WHAV (https://whav.net/category/communityspotlight/)
Greater Haverhill service clubs are teaming up again to provide food as well as new and used coats for those in need this winter. Donations are being accepted Saturday, Nov. 7, between noon and 2 p.m., at Common Ground Café, 194 Winter St., Haverhill. Items particularly needed are boxed and canned goods, paper goods, Market Basket or other grocery gift cards and winter coats. Used coats will be laundered at no charge by EZ Way Cleaners.
Nominations are now being accepted for the Haverhill YMCA’s 12th Annual Educator of the Year. With the theme, “Not all Superheroes Wear Capes!,” the program becomes a “virtual recognition event” this year, taking place via HC Media Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m.
The Educator of the Year recognizes educators who have made a significant difference in the lives of children. This year’s recipient receives a citation from the city, the Educator of the Year award and 10, six-month, Haverhill YMCA Youth/Teen memberships. Nominees must be a current educator in Haverhill and have at least three years teaching experience.
The Armenian Apostolic Church at Hye Pointe is having a “Yard Sale for a Cause” Sunday, Nov. 1. The yard sale, which includes clothing, household items, appliances, furniture and books, takes place Sunday, Nov. 1, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Church, 1280 Boston Road, Haverhill. Those with questions are asked to call Lori at 978-372-9227 or email her at [email protected]
Buttonwoods Museum is having a virtual Archaeology Open House to celebrate Massachusetts Archaeology Month and International Archaeology Day this Saturday. Archaeology volunteer Nancy Lebar has brought rarely seen items from the Frederick A. Luce Collection out of storage and will be sharing them in a Zoom program Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m.
Featured artifacts include lithics, steatite bowl fragments and ceramic fragments that span the ancient occupational period of Native Americans in the Haverhill and Bradford areas. Lebar describes the uses of these artifacts and talks about the people who made and used them in their daily lives along the Merrimack River. Pre-registration is required at haverhillhistory.org.
Haverhill Police are honoring the late Michelle Benedetti by raising scholarship funds and visibly increasing awareness with pink ribbons during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Benedetti, who served the state Department of Children and Families as a social worker for 21 years and was the wife of Haverhill Detective Joseph Benedetti, lost her battle with cancer during May of last year. Behind each pink ribbon on specially marked Haverhill police cruisers is not only a scholarship donation benefiting Haverhill High School students, but a story honoring a victim of the disease. Capt. Robert P. Pistone credits Patrolman Daniel Trocki for coming to him with the ribbon visibility idea. “It’s a great way to honor and remember Michelle and, at the same time, help the local community in her honor and in honor all of those who are affected by breast cancer,” Pistone said.
Haverhill native David Goudsward, author of “H. P. Lovecraft in the Merrimack Valley,” discusses Lovecraft’s local visits during a free online presentation hosted by Haverhill’s Buttonwoods Museum. Goudsward speaks to both locales Lovecraft visited, particularly those in Haverhill as well as on how these places throughout the Merrimack Valley reappear as sources of inspiration in Lovecraft’s short fiction. The Zoom program takes place Thursday, Oct 22, 6:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required here. Visit the Events page at buttonwoods.org for more information.
The Trustees of Tattersall Farm are hosting an autumn walk through the meadows and forests at the farm this Saturday. Naturalist Roland “Boot” Boutwell again leads the walk, sharing information about wildflowers and shrubs as they prepare themselves for winter. He’ll focus on hardy wildflowers which decorate the mid-autumn landscape as well as some common trees and shrubs. Participants will also learn how to identify these plants and how they have been used historically by native Americans, colonials and modern folk. The walk takes place Saturday, Oct.
A “Spooktacular” ghost hunt takes place Saturday night with proceeds benefitting restoration of Hilldale Cemetery. The Essex County Ghost Project is offering guided tours of, what it calls, “one of the most haunted graveyards in New England,” at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10, at 337-351 Hilldale Ave., Haverhill. Gates open at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10 each and may be reserved by calling Thomas Spitalere at 978-376-2807. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, advance registration, facemasks and social distancing are required.
The life of former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt is being featured tonight in a virtual performance hosted by the Haverhill Public Library. Sheryl Faye plays the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt—the longest-serving first lady of the United States and the first presidential spouse to hold press conferences, write a syndicated newspaper column and speak at a national convention. Roosevelt advocated for expanded roles for women in the workplace, the civil rights of African Americans and Asian Americans and the rights of World War II refugees. The program, which takes place online from 7-8 p.m., is made possible through CARES Act grant to Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Register at haverhillpl.org under Calendar of Events.