Around Town

LETTER: Grassroots Housing Group Hosting Launch Event

By |

It’s becoming harder and harder to remain a member of this community. 

Every year, rising rents force more working families out while middle class and even affluent neighbors can’t afford to purchase a home, nevermind expand their families. Those looking to downsize after retirement, or hoping to age with dignity in the city they love, can’t find homes that work for them. Young people driven away, families in financial distress, longtime residents exiled from their hometown: this is the face of the housing crisis in Watertown. It is a dilemma that threatens our well-being, economic futures, and our community. It is also a challenge that we can rise to overcome, together.

Around Town

LETTER: Kudos to the City for the Work Around Bemis Park

By |

A stop sign installed next to Bemis Park. (Courtesy of Mark Pickering)

Letter To the Editor,

Baseball season and ongoing road work where I live all reminds me of what a great job that the City of Watertown did around Bemis Park. That included the repaving of streets around there. I know Bemis from attending Little League games there and using the playground with my daughter, now 7 years old. The park is at the busy corner of Waltham and Bridge streets.

Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation to Celebrate 20 Years of Community Giving

By |

The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation:

Since 2003 The Watertown Community Foundation has put funds to work in Watertown to address local needs to make positive change. Started with funds from the sale of the Arsenal property and grown by local giving and grants, a small group of Founders envisioned a community fund dedicated to sustaining a vibrant community. Twenty years later, the Foundation has given more than $3,000,000 in grants to improve the lives of the people who live and work in Watertown. “During 20 years of grant giving, the Foundation has built on a practice of giving to meet need at the street level. We started with Block Party grants to bring neighbors and neighborhoodstogether.

Around Town

Our History: Stephen P. Mugar, Created Modern Grocery Shopping at Star Market

By |

Star Market on Mt. Auburn Street circa 1920 (Courtesy of the Watertown Free Public Library)

The following story is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. The article first appeared in the Historical Society’s July 2014 newsletter “The Town Crier.” The following information was presented by the late Pam Pinsky, former Vice President of the Historical Society of Watertown

In October of 2005 the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery and the Historical Society of Watertown joined together to give a guided tour of the gravesites of several notable people who once resided in Watertown. The lives of our Watertown notables were recalled by members of the Historical Society Council and Historical Society volunteers. When you go to the supermarket, you buy meat that is pre-packaged in shrink wrap; your onions come in mesh string bags; items are unit-priced (e.g., a 13 ounce can of coffee is unit-priced per pound so that you can compare the value against other coffees packed in 12 ounce cans); when you check out, you can have your purchases packed in paper bags; and often times, your bags are put in boxes and sent out on conveyor belt. All of these innovations that we take for granted were developed by Stephen P. Mugar at 28 Mt.

Around Town

Watertown’s New Library Director to Start Work in September

By |

Kim Hewitt has officially been named Watertown’s new Library Director. (Courtesy of the Watertown Library)

The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Free Public Library:

The Watertown Free Public Library Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Kim Hewitt has been named as its new library director. In her role, Ms. Hewitt will lead the way in helping the library accomplish its mission of connecting people to ideas, information, education, creative opportunities, and to each other. She starts her new role on Sept. 11, 2023.

Around Town

LETTER: A Miyawaki Forest for Watertown!

By |

The Miyawaki Forest in Danehy Park in Cambridge. (Courtesy of Watertown Miyawaki Team)

This spring, a group of Watertown residents — known as the Watertown Miyawaki Team — met to develop a Miyawaki Forest. These forests are named for Akira Miyawaki (1928-2021), a Japanese botanist with a passion for trees. Traveling around his country, he noticed groves of large, mature trees growing near Shinto temples. He was surprised the trees were so healthy, in spite of growing close together.