The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 305

plosion SimtuujCMobc A NOTABLE HrriliiHiUnii lite fnnucr Fmv Hiiir shiiiiitml jmijH tlii in Qh iucij (jut a IhhihI iiiu ii I limsv com milhr rmliirscd tin- suit hi IkrMW'liA (if ti l.lth ncir juiml Ion firm thai itviitx Inlmihl dniililr Initial nil tankers Uteri: I'dije INSIDE Ti 1 TT TT "7" a A VI 111 111 111 II I Around the Tovwts IillsilH'SS Home Garden Opininn People Places Political Notebook Senior Set Spoils WKh'C jDOIAJLjI IK 11 IN 2 l'. 2 2:1 NOVEMBER 19, 1995 We gather togetljer fights ain SB86C1 As plans expand, opposition unites grass-roots groups o-S 't- i By KoIk'iI Preer (il.OllF.COliliKSl'ONDKNT "1 ike a locomotive gathering steam, loud and passionate opposition has been follow- ing the Weld administra- i tion's ulans to exnand com muter rail throughout southeastern Massachusetts. Two grass-roots anti-train groups have sprouted this tall to fight the proposed New Bedford- Fall River extension. Organizers are sharing information and finding common ground with South Shore activists fighting the restoration of the Greenbush branch of the former Old Colony Railroad. "There are skirmishes, battles and wars," said Heather Graf, a Norton resident and a leader of Citizens Concerned About Tracks.

"This is war." Recent public hearings in Norton .7 GLOBE STAFF PHOTOS TOM HERDE and Attlebor on the proposed Fall of Pembroke wi will be celebrating Thanksgiving with their 9 children, aged 2 to 15, 6 other adult relatives and 7 more children. Paula Vercollone (standing) and her husband Jack (right) ight) RiverNew Bedford rail extension have drawn hundreds of residents concerned about safety problems and noise from the trains, which would run near many neighborhoods In myriad ways, we embrace Thanksgiving's spirit and cross more than a dozen streets at grade level. Legislators from the region have threatened to block funding for the project. Citizens Concerned About RAILROAD, Page 10 hat better place and time to search for Thanksgiving traditions than in the communities south of Boston at the close of the 20th century? Thanksgiving is America's defining Ruckus Massachusetts travels well. The day before Thanksgiving is the biggest travel day of the year in the United States and one of the biggest telephone days of the year as well.

Geraldine Griffith of South Caiver will be awaiting calls from the other side of the country, Southern California, where her son, Cameron Robertson, lives with his family, and the other side of the world, Cambodia, where her daughter, Suzanne Robertson, is an English teacher. "Cambodia is literally the other side of the earth," said Griffith. "It's 24 hours, 24 time zones away. Thanksgiving isn't the only time we talk -you should see our phone bill but it's a ritual on "that day." Griffith is a celebrated cook, whose prize-win raise national holiday, a tapestry of stitehed-together traditions, some with motifs drawn from history and hearth, some with symbols derived from myth and malls. And here it all comes together.

Here are stately village greens that shelter customs spanning centu- nes anci nere are ning recipes for cranberry-based dishes 1 1 5 1 i v. x(M i 1 over towers Contributing to this report were Globe staff winters Paul Harber, Jeff McLaughlin and Alexander Reid and Globe correspondents Lisa Brems, Moira Dowries and Karen Haves. sprawling subdivisions where two generations are enough to create a family tradition. Thanksgiving hereabouts is shaped by the descendants of Wampa-noags and the descendants of Mayflower passengers but also by more recent immigrants Structures fought; have been featured in Yankee magazine, on local and regional television shows, and in the talks she gives to community groups throughout this region each year. Married to cranberry grower Clark Griffith, she cele in pair of towns By Kai'en Hayes ('OliKKSrONl)KNT Bridgewater, outraged resi- dents are fighting topth-and-nail a plan to construct a television tower overlooking a' residential neighborhood.

The' brates the versatility of the native finit with a list of dishes for every course from cranberry-jalapeno pepper-yogurt dip for starters, to cranberry-hazelnut cheesecake for dessert. But she will not be cooking a big meal this yew. "My husband Clark's mother, Hattie Griffith, is yS now, and in a nursing home in Plymouth," she said. "We'll be visiting her, and we'll have the insti-THANKSGIVING, Page (i to these shores, who have been adding their views to the kaleidoscopic holiday for many years. All the panels of the Thanksgiving tapestry can be found here in a Carver kitchen and a Canton dining room, at a craft fair in Marshfield and a com puter store in Kingston, in a church in Weymouth and on a turkey fann in Duxbury.

Even farflung families find ways to bridge the miles. The Thanksgiving spirit of southeastern Geraldine Griffith of South Carver shows off wide assortment of items -from dips to breads to pies she makes from the family's cranberry crop. Federal funds threatened by mooring sales TV-station operator who wants to: build the tower says he will not back; down. 1 In Hanson, residents are up in arms over a proposed 250-foot com-', munications tower on county landl that borders a residential street. The matter has gone to court, but a', member of the zoning board, which; granted a social permit for the plan last year, says the board stands by its decision.

As demand for radio, cellular telephones and other fonns; of high-tech communication systems increase, such towers are increasing-; ly dotting the national landscape. Throughout the region south of Bos--ton, many communities continue to grapple with the issue, with residents going head to head with propo-', nents over such concerns as health risks, aesthetics, property issuJs and aviation TOWER. PawS Publicly funded projects such as dredging. Long practiced in Scituate, sales iolate law seawall construction and jetty restoration must benefit the general public, not private By Alexander Reid C1I.1HSK STAFF ITU ATE For decades, public boat moorings were sold by one boat nroiiertv owners, according to aii Loutilie chief of the Armv Corns navigation division. The harbor area is considered public probity.

Cuirentlv, the town atenvay Commit monplace transactions widely accepted as local custom in Scituate's since he arrived on the scene 27 veal's ago. "Nobody has really ever made a complaint alxuit it until now," he said. The complaint comes from the Army Coi-ps of Engineers, which funds and suien ises harbor maintenance projects. The corps is aware of mooring Sides and is threatening to withhold assistance on future harlmr marine in jects if the sales continue. the space have long been willing to abide by the practice even though it violated local, state and federal regulations.

"It's the system that's gone on for decades," said Scituate harbor master Elmer Pooler. "It was always a private matter between the owners and I never got involved." pooler, hose job includes oversight of the mHrings. said the system has been in place sion is seeking tunning ior a nreogmg project in the harlwr. which is estimated to cost at least $2 million. Private sale of mooring spaces, however, would jeopardize Coi-ps )trp 4 maritime community.

With more than 1()0 peiple waiting to olv tain mooring spa in Scituate Harbor is trtasui-ed projx'rty. So noat owners hungry for.