By L.E. Crowley, Town correspondent

For years, Jean Snow has been writing the names of hundreds of people who have been remembered by their families for the annual tree lighting and holiday celebration on Norwell Common.

It’s been so long, Snow isn’t sure if she has been helping with the celebration for 16, 17, or more years.

“This is something that helps the community and it’s a way to celebrate the holidays,” Snow said, taking a break from making the ornaments at her home on Mount Blue Street in Norwell. “I enjoy it."

By L.E. Crowley, Town correspondent

After a Scituate man came home and found a suspected robber in his house, Scituate and Norwell police have arrested a 24-year-old woman and her two younger sisters. The three sisters and another accomplice will appear in court on charges stemming from three Norwell house break-ins.

Shawna Wright, 24, was arraigned in Hingham District Court Tuesday (Dec. 1) on three counts of breaking and entering and three counts of larceny from a building and destruction of property.

Wright pleaded not guilty and is expected back in Hingham District Court next month for a pretrial hearing.

Judi Brodman says she began taking lessons in watercolor painting as “a bit of therapy from the corporate world” more than 20 years ago. Her teacher, Nancy Howell, later became a member of the Front Street Art Gallery in Scituate and eventually encouraged Brodman to join the gallery.

Today, Brodman, who lives in Needham, paints professionally and writes, and she’s one of about a dozen gallery members displaying their works in the holiday exhibit “Miracle on Front Street.” In an interview with The Globe, Brodman discussed "Awaiting Spring," which is included in the show.

I’m a vibrant watercolorist, and I do mostly landscapes and seascapes. Because I have a mathematics background and am used to form and proportions, most of my paintings have a house, a barn, or something that’s very detailed, and then there’s that muted, loose look of watercolors.

I did this painting probably close to spring, and it’s actually something I saw outside my studio window. I have bird feeders all around the yard, but cardinals are ground feeders and they won’t use the feeder.

On this day, it was snowing, and the hole in the bird house was too small for the cardinal, so he just had to sit there, nestled in a branch. It took me probably two to three hours to finish this, and I did take a photograph to help me, because they don’t tend to sit there that long.

The snow in the painting is actually the white of the paper. The hard part is knowing what areas to leave as white, and to paint the negatives around the snow. You’re painting what looks like needles and different colors around the white. Watercolors need a different technique because if you were using acrylics or oil, you would go back and place the white on top of whatever you painted. In watercolor, you have to leave the whites.

“Miracle on Front Street” runs through Jan. 3 at the Front Street Art Gallery, 124 Front St. at Scituate Harbor, and there is a reception with the show’s artists this Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. All of the works in the show are on sale, as are note cards, 2010 calendars, jewelry, and smaller paintings.

By Joan Wilder

The Previte store in East Boston in the '40s. Left to right are Joe Previte's father, Joe Previte; his grandfather, John Previte; his grandmother, Grazia Previte; and his uncle John Previte.

Joe Previte knows braciole.

Do you?

It's an Italian meat dish I loved as a kid. My mother made it by taking thin rectangular pieces of beef, laying stuffing over them, and rolling them up lengthwise. She'd then tie each with a couple lengths of string and brown the little bundles in a saute pan before adding them to a big pot of spaghetti sauce to slow cook.

Sometimes, she'd just add them to the sauce, without browning first. The meat comes out extremely tender, and with her classic stuffing of bread, parsley, Parmesan, garlic, and olive oil, they were very delicious.

I don't know why I've never made braciole, aside from the fact that I didn't know what meat to use.

But now I do: flattened flank steak.

That's what a good butcher can do for you.

"There's two pieces of flank in a whole carcass – they're center cuts near the ribs," said Previte, as he showed me around his store: Previte's Marketplace in Weymouth on Route 53 near the Hingham border.

"We cut them and pound them for braciole."

In 1963, Previte's parents opened the market in Quincy Point. Early on, it was mostly a variety store, but over the years, groceries and other food stuffs gradually made their way onto the shelves. After Previte earned a culinary degree from Johnson and Wales, the market began manufacturing marinated meats ready for cooking and other pre-cooked fresh dishes.

After 46 years in Quincy, Previte, who now owns the store, moved it last March.

Previte's large, shiny marketplace is two stores forward in the family timeline from the classic Italian grocery his grandparents had in East Boston in the '40s. A proud picture of the store, featuring his father, uncle, and grandparents, hangs above the checkout counter. Looking at the fading black-and-white photo, Previte shakes his head in wonder at the Old World store.

"The hanging prosciutto and salamis, that's how they did it… and the bins, see the bins? They had dried beans, pastas, rice in them," said Previte, who also carries a selection of staple pantry items, like pastas, sauces, and other canned and boxed goods -- each individually packaged like we do it today.

Previte is best-known, however, for his custom cuts and marinated meats. He and his staff also cook in a big open kitchen in the market, where they make daily hot lunch specials and sandwiches, and the dozens of prepared cooked foods they package and sell.

But the retail store is only a part of Previte's operation. Out back is a 5,000-square-foot processing area where meats are marinated or made (sausages), and packaged. The products are both sold upstairs in the market and distributed wholesale to nearly 200 regional stores.

When Previte made the 10-mile move to the big new store in March, he stocked some free-range and organic meats, but says his customers didn't buy then. He still sells Bell & Evans (hormone- and antibiotic-free chicken) frozen entrees – because his customers want them. But his fresh meats are either certified Angus or choice – both grades of meat quality established by the USDA.

Previte's staff of about 30 also makes buffet platters and other catered foods that are especially popular during the holidays. But, according to plant manager Anthony Spadorcia, who's worked with Previte for 11 years, the store is most busy during the holidays with custom cuts.

"Prime rib roast, crown pork roast, beef tenderloin," said Spadorcia. "We tie them up for customers -- whatever they want."

Like how they'll pound the flank steak for braciole: a custom cut.

Previte's is located at 1350 Washington St. (Route 53) on the Hingham-Weymouth line; phone 781-331-6364.

Joan Wilder can be reached at joan.wilder@gmail.com

By L.E. Crowley, Town correspondent

The Norwell Board of Health will hold two flu clinics next week, one that offers seasonal flu shots and the other for H1N1 flu.

Norwell Health Director Brian Flynn said all residents can participate in the seasonal flu clinic, which will be held Monday, Dec. 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Town Hall. The only restriction is that the person must live in Norwell and show proof of residency.

DeNUCCI COMMENDS NORWELL HOUSING AUTHORITY
FOR GOOD MANAGEMENT CONTROLS

State Auditor Joe DeNucci reported today that the Norwell Housing Authority has maintained good management controls over its operations while also complying with all applicable laws, rules and regulations for areas tested.
DeNucci’s audit reviewed operations at the authority over a 27-month period ending June 30, 2009 and focused on the authority’s tenant selection procedures, vacancy records, annual rent determination procedures and account receivable policies.
The audit also reviewed the authority’s rental voucher program, cash management and investment policies and property and equipment inventory
“I am encouraged by the progress that the Norwell Housing Authority has made and I look forward to its continued cooperation,” said DeNucci.

By L.E. Crowley, Town correspondent

Nominations are being accepted for candidates to be inducted into the inaugural class for the newly created Norwell High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Marybeth Shea, chairwoman of the Norwell Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, said candidates for can be men and women, alive or dead, coaches, players or individuals who have supported athletic programs and players. All candidates must have graduated from Norwell High School at least five years ago.

“We’re hopeful we will have a pretty comprehensive inaugural class,” Shea said.

By L.E. Crowley, Town correspondent

Norwell Police are advising residents to lock their doors and turn on security systems after a spate of house break-ins.

Deputy Chief Jack Suurhans said police are investigating three burglaries, one each on Madison Court, Forest Street, and Cranberry Lane—all which took place from last Wednesday to Sunday.

He said residents were not home, and in two of the three incidences, the doors of the homes were left unlocked. In each incident, homeowners did not immediately realize there had been a robbery.

Suurhans said the robberies appear similar. “I would not be surprised if it were the same suspects,” he said. “Probably more than one person, since a large TV was stolen from one home,” he added.

By Rick Seto, Globe correspondent

For this Thanksgiving, the stakes in the high school football rivalry between Hanover and Norwell will be a little higher than usual.

On one sideline will be Brian King, in his second year as Hanover’s head coach. Opposite him will be good friend Matt Luccarelli.

The two former teammates at Western New England College also coached against each other in last year’s holiday classic, which Hanover won, 14-6. This Thanksgiving's game, however, takes on more significance, with Luccarelli the acting head coach for Norwell this time around.

‘‘This is a fun game and part of a great tradition,’’ said Luccarelli. ‘‘It’s even better going against a coach you know.’’

Luccarelli, with five seasons as an assistant to longtime Norwell coach Jim Sullivan, was given the reins temporarily after Sullivan began treatment for throat cancer over the summer. Adding to the emotion is that Sullivan is Luccarelli’s uncle.

‘‘Matt wants Jim back in the worst way,’’ said Norwell’s athletic director, Scott Paine, a Hanover native. ‘‘We all want Jim back. Jim’s not ready to give up coaching high school football yet. He’s a legend. If he can come back, everybody will be extremely happy.’’

The two high schools, only 4 miles apart, enter today’s game in Norwell with 6-4 records. King nearly guided Hanover to a second straight Patriot League Fisher Division championship, but the Indians lost, 14-6, to Rockland on Nov. 13.

Considering that the Clippers, playing in the South Shore League, finished 0-11 last year, this fall’s winning record has been a huge accomplishment for Luccarelli’s squad. Sullivan has participated in some games, but Luccarelli has run practices all season and formulated the game plans.

It was a year and a half ago that Luccarelli, who lives in Hanover, almost turned in the blue and gold of Norwell for the blue and gold of the Indians.

King, a Plymouth resident who cut his teeth as an assistant at Plymouth North and Pembroke, was selected as Hanover’s head coach in May 2008. His first order of business was to build a coaching staff.

‘‘The first guys I sought out were Matt’’ and Brian Kelliher, another college teammate, King said. ‘‘My wife said, ‘What a story that would be since all you guys played at Western New England and could coach together.’ But Brian’s happy at Hingham,’’ where he’s the defensive coordinator, King said, ‘‘so it didn’t work out.’’

For Luccarelli, a volunteer assistant the previous four years at Norwell, a paid assistant job had just opened up on Sullivan’s staff and he took the job with his uncle. He is also a special education teacher at Norwell Middle School.

The friendship between King and Luccarelli was forged at Western New England, a Division 3 program in Springfield. They played together in the 1993 season, in which King, a junior wide receiver, set a single-season school record for receptions with 45 (a mark that has since been eclipsed). Luccarelli, a sophomore transfer from Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa., was his quarterback (above).

‘‘We didn’t have a lot of success, but we had a lot of fun,’’ said King, a Haddam, Conn., native who earned second-team honors from the now-defunct Eastern Collegiate Football Conference for that 2-6-1 season.

Of his memories with the Golden Bears, Luccarelli said with a laugh: ‘‘I held some good records — and some bad records.’’

The 1995 graduate still owns the career records for completions (228), attempts (521), yards (2,859) and interceptions (46). Luccarelli threw 11 touchdowns in a three-season span in which WNEC went 4-21-1.

Their college coach is not surprised that Luccarelli and King wound up teaching the game.
‘‘They were like coaches on the field when they were players,’’ said Gerry Martin. ‘‘Matt was a solid, cerebral quarterback’’ who was always talking to the offensive coordinator about plays.

As for King, he said, a good comparison is New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker: ‘‘He’d get 5-6 yards a catch and bang out 12-13 after the catch. He was a gritty, smart receiver.’’

Their friendship was reignited through another shared South Shore connection — their wives. Luccarelli and his wife, Beth, who grew up in Norwell, were living in his native New Jersey, where he was teaching and coaching after college, but she wanted to be closer to her family. Luccarelli had other relatives on the South Shore besides Sullivan, who helped introduce him to his future wife at a football camp.

‘‘We kind of drifted apart’’ after college, Luccarelli said of King. ‘‘I heard he had gotten married. I called him up and said, `Sorry I missed your wedding. I must have missed the invitation.’ That’s because I wasn’t invited — but it was a nice icebreaker.’’

It did not take long for the two couples to bond after the Luccarellis arrived in 2004. They’d go out several times a year, including for New Year’s Eve. They even had children roughly around the same time.

When the two couples went out together for dinner last month sans kids, it didn’t take long for X’s and O’s to pepper the conversation.

‘‘We like to give the boys a hard time because they think the glory days are great,’’ said Beth Luccarelli, a fourth-grade teacher in Hanover. ‘‘They talk football stuff, then they talk ‘normal’ stuff with us.’’

With Luccarelli running the show this fall, regular contact between the two did not change.

‘‘Matt, to his credit, texts me every Friday: good luck,’’ King said. ‘‘Being the nontechnology guy that I am, I’d call him and say good luck to him. It’ll be interesting to see whether he’ll text me Thursday morning.''

Kristin Connelly as the Ghost of Christmas Past greets Michael Warner as Scrooge

While the Company Theatre doesn’t perform “A Christmas Carol” every year, the Norwell troupe’s version of the Dickens novel has almost achieved the status of a South Shore tradition. This year’s production opens the day after Thanksgiving, with Michael Warner in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Warner, a Company Theatre veteran who lives in Quincy, has played Jacob Marley, Fred, and Scrooge in three pervious productions, and in an interview with the Globe, he talked about his approach to portraying the legendary miser.

Playing Scrooge was so much fun the last time I did it that I knew if I had the chance to try again, I’d do it.

It’s been 11 years since the last time I played the role, so it’s kind of hard to remember how I did it -- which is good. I’ve come so far as an actor and performer in that time. The fact that I’m older helps me portray someone who’s older. Even some simple things like the voice come a lot easier. I was able to try some new things, and the directors always try to give a new production some new twists. The movie just came out with Jim Carey, and we’re aware of that, and we want to give this play a little more animation than before and make it come alive.

To prepare for this part, I watched some of the older movies, and god knows there are so many versions of it, which is great because you can draw on so many things. Usually, the actors in the movies are much older and they can show how older people behave.

As a singer, I’m a natural high tenor, so I really have to go to the complete opposite to get the voice right. Everything about Scrooge is dark, and when he’s yelling at someone, for example, you really have to get that down-in-the-throat, scraggly, old timer type of voice.

One of the movie versions I liked in particular was actually more of a musical version, it was “Scrooge” with Albert Finney. I loved the way he would say certain things, especially after the transformation when he wakes up on Christmas morning. I’m a very visual person; if I see something I can really bring it to life a lot easier.

I like to believe there is some good in Scrooge. I just think that it’s so buried within him that he never wanted to think about it or worry about it. But deep down, there’s a kind of regret that he let this beautiful girl go when he was young, and he has these emotions when his sister died, but they’re buried.

So when he goes back and starts seeing all these scenes from the past, all these emotions start to come to the surface, and that’s what helps with the transformation. If there’s really nothing good in him, I don’t think the transformation would be as believable.

“A Christmas Carol” runs from Nov. 27 to Dec. 30 at The Company Theatre, 30 Accord Park Drive, Norwell. Tickets are $29 to $31 and can be ordered online.