A Good Age: Hingham artist, 15, brings fifth grade pen pals to Norwell memory care home

Sue Scheible, The Patriot Ledger
Updated ·5 min read

NORWELL − As a teenager in Quincy, Brian enjoyed playing the guitar. Fifty years later, he brought his guitar with him when he moved to a new residence for people with memory loss, The Cordwainer in Norwell.

"I see your guitar in the corner. Do you want to play it?" program director Somita Ray asked Brian several times when she visited his room. The answer was always no.

Then the pen pals from Meryl Vella's fifth grade class at the Plymouth River School in Hingham reached out through their "Making Friends Making Memories" notecards.

They shared details about themselves and asked for questions to be answered in return.

After Brian received his first card from his pen pal, Teddy, he wrote back.

"I think I'm going to strum the guitar now," he responded, answering the boy's questions about what he likes to do.

The students volunteered for the pen pal program created by Max Bohane, 15, an artist and former student at the Hingham school who is a freshman at Boston College High School.

Max Bohane, 15, of Hingham, left, joins residents at The Cordwainer memory care center in Norwell for an Easter egg activity. Max started a pen pal project between the residents and Plymouth River School fifth grade students in Hingham.
Max Bohane, 15, of Hingham, left, joins residents at The Cordwainer memory care center in Norwell for an Easter egg activity. Max started a pen pal project between the residents and Plymouth River School fifth grade students in Hingham.

Because of the pen pals, Brian and other residents seem to be slowly opening up, and "that's a big, big thing," Ray said.

"What is an eye opener is how even with dementia, they express themselves and things come out from their heart," she said.

All 18 students in the fifth grade class are participating, writing their messages on colorful blue cards that Max designed and printed. The 13 Cordwainer residents are using the same cards and answering the same questions. The exchange will continue until the end of the school year.

A message written by a Plymouth River School student in Hingham to a resident at The Cordwainer memory care residence in Norwell as part of a pen pal project started by Max Bohane, 15, of Hingham.
A message written by a Plymouth River School student in Hingham to a resident at The Cordwainer memory care residence in Norwell as part of a pen pal project started by Max Bohane, 15, of Hingham.

This is not the first creative venture for Max, who seems to have a natural ability to reach out and empathize with people of all ages. He has a website showing his artwork and other projects. A gifted artist, he started his own business at age 10 creating and selling calendars and notecards after the family lost a friend to cancer; he donates money raised every year to cancer research. During the pandemic, he wrote 'love letters' to grandparents, health care workers and first responders.

"He is always considerate of others and so genuine," Vella, the pen pals' fifth grade teacher who also taught Max, said. "He looks for ways to make people's lives a little brighter."

Max was inspired to create the pen pal program after the loss of his great-aunt Margie, who had dementia and died at age 86. She had enjoyed looking at photos, which would help jog her memories of people and places and bring a smile to her face.

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When he learned that The Cordwainer, a new memory care residence, was opening nearby and needed volunteers, he proposed the pen pal project. To find the students, he reached out to Vella, who was especially touched because she had lost a family member to dementia. Max gave a presentation to her fifth grade class on the power of images and words.

"The children were very excited by Max," Vella said. "He was encouraging the children to make connections and to use their writing skills, and it has been wonderful coming off such a strange time in their lives as the pandemic was."

Max designed the pen pal notecards cover with two hands forming a heart. He said this represents the bond of friendships that he hopes will be formed. “Making Friends Making Memories," printed on the cards, is his motto for the project.

A display features the cover of a "Making Friends Making Memories" pen pal card created by Max Bohane, left, and a photo of the Plymouth River School fifth grade class members from Hingham, right, who are pen pals with residents at The Cordwainer in Norwell.
A display features the cover of a "Making Friends Making Memories" pen pal card created by Max Bohane, left, and a photo of the Plymouth River School fifth grade class members from Hingham, right, who are pen pals with residents at The Cordwainer in Norwell.

The students attach small photos of themselves inside each card they write to remind the residents of who they are, even though they have not yet met.

Laura Burns, 11, joined because she already loved to write letters and said she finds "it's really nice to get to know people and what they like to do." When her pen pal, Dottie, first wrote to her, Dottie also included a snapshot of herself.

"She was wearing a red hat, which I really liked," Laura said.

Laura's mother, Megan Burns, said writing in itself brings her daughter "pure happiness, so it's natural that she would love having a pen pal. She cherishes her grandparents and listens carefully to their wisdom and past experiences."

Max Bohane, 15, of Hingham, left, chats with residents at The Cordwainer memory care residence in Norwell after starting a "Making Friends Making Memories" pen pal program between the residents and Plymouth River School fifth grade students in Hingham.
Max Bohane, 15, of Hingham, left, chats with residents at The Cordwainer memory care residence in Norwell after starting a "Making Friends Making Memories" pen pal program between the residents and Plymouth River School fifth grade students in Hingham.

Sudden loss of a special Marshfield Vietnam veteran

The very sad news last week that Vietnam War veteran Paul Landry, of Marshfield, had passed away came as a shock. Patriot Ledger staff met Paul in January at one of the weekly luncheons for veterans at The Brant Rock Hop. He couldn't have been kinder or more helpful.

"I look forward to this all week," Paul, 75, said of the luncheons, which have been an important connection for veterans who served in Vietnam and Korea. The luncheons wouldn't have started without Paul. He suggested weekly meetings at the restaurant and helped organize them. A Navy veteran, he served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1971.

U.S. Navy veterans Paul Landry, left, and Steve Pineault, right, who both served in Vietnam, catch up before lunch at The Hop in Brant Rock on Jan. 10.
U.S. Navy veterans Paul Landry, left, and Steve Pineault, right, who both served in Vietnam, catch up before lunch at The Hop in Brant Rock on Jan. 10.

The Marshfield Office of Veterans Services, with director Carin Paulette and assistant director Lisa Potts, has been close to Paul, supports the luncheons and wrote on its Facebook page: "He took care of those he loved and donated much of his time and money to various charities in town. He loved golf, his family and his fellow comrades with whom he would spend every Tuesday at The Hop."

Paul's family will celebrate his life April 30 at 1 p.m. at Haddad's Restaurant in Marshfield.

Reach Sue Scheible at sscheible@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Plymouth River School pen pals open hearts at Norwell's Cordwainer