[Terry Carter]: blind you check check one two three one two three. Check check one two three one two three. I check one that one's a little hot. Check one two three one two three.
[SPEAKER_02]: Check, check, one, two, three, okay.
[Terry Carter]: Good evening, friends and neighbors. My name is Terry E. Carter, and I direct elder services at our beloved West Metro Community Center. Welcome to another live monthly presentation of Fresh Fridays, Words and Music. We are rebranded, cobbled and sanded for May, an opportunity to celebrate mothers, doers, and achievers. We're happy to be with you tonight with another critical conversation that keeps us on track with our culture keeping duties here at 111 Arlington Street. Thanks as always to assistance from the Medford Arts Council, a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and to the generous members, friends, and supporters of this invaluable neighborhood resource. It appears that spring is threatening, but hasn't yet made a total commitment to those perfect New England summer days of soft wind, sunny skies, and a warming trend. So that said, we want to remind you to stay healthy, be mindful of the flu and COVID and RSV. I guess the hantavirus is around on some of the cruise ships. So you want to stay clear of that. And of course, allergy concerns and pollen counts are escalating. Masking is welcomed, but not required. And as I continue to stress, we're just happy to continue sponsoring live programming here at the WMCC. and glad to see y'all coming through the doors. Thank you so much for being here. Thanks also to our other event sponsor, Kevin Harrington is back there from Medford Community Media, and he is consistently guiding us as we broadcast to you via Medford Community Media, channels nine for Comcast and 47 for Verizon, as well as on the MCM YouTube channel. If you're out there watching on your electronic devices or your television, welcome to the show. So before we get into the main business for the evening, I do want to make note of the change that has occurred in our original program for tonight due to a recent family loss. Terry will certainly bring her back when the timing is right. Last month, we were able to educate and entertain with Stephen Smitty Smith's The Elephant in the Room, a growing small business centered on exploring conversations about race and social justice. We also had a musical nod to Poetry Month. with the Ally Project, featuring yours truly, along with Jonathan Fagan, Greg Toro, and Gordon Engelgeier. If you missed it, look for the show on Medford Community Media's program archive or on their YouTube page. It really was a heck of a show. We've got some more great events coming, including the 2026 Jazz Festival in August, so stay tuned. Okay, so I pivot. for this evening's program is probably overdue. Our very gracious and admittedly last-minute guests are by no means strangers, but you don't always get to see them in this particular light. Please say hello to WMCC Executive Director Lisa Crossman, the queenly wave, and Board President Melinda Walsh-Reagan, Each comes with a long resume of extensive experience and dedicated service to this community. I won't go into great detail here. Much of it will come to light as we have a friendly chat. Suffice it to say that I work with some incredible people that have really grown and developed this organization in countless significant ways. So as is my custom in hosting these evenings for you, I like to share a bit of verse to shape what we're going to get into. I first shared this piece at our 90th anniversary gala last December. For those of you who were there, I think it really hit home. You know by now that I believe that poetry should above all things, be accessible and inclusive. And sometimes a poem is crafted for an occasion or a movement. That is definitely the case tonight. This piece is called The Center of It All. By nature, this is a neighborhood story with testimonies and allegory. Everyone needs a second home, like a poet needs to write a poem. The men of the village made a pact to turn their vision toward actual fact. It may have started as just for the brothers, but the notion grew to a place for others. Boys and girls, women and men, by the wiser stroke of the founder's pen, a place to foster community where everyone finds opportunity. So now we're here, 90 years young, climbing the ladder rung by rung. We celebrate our local leaders, artists, scholars, and garden seeders. It hasn't been easy. To that we admit. In every peach there is a pit. We've had to fight to stay alive. Before you advance, you must survive. From that old army barracks at 111, the present address almost feels like heaven. The seniors gather to lunch and meet, they exercise on tired feet. The kids come in right after school, they try to be so very cool. Cell phones and computer time after they make their snacks in slime. The energy is quite contagious. Behavior borders on the outrageous. We try to take it all in stride or maybe just make them go outside. That's the game we used to play at Duggar Park back in the day. We've worked to bring that notion back for beige and brown and white and black. So now we're here at 90 years young, still climbing that ladder rung by rung, staying strong through partnership, serving the people that others may skip. WMCC for short, proud and strong is my report. We'll open the door and turn on the lights to one of Medford's historic sites. Charity begins at home. Find your wallet while I write this poem. You may also write a check. I digress, but what the heck. We need the money, but even more, we want to see you come through the door. We want to see you on Friday nights with words and music that offers delight. We want to see you come for lunch, not only when Ketley dresses things up and Norma serves cheer in a festive cup. We're a place for history, culture, and art in a great neighborhood of loving hearts. We started the journey in 35, so many folks no longer alive. But you're still here, so make it count. And don't let us fail for any amount. Let's still be around in 10 more years, 100 through all the pain and tears. We celebrate with you today, but make a promise not to stray. Gather your tribe and make a pact. Don't let anything hold you back. This neighborhood is certainly changed, much that we knew has been rearranged. Maybe you own, you may be a renter, but everyone's welcome here at the center. Good, good, good, good, good. Very good, very good, okay. So now that the table is set, let's talk about it with my esteemed colleagues in this beloved place we call home. Lisa, what is your original connection to Medford, and what other places have you or do you call home?
[Crossman]: So my original connection is through the Coleman's who lived on Harvard Ave. And their daughter, Danielle, she's my best friend, met her in college, out in Central Mass over at Fitchburg State College when it was that. and started coming out here on weekends and went to basketball games. I think we came to July 4th celebration in the back and we used to walk the streets at night and everyone was out. Is that the way you want to say it? Yes, because there's a lot of walkers here, so you know what I'm talking about. Yes. So just going out for a stroll, seeing what's going on, saying hello to whoever might be out. And that's when I got to know names, streets, and things that were going on. And yes, she's still my best friend. This is, what, 30 years later now? Her family is my family. And so Medford is a special place for me because the people I love are from here. And then, so for me, home was, I grew up in Central Mass, so Leominster was where I grew up. Moved to Lunenburg, Whelan Park, if you're, if you know, you know.
[Terry Carter]: We used to have our church picnic there at Whelan Park.
[Crossman]: So that was home. And now we call Malden home. We love it. We've been there for just about 10 years now. Love it. And in Maine, Wells, Maine, we would also call home. It's the last piece of where our family kind of grew up together. Wonderful, wonderful.
[Terry Carter]: How did your determination to come work here at the community center, how did that all come together?
[Crossman]: I wouldn't call it determination. I would call it divine intervention because it was during the pandemic. I was unemployed. I was at home and I hadn't worked for a year, which once I began working, we had a family business. Once I began working at 14, 15, I never stopped working. You and me both. So I was at home, and Stephen Douglas, who is a friend of Daniel Coleman, the neighbors, he had stopped by the house and mentioned the organization and what was going on, and there was space on the board, and would I join, and it started from there. It started as a board member interested to kind of get my feet wet again, get the gears turning, and I really felt like my skills and experience could add value to the situation that was going on.
[Terry Carter]: Yeah, very good, very good. Did you discuss the idea with anybody, or did you present the idea to anybody, and what was their initial reaction, you're gonna go work at the community center?
[Crossman]: I didn't, it kind of was an open conversation with people in the room and we kind of threw it out there and of course my best friend's like absolutely she would be great, but it was It wasn't my plan. I had an intention of doing my own business, and I had been planning that, and that was the plan. But I also had been on this spiritual walk, and it was the first time I'm listening, and I'm following what I hear. And I had some really great interviews, really great opportunities, but just the money wasn't right, and things weren't right. The free time wasn't right. and I turned down something that I couldn't believe I was turning down, but it was just like, they didn't meet me where I needed them to meet me, and I didn't know what I was gonna do, and then here comes Steven, pulling through the door, and here comes this opportunity, and it started out as just a board opportunity, but some things had gone on in the organization, and the executive director had, had to leave quite quickly and I said I would fill in and she left on a Friday and I said I'd be there on Monday and I'm still here.
[Terry Carter]: I know that story very well, as a matter of fact. But you said, you used the term divine intervention. I would definitely second that notion, because it was a divine intervention for you to come and work here. I really believe that. Melinda, if I can ask you about working in Medford and establishing a great love for this community, can you tell us how that all began?
[SPEAKER_00]: So when I went to school, and so I grew up in Medford, right? And my family home was actually kind of closer to where City Hall is, just on the other side of 93, like you're heading to Malden. But by happenstance, when it came time to enroll in kindergarten, I joined a program that ran out of the Hervey School. So I, you know, bused from home to the Hervey School. And like, so K through five, growing up, basically, like, you know, school days here in West Medford, field trips to the park, Duggar Park, and the Mystic River. And then, you know, of course, graduate from grade school into what was the Hobbs Middle School in West Medford, which was not there anymore, but it's all the Brooks School now. And of course, like, everyone went up to the high school, so I graduated from there in the late 90s. Even though I lived in my family's home in Medford for some time after high school and into college, when my grandmother passed and we sold the home, I stayed in Medford. There's something about Medford, right? Even when I got married and settled up in Haverhill with my husband at the time, because his kids were in school there, so we settled down there, I was still able to, through my work, it was at the time Brookline Bank, I was still commuting to Medford. I tell you, I would go nowhere else that length of a ride other than Medford because I could say, I leave my house every day and I go home. And especially being in West Medford where I've been in that office now for about 11 years. And the amazing thing was that for many people who walked through the door, I could say, I went to school with you or your kids. And there have just been so many amazing stories I've heard from people coming through to talk. So, like, there's something about Medford that just always pulls you home, and I've always felt very much at home here in West Medford.
[Terry Carter]: It's really interesting that you mention how you came from your area of Medford to the Hervey School, because 10 years before Boston got into the kerfluff that they got into about busing, Medford parents voluntarily allowed their kids from the Hervey to be bused to the Gleason, the Waite, and the Dame school to help them achieve racial balance. And it was the first community in Massachusetts that would allow that to happen, where the parents volunteered to let their kids go to these other schools. So it's kind of an interesting paradox. Okay, very good. Now, your bank recently changed brands and management. How has that impacted your role as a branch manager?
[SPEAKER_00]: So I refer to it often as same rows, different name. Honestly, my chain of command is largely the same. The former CEO from my old bank corporation is still the CEO in the new organization, same CFO. Our computer system is a little different, but someone had explained to me whenever there's change, there's the phases. So you're informing, you're learning about the change and then storming, the changes upon you, and then you get into norming, where it's normalizing. I think we're getting there now. And then performing, so soon to come, performing.
[Terry Carter]: Yeah, that's training talk, you know, that storming, norming, performing thing. I used to hear about that quite a lot. So Lisa, I wanna ask you about Grant, okay? Because as he, when you came in the door, he came in the door with you. And he's really grown up as a community-centered kid. How do you think his experience has shaped him as a young person?
[Crossman]: It's amazing. Like I said, my family had a business, so I was always with my parents at work. That's how I understand business and things like that. So it's amazing to have him with me and have that same experience and pass that on to him. But being here, I always tell the story about when we went to Florida, and when we were visiting my mom, It was a senior community and he was the only child and he went down to the pool I let him go with his great aunt and they said Lisa Grant made so many friends He was chatting up all the seniors and they just loved him. And so I love that he He'll have the conversation. A lot of young children are sort of afraid to talk to seniors, right? He's not afraid, and he's learning so much from them. And I think it's just amazing for him to be here, to walk in, to see people that look like him. And we have a wonderful experience in Malden. He goes to Sheppard School, and the same thing there. He's at a super diverse school, and it's just, this is the education that, you dream about. There's intergenerational, interracial, it's just everything. And I'm just so blessed to be here. He is turning into a wonderful young man. He's a little scamp, but good fun. And the older men teach him that, like Cecil Fury would teach him good trouble.
[Terry Carter]: Yeah. Yeah. So I have taken to calling him LL Cool G. Ladies love little Grant. But he's a good kid. He's a good kid, yeah. And Malin, I want to ask you, if I may, you're a retail banker in Medford. How has that helped you be an advocate for the community center?
[SPEAKER_00]: So in my office, one of the things that I love is the history of that office, right? Because today it's Beacon Bank. Last year it was Brookline Bank. Many years before that, it was Medford Cooperative Bank. But before that, it was the West Medford Cooperative Bank, which blows my mind that one little teeny building was a whole bank. And that bank was formed in the 20s. You know, through the years, and we know the history here in West Medford where families of color were relegated, and when it came to subsidized home loan programs were also largely restricted. So not every bank was lending to families of color, but the West Medford Cooperative Bank was. And so today I see seniors from the neighborhood come through and talk about how when they were little kids, they would come into the bank with their grandparents to pay the mortgage every month. And like, it's stories like that, like the legacy of how the community got to become what it is because there was this peace in the business community that supported that. It makes me really proud to be in that space.
[Terry Carter]: It is amazing, and one of your early branch managers, when it was a West Medford Cooperative Bank, he actually served on our board of directors. I can't remember his name. Yeah, he was a good, and he was a really, really good guy, soft-spoken, but a really, really good leader, and he really helped the community center through some tough years, as you've done, as you've done, no doubt about that. Okay, so. We all, as parents, and I am a parent, and I am definitely doing this, what sacrifices have you had to make as a parent in directing this organization?
[Crossman]: That's a really good question. That's what we keep buying clothes to wear. I've had to make sacrifices, and he's in there now in my office waiting. He came after school, we played in after school, and now he's gotta wait till the end of the night. So we make compromises. So one of the sacrifices, he's got computer time, when I don't want him to have computer time. Okay, yeah. Some things, yeah, we sacrifice on the late night. But we make it up in different ways. I've adjusted, so it's not a sacrifice. I just have adjusted my parenting and he's adjusted his kidding.
[Terry Carter]: Oh boy.
[Crossman]: And we've found a way to make it work where it's not a sacrifice. Because if I was sacrificing here with the amount that was going on, I would have been gone a long time ago. There's a heavy weight sitting in that executive role. And so, never one day have I thought that this is a sacrifice or a burden or anything like that.
[Terry Carter]: All right, that's a beautiful thing. We're moving into our 90s now as an organization, okay? And I'm gonna ask this question of each of you. And I'll ask you first, Lisa, what do you see as the major challenge of the community center as we move into our 90s?
[Crossman]: Got to pick one challenge.
[Terry Carter]: Well, you know, you can pick several, but it's whatever you decide to talk about.
[Crossman]: What's the major challenge? I think I would say right now, For me, what I view it as is this space, this building, this space. I think it's really important to secure the building we're in for the future of our organization. Medford is growing quite rapidly. It's becoming quite an affluent community. And I think that in order to preserve this role that we say we want to be this historic West Medford Community Center, to retain the history of the African American in Medford, that we've really got to secure our location. I think the board understands that. Our membership is beginning to understand that. We have some really great donors that understand that. And we've made investments. You see the floor is done. We've got the walls repainted. We've got new sign out front. And we're working on a lot of things to really invest back in the building. But financially, we really need to secure the building. for the future of this organization.
[Terry Carter]: Okay, and I know Melinda, part of it, especially looking at it from the aspect of being both a board president and being a banker, what do you see as a major challenge that we're dealing with right now?
[SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, I think sometimes there's just not enough time in the day. Okay, okay. Yeah, there's a lot to do. I know even from, we've gone a long way in terms of making sure that Lisa is not in charge of everything. We've been able to expand staff and make sure that there's more supports and get more community members to attend events and to become members and donors. But there's only so many hours in the day, and there's so many things I think we want to see happen, and great conversations that get started, but it takes capacity to see those things through to, okay, now we have a new fitness instructor, or now we have a particular expert who can come and talk to which group, okay. So it's just there's so much that we want to see happen, and only so much capacity, I guess.
[Terry Carter]: Yeah, all right, that's a good assessment. That's a good assessment. So on the flip side, what are some of the major opportunities you see us having?
[Crossman]: I think the opportunities are countless. We say this all the time. We don't suffer for a lack of ideas. We definitely don't suffer for a lack of ideas. So I think there's a lot of opportunity, especially in our after school program. We have a wonderful group of children. We have wonderful families that come. At the events, the arts and culture events that we're doing, I think we're just sort of at scratching the surface there, there's a lot more that we can and do plan to do. I think we have a lot more opportunity utilizing the back area. And we have a wonderful board. We have an 11-member board this year. First time in a while. First time in five years. So we're very excited. So there's a lot of opportunity with this board to grow and we're just getting started sort of setting these goals for the next 10 years.
[Terry Carter]: Okay, Melinda, same question?
[SPEAKER_00]: I couldn't say it any better than Lisa did, truly.
[Terry Carter]: You guys are kind of in lockstep, so that's perfectly fine. This is a question that I think I want to ask almost every guest that comes. just because of where we're at as a society right now. So what does the current state of racial reckoning and a growing retreat from healthy dialogue about diversity, equity, and inclusion mean for establishing greater community? I know it's a long question, but if you kind of distill it. Yeah, yeah.
[Crossman]: I think that we're not at a new place. We're definitely not at a new place. And I think we suffer for lack of remembering the history. And I know that we've done a lot of, sometimes it's easier to just bite your tongue, hold, you're right. Yeah, this generation, sort of the gen alpha, I keep telling them, this is an emotional group. This is an emotional group. And so I think that, you know, Grace is a big thing that I've learned, right?
[Terry Carter]: Yes.
[Crossman]: And that, yeah, it just, it goes beyond how we feel. I think it goes beyond how we feel, and I think it's time for a lot of folks, I often say, you know, you need to take off your lenses, and I need you to put in my lenses from the center, from our point of view. Put these lenses on, okay, and now let's have our conversation from this point of view. Because a lot of times I can speak directly as sort of the executive director of the historic black organization. hear that there's times when I feel the voice shrinking and being snuffed out. There's times where we've got to carry a big stick. And I think we're at a point where we've done a lot of cow tailing to move the process forward, to get things done. But we've taken that sort of as far as we can go. And I think it's time, look, we really need to put up the mirror. We need to have these conversations. Let's have the conversations so then. we can deal with the emotionality of it, and then let's walk it forward, right? Because we're doing a lot of time spinning in emotion, we're not solving anything. And sometimes when you're in a highly intellectual community that we love to talk about problems, we love to talk about how we got here, and the sociology of it, and why it's But then we never solve anything, right? We get caught up in the accolades of, well, we've discussed that. The problem is we've got to get to solving that because we're just passing it down, passing it down, passing it down. And I think Yes, families need to have these conversations, but we don't sit at the dinner table anymore. And when we do, we're often on our phones. And we don't take the walk as a family any longer and have those conversations or come back and do that. A lot of us are just decompressing and we want to turn on the TV or watch our favorite video. And it's a lot easier, and we pass it on to the next day, but again, we're dealing with passing it on, and we see that it's compiled, and so, yes.
[Terry Carter]: It's interesting, because it was one of the reasons why I loved having the conversation, beginning to have the conversation that we had last month, with Smitty, Stephen Smith, and the elephant in the room, because it's exactly what you're talking about. It's the elephant in the room, and we keep walking by it, we keep seeing it, and we know it's there, but we're not addressing it. And when we do address it, we're addressing it, we put the kid gloves on, and we speak softly. Sometimes we carry a big stick, sometimes we go empty-handed and we're not able to do anything about it. There's some depth to that and there's some additional conversation that we'll have, I'm sure, over time. So I want to go to working here or supporting this organization right now, what are you most thankful for?
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm most thankful for the opportunity to serve, truly, because there's a quote I think I delivered at an event once before where it says, you make a living by what you receive, but you make a life by what you give. Wow. Even in the business that I do, and this is probably not the way most people in a capital business would approach the work, but I don't think about it in terms of what can I get? What numbers can I make or what achievements can I achieve? But I think of it in terms of what am I responsible for? I guess I don't know if I'm quite answering your question. I think you are. I think it's important because in the time that I've been a member of the center, which goes back to I think like 2016-17, I came on board as a member. Then in 2019, I think it was, I was invited onto the board. and began the work, and at the time I took on the treasurer role, and then the opportunity to serve as the board president came through. Well, I hope there's a point in time where someone says, I want to take on that mantle, and I'd be glad to shepherd. I always want to be a support to this organization. So whether that's attending events, or monetary donation, or showing up to volunteer to do yard cleanup, bring my husband down to help with the IT support, or to buy a brick for the brick installation. Yeah, and this center, I mean, there's a lot of memories that I hold from when I became a member. Some amazing productions and performances that happened here. I mean, sometimes things of a caliber that you would be paying top dollar at a big music hall or something of that nature where you get to come here and in the community and surrounded by friends and neighbors get these beautiful gems. And so it's just been so much that I'm thankful for here, truly.
[Terry Carter]: Very good, very good. Same question, Lisa? Yeah, yeah.
[Crossman]: I am thankful for all the people that I get to meet. It would be easier to get my job done if I just came in and shut the door. But that is not what membership is about and that's not what community is about. So I've gotten to know so many people and I know intimate details about their life and their children and their grandchildren and their great-grands. And even when people are having a hard day, they know they can come into the office. If they need a resource, they come into the office, they understand they'll be handled with respect and care and privacy. So I'm grateful to know a lot of these people, people who are on the wall. to know their stories, they've touched my heart, they've touched my family, and that's what I'm most grateful for, to come to the table at the board meeting and see them getting things done, and what should we do next, and working with you, and yeah, everything is just great. The kids, working with the kids, I swore I was done with it. Every time you get away, they drag you back in, but it's a great group of kids. They have a lot of energy, and it's just wonderful. And every day, I'm thankful.
[Terry Carter]: Very good. Very good. OK, so a couple quick things before we close down. Life at the WMCC, that's how I term it. What is always funny to you?
[Crossman]: Life at WMCC? How about West Medford in general? But what's always funny? The seniors are always funny. The seniors are always funny. We would have a hit. We would have a YouTube sensation.
[Terry Carter]: Oh, no doubt about it. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
[Crossman]: With the shenanigans, the conversations. I never knew that life in your senior years could be so fun. It could be so funny that you could still be fit. So that is always so funny to me and how similar the seniors and the kids are. with their cake and ice cream, again, being loud and rowdy, having to ask them to leave, maybe you gotta get the senior's kid to come and get them, and the kids, you gotta get their parents to come and get them, so there's a lot of similarities and through lines there that I love.
[Terry Carter]: Okay, Melinda, life at the WMCC, what never ceases to amaze you?
[SPEAKER_00]: The way people come together and offer help, whether that's like a helping hand or a needed item, a service, a dollar. I mean, these are all, it does amaze me that there's, I mean, and I shouldn't be amazed because it's an amazing community, right? That there's so much support for the center and we wouldn't be here without the support of our members and neighbors.
[Terry Carter]: Absolutely, absolutely, okay. Easy one, maybe. Life at the WMCC, what sometimes keeps you up at night?
[Crossman]: Nothing. Nothing keeps me up at night. I swore when I came into this job, I wouldn't take work home like that. I wouldn't be stressed. So I often say my help comes from above. So I don't take. anything home and it doesn't keep me up at night, okay?
[Terry Carter]: I love that answer, I really do, I really do. I probably expected something different, but I really do love that answer. Life at the WMCC, what keeps you up at night?
[SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, it's my brain playing a jukebox at 3 a.m. No, I will tell you, I actually had a dream and I told Lisa about this. I woke up kind of in a panic after having this dream. My dream involved, I was here at the center and I was sitting at a board table and there were people there that I was supposed to know. They were officially like the new people in charge. And I was like, where's Lisa? Is Lisa even here anymore? What happened? Oh my goodness. And then their question to me was, tell us about this expenditure that happened in 2008. And I'm like, I wasn't even here. I don't know about it. And I woke up, and I was kind of in a panic. I was like, Lisa, oh my god. And I was like, wait, no. Lisa's still here. Everything's OK. But I mean, because we're in good hands here. We're in really good hands here. I love that.
[Terry Carter]: I love that. Okay, so ten years from now, as we turn 100 as a community-based organization, what will you want the people of Medford to know about the center and the space that's been created?
[Crossman]: That is a challenging question. So I need more time for that. Well, what I would want the people of Medford to know that this is here because of them. We are deemed the West Medford Community Center, West Medfordites got it going. It certainly serves primarily West Medford because they're within walking distance than they have, but the doors are open to everyone, it belongs. to the community, and oftentimes I say that, I'm from Malden, this belongs to you all. So yeah, I would want them to know what a dynamic business it is, because there's not many businesses that survive after 100 years. So I think it's just a special gem. It's just unfortunate in Medford, there is a lot of history, it sort of overshadows what we have here, but it is no less important, it is no less dynamic, that there are wonderful, great people that have come through here, that go on to inspire the next generation, and that you can still be a part of it, you should be a part of it, your kids should be a part of it, and there's a place for you.
[Terry Carter]: That's right, that's right, that's right. All right, let me ask you the same question with a twist. As someone who grew up in Medford and saw both sides of, you know, of Medford, so to speak, what would you want the people of Medford to know about the community center at 100 Years?
[SPEAKER_00]: I would want them to know what our mission is. The mission of the West Medford Community Center is to connect the diverse people of Medford and the greater Mystic Valley region through our educational and cultural and all of the types of programs and services we do. So that's what I would want people to know.
[Terry Carter]: I love that. Very good, very good. Okay, what would people who are just meeting you for the first time be surprised to learn about you?
[Crossman]: Oh, gosh. Why did you ask me that? I don't know. They will be surprised to know that I love basketball. I was a tomboy. I was never a girl who put on matching clothes and jewelry and things like that. Played basketball all the time. One year in high school, I wore shorts. It was like that blizzard we had in April, but I dug down and I wore those shorts. Because I didn't want my parents to be right. Yeah. So I love basketball. I'm a coach at heart. I've refereed. I've been a basketball official for over 10 years. Coached boys basketball primarily in Fitchburg. Did AAU basketball, traveled a lot. Had a lot of young folks go on to do big things in college. And so, yeah, I think people will be surprised.
[Terry Carter]: Yeah, now see, that's exactly what I thought you might say. That's what I would have said about you.
[Unidentified]: Well, you know me.
[Terry Carter]: You know, y'all don't know Lisa. Lisa's a hooper. She's a hooper, you know. She can go left, she can go right. You know, don't get it twisted. You know, she can play, right?
[Crossman]: Yeah, I learned my lesson a few years ago. I used to play with the kids all the time. I had a gym in Fitchburg, and I used to play all the time and take them one-on-one. and trying to beat Lisa was a thing until one year I had one kid. We trained him up so good, this kid crossed me up so hard. He, my knee buckle, and the whole gym went crazy.
[Terry Carter]: I said never again, never again, yeah. That's fantastic. Melinda, what, people meeting you for the first time, what would they be surprised to learn about you?
[SPEAKER_00]: So, I was not into athletics. When I went to school, marching band was my sport. So I'm a musician, still today. I grew in Medford Public. I started in middle school playing the clarinet. Oh my goodness. And as I went up through middle school, high school, all involved in the bands and the orchestra, even in jazz band, where they actually didn't need clarinet players, but they did need trombones. So they said to me, another kid who played clarinet and a girl who played the flute, you're the trombone section. Oh my goodness. So got to pick that up. And then all through college, I actually went to school and got a degree in music. And here I am, 21 years as a banker, right? And I still to this day, I play in a community marching band. And we do a lot of the festivals in the North End where they do the processions with the saints and stuff.
[Terry Carter]: Shoot, I would have told you to bring your clarinet.
[SPEAKER_00]: You could have played with... I'm good enough for community marching band. I am no virtuoso.
[Terry Carter]: Oh, that's fantastic. Okay, so I wanna give you both a last word. What would be your parting thoughts on the evening, Lise?
[Crossman]: I would just say, I would wanna say I'm very humbled by the community that I've experienced here. That has kind of been a through line in my career. And so it's special to come to a place that's sort of already established. trying to rebuild and rebrand. But I am very thankful to all our donors, our sponsors, our members, many who are in the room, to Tufts University, the City of Medford, Mystic River Watershed Association, NAACP. This is a place where you you don't get much recognition, right? There's a lot of work to do. And everybody does the work. And if you're coming to help, if you're coming to get accolades, this is probably not the place to come. But with that being said, I want to make sure people know that we are very grateful for them. We are so thankful for them. We're doing a better job of recognizing folks, but it's kind of like you come here and do the work. Yeah, we all do the work. But yes, thank you to our donor sponsors. Our board emeritus, Rachel Tanner, who's out there. Our board members who are not here. They've been fantastic. And you, Terry. Terry carries a great weight of this center as well, day in and day out. And so I'm very thankful for you as well.
[SPEAKER_02]: We're trying.
[Terry Carter]: We're trying. What about you, Melinda, your last words on?
[SPEAKER_00]: So I want to tell people or ask people, don't be shy. Like when it comes to, especially when it comes to, if you're wondering, like, how can I support? Because if you do or don't have dollars in your own pocket, that doesn't mean you can't help, right? That's maybe too many double negatives. But like, I'll give an example. When there was a little bit of a pinch at a point in time during the calendar year where just all the bills have to be paid at that point in time. I reached out to friends and family, and I said, get creative. So my aunt baked a whole bunch of baked goods, brought them to her office, and said, this is a bake sale, you're buying cookies, you're buying whatever, and you're donating to the community center. My mom, who is a jewelry artist, has consistently donated her works, where if you are inspired to take a piece, it's like, take a piece, make a donation. whether it's, you can Facebook fundraise, you can, if you really want to get involved and rent the space out or do a fundraising event, I think we can even work out like deep, deep, deep discounts on the rental if it's a fundraising event. I would just ask folks to be creative because there are so many ways that you can support the center.
[Terry Carter]: That's perfect, that's a perfect last word on it. So, thank you both for bringing your perspectives and your best wishes for this cultural oasis in greater Medford. It really does remain a great treasure, and we do have a daunting challenge, because we've inherited its preservation and its development, and, you know, where we go and what we do will say a lot about where we go and what we do. And to our audience, both here and elsewhere, thanks so much for your attentiveness and your interest in our discussion. And thanks for coming with us as we continue to refresh for greater flexibility in bringing the best stories and entertainment possible to you. Please get ready for something very special on the musical side of the coin. We're gonna take a few minutes to reset the stage, and then I'll come back and share some WMCC announcements, and then we'll have our musical entertainment for the evening. I'm going to give you this one. I'll put it on the stand for you, okay, so anytime you want to use it, have it.
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, and then you can just have that. Oh, good, good, good. I'm glad, I'm glad.
[Terry Carter]: It's good for, you know, I know particularly because of the Jazz Festival, it's good for you to kind of have a sense of the history and everything. You know, some of the particulars.
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, we had a little bit of a glitch there. There was a little bit of static in the very beginning, but... I'm good. Okay, good. So yeah, let me know. I'll check it. Don't say your name for me one time.
[SPEAKER_04]: Martina.
[SPEAKER_02]: Martina, but the last name.
[SPEAKER_04]: Sabariego.
[SPEAKER_02]: Sabariego. Perfect, yes. Okay, all right, very good. All right.
[Terry Carter]: That good? All right. All right, so this is my choir that I'm preaching to, so I really don't have to change a lot. But I will say that elders, and you know, you can reach out to your friends, you can reach out to your neighbors. Join us each week, Tuesday through Thursday, for a nutritious lunch, invite some fellowship. As Lisa said, it's one of the funniest things that she knows about. going on here. Lunch is served at 12 noon or sometimes shortly or sometimes long only thereafter. Call 781-483-3042 to make a reservation. That's going to happen. Elders join us each week. And stay tuned for words and music. We'll take a hiatus because we're going to do Juneteenth as our words and music in June. And then we'll take July and August off for the summer. But in the interim, the Jazz Festival will be coming up in August as well. And that's gonna be a lot of fun. How you can help us, your tax deductible donations help to support the mission of the WMCC. Partner with us in carrying this mission forward. Please consider making a tax deductible donation to this vital community organization. You can make a donation by phone, online, or by check. Please contact Lisa Crossman at 781-483-3042 for more information, or to become a membership. Membership has its privileges. So, part of the joy and privilege I've had in participating in the growth and development of the Medford Jazz Festival with my friend and ally, Jonathan Fagan, is the exposure I've gained to his community of musical friends and peers. That access has enriched me both personally and created some open doors for Fresh Fridays. Through those open doors comes tonight's musical guest, Reese Pike and her band du jour, The Silly Billies. I'm going to let Reese explain what that might be all about. She's a collaborator, she's an outreach girl in the Medford Jazz Festival movement, but she's also a wonderful Berklee-trained musician and a current student member of Danilo Perez's world-renowned Global Jazz Institute. And she'll tell you a little bit more about that. And also, the band features Fall Ray on saxophone and sometimes on drums as well, and Martina Sardiego, on bass. You're in for a treat. How often do you get to see a female bass player? Unless you see Esperanza Spalding playing bass on television or on YouTube. So this is going to be really, really wonderful. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to get out of the way. Give a warm, fresh Friday greeting to the Silly Billies.
[Unidentified]: do do
[SPEAKER_01]: Let me see if I can figure out how to turn this on. You can tell that I'm a pianist professor because I don't know how to use a mic. Well, thank you all so much for having us tonight. We're really, really excited to be here. I was so excited when Terry asked me if we might like to come. I've had the honor to get to know the West Bedford Community Center through the Bedford Jazz Fest. And it's been really special to me to just get to learn more about this wonderful community, and about the history of the Center as well. I'm originally from Nebraska, so I'm a ways from home. And so is this whole group, because Sophal is from Las Vegas, and Martina is from Valencia, Spain. She's a little bit farther than the rest of us. So tonight we'll be sharing with you, we started off with a tune called Autumn Leaves, for Terry, one of his own favorites, and a tune we love to play. We're going to share with you next some of our own compositions. As Terry mentioned, we're all students right now in the master's program at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. And so we've been exploring a lot of global music influences. And so you'll probably hear that in some of our next pieces. Our next song is called Vivo en el Vivo. I majored in Spanish in undergrad, and so I And now I'm very happy to say that I am bilingual. And my project combines some influences from Mexican Bolero. So we hope you enjoy this next piece and hear just a little bit of that.
[SPEAKER_04]: Hey. So we're next going to play a very classic jazz standard, Ugly Beauty, which was the tune by Thelonious Monk,
[Unidentified]: do do
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll say just a little bit about this piece. So this next piece is called El Cueño, and I wrote it to a poem that I really like. So because Terry is here, I'll put a little extra emphasis on the poem. And this poem is by the poet Annabelle Lopez, who is a contemporary Mexican poet. She writes a lot of very beautiful stuff. And I'll just say a little bit of the English translation of this poem. When there was no light, No water, no shadows, because there was no light. No water, no sun, no moon, because there was no water. No light, no trees, because there were no birds. No sky, because there was no earth. No light, because there was no fire. No heat, because there was no light. No water, no earth, no fire. There was a sleeping dream, waiting for the blue of the sky. This next one is our band namesake, Silly Billy. And it's written by Paul, the silliest Billy of them all.
[Unidentified]: I'm so happy to be here. I'm so happy to be here. do do do do I
[SPEAKER_01]: That last piece is one I wrote called Trees. And this next one is Fluffy Orange Blanket. And we hope you might feel a little bit sleepy. Thank you all so much. We have one more tune for you today. Again, this is Fall Array on saxophone. Martina Saudego on bass. I'm Marie Tite on piano. And you're going to find us over at Berklee at the Global Jazz Institute. Thank you so much to Terry and Vivian for having us, and thank you to you all for staying and listening to us.
[Terry Carter]: So my first observation is that it's kind of a misnomer, the Silly Billy. It's a beautiful, it's a wonderful name, but y'all are very serious. Serious musicians, serious jazz players, and wonderful music, and we're just really, really happy you decided to share it with us tonight. Reese Pike. If you listen really closely, you can hear Martina singing to her bass. I really love it. It reminds me of Errol Garner when he used to play the piano. He'd sing to the piano while he was playing. Really, really lovely. So that's a wrap for this new live edition of WMCC's Fresh Fridays. We're so happy to be back here at the center and visiting with you in your living rooms or wherever else you may be watching us. Thank you for allowing us to invade your spaces, showing their faces, and sharing our graces with you. Special thanks to my colleagues Lisa and Melinda for subbing in on the word side. All right, and we're always happy to have new friends, so thank you to the Silly Billies for coming to play for us tonight. Give a high five for my man back there, Kevin Harrington, at the community meeting, helping us be live on local cable and the web, and thank you all for spending another evening with us here at the WMCC. Again, we'll pause in June as we focus our attention on our annual Juneteenth celebration, which will happen on June 19th at seven o'clock right here in this room. You'll be hearing more about that over the next few weeks. Next week, Wednesday the 13th, it's an interesting thing that's gonna happen here at the community center. In the city of Arlington, they're spearheading a campaign to paint a fish mural that's gonna be installed at the Edith Fox Library amongst other places in Arlington. And they've been all over Arlington in different groups getting people to paint fish. They give you the fish, they're actually metal fish with a coating so that they can be painted on. And the groups paint the fish and then the fish will all be installed on this mural. Dish mural. So the kids, primarily, in Lisa's after school program, Lisa and Charmaine and Ketley and so forth, will be here painting fish. Any of you that would like to come paint a fish are welcome to come by. And if you can stand the noise, girls rock your boys, we go wow, wow, wow. You can come and paint a fish with the young people on Wednesday. And that's about it in terms of stuff that we have happening in the immediate future. But before we fade to black, here's one more reminder about what you can do to help us. Your tax-deductible donations help to support the mission of WMCC. So partner with us in carrying the mission forward. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to this vital community organization. You can make your donation by phone, online, or by check. Please contact Lisa Crossman at 781-483-3042 for more information or to become a member. We are supported in major fashion by the generous members of the West Medford supported by the Metro Arts Council, a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and again to our generous members and donors, we can't do what we do without you. All right, so y'all ain't got to go home, but you got to get the heck out of here. We've been glad to have you sitting in with us tonight. Thanks once again to the Silly Billies, to Melinda, and to Lisa and Gris back there saying, hey, what's happening? Y'all have a good night and come back again soon.
[Unidentified]: I know it was a millennial view yesterday. It was great. You were late.