The subject of the panel discussion in early May was troubling: federal cuts to arts and humanities organizations. But Rose Friedman injected some levity into the event at Randolph’s Chandler Center for the Arts when explaining the value of such institutions.
Friedman is executive director of the Civic Standard, a cultural community center on Main Street in Hardwick that works to bridge divides among the town’s 3,000 people. Boys ride their skateboards up and down that street “to the chagrin of every driver,” Friedman told the audience. “It’s a very intense relationship.”
“So … I just opened the door one day, and I was like, ‘Hey guys, you should come in. I’ve got, um, cookies inside!'” The crowd roared with laughter.
“So creepy!” she admitted.
“They were like, ‘Why?’ And I was like, ‘Cuz we’re gonna work on building a skate park!'”
Friedman explained to the audience that she had no plans to build a skate park nor did she know how, but she had to commit “because they kept showing up for meetings,” she said. They consulted a skate park builder in town, sold sweatshirts to raise money and applied for grants. When it became apparent that the boys would be out of high school before the park could be constructed, they decided to build a portable mini ramp first.
They spent several months trying to find a place for it. “Everybody has said no” because of the liability, Friedman said — even the Civic Standard’s insurance agent.
“And it got to the point where we had all the materials … and I had the carpenters volunteering their time, and I had the boys signed up, and we had the cookies and everything. But I didn’t know … where the heck it was gonna go.”
Friedman delivered the kicker to the Chandler crowd, noting that at that point, town manager David Upson called her. “‘The fire chief said it can go behind the firehouse,'” she recalled him saying. “‘The town is going to take care of the insurance.'”
The audience whooped and cheered. The ramp was completed on Sunday.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Skating By”
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2025.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
