Around Town

New Stone & Tile Store Open in Watertown; Does Kitchens, Bathrooms and More

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Charlie BreitroseUltimate Stone Surfaces opened on Mt. Auburn Street in late May. Ultimate Stone Surfaces recently opened a showroom in Watertown where customers can take a look at samples and get help envisioning their dream kitchen or bathroom. Paul Pereira and Douglas Goncalves have been installing countertops for years, but recently decided to start their own business, said Juliana Freitas-Silva, who runs the showroom located at 694 Mt. Auburn Street.

Around Town

Free Watertown Compost Collection Beginning in August

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The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

The City of Watertown is excited to announce a new partnership with Black Earth Compost. Watertown residents can sign up for free weekly curbside collection of compostable materials and receive a complimentary 13 gallon bin. Meat, Bones, Dairy, Fruit, Vegetables, Leftovers, Napkins, Coffee Grounds & Filters, and More… ALL COLLECTED FOR FREE CURBSIDE PICKUP

COMPOSTING MADE EASY

Program begins August 2022

To learn more and sign up, visit: blackearthcompost.com/watertown

For additional questions, please email: recycle@watertown-ma.gov 

** This program is currently only open to residents that receive city-provided trash and recycling pickup.*

Around Town

Boston Tea Party Participant from Watertown Honored with Special Grave Marker

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Boston Tea Party Ships & MuseumSpeaking at the ceremony for the placing of the grave marker for Watertown’s Samual Barnard on June 18 were Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum Creative Manager Evan O’Brien; Marilynne Roach, President – Historical Society of Watertown and Jonathan Lane, and Revolution 250 Coordinator – Massachusetts Historical Society. The following information was provided by the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum:

The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, in partnership with the Historical Society of Watertown; the City of Watertown, MA, and Revolution 250, a consortium of organizations working together to commemorate the 250th anniversaries of the events that led to American Revolution, will place a commemorative marker at the gravesite of known Boston Tea Party participant, Samuel Barnard, in the Common Street Cemetery (founded in 1754) in Watertown for the first time on June 18, 2022. Massachusetts Patriot Samuel Barnard was born in Watertown, MA on June 19, 1737 and lived in Watertown his entire life. He was a blacksmith and a farmer and married Elizabeth (née Bond) in Watertown, on March 4, 1773 with whom he had five children. After his involvement in the infamous Boston Tea Party, Barnard went on to serve in the American Revolutionary War.

Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation Awards $127K in Spring Grants

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The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) has awarded grants totaling $127,000 to initiatives in two categories.  

One: WCF’s Program Grants are award grants designed to help organizations that serve Watertown develop new or continue existing programs with an educational focus (broadly defined). These are programs that operate outside of the Watertown’s public schools. 

Two: WCF’s Institutional Grants are designed to help institutions central to the Watertown community by providing funds to maintain critical programming and retain paid staff.  Grants under this program impose neither restrictions on the use of funds nor any program requirements.   

Eligible organizations apply for a maximum of $5000 for program grants and a maximum of $7500 for Institutional grants.  The grants are funded by the Foundation’s Watertown Arsenal Education Fund. WCF Grants Chairwoman Mary Ann Mulligan explains, ” WCF continues to receive record numbers of applications and this year was no exception.  The depth and breadth of our community-based organizations is remarkable. We are happy to have the resources to support the diversity and creativity of these initiatives.”

WCF grantees agree.

104 Main Street

LETTER: Time to Draw Line on Big Developments, Create a Historic District on Main Street

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Local Communities in Square Miles

Boston 89.63Newton 18.16Waltham 13.76Cambridge 7.1Belmont 4.7Watertown 4.12

Watertown. It’s small. It requires thought. In a small area like ours, every decision that’s made makes a profound difference. Many of us have raised concerns about losing the essence of our community, what made us unique and desirable … small but big; bustling and densely populated and diverse, but with a real home town, neighborly feel.

Around Town

Civil War Veteran Gets Long Awaited Headstone in Time for Memorial Day

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Bill McEvoyThe new grave marker for James Fleming, a Lt. Colonel who served in the Civil War. Local historian Bill McEvoy applied for the long delayed grave marker this year. When the veterans buried in Watertown were honored during Memorial Day week 2022, one of the graves at the Catholic Mount Auburn Cemetery had a gleaming white headstone, but the veteran buried there died more than 150 years ago. The grave belongs to James Fleming, who served in the Civil War and died in 1869. He has been buried in the cemetery, which sits at the end of Cottage Street in East Watertown, but it did not have a marker.