Home Care In Sherborn, MA

By Julia Beauregard Hometown Weekly Staff

The Sherborn Council on Aging and friends recently gathered together at Pilgrim Church on Wednesday, October 26, to commemorate longtime Sherborn resident Phyllis Braun as she was presented the Boston Post Cane Award.

The Post Cane Award was established in 1909 by the Boston Post newspaper, which sent over 700 canes to Massachusetts select boards to be bestowed to the oldest resident in town.

On the day, Phyllis was surrounded by her son, Robert, friends, and the Sherborn Council on Aging. The tables within the church function room were adorned with elegant hand-made table cloths, topped with quaint tea sets. Attendees of the ceremony celebrated with tea and pastries.

Sue Kelliher, the director of the COA, welcomed guests to the event as they arrived. Once everyone was settled in, Kelliher gave a wonderful speech both explaining what the award was, and honoring Phyllis’ dedication to the Sherborn community throughout her years as a resident.

She then turned the microphone over to Select Board Members Paul Derensis and Marian Nuetra to make the presentation of the pin and certificate — the actual cane itself remains in custody of the town — to Phyllis Braun.

For her part, Braun is thrilled to be the oldest resident in town; she is the embodiment of aging with grace. Phyllis shared with us that she has “had a wonderful life in Sherborn,” and despite all of the changes she has seen, “Sherborn is still a nice, small farm town.”

Phyllis Braun has been a Sherborn resident for over seventy-one years. She moved to Sherborn with her husband, Robert, in 1951 after purchasing a farm that had been established in the 1700s.

While her husband tended to the livestock, Phyllis planted herbs, which she grew, sold, and used as a means for decoration. She designed wedding bouquets and wreaths. Phyllis became the local expert in herbal horticulture and spread her knowledge of growing and using herbs to locals — this despite the fact that she had no formal training in horticulture; she was entirely self-taught.

It was the goal of her family to maintain the farm as it was in the 1700s, growing herbs and crops without the use of pesticides. The Brauns had a very successful local, organic farm.

Phyllis Braun is a dedicated and well-respected member of the Sherborn community. She is the co-founder of the Sherborn Garden Club and the Sherborn Council on Aging, and she has been involved in both the Sherborn Historical Society and Sherborn Benevolent Society.

After asking Phyllis for a piece of advice for those younger than her (which, in Sherborn, means all of us), she stated succinctly: “Keep our minds open to accept changes, because life is going to change, whether you like it or not.”

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The Trustees of Reservations is trying to keep Millborn Farm in the family — well, kind of. And it’s asking for the public’s help.

The property, more than 180 acres across the towns of Sherborn and Millis, is owned by Isabel and Claire Constable. They are granddaughters of Charles Eliot, who founded the Trustees in 1891. A local farmer maintains hay fields on the land, and equestrians and hunters have access, too.

The group is aiming to raise $14.4 million, including $10.2 million to buy the farm and protect it from development. (Yes, that means no housing, but the thorny question of land preservation’s role in the housing shortage is a topic for another time.) The rest is needed to cover long-term maintenance costs and improvements such as parking, trails, and signage. The nonprofit has already raised $9.6 million.

Besides the stonewall-lined hay fields, the farm has forestland and more than a mile of waterfront along the Charles River, Bogastow Brook, and South End Pond.

Millborn Farm could be connected through navigable water to other Trustees reservations: Cedariver in Millis, Shattuck Reservation in Medfield, Bridge Island Meadows, Rocky Narrows in Sherborn, Medfield Meadow Lots in Medfield, Peters Reservation in Dover, and Charles River Peninsula in Needham. Hiking trails from Shattuck Reservation connect to Noon Hill Reservation in Medfield and those from Peters Reservation connect to Chase Woodlands in Dover.

”Millborn Farm is a highly desirable property for many of its features, but also because it would provide us with the opportunity to help protect the Charles River and its watershed,” said Katie Theoharides, chief executive of the Trustees. “The Trustees has a long, rich history of land conservation in the Charles River Valley,” she said.

A former supermarket buyer and category manager, Alex Weatherall has been immersed in convenience retailing since 2010—parlaying his experience at Wegmans Food Markets to apply the same winning strategy at his 3,300-sq.ft. Sherborn Market.

Located in Sherborn, Massachusetts, an affluent community southwest of Boston, the store owned by Weatherall and his wife/co-owner Laura has watched both fuel and inside sales increase significantly since their convenience indoctrination 13 years ago, all thanks to several key operational decisions.

“We let the products shine, to be in the spotlight. When you walk into the store all customers see is ‘product’.”

An unbranded fuel marketer, Weatherall jumped shipped from CITGO years ago, and has leveraged his unbranded fuel advantage of lower street prices, all while enjoying solid profits and ensuring high customer satisfaction.

“We have no gas stations within four to five miles,” he said. “People have told me we could probably set prices far higher based on the lack of local competition, but I don’t play that game. We make a profit but are very mindful of customer mindsets. They’re smart, and know when they’re being taken advantage of.”

One overarching key: Weatherall walks a fine line to make sure customers never feel “sticker shock” on any items or commodities sold—but value. “In 2014, I had annual gas throughput of 625,000 gallons, but that has increased to 900,000 gallons—we’re looking to exceed 1 million gallons sold by end of 2023,” said Weatherall.

Inside the store, Weatherall accumulated sales of $487,000 in 2011, but last year amassed $769,000, a 58% increase. The reason? “We let the products shine, be in the spotlight. When you walk into the store all customers see is ‘product’.”

Shedding additional light on a merchandising strategy he once implemented at New York-based Wegmans, Weatherall added, “We have very muted color scheme throughout the store, from floor to walls to decor. I learned that people’s eyes wander if you have a ‘splashy’ store with variant colors—and products might not be noticed. Many look up instead of ‘out.’ We’re able to fill the market basket when we let the products shine.”

Sherborn Market serves residents of Sherborn, a town of about 4,400 residents, and neighboring Dover, Medfield, Natick and Framingham. It makes available propane refill service, grocery essentials, beer, wine, dairy, lottery, pizza—and also features a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise. Weatherall currently offers no foodservice, but plans to launch a full-service deli in the near future. (Weatherall is in the process of remodeling an adjacent structure to the store to provide more space for Dunkin’.)

Years ago, Sherborn resident George Sturgis acquired what had once been known as Village Market, performed a major renovation and then sold out in 2004. When the new owners grew tired of operating a c-store, Weatherall pounced on the opportunity and bought the location in 2010.

During the early years, Laura Weatherall designed the store’s systems and processes and also ran the store when Alex Weatherall worked at a Boston healthcare company. He stepped away from that profession in 2016 to concentrate solely on convenience retailing.

While he knew little about convenience, his grocery retailing affinity came in handy during the retail channel conversion—parlaying those tenets to Sherborn Market. “I first interned at a Wegmans, was promoted to buyer and then category manager,” he said. “I was good at merchandising and understood tactical pricing. One thing I never do is activate elaborate promotional campaigns. A lot of everyday-low and consistent pricing is what we emphasize.”

One tenet of Weatherall is to, for example, lock in a 25% margin on beer instead of 30% to 35%, which keeps his ledger in good shape without giving customers sticker shock. “Most are smart and know that I am a ‘convenience retailer.’ They grasp the concept and know they’ll have to pay a little more for a package of Oreos.”

Other aspects of Sherborn Market include:

Summing up his 13-year c-store journey, Weatherall said, “I like working in retail because every day you get graded on your performance—you see results every day. If that excites you, then that makes retail fun. And if you make substantive improvements, they’ll keep coming back.”

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DOVER — Dover-Sherborn Regional School District's next superintendent will be a familiar face to staff and students.

Elizabeth McCoy, currently the district's assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, has been selected for the top job after a successful Thursday vote during a joint meeting between the Dover, Sherborn and Dover-Sherborn Regional school committees.

McCoy takes over as superintendent on July 1.

Amanda Brown, a Sherborn School Committee member, called McCoy a visionary leader and said her presence would grant the district "a rare combination of continuity and progress toward change."

"Having a new superintendent that educators already know and trust because they've worked with her through a crisis is a huge asset for our community," said Brown. "Their good work can continue uninterrupted and Beth can hit the ground running. In fact, knowing Beth, she just won't stop running."

The vote was unanimous.

McCoy came to Dover-Sherborn in 2017 after 10 years as assistant headmaster at Boston Latin School. She is credited with leading an effort to create "an excellent hybrid learning plan for the 2020-21 school year that was a model for other districts," according to a statement from the school committees.

McCoy also helped create the district's Portrait of a Graduate and currently leads DS AIDE, which advances diversity, equity and inclusion in the schools. She is a graduate of Colgate University and holds a master's of education in school leadership from Harvard University.

According to her resume, she is also scheduled to earn a doctorate of education in leadership in schooling from UMass Lowell in 2025.

Other finalists for the job included Gerardo Martinez, principal of Schofield Elementary School in Wellesley. He was also recently a candidate for Framingham Public Schools' next assistant superintendent for equity, diversity and community engagement. That job went to Tiffany Lillie, the district's current director of community resource development.

Joseph Maruszczak was also vying for D-S superintendent. He was schools chief in Mendon-Upton from 2011 until July, when he left to launch Nuestro Mundo Charter School, a K-8 dual language immersion school in Providence, Rhode Island.

Mark Healey, a Dover School Committee member, called himself thrilled by the enthusiasm for McCoy but noted she had "tough competition" in the search, highlighting the "excellent, thought-provoking value Gerardo (Martinez) added to us."

"I would look forward to recognizing this vast amount of support you (McCoy) have from us and the community to think about how we can do things in very deep, meaningful and innovative ways," said Healey.

After serving as Dover-Sherborn superintendent since 2017, Andrew Keough retired last June 30. He is currently coaching the administrative team at Framingham's Harmony Grove Elementary School.

Kathleen Smith, former superintendent of Brockton schools, is serving as Dover-Sherborn's interim superintendent for the 2021-22 school year.

Dover-Sherborn has four schools in three districts. Chickering Elementary School is in Dover while Pine Hill Elementary is in Sherborn. Meanwhile, the middle and high schools are each classified in the regional school district.

Zane Razzaq writes about education. Reach her at 508-626-3919 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz.