School may be out for summer in Needham, but the administrative staff will be working hard to prepare for September. Fortunately, they have a modern, cool space in which to perform those duties. But that was not always so. The home for Needham Public Schools is the Emery Grover Building, the oldest public building still in existence in the Town. It was always a bit of a grand, odd duck, out of character for a small, New England town. It was also, for a long while, out-dated, severely lacking, and somewhat dangerous.

In this episode, we remember the town's efforts to bring it back from the brink, and track its evolution to the 21st century with one of the people most responsible for breathing new life into the site, Needham's Director of Building Design and Construction, Hank Haff.

You could say that Nature is what happens when humans stop imposing their will on their surroundings. Judging by the fact that we've been around only for a relatively short period of time, our environment has a pretty strong mind of its own....and that is a good thing.

As our New England spring continues to bring renewal to the natural world, our minds are cast to a couple of companions that we have enjoyed in town during our colorful past. Horticulturally, we have a mystery to solve: why do we have landmarks that refer to Rosemary, when it isn't native to the area? Is it possibly a red herring? Speaking of which, will our fishy friends ever make a real comeback in this area?

We will speak with the Needham Conservation Specialist Tim Puopolo joins us as we talk rivers, marshes, woods, and habitats. It will certainly be a wild time!

In just over a week, representatives from every neighborhood will descend on the Town Hall, and Needham will tend to the business of being Needham. Budgets will be finalized, rules will be set and changed, and the big issues that face the community will have their moment to be raised, contemplated, and resolved as best they can.

Welcome to Town Meeting, one of the hallmarks of Needham life for 315 years, and all over New England for close to four centuries. Loved by some, ignored by others, this is where your voice can be heard, and town plans are made, altered, advanced and deferred.

Executive Director of the Needham History Center and Museum, Gloria Greis walks you through the history of this remarkable institution, and then is joined by the person charged with safeguarding it for Needham, Town Moderator Michael Fee.

So let the meeting come to order, and may all in favor say "Aye"...