credit: Karen Cord Taylor
caption: Volunteers promoted their candidates in front of the polls at Hill House on Primary Day last week.





Neighborhood ties weren’t enough to help Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Louisburg Square resident Chris Gabrieli win last week’s primary, even on Beacon Hill. Winner Deval Patrick took the election with 58.89 percent of the vote city-wide, and that trend held true on Beacon Hill where he garnered 53.35 percent of the vote. Gabrieli fared better on Beacon Hill than in the rest of the city. He won 35.13 percent of the Hill vote and only captured 22.33 percent city-wide.

Republican candidate Kerry Healey took 81.1 percent of Beacon Hill’s Republican vote, but with the uncontested race only 127 Beacon Hill Republicans went to the polls on Tuesday. Almost 2,500 Hillers voted in the Democratic Primary.

CAPTION: Beacon Hill families (left to right: Bob Kass and Shayne Gilbert with daughter Marlie Kass; Tom and Katie Kenney with daughter Claire; and John and Kate Brigham with daughter Lily) gathered at the Esplanade on September 16 for a Saturday afternoon picnic.

SIDEBAR:
Apple Picking Field Trip, October 14
Meet at Lookout Farm in Natick for an afternoon of apple picking, hayrides and a petting zoo.
www.lookoutfarm.com/

Discovery Day at the Museum of Science, November 11
Join friends at the Museum’s kid-friendly Discovery Center
www.mos.org

Cookie Exchange, December 9
In the spirit of the season, share cookies and holiday cheer at the cookie exchange.

To join the playgroup’s email list, contact Shayne Gilbert at sgilbert@silverweave.com.




Twelve years ago, Pinckney Street resident Shayne Gilbert founded a company that organizes summits and high-level executive gatherings. Now that she’s a mom, CEO Gilbert uses her management skills to arrange gatherings for Beacon Hill families to meet and play.

Gilbert’s daughter Marlie was born in January 2005, and by fall, Gilbert had planned the nascent playgroup’s first event. “I help build communities of executives. It’s not that hard for me to think, ‘Let’s plan a get-together,’” she said.

About a half-dozen families — all first-time parents — from Beacon Hill and around the city have attended the group’s activities, although anyone is welcome to participate. “If there are two families or 20 families, we’re going to have a good time. The more the merrier,” Gilbert said.

That first event, a small gathering at Gilbert’s home, allowed new parents, most of whom work full-time, to share common concerns and solutions. Newborn sleeping patterns dominated early discussions, which have since given way to conversations on what to feed toddlers.

“When you’re a new parent, you think you’re the only one struggling with it. It’s an instant camaraderie,” Gilbert said. “During the day, I’m not necessarily interacting with other moms. What other way to do it than with a super-playgroup?”

The playgroup meets once a month on Saturdays. Gilbert said she chooses activities based on what Marlie will enjoy. Activities are Boston-centric and involve the whole family. “When you have a busy life, you have to make time to enjoy. Part of the focus is to really enjoy the city. Having it on the calendar makes it happen,” she said.

Upcoming activities include apple picking, an outing to the Museum of Science and a cookie swap. Gilbert said she would also like to plan a toddler yoga session, a trip to the Afro-American History Museum and a book club. Her husband, Bob Kass, organized a “Dads and Daughters Swim Club” at Charles River Park. “I liked that too because then the moms had a chance to get together,” Gilbert said. “Bob and I just like to do things that bring together the community. We love being parents.”

Back Bay parents Katie and Tom Kenney joined the group to connect with other parents who have young children. Katie, who went back to work when her daughter Claire was seven months old, said that she “missed the typical mothers’ groups which usually meet during the week.”

“It's nice to have the support of other parents, and it's also been a terrific resource on topics like schools in the city, enrichment programs and other fun things to do with a baby in Boston,” she said.

Playgroup participants Kate and John Brigham met Gilbert and Kass at Massachusetts General Hospital when their daughters were born. “Shayne was clearly inspired about the idea and that’s what really made it happen,” John said. “Just knowing other new parents on the Hill, people going through similar experiences, has been helpful for us.”

The group’s activities have evolved along with the interests of the Brigham’s daughter, Lily. “Last year, it was just great to get together with other new families at one of our apartments and exchange worries and stories,” John said.

Gilbert does not foresee an end for the playgroup as the children get older. “We’ll continue to try and be creative. As long as there’s interest, the group will bring value.”

CAPTION: Rebecca Delaune began work yesterday as the new executive director of the Beacon Hill Civic Association.
CREDIT: Suzanne Besser




Rebecca Delaune, a native Texan with considerable experience running non-profit organizations, is the new executive director of the Beacon Hill Civic Association.

Now living in Kingston, MA she plans to relocate with her husband Jules to or near Beacon Hill in the near future. The couple moved to Massachusetts two years ago so that Jules, a physician, could pursue his interest in healthcare reform. They have three grown children.

Delaune has had considerable experience both as a board member and volunteer of several nonprofits in the Fort Worth area. She has served professionally as executive director at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation of Tarrant County, the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and The WARM Place, a grief support center for children. She has also served as the director of development.

While her prior interests have focused on health care, children’s issues and art, Delaune said she was attracted to the BHCA position because “community is something to get passionate about. All of us need to be a part of it, to give back and to share. Community may, in fact, be the most universal passion of all.”

“We are delighted to have her on board,” said BHCA Chair Jeannette Herrmann. “She is a great match for the neighborhood and for the BHCA.”

As for Delaune, she’s jumping right in. “Right now I’m excited about getting to know the neighborhood. So far, I’m loving everything I hear about it.”

The Beacon Hill Business Association has traditionally given the neighborhood a good time at its festive fall party that helps raise funds to dress Beacon Hill’s 1,100 gas lamps for the holidays and set the stage for its annual Holiday Stroll. But this year, it is going all out.

It is inviting neighbors to a brand new event called “Harvest Moon,” a party in the style of an old-fashioned New England barn dance, that will be held at the Hampshire House on October 4 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Award-winning caller Dudley Laufman of “Two Fiddles” will play jigs and reels while calling out figures for old-time barn and square dances, good for those with or without a partner. Boston Duck Tours will provide unique hayrides around the Boston Public Garden and Common. Appetizers, two complimentary beverages, including moonshine martinis, and a raffle that includes a $1300 shopping spree on Charles Street, are all part of the informal event.

A special Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented by the business association to Tom Kershaw, owner of the Hampshire House, 75 Chestnut Street and Cheers. Kershaw served as president of the association from 1991 to 1995, and has continuously supported its activities. “This is our 25th anniversary year and our 10th annual Holiday Party, so it seems a good time to do this,” said Executive Director Teryn Weintz.

Tickets, which are $40 if purchased in advance and $45 at the door, are available at Beacon Hill shops and businesses displaying the Harvest Moon poster. Or checks may be mailed with a self-addressed stamped envelope to the BHBA, Box 451, 66 Charles Street, 02114.

Parents also learn from the child’s school

The Beacon Hill Times’s annual private schools issue is a reminder that neighborhoods need a healthy complement of children to maintain vibrancy and continuity. How boring it would be to walk down Charles Street and see only adults just growing older.

The babies and the children and their attentive mothers and fathers, themselves in the prime of their lives, are better works of art than all the sculpture and painting that the MFA holds.

Seeing the children with their parents calls to mind a contradiction: Most people think that parents influence the lives of their children irrevocably. But it gradually dawns on people with children that their children influence their lives to a much greater extent than their parents ever did.

When a baby is first born, for example, the parents’ lives change dramatically. New feelings of love, fatigue, responsibility, frustration and wonder surprise new parents with their intensity, and the new parents’ world views shift. Sometimes children are born with unexpected attributes or conditions, such as autism or extreme giftedness, which pose stiff challenges to the families, but also introduce them to new people and new ideas they would never have considered without their child.

Later, at the playground and school, a parent meets the parents of his or her child’s friends. The adults form friendships with people they would never meet at their job or other activities. The school itself will educate not only the child but also the parent, introducing him or her to new experiences — just when one thought one’s schooling was over.

As children grow, they demonstrate interest in subjects the parent never considered and before long, a parent who never saw a soccer game has mastered the rules and is serving as a Hill House coach. Or they are learning to play a musical instrument with their child as they both engage in the Suzuki method of learning the violin or cello.

When children get married, it brings a whole host of changes to parents’ lives. The son- or daughter-in-law has had different experiences, may have grown up in a different city, country or culture, further challenging the parent, who is still learning from his or her child.

Grandchildren arrive and the parent — now a grandparent — is changed by those children, who have interests and talents of their own.

After a lifetime of raising children, many people find they have a hard time remembering themselves as children and the lessons their parents taught them, since they merge with those they learned while raising their own children.

Because of the effect on parents as well as their child, choosing a school is an important task. The parent must be as happy with the place as the child.