Above: The Town is asking community members to start thinking about our impending big birthday. (image tweeted by Town)
The Select Board is looking ahead to 2027 when Southborough turns 300. They are asking for the public to weigh in with ideas on how the Town should celebrate.
A message from the Town promotes the upcoming “Tercentenary”. (Frankly, its a word I’ve never heard of. It turns out to be the less common synonym of Tricentennial.) It announces:
A committee will be created to plan and execute a tercentenary community-wide celebration. Please share your ideas and look for volunteer opportunities. Please email SelectmanOffice@southboroughma.com with proposals, requests, and volunteer interest.
Maybe we should consider asking Marlboro if they’d let use rejoin their vibrant community? (Just kidding!)
Or maybe try to merge with Northborough? The two towns are very similar and we could eliminate half of the town administration and save a ton of taxes.This would be an interesting idea.
Tercentenary is generally used as the noun. Tricentennial is the adjective.
Tricentennial is also a noun.
If 20 years has elapsed since your community ended a devastating war or escaped from under a brutalizing dictatorship, it is easy to celebrate. After 50 such years, you raise a glass as the gathered oldsters tell you the stories of their deprivations. But, paradoxically, 300 years without wars burning down our homes, without dictators disappearing the outspoken, without oscillation between anarchy and authoritarianism, without fear of invading neighbors, without famine, while slowly tinkering with democracy to try to make it match its aspirations, such immense duration undermines celebration. In some weird way it makes whining about the Select Board seem like our very own cake. But, maybe, let’s reflect, we can come up with something better.