Looking Back on 2011: Fab Five Favorite Photos of the Year

There is simply no way to include all of the outstanding images captured and posted on Lexington Patch in 2011. From holidays to storms to feel-good features that warm the heart, there has no shortage of powerful photography from local photographers, freelancers and you, our readers. 

So, in deciding our five favorite photos from 2011, we tried to going to stick to that old adage that a picture's worth 1,000 words and selected images that themselves tell the story. There are actually six pics, but we like to think about the second and third as one before-and-after image.

So here they are, in chronological order.

1. : In Lexington, it's pretty much a given (or an understatement) that Patriots Day is a kind of a big deal. But the events of April 19, 1775 are only recognized as a holiday in Massachusetts and Maine. Even then, Maine, somewhat inexplicably, calls it Patriot's Day. But we'll forgive them the questionably placed apostrophe because, this year, they gave us Michael Manetti. A 10-year-old from Freeport, Maine, Manetti hooked up with the Lexingotn Minute Men just after they crossed Rt. 128 and marched with the company to the Parker's Revenge site during the festivities on Saturday, April 16.

2. : JoAnn McMahon, nurse, had no idea she had been nominated by her boss, Jill Gasparini, to receive the William P. Doran Excellence in School Nursing Award until she received news that she had been named the best school nurse in the state. These two photos, before and after shots snapped by , perfectly exhibit what McMahon is all about.

3. : Lowell Street residents awoke with a start on the morning of Aug. 30 after an allegedly speeding SUV slammed into a utility pole, hit a hydrant and sank into an unfortunate family's front yard after creating a sinkhole. Any of of the images (or video) from the scene could be worthy of making this list, but we think the shapshot of workers attaching hooks to lift the SUV from the sinkhole offers a fair picture into this ordeal.

4. : The Stanley Cup stopped here the afternoon of Sept. 7. Bruins coach Claude Julien, a Lexington resident since 2007, brought the NHL championship trophy to the so that the men and women of the LPD, LFD and Post Office, along with their families, could take pictures with the cup and shake hands with the coach. We think this image says it all. 

5. : On Saturday, Dec. 4, a two-alarm fire engulfed a Hancock Street during the night as firefighters from Lexington and surrounding departments were forced to battle the blaze from the outside in. In this image, a member of the stands back as outside operations get underway.

Bonus Video: : On the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, LFD Headquarters hosted a remembrance ceremony and Police Chief Mark Corr used Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" as a model for his remarks.