Pray

A gathering of untold emotional and spiritual turmoil has visited itself upon a loving family within our community.

There are no words or conveyances that can ever again return the peace once known by this family. The suffering of a lifetime will not mend a heart that has been broken by the loss of a child. One can only hope that God’s grace will find some manner to ease the pain, though undoubtedly such will require a miracle.

For those of you who pray, please do so with urgent dispatch. For those inclined otherwise, perhaps some quiet moments of reflection, grounded in love.

There are those who believe that the flicker of a lighted candle, guides the travel of loving spirits to gather in hope. Today, perhaps a candle struck up within our homes, will guide such entities to bring a miracle to this family.

Celebrating with Old Sturbridge Village

As a resident and an elected official speaking individually, I would like to commend Mr. Jim Donahue and his staff at Old Sturbridge Village for the excellent weekend festivities, which paid great homage to the birth of our nation. The many opportunities provided by OSV for residents and visitors alike to join in celebration were a true testament to OSV’s commitment to our community.

It was nothing short of exciting, witnessing the increased presence of visitors and residents taking advantage of the offerings made available by OSV. For the past two years, people have had great cause to visit Sturbridge during the Fourth of July weekend and clearly, this has been driven by, and through the efforts of OSV and its celebratory partners. To that end, a special thanks as well to this year’s fireworks sponsor, Country Bank. It was an incredible display.

The town of Sturbridge is most fortunate to be the recipients of Mr. Donahue and staff’s dedication to the revitalization of not only OSV, but to this entire community as well. Their efforts are clearly not lost on many of us within the community who are witness to their commitment and to that end, we extend our deepest gratitude.

Thomas R. Creamer, Member - Sturbridge Board of Selectman

Merchants of Sturbridge Launch "Ambassador" Program

The Merchants of Sturbridge kicked off their "Ambassador Program" yesterday, welcoming 5 tour buses full of visitors as they arrived at the Sturbridge Host Hotel. The guests, arriving from New York for a weekend visit to Old Sturbridge Village, were thrilled to be the recipients of such a warm hometown welcome.

Each visitor was greeted with handshakes, smiles, and a small gift bag containing chocolates (courtesy of Sturbridge Candy), an M.O.S. listing of Sturbridge Shop, Eat, Stay, & Play amenities, which had been copied onto festive patriotic paper, along a host of rack cards and brochures with information about Sturbridge.

The Ambassadors - comprised of merchants, residents, and local officials included the following:

B.O.S. Chairman Mary Blanchard
Karin Rokicki (wearing OSV period clothing) - Resident
Dick Vaughan (wearing 1830’s period clothing) - The Spirit 970 Radio
Michael Harrington – Owner, Publick House Historic Inn
Leslie Wong - Resident/Sturbridge Building Department
Autumn Wong - Resident
Maryann Thorpe - Resident
Emma Thorpe - Resident
Patty Affenito - owner Sturbridge Country Inn
Chris Rovezzi – Rovezzi’s Ristorante
Jeannine Creamer - Resident
Thomas Creamer - Board of Selectmen

Unfortunately, we were not able to utilize everyone who volunteered, as we were mindful of not overwhelming our visitors. Certainly, we appreciate the great response from the many who hoped to participate and rest assured there will be many other opportunities to do so.

An email correspondence from Brian Amedy of the Host Hotel confirmed that our Ambassadors were a big hit with arriving guests and the Host extends its gratitude to all M.O.S. members for supporting this initiative. As well, I have been asked to extend a special thanks to those who worked so hard yesterdat at reaching out and making it happen.

The community was extremely well represented and all residents, merchants, and town representatives can be proud of the message conveyed yesterday. The day's highlights are captured in a short slideshow at the top of this article.