9-year-old boy from Worcester successfully visits all 351 Massachusetts town halls and town halls
Plus, a look inside the city hall that has been in continuous use the longest in the country.
Updated: 8:30 pm EDT June 24, 2024
OH HELLO, ADAM. HELLO. NICE TO MEET YOU. THIS IS MY NIECE, CHIARA. Hello CHIARA. VERY PLEASED TO MEET YOU. WHEN YOU’RE A YOUNG PERSON DOCUMENTING YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE 351 TOWN HALLS AND TOWN HALLS, MANY ARE HKeynoteUSAPY TO ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET AT OAK BLUFFS ON MARTHA’S VINEYARD WAS NO EXCEPTION. DO YOU WANT TO TAKE A LOOK? YES YES. WELL. CHIARA BARBER FROM WORCESTER IS HKeynoteUSAPY TO SEE THE PLACES SHE VISITS. THIS IS OUR NICE NEW KITCHEN. WE HAVE NEVER HAD A KITCHEN BEFORE, SO WE ARE VERY EXCITED. BUT YOU OFTEN FIND THAT LOCALS ARE JUST AS EXCITED TO LEARN ABOUT IT. DO YOU THINK YOU WANT TO ENTER MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT? MAYBE. SMALL GIFTS ARE NOT RARE. OH. THANK YOU. YOU ARE WELCOME. I’ve got Worcester, look at that. BUT HER FAVORITES OF HIS ARE THOSE WHO HAVE LOCAL TIES. WE JUST RECEIVED OUR 2024 FIREWORKS T-SHIRT, WHICH WE WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO HAVE. YOU ARE THE FIRST PERSON TO OWN ONE. THANK YOU. YOU ARE WELCOME. OH YEAH. VISITS ARE ALWAYS MARKED WITH A PICTURE, EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT GENERALLY A PUPPY. NO, BUT THE FRIENDSHIP IS BRIEF BECAUSE CHIARA STILL HAS THREE CITY COUNCIL LEFT. MEANWHILE, IN THE QUABBIN VALLEY. WELCOME TO PELHAM. WE ARE A VERY SMALL TOWN, BUT WE ARE THE OLDEST TOWN HALL THAT IS STILL IN CONTINUOUS USE. CYNTHIA WIGLE IS THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE PELHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY, WHICH RUN A SMALL MUSEUM IN THIS SPACE BUILT AS A CHURCH AFTER AN 1833 MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT WHICH ORDERED THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. IT WAS BUILT BETWEEN 1839 AND 1840, AND THEN BECAME THE CITY HALL INSTEAD OF A MEETING HOUSE. THIS IS THE ONLY CITY CENTER THAT HAS ALL FOUR COMPONENTS: THE CHURCH, THE CEMETERY, THE MEETING HOUSE AND THEN ALSO THE COURTYARD OF CHALLENGES, WHICH IS WHERE THE MILITIA TRAINED IN PARTS OF THAT MILITIA WOULD MEET HERE DURING THE REBELLION OF SHAYS IN 1787. HIS ENTIRE REBELLION FINALLY LED TO THE CURRENT CONSTITUTION THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THE CITY COUNCIL. TAIYO TIME KeynoteUSAPEARS TO STOP AND RECORDED ON THE ROWS OF ORIGINAL SEATS IN THE GALLERY AND DOCUMENTED ON THE PAGES OF LIFE MAGAZINE. AS WE CELEBRATE THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF CITY MEETING IN PELHAM AND A DEMOCRACY IN PELHAM, IN OUR CITY COUNCIL 200 YEARS OLD AT THAT TIME, AND NOW KeynoteUSAPROACHING OUR 300 IN 2043. LIFE ARTICLE INCLUDES NOTES ON PREVIOUS CITY COUNCIL DEBATES SUCH THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE PORCUNES. AND ALTHOUGH THE ISSUES HAVE CHANGED, THE ROLE OF THE CITY COUNCIL HAS NOT. AND IT’S THE ONLY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT WHERE YOU CAN REALLY ACCESS THE KeynoteUSA WHO PROVIDE YOU SERVICES BY JUST WALKING INTO AN OFFICE AND ASKING QUESTIONS. AND THAT’S WHAT I THINK ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT HAVING CITY HALL AND DOING IT LIKE WE DO HERE IN MASSACHUSETTS. AS FOR CHIARA ON JUNE 1, HE COMPLETED HIS MISSION OF VISITING EVERY TOWN AND CITY COUNCIL IN THE STATE, AND WHAT’S NEXT? EVERY WEEK WE WILL GO TO A PLACE WHERE WE WILL HAVE LOCAL ICE CREAM, SO I AM NOT VERY FULL, BUT I DON’T DO IT LIKE EVERY MONTH. AND CHIARA’S LAST STOP ON HER VISIT TO CITY HALL IS THE CITY OF GOSNOLD. YES, KeynoteUSA SAY, WHERE IS THAT? GOOD. SO HE’S ON CUTTYHUNK ISLAND. IT IS ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY POPULATION BY FERRY. THERE IS A GRAND TOTAL OF 70 KeynoteUSA. I CAN’T BELIEVE SHE DID THAT. GOOD FOR HER, GOOD FOR HER. THAT’S CHRONIC FOR TONIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US ALL. I AM ANTHONY EVERETT AND I AM SHAYNA SEYMOUR. HAVE A GRE
9-year-old boy from Worcester successfully visits all 351 Massachusetts town halls and town halls
Plus, a look inside the city hall that has been in continuous use the longest in the country.
Updated: 8:30 pm EDT June 24, 2024
In June 2023, Ciara Barber, then 8 years old, began a journey to visit all 351 Massachusetts town halls. Her uncle documented her progress online and, in May 2024, with only eight towns left, the Chronicle followed Ciara to Martha’s Vineyard, where she visited all six of her towns. The Pelham Historical Society operates a free museum celebrating the history of Pelham and its town. Hall, the longest continuously used City Hall in the country. Parts of the militia would gather at the town hall during Shays’ rebellion in 1787. Inside the town hall, time seems to have stood still. As for Ciara, on June 1, 2024, she completed her mission to visit every town and city hall in the state. What’s next? “Every week we go somewhere and get ice cream at that place, so I’m not too full, but I don’t do it every month,” Ciara said.
DUKES COUNTY, Mass. —
In June 2023, Ciara Barber, then 8 years old, began a journey to visit all 351 Massachusetts town halls. Her uncle documented her progress online and, in May 2024, with only eight towns left, the Chronicle followed Ciara to Martha’s Vineyard, where she visited all six of her towns.
Pelham Historical Society It runs a free museum celebrating the history of Pelham and its City Hall, the longest continuously used City Hall in the country. Parts of the militia gathered at the town hall during Shays’ rebellion in 1787. Inside the town hall, time seems to have stood still.
As for Ciara, on June 1, 2024, she completed her mission to visit every town and city hall in the state. What’s next? “Every week we go somewhere and get ice cream at that place, so I’m not too full, but I don’t do it every month,” Ciara said.
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