001Well, welcome back to ClockTown Chronicles. I'm Michael Herbert and I'm recording today from the beautiful WACA studios here on Butterfield Drive here in Ashland. Before I introduce today's guest, I really wanted to share some exciting news. ClockTown Chronicles recently received a Hometown Media Award. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who's listened and supported the show since we launched back in 2023 and I really want to thank you. And now if you've been with us through our first six episodes, you're going to notice something very different about today's show. Uh, we spent most of our time together before talking about current events in Ashland, you know, really staying at that 30,000 foot level covering what's happening now. And while that's important, I realized something and it was that that I wasn't capturing what I really wanted to
002capture when I started this podcast. You know, I really wanted to understand the events that impact people and more importantly how those events impact them. You know, what are those moments that stick with us and what experiences shape the way that we see our town and our role in it because I believe we can learn a lot about ourselves in the present by understanding what's been important to us in the past. And maybe just maybe we can use those insights to build a more compelling future together. So, starting today on this podcast, we're going to go deeper. We're going to sit down with people who've built this town both literally and figuratively and really hear their stories. We're going to explore Ashland through the eyes of those who watched it change, who've shaped it with
003their own hands and who've learned lessons worth passing on. And I can't think of a better person to start this journey with than today's guest, Ed Hart, my good friend Ed Hart. Ed has lived in Ashland for what, almost 70 years now? >> time, yeah. We first moved here in 1957. Uh lived here for 2 years, moved to Framingham for 2 years, and came back in '61, '62, and been there since, pretty much. >> Yeah, Ed doesn't look anywhere near his age. It's It's an It's an amazing thing. And if you saw his energy, you would uh you He definitely doesn't act his age. He doesn't act his age in a lot of ways. >> True, that's true, yeah. But, um you know, Ed's also a master carpenter whose work you've you've probably seen all
004over town, even if you didn't know his name was attached to it. Uh he's he's serving on the Finance Committee now, but he's served on the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Board of Health, also an associate member of the Town Forest Committee. Um Ed's helped uh shape and create the Ashland Arboretum project, which I'm sure we'll touch on today, and then also worked on the New Mendes School, was part of that committee. A little bit, yeah. Yeah. But, I think, you know, more impressive than your resume, Ed, you're someone who thinks very deeply about the town and where we've been and where we're going, Mhm. and what it all means. And I think you really take a balanced uh reflective look at change. And I think you're going to appreciate his perspective as much as
005I do. Um you know, Ed Ed and I are friends. Uh we hike together often. Uh I've been doing that for years, and uh just you know, over the years, I've really gotten to appreciate, you know, the person you are, and you know, what you bring to the table, not just from like a a work or a committee or or a municipal perspective, but just who you are as a person. Mhm. So. Um so, Ed, welcome. Okay. Yeah. So, I gave a little bit of your background. Do you want to expand on that a little bit more? >> give you a few minutes bio. There you go. Okay. >> Born in Framingham uh at uh Framingham Union Hospital delivered by Dr. Matarrese. Now, his son, John, started Matarrese Funeral Home. Oh, no kidding. >> Yeah.
006Yeah. And he was a nice old man. I played golf with him uh years later, you know, and he was also was a medical examiner of Middlesex County for a while. I didn't know you were a golfer, either. >> No, well, you know, that was a like My father was a golfer. Okay. >> And so, I took up golf to play with my father. And I got into it. I liked it. I got to the point almost where I could play the game. Yeah. And then so, you played with with Dr. Matarrese. >> Yes, Dr. Matarrese a number of times. Yeah. Yeah, nice man. Good golfer, too. Uh a lot of funny stories with Dr. Matarrese. So, if we ever have time, I'll I'll share a few with you. Uh the but I main thing
007is that we moved a lot. Uh I was the oldest of six kids. And uh my father's a carpenter. Uh and uh independent carpenter. You don't make a lot of money as an independent carpenter, at least back then. And so, we moved uh nine times before I got into the ninth grade. And uh lived in California for a year. >> Nine times? Nine times. Yeah. >> Wow. >> Yeah. Lived in Framingham, Nobscot, Ashland, San Jose, California, and Framingham, and then back to Ashland again. And uh lived in uh Framingham on Route 9, couple two different places. Um never stayed in one place for more than a year or two. Okay. >> and then uh my father finally had somehow scraped up enough money to buy a piece of land on Cedar Street. Uh and he
008built a house there back in '61, '60, '61. >> built it himself, probably with your help. >> I painted it. Yeah. That's when I got enough money to go to Marian High School. So, we I was a professional new kid, and I was tired of always being the new kid in school. So, when it came to go to high school, there was a regional high school, Marian. And a friend of mine was going to take the test. I said, "Yeah, sure, I'll take it." It was piece of And got in and uh but it was $125 for tuition back then for a year. And so I painted in my father's house and he said, you know, if I paint the house he'll give me the money to go. And you know, I had to walk
009or ride my bike or hitchhike to school cuz there was no school buses back then. Yeah. And yeah, it was good. It was good experience. Yeah. >> Wow. So you essentially paid your way through high school. >> Through high school, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, things were a little different back then. You could you could hitchhike. You don't see a lot of kids hitchhiking today. And you don't see any kids hitchhiking today. Yeah, it's kind of you know >> a good thing I think, also. Yeah. The world's changed a little bit, right? You know, it's I think hitchhiking was a little safer back in the day and you know, you just never know who's going to pick you up or what who are you who are you going to pick up. >> know. Yeah, I hitchhiked
010to Washington DC for Nixon's inauguration. No kidding. Back in the yeah, way back. Yeah, yeah. Thought nothing of it. We hitchhiked down the Cape all the time. Really? Yeah, all the time. Never you know, didn't think anything of it. It was pretty common. Did you Did you have any crazy stories from hitchhiking or fortunately it was just pretty >> much yeah. Yeah, everybody was pretty normal, you know, and I I always go in the same route, you know, so it was it was pretty pretty constant. Um but it was different back then. My first job that I I got paid in a paycheck, I think it was like 95 cents an hour. Uh drove a truck for Baystate News when I was in high school for a dollar 10 an hour. Wow. >> And you
011could do a lot with a dollar 10 an hour, you know, you could go out on a date and have money left over when you would, you know, it seemed like the dollar seemed to go a lot further, at least for what I was using it for, you know, back then, you know. >> Yeah. So it's amazing. Toys get a little bit more expensive as you get older. >> I know. Yeah. Yeah. So and you know, we talked a little bit about kind of your background and and when you think about your time here in Ashland, um what's what's a moment or experience that stands out to you most vividly? You know, it it's one when you close your eyes, you can still feel yourself in it. Yeah, you know, Ash the way that Ashland
012has changed for me the most when I balance my memories of Ashland in the '60s and today is how much open land there was back then and how beautiful it was like down on Cedar Street, the Workman Circle and there were a number of caves that went all the way over to Rosenfeld sand pit which now is Asher. Caves? Oh, yeah, there was well not caves but like canyons you could say. Big rocks left over from the glacier I guess. Yeah, and like three of them in a row and I knew the area like the back of my hand cuz um well like I said, we were poor and we moved around a lot but I was 9 years old, my father gave me a hammer for Christmas and I went to work. Uh but
013he also got me a J.C. Higgins .22 rifle. Single shot and I worked for bullets. Oh. And you know, I mean that's it was different a little bit, you know, cuz it was yeah, yeah. And I'd walk down the street with my rifle and the police would drive by and wave and I I'd wave and it was nobody thought anything of it. Um today of course it'd be very, very different. Yeah, for sure. I never got in trouble. My father, you know, the greatest man I ever met. He told me, you know, you can go out on your own but not with your friends, you know, for target shooting. And we always lived in an area where there was some woods around and the Workman Circle area was full of woods. So I knew that
014whole area very, very well all the way from where Market Basket is now to the sand pits where the Asher is now. Yeah. And over to where the new high school is. That whole area was kind of a playground. Hm. >> and um the Workman Circle camp was very interesting also. There was an awful lot of buildings in there and that history. And that's where Algonquin Circle is now, right? Or next to it, yeah. >> Howie Fafard built all those condos down there and I worked for Howie once on one job. Yeah, so the town has changed in that way. The population back then was about 4,000 people I think. You know, back in the '60s. Uh today what's it? I think today. >> Yeah. Yeah, 19, about 19,000. Yeah. >> And up where uh
015Shaw's is, there was a uh Whitney Beef and there was a driving range with a big bull's eye where you if you hit the center uh you got a free bucket of balls, I think. And across the street from there, where the mobile station is now, was Tranco Garage. Uh so and there was a street light there, but that was you know, it was just different. The roads were narrow, there were no sidewalks, it was very open, very rural, very, very rural. And um you knew a lot of just about everybody. Yeah. And I like I walked my dog his dog he wouldn't be on a leash. He'd be staying with me. You know, and uh you didn't think twice. Uh today I would never do that. Today I'd keep my dog on a leash
016for his safety and for just mainly for his safety, I guess, and keep track of him. I worry about dogs cuz as you know, I care a great deal Yeah, Ed is a uh professional dog patter, I think. Um hikes with Ed take a little bit longer than than There's nothing like a dog. Yeah, uh it's a great cuz every dog we encounter Ed has to Ed has to stop and pet and and uh Yeah, I do like dogs. Yeah, it's one of your good qualities. But Ed, is there like a particular moment that just you know, you you think you'll always remember even, you know, in your >> So many of them. Yeah. So many. Uh perhaps the first one was uh when we were building the house on Cedar Street, uh tree fell
017on my father. Oh okay. >> on the back of the head and knocked him cold and um thought thought he was dead. Uh he well, he we were cutting trees and there were some little kids nearby and my the tree started to go in that direction. My father like, you know, out of the way and pushing them away and it came down on top of him. And um that's I can still see it in my memory, you know, it's a very He he came to. He was okay. And you know, like I said, my father is the greatest man I ever met um in every way. And uh He was a tough son of a gun, too. >> he was. Yeah, he was a Navy diver. Uh was in every single major battle in in
018World War II. Um he was an interesting guy. And And my father was, I think, the most influential person in my life. Um I He was just um physically, mentally, emotionally, in every way, was about as good as it gets. Uh he was kind, he was strong, he was brave, he was hard-working, he did everything for his family, uh never took anything for himself, I never heard him swear. Um he was just a decent, great person. Always in a good mood. Uh always willing to work. Worked 7 days a week. 12, 14 hours a day. Uh he didn't even have good shoes. He gave everything to his kids, you know. And And my brothers and I, and my sister, we agree that we lucked out. We had the best parents. My mother, too, she was
019a saint. She was a concert pianist, and she um uh mega genius. She was beautiful. Um they met during World War II. She sang with the USO, and uh Tommy Dorsey, and uh she was on her way to Hollywood when she met my father. And uh and he when he she she shipping out in in San Francisco, and he came back at the end of the war, and they found each other, and got married, and moved back out here. Moved to Framingham in 1947. Wow, it's like a classic love story, right there. >> is. It It somebody should make a movie out of it, because it was so good. And their backgrounds are very interesting. He came from the Depression. His father died in the middle of the Depression. Nine kids in the family. His
020father was a carpenter. Uh my mother uh lived uh her father was a farmer in Montana. I think they had seven or eight kids. They lost their farm during the Depression. Oh, wow. >> families were affected by the Depression. My mother had to was given up to Well, not given up. She had to live with her aunt in San Francisco. The parents just couldn't take care of the kids. They lost the farm, and they went to California. So, both of them had childhoods where there was a disruption and they realized how important a family is. And so my father and his brothers were all best of friends and me and my brothers, my sister were all best of friends. >> got a lot. >> I yeah, yeah. And we we zoom every Saturday and Sunday.
021Uh we for 40 years we had breakfast every Saturday and then COVID came along kind of messed things up. So zooming was very convenient and so now we zoom. It's better for everybody. But um that's what my parents instilled in me is um how important family is, how important it is to do the right thing. You know, work hard, do the right thing. And uh and that that that all my brothers, my brother Dennis went to Yale, then he went to Harvard Law, Brian went to Brandeis, uh Scotty went to uh UMass, Candy went to BC. Uh they all got educations from my father who never even graduated from high school. He just worked hard all the time and put them all through school. Wow. Yeah. He was a great man. You know, that's um
022How do you think that has influenced the way you've thought about the town? And like you know, that caretaker type of mentality. Yeah, that's the way he was. The ordinance that you have, no smoking in night clubs and restaurants, that's my father. No kidding. >> Yeah. Yeah, he got that going a long time ago at the uh American Legion, I think. Didn't like the fact that people were coming in smoking and there were other people that were all non-smokers and then we at that time they were starting to get more conscious of the dangers of cigarette smoking. So he decided that they he got a petition up and he pushed it through and they made it a law. Uh my mother was responsible for the law that there was no shooting in Ashland. Ah. >>
023Cuz I was a target shooter all the time. So she got a petition going and they they passed the law back in '67 or I think '68, no more shooting in Ashland. Wow, yeah, cuz firearms are still prohibited. >> Wow. Yeah. Um yeah, I you know, that's um I I didn't realize that. Yeah, I didn't realize they they had that type of impact and then it makes sense though when I think about you and some of the things that you've done like your committee work, you know, like on the board of health and like the pesticides and things like that, you know, you worked at that. You know, you're you are um you're very uh scientifically minded and um you stay on the cut Yeah, you're science major and you stay on like the cutting
024edge of that type of stuff. >> I like that. Yeah, that's what I read mostly, you know, at night uh online uh anything from ZME or uh Harvard or a number of other sources for the latest in uh certain areas of research. I was a biology major, chemistry minor. Yeah. And you were going to do like pre-med for >> Yeah, I got in I got into UMass Med in in '81 decided not to go uh for a number of reasons. One, my father needed help and uh I realized it really wasn't for me. I had I think this is the most honorable thing you can do with your life is be a doctor or a nurse or dentist or veterinarian, you know, use your energy and your intelligence to help others. That's most honorable thing
025you can do. Uh and I would have done if I could have cloned myself and have two lives, one would have been a doctor. I would love to have done it. But, you know, I was I'd take it too seriously. I was studying too much and I think my marriage would have uh suffered from it, you know, I cuz I was always in the library. I was never around. I loved it and I but I didn't go back to school till I was 28. Yeah. >> Cuz I had to help my father put my brothers my younger brothers and sisters. And there was other things going on also, but that was one of When they all were all squared away then that's when I decided I think I'll go back. You know, and I went
026back to school and uh did well. Had had a good time. So, you know, it's really interesting you talked about how your father and and your mom like instilled that sense of family and that importance of family and and you know, I just hear that reflected you know, what you're saying here, you know, helping your dad out, you know, not going to med school cuz you needed to help dad out and then also we're thinking about, you know, your marriage with Janet and everything. So, it's uh And my nephew Alex, we helped raise him. Okay. >> And then my brother Brian passed away and he had two kids, so we helped him as much as we could with the two kids. So, we was all family, you know, we have big family, you know, it's
027it's part of it. So, if I if the word that comes up for me right now is duty. Yes, yeah. I think that's accurate, yeah. That's what I think my parents instilled in us a sense of duty to yourself, to your community, to every to everyone. That's why that woman that holds the sign downtown, kindness matters. Yeah, Nancy. It that is true. Kindness is the most important thing, in my opinion. I think it's the foundation of all virtues and the opposite unkindness is the foundation of most vices. And I think that in life the most important thing is to be kind to others, yourself, to animals, to everything, you know, then you're a successful human being. If you're not kind, then you're not a successful human being. I don't care how much money or power
028you have. That's interesting. So, that's kind of like your barometer. That's that's what I believe, yeah. That's my barometer, yeah. Yeah. How do you think Ashland does in general on that scale? Very good on that scale, I think, yeah. Yeah. Ashland's a good town to live in. It's it it always was a good place. I mean, the world is a good place. Uh but Ashland has made some good changes since I've been here in a lot of different ways. The school system, I think, is the part of the foundation of what happens and that has that's a reflection of the people that's moved into the town. Who wanted a better school system and the and Ashland made sure that they got it. When did that happen, Ed? When do you think >> I think, is
029when I saw the change, yeah. Okay. Back in the '50s, it was different here. Ashland High School, I I I heard, I didn't know anybody, but uh I heard there were kids in in their '20s still in Ashland High. Uh and and it was different, very very different. Uh right around '63, '64, things started to change. And uh maybe it's because new more people moving into the town, possibly there was some building going on. But it was the parents that wanted a better school system. We had some good people. Um Zike uh I You see, I only I went to Ashland in the fourth and fifth grade. And that's it. Yeah, cuz you were moving around >> moving around all the time. I was in Framingham a lot. We came back for high school. But
030my brothers and my my brothers went through all the the grades in Ashland. Uh Chris I think started off in the first grade at Fruit which and that was the Fruit Street School. Okay. >> And uh yeah, and we noticed a difference in in >> School for those of you >> right. Yeah. That's the I went to Central. I think it's the Pitaway. >> Pitaway, yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah, it was Central Street School at the time. And um yeah, and then the high school was down where Mendez is now. Okay. That was the old high school. Yeah. >> Yeah. Huh. Well, you know, you've been here for a while and you know, Ashland is a great town. It's a unique town. >> It is, yeah. Um there's there's so many idiosyncrasies to it. Um but
031you know, you've surely seen like patterns repeat themselves here in Ashland. Um and and how Ashland handles change I think. And so what what's what's one pattern that you keep noticing? Oh, let's see. Um it's funny in Ashland sports is important. We've always I remember my brothers were in cross country. Mhm. Um I think with Ashland if I was to say is does Ashland have one theme, it would be the focus on children. You know, I'm making sure that the children have a good education. Make sure that the town is clean and safe. Uh that there's things to do. You know, it's a safe place to live and grow up. There's some open spaces. Uh Ashland's has some good decisions recently purchasing like Warren Woods Yeah. Uh and the Valentine estate also. With the they're
032different but we also buy a lot of a lot of land for the forest and forest we just bought 54 acres from and add to the forest. Not only does that prevent development and I know that sounds funny coming from me cuz I'm a carpenter you know I I make my living off of development but if the quality of life is important in a community and Ashland is always is improved the quality of life in my opinion. We have the state park. We have open spaces. We have Stone Park. Real good school systems and a lot of good extracurricular activities. We're close to everything. Yeah. It's it's it's a safe community to live in. We have a excellent police and fire department always have. Agreed. And all of that adds a little bit each piece
033to the puzzle and people enjoy living here. I don't never felt really any stresses living in Ashland. You know and I've lived in I've lived in many places in this country and not always felt as safe and as secure as I feel all the time in Ashland and I I love Ashland. Yeah. Really? Yeah. Yeah you're you're you're definitely a clucker. But um in I think in a in a measured way in a way. It's not like this blind loyalty. >> Yeah cuz I didn't go to Ashland High. So I'm not a townie so to speak. You know and because I went to Marian I went to school with the kids from surrounding towns. Right. >> was back then there were battles of the bands and parties every weekend. So I was in Marlborough and
034Natick and Framingham and you see how things are different there. They're a little bit different. Ashland was kind of like a come back home to a nice comfortable place to relax you know where it's nice and quiet and peaceful and and and constant. Yeah. You know there was something always constant in Ashland. There weren't a lot of disruptions. It's very safe and secure. Hm, at least from my perspective. You know, but I spent my a lot of my time out in the woods, too. I was in the fields in my weekends, you know, and after school when I wasn't working for my father. So, my my upbringing was a little different than my brother's. Okay. >> they went to school here and they were involved in all the sports and things like that. I never
035was. I never played baseball and basketball in my life. Uh played football a couple of times. Never played hockey. I was always working. I was the oldest and >> Right. >> So, I I was always after school and weekends I was working with my father. Hm. So, you know, if you think about a time when you felt really connected to Ashland, really connected to the community. What was happening? Well, that's probably when I really felt connected to Ashland is when I started building my house here in '89. You know, and then started getting involved in town affairs, more involved. I mean, I was always concerned cuz my father and mother lived here and my brother lived here, but uh when you live here, when you own property in a in a place and you're you
036it's a little different. It changes. Yeah. Now, when I was a kid, I was, you know, it was just my parents lived, you know, it was we lived in so many different places. It didn't really dawn on me that they owned Cedar Street cuz we'd always rented. You know what I mean? Yeah. >> So, I was that's why I went to Marion cuz I thought that oh, we may move again. Uh you get a little older and you realize no. Oh, that's that strategic mind of yours kind of going, yeah. No, it's smart. >> Yeah, it's true. And uh and so when, you know, you get a little older and you start looking at things a little differently. You know, and and so when I started building the house in '89, it was but with
037Bob Scavi, um is when things I started to look at Ashland a little little differently. Hm. I'd always, you know, been here, but just it was different, you know, it was a different different uh realization, different experience. Yeah, you know, it's interesting cuz, you know, I I live just over the border in Framingham. I'm literally 5 minutes away from town hall, but you know, and I you know, obviously because of my job and as much time as I spend here, like I feel like Ashland's home in many ways. Um but at the same time, I I've I've always like regretted not having like a piece of property here. So, you know, I came close a couple of times, but um I I think there's something to that, like you said. It's true. It's true. It's
038It's a different feeling, you know, and now we own the house. Paid it off. Right. So, I don't own a mortgage anymore even, and that's a different feeling also. You know, it it changes your perspective on certain things. You take them more seriously. You're more concerned. Like, you know, we'll pick up litter on our street. It's Right. It's It's hard to explain, but you when you It's the same I think as having children. You know, you're more concerned about their future. So, you want to try to make a good present for them because good present evolves into a good future, you know, and it's and that's what that's when I just got involved. I started off with the ZBA, I think. I did some things for the for the town before >> going to ask
039you like what was your first committee? Was it ZBA? >> Yeah, it's funny. I I It's Well, funny the way it worked. There was somebody that was going to do something in a piece of property near where we lived, and some of the friends and the neighbors asked me if I would represent our wishes, and I did before the ZBA. They were look The person was looking for a variance, and uh Mr. Hanna was on the ZBA. >> Yes. Jim Jim Hanna. >> Yeah, and it when I was >> when it was over, he talked to my father. He says, "Hey, talk your son into joining the ZBA." He wanted Mr. Hanna wanted to leave. And so, my father said, you know, told me the story, and I said, "Yeah, I'll I'll do it, I
040guess." You know, what's involved. And and that was my first experience with the town committee, the ZBA. It was very interesting. Wow. I enjoyed it. >> Do you have any 40Bs? Yeah, we did have one. Yeah? >> Yeah, it was one over on Fountain Street and it was never developed though. Okay. They had an approval for it. I think that they ended up selling the lots separately over time. Okay. This is a while ago. But it was you know one of the things I didn't like about the ZBA is seeing neighbors conflicting over some minor little thing. Like a deck or a shed or something like that. You need some frontage. You know sometimes things like that. But you know that the law is the law too. The good thing about the ZBA is that
041there are laws and regulations so you can make determinations based on something that's almost chiseled in stone and there's some comfort in that. There's some security in in those types of discussions and debates. You know. So that's what I liked about the ZBA that it is is rooted in in a number of laws and regulations that you can refer back to or use to defend your position or use to deny a position. >> sound like an attorney right now. >> Well I did I have six lawyers in my family so >> Oh that's kind of rubs off I guess. Yeah my brother Dennis went to Harvard Law. His wife is an attorney. His kids are both attorneys so a lot of attorneys in the family. You know you we talked a little bit about the
042you know the committees that you that you're on and that you've been on and you know so you've witnessed countless decisions right being made but was there one particular decision that you like step back and realized hey you know what this is bigger than just this one decision. This is going to change who we are fundamentally. There were two. Okay. There were the one was more important to me perhaps. It was it was over on Cordaville Road. It was in the ZBA. There was a man it was an older man. He had cancer. He uh wanted he had a piece of property adjacent to his property. It was like maybe I think five feet too short for road frontage and he was looking for a variance on it and I was disappointed in the neighbors
043around who had built their houses and moved in long after he had been there an awful long time. >> Oh, really? Yeah. And I also was disappointed his attorney didn't make a good presentation, you know, and uh it was voted down. Uh I think I voted for it. I don't remember, but it was voted down. And um later on he came back a year or two later and he got his variance and he he was able to sell his property. But I was disappointed in the way at that point in time, uh the way the neighbors seem to um think more of themselves than this other gentleman. It was his property. It was We're talking 5 or 10 ft. It was nothing. Yeah, on on change. The positive thing that I recall that made an
044impression was the on the Board of Health with the pesticide regulation. >> Yeah. And that was good. And I'm glad that the the board and the town accepted that. And we made it illegal to use a class one and two substances on town property. And we wanted to extend it to all property, but I think that the message got out and a lot awful lot of daycare centers and others that didn't necessarily have to do it this way started doing it that way. And you know, making people aware of a problem, uh a normal person, an adult responsible person would make the right decision. At least that's been my opinion, you know, I think if you present the truth to somebody, then they they they recognize they'll do the right thing. Yeah. I I want
045to put you on the spot here. What's been your favorite committee? Oh, gosh. It's hard to say. I don't know. I like them all. You know, oh, the Finance Committee is a good committee. Oh, they're a good committee. What what makes them a good committee in your mind? They're all just professional. There's no personalities involved. It's data. It's decision. And they come in, they do their job. They do it intelligently. And then it's over. You know, it's so efficient. It's it's methodical and efficient and I like it. I like that. Cuz these are people that do their business. They do their day-to-day job done and they get the job done. You know, not that the other committees I've been on aren't like that. That they've all been very, very good. But uh the finance committee
046is extreme in that way and I I was always impressed. The the professionalism of the people that were on that committee, their intelligence, their experience, uh the way that they are involved and dedicated and concerned, uh open to discussion, uh and always, in my opinion, making the right decision and not wasting a lot of time doing it, either. You're right. I mean, I think I think about that committee cuz I spend, you know, a a lot of time with them and um you're right. I They prove that you don't have to spend hours and hours talking to get a variety of opinions and make thoughtful decisions. >> Right. Exactly. >> You know, they don't You know what? And I'm not I'm not saying every anybody does this, but they don't talk to hear themselves talk.
047>> Right. You know, if if they have something to say, they say it it it it it's got meaning, it's got purpose to it. Um We're talking about numbers, too. We're talking about math. Uh other areas, you have to express your opinion because there's >> there, too. Oh, sure. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, I mean, it is what it is, too. Uh and, you know, it's a little bit different, I think, in the ZBA. There's some room for subjectivity. Yeah. Certainly in the Board of Selectmen, uh in the Board of Health, too. You know, you There are opinions that what's a better Do we have a better approach to this? But in the Finance Committee, and certainly on the Forest Committee, you know, there's all different ways to
048do uh many different things, you know. >> Yeah. Uh but on the uh Finance Committee, yeah. Yeah. It's uh very cut-and-dry, in my opinion, anyway. Now, they are experts in this and I'm not. You keep saying >> area. You keep, you know, and and I think and, you know, so that's that's the thing. I think And and this goes I think for anybody listening who is thinking about being on a committee or anything like that. It it's you know, you don't necessarily have to have the subject matter expertise, but I think you have to have a willingness to learn. And I think what's important is that you have the ability to bring a different perspective. And I think that's you know, you add so much value to the finance committee because you know, you do
049have the finance professionals there. You have some attorneys, you know, and um you have people like Jack Walsh who who been on there for a long time, you know, a former school committee member, you know. And then, you know, you bring a thoughtful scientific uh perspective to things that's not necessarily based in finance, but like you know, well, you mentioned quality of life. >> Yeah. Okay. >> And and how important that is to you. And and that's you know, now that I'm saying that, that actually is the lens I think you make your decisions through. >> to, yeah. Right, that's what I'm thinking of, yeah. You know, there's certain areas I think the fire, police, and schools come first. DPW right after it, you know, because you have to you know, the quality of life
050is circles around those four. Um and the town has responded properly, in my opinion. Yeah. We we've been well served. I told you that story about uh uh I was I was with Rob St. St. Germain and we were down at the high school. It was holding signs. It was before like 2 years ago before an election. And I have my my phone where I check on my dog, you know, to make sure the house is okay and the dog is okay. And I looked at the camera and I see somebody walk in front of the camera. >> Oh, yeah, that's right. >> Remember I told you this story? I thought, "Oh my goodness, somebody's in my house." And so I I And I didn't have my car. So, Rob said, "Well, let's go over
051there right now." So, we jumped I called 911. I told called the police station. I said, "There's somebody in my house. I can see him on a on a security camera. They're not supposed to be there." I told them where I live. We jumped in the car and we drove. Now, we're not very far away. What, 2 miles? And Rob's driving as fast as he could. By the time I got there, there were four policemen there. Yeah. >> And they had already they were already on the way to secure the area. And they asked us to stay here, and they went around and and make sure, you know, checking outside the house. And then I opened it up and they went in and they checked the whole house. It just turns out there was a
052problem with the program. The film I saw was an old recording of me and my brother in the in the kitchen. And it I don't know how it popped up. It was It was a cheap program, obviously. The security system was not that good. But what impressed me was how polite the police were, how efficient they were, and how methodical they were. And how professional they were. And then I wrote a letter to the chief and apologized. I explained the whole situation. You know, I apologized for wasting their time. But the the person the cop in charge at the site said, "No, this is a good training experience for us also." He he found a positive way to to look at it and to And I was impressed. I thought that that's really good. I
053I like that. You know, Ashlin's well served. Yeah, it's it's a good group. It is. It is. Yeah. And I I've always you know, I think in any department, um in any police department, you know, you're going to have different personalities and just you know, just by the the number of people in the department, you're going to have different personalities. What I've always respected and appreciated was that when duty, you know, that sense of duty calls, like all that stuff, you know, the personality stuff goes by the wayside. Everybody is on point. >> Yeah. And they're polite about it, too. And they're Yeah, professional and polite. >> It makes things go faster and smoother when you act like that. And it gives people confidence, I think. >> Exactly. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. yeah. You know, people
054you know, safety is not just necessarily responding to thing. It It's like being able to instill that sense of confidence. It's that sense of safety. Because you and I know there are neighborhoods where um you know, you might be physically safe at the moment, but you don't really have that sense of safety. And it impacts quality of life, you know, like we talk about. >> Yeah, I've lived in a few like that. Yeah, me too. Um so I want to talk about Cadillac Paint or Arboretum, because I think a lot of people associate you know, when they think of you, they think of that project. >> Yeah. And uh when did you start getting involved in Cadillac Paint? >> was '94, '95, sometime like around that that period of time. Yeah, for those of you
055that don't know that are listening, so Cadillac Paint um is uh off of Elliot Street towards the Sherborn line. Mhm. Uh the old Cadillac Paint and Lacquer Company, you know, used to be um well, painting lacquer company. >> Lacquer, yeah. And uh you know, got abandoned with the economic times and just it was a brownfield site, meaning that there was heavily It was heavily contaminated. There are buildings there that just fell into decay and disrepair, just became an eyesore, but Yeah. you know, Ed, you've been really involved in in advocating and and playing a role in in getting that cleaned up. So, I kind of interrupted your your your spiel there, but >> No, no, no. That That's No, you're right. It was uh um like you said, it went under in 1984, I think.
056And uh Bob Schiavi owned the property around that. He had a farm, and he um farming kind of went in one direction, and building went in a different direction, so he and he was an excavator. He did um a brother to help him, and they developed that area. And uh it kind of built around Cadillac Paint. Now, Cadillac Paint went under, like I said, I think it was '84. They had some problems with underground storage tanks for solvents and it leaked into the ground and it was too expensive to clean up and the owner of the company I think went bankrupt. I'm not sure on the specifics of his finances, but the result was as far as neighbors were concerned was the place had been abandoned. Oh, yeah. >> And and they didn't have any
057money to clean it up. So the state would come in and approach it as when they were aware of a problem, they'd have to come in and fix it. But they would fix that problem. Well, there was a lot of little problems in Cadillac Paint. Turns out there was no asbestos, which was good and that was a benefit for us. But you know, nobody had any money. That was the main thing. The state didn't have the money, the town didn't have the money, the owner of the property didn't have any money to do the cleaning. We were dealing with problems as they became aware that we'd become aware of them. And then that whole thing started when somebody wanted to purchase the property in order to revitalize it for manufacturing. Huh. This is I think
058in 94 and the neighbors got together and said, "Wait a minute, no. We're not going to be doing that." Yes, right like right in the residential neighborhood. >> Exactly, yeah, yeah. And we were concerned that the select board might give them a variance or a special permit. So we had a neighborhood meeting and for some reason they chose me to be the spokesperson. I don't know why. I was working all the time. Yeah. I didn't have the time for this, but once you you start to do something, you got to finish it. And so I created a newsletter called Clean and Green and printed it up and gave it to the houses around us. It turns out there's houses in our neighborhood that are close enough to be affected by what goes on at that
059piece of property. Okay. And so that was our our group and it took uh almost 25 years, but we eventually got the place cleaned up, the buildings torn down, the EPA came in at the end and spent millions of dollars making sure that it's absolutely clean. They scraped up soil, Awful. Tons of soil. Tons of soil. Yeah. For days and days they were dragging stuff out of there. Yeah. >> And uh and at the end the man that was in charge, the foreman from the EPA, gave the town a document and he told me face-to-face, "This land is now cleaner than any land in Ashland and the surrounding towns." And that was nice to hear. Yeah. And then the town took it and we decided what we're going to do with it is make an
060arboretum. And uh turn some a toxic negative nightmare into something that was positive and sustainable and could be used by anybody for you know an enjoyable during the day uh walk and look at different plants. They're going to be have signs labeling different things that they planted there. Take a couple of years. Yeah. >> But it took 25 years to get to where we are now. >> That's what I'm saying. >> five or 10 more years, who cares? Two or three years we're going to start to see uh it take shape. But uh it's worth it. You know, when you have something that's worth doing, then you stick to it and you do it. That's all. >> Yeah. That's I I will have to say that that's that's kind of the part of the job
061that frustrates me uh a bit is just when you know, like you talk about like you know we've been working on this as a community for like 25, 30 years. And you know, it's slow and then like you know, we made so much progress since 2018. >> Yeah. True. >> True. That's true. That vote and it's just like, "Well, you know, can't you get this thing finished?" I'm like, "Oh my gosh, it took us this long." >> You know, but uh yeah, that's that's that's my own issues. >> The people that are impatient that prods you to to move as fast as you can. Oh, and take on too many projects. >> happens. Yeah. Yeah. I you know, Ed, if if you were to descri- if you were to describe Ashland as a as a
062person who's grown and changed over the decades, what would you say about their personality now versus then? Oh, let's see. Um a little bit more open. Um I don't know you I use words like inclusive that we hear a lot today and and and that's that's true. It's true. What does open mean to you? Um openness is more like say we any community that's where people the same families have lived there for generation after generation has kind of a closed attitude. It's us and them attitude. You don't see that in Ashland. Ashland is just everybody's lives in Ashland. Everybody's a resident of Ashland. Everybody is equal in Ashland. It doesn't really There is none of that. You know, I don't need to see it in any way whereas in in some places I've lived like
063the your last name matters. I remember I lived in San Francisco I'm not San Francisco San Jose and at the end of our street there was a kid who lived there and he was so wealthy and everybody wanted to be his friend and he had all these toys and you know, we were living in the poor section. We had nothing and there was that change that you know, you you're you're you're There was that almost a division. Almost like a caste system. >> Yes, a caste system in the neighborhood. This was in the neighborhood. And you don't see any of that today and you certainly don't see it in Ashland. You're right, actually. Yeah, we've all I think experienced it. If you're old enough, you've seen things change in the since the 60s and 70s.
064Things changed and then they changed again in the 80s and 90s and now we're seeing a new change taking place politically and and with awareness. You know, cell phones have certainly changed it for the young kids today. We didn't have any of that. Um but we had paper routes. We mowed lawns. We shoveled driveways. And we grew up differently. Um And in a way I think my I'm I have a bias but I think that we grew up um in a better environment to me. You know, at least in my opinion. Um I'm sure that there are young people who would disagree. I have discussions with my nieces and nephews about things like this. Oh, I bet those are interesting. You ever lose your temper? I lost my temper back in 1972. I haven't since
065then. I remember You remember the day. Like lost my temper, man. I remember it. Man, I don't think I've ever seen you lose your temper. No, there's nothing to get mad at. You'd be grateful. >> How do you How do you Is it Is it gratitude? >> It's gratitude, yeah. Cuz I'm lucky. I'm lucky born at the right time, to a great family and a great country. You know I mean, there's nothing not to be thankful for. Really, you know? Especially when you see what's going on in the world. >> Well, why do we But why do you think we have people who You know, I think have such a hard time being >> people decide how they're going to look at life. If you Like what's the expression of you're holding a hammer, everything
066looks like a nail. Something like those lines, yeah. You know, there are just some people who are just born very positive. And they're always looking, so they see a lot of positive things. And there are people who are born perhaps a little negative, a little angry, and it might be from things that happened to them when they were younger that they have to overcome. But um they see things in a negative way. And um like I referred to when we first started talking, my parents were very instrumental in the way that I look at life. And I think that that's important. Family is very important. Parenting is a great responsibility. And um most I'd say 99.9% of the parents that I've known in my life are good good at it. They do the best they
067can. Especially in our area, you know, we don't have a lot of pressures like they do in some places the country in the world. And that's another thing to be grateful for. You know, uh we are lucky. We're lucky. And we should appreciate that and realize it and and uh then try to make things better. Did that attitude come easy to you or >> Yeah, yeah, it comes easy to me. Something you had to cultivate? >> Just the way I've always thought. I always grew up that way, you know? That's way my father was. You know, and there was just I don't know there there was no alternative. I wasn't exposed to any alternative ways of thinking. It's that my mother and father were just great people. They were, you know, kind and loving and
068uh I can't find anything to criticize them over. Yeah. Uh they My father died at the age of 93. And he had his eyes, he didn't need glasses, he didn't need a hearing aid, he had all his teeth. Physically, he was like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he never lifted weights. Emotionally, he was the most well-balanced human being I've ever seen. Um he was he when when I was a kid this is interesting. I we'd be at a job site in a house. We were I worked on houses. And you know, you take a coffee break around noon. My father never ate lunch. He ate once a day. I don't know how he survived. But that's the way he was. When my father spoke, all the other men would stop and listen. And when I was a
069little kid, I noticed that. Whenever my father didn't speak often, but when he had he had an opinion and he spoke, other people stopped and listened to what he had to say. And that's what a great human being he was. He had a presence. You know, he he even And dogs liked him. You know, I noticed that. He didn't really care that much about dogs, but they loved him. Uh the dog would come up and wag and they'd want my father to pet him. Dogs are smart. They can tell good people and bad, you know. And my father was just that type of guy. You'd have loved him if you if you knew him. Everybody liked my father. >> I undoubtedly. >> Yeah, he was just a great human being. A human success. Yeah. Uh
070in every way, you know. Never had two dimes to rub together. That didn't matter. He was just a successful person. And my mother, too. You know, I'm spoken speaking mostly about my father. My mother was fantastic, you know. She's uh you know, she um went to the conservatory. She was an understudy. She was a second piano for the New York Philharmonic for about 6 months, but she never played. She had to be ready to play. She had to play practice 6, 7 hours a day and memorize and be ready to go. And the stress was too much. And after 6 months, she said, "No, I I'm not going to do this anymore." So, she taught piano, also. She went And then she was in her 50s, I think, late 50s, she decided to go back
071to college. And she went to Framingham, got a degree in psychology, and worked at the women's reformatory for a while. >> Yeah. And she um walked the marathon when she was in her 80s, half of it, anyway. She was just another unique human being, you know. And always in a good mood. Very patient. Encouraged us to go on to to college. With my father, he didn't care. My father, you know, it's just you work hard, you do what's right, you take care of your family, you know, that's what's important to him. With the mother, that she was like, if you can do it, then we'll find If you have a a talent, we'll find a way that you can go as far as you can with that talent. And she encouraged all of us to
072go to college. >> well. And you know, my father's a carpenter, never graduated high school, and all of his kids went to really good schools, graduated with honors, >> Right. and went on in life. And never ever got in trouble with the law, never had any problems at all, you know, which is it's nice to see. And we're all best friends after I'm I'm 77, and we still get together, like I said, twice a week to Zoom. And for an hour. Yeah. Ed, do you ever regret anything? Yes, I wish I was kinder to uh animals when I was younger. I was a hunter, and I I'm a vegetarian now. I've been a vegetarian for decades. Yeah. And that's the only regret I have, is that I didn't think more carefully about it when I
073was younger. Cuz I love animals, and I just It's my only regret. Yeah. >> think of anything else that I regret. Just I would have been a little kinder here and there, you know. You you you you've You strike me and this just came to me now, like I mean, you're a very peaceful person. Not in the sense of um Thank you. Not in the sense of like you know, war and peace, that type, but just like at peace. Yeah. I sleep >> that way? >> Yeah, I I fall right asleep, wake right up. I I have no Yeah, I'm lucky. Like I said, I'm very grateful. I have no problems, you know. Uh you know, I have only one regret. I would have bought gold back in 1990. Oh my gosh, it's exploding. It's
074like over four grand an ounce now. I knew a guy that bought it back then. I said, "What are you buying gold for? That's stupid." Well, yeah, he bought it like it was $100 ounce when he bought it. What's it now? $4,000 or so? >> Wait, it went up over 4,000 yesterday. >> heard that this morning. It's amazing. It's like um I don't know. It ain't Bitcoin, that's for sure. >> Yeah, yeah. Yeah, what what's What do you think is the biggest threat to our society today? Oh, good. Yeah, moving you know, I'm zooming up now. >> No, that's okay. Yeah, we've had these discussions before. Um I think threats to the environment are the most important. I too much plastic in the environment, uh global warming, it's not a hoax, it's very real. Um
075acidification of the ocean. Uh I think it was the I think it's 80% of all life on Earth is in the oceans. Um and they're vital to our to us. I think that the direction that we're going, it's not just my opinion, you know, the UN and World Health Organization, there's a lot of people who study this and keep track of it are concerned. Uh loss of arable land uh through agricultural processes. Uh we're losing I think it's like uh 20 million hectares of arable land every year, you know, something along those lines. Uh from erosion mostly and also uh from uh agricultural processes. We grow an awful lot of feed for animal agriculture. And um we are burning the candle at both ends. And I think that I think it can be solved. I
076think it I think it will be. I hope it will be. Uh unfortunately, many people don't wake up until it's almost too late. You know, I think the human being is like that. We respond to stress better than we plan ahead. You know what I mean? You know, something goes wrong, you stop what you're doing and you solve the problem like the like the pandemic for example or 9/11. This pulled everybody together. People stopped arguing with each other. We said, "No, we have a common enemy. We have to solve this problem. Deal with the rest of this later." And that's a kind of a human condition I I've noticed in in everybody's life, too. If you have an economic problem or health problem, everything else takes second. You solve this first. And you know, that's
077good and in a way it's unfortunate, too, because we do have the capacity, the ability to plan ahead properly and avoid a lot of problems that we're going to have to deal with. So, we better we'd be better off to follow people and get leaders that know what they're talking about and follow them and try to find a way to get this done. And most of our problems we're doing very well at, but I think that the environment is the main thing, that the biggest stress that we face as a species on this planet. Yeah, I mean, do you think so we have this whole history as mankind, if you will, of you know, when when when a crisis happens, uh threats to the society or, you know, emerge, we do rally. >> Yeah. And
078and it almost it's almost like >> it gives us a false sense of confidence. Like, we know we'll take care of this. >> Right. Like, when it becomes a real issue, we'll take care of it, right? But But you're right in the sense that you you don't always make the best decisions. You might solve the problem, but maybe not in the best way. You might solve it in a way that creates more problems in the future. >> Yeah. Yeah, that can happen. But at least we pull together. It shows that it can be done. It's So, why wait until something goes wrong? Pull together now. Yeah, you know, I remember like one of the lessons I learned in grad school was just, you know, we you can kind of summarized it in in this way,
079which is don't let a crisis go to waste. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> use it as an opportunity to build bridges >> I've heard that. and and and build community and build togetherness. And, you know, Ashland's a good a good proving ground, I think, for that. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think we've made the right decisions as a town in general, heading in the right direction generally, as evidenced by the property values in Ashland and how they >> Oh gosh. >> I mean that's a good indicator is that the things are going right. We're going in the right direction. I had a conversation um with some Board of Health members of an adjacent town. I won't say which one it is. Yes, I will. Okay. I've told I think I've told you this before. I we
080it was in Hopkinton and they were asking about the pesticide regulations. So, I had a meeting with them a few years ago. And some of the members said that they wish that Hopkinton had purchased Weston Nurseries, you know. Uh and now that area in Weston Nurseries is beautiful. I drove through it recently and I was impressed at how nice it is. But, the in- sudden increase in population is going to cause them to build a new school, for example. >> Right. And that's a stress financially. That could have been planned differently. Um you know, you don't need a crystal ball for some of these decisions. But, there's a lot of factors involved in something like that, I know. Totally. Uh but, the one thing Ashland made the right choice at when we faced with this
081very similar possibility, instead we, I don't know if it's luck or just uh intelligence um or just uh community and and compromise, but for example, Warren Woods did the right thing there. Uh and in a number of other places in the town. And that has added to that piece of the puzzle that improves the quality of life in any community having uh open spaces um and um and and some type of control over its growth. Now, there are limits to growth. Yeah. And and you got to be conscious of that as much as you can. I know that you know, there are not a lot of laws that prevent us from stopping somebody from developing property that they own, that they purchased and they have a right to develop. That's true. There are laws about
082development that you know, we make sure it's done a proper way. Uh but, in the larger picture, if the community can take a get involved in that for the future and make the correct decisions, you're going to be better off in the long run. And I think Ashland has done that in a number of areas so that we'll be better off in the long run. Look at the town forest, Paddack Paint, the Valentine barn, other places that the town has stepped in and taken the initiative and done the right thing. And I and I think other towns envy us for that. Yeah, we we have like our reputation has definitely kind of improved, I think, among some of our neighbors just by some of the actions that we've taken. But, you know, I think about
083and I wasn't here when Warren Woods happened, but the way it's been described to me is like it was such a battle. Was it was that is that accurate? >> I was in it, but it didn't seem like it was that big of a battle. Okay. >> Yeah. And so cuz my question was going to be like why was something like Warren Woods such a battle? And you look at some of the other purchases that we've made. I mean, we've increased in the last 10 years we've increased the town forest by 25%. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> we've gone from like 450 acres to something like 500 something like that. I mean, we've purchased the Nicolo property, some land off Lincoln, um you know, the church property, um you know, but those are easy. I mean,
084you get the town meeting and it's I mean, it it sometimes it's a unanimous vote. >> That's right. It's good to see. Um and so I was I yeah, I'm glad to hear, you know, from your perspective Warren Woods wasn't as much of a battle because I was like what what happened in cuz it's only it was only like a span of like five or six or seven years. >> Yeah. Right. >> Like what changed? You know, it's funny. It it the the thing that stuck out I was on part of that committee for Warren Woods. Me and two other people. And um there was few concerns about possible pollution on the property. Um that's about the main thing that I bumped into. And that was so they really from my experience the people that
085I knew and was working with were heading in this direction. It was going to happen. They're going to work as hard as they could to make sure it did. And I didn't feel a lot of pushback at the time. I was on the Board of Health at the time. Okay. Yeah. And so that's perhaps why I was, you know, Got you. focused on the pollution part of it. >> Got you. And that's and so my involvement of it would have been a little bit narrower than somebody who had a wider picture. Maybe in the Board of Selectmen might say something different, you know, they might had to deal with discussions or debates or that were in a different vein than what I ran into when I was on the Board of Health. But I the
086the people that I talked to all seemed to be in the same same line. Let's let's do this. Let's get it. And for a number of reasons. Yeah. Beautiful property. Part of it was to prevent development. >> Yeah. You know, that's this is what motivated a lot of people in Valentine, you know, to purchase that property to prevent something from happening. And then we'll figure out what to do with it after. We'll be better off in the long run than we would if we didn't do this and we ended up with an apartment complex with 250 new apartments to deal with. Some of this is inevitable. Right. >> there's something Well, we got 340Bs. I know, right. That's what we got right now. Then you can't do anything. It was very little you can do.
087It's it's inevitable. But you try to do it as best you can. And if you have an opportunity to get involved and change the direction, take that opportunity. Do everything you can to to do it. Okay. And I think that's what I see in this town, also. And there's a lot of people individually that are motivated in that way, too. There's a way to do it, then they'll be willing to do the work to get it done. And that's nice to see. We have a lot of good volunteers in this town. We do. Yeah. We do. >> good DPW. Those guys really work hard. They're really good. I you know me. I can't say enough about the staff. You know, the team the team that we we've really, you know, kind of built and you
088know, we had some key departures, I think earlier in the year of, you know, some people that were here for, you know, 10 years, you know, 12 years, but I think kind of putting, you know, Ashland 2.0, as I like to call it, together, you know, I'm just so thrilled and encouraged just to kind of see how they're gelling and just I told I I sent a letter to Doug a couple of years ago. I was working in Wellesley and it was in the winter and there was a snowstorm and I leave Wellesley and I'm on Route 16 and it's like 25 mph, you know, traffic and the roads aren't salted or plowed or sanded and I get to Natick and it's like 20 mph, you know, it's even worse. I get to Sherborn and
089it's even worse and I'm coming down the hill Maple and I cross over into Ashland and it's completely bare and all the streets and I drove a ways and I was like, you know, you know, they were on top of it. They got everything done. Totally different from these other towns, some of which that have an awful lot more money, like Wellesley, for example, than Ashland does, but these guys know what they're doing. They do their job. They're out there early and it was impressive. Yeah. And so I wrote Doug a letter and I thanked him very much. He appreciated it. >> I'm sure he did. You know, they they they do so much work in the DPW. They're they're really unsung heroes. Yep. Hey, Ed, when you think like 20, 30 years down the
090road, what is the one thing from today that that you hope people remember or, you know, 20, 30 years down the road they remember or they take from this this time period? That Ashland made the right decisions in the past decade. You know, we built the Mindess School, the public safety building, sidewalks, road repair. Now, this is infrastructure, of course. >> Yeah. Um we're conscious of >> Land purchases. And yeah, land purchases, right. Uh and but we've have things like the farmers market, Mhm. which is you know, I mean, all the towns, people come from surrounding towns to come to Ashland farmers market. Um the the marathon is a is a nice exa- I almost started here. But, you know, it's it's it's the way the community pulls together at certain in certain events. Ashland
091Day recently, you know, we had a real good Ashland Day. Huge, thousands of people came. Um it's things like that I think that the building a community, keeping it safe, keeping it clean, keeping it secure and consistent, you know, that business likes consistency. You don't like uncertainties. You want to know about the future. And I think that, you know, if you're doing business in Ashland, if your business is to raise your family, if your business is to invest, uh it's nice to know that Ashland is safe and secure, clean, and that was going to be our motto, safe safe Smart, safe, what it still is. It's still it's changed. Smart, safe, and sustainable. I still remember that moment when you said that. Clean and green, yeah. And it's uh it's It's true. >> lighting up
092when you said that, and I still get that feeling when I hear >> Good, good. It's cuz it's true. And that's a good motto, cuz it's it's in the back of your mind. And so, when you have to make a decision, you think about it. Safe, secure, sustainable, clean, green. Those are the way. Maybe Nyanza had something to do with it, too. Our mindset, we've dealt with the toxic website waste site. And um that does change people. We don't want to go back there. We know how serious this is, and we don't want to make that mistake again. Uh Cadillac paint, same way. So, uh the decisions that are made in Ashland have been in the past 10, 15, 20 years, maybe, have been in that direction. In a positive, sustainable, safe, secure, and the
093result is yes, that's what we have. And that's why property values is so good, you know, and that's why you can relax. You come home, you can relax. Instead of, you know, fighting the traffic and coming home and not being able to relax. You can relax when you come come back to Ashland. >> Quality of life, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot of pieces to that puzzle, and they're all important. And that's why, you know, if we need, like we were talking in the Finance Committee about an override, for example. Nobody likes to spend more money, but personally I'm willing to because in order to keep the quality of life, if it's necessary. There's some things you just have to pay for in life. You know, and this isn't a promotion. You know, this is
094spontaneous. You know, this is just my personal opinion. I have discussions. I meet with a couple of guys, as you know, down the bagel table and we discuss town politics and things and that's always been my position. Nobody wants to spend more money, but sometimes times you have to. Sometimes you have to work a little harder, a little longer, or spend a little bit more in order to keep what you have. That's just the way life is. >> Everything has a cost. >> Exactly. Exactly. Everybody such a good point. Everybody asked me like what was my goal when I came here? Was it to do a downtown project or to build a public safety building? And yeah, those are important and those were certainly goals, but my my thing was you know, Ashland is such
095a great community. And so first I I I if you know, if and when I leave here, well, eventually that will happen at some point. You know, I hope that what I've helped to do is help people understand that, you know, to get to a certain level, you have to pay a price. Yeah. >> You know, dollars, blood, sweat, tears, all that. You like that's just a universal law. It's a universal law, right? You can't get something for nothing. But then the second part of that is Ashland's worth paying that price. True. Yeah. It's worth it. We're worth it as a community. We're such a good community. We're worth investing in ourselves. And that's really kind of what I hope, you know, the takeaway. But No, it's true. Ed, we're we're coming up on our
096time here. Is there anything that we haven't covered that you want to cover? No, I just um No, I can't think of anything. I uh, look forward to the farmers market to go out and pet some dogs and Oh, yeah, some hikes in the town forest or wherever. I did mention to you years ago, uh, a dog as mayor of Ashland. >> Yeah, I ran that by you. There's a town in Georgia that did this to raise money. Yeah. And people would have to pay $10 a vote. So, $10 for a vote for your dog and they raised a lot of money and they had a dog as mayor for a year. Yeah. I know that uh, not everyone would necessarily be for that, but it was a, I would vote, I would put my
097dog up for mayor. Put your, you know what? I'd say your dog would have a good chance. Got a good pedigree. Maybe we can do it as part of the new dog park opening, you know? It's another project that's going. Where there's a will, there's a way. Yeah. Well, Ed, you know, it's this is a good opportunity for me to thank you publicly just for just for being the person you are. >> Well, thank you very much, Mark. Not just for what you've done for the community, but you know, you've been a big influence on me, um, personally. And uh, you know, gives gives me a good public opportunity to to thank you for that. And I want to thank you for coming on here and and sharing, you know, these these aren't, as you
098can say see, like superficial questions, you know? And It's my pleasure. And I, like I said, I when I was thinking about the direction I wanted to take this in and like, oh, who would be a good first guest to kick this off, you know, you you came to mind and it's just like it was one of those things, those lightbulb moments, right? So, Well, thank you very much, Mark. Yeah, I mean, it's it, thank you. Yeah, thank you for sharing your story, your insights, um, and giving us more than seven decades of of worth of your perspective, really. >> time flies. Yeah, in this place place we call Ashland. Um and you know, we didn't even get into some of your your handiwork. Yeah, Ed's a master carpenter, by the way, master stair stair
099Yeah, curved stairs, yeah. Yeah, just unbelievable work. Um so, you know, that does come bring us to our close today and you know, just for everyone listening I hope this conversation gave you what it gave me, uh which is a deeper appreciation for the how the choices that we make echo forward. And how people who came before us and are currently with us, they leave they leave with us more than just buildings and roads. They've left us wisdom and if we're willing to listen to it. Yeah, and so again, this is the first episode of what I hope will be a long series of conversations like this one. And there's so many stories in Ashland waiting to be told and so many people whose experiences can teach us something about ourselves and our community. And
100if you know someone whose the story whose story deserves to be heard, someone who's living through Ashland changes, who's helped shape this town or who simply has a perspective worth sharing, please reach out to me. You can find me on the town website [email protected] or you can reach out through WACA. Um and before I go, I really want to thank WACA TV, especially Paul Bowden and Barbara Chisholm for making this show possible. Uh their support means everything um and your support of them means a whole lot as as well. So, and and also if today's conversation resonated with you, I I'd love to hear about it. Um share it with someone who cares about Ashland. It'll be available on where you get your podcast and then also on YouTube. Talk about it over coffee, maybe
101at the Bagel Table or or somewhere else. You know, let these stories do what stories are meant to do. Um bring us closer together, help us see where we've been so we can really imagine where we're going. So I'm Michael Herbert. This has been Clock Town Chronicles. Thank you for listening and I'll see you next time.