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. 

Where am I? - Here's a photo of a spot in Upper Falls without its surrounding context.  The game is to look at the photo and identify where in Upper Falls this little garage is.  Hint - it's in a prominent spot (answer below).
 

Throw Your Hat in the Ring - Upper Falls is one of only two villages that have an Area Council.  The council has only been up and running for less than a year and a half but it's already made quite a difference.  The Area Council has been instrumental in nearly everything that's been happening lately in the "Falls" - The Upper Falls Greenway, the revived Village Day, planning a new playground, even this newsletter you are reading.  Our council got off to such a fine start, that there are now three other villages working diligently to set up their own Area Council.

The Area Council is an elected body of the Newton government.  It's made up of nine members, all of whom are Upper Falls residents.  It is our neighborhood's official voice to the city.  This coming November, a new Area Council will be elected.  If you live in Upper Falls and would like to get more actively involved in the neighborhood, consider running for one of the nine seats.  It's very easy.  Go to the Election Dept at City Hall and pick up "nomination papers", collect 25 signatures (with a few extra in case any are disqualified) from registered voters who live in Upper Falls.  Return them by July 1 and you'll be on November's ballot.  The council meets once a month and the term last two years, no previous experience needed.  If you might consider a run, contact Anil Adyanthaya or any of the current councilors for more details.  If you need help collecting signatures, contact us and we'll give you a hand.

See What It's All About - The May meeting of the Upper Falls Area Council is next Thursday, May 16 at 7PM in the Emerson Center.  Stop by, listen in, meet the councilors, and find out what they're working on at the moment.

Upper Falls Over Easy - Last Sunday morning about 30 folks turned out for breakfast cooked over the open fire in Hemlock Gorge.  Here's a few photos.  Many thanks to our Upper Falls egg suppliers Dean Whitney and Julie Irish, our Nonantum egg suppliers Megara Bell and Brian Flaherty, to our guest chefs Tom O'Connor, Liz Reilly and Jeff Riklin, and to everyone who brought all sorts of wonderful additions to fill out the breakfast menu.

Thanks to You All - Last issue we reported that Upper Falls lifer, Bruce Marcy is moving to North Carolina.  On Friday night, Jack and Judy Neville had a great send-off party for Bruce and roughly sixty people turned up over the course of the night.  My favorite guest was the Federal Express driver who came because he knows Bruce from his route.  It turned out that the FedEx guy seemed to know more people at the party than just about anyone since he delivers to us all.  Bruce sends his heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who came and said that he couldn't have had a better going away party.

Riding in The Rumble Seat - Reader Larry Smith sent this message - "I lived next door to Bruce Marcy on High Street for 15 years. He is a real nice guy. I was a close friend of the family. His older brother was my age and was a good friend of mine. Sadly he died about a year ago. He lived in Texas.

One of the fun things I vividly remember was riding in the rumble seat of his father’s car. This is what the car looked like and it was always exciting when his dad would take us out for a ride in the rumble seat. We had no seat belts back then.  Most people today wouldn’t know what you’re talking if you said rumble seat. His father also ran for alderman back in the 40’s. Hardly any people owned cars back then and relied on public transportation. I’d love to go for another ride in the rumble seat but those days are gone forever."

If anyone knows where we can find an antique car with a rumble seat, I think it's time to organize a neighborhood rumble ride.

Connecting the Dots - An unlikely trail leads from Bruce Marcy (above) to North Carolina and right back here to another notable Upper Falls resident.  Bruce's daughter-in-law in Charlotte NC was telling an office mate about Bruce's imminent move to Charlotte.  The co-worker asked where he was moving from.  When she told him Newton Upper Falls, the co-worker said that there was a PGA (Professional Golf Association) hall-of-famer that comes from Newton Upper Falls.  It turns out to be our Area Councilor Jack Neville.  Jack's lived and breathed golf since he was kid - he's been everything from captain of Newton High's golf team to the head pro at Brookline Golf Club, Martin Memorial in Newton and Ponkopoag in Canton.  Maybe that explains why the Neville house on High Street always has that putting green quality grass on the front lawn.

Drones Over Braceland - On Wednesday, a warm beautiful blue sky morning, these two small aircraft were flying over Braceland Park.  Two employees of a local business come down to the park, whenever the conditions are good, to fly their radio controlled plane and helicopter. No aerial surveillance, no Hellfire missiles, just a little early morning fun before going to work.

Welcome Back Neighbor -  Marie Jackson writes "Maybe you have seen the wooden sign outside the lower entrance to the stone barn on Oak Street.  I was intrigued by the sign and knocked and went in.  Ann Kilroy greeted me in a wonderful, huge rustic spaced filled with gleaming hand finished furniture from Sweden and Denmark.  She and her brother started Danish Country Antiques in 1984, with a retail store on Charles Street in Boston, and a warehouse here on Oak Street.  They moved out of Upper Falls in 1998 and just recently moved back to the stone barn after being away for fifteen years.  As a welcome back present, I gave her a copy of Ken Newcomb's, "Makers of the Mold - a history of Newton Upper Falls.

The warehouse is open by appointment, usually only for designers and collectors (and nosy neighbors).  When she's not with customers, Ann works refinishing, polishing and hand-waxing the beautiful antiques ... or maybe just sitting in the corner reading about the history of Upper Falls and the building she's working in."

Hemlock Gorge Creation - Here's an interesting little sculpture/construction that someone built in Hemlock Gorge.  Go across Echo Bridge to the Needham side, go up the stairs, walk straight ahead until you're almost to the path that crosses, and look down the hill to your left.  Looks like the handiwork of gorge elves to me.

Did You Know ... that a snail can sleep for three years?  "Did you know ..." features an interesting and random fact every issue, collected by ten-year-old Upper Falls resident Jayla Reilly.


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.

'Where Am I" Answer - That nice little garage is right at the bend on High St and it's nearly hanging off the cliff that drops to Sullivan Ave.  The back end of the garage foundation looks like it's about six feet below the front.  That property was also the home of Allan Downs, our new Upper Falls News subscriber from New Mexico, who lived there from 1949 - 1960