This is Brookline603 — a podcast created by Brookliners to shine a bright light on the civic life of a small New Hampshire town. For a small town, Brookline has had a rich history of local news – The Brookline Beacon, The Brookline News, The Brookliner, Comments, Our Place and then … no newspaper.
There have been lots of discussions in town about starting one. We all agreed this town needs a newspaper or something like it – and why not make it a podcast, committed to making local news accessible on a cell phone or a computer, and as helpful as we can make it.
Every second week in March, this town settles key public issues at town meeting, an essential feature of New England local government back to British rule. But without a newspaper, it’s not always clear who or what we’re voting for, even in a small town. That’s what we hope to change.
This is Episode 1, recorded in a 1757 homestead once set in in deep pine forest, now flanked by new houses. The town’s population didn’t reach four digits until the 1970s, and then it soared to 5,753 by latest estimate.
We’d like to introduce Brookliners, new and old, to their town and each other. In this first episode, we’re talking with longtime town moderator, Peter Webb, along with musician Gary Young, and writer Laurie Peach Toupin.
Brookline is not what you’d call a famous town, but we do have a famous town-meeting story. Peter tells “the famous Grover Farwell story” this way:
“Grover Farwell was a real iconic person in town, big personality. He, for a long time, was our town sexton. And a newcomer, understandably, at town meeting said, well, we’re voting on the town sexton. What exactly does the town sexton do? An 87-year-old Grover Farwell slowly got to his feet and turned to the woman and said, I bury you.” Everyone laughed – and the story has lived on ever since.
But he adds that there’s another face to town-meetings – and a lesson for our own polarized times.
“We used to have town supper, even in my time here. I came here in 1980. We’d have town supper at the Congregational Church. People would get together before town meeting, then go to town meeting. And this story is told how, I’m not sure exactly who the individuals were, but one was Grover and the other we’ll say is Eldorus Fessenden — just chumming it up and enjoying each other’s company at the town supper, and then went to the town meeting and like fighting dogs, went after each other, and then the next day they’re back slapping buddies again.”
“There’s a real lesson. for all of us,” he adds. “We like to think we’re sophisticated. I’m not sure we’re more sophisticated than people used to be when they could disagree, not personalize it, and maintain their friendship.”
For a full transcript of this Episode 1, CLICK HERE.