Four Columns Realty Blog

Sheridan Re-Elected Orange Selectman

Richard Sheridan, incumbent Selectman and Four Columns Realty agent, has been elected to another 3-year term as Selectman in the Town of Orange.

In the March 1 election, Sheridan received more votes than the combined total of the second and third place finishers. Apparently the voters of Orange, Massachusetts still appreciate Dick's common sense approach to local government.

Congratulations, Dick.

Let's also applaud Chelsea Autio, who ran a spirited campaign and finished second in her first try for the Selectboard. I hope Chelsea stays active in Orange. The town needs the enthusiasm of young people like Chelsea.

Athol Bird and Nature Club 2010 Calendar

When was the last time you sat down and read a calendar?

The Athol Bird and Nature Club 2010 Calendar celebrates what's special about the North Quabbin Region with hundreds of nature notes (January 3: "Last Black bears go into hibernation"), a monthly quiz ("If you traveled at a snail's pace, how much ground would you cover in one hour?") and local photos. GREAT local photos!

If I had to choose a favorite photo, it would be July's pair of young loons riding on their mother's back. But it's tough to choose just one. Each month displays another captivating close-up of birds or other wildlife in the North Quabbin Region. Orange, Athol, Royalston, New Salem, Phillipston, Warwick and the Quabbin itself are all represented.

Collect all 12 months.... Buy the calendar for $9.95. The price is reasonable for all you get and, besides, the profits go to local environmental groups. The calendars make great gifts. Paul Riendeau bought ten.

(Full disclosure: Four Columns Realty likes the calendar so much that we purchased ads in it. Please see our ads on the March and August pages.)

Quiz Answer - According to September's quiz, a snail's pace is about 25 feet per hour. Sounds like a Boston traffic jam. Living is better in the North Quabbin Region.

Orange Farmers Market: Still Great

Farmers Market, Orange, Massachusetts

In September of 2007, I blogged about the Orange Farmers Market:

Should you buy a home in a town because the town has a great farmers market? Perhaps not, but it helps.

Orange has a great farmers market.

Two years later, the Orange Farmers Market is still great.

Every Thursday through October, from 3 PM until 6 PM, at Butterfield Park in Orange, Massachusetts (map), local vendors sell fresh fruit and vegetables - blueberries, raspberries, apples, corn, carrots, tomatoes, etc. Fresh flowers, jams and pastries, too. And more.

It's a fine place to get healthy food, meet friendly people and buy locally. See you there.

Life as a Walmartian

Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailers and employers in Orange MA. What's it like to work there? Is it like this?

Charles Platt writes about his life "as a Walmartian":

Everyone at every level was friendly and decent toward me. No one had the slightest clue that I might write about my experiences; no one even knew that I had a former career as a journalist. Still, they behaved like poster children for enlightened capitalism.

His conclusion:

Based on my experience (admittedly, only at one location) I reached a conclusion which is utterly opposed to almost everything ever written about Wal-Mart. I came to regard it as one of the all-time enlightened American employers, right up there with IBM in the 1960s. Wal-Mart is not the enemy. It's the best friend we could ask for.

Then why does Wal-Mart get such bad press? Charles Platt has a theory. Read the article to find out.

Mahar Regional Earns Silver Medal Ranking

Mahar Regional High School, which serves the Massachusetts towns of Orange, New Salem, Petersham, and Wendell, has earned Silver Medal status in a national rating of best high schools, according to this report in the December 24th Athol Daily News (subscription required):

Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School has been ranked among 2009's best high schools in America, according to the U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best High Schools" annual rating of more than 21,000 public American high schools.

Mahar was one of 27 high schools in the state to receive the prestigious "Silver Medal" ranking, and the only high school in the Franklin County. Only two Massachusetts high schools received a "Gold Medal" ranking.

The Orange MA Real Estate Blog congratulates the students, teachers and staff of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District for their good work. Keep it Up!

(The announcement from Dr. Reza Namin, Superintendent of the Mahar Regional School District, is available here. The U.S. News & World Report data for the school is available here.)