Man About Canton: Ghosts & Goblins

Did you know …

It is Halloween and as they have for many generations, hundreds of little ghosts and goblins will once again scurry around your neighborhood looking for candy. Groups of them will knock on your door, and after loudly stating their time-honored demand of “trick or treat,” they will present their loot bags for you to buy them off with a few pieces from your candy stash. So if you don‘t want to have any tricks played on you, be prepared to have plenty of candy on hand to satisfy these scary denizens of the night.

This year, MAC thought it would be interesting to know the real story of Halloween and the infamous jack-o’-lantern so he did some research, and here is the rest of the story:

It is widely believed that Halloween can be traced to a two-day Celtic festival called Samhain that began at sundown on October 31 and commemorated both the end of harvest season and the beginning of the new year. Festivalgoers burned crops, wore costumes, and told fortunes. When the Romans conquered ancient Britain in the first century, they adopted many of the Celtic traditions. They merged the Samhain celebration with their own festival, Feralia, a day in late October when they honored those who died. Seven centuries later when the Roman Catholic Church designated November 1 as All Saints’ Day, or All Hallows’ Day, October 31 became known as All Hallows’ Eve, shortened to Halloween in the United States.

Legend has it that the jack-o’-lantern got its start in an Irish folktale about a stingy fellow named Jack, who tried to outmaneuver the devil. When his shenanigans failed, neither God nor the devil would let him rest. As a result, so the tale goes, Jack roams the earth at night with a burning coal placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to light his way. And so he became Jack of the Lantern. In Irish tradition, hollow turnips carved with scary faces and filled with candles kept Stingy Jack and other spirits at bay. After moving to the United States, Irish immigrants substituted pumpkins for the less abundant and hard-to-core root crop.

Incidentally, if you happen to believe in ghosts, you are not alone. The Associated Press conducted a survey which found that 34 percent of people believe in ghosts. Have a happy Halloween!

Selectmen recently voted 4-1 to issue one of its two new all-alcohol package store licenses to Zayde’s Family Market at 15 Washington Street. Bob Burr cast the lone vote against Zayde’s, noting the number of liquor stores currently in the Cobb’s Corner area. The board also voted to issue one of its five available all-alcohol restaurant licenses to Mai Place on Turnpike Street. They were the only applicant that requested a restaurant license.

Prestige Car Wash and Gas on Turnpike Street and the Sunoco gas station on Neponset Street both applied for the remaining all-alcohol package licenses. However, no one seconded a motion to issue the license to either of the two applicants. Selectmen were concerned about issuing the license to stores so “close to a state highway,” which, in MAC’s opinion, is not a valid excuse. Most liquor stores are on state highways or are found on main thoroughfares. In fact, most liquor stores in cities and towns in Massachusetts are in close proximity to gas stations. The selectmen should have come up with a better reason. Although MAC wonders about the “mixed message” it gives to motorists by locating a liquor store at or near a gas station.

Selectmen recently voted to appoint Elizabeth Doherty and Lynne Valkanas as sports directors for the Parks and Recreation Department. The positions are part-time and seasonal.

Tony Andreotti’s Veterans Agent’s Corner in the Canton Citizen recently listed some very interesting statistics. An August 2016 study from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Suicide Prevention shows that 20 veterans die from suicide every day in the United States. Of those veterans, 65 percent are 50 years of age or older. The VA offers a toll-free veterans’ crisis line and has suicide prevention coordinators at the Brockton, Jamaica Plain, and West Roxbury medical centers. The crisis line is 1-800-273-8255.

Nature’s Remedy of Massachusetts has filed an application for a medical marijuana dispensary at 20 North Street in Canton.

There is no limit on the number of medical marijuana dispensary licenses that can be issued in cities and towns in Massachusetts.

The completed work done at the intersections of Dedham and Washington streets and Chapman and Washington streets was financed by the developers of the University Station Project in Westwood as part of a mitigation agreement that the town had previously negotiated with the developer. Upgrades include the addition of turn lanes at both intersections and the installation of a traffic light at Chapman Street that will be synchronized with the existing light at Dedham and Washington streets.

Former Reebok CEO Paul Fireman has put his Brookline mansion on the market for what is by far the highest asking price for a home in Massachusetts. The 24-room, 12-bathroom home, which sits on 14 acres of land, was built in 1999 and is listed at $90 million.

William F. Galvin, secretary of the commonwealth, recently published a pamphlet entitled “Information for Voters” regarding the 2016 ballot questions, which was distributed to all voters in Massachusetts. The state election is Tuesday, November 8. The four ballot questions issues are as follows: (1) Expanding slot machine gaming; (2) charter school expansion; (3) conditions for farm animals; and (4) the legalization, regulation, and taxation of marijuana.

They are all controversial questions, but the most controversial is Question 4, which has 13 pages dedicated to it in the pamphlet. As required by law, the statements describing the effects of a yes or no vote are written jointly by the state attorney general and the secretary of the commonwealth.

It looks like a free ride and non-opposition for many of the state legislature candidates as 25 of the 40 state senators have no opposition, while 116 of the 160 state representatives have no opposition.

MAC has noticed that some people are parking their cars in the center of Canton and leaving them there all day, avoiding the $4 parking fee at the train station. MAC also noticed one car across from Dunkin’ Donuts that parks all day in the only parking space from Big D’s to the Bank of Canton. Time to start writing parking tickets.

The House and Senate gave final approval to and sent to Governor Charlie Baker a bill that would expand the current law allowing restaurant and hotel customers to bring home an unfinished bottle of wine. The proposal would expand the law to taverns, clubs, and veterans’ organizations like American Legion posts. The wine would have to be resealed and then placed in a one-time-use, tamper-proof transparent bag.

Not everyone is aware that CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is the son of socialite and artist Gloria Vanderbilt. Gloria is now 93 years old.

Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

That is all for now folks. See you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=34630

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Oct 28 2016. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.