Around Town

Highland Street One of Several Road Projects in Watertown This Week

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Crews work on Highland Street as part of the ongoing road reconstruction project. Parts of Highland Street will be closed this week as crews work on the reconstruction of that street. That is one of several projects going on in Watertown this week, and beyond. The City plans to reconstruct Highland Avenue, from Lexington Street to the City line just before Longfellow Road, according to the Department of Public Works site. The existing roadway pavement and gravel sub-base materials will be ground up and reused to create a new base for the road which will then be repaved.

Around Town

Perkins’ New Howe Innovation Center Accelerating Accessibility to Technology for Disabled

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Perkins SchoolOn May 5, Olin College of Engineering students came to campus to demonstrate their CLEW technology at Perkins School’s Howe Innovation Center. The following announcement was provided by Perkins School for the Blind:

Perkins School for the Blind announces the launch of the Howe Innovation Center at Perkins. Named in honor of Perkins’ forward-thinking founding director, Samuel Gridley Howe, the Center is designed to unlock the power of the entrepreneurial and disability communities to create purpose-built solutions for a more accessible world. Every day, entrepreneurs and designers work to incorporate technology into new products to benefit the growing disability population, which is estimated to be 1.85 billion people or approximately 15 percent of the global population. In the disability tech field, these companies are leveraging recent advances in natural language processing, computer vision, and wireless communication to unlock accessibility for people with disabilities.

Around Town

Get a Free Bike Check Up, Safety Tips & Info on Routes

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The following information was provided by Live Well Watertown:

NOTE: This event is postponed to the rain date on Saturday, June 17, 2023. Dig your bike out of the basement, garage, or shed and bring it down for a free mini bike/safety check-up with Urban AdvenTours! Meet representatives from Live Well Watertown, Watertown’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee, and the Watertown Transportation Management Association (WTMA) on Saturday, May 20, 2023, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm (Rain date 6/17) at Watertown Square Dock, Charles River Rd at the Galen St. Bridge. Learn about Watertown’s healthy living programs, advocacy efforts, and active transportation initiatives.

Around Town

Celebration of Spring Herring Run at Watertown Dam

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The Charles River Watershed Association will celebrate the migration of herring up the Charles River in Watertown on Wednesday. The Spring Herring Run Celebration will be held on May 17 at 6 p.m. at the Watertown Dam. The CRWA sent out the following announcement:

Did you know, each Spring, thousands of migratory fish return to spawn in the lakes, ponds, and tributaries of our river? Join us for a short walk along the Charles River to witness this extraordinary migration + learn why we advocate for the removal of Watertown Dam to restore the ecosystem. Join us for a short walk along the Charles River to witness this extraordinary migration and learn why we advocate for the removal of Watertown Dam to restore the ecosystem. Speakers include River Science & Restoration Program Manager Lisa Kumpf, Climate Resilience Specialist Robert Kearns, and Hartman Deetz of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.

Around Town

Our History: Society Works on Veterans’ Grave Registration Project

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Helen Learned’s gravestone in Common St. Cemetery (Photo courtesy of Joyce Kelly)

This article is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. It was written by Joyce Kelly, Board member of the Historical Society of Watertown. Joyce writes articles for the newsletter and is the newsletter editor. This was published in our April 2011 newsletter, “The Town Crier.”

In the early 1930s, the American Legion veteran’s organization launched an effort to identify the gravesite of every deceased veteran buried in the United States and create a permanent record.

Around Town

Final Part of Civil War Nurses of Mount Auburn Cemetery Features 3 Women

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Anne Kendall Freitag

By Bill McEvoy

In honor of National Nurses Week, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War nurses who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part seven of seven. Annie Frances Kendall Freitag:

Annie Frances Kendall Freitag was born in Boston on May 4, 1830. She was the daughter of Abel and Anne Mayo Richards Kendall. In 1856, Abel committed suicide, by hanging himself, in the attic of their Somerset Street home in Boston. His death notice stated that he was depressed and was losing his hearing.