WaterTownCrier's blog

 

OCTOBER EVENTS AT HISTORIC FOWLE HOUSE

ANTIQUES APPRAISAL, October 22

Bring your antiques and collectibles to the newly restored 1772 Edmund Fowle House* on October 22, 2008 at 7PM for appraisal by Kaminski Auctioneers of Beverly, MA. Donation is $10.00 per item, or $25.00 for 3, with proceeds to benefit the Historical Society of Watertown. You may bring small items (excluding coins, stamps, and musical instruments) as well as photographs of large items for appraisal. Space is limited so please call Joyce at 781-899-7239 or e-mail Pam at p.pinsky@verizon.net to reserve your place. All appraisals will be shared with the audience so it will be an exciting, informative and educational evening, and we look forward to your participation.

SAMUEL ADAMS BEER PARTY, October 25

Then on Saturday, October 25 from 4-6 p.m., bring your thirst to the Fowle House. Join the Historical Society of Watertown in a beer tasting party sponsored by Boston Beer, brewers of Samuel Adams Beer. The party in the Fowle House will take place on the site of the meeting place of the Governor’s Council for the first one and a half years of the Revolutionary War. Founding Fathers such as John Hancock, John Adams, and, yes, Samuel Adams, among others, were here!* Donation is $25.00 with proceeds benefitting The Historical Society of Watertown. The brewmeister will bring at least 5 different beers to sample. Space is limited so please contact Joyce at 781-899-7239 or e-mail Pam at p.pinsky@verizon.net to reserve your place. What better way to spend a pleasant October evening than learning about beer and about the important history of Watertown and the Edmund Fowle House!

(IDs will be checked so please bring a photo ID.)

*For history buffs: during the British occupation of Boston, the seat of government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was in Watertown. Here committees of the second and third Provincial Congress met from April 22, 1775 to July 19, 1775, and the Executive Council from July 19, 1775 to September 18, 1776.  

THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WATERTOWN IS A NON-PROFIT CORPORATION AND IS TAX EXEMPT AS IDENTIFIED BY LAW

Hello H2otown!
I don't get HBO and am really, I mean really interested in seeing the John Adams mini-series that is on HBO starting 23 minutes ago! Who in the area is taping this? Can I buy a copy? I'll supply the VHS video tapes or the DVD's if you can record it for my personal viewing pleasure. I'd like to see it this year rather than ten years from now when it airs on PBS, if you know what I mean......
Somebody must know somebody who is taping it, please call or e-mail me with info. Thanks, Karl 617-458-1439 or karl@HistoricWatertown.org

Historical Society's March Public Program THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WATERTOWN INVITES YOU TO THEIR MARCH 2008 PUBLIC PROGRAM “It was a dark and stormy night…” So begins the 1830 Bulwer-Lytton novel, “Paul Clifford.” 50 years earlier it was a dark, if not stormy, midday in parts of New England as a mysterious pall fell over our region on the late morn-ing of May 19th, 1780. Candles were brought out at lunchtime and churches filled as many New Englanders thought that the Day of Judgement had arrived. Was it retribution for the disruptions of the American Revolution – rag-ing at the time of the darkening? Some Tories thought so. Was it a natural me-teorological phenomenon, explicable in the terms of modern science? You can be the judge when you join the Historical Society of Watertown and historical weather researcher John Horrigan for a presentation about “New England's Dark Day.” Mr. Horrigan offer his own speculations, reading from journals and accounts of the day and relaying other accounts of dark days in America’s History. Join us in the Watertown Savings Bank Room at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main Street, on Thursday, March 20th at 7:00 PM.  Light refreshments will be offered before and after the program. The program is free and open to the public. For further information call Joyce at 781-899-7239.

Maintenance Schedule is as follows:

Saturday, APRIL 12, 2008 ... 9am to 2pm

Sat, May 17th ... 9am to 2pm

Sat, June 21st ... 9am to 2pm

Pending Watertown Conservation Commision approval, Evan Moss of the Charles River Conservancy(CRC), will lead Friends maintenance events on the above dates. We will meet at the entrance (or near) the entrance of the Watertown Yacht Club, corner of Charles River Road and North Beacon Street...

For more information go to:
http://groups.google.com/group/fotwr or
email me at karl@HistoricWatertown.org

Commander's Mansion Annual Wedding Faire Sunday - March 9th from 1 to 4:30 PM Experience the beauty and elegance that the historic Commander's Mansion has to offer. We invite you to meet with Boston's top professionals: caterers, florists, entertainers, photographers and event planners, just to name a few! Plan the details of your celebration in just one day at the Commander's Mansion in Watertown!! Please register online at www.commandersmansion.com . Plenty of free parking. $5.00 at the door. Phone: 617-926-7755

It's darn near close! Is there a 3rd anniversary in the works? H20townians need to know......

We miss you! Hope all is well. Karl & Pam

PS. Looking forward to the "Third" Birthday celebration in February!

I remember the delicious cake...yummm...mmm...m

Uranium-Sucking Tumbleweeds For years, the U.S. military and its allies have relied on depleted uranium (DU) for their anti-tank rounds. Twice as dense as lead, the stuff does a mean job piercing armor. But it comes with a price. Tons of DU litter battlefields around the world; the British fired almost 2 tons of DU around Bara during the Iraq invasion, for example. And unexplained illnesses always seem to follow in the rounds' wake. Nothing's been categorically proven. But a variety of ailments -- from "Gulf War Syndrome" to lung cancer -- have all been linked to the material. Cleaning it up has been an almost impossibly messy task. But now, a New Mexico researcher may have found an answer to the problem in, of all things, the tumbleweed. A preliminary study shows that the plant, and some other flora common to dry, Western lands, "have a knack for soaking up depleted uranium from contaminated soils at weapons testing grounds and battlefields," according to a statement from the Geological Society of America. The fact that plants absorb uranium is not news, since old uranium prospectors used to use Geiger counters on junipers to find buried uranium lodes. But finding a plant that grows fast on little water and can be easily harvested to carry away the depleted uranium – that's another story... In her study, [New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology geologist] Dana Ulmer-Scholle and her colleagues... sought out DU contaminated soils at an inactive munitions testing ground in New Mexico. Then they planted selected native and non-native plants in a test garden and in pots to see how much DU the plants absorbed from the soil. The tumbleweed, or Russian thistle did particularly well. So did the grain crop quinoa and the purple amaranth. None of the plants need much water or care. But "sprinkling the ground with citric acid" did seem to bolster the plants' ability to suck up DU. As for why some plants absorb uranium, that's still a mystery, says Ulmer-Scholle. It could be that the plants use the metal to create pigments. One way she hopes to test that possibility is to grow native plants used for dyes. Either way, Ulmer-Scholle cautions, plants will only work as a slow-burn solution to DU. For immediate clean-ups, "no plant species appears to offer a short-term alternative to traditional remediation."

This video was forwarded to me by a friend on the RevWar List earlier. It's many "Holiday" songs rolled into one.... hope you enjoy it!