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2007

WALTHAM -
Family and friends are working to send love and a little piece of the city to Fire Lt. John Babstock, now on his third tour of duty in the Middle East with the Navy.

A 14-year veteran of the Waltham Fire Department, Babstock, 42, a senior chief petty officer, is serving in Kuwait with Inshore Boat Unit 22 based out of New London, Conn. He works on 34-foot patrol boats, protecting waterways, coasts and oil tankers and other ships when they come into port, according to his wife, Cindy.

Cindy and others put together care packages to forge the link to his hometown and take some of the loneliness out of his service so far from home.

"The last care package I sent him ... I burned a couple CDs of pictures of the kids," Cindy said. "I sent him Girl Scout cookies, some Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties ... I think I threw in a couple of Shortbread cookies ... this time I'm going to send him some (Daily) News Tribunes because he's been wondering what's going on here."

Cindy said she speaks with John over the phone and they e-mail each other once a day. She said John also sends letters twice a week to his three daughters, Mackenzie, 7, Bella, 4 and Hadley, 21 months.

"The girls wrote letters to him and drew some pictures recently. They play 'Tic Tac Toe' and 'Hangman' back and forth with each other," she said. "The girls will send a little 'X' (drawn on a Tic Tac Toe board) and then he'll put an 'O' somewhere else and send it back."

Deena Withycombe, the wife of fellow firefighter William Withycombe, is preparing to send a package this week.

"He sent my husband an e-mail and he was commenting on the fact that there's a lack of toilet paper and home things that would be of comfort." Deena said. "I said I should send him some good decent toilet paper and just good home stuff that he can't really get there."

Deena's package includes CDs, issues of the Daily News Tribune and toiletries.

Her husband and others who worked with Babstock on Engine 3 at the Willow Street Station for the past four years also feel his absence.

"We're close. This is his third tour, so he goes for about a year at a time ... we miss him," said William Withycombe. "We work out together. Usually in the morning we do housework. We cook. Then there's the laughing and joking and camaraderie that goes on."

While Babstock is away, acting Lt. John Bonadio is covering his duties.

For Cindy the hardest part has been balancing career and family.

"Juggling everything related to the family, the kids and the activities (is the hardest)," she said. "I'm a real estate agent and I kind of stopped working or put things on hold while he's gone so I could concentrate on the children."

For each deployment, Cindy said she has had to face the challenges of raising a family singlehandedly.

"I'm getting better at it ... (because Babstock's unit is stationed) in the same place they were (last time), I think it's easier for us to understand what we're both going through," she said. "This deployment is easier for me than the last one, yet it's still difficult. This time I absolutely knew my limitations. I knew what I could handle and what I couldn't. I knew how to prepare for it and how to prepare my girls for it."

Cindy said her husband has been missing out on some special moments.

"He's missing all of (his daughter's) birthdays except one of them. His birthday, my birthday ... he's missing out on school functions," she said. "He's missing out on people getting married and those kinds of things. He left (for this most recent deployment) when our youngest was 1 year and 3 months old. One and a half to 2<+>1<+>/<->2<-> is a huge difference in age so he's missing out on a drastic change in our youngest daughter."

The firefighters at the Willow Street Station hope their comrade comes home soon and in good spirits. "We just obviously wish him the best over there and hope he gets back safely," William said.

Babstock left July 18 for the Mideast. His deployment is scheduled to last a year, Cindy said.

"I believe the unit is shooting to come home in June, which can always change," she said. "Hopefully when he comes home we'll celebrate and take a long vacation with the family somewhere."

Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com.

Photo by Milton Amador/Daily News Staff

WALTHAM - December 20, 2007

Standing over a pink and purple girl's bicycle decorated with Disney characters, Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Turner made sure the wheels he helped assemble rolled smoothly.

A 25-year veteran of the Waltham department, Turner joined a handful of volunteers from the Waltham firefighters union this week who donated their time to assemble bikes for The Salvation Army's Wish Upon a Star program.

"I can give a few hours, it's the least I can do for the kids," Turner said. "The city's been good to me."

Every year The Salvation Army solicits Christmas gifts for needy Waltham families. For the past 11 years, the Waltham firefighters union has contributed brand-new bicycles assembled and ready to go under the tree.

"We started doing this program because it was one of the programs that directly affects kids in the Waltham area," said Lt. Jim Perry, who has been participating in the program since it began.

On Tuesday night firefighters spent hours putting together everything from tricycles for toddlers to 26-inch bikes for teenagers. Over the years, Perry said, the program has grown from donating about 40 bikes to an average of 75.

"They (firefighters) really add to the quality of the (Wish Upon a Star) program," said Salvation Army Capt. Lolita Sanchez.

Sanchez organized rooms full of gifts in the Main Street office space donated to the nonprofit organization for its annual collection. She said Wish Upon a Star will provide presents for 832 children in the Waltham area whose families could not otherwise afford them. The low- and middle-income families who qualify for the program also receive food for their holiday meals, Sanchez said.

"There are just a lot of children in need," Sanchez said, adding the organization still needs more donations for older children.

Bicycles of all sizes and colors filled the room Tuesday night as the off-duty firefighters tightened nuts and chains. Perry, who has two sons, said the firefighters spend time assembling the bikes instead of handing them to families in pieces to save parents the time and make Christmas morning more exciting for the children.

"When I was a lot younger my family went through some tough times when my father was sick and a lot of people stepped up to help my family out. This is a way that I can kind of give back," Perry said.

Though he has made donations to the program in the past, this was Lt. John Craig's first year volunteering to assemble the bikes.

"It's a learning process," Craig said laughing. "But there's a definite need to help out a bit."

Sanchez said parents will pick up donated gifts from The Salvation Army today and tomorrow. At the same time, the organization is struggling to meet its $100,000 fundraising goal though its kettle program, she said. The program, which runs through Christmas Eve, has volunteers stand outside businesses with red kettles ringing bells to raise donations for The Salvation Army. So far, Sanchez said, the organization has yet to reach its halfway mark.

Money from the kettle program goes to support The Salvation Army year-round helping fund daily feeding programs, a food pantry, an after-school program, and rental and utilities assistance.

The Salvation Army is the recipient of this year's Gifts of Hope campaign by the Daily News Tribune. Gifts of Hope donations will help fund the Waltham branch of The Salvation Army's Christmas Castle, holiday dinners, and other programs the organization runs year-round.

To contribute, send or drop off donations to The Salvation Army, 33 Myrtle St., Waltham, MA 02453.

Nicole Haley can be reached at nhaley@cnc.com or 781-398-8004.