Residents Can Sign Up for Curbside Composting Pickup

Watertown residents can now sign up to be part of the curbside composting program, run by Black Earth Compost. The company provided the following information:

Black Earth Compost (BEC) is excited to announce a new partnership with the City of Watertown! Watertown’s program provides free weekly curbside collection of food scraps and other organic materials. Please view the complete compostable guide for more details on everything that can be collected in your compost bin. As part of the program, you will receive a starter kit and online account to manage your service.

Civil War Clergy at Mount Auburn Cemetery: Adeline Tyler

Adeline Blanchard Tyler

By Bill McEvoy

In honor of Memorial Day, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War clergy who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part two of 15. I am grateful to Reverend Daphne Noyes, retired Deacon of Boston’s Church of the Advent for her assistance in adding an additional background to Sister Tyler’s life. 

The biography of William Rollinson Whittingham, Bishop of Maryland set apart, Adeline Tyler, as the first Deaconess in the Episcopal Church. 

Per Deacon Noyes, most sources agree that these women were not ordained (laying on of hands, invocation of the Trinity) but were “set apart” — living under a rule, often but not always in community, under the direction of a Bishop. In Adeline’s case, that was Bishop Whittingham. I also drew heavily from the: Project Gutenberg’s 2007 eBook release of 1867, text, Woman’s Work in the Civil War, by Linus Pierpont Brockett and Mary C. Vaughan

Adaline Blanchard Tyler was born on December 8, 1805, in Billerica, Massachusetts.

Civil War Clergy at Mount Auburn Cemetery: Rev. Arthur Buckminster Fuller

Rev. Arthur Buckminster Fuller

By Bill McEvoy

In honor of Memorial Day, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War clergy who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part one of 15. Reverend Arthur Buckminster Fuller  was born August 10th, 1822, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He died on December 11th, 1862, at Fredericksburg, Virginia of multiple gunshot wounds, inflicted by Confederate Sharpshooters. He was raised in Cambridge and Groton. He prepared for college under the direction of his sister Margaret Fuller Ossoli, a teacher of extraordinary gifts and influence, then at Sarah Bradford Ripley’s school at Concord.

Six People with Watertown Ties Made Charles River Chamber’s List of Most Influential Business Leaders of Color

Half a dozen people living or working in Watertown made the list of Most Influential Business Leaders of Color chosen by Charles River Chamber of Commerce, which focused on both established leaders and emerging ones. The search for people of color making a positive contribution to the economic fabric of businesses and non-profits in the suburbs west of Boston began in January when the Chamber put out a call for nominations, said President Greg Reibman of the Charles River Chamber. The list was culled down from close to 200 nominations for either the “50 Most Influential Leaders” or “Emerging Leaders” lists. To qualify, honorees have to work and/or sit on a board for a business or nonprofit that is physically located in Newton, Needham, Watertown, Waltham, Wellesley, Natick, or Framingham. “Then we leaned on an eminent panel of judges to curate our final lists, in partnership with Colette Phillips and Get Konnected!”

Watertown’s Memorial Day Week Includes Parade, Ceremonies at Cemeteries & Poppy Social

Charlie BreitroseWatertown veterans salute the Flag during the playing of the National Anthem at the Memorial Day Observance. During Memorial Day week, Watertown veterans groups will visit schools, ceremonies will be held for veterans buried in town, the Commander’s Mansion will hose the Poppy Social, and, of course, the Memorial Day Parade will take place on Monday. The Watertown Veterans Services Office sent out the following information:

May 23: Veterans are invited to the Cunniff School at 9 a.m. for a Memorial Day Ceremony. May 24: We will begin placing cemetery flags & grave markers at Ridgelawn Cemetery and Saint Patrick’s Cemetery starting around 5 p.m.

May 26th: Veterans are invited to join us at the Watertown Public Schools:

8:45 a.m. – Lowell Elementary School

9:30 a.m. – Watertown High School

Please note: This information will update with the remaining schools soon. Some elements may differ this year, with virtual offerings.

Watertown Memorial Day Parade Won’t Go Down Mt. Auburn St. This Year

Charlie BreitroseWatertown veterans marching in the 2022 Memorial Day Parade. For the second year in a row, Watertown’s Memorial Day Parade will take an alternate route. Most years, the parade goes down Mt. Auburn Street from Coolidge Square to Waterotwn Square, and then heads down Main Street to City Hall. Construction on the route means that the parade has to be moved, said Watertown Veterans Agent Patrick George.