Category Archives: Community Notes

A City Of Villages – The 2013 Newton History Series – Oak Hill Park – A “Local Utopia” – Thursday, February 7 @ 7PM

In 1995, Boston Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell wrote, “The greenbelt system is what’s unique about Oak Hill Park. There’s nothing else like it in Massachusetts. And it’s still intact. Even in today’s privatized world, nobody has chopped the Oak Hill Park greenways into private, fenced barbecue patios.” Join resident Paul Eldrenkamp for a discussion of the origins and evolution of this little-known corner of Newton, a planned community built by a public-private partnership to provide inexpensive housing for veterans returning from WWII. Discover what Campbell found so appealing about this close-knit neighborhood, and learn what’s changed in the years since Campbell wrote so compellingly of its charms. Co-Sponsored by Historic Newton and the Newton Free Library. Thursday, February 7, @ 7PM at the Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street. Free.

Ask The Archivist at Jackson Homestead – Sunday, February 10, noon-5PM

Need help organizing or preserving your family photos and papers? Drop in for a brief, on-the-spot consultation with Archivist/Curator Sara Goldberg. Sara will provide advice and resources that will help keep your precious collections alive and well. (Please feel free to bring samples, but NOT whole collections of what you’d like help with.) Free and open to the public. At the Jackson Homestead, 527 Washington Street, Newton.

WEAVING WORKSHOP – Vacation Week Family Program – Wednesday, February 20, 2PM

Have you ever wondered how people made cloth at home before store-bought cloth was available? Want to try weaving your own cloth? Join Beth Guertin, a weaver and teacher of weaving for over twenty-five years, in this hands-on workshop. Watch a demonstration of loom-weaving techniques, and then give it a try yourself! Cost: $25 per family ($20 for members) includes museum admission and materials. Program is from 2-4PM. Prepaid registration is required, limit 25; call 617-796-1450 to register. At the Jackson Homestead, 527 Washington Street, Newton.

KIDS ON THE FARM – THEN AND NOW – A Vacation Week Family Program – Thursday, February 21, 2:00-4:00PM

Want to know what life on a farm would have been like for kids in Newton in past centuries? Using real artifacts from the Museum’s collection and real stories from the Angino family who lived on what is now the Newton Community Farm, we’ll explore how kids would have helped on the farm. Then we will plant some seeds which will be transplanted into our garden in the spring. Cost: $30 per family (4 people max, 1 adult required) $25 for members of HN or NCF. Includes museum admission, materials, and snack. Prepaid registration is required, limit 25; call 617-796-1450 to register. Co-sponsored by Historic Newton and Newton Community Farm. At the Jackson Homestead, 527 Washington Street, Newton.

Community Preservation Committee Seeks Members

  1. If you live in Ward 3 or Ward 4; have a background in history or in the conservation or preservation of historic resources; and are interested in serving as the Mayor’s appointee for historic resources on the Community Preservation Committee, please contact Ana Gonzalez at 617-796-1106 or ag*******@******ma.gov to apply. Under the Community Preservation Act, the CPC makes funding recommendations for affordable housing, historic resources, open space and recreation land to Newton’s Board of Aldermen. The Act’s definition of historic resources includes archives, art, buildings and landscapes, as well as other resources.
  2. If you live in Newton; have a background in history, historic preservation, architectural history, or archaeology; and are interesting in serving on the Newton Historical Commission, please contact Brian Lever at 617-796-1129 or bl****@******ma.gov to apply. The Commission is the City’s preservation planning body and has the responsibility of surveying and documenting historic properties, advising the Mayor and Board of Aldermen on matters pertaining to historic preservation, enforcing the Demolition Delay and City Landmark ordinances, and working with the public to encourage the preservation of historic properties as well as protecting the City’s heritage. The Commission also appoints one of its members to the CPC – that position is currently vacant and has no ward residency requirement.

Food Allergy: Treatment Update

Learn about the latest thinking and innovative approaches to living safely with food allergies. Speaker: allergist Jessica Savage, MD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Zervas parent. Metro-Boston Allergy and Asthma Educational Support Group is FREE and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required.

February 12,  7:00 p.m.
Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Bowles #1; second floor
2014 Washington St., Newton

Sponsored by Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America – New England Chapter,  781-444-7778.

The Etiquette Academy Of New England Now Enrolling

The Etiquette Academy of New England is an academic institution where children, teens, adults and businesses can learn about every day and formal manners, domestic and international table manners, networking, small talk, communication, accent modification, blogging, appearances, job interview etiquette, personal style, official business protocol and manners, and much more. Courses include: “ETIQUETTE for TEENS,” “JOB HUNT: Strategies and techniques,” “ACCENT MODIFICATION for Non-Native Speakers,” “ETIQUETTE for ADULTS,” and more.

Not quite ready for Kindergarten?

Bowen’s Transitional Kindergarten offers a unique opportunity for a third year of pre-school. TK combines an exciting mix of academics and social skills brought together by a dedicated team of teachers. These older 4′s and young 5′s work toward goals comparable to those in Kindergarten but at a modified pace in a much smaller community with a 7:1 child teacher ratio. This class of 14 quickly becomes a cohesive group working and playing together with enthusiasm. You are welcomed to visit the school to observe first hand how your child would benefit from the program. Parents of former students remark that “it was the best thing I did for my child.”

Contact Meredith Andrews at 617-332-2752 or me***************@***il.com

Food Allergy Update for Families – Tuesday, February 12, 7PM, Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Learn about the latest thinking and innovative approaches to living safely with food allergies. Speaker: allergist Jessica Savage, MD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, recently completed her training in allergy and immunology at Johns Hopkins where she conducted several studies of food allergy epidemiology and treatment with Dr. Robert Wood, an internationally recognized leader in the field of food allergy. She recently joined the faculty of Brigham & Women’s Hospital and is currently seeing patients at its offices at 850 Boylston St. in Chestnut Hill and at Faulkner Hospital. Her current research is related to chemical exposures and their potential role in causing allergy. She is also interested in developing better diagnostic tools and treatments for food allergy.

At Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Bowles 1 (2nd floor), free admission. For info, call the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America – New England Chapter at 781-444-7778.