Trail of Flowers Failures

Volunteer daffodil planters, fall of 2018

Hundreds of Mark's columns from his 12 years writing for the Beacon-Villager are accessible at maynardlifeoutdoors.com. The website includes an article directory by category (History, Nature, etc.). 

The Trail of Flowers (TOF) project (www.trailofflowers.com) had its beginnings when more than a dozen volunteers showed up in the fall of 2018 at the Marble Farm historic site to plant thousand of daffodils. Since then, close to $12,000 has been raised and spent to plant flowering bulbs, shrubs and trees at three sites in Acton, four in Maynard and two in Marlborough, all adjacent to the Assabet River Rail Trail (ARRT). Volunteers have been recruited via high school community service programs, garden clubs and residents interest in TOF. The Town of Hudson approved a site, but an inability to get a commitment from any volunteer group in Hudson led to that expansion being tabled. 

In the intervening years, amongst planting successes, there have been failures. Fall of 2021, nine small Kousa dogwoods were planted along High Street. These grew slowly, reaching heights of four to nine feet by fall of 2024. Winter of 2024-25 was a low snow year, and this gave rabbits access to the lower trunks of the trees. Come spring of 2025, all of the trees showed some gnawing damage, with two so extensive that no leaves appeared. Over the summer both of those put out new growth from the ground. A third - one of the tallest - mysteriously died in mid-summer. The remaining six had a sprinkling of flowers, with hopes for more as the trees mature, but there is always the risk of further rabbit depravations. Rabbits also decimated Eagle Scout planted weigela along High Street, but all of the plants recovered.

On the east side of where the Rail Trail crosses the river in Maynard there is a modest-sized grassy area with five large granite blocks - remnants of the railroad bridge that once crossed at the same site. In the fall of 2019 and again in 2020, tulip and grape hyacinth bulbs were planted amongst the blocks. Each year, the initial spring blooming was strong, but by the second spring the tulips were scant and the hyacinths diminished. By the third spring - worse. It is possible that the soil was contaminated from the railroad era's deposits of lead (from burning coal) and arsenic (used as a weed herbicide). There are no plans to try again. 

Extensive plantings between Summer and Concord streets suffer from competition from native and invasive species. At the north end, Virginia creeper vines overgrow the daylily bed unless cut back. Pokeweed pops up throughout. Further south, a large swath of Japanese knotweed (invasive) threatens daylily and iris plantings. English ivy is a slow-motion invasive ground cover that also forms vines which cling to tree trunks, causing damage. Maple trees overshade hophornbean trees, including the currently signed "Very Sad Tree." On a positive note, plantings of forsythia and beauty bush on the east side are thriving, and in doing so, contribute to blocking the view of the Enterprise and Emerald Acres parking areas. In time, the beauty bushes will be more than ten feet tall and wide. In late June these are covered in pink flowers favored by bees, bumblebees and hummingbirds. The forsythia, while celebrating early spring in yellow, are not pollinator friendly.

Winterberry is related to holly; it differs in that
the leaves fall off for winter. Male plants are
needed for the female plants to have berries.

In Acton, by the Sylvia Street parking area and access ramp, there have been a few failures, but in the main, the variety of flowering shrubs and trees are doing well. The row of winterberry display red berries in winter until either robins or cedar waxwings put in a hungry appearance. For robins, this used to mean "first robins of spring" but now ravenous hordes of non-migrating robins stay all winter, eating winterberry, Oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose hips, holly and juniper berries, etc.   

Also in Acton, north of the bridge over Fort Pond Creek, a long row of flowering "Double-Take" quince planted in the spring of 2024 are doing poorly. The summer drought hindered growth despite periodic watering. That winter saw deprivations by rabbits, which target the protein-rich bud ends of low branches, and then the summer drought of 2025 was an additional setback. There may also be an (untested) soil problem, as quince prefer slightly acidic soil. The growing season of 2026 may require soil treatment, fertilizer and weekly watering if the poorly-looking, foot-tall plants are ever to reach the promised height and width of four feet, creating, ideally, a striking flowering hedge. At one end of the row, a few flowering ninebark are doing somewhat better.

In Marlborough, six beauty bush plants, each about a foot tall, were planted at three locations near the south end of the Hudson/Marlborough end of ARRT in the fall of 2021. Despite notifying Marlborough's Dept. Public Works of the plantings and marking the plants with stakes, a visit during the summer of the next year found the stakes removed and the plants mowed over. The sites have not been since revisited to discover whether any recovered from the roots or continue to be mowed as part of DPW maintenance. A planting of daffodils with the help of the Marlborough Garden Club and another of grape hyacinth by Marlborough Girl Scouts probably both need refreshing.    

Tulips and sculpture inside the fence
at the Marble Farm Historic Site

Tulips, unless planted in the best of growing conditions, fail after a few years. Typically, a large bed of the same type will display height-, size- and timing-matched blooms the first year. By second year there may be variations. By third year some will refuse to bloom at all, instead displaying only one large leaf. By fourth year, if not dug up and all bulbs discarded and replaced, the entire bed may have failed. Part of the tulip plantings inside the fence at the Marble Farm Historic Site failed prematurely in the second year, so that bed was dug up and replanted with 200 bulbs in the fall of 2025. Fingers crossed for a good display next spring.    

Extensive tree plantings pre-date Trail of Flowers. Clearing space for construction of the Rail Trail in Maynard included removal of more than 600 trees of more than four inches in diameter that had grown next to and between the rails in the 50+ years since the last train passed. The budget to create the trail included planting of 600 trees in Acton and Maynard in 2017, at a cost of about $200,000. Roughly 15% died from being planted in areas too wet, too dry, too shaded, etc. Others were smothered by over-growing Oriental bittersweet vines. However, the majority are thriving; the firs and spruces, initially 5-6 feet tall, are mostly 10-15 feet tall as of fall 2025.

Tulip trees (yellow poplars) that were initially 2-3 inches in diameter are now topping 6 inches. Four of these are in the green-space south of Concord Street. Once mature, they will display tulip-shaped flowers in spring, a striking yellow leaf color in fall, and can easily top 75 feet in height. Tulip trees are messy - dropping flowers, sap, leaves and wind-snapped branches - and are also susceptible to tipping over in strong wind storms. 

TOF donations welcome! Checks to be made out to Assabet River Rail Trail Inc and mailed to David Mark, 10 Maple Street, Maynard MA 01754. (ARRT is the parent organization for Trail of Flowers, and is a 501(c)(3) organization.) Or donate via PayPal to damark51@gmail.com or Venmo to www.venmo.com/u/DavidAMark51.  

 

  

Maynard's House Prices

In my 2011 book "Maynard:History and Life Outdoors" I included an observation on comparing Maynard to the neighboring towns of Acton, Concord, Sudbury and Stow. That table included area, population, population per square mile, percent rentals, median house prices and median household income. The information was sourced from 2010 data from city-data.com. The question, then, is how have things changed over the intervening 15 years? 

  TOWN      AREA    POPULATION   POP/SQ MI   %RENTALS   MED. HOUSE   MED. INCOME

   Maynard     5.2 sq.mi.    10,100             1,942              30%              $308,000           $  78,100

   Acton        19.8               20,400            1,030               24                   536,000             117,500

   Concord    25.0               17,500               700               19                   725,000             123,200

   Sudbury    24.3               17,300               710                 8                   692,000             152,200

   Stow         17.6                 6,100                350              13                   485,000              123,600

Maple Street house purchased from builder in 1870. The left side
displays additions, as the first floor replaced a porch with a TV room 
on a concrete slab, and the second floor replaced an attic room
with a bathroom and a walk-in closet with a clothes washer/dryer. Behind 
the TV room, the kitchen was extended 12 feet past the foundation. The
original purchase price in 1870 was $2,430; estimate now >$700,000.

From the above, one could have referred to Maynard as "the low cost hole in the middle of a high cost donut." As far as housing costs, the high-to-low order was Concord, Sudbury, Acton, Stow and Maynard, with the first two having a median house value of more than twice that of Maynard. For a recent year, city-data is incomplete on median values, but Zillow provides average values for 2025 through September. The high-to-low order is the same: Concord $1,440,000, Sudbury $1,135,000, Acton $864,000, Stow $811,000, and lastly Maynard at $600,000.  

Average sales prices cannot be directly compared to median sales prices because a handful of extra-high sales will shift the average higher than the median (which is a value with half of sales above and half below). In Concord, there are sales of homes in the multiple-millions. Even in Maynard, in 2025 there have already been sales of homes, mostly much newer and larger than most of Maynard's housing stock, and near the Sudbury border, in the range of  $850,000 to $950,000. Regardless, the general picture is that Maynard, while having crept comparatively closer to the others, is still a low-cost option. 

As for population growth, the 2020 census pegged Maynard at 10,745, Acton at 24,021, Concord at 18,491, Sudbury at 18,934 and Stow at 7,174. Thus, Acton and Stow grew by about 17% and the others under 10%. Maynard has since crossed 11,000 (its highest population ever) with the addition of several apartment projects at Maynard Crossing and elsewhere, but still under 10% growth compared to 2010. Given the limited availability of developable land, and perhaps limits on its water supply, Maynard may never top 12,000. Note that for Massachusetts as a whole, predictions for the next 25 years are no population growth - basically flat at seven million. 

On an interesting local history note, because Maynard was an early industry town surrounded by farm and orchard towns, until after World War II the population of Maynard was larger than the combined populations of Acton, Stow and Sudbury. Only after WWII did those become fast-growing commuter suburbs.

Predicting the future of housing prices is difficult. Recent government policy on legal immigration and actions against non-legal immigration will have a massive effect on U.S. population predictions, and thus on demand for housing; the latter affecting whether the value of housing increases faster, the same or lower than the inflation rate. For a country with no immigration, population maintenance calls for 2.1 births per woman. Many countries - including the U.S. - are now well below this rate.* Countries in Europe and the far East have 'empty' villages with no children being born, and have shrinking cities. For the United States - until this year - immigration (legal and illegal) compensated for the declining birth rate, but with immigration stalled and birthrates in immigrant families becoming Americanized, it is not impossible to imagine that inflation-adjusted housing prices could peak in the future and decline thereafter, paralleling a peak and then a decline in population.

Japan is a good example, with population peaking circa 2010 at 128 million and a decline expected to reach 106 million by 2050. Prolonged low birth rates lead to a higher percentage of older people in the total population. Already, an estimated 10 million house properties are empty - abandoned by heirs when their aged parents die.

*At https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/total-fertility-rate/country-comparison/ the United States ranks 133rd with 1.84 births per woman. Japan is at 1.40 and South Korea at 1.12. 

Maynard's 150 years of food CO-OPs

Riverside Co-op building (1882-1936), corner of Nason
and Summer; store was Nason-entrance, first floor

From 1875 to 2025, Maynard has been host to nine co-operatives. The oldest was Riverside Co-operative Association (1875-1936). The longest duration and largest was United Co-operative Society (initially named Kaleva Co-operative Association), from 1907 to 1973. A U.S. Department of Labor report for 1947 mentioned that United was one of the top ten co-ops in the country for membership and for annual sales.   

To get back to the origins of the co-operative concept, in 1844 a group of 28 weavers in Rochdale, England, organized the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, “…and opened their first store, with a small stock of flour, oatmeal, butter and sugar.” Soon added tea, tobacco and candles. Their guidelines formed the basis for the principles on which co-operatives around the world continue to operate. The Rochdale Pioneers became highly successful, with 1,400 members by 1855 and 5,560 members by 1870, able to shop at many stores. Other co-operatives, modeled on the Pioneers, in time covered almost all of the United Kingdom.

1865 photo of 13 of the original 28 founders

There had been earlier attempts to establish co-operatives that were basically buyer’s clubs, which by pooling their purchases were able to buy at wholesale prices and sell to members at below retail prices. The Rochdale Pioneers were one the early co-operative efforts to add profit-sharing to members based on a percentage of the cost of the goods the members purchased, i.e., a patronage dividend. The seven Rochdale Principles were Open membership, Democratic control, Distribution of surplus, Limited interest on capital, Political and religious neutrality, No buying on credit, and Co-op education.

Open membership: Although co-operatives often started as groups of workers within one laborer profession (weavers, miners…) or group (Finns, Italians…), ideally, membership was not limited. Membership was also voluntary, meaning that members of a union could not be required to also join the union co-operative. Non-members could shop at the stores at the same prices as members, but would not get additional benefits.

Democratic control: All shareholders had one vote regardless of how many shares they owned. Typically, membership shares in the early twentieth century cost $5, equal to a bit more than a day's factory worker's pay. Shares could be sold back to the co-operative, but not to other people. 

Distribution of surplus: At the end of a fiscal year, profits were distributed to members based on the amounts of goods they had purchased during the year. In a pre-computer era, members saved their receipts, then brought all receipts to the co-operative. Staff checked their totals. For Maynard’s Riverside and United co-ops, depending on how well the year had gone, members got a cash payment ranging from one percent to as high as ten percent of their year’s purchases. If the co-operative had operated at a loss, no refund that year. 

Interest on capital: In addition to reimbursements, shareholders got interest on their investment (but share value did not change). When a co-operative voted to dissolve, shareholders expected to get their original investment back.

Neutrality: Co-operatives were supposed to operate neutral to issues of religion, race or politics. The American reality was that co-ops were started by immigrant groups – in Maynard, English, Finnish, Polish, Russian – and often conducted business meetings in their native language.  

Cash only: Many early efforts at establishing co-operatives were under-capitalized, and foundered when members were allowed to purchase goods on credit. Two of Maynard’s co-ops failed in the Great Depression for this reason. 

Education: Programs were conducted to educate members and non-members on co-operative principles. For example, Maynard’s United Co-operative Association had adult classes, Young Co-operators’ Club, and Co-operative Day Camp. 

As previously noted, Riverside was Maynard’s oldest. It was started by English and Scottish immigrants who worked at the woolen mill. Many of them may have been familiar with the co-operative movement in the United Kingdom. Riverside began in 1875 as a chapter in an American movement, the “Order of the Sovereigns of Industry.” This was an urban workers organization modelled on the Grange – a farmers’ organization formally known as the “Order of Patrons of Husbandry.” "Sovereigns" was in effect a buyers’ club with intention to secure high quality goods at lower prices. Locally, this meant buying wholesale in Boston, transported to Maynard by train. Nationally, the Sovereigns organization faltered under financial mismanagement, but in 1878 the local chapter reformed itself as the Riverside Co-Operative Association and persevered.

Riverside's shares were $5 each (equivalent to about $150 in today’s dollars), with individual members limited to 60 shares. The total capital investment was $1,500. Per the by-laws, regardless of how many shares owned, each shareholder had one vote. The operation started in the basement of the Darling Block building (northeast corner of Summer and Nason streets), moved to the Riverside Block (now the site of the new apartment building next to CVS), and then in 1882 built its own building at the southwest corner of Summer and Nason. The building was a four-story wooden edifice, with the store on the first floor, entrance on Nason Street. The other floors were rented out. 

By 1909, Riverside had more than 600 members. In addition to quality of goods and competitive prices, members were twice a year paid a cash refund ranging from two to ten percent based on how much shopping they had done and how good a year the co-op was having. Additionally, shares earned five percent interest. A decline started with recession of 1920, compounded by cost of repair after a fire, same year. In 1929 the store business was sold to George Morse (the store manager), while the co-op continued to own the building. A large fire in January 1936 led to dissolution of the Association later that year and sale of the site to Knights of Columbus, which had been a long-time tenant. Proceeds were divided amongst the remaining shareholders. The subsequent brick K of C building now hosts SUTRA Studio.

A document from the United Co-operative Society criticized Riverside as having emphasis on dividends to stockholders, but without an education program for members and their children, leading to lost coherence as a social institution. Contributing factors were that the children of the founders of Riverside were moving up the socio-economic ladder at same time as England and Scotland were less of a source of Maynard's immigrant labor. A front-page newspaper article from 1913 had noted that prior to 1900 the town was mostly English-speaking, but the expansion of the mill had doubled the town’s population by bringing in large numbers of immigrants from Finland, Poland, Lithuania and Italy.

There were smaller and shorter-lived co-opertive efforts. Suomalainen Osuuskauppa, which translates as ‘Finnish Co-operative Store’, started 1899. Capitalized at only $800, it lasted a few years before dissolving and selling its store to a private owner. Maynard had a chapter of the Grange, started 1913, but unlike in rural situations, the Grange never operated a store. Gutteridge’s 1921 history mentions “Keefe’s Co-operative” without any details. The Historical Society has a share certificate for the Russian Co-operative Association dated 1917, but there is no other evidence in the collection that this effort reached its capitalization goal of $5,000 or became operative. 

Shares were typically price at $5 each (equiv. to $150 today)

The Maynard Co-operative Milk Association was formed in 1914. Three years later it split, with some of the dairy farmers becoming the diary operations of the United Co-operative Society. The other members, who did not want to affiliate with the Socialist/Communist atheist United, formed the First National Association, which existed to 1941. It owned and operated out of a building on the corner of Main and River streets that had been the Somerset Hotel, site now occupied by Thai Chilli. The International Co-operative Association was started in 1911 by immigrants from Poland. It lasted 20 years. It began in a building near the Methodist Church, later moved to space in the Masonic Building. Membership numbered 200 to 400 over the years. First National and International failed in part because they extended credit to members during the Great Depression. 

United's pine tree logo as a 
stained glass window in the
Historical Society collection

The Kaleva Co-operative Association started in 1907 by Finnish immigrants, morphed into the United Co-operative Society of Maynard in 1921. It continued to exist to 1973. “Kaleva” refers to an ancient, mythological, Finnish ruler known from a 19th century work of epic poetry and story-telling compiled by folklorist researcher Elias Lonnrot. The work, “The Kalevala,” is regarded as the national epic of Finland, instrumental in fostering a sense of Finnish national identity that culminated in the Finnish declaration of independence from Russian rule in 1917. Locally, immigrants had formed the Finnish Workingmen’s Socialist Society in 1903, from whom the 187 founders of the Kaleva co-operative were drawn.

According to a book, “The Finnish Imprint,” a delegation of Finnish immigrants had initially approached the large and prospering Riverside Co-operative Association with the idea of becoming members. Because many of the recent immigrants did not speak English, they asked that the co-operative hire Finnish store clerks. This suggestion was rebuffed, with a reply that if they did not like the service they received, they should start their own store. They did. The business was initially capitalized at $1,600 from sale of 320 shares at $5/share. The initial location was a rented storefront at 56 Main Street. By 1912 the co-operative had bought the entire two-story building, soon after added a bakery operation, a dairy with home delivery, and a restaurant on the second floor, serving meals to hundreds of workers living in neighboring boarding houses.

Maynard was not the only home to a Finnish-organized co-operative. Fitchburg has the Into Co-operative and Quincy the Turva Co-operative. In 1919, Maynard and these and others merged to create the United Co-operative Society of New England. This was short-lived due to financial and political disagreements, the end result being that the Maynard group reorganized as the United Co-operative Society of Maynard, and Fitchburg becoming the United Co-operative Society of Fitchburg.     

United’s by-laws had added an eighth principle to the previously described Rochdale seven – continuous expansion. Over the first 50 years, membership grew from 184 to 2,960 as delivery of coal and firewood (1924), fuel oil (1933) and ice (1934) were added. In addition to the Main Street store, a branch store was opened on the northeast corner of Waltham and Powder Mill Roads (1926), superseded by moving the branch store operations to a new building at the northwest corner of the same intersection (1936). This remained active until it was sold to Murphy and Snyder printers in 1957. Next door was a Co-op automobile gas and service station (1934). A credit union was added in 1948.

A report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor at that time stated that the United Co-operative Society of Maynard was one of the ten largest in the country, calculated either by number of members or annual sales. More than half the households in Maynard belonged to United. At its peak, the co-operative had more than 50 full-time employees, with medical benefits and life insurance – unusual for that era.  

United survived the competition from an A&P supermarket operating on Nason Street (in the building now housing The Outdoor Store), but the presence of Victory Supermarket on Powder Mill Road, combined with the freedom to food shop elsewhere provided by increased car ownership, put pressure on the co-operative. In June 1973 that was a vote to dissolve.

Entrance to ASSABET CO-OP MARKET, Powdermill Road

After a no co-ops gap in 1981 a natural foods effort named the Carob Tree Co-op was started in Concord by Debra Stark. It later moved to Acton, then Maynard, where it occupied a small store on River Street, then back to Acton. Stark went on to start Debra’s Natural Gourmet in West Concord in 1989. 

And now - after a much longer no co-ops gap - we have the Assabet Co-op Market (assabetmarket.coop). Its origins date back to small group meetings in 2012. The Co-op opened in May 2023 with more than 2,000 owner/members, currently more than 2,700. The Co-op is an 8,000 square foot, full-service grocery store located at 86 Powdermill Road (Route 62) with a small cafe, and a deck overlooking the Assabet River. Hours are 8am-8pm every day. Joining costs $200 and members receive an annual dividend in profitable years. Non-members are welcome to shop - goods priced as the same for members - but do not take advantage of the members rebate. Assabet makes a point of sourcing food from local farms whenever possible. So now, 150 years after the first, Maynard is once again a co-operative town! 

Practicing Active Meditation

Thoreau stamp 2017 (200th year of his birth)

In his 1861 lengthy essay titled "Walking," Henry David Thoreau wrote "I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least,--and it is commonly more than that,--sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements."

Thoreau added "I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to society. But it sometimes happens that I cannot easily shake off the village. The thought of some work will run in my head, and I am not where my body is,--I am out of my senses. In my walks I would fain return to my senses."

While in this modern era we should not necessarily aspire to walking four hours per day (!!) for our mental health, we should aspire to bicycle, kayak, walk, swim, stand or sit for at least 15 minutes a day without being connected to civilization. Far too often people are walking along the Assabet River Rail Trail, or even in the woods, but with ear buds. Or sitting on a park bench, head-bent, staring at their phone. Right places - wrong actions. 

It shouldn't always be the phone

Even without any of these external stimuli, we are prone to be caught up in "discursive thinking," defined as a stream of interconnected thoughts that involve memory, analysis of past events, planning for future events, internal dialogue about one's own mental state, and so on. While normal and sometimes productive, an excessive reliance on discursive thinking can lead to stress, anxiety, and a disconnection from the present moment, making it beneficial to cultivate the ability to quiet this "storytelling mind."

However, we - citizens of the twenty-first century - are no longer good at doing nothing. In one study, people were asked to sit in silence for 15 minutes. Roughly half reported they did not like the experience. In a follow-up experiment, the researchers gave the participants the option of giving themselves mild electric shocks as a diversion. Sixty-seven percent of the men and twenty-three percent of the women did so. It wasn't because they felt "tortured by quietude," but rather they became bored with their own thoughts. Meditation takes practice!

August Rodin's The Thinker used as a model the prizefighter Jean Baud.
The first bronze casting of this sculpture was put on exhibit in Paris in 
1904; there are 27 other full-size bronze castings on display elsewhere
in the world, plus innumerable replicas of varying sizes.

In South Korea, the act of doing nothing has become a competitive sport. A popular, annual "Space-Out Competition" selects 80 contestants from thousands of applicants to sit on yoga mats amongst the others in a public place for 90 minutes. Monitors show whether they are able to lower and control their heart rate, while the judges observe their ability to minimize movement and maintain an unfocused facial visage. (Falling asleep disqualifies, likewise checking phone, talking, eating...) The winner gets a replica of Rodin's sculpture, The Thinker. 

In lieu of resting meditation, many people find that "active meditation" is easier to achieve and apparently equally mental health beneficial. Unlike traditional meditation, which involves sitting still and focusing inward, often with conscious breathing or repetitious verbalization (prayers, mantras), active meditation incorporates physical movement and sensory engagement - back to Thoreau wanting to leave thoughts of the village behind. A nuance here - competitive sports such as golf or tennis, or even group activities such as a running group or cycling club excursions - do not count. In a similar vein, health monitoring via a heart rate monitor or bicycle speedometer/odometer can be counter-productive. Even walking a dog or working in one's own garden may default to discursive thinking linked to chores and schedules. One has to be away and alone and unplugged.

Maynard offers several woodland trials wherein it is possible to be away from the sights and sounds of civilization. The Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge provides walking trails - some open to bicycling - with a parking lot at the end of White Pond Road.  See https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/160/Maynard-Open-Space-and-Trails-Map-PDF for trail and park maps provided by the Town of Maynard. (If brushing up against greenery just remember to do a body tick check afterwards.) Ice House Landing provides parking and a dock to launch kayaks or canoes.  

Assabet River Rail Trail 2025

The north end of the Assabet River Rail Trail (ARRT) encompassing Acton and Maynard, 3.4 miles, is approaching its seven-year anniversary. The south end, spanning Marlborough and part of Hudson, had been completed more than ten years earlier. The gap in the middle, Stow and part of Hudson, may be years away (or never). In the interim, it is possible to do two miles west from the Maynard/Stow border on a privately owned dirt road ("Track Road"), to Sudbury Road in Stow, then two miles on roads – Sudbury Road and Route 62 – to reconnect with the south section of the trail, in Hudson. From there, it is 5.8 miles of paved trail to the Marlborough trailhead. The Hudson trailhead also provides access to an almost-completed portion of the Mass Central Rail Trail (www.masscentralrailtrail.org).

A recent walk on the Acton/Maynard portion found the asphalt in almost entirely excellent condition. There is one crack developing about 50 yards west of Florida Road and a series of small cracks about 50 yards east of Ice House Landing which may in time need preventive maintenance, i.e., crack filling. Paved trails typically last for 15-20 years before repaving needs to be considered. Given that the south end was completed in 2005, those towns are coming up on some seriously expensive maintenance. It is not clear whether state or federal funds can be available for repair. 

Questionnaires sent to trail managers by the Rails-to-Trails conservancy in 1996, 2005 and again in 2015 led to reports on how trails are being maintained and what organizations are paying for that work. Per those reports, the cost of maintaining an asphalt-paved trail averaged $1,971 per mile per year. This encompassed work done by town employees and a value put on volunteer labor. Collectively, the 2015 report tallied this as about 13.5 hours of labor per trail mile per year. (Ha!). The Assabet River Rail Trail organization, incorporated in 1995, had provided volunteer efforts involving trail clearing to create a walkable path before the paving began. Volunteer work continues on the paved trail. Most recently, this involved adding a bicycle/bicyclist sculpture in Maynard, across from Ray & Sons Cyclery.     

The nature of work – town-paid and volunteered – includes litter removal, repairing vandalism and removing trash dumping (old car tires, etc.), mowing plant growth bordering trails and combating invasive plant species. Trees fall on trails, or else are standing dead trees threatening to do so. Drainage ditches bordering trails need to be kept clear of plant debris or else their function is compromised. Some towns will operate leaf blowers in the fall, and snow plowing in winter. Maynard and Acton have decided to not clear snow. Towns may choose to plow trail parking lots, thus providing parking for people who want to ski, snowshoe or hike in winter. There are also information kiosks, benches, signage and in Maynard, two trash receptacles managed by volunteers.

Click on photos to enlarge

The 2015 Rails-To-Trails report also noted, surprisingly, that 60% of the questionnaires returned by town/city governments did not confirm a written maintenance plan. While personal injury lawsuits are very rare, the report went on to suggest that towns should have a process to regularly inspect trails, correct unsafe conditions, and keep records. Signage of rules and regulations and hours of operation need to be posted at trailheads and other access locations. Not everyone is aware that ARRT’s signs include “Maximum Speed: 15 mph” and “Give an audible warning before passing,” but the signs are there. Guidelines for what organized volunteer groups can and cannot do need to be established, for example allowing clearing of invasive species, but forbidding using herbicides or power tools.

As for what was observed during a recent Acton/Maynard walk-through, there was remarkably little litter along the trail, with the exception of downtown Maynard, and only a few instances of graffiti. Kiosks provide information about town events. Both towns’ Department of Public Works mow the trail’s shoulders. In both towns, there are standing dead trees that in time may fall on the trail. ARRT volunteers have replaced wooden railings that were broken by fallen trees or large branches. Dozens of the hundreds of trees that were planted as part of the trail landscaping in 2017-18 have died, and were removed by volunteers. Looking forward, consideration should be given to combating invasive plant species such as Oriental bittersweet, Tree-of-Heaven, Japanese knotweed, Garlic mustard, and Purple loosestrife, the last beginning to appear in the wetter sections of drainage ditches.

Dedication ceremony, May 2023

Acton recently added two benches that were paid for by the Assabet River Rail Trail organization in memory of long-time president Thomas Kelleher and secretary Duncan Power. Maynard has three 'pocket' parks adjacent to the rail trail. The oldest is Tobin Park (1979), by the trail's bridge over the river, followed by Ice House Landing (2002), off of Winter Street, which has recently been revitalized, and now offers kayak rental and a launch dock, and as of 2023, the Marble Farm Historic Site offering a daffodil and tulip bonanza every spring, near the north end of town. All provide benches and shade.

Kousa dogwood in Tobin Park

Trail of Flowers (www.trailofflowers.com), a volunteer organization, operating under ARRT’s auspices, has since its inception in the fall of 2018 been planting flowering bulbs, shrubs and trees along the Assabet River Rail Trail, mostly in Acton and Maynard, but expanding to Hudson and Marlborough. As of early 2025, TOF has raised and spent more than $12,000 for plants, mulch, tools and website management. Students from Acton-Boxborough Regional High School have participated in annual planting events as part of Senior Student Community Service Day. Maynard Community Gardeners contribute unsold plants from the group’s annual plant sale. In 2024, Maynard Scout Troop 130 conducted a planting event at High Street as a scout’s Eagle Scout project. Years earlier, volunteers planted nine Kousa dogwoods along High Street, with mixed success, as two died from rabbit damage to the trees' trunks this past winter (now growing back from the roots), and one recently had all its leaves die from an unknown cause. These dogwoods can live 50-100 years.

Thoughts on getting older

 Appreciation for the many websites with funny quotes about aging

Every part of your body has a medical specialist - you just have not met them all yet.

You hit 65 and your 'check engine' light turns on.

It's upsetting to realize you are the same age as 'old people.' 

New-found skills include tripping while walking up stairs, having a coughing fit from taking a drink of water, and getting to a room only to forget what it was you wanted there.

I am not afraid of dying - I just don't want to be there when it happens.

When you drop something on the floor, you pause first to decide if you really need it...

   ...then, you figure it can stay there until one of your kids visit.

There comes a time when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

Some people say that wisdom comes with age, but sometime age shows up all by itself.

Stop complaining about being old when the alternative is being dead. 

You accept you are old when you realize that your childhood toys are now valuable collectables (except your mother threw them out).

You can't remember how many teeth you've lost.

Your body parts are losing a battle with gravity.

You are shocked that your children are middle-aged.

You realize that once you are over the hill you begin to pick up speed.

You know you are old when your birthday cake has only one candle...

   ...and your family is thinking "Let's see if she can blow it out."

You are considering a DNR tattoo for "Do not resuscitate."

         All of the above is in a larger than normal size - because you are old.

Sculpture installation for the Assabet River Rail Trail

Bicycle/Bicyclist sculpture, 5'5" long, installed
next to the Assabet River Rail Trail, Maynard, MA

Text of a speech that was given the morning of July 19, 2025, at the dedication of a bicycle/bicyclist sculpture installed in Maynard adjacent to the Assabet River Rail Trail and Main Street, across from Ray & Sons Cyclery. An estimated 70 people attended the event.

Welcome all. Our thanks for coming here today to state Representative Kate Hogan, Senator Jamie Eldridge, Select Board members, Maynard Cultural Council members, Erik Hansen's family, and any idle bystanders who have wandered over from the Farmers' Market this Saturday morning.  

To paraphrase a well known quote - Never doubt that a small group of people with too much time on their hands can change the world in a small way. 

Inspired by Erik Hansen's efforts to bring public art to Maynard - "Maynard as a Canvas" - which began with the 2018 murals on both sides of the Murphy & Snyder building at the corner of Waltham and Parker Streets, subsequently, public and privately funded murals have blossomed on the walls of El Huipil restaurant, the Excelsior games store, the mill complex, the 'Bee Meadow' behind what had been the ArtSpace building on Summer Street, the Boys and Girls Club, and the wall behind Memorial park. For historical completeness sake, prior to "Maynard as a Canvas" there had been graffiti-themed murals on the Gruber Furniture warehouse building, circa 2008 and 2012, lost when the building was demolished.

Sculpture, not so much. Along the Assabet River Rail Trail, the communities of Acton, Maynard and Marlborough had no public art. In contrast, Hudson has seven sculptures and three murals. In August 2023, the Bee Meadow Committee - given that ArtSpace had vacated the Fowler School building - offered six artist-painted posts from the Bee Meadow to the ARRT organization. These were installed in Maynard along the Rail Trail on the section north of Summer Street. In addition, sculptures of a daffodil and a tulip are temporarily placed at the Marble Farm Historic Site/Park each spring when the flowers are in bloom. The flowering plants and shrubs there and elsewhere along the Rail Trail are from the efforts of Trail of Flowers, a volunteer project started fall of 2018.

Erik Hansen (1943-2024)

In the fall of 2024, what grew in time to a gang-of-eight, composed of Priscilla Alpaugh, Ellen Duggan, Lee Eyler, Erik Hansen, David Mark, Andy Moerlein, Steve Smith and Lynda Thayer, began having meetings to discuss how to bring a sculpture project to fruition. Lee moved away, and sadly, Erik's unexpected death in late 2024 reduced us to six. 

Ideas were bandied about: a bicycle, a person on a bicycle, a sheep on a bicycle (symbolic of Maynard being a wool factory town for 100 years), or a person walking a dog. For budgetary reasons, the group approached the Metal Fabrication shop at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School to explore whether this could be a senior class project. The school's policy on public works is charging for the cost of materials plus 15%, but not design time or labor. With the school tentatively committed, the group sought and received a green light from the Town of Maynard Select Board, followed by funding at $760 from the Maynard Cultural Council. A site was selected to be visible from both the Rail Trail and Main Street. Everything was falling into place!

Dedication event photo by Brion Berghaus

Christopher Wittmier, the Lead Metal Fabrication Teacher at Assabet Valley, had the students submit designs.  A drawing by student Ben Thresher - an abstract of a person on a bicycle - was selected as being both attractive and feasible, given the students' skills and the shop's equipment. By April 2025, individual pieces were being shaped and welded together. By early June the welding was completed and the sculpture - nearly six feet long and tall - was turned over to the Auto Collision and Refinishing shop for painting. The finished sculpture was picked up on June 20th. 

Meanwhile, progress was being made on a plaque, or actually, two plaques. The group reached a decision that one plaque would honor Erik Hansen, reading:

"Dedicated to the memory of ERIK HANSEN (1943-2024), photographer 

and artist whose concept of 'Maynard as a Canvas' sparked the creation of public art in Maynard." 

and a second to acknowledge the contributions, reading:

"This sculpture was made possible by a grant from the Maynard Cultural Council and the efforts of the students and faculty at Assabet Valley Regional Technical Vocational School District"

A bid was solicited from a commercial sign company and the proposed cost came back as more for each plaque than the cost of the sculpture!  Assabet Valley to the rescue!! For no more than cost of materials, faculty member Marcus Fletcher from the Advanced Manufacturing department used a computerized laser to etch the words on stainless steel plates.

Concrete base, poured 6/27/25

This story is almost complete. A concrete base for the sculpture was poured on June 27th. Installation was completed two days ago. The entire project came in under budget, and here we are today!! 

Again, thank you for joining us today for this dedication event. The sculpture group (and the Town of Maynard) now have to decide if this was a one-and-done effort, or can Maynard become home to more public art. For if the goal is Making Maynard Interesting, we are making great progress.

click on photos to enlarge

The group, renamed "Maynard as a Canvas" has proposed a new sculpture idea - a giant sheep - to the Maynard Culture Council for 2026 funding.

Maynard's largest trees (prove me wrong)

The "Buttonball" sycamore in
Sunderland, MA

This will be a work in progress, especially as more tree species are identified and competing trees are nominated for what is already on the list! 

Determining how large a tree is actually has a formal definition involving girth, i.e., circumference in inches at 4.5 feet off the ground, plus height in feet plus 0.25 times average spread measured in feet, 'average' coming from adding widest spread and smallest spread and dividing that by two. The end result is a point score referred to as "Tree Points." Massachusetts actually maintains a big tree registry, for which it is possible to nominate trees and a field inspector will visit the site to verify measurements. See https://www.mass.gov/guides/massachusetts-legacy-tree-program#-is-your-legacy-tree-a-champion-tree?- I suppose barring any expectation that a Maynard tree is the state's largest, I can purchase a clinometer and a measuring tape, and start stalking trees on other peoples property. However, for the moment, for the trees listed here, the listing is based on my unmeasured eyeballing: 

Golden Chain Tree

Paper Birch: back yard of 10 Maple Street

Eastern Redbud: side yard of 10 Maple Street

Golden Chain Tree: back yard of 10 Maple Street

Sugar Maple: back yard of 12 Maple Street

American Dogwood: front yard of 12 Maple Street

European Copper Beech: side yard of 80 Acton Street

American Sycamore: corner of Nason and Main streets

These are by no means the largest in the state. For example, the beech tree on Acton Street has a diameter of 6.7 feet and the state's largest is reported at 8.4 feet. The "Buttonball" sycamore, Sunderland, MA, has a diameter of 8.1 feet and height >110 feet. Its age is estimated at ~400 years.

Boston's Record Snow Winters

 This is a repeat of a 2015 column that acknowledged 2014-15 being a record snow winter for Boston. Since then, most were in the normal range of 30-50 inches, but the 2022-23 winter was a near-record low of 11.6 inches. As of Feb 10th, Boston has had 22.5 inches for 2024-25.

History shows a very wide range between high- and low snow winters

There are winters wherein February sees the first crocuses of spring, but it is not this year. There are years wherein the first returning robins are already arriving, but it is not this year. There are years the snow blower goes untouched, the snowmobile trailered to Maine, but not this year. This year we struggle against the white, the ever recurring, ever piling higher snows of the winter of 2014-15. By all that you hold dear on this frozen earth, you must shovel, women and men of Massachusetts.   

This winter's snow is rapidly closing in on setting a new record for Boston, for Worcester, and for points in between. These cities, each with 125 years of weather data, average 44 and 64 inches, respectively. The snowiest winter on record for both cities was 1995-96, at 107.6 and 132.9 inches. As of February 23rd, Boston is at 99.8 inches and Worcester 107.7 inches. This winter already ranks second for Boston, with every expectation that it will finish as the snowiest winter in recorded history. Worcester is currently fifth snowiest.  

Snowfall measurement methods are described in great detail in a document from the National Weather Service. Briefly, if snow is falling continuously, depth in the measuring device is measured every six hours, the device emptied and set out again. Results are added up.   

One reason for this record-breaking season is that all snow is not created equal. Wet snow means that 6-8 inches converts to one inch of water, but the northeasters that have been repeatedly sweeping through our area have been cold enough to generate powdery snow that is averaging 17-18 inches per inch of water. Telling here is that the thirty days of storms that put so much snow on the ground will in time melt to only five inches of water - not much above average for this time of year.  

Parking meters near CVS

Other reasons are meteorological. Weather forecasting professionals toss about terms such as North Atlantic Oscillation, the "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge" and Polar Vortex.  The net result was that over a short period of time the storms were colder, larger, and every storm dumped on eastern Massachusetts, with little melting in between.       

Whatever happened to global warming? The short answer is that New England is getting wetter faster than it is getting warmer. For Boston, over a 120-year period the average temperature has gotten one degree (F) warmer, but 10 percent wetter. As a result, winter is two weeks shorter, but six of the top ten snowiest winters have occurred in the last 22 years. As storms track up the east coast the warmer (and thus wetter) air over the ocean blows inland over/atop cold air, resulting in snow, snow and more snow.

At some point in the future this will mean more winters of wet snow, sleet, ice storms and rain. Portland, Maine has already experienced the crossover: weather records dating back to 1870 show two degrees of warming, a 15 percent increase in total precipitation, but a decrease in annual snowfall from 75 to 65 inches. When it comes, the crossover will affect Boston before it impacts the inland cities and towns.

The first paragraph of this column was a riff on the "But it is not this day" pre-battle speech in The Lord of the Rings movie, The Return of the King. Other fictional pre-battle speeches to outnumbered, underdog troops include those from movies Braveheart and Independence Day, and the progenitor of them all, the St. Crispin's Day speech from Shakespeare's play, Henry V. That speech gave us five repeats of "...this day..." and also the line "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..." See below. 

NOTES

The Lord of the Rings/The Return of the King (Lord Aragorn speaking)

Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers!
I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
A day may come when the courage of Men fails,
When we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship,
But it is not this day.
An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Man comes crashing down,
But it is not this day!
This day we fight!
By all that you hold dear on this good earth,
I bid you stand, Men of the West!

Henry V (King Henry V speaking)

What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin:
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow [enough]
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires:
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England:
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more, methinks, would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

 

 

Yucca as Assabet River Rail Trail Plantings

Yucca and other flowering plants at Maple & Brooks

In eastern Massachusetts, if you’ve seen a low-to-the-ground plant with very long, very stiff, ‘sword-shaped’ leaves that come to a sharp point it is most likely a species of yucca known as Adam’s Needle. More than a dozen have been planted in Maynard adjacent to or near the Assabet River Rail Trail, courtesy of unsold plants from the Maynard Community Gardeners annual plant sale, donated to Trail of Flowers (www.trailofflowers.com). Look for a couple of nice specimens at the intersection of Maple and Brooks streets, fronting a stone wall. The wall itself is not a historic remnant, but rather a twenty-first century build.

Yucca is a genus of some 40-50 species of perennial shrubs and trees notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the Americas and the Caribbean in a wide range of habitats, from humid rainforest and wet subtropical ecosystems to the hot and dry deserts and savanna. A few species are winter hardy and popular as landscape plants.

Trail of Flowers signage, north of Summer Street

Adams’s Needle (Yucca filimentosa) is native to the southeast – Virginia to Florida – but is winter hardy to Zone 4, meaning it can prosper well up into Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Plants grow to about three feet tall and wide. Each plant has a central core from which the leaves radiate symmetrically and also near-vertical to flat, so the plant can be thought of as roughly hemisphere-shaped. Leaves are kept through winter. New cores emerge inches to a foot away from the original plant. As years pass, leaves closest to the ground turn brown and die, but are still firmly attached to a core. In time the cores rot, and entire dead plants can be removed by hand, leaving more room for the adjacent younger plants.

This species prefers full sun and well-drained soil, as shade will stunt growth and wet soil rot the roots. In time, it develops a large, fleshy, white taproot with deep lateral roots. Once planted and established, it is difficult to remove, as any remnant roots keep sending up new shoots.

In addition to the green-leafed native plant, Adam’s needle comes in colorful cultivars: Bright Edge, Color Guard, Golden Sword, Blue Sentry, Garland's Gold and Excalibur. For all, the leaves bear tiny thread-like filaments around their edges, which appear as if the plant is peeling. Images can be found via internet search. Nurseries carry cultivars or can special order. Beyond the first year, the plants are drought-resistant and do not need fertilizing. Plants can live up to 50 years.

Yucca clusters can put up 
multiple flowering stalks

Once well established, Adam’s Needle plants produce flower stalks decorated with bell-shaped flowers. The stalks can exceed eight feet in height and will display dozens of waxy, off-white-colored flowers. The flowers last for several weeks. The stalks die, and need to be cut. The flowers are considered edible, either raw, added to salads, or added to broth-type soups, akin to using unopened daylily flower buds in hot-and-sour soup or Thai Pho. (Do not eat Easter lily buds. All parts of Easter lilies are extremely toxic for domestic cats, causing acute kidney failure. Evidence for toxicity for dogs and humans is vague, but to be on the safe side, don't.) 

Not here, but in native areas in the southeast, Adam’s Needle flowers are pollinated by yucca moths. The moths transfer pollen from the stamens of one plant to the stigma of another, and at the same time lays an egg in the flower; the moth caterpillar then feeds on some of the developing fruit/seeds but can leave enough seeds to perpetuate the species. Each flower develops a fruit that is about two inches long, edible raw or cooked after the bitter seeds are removed. In the southeast, Native Americans split the leaves to make ropes, fishing nets and baskets. Peeled roots, pounded between rocks and mixed with water, make a lather than can be used to wash hair (A related species, native to the southwest, has the common name "soapweed".)

Other winter-hardy species that may be available for purchase from nurseries are Soapweed, Banana Yucca, Beaked Yucca, Spanish Dagger and Dwarf Yucca. These can flourish in Zone 5, which includes eastern Massachusetts.