The
Upper Falls News is an email newsletter about what's going on in our
village. The Upper Falls News is brought to you by the Upper Falls Area
Council but it's intended to cover any and all news in the village.
Ending With a Bang - Upper Falls very own Newton
Nomadic Theater has been touring it's production of "The Turn of the
Screw" around Newton and beyond, for the last four weeks, to great
acclaim. The last two performances of this eerie ghost story will be
this Saturday, March 14 at Gregorian Rugs in Lower Falls and then a
closing night party/performance back home in the Falls at Dunn Gaherins
Pub on Sunday night, March 15. Dunn Gaherins and Better Life Foods have
been great supporters of the theater from the start and once again
they're putting together a closing night event. Dunn Gaherins will open
specially on Sunday for the play. Doors open at 6:30PM. Show starts
at 7:30. For the pre-show hour, the bar will be open and they'll be
providing a delicious assortment of various complimentary snacks.
Audiences have been loving it so don't miss it!! To see what other
people have been saying about The Turn of the Screw or to order tickets
($20) for either Saturday or Sunday's shows go to
http://NewtonNomadicTheater.org
A Warm Spot on a Cold Morning - About two weeks ago we
had a brutally cold morning, -1 degree. The middle school kids all
gathered at the bus stop at the top of Oak St as usual for the 8AM bus.
Because they're middle school kids,many of them were dressed for a cool
May morning rather than a sub-zero one. That day the bus didn't show
up. Jian, the chef at Bob's Sub figured out what was going on and
brought the entire crew of bus stop kids into the shop to thaw out. It
turned out that there had been a breakdown and it was well over a half
hour before the bus arrived that morning. Many, many thanks to Jian for
looking after our ill-dressed little darlings.
TIMBER !!! - Last week, the roof of the abandoned
warehouse on the Clarks/Northland property caved in from the
accumulation of snow. Here's
the Newton Tab story.
The building was already scheduled to be demolished so it's no great
loss. The biggest problem is that our favorite neighborhood shortcut,
(through the Clark's parking lot to Tower Rd) has been cordoned off
since then. I haven't been down there in a few days. If it's not
already, I hope it gets opened soon.
A little closer to home here at Upper Falls News World Headquarters,
our back gutter ripped off the side of the house during Saturday's thaw. I guess all that ice up there was what had been holding the gutter up these past few weeks
Like Daughter, Like Dad - Daughter Alie Riklin has been
a standout actor in shows at Countryside School when she was younger
and now at Brown middle school. Dad Jeff has been a behind the scenes
kind-of-guy, building sets for all those shows. Jeff recently decided
to get back out in front of the footlights. Last Saturday he returned
to the stage in a production of Music Man at the Temple Beth Elohin in
Wellesley. I missed the performance but my guess is that Jeff stole the
show.
That Sure is a Big Hole! -
(Submitted by Mary Durr and Chris Murphy) What's that big hole on the side of 36-38 High Street? Did a spaceship land there? Is this an archaeological dig? Is this a giant sink hole? Are polar bears moving to High Street?
Well
for the owners, Mary and Chris of 36-38 High Street, it feels like all
four. The original intent was for parking their spaceship - or more
realistically their cars. The city was careful in planning this feat
with retaining walls and drainage. It feels like a carefully planned
archaeological dig. The planning itself took over 2 years. In the
beginning it was a giant sink hole because the original excavator dug a
hole and then abandoned the job. 4 months later Mary and Chris found a
well seasoned excavator. His company 'Jodi excavation' (Jodi is named
after his boys John and Dick) have been working ever since. This
includes working in temperatures below 0. Unfortunately with all the
recent snow, the 'big dig' can't be filled in until the frost and snow
melts. In the meantime polar bears have been scouting the area. They
think it would make a great vacation home. Mary and Chris hope the snow
melts and the parking area is finished before the bears return. Click here for a sketch of the finished product.
It's Time For a New Years Celebration - Our Upper Falls
neighbor, the Tzu Chi Foundation on Summer St, invite all of their
Upper Falls neighbors to join them on Sat March 28, 2 PM for their
annual lunar New Year celebration. The event will feature music
performances, gifts, refreshments, snacks, update on Tzu Chi's work
around the world, panel discussion and an inter-denominational group
prayer ceremony.
Music at Carriaghouse Violins - Violinist Mari Black
and guitarist Joseph Carmichael will be bringing a spirited tour of
fiddle music from around the world to Upper Falls on Thurs April 16, 8
PM -- brilliant Scottish dance sets, classic swing tunes, rolling Irish
jigs, luscious Argentine tangos, beloved American folk songs, haunting
highland airs, and more!
Get your tickets here while they last.
Who is Our Special High School Junior? - The Upper Falls Area Council will be bestowing the First Annual
Ken Newcomb Upper Falls Book Award in June to a high school junior who best combines contributions to the Newton Upper Falls community, good character, and good academic performance.
Nominations should include a short essay explaining why the candidate is deserving of the award. Nominations can be sent to
any member of the Area Council. Deadine is May 15
The winner will be recognized at a ceremony in June and be given a $50 gift certificate to New England Mobile Book Fair and a copy of The Makers of the Mold, Ken Newcomb’s history of Newton Upper Falls.
March's Meeting - The Upper Falls Area Council's
monthly meeting will be held next Thursday, March 19 at 7 PM in the
Pettee Community Center. All are welcome.
Apartment Wanted - Vicki Gold is dying to move to Upper
Falls. If anyone knows of a small apartment for a lovely woman and her
indoor cat for $1200 or less, contact vgold@vickigold.com.
Newton School Committee Is All Ears -
(submitted
by Margaret Albright) The Newton School Committee will receive the
proposed NPS budget on March 13 and begin its review and discussion on
March 16. We will be holding office hours on March 16 following our
School Committee meeting which begins at 4:30; office hours will start
at approximately 6:15 or 6:30 and end at approximately 7:15. The School
Committee is eager to try this new format in order to provide you with
another opportunity to provide feedback
in addition to the other times for public comments. We welcome
questions and input and stress that this will mainly be a listening
format. We are not trying to solve problems or make promises but are
there to listen to concerns, questions and suggestions. The format will
be: School Committee members, in teams of at least two, will be
available in room 210 at the Ed Center (100 Walnut St.) from 6:30 to
7:15. The meeting will be an Open Meeting and may be televised by NewTV.
This is a casual format. We will sit with individuals or groups and
listen to concerns/questions about the budget. In order to facilitate as
many individuals as possible, we’d like to meet with each person/group
for approximately 10 minutes. The budget documents will be available in
advance. If you have questions, or would like to sign up in advance,
please contact us at schoolcommittee@newton.k12.ma.us
Did You Know ... that The Turn of the Screw has been made into 6 movies, 11 TV movies, 3 plays, an opera, a ballet and a musical.
Did You know ..." features an interesting and random fact every issue,
collected by 7th grade Upper Falls resident Ian Wittler but was
shamelessly hijacked this issue by the Upper Falls News editor as part
of his endless promotional efforts on behalf of the Newton Nomadic
Theater.
Send Us Your News - If you have any upcoming events,
activities, news, trivia, stories, anecdotes or jokes related to Upper
Falls just send them to
news@UpperFallsNews.org
and we'll include them in the next newsletter. For those who prefer
living in the past, back issues of the Upper Falls News are archived at
UpperFallsNews.org.