Saturday Morning Coffee at Welcome Center2/11/2011
Andover Townsman, Andover, MA January 27, 2011 Saturday coffee overflowing: 'Welcome Center on Main Street' exceeding its bounds By Dustin Luca STAFF WRITER
With free coffee, doughnuts and bagels available, who could say no to a quick, friendly chat every Saturday morning?
Many cannot, and that's why the return of a Saturday community coffee in Andover is attracting as many as 80 residents during its two hours, even on even on a freezing morning less than 24 hours after a winter storm, like last Saturday.
"Because there are so many people, we don't have room for many more," Ann Grecoe, who helps run for the event, said. "It is a forum, and we are making the space bigger."
Grecoe said some nearby office cubicles will soon be moved to create more room for the get-together. One attendee at this past weekend's coffee, Selectman Ted Teichert, also said he hoped they would move it outside during the summer, in front of Old Town Hall, where there is more space and people could enjoy the weather.
The Saturday Community Coffee is an event held every Saturday morning from 9 to 11 a.m. at Andover's Old Town Hall, also known as the Town House. The now defunct Andover Bank had offered free coffee and doughnuts on Saturdays for many years, and attracted a regular crowd of people to talk about town politics, kids sporting events and other issues. When Banknorth acquired Andover Bank, it continued the tradition only briefly. In recent years, the weekly coffee has been missed and so volunteers relaunched the opportunity. But because the coffees attract more than the 20 to 30 people originally expected, thee Council on Aging now runs it, with coffee and food donated by the downtown Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts.
The Council on Aging relies on several town volunteers to host the event, and people from all over Andover come to take advantage its warm, comfortable environment, according to resident Joseph Madensky.
"This is the best place to go in the morning, to chit-chat and to hear what is going on in the town," Madensky said. "Everybody is like family up here. Buzz (Stapczynski, the town manager,) has something going here that is really great. He really does."
Conversations over coffee cover just about everything. Last Saturday, some people talked about politics while others debated the pros and cons of the Bancroft Elementary School project.
Others buzzed about the recent page 1 Townsman news that Marshalls is leaving Shawsheen Plaza. One resident said empty storefronts in the plaza are troubling, and another posed a conspiracy theory that an incoming Stop & Shop, originally slated to arrive last year but now delayed until May, intentionally stalled its opening to force Marshalls to leave. Others refused to buy that theory, and the conversation went elsewhere.
"People stay in contact with what is going on around town," Grecoe said. "One person will have one piece, another will get another piece. ... Everybody has their own little piece of something."
Lowell Street resident Helen Castaldo, who just moved to Andover in July, said she wishes other towns would run similar events.
"You find out a lot about the people in the town, and the town," Castaldo said. "It is great. I think that more small towns like this should do things like this. It is a people thing. It is needed."
Dan Kowalski, who has just begun a campaign for a seat on the Board of Selectmen, said he came to hear from the people he may one day represent.
"I knew that I'd meet people who have history in the town, people who have seen where the town has been and people who have opinions about where the town is now and where it is going," Kowalski said. "It's certainly valuable to me, and when you look around at these people, it is certainly valuable to these people."
"Even for people who are running for office, it is good to see people and get a pulse for what is happening," Teichert said. "It's the welcome center on Main Street."
Residents interested in helping run or organize the Saturday Community Coffee are encouraged to contact Ann Grecoe at anngrecoe@aol.com or Co-Operator Emily Kearns at emily_kearns@yahoo.com.
JOIN JOHANNA ON 2/19 FOR COFFEE AND FUN!!!
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