On Tuesday, 04/23/24 Barbara Schneider PhD, chairman of the Falmouth beach committee, introduced a discussion by the Woods Hole Group consultants regarding the status of the Surf Drive beach from Shore Street to the Trunk River. This area of the beach was the subject of an intensive study by the Woods Hole Group released in 2020. As many of you may recall the study looked at estimates for the rate of sea level rise, damage to infrastructure, property, and natural resources that might result, and addressed the potential responses which the town of Falmouth might take as this situation evolves. The meeting was very well attended, lasted about 75 minutes, and was recorded by FCTV (Falmouth Community TV). Last evening's discussion was presented by Leslie Fields, a Coastal Geologist from The Woods Hole Group and Kirk Bosma from the same firm. The presentation began with several images and videos demonstrating flooding, and complete coverage with sand of large portions of Surf Drive, damage to the road, threats to the bathhouse and the like, all associated with 6 stormy days in December 2023, January 2024, and April 2024. The presenters stressed that this represented a dramatic change over the past few years. A large number of the members of the audience agreed in a show of hands. The presenters went on to re-discuss the findings and suggestions made at the time of the 2020 report.  The findings acknowledged that the impact of climate change on the coastline is uncertain. However, the study included predictions that climate change during the remainder of the 21st century could be sufficiently severe to result in flooding of town infrastructure and properties and potentially loss of access to properties inland from Surf Drive. Infrastructure at risk includes the road itself, the Shining Sea Bikeway, the sewer main from Woods Hole to the Falmouth water treatment plant (the sewer main runs under the bike path), the Ellen T Mitchell bathhouse, a sewer pump station underlying the bathhouse parking lot, the parking lot itself, and the electrical connections that feed Martha's Vineyard near the base of Mill Road (currently undergoing some reconstruction). Having provided this information, the presenters then outlined a broad array of options to mitigate the impact on properties and infrastructure as well as natural resources. Options considered included everything from "doing nothing" and abandoning threatened infrastructure and properties, all the way to very expensive and hopefully durable responses such as raising the Surf Drive roadway (potentially in a bridge-like fashion) and protecting it with a large seawall. They had suggested, in 2020, a "preferred option" that began with modest interventions such as extensive beach and dune nourishment, coupled with ongoing monitoring of the situation, and consideration of other options (once again, options including doing nothing all the way to dramatic construction projects) if and when the evidence indicated that the initial efforts were becoming inadequate as the situation progresses. Given recent events discussed earlier in the meeting, the presenters moved to discussion of the [...]

05/24/24   Flowers at the bath house will be installed before Memorial Day 06/08/24   Saturday - Annual Beach Clean-Up, (Rain Date Sunday 06/09/24) 07/24/24   Wednesday - Annual Beach Worker Breakfast 08/11/24   Sunday - Annual Meeting & Summer Social Booked at Flying Bridge 12/08/24   Sunday - Annual Parade & Holiday Party, to be confirmed

It was a rough winter at Surf Drive Beach.  Rain storms, heavy winds and astronomical high tides caused damage to the shoreline, dunes beach house and picnic area.  Rocks have been exposed.  In December 2023 the pipe (hose) that that is used for dredging washed up on shore and is still there in April 2024. October 2023        December 2023                    January 2024         January 2024 (flooding and repairs Walker Street)                February 2024     April 2024    

On Sunday, 12/03/23 100 plus OSDA Members signed up for the Annual ‘After the Parade’ Holiday Party.  Due to rain, OSDA members did not walk in the parade.   To get things started our President Jay Thayer welcomed all.  Jay thanked our hosts Dorrie and Greg Ketterer for their hospitality and for allowing us to hold the party at Shoreway Acres.  The theme of the parade was Christmas through the Decades.  ShoreWay provided a similar theme ‘Dishes of the Decades’.  We enjoyed Chowder, Waldorf Salad, Swedish Meatballs, Pigs in a Blanket, Green Bean Casserole and a Baked Potato Bar with multiple toppings.  We had a basket of retro candies and multiple sweet treats. We’d like to thank the local businesses who provided door prizes for our guests.   Below is a list of the company and the individuals who were lucky enough to receive a gift. Item Business Value ~ Gift Description  Recipients 1 ShoreWay Acres $179.00 + Gift Certificate for 1 night stay Erica Puro 2 ShoreWay Acres $100.00 $100 GC towards one night stay or clam pot Adam Lattanzio 3 Town Hall Dental Spa $80.00 Holiday Gift and Food Basket Erica Greenfelder 4 The Run House $75.00 $25 Gift Card, Baseball cap and sunglasses Stephen Saunders 5 The Gallery on Main $70.00 Two 5 x 7 Holiday Prints from Karen Rinaldo Polly Thayer 6 Eastman's - Ace $50.00 Gift Certificate Martin Monk 7 Falmouth Chamber $50.00 Gift Cert 2 Beach Towels - spring 2024 Amber Defenderfer 8 Green Eyed Daisy $50.00 Two $25 Gift Certificates Brian Foley 9 Guilded Oyster $50.00 Gift Card Stephanie Lattanzio 10 Howlingbird Studio $50.00 Gift Card Meissa Doyle 11 Liam Maguire's Irish $50.00 Gift Card Susannah Butler 12 Port Cargo $50.00 Gift Card Rose Blanchard 13 Steve's Pizza $50.00 Gift Card Francis Dougherty 14 Osteria LaCivetta $40.00 Gift Card Anna dos Santos 15 Old Stone Dock Assoc $30.00 Gift Certificate Kristin Sansoucy 16 Hannoush Jewelers $28.00 Alex & Ani Bracelet Bob Lehtinen 17 Hannoush Jewelers $28.00 Alex & Ani Bracelet Hos Jones 18 Hannoush Jewelers $28.00 Alex & Ani Bracelet Karen Rinaldo 19 Hannoush Jewelers $28.00 Alex & Ani Bracelet Gail Jones 20 Hannoush Jewelers $28.00 Alex & Ani Bracelet Russ Quigg 21 Anejo Mexican Bistro $25.00 Gift Card Barbara Meisner 22 Ben & Bills Chocolate $25.00 Gift Certificate Diane Foster 23 Celebrations of Cape Cod $25.00 Gift Card Clara Jech 24 Falmouth Jewelry Shop $25.00 Gift Card Kately Foster 25 Ghelfi's Candies $25.00 Gift Card Peter Degatano 26 Headlines Salon & Spa $25.00 Gift Card Barbara Foley 27 Maison Villatte Patisserie $25.00 Gift Card Bill Lee 28 Simply DiVine $25.00 Gift Cards Jessica Dougherty 29 Simply DiVine $25.00 $25 Gift Card Robert Pritchard 30 Coffee Obsession $20.00 Gift Certificate Theresa Saunders 31 Country Fare $20.00 Gift Card Herb Foster 32 Eight Cousins Books $20.00 Gift Card Kayla Degatano 33 Kathleen Madaus $18.00 Book Coal the Cape Cod Bear Oakley Lattanzio   The following are pictures from the days event. JJ [...]

MEMBERSHIP: The current OSDA Membership year runs from 06/01/23 through 05/31/24.  A committee including Terry Saunders, Steve Saunders, Bob Lehtinen, Cindy Lehtinen, Laura Puopolo, Paul Smith and Anne Prior folded, stuffed, affixed labels and postage late April 2023. Membership renewal letters and the Presidents May 2023 letter was sent to 294 members and past members on 05/01/23.  Our membership count at the end of 2022 was 226 members.  The remaining 68 were members who were previously ‘paid up’ at any point during the past 4 years.  Reminder emails were sent to several hundred on the Presidents Email list in June. As of 08/13/23 we had 214 members.  Several of the current members had not renewed last year but chose to renew this year.  A few members had moved and a few passed during the past year.  There were 35 members who paid in 2022 but not in 2023.  We hope that those that haven’t renewed yet will do so now. During the year, the house sales in the Falmouth Enterprise are reviewed each Friday and those sales in our neighborhood will have an application and a letter showing our accomplishments the previous year and our plans for the coming year dropped off at their home.  This spring several members also reached out to their neighbors who had not previously joined and we were able to get 13 new members with this effort. DIRECTORY: Jessica Fox Dougherty at Main Street Gallery and Real Estate reached out to local businesses who previously advertised in the directory.  These advertisers helped offset a good portion of the cost to produce the directories.  Terry Saunders prepared the mailing labels and she along with Steve Saunders stuffed the envelopes and affixed the labels and postage. All renewing members who wanted to be included in the 2023-2024 directory and were paid up by mid-July were included.  This totaled 197 members who will get a copy of the directory (17 or so did not want their info shared).  Members who paid after mid-July when the spreadsheet was remitted to the printer were not included in the directory (apologies).  They will however receive a copy of the directory.  Members who attended the Annual Meeting & Summer Social on 08/13/23 received their directories at the meeting.  A few were hand delivered the following week and the remainder were mailed to each members mailing address on Tuesday 08/15/23. Terry Saunders, Membership Chair

Hopefully many of you will attend the upcoming summit that was brought to our attention at the Annual Meeting and Summer Social on Sunday, 08/13/23 by Barb Schneider, the Beach Committee Chair. I found this on line and copied and pasted from the Falmouth Enterprise (without permission 😇).  Summit Will Discuss Future Of Falmouth's Beaches,   By GILDA GEIST, Falmouth Enterprise, Jul 25, 2023 The Falmouth Beach Committee is holding a summit on August 24 that will bring together town officials and experts to figure out how the town should manage its beaches, many of which are suffering damage due to erosion and storms. The public is also invited to participate. In addition to the beach committee, representatives from the conservation commission, the harbormaster’s office, the department of public works, Falmouth Engineering and the Woods Hole Group will be at the meeting. Years ago, the town contracted the Woods Hole Group to come up with a beach management plan for the town. That plan, released in 2008, has not been updated since, beach committee chairwoman Barbara P. Schneider said. Leslie Fields, a coastal geologist from the Woods Hole Group, will brief the audience on the beach management plan. Ms. Fields was the project manager for the 2008 report. “She is willing to do this for us just because she cares about Falmouth,” Dr. Schneider said. From there, meeting attendees will look at which recommendations from the report have been accomplished. They then will draft a list of work that still needs to be done, including work not laid out in the beach management plan. “Our goal in all this is to gather a lot of information that helps us advise the select board in what needs to happen in this beach management plan,” Dr. Schneider said. “It would also give us the substance for when we go in October to make our presentation to the select board.” The meeting will be at the Hermann Foundation Meeting Room of the Falmouth Public Library from 4 to 6:30 PM.

The 2023 Tuition Assistance Committee consisted of Terry Saunders and Carole Mendoza.  The following is the presentation Terry Saunders gave at the Annual Meeting and Summer Social held at the Flying Bridge on Sunday, 08/13/23.  It is through the generosity of our members that we are able to provide 4 awards this year for $500 each. Our 1st recipient is Grace Rakeman.  Grace headed off to college yesterday so she is not able to be with us today.  Grace’s grandparents, Donna & Mike Herlihy from Walker Street are here with us today.  Grace graduated from Barrington High School in Barrington Rhode Island.  She will be attending The University of North Carolina at Charlotte studying Pre-Business / Marketing. Her school and sports activities included the JV Tennis Team in 2019 and participated in Fencing for several years.  She also took part in The Latin Club, The Greek Club and the National Honor Society.  Grace volunteered for 6 years in the library at her local elementary school.  She also raised funds and helped teach at her church.        Grace Rakeman and her grandparents Donna & Mike Herlihy Our 2nd recipient is Danny Smith.  Danny is not able to be here with us today but he will be in Falmouth next week when we will have an opportunity to meet him.  His Grandparents, Sandy & Paul Smith from Mill Road are here with us today.   Danny graduated from Woodstock Union High School in Woodstock Vermont.  He will be attending Middlebury College in Vermont and studying Computer Science. Danny’s school and sports activities included Robotics Team, Cross Country, Social Action Club, Theater, Scholars Bowl, Student Government and Jazz Band.  His local civic and community involvement included working as a volunteer on a local campaign, a local race, first robotics and as a counselor at a summer and winter camp.       Danny Smith and his grandparents Paul & Sandy Smith Our 3rd recipient is Sean Smith.  He is the twin brother of our previous recipient Danny Smith.  Sean is not able to be with us today.  His Grandparents are also Sandy & Paul Smith.  Sean graduated from White River Valley High School in Royalton Vermont.  He will be attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute studying Mechanical or Electrical Engineering. Sean was on the Robotics Team, he designed and ran lighting for 8 school and community theater productions and was a first chair percussionist all 4 years in high school.  He was also Co-President of the National Honor Society and Treasurer of student government his junior and senior year.  Sean volunteered at two farms and cared for horses and maintained farm equipment and also stocked shelves this past year at his local Food Shelf.        Sean Smith and his grandparents Paul & Sandy Smith Our 4th recipient is Caleb Woodworth.  Caleb’s parents, Steve and Kristin Woodworth have a home on Thomas Circle and he is here today with his Grandmother Pat. Caleb graduated from Westwood High School.  He will be attending [...]

The Old Stone Dock Association held our Annual Meeting and Summer Social on Sunday, 08/13/23 at the Flying Bridge on Scranton Avenue from noon to 3:00 pm.  The last Summer Social was in 2019 so we were pleased that 77 members and guests signed up for this meeting.  Members checked in and received a name badge that included their street name and a copy of their 2023-2024 directory.   They also had an opportunity to complete a survey asking for comments about what took place this past year, what they would like to see for the coming year and asked their interest for serving on a committee or on the board at a future date.  Logo wear was also available for sale (t shirts, vests, sweatshirts, baseball caps, winter hats, note cards and tote bags). Terry Saunders chaired this event.  Cindy Lehtinen and Bob Lehtinen processed the returns.  Polly Thayer and Terry Saunders checked members in.  Scott Puopolo spoke to members by the registration table about their interests and issues and assisted those who wanted to complete a survey.  Laura Puopolo and Steve Saunders set up and sold logo wear.  President Jay Thayer welcomed guests and addressed the membership. Members enjoyed a beverage and had a half hour to socialize and take in the beautiful views on the second floor deck of the Flying Bridge.  President Jay Thayer welcomed all before we enjoyed clam chowder served tableside and a BBQ buffet which included Caesar salad, pasta salad, corn on the cob, sliced watermelon, hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken.  Strawberry Shortcake and coffee / tea was served tableside. Jay spoke again after dessert was served.  He introduced Terry Saunders, who was co-chair of the Tuition Assistance Committee along with Carole Mendoza.  Terry's presentation included the attributes of the four recipients (see separate story).  Each received a check for $500.  The recipients and their sponsors are listed below. Grace Rakeman, granddaughter of OSDA members Donna & Mike Herlihy Danny Smith, grandson of OSDA members Sandy & Paul Smith Sean Smith, grandson of OSDA members Sandy & Paul Smith Caleb Woodworth, son of OSDA members Kristin & Steve Woodworth Jay then introduced Beach Committee Chair Barbara Schneider.  Barb thanked the OSDA for all the things we did including the flower boxes at the Ellen T Mitchell Bath House in May, the annual beach cleanup in June and most recently the beach worker appreciation breakfast in July.  She also spoke briefly about some of the beach committee initiatives and she advised there would be a beach committee summit at the main Falmouth Public Library on Thursday 08/24/23 from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm.   Other groups represented will be the conservation commission, the harbormaster's office, the department of public works, Falmouth Engineering and the Woods Hole Group.  The public is invited. Jay spoke with Peter McConarty the Director of Public Works before the meeting and was able to provide the membership an update on what was happening in the neighborhood (sidewalks, dredging, etc.).   He [...]

The Old Stone Dock Association held their Annual Beach Worker Appreciation Breakfast on Wednesday, 07/26/23 at the Ellen T Mitchell Bath House.  The committee consisted of Terry Saunders, Polly Thayer, Jay Thayer and Steve Saunders.  On the morning of the event the committee was assisted by OSDA members Laura Puopolo, Scott Puopolo and Jack Driscoll. Approximately 70 Lifeguards, parking attendants, supervisors and clerical workers enjoyed breakfast between 7:30 am and 8:30 am when they came in for their roll call.   We served Cape Cod Bagels, various pastries, breakfast bars, fruit and beverages including iced coffee.  The attendees expressed sincere appreciation to the OSDA for putting on the breakfast. Assistant Beach Superintendent Brooke McMillan made opening remarks as well as OSDA President Jay Thayer.  Also in attendance was Select Board Liaison Doug Brown, Beach Committee Chair Barb Schneider and Beach Committee Vice Chair Joe Strazzulla. We'd like to thank Jamie Schuh at Cape Cod Bagel for the generous discount they gave us. L to R Scott Puopolo, Steve Saunders, Terry Saunders, Laura Puopolo, Polly Thayer, Jay Thayer L to R Joe Strazzulla, Jay Thayer, Steve Saunders, Barb Schneider, Laura Puopolo, Scott Puopolo

Featured picture is registration table from previous year. 07/13/23 - We are pleased to let you know that the Annual Meeting and Summer Social is being planned now.  It will be held on Sunday, August 13, 2023 upstairs at the Flying Bridge Restaurant at 220 Scranton Ave, Falmouth.  This is a great opportunity to catch up with old friends, meet your neighbors and hear what has been happening in the neighborhood.  We also hope to have some town officials there as well.  We will be presenting tuition assistance checks to several worthy recipients.  The Flying Bridge recently underwent some major improvements and hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can enjoy the outside deck and the view of the harbor. An invitation will be sent to all members via email shorty to sign up.  For planning purposes, we'd appreciate it if you would return the remittance form and check upon receipt.  We look forward to seeing you.  OSD Invite for 08-13-23 If you'd like to lend a hand with this event, please write to info@oldstonedock.com.  Thank you.