The Upper Falls News is an email newsletter about what's going 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. 

Upper Falls Trivia - Where was the Upper Falls Library and when did it close? (answer below)

Clean the Green -  The Upper Falls Greenway clean up is this Sun, April 29 and is part of the citywide annual NewtonSERVES day.  Volunteers will meet at 9:30 AM at The Depot Coffee Shop at the corner of Chestnut and Oak.  Everyone welcome!  For more info or to sign up, click here.  Whether you're signed up or not, come on down and pitch in.   By the end of the day, with your help, we should have a cleared, walkable path from the river to National Lumber.  It should take a year or so to build the Greenway bike trail but in the meantime, once it's cleared out and cleaned up on Sunday, we'll have a mile long walking trail to use now.

Parking Lot Improvements - At the request of the Area Council, the condo association patched the parking lot at the Emerson Community Center this week.  As one observer described the work - "well it's not exactly as smooth as a baby's bottom" and another said "it looks like a 5 cent patch job" but it is a start and a definite improvement over the gaping holes.  Thanks to the Area Council for the prodding and thanks to the condo association for addressing it so promptly.

A Neighborhood Proposal - Here's an interesting Hemlock Gorge proposal.

Spillway Dike - A new sign went up on the bottom of Ellis St this week.  The project going on there is officially called the "Restoration of the Hemlock Gorge Spillway Dike".  Here's a few photos of the new temporary dam that was just installed.

Upper Falls Ran and Ran and Ran - Dunn Gaherin's marathoners, owner Seana Gaharin and bartender Kate Stanton, ran this year's marathon despite the debilitating heat on the day of the race.  Kate finished at 4:36 and Seana made it to the 19 mile mark which is about 18.5 miles beyond where most of the rest of us could run to.  Our hearty congratulations to both Kate and Seana for the grueling run and the thousands of dollars they raised for Project Hope and the Alzheimer's Association.

Graffiti Squad - The MWRA had a crew over at Echo Bridge last Friday to remove the recent graffiti under the main arch.  More info here.

Friends on Facebook - The Friends of Hemlock Gorge have had a web page full with info since the early day of the web (1992).  Check out the way-cool panoramic photos of Echo Bridge about half way down the main page.   This week they've added a new Facebook page.  So if you like Hemlock Gorge then "Like" the Friends of Hemlock Gorge on Facebook and they'll keep you informed of their ongoing activities.

Power of Upper Falls - Upper Falls resident Jerry Reilly has been writing an occasional neighborhood column for the Newton Patch.  Here's his latest column about the water power of the Charles River through Hemlock Gorge .

Upper Falls Area Council - The Upper Falls Area Council is your voice to the city.  Their next meeting is on Thursday, May 17 at 7pm at the Emerson Community Center on Pettee St.   If you have ideas, concerns, or questions about anything happening in the village, send an email to the council, come to the meeting, or both.

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 info@UpperFallsNews.org and we'll include them in the next newsletter. 

Trivia Answer - The Upper Falls Library was in the basement  of the Emerson School.  As you entered from the High Street entrance, the Library was to the left.  After the School was closed about thirty years ago and sold for condos, the branch library was relocated to the all purpose room in the Emerson Center (where the Countryside after school program and the Upper Falls Neighborhood Area Council now meet).  The city bookmobile also visited once a week during this period. This version of the branch closed about fifteen years ago.  Thanks to alderman Brian Yates for this week's trivia question

Extra Credit Trivia Question - When did the first public library open in Upper Falls? Answer: In January 1900, the Newton Upper Falls Reading Room Association opened the first public library in Upper Falls in the Arcanum Hall (51-53 High St).  They raised $600 and the city matched that with another $600.  Previous to this there had been a few private and church libraries in the village.  - excerpted from Ken Newcomb's "Makers of the Mold - a History of Newton Upper Falls"