A crowd of about fifty people managed to attend the East Acton Village Green (EAVG) commemoration event on Saturday, September 9, despite downed trees, closed roads, and power outages around town caused by Friday afternoon’s storm. Select Board Chair Jim Snyder-Grant welcomed those gathered and provided opening remarks, explaining that the pocket park honored three Acton “environmental foremothers”: Carol Holley, Mary Michelman, and Miki Williams. All three women passed away from cancer, but their invaluable contributions to Acton through their environmental stewardship and water protection are being carried on by others today.
Holley was an early member, and Clerk, of ACES (Acton Citizens for Environmental Safety) which subsequently merged with Green Acton. She was also Secretary for Acton’s Board of Health and a board member of the Acton Conservation Trust (ACT). Recognizing her outstanding work for ACT and other environmental organizations, the annual ACT Carol Holley Conservation Volunteer Award was established to honor Acton’s environmental champions. Holley’s partner, son, and daughter attended the commemoration.
Michelman created and coordinated Acton’s Stream Teams in 1988. With grant funding from the Organization for the Assabet River (OAR) established in 1986 by a group of concerned citizens to help protect the river and its watershed, the Stream Teams conducted the first surveys of the Fort Pond and Nashoba brook systems, collecting data on salinity, turbidity, and other water quality factors, as well as mapping wildlife and vegetation of 25 miles of shoreline and conducting annual cleanups. OAR added the Sudbury and Concord Rivers to its mission in 2011, and is now known as OARS. An Acton stream that flows through the Acton Arboretum and under Minot Avenue is named for Michelman, “Mary’s Brook.” She also designed the “Protect Our Waters” signs, with assistance from retired Natural Resources Director Tom Tidman, which can be seen at stream crossings around Acton, and now all over the state.
Michelman’s husband Tom, now remarried and living in Arlington, and her daughter, were present, as was Michelman’s brother and his wife, who drove down from Bolton, Vermont for the event. Tom Michelman recounted how Mary spent countless hours pouring over reports from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the WR Grace pollution and cleanup. During a meeting of the Green Acton Water Committee in June of last year, held at the park, former State Senator Pam Resor recalled that Michelman received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the EPA. She detected efforts to cut corners in the cleanup of the SuperFund site, and dedicated a lot of time to educating the public about what was in those reports.
Williams also helped educate the public about the pollution of water at the WR Grace property. She served on the Service Committee of the Acton Area League of Women Voters, and on the School Committee.
Several of the EAVG park panels feature information about the Nashobah Praying Indians. Strong Bear Medicine, of the Natick-Ponkapoag Praying Indians, was present to perform a land blessing ceremony. Beginning with smudging, a rite of burning sacred herbs, around the circle of people, he then invoked the ancestors by placing sacred tobacco on the ground. He shared that “it really is an honor to be here.” He also noted that it is a miracle he is here today, that his ancestors survived Deer Isle, referring to the forced internment of Praying Indians on Deer Isle in the winter of 1675/1676 during King Philip’s War. Using a drum recently presented to him by the Friends of the Nashobah Praying Indians as a welcome home gift, Strong Bear Medicine performed a land entry song. Snyder-Grant mentioned that a great way to learn more about the original inhabitants of the area is to read author Dan Boudillion’s recently published book, “The History of the Nashobah Praying Indians: Doings, Sufferings, Tragedy and Triumph.”
Project Manager Bettina Abe, recently retired assistant in Acton’s Conservation Department, acknowledged the dozens of people whose efforts and support made the park a reality. The EAVG Planning Committee created a design for the park almost 20 years ago. The construction was put on hold until the section of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail running past Ice House Pond was completed. Town staff submitted an application for Community Preservation Act funding to build the park. It was recommended by the Community Preservation Committee to Town Meeting in 2020, and the appropriation of funds was approved by Town Meeting members. Additional funding, donations, and work was provided by the Friends of Bruce Freeman Rail Trail; volunteer gardeners and sign installers Linda Schymik and Cathy Fochtman; and Charlie and Jake Abraham, partner and son of Holley. Abe noted that Lynn Horsky designed the educational panels here, as well as those at Ice House Pond, Morrison Farm, and Trail Through Time, and invited all those in attendance to visit those other Town properties that host these panels to learn more about their histories.