Published December 11, 2019
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Historical Society’s 57th annual Country Store experienced a decline in participation and sales on Saturday, Dec. 7.
In the wake of last week’s snowstorm that stuck around for three days, the town was forced to relocate the Tree Lighting Ceremony from the Town Common to Town Hall’s lower parking lot. Lynnfield Recreation originally planned on hosting the town’s most popular community event on the upper part of the Town Common due to the septic system project, but those plans were nixed after Old Man Winter arrived sooner than anyone hoped.
Country Store Co-Chairman Steven Richard informed the Villager that a DPW employee told him that the Tree Lighting Ceremony would still be held on the Common despite the snow. He did not find out that the ceremony was moved until he arrived at the Meeting House in the morning.
“When I came here early this morning, I saw that the Town Hall parking lot was blocked off with barrels,” said Richard on Saturday. “I knew that was not a good sign because a lot of our customers use that parking lot to access the Meeting House. A lot of our customers are elderly and it’s difficult for them to navigate the icy sidewalks. That certainly put a damper on the number of our customers coming in.”
In addition to not finding out that the Tree Lighting Ceremony was moved to the parking lot until the day of the event, Richard also said a police officer came into the Country Store during the afternoon and said anyone who parked their cars on Summer Street “had to move their vehicles.”
“I would like to find out why we were left out of the loop for all of the planning,” said Richard.
Historical Society member Karen Colby said a number of vendors were frustrated by the lack of attendance at the Country Store, especially after the Historical Society experienced a spike in sales last year.
“We have vendors who are either from the community or have ties to the community who said this is their last year,” said Colby.
Richard said he was “disappointed” town officials did not notify the Historical Society about the decision to relocate the Tree Lighting Ceremony.
“We have been doing this event for 57 years,” said Richard. “Over the last several decades, the Recreation Department has been hosting the Tree Lighting Ceremony. We have always held the events on the same day and worked in concert with them. I wish the town had better communication with us in regards to how they are going to handle stuff such as parking. I think parking was the biggest issue we had today. We can’t blame it on the weather because it was a good day.”
While Richard said the Historical Society has yet to determine how much the Country Store raised this year, he said the society “definitely saw a decrease in traffic coming in here.” Proceeds from the event are used to maintain the Meeting House, which just received a new roof and a fresh coat of paint this fall.
“We usually get a rush around the Tree Lighting, but people did not want to navigate from the Town Hall parking lot to get here,” said Richard.
While Richard was disappointed town officials did not keep the Historical Society in the loop about their plans, he said the society “appreciates everyone who comes to the Country Store.”
“It’s a lovely tradition that we would like to continue,” said Richard. “It is certainly sentimental to me and I know it is for a lot of other people here. We will keep doing it as long as people will come. I think everyone had a great time despite the issues we had. That is the most important thing.”
Richard said he particularly enjoyed taking pictures of children with Santa Claus and also watching kids search for the holiday gift in Colby Properties’ annual North Pole Fishing Hole.
“We enjoy seeing the kids with Santa Claus and the fishing hole,” said Richard. “They get a big kick out of that every year. When Santa came, we had a line of kids waiting to have their picture taken. It’s great. They love it and I love it, so it’s a win-win for everybody.”
Local officials respond
Town Administrator Rob Dolan responded to the Historical Society’s issues in an interview with the Villager.
“If the Historical Society felt they were not properly communicated with, I sincerely apologize,” said Dolan. “However, the intent of the day was to make every event successful and every event safe.”
Dolan said the town was forced to move the Tree Lighting Ceremony to Town Hall’s lower parking lot because the frigid temperatures turned the six to eight inches of snow on the Common into solid ice.
“This is the first time we had snow for these events in the last seven to 10 years,” said Dolan. “There was no way could we put Santa, the chorus and have hundreds of people standing on an unsafe area.”
Dolan said the DPW “spent a considerable amount of time and money to remove the snow around the Meeting House to make sure it was safe for people to access the Meeting House.”
The TA said the Police Department had to prevent people from parking on Summer Street in the afternoon because the snow made the street too narrow. He said the library closed at 2 p.m. in order to help make up for the loss of parking and said there was parking available at Town Hall’s upper lot.
“We also moved the buses and town vehicles from the back of Town Hall to the high school,” added Dolan.
Dolan added that the Police Department utilized two officers to help direct traffic around the Common in order to “help people get to all of the different events.”
In closing, Dolan said local officials appreciate everything the Historical Society does for the town.
“We value and are constantly working with the Historical Society to assist them in any way that helps support their mission,” said Dolan. “It was a complicated event, but it was a safe and successful event.”
