Michael Puzo presided at Hingham's Third Grade Mock Town Meeting
On June 3 and 4, Hemenway Trust Company managing director and Hingham Town Moderator, Michael Puzo presided at the town’s second Third Grade Mock Town Meeting. The session was the capstone of a civics curriculum project designed to introduce young Hingham residents to the town’s Open Town Meeting of government, where each citizen who takes part does so with voice and vote. The students prepared the articles to be considered by the meeting, prepared a case, both pro and con for each, and then voted on each recommended motion in open session. Over two hundred sixty Third Graders from the town’s four elementary schools took part in the meeting, joined by their teachers, chaperones, and a gallery of family members, public officials, and citizens of the town.
The meeting took place at the Old Ship Meeting House. Built in 1681, Old Ship long served as the center of the town’s early civic and religious life, and first hosted Hingham Town Meeting in 1682, some four plus decades after the town’s founding in 1635. Today, Old Ship stands as the oldest building in continuous use as a house of worship in the nation.
The students had spirited debate on a host of issues, including:
- Placing safety call boxes in town for use for those without cell phones.
- Banning smoking and vaping in public.
- Creating accessible play spaces, as well as a center for residents of all ages with diverse abilities.
- Creating dedicated bike lanes along the paths and roadways to and around Hingham schools.
The students were reminded to mark their calendars for the 2035 Hingham Annual Town Meeting, at which they will be registered voters and empowered to chart the next 400 years of Hingham’s history.