Our History: Miles Pratt — Owned Foundry on Main St., Founded Library

Miles Pratt (Photo from “Great Little Watertown”)

This is the latest in the series of articles provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. The story was written for the Historical Society’s April 2003 newsletter “The Town Crier” by former Historical Society of Watertown board member Mary Spiers. Mary was our Recording and Corresponding Secretary. Mary retired from the Board in December 2022 but is still a volunteer. MILES PRATT 1825-1882

Miles Pratt was a Watertown industrialist and philanthropist.

See What’s on Small Saves Equipment List in This Week’s Comic

James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal–then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”

Unity Award Goes to Group Behind Film Series, New Scholarships Announced

Watertown Cable AccessThe winners of the 2023 Unity Award, Epiteo Evans and Kara Salvi, who founded Race Reels in Watertown. Most years the annual Unity Award goes to an individual who has made a difference in Watertown, but this year the committee gave it to a group that screens films locally that spark conversations about issues facing the community and the nation. On Jan. 9, the pair behind Race Reels, Epiteo Evans and Kara Salvi, received the Unity Award at special event. The pair was also highlighted in the Unity Breakfast video celebration, which was presented by the World in Watertown.

Armenian Museum Extends Major Art Exhibition Through February

Some of the pieces in Armenian Museum of America’s “On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s-1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection.” From top left: Laddie John Dill, “Portrait of Joan, 2016,” hand blown and colored glass tubing, argon gas with mercury transformer, 60; Joe Fay, “Joan, 1984,” Prismacolor on Arches paper, 34” x 26; Gregory Wiley Edwards, “Expanded Resonance, 1992,” acrylic on canvas, 46″ x 69 3/4. If you have not caught one of the biggest art exhibits in Watertown, you have more time to see the show featuring artists like Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Frank Gehry. The Armenian Museum of America has extended its exhibition, “On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s-1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection,” through Feb. 26, 2023. The exhibit includes 125 works in a variety of media by more than 75 artists.

Watertown Police Recover Missing Football Signed by Brady, Bledsoe

Watertown Police DepartmentThe missing football signed by three Patriots, including Tom Brady, was recovered after an undercover investigation. A football autographed by some New England Patriots legends went missing from a Watertown business about a month ago, but the ball was intercepted by police when the thief tried to sell it online. The ball that was signed by Tom Brady, Drew Bledsoe and Damon Huard belongs to local plumbing business J.C. Cannistratro. During a recent move, however, the ball went missing. On Wednesday, detectives from two police departments recovered the ball.

Group that Sends Care Packages to Military Personnel May be Grounded by Change in Mail Rules

For 20 years, Operation American Soldier has been sending out a piece of home to men and women serving in the U.S. Military overseas from Watertown, but the pipeline of care packages appears to be coming to a sudden halt with a change in rules for shipping packages to military bases. Co-founder Wendy Rocca recently learned that the flat-rate boxes used to send the care packages will soon no longer be available, and the rates will be much higher. “It was $15.30 (per box) at the Christmas-time rush. It was $14 and change for the rest of the year,” Rocca said. “Now we do not have the flat rate.

Watertown Reduced Trash by More than 1,000 Tons in 2022

Watertown DPWWatertown’s compost, trash and recycling toters. The following information was provided by the Department of Public Works:

Happy New Year! 2022 was a big year for waste reduction in Watertown. We implemented newprograms to help achieve the newly ratified Massachusetts 2030 waste goals. This landmarkmasterplan set the objective of municipalities reducing the amount of waste they send for disposal by 30% by 2030.