Above: Fourteen year old Bridget Brady (left) and friends, led a protest to stop the demolition of the the Garfield/Burnett House in July. Their efforts are being recognized by a state-wide non-profit organization. (Photo contributed by Sandy Torres)
“I’m only 14, but I have a voice and so do you,” said Bridget Brady, in July, when plans to demolish the historic Garfield/Burnett House of Southborough circulated town.
Brady and friends protested in front of the house for up to 12 hours a day for about a week, until the homeowner decided not to sell the house to developer Robert Moss.
Preservation Massachusetts (PM), a state-wide non-profit organization has chosen Bridget Brady, Jen Fox and Maggie Shoemaker of the Save the Garfield/Burnett House of Southborough as its 2014 Community Spirit Award winners.
“PM’s Community Spirit Award recognizes the hard work, dedication and commitment of local groups to preservation within our communities. These groups are wonderful sources of inspiration for others taking on their own preservation challenges,” said PM.
Not only are three girls listed receiving this award, but also those who came out to spread awareness and history of the Garfield/Burnett House.
PM’s list, “was culled from nominations submitted by preservation-minded groups and individuals throughout the state. Submissions are judged by several criteria, including their historic significance, the extent of the threat and the community’s commitment to preserving the resource.”
Parent Sharon Shoemaker said, “Although, there is not a long-term plan yet for the house, the group led by Jen and Bridget did an amazing job of getting attention for the need to preserve this historical house.”
For past coverage, click here.
[Editor’s note from Beth: Before you ask “Whatever happened with plans to save/demolish the house?”, the answer is that discussions between the town and owner are still under wraps. When something becomes publicly available, I’ll be sure to share the news.]
Updated (11/7/14 1:20 pm): A couple hours after the story posted, the Town tweeted related news:
11/18/14 Sel Mtg @ 7:45 p.m. Update on Burnett House, 84 Main St. pic.twitter.com/dooIp1LVik
— Town of Southborough (@17common) November 7, 2014
I do not have a twitter account and never intend to.. I have enough to do keeping up with e-mail and various web items.. I assume that there are a number of people who feel the way I do.. can’t we communicate in a way that is available to the large majority of people in our town??? I know plenty of people who don’t read a blog but I would agree that that’s not too much to ask but beyond that. I have a Facebook page and haven’t had time to figure out what to do with it for about two years now.
I’m sure I’ll be considered an old fogey.. but that I’m not. Just want to be sure people aren’t being excluded…or is this going to be a requirement for citizenship?
I definitely hear what you are saying.
But I think that most of the town’s important updates are usually also posted on the Town website. I’m guessing that they will post this news there sometime soon, but the timing of news appears to have been close to the end of their workday.
(Fridays, the Town House closes early so that they can stay open late on Tuesday evenings.)
Meanwhile, I doubt many people check the Town website regularly for news. If they are successful at redesigning the site as they hope to, perhaps that will change.
I appreciate your understanding and sure we share a commitment to communicate. I suggest that the blog, Villager, and Selectmen hold meetings at the Senior Center and do a survey there and online for how many people are regularly looking for their news electronically. How many look to the town website for schedules/agenda…
I’m guessing there’s a smallish group who actually go online sometimes, maybe even a smaller group (I hope not) who read one of the newspapers with local news, and then the twitter? I just can’t even comment on that.
I’ve been wanting to do a survey on f”where do we get our news?” for a while… I feel a column coming on.,
Donnna.