welcomed into the family on February 29, 1872. Sister Annie Mabel Bent(Bradlee) was born July 5, 1873; followed by Arthur Preston Bent on July 20-something in 1876; Gertrude Milton Bent(Read) on August 2, 1880; Emiline Hersey Bent on July 15, 1882;  Jesse Pierce Bent on December 2, 1883;  Harvey Bent on June 20, 1885;  George Franklin Bent on May 7, 1886; and Roy Bent on August 17, 1891.

That's nine children from "first wife" Edna who died December 17, 1895 at the age of 44.

A subsequent marriage to "second wife" Minerva Clarable Eddy Bent (and later "Higgins") added Helen Margaret Bent, July 3, 1907; William Eddy Bent July 2, 1909; and Charles Preston Bent September 4, 1910.  There were now a family of 14.

George Henry Bent, the father of these 12 children, and grandfather to our George Franklin Bent in Pembroke, Massachusetts, died April 13, 1915 from pneumonia.  The story goes that he hiked a lot with his dog Water Cracker Bill,  caught a chill, and died.

That brings us to our George's father who was the 8th child in the family of 12 siblings from Milton, Massachusetts.  He was George Franklin Bent, Sr who married Ruth Wiseman from Michigan.

George F. Senior served in WW I.

His and Ruth's children were Mary Catherine, Jean Marie, our George Franklin Jr., and then Sylvia three years later in 1928.

Today 88-year-old Sgt George Franklin Bent lives in Pembroke, Massachusetts with third wife Peggy.

This 5th episode of Robert Kopper's WW II series was recorded Saturday afternoon, August 24th, 2013 in the living room of Bent's Pleasant Street home.

On set, George was "grip," carrying all heavy filming equipment in and out of vehicles and through doorways.

Pembroke Media is an alliance of volunteers interested in recording local events and keeping history alive. Funding comes 100% from local businesses and people like you. All support is fully tax-deductible under IRS 501(c)(3) regulations and Commonwealth of Massachusetts non-profit guidelines.

Go the www.pembrokecommunitymedia.com or call 781-910-8899. You can sponsor a show, get a DVD, or just have fun viewing.

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Pembroke Media Crew films another “Expressions in Painting” show with Paul Crimi

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO

Fine Artist Paul Crimi turned a blank canvas into an outdoor scene in less than an hour during episode 16 in this recent series of "how to" videos called "Expressions in Painting."

Crew included Pembroke Community Middle School students Jessica Fano and Laura McCue on studio cameras one and two, and Pembroke Media's own director, Cathie Briggette on studio camera three. Each operator wore headphones and took directions for the entire hour from the director in the sound room.

Laura McCue, age 12, gave Crimi the 5-4-3-2-1 finger countdown at the beginning. She also held up the 30, 15, 3, and one-minute cards letting Crimi know how much longer until his time was up.

Jessica Fano's camera was angled to get close-up shots of both the painting and the brush while Crimi applied colors.

It was both Briggette's and Fano's first time using big cameras, and they did a wonderful job.

After 60 minutes of filming, everyone heard "It's a wrap," and knew it was safe to talk and make noise.

Crimi began the show with three finished paintings of bottles from other episodes.  "I like the personalities they have," Crimi said.  "They are starting to have their own kind of feeling."

He plans to make 25 or 30 similar works and have a series.

For this episode, Crimi created a Fall scene from his imagination. "I have all the colors, so let's just start," he said after squeezing two shades of green and blue from tubes into a Styrofoam dinner tray. "Then I'll sketch it out a little bit. I'll lay it out so we get some ideas."

Crimi continued and described the half-done painting. "It still has it's own personality and has a way of revealing itself.

This painting is going to look more impressionistic that realistic. I love impressionistic anyways. I call myself a contemporary impressionist."

Then Crimi advised the viewer that "You have to be patient. Just take your time and keep putting paint on the canvas.

If you just keep putting the paint on the canvas, eventually you're going to get to where you want to go."

He gave lots of instruction and uplifting advice.

"Painting is something you feel as well as see. After all these years I tell people that painting is an expression of your soul and how you feel about it. Especially when you are painting from your imagination and you have nothing to look at.

 "All you have to do is do it. Don't be too critical of yourself if you're painting. Just keep painting. I tell people that the worst thing you can do if you hate the painting is start all over again by painting the canvas black and begin again. I have a bunch of paintings when I first started that I must have painted 10 or 12 paintings on the same canvas. Those people who bought those have no clue that there are that many paintings underneath those canvases."

Crimi's phone number is 781-871-5333. He loves to hear from viewers, and wants you to know that most of his works are available for private acquisition, maybe even the actual painting from this show.

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Titans vs Knights, High School Football September 12, 2013

Published on Sep 14, 2013

Watch the Game HERE.  

Pembroke High School's Titans football team opened 2013 with a home game loss against Stoughton's Black Knights yesterday afternoon.

Pembroke was cursed from the beginning with the official timer malfunctioning and passes thrown to players who misunderstood their role. Nothing seemed to go right.

For Stoughton it was well worth the trip on two uncomfortably crammed yellow buses. They arrived 2:35pm at the front door with 4 coolers and a first aid box, then proceeded to claim the field with a 34-6 win, their second this season.

Their first victory was 28-0 against Marshfield just 2 weeks earlier.

Pembroke's 2nd home game is scheduled against North Easton's Oliver Ames Friday, September 20th, at 4pm, but there are rumors that the date may change.

It will be the 3rd game for Oliver Ames.

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