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 - What supernatural phenomenon drew hundreds of people to the Elliot Street bridge over the Charles River in 1839 (answer below)

The Sun's Going to Shine - Two weeks ago, the scheduled neighborhood walk of the Upper Falls Greenway trail was a washout with torrential rain.  Only a few hearty souls took a ramble in the rain.  So we'll try again this Saturday, June 16.  The weather forecast this time around is looking great.   Come join your neighbors and earn yourself a FREE ICE CREAM!

On Saturday morning from 10 AM to noon, walk the trail to the Charles River and you will be handed a token.  Walk to the other end of the trail at Easy St/National Lumber and you'll get a 2nd token.  Take the two tokens to the Upper Falls Variety store and trade them in for the ice cream or Slush of your choice.  Many thanks to the Upper Falls CDC and the Variety Store for sponsoring the Greenway walk.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time - Two men were arrested last Sunday night while climbing the antenna tower off Chestnut St with parachutes on their backs.  They were about halfway up the 1100 foot high tower before being talked down by the police.

Countryside Family to the Rescue - On Tuesday night, this article was posted on the Newton Patch describing Countryside school's Outdoor Classroom project.  The project is three years in the making and needs about $5000 to be completed for next fall.  Early the next morning Countryside's principal received a message from a Countryside graduate, whose family offered to donate the funds for the entire project.  The Outdoor Classroom crew of parents, teachers and volunteers are absolutely thrilled that one family's generosity is going to make this plan a reality!

The Gardens of Upper Falls - A plan is afoot to put together an Open Gardens of Upper Falls event sometime in the future.  The general idea would be recruit as many Upper Falls gardeners as possible to open up their back yard to visitors on a single day for a walking tour.  We certainly hope to recruit the people with unique or elaborate gardens.  We'd love though for everyone with a garden to participate.  Even the most modest garden always has something of interest.  

If you'd consider opening your garden for the event or if you'd like to help organize the event, send an email to Liz Reilly and let her know.

Braceland Park Takes Shape - Work seems to be coming along nicely on the refurbishment of Braceland Park.  The old tennis courts and fences have been removed and it looks like work on the new tennis courts are about to begin.   The new pathway is all laid out and the bordering curbs have been laid.  Out on the street, the two opposite sidewalks have been dug up for "curb cuts" to make way for the new crosswalk.  This morning they were pouring the concrete.   Despite the recent iffy weather it looks like the project's proceeding well.

Summer Schedule - As the temperatures slowly rise, activity slowly falls.  The Upper Falls News will most likely switch to a more leisurely once-every-two-weeks publishing schedule over the summer months.  The editor will be away for the summer and publishing The News remotely. He'll be relying even more than usual on all you readers to send neighborhood news to him at news@UpperFallsNews.org.  He does have a good news sense, so don't you more mischievous readers try sending him fabricated news stories - e.g. "Charles River to be re-routed through Newton Highlands"

Have We Got a Deal For You - How do you park for free in a City lot?  Where can you go for lunch for $1.75?  What do you have to do to get $1000 off your property taxes?  If you are a Senior or look after a Senior you can find out at the next Area Council Meeting, where Marian Knapp from the Newton Council on Aging will be answering these and many other questions about the deals and services available to senior citizens in Newton.  7 PM, Thursday June 21 at the Emerson Community Center.

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.  For those who prefer living in the past, back issues of the Upper Falls News are archived at UpperFallsNews.org.

Trivia Answer - The Baby Ghost appeared on a rock in the river. "It was naked, and would rapidly pass back and forth from the rock to the water for an hour, and then disappear for the day.  The ghost was about as large as a ten-months-old-child.  All could see it pass back and forth from the rock to the water; no one saw it go away, but it always disappeared.  The excitement for a week was fearful."

After a few days a young man went to the rock to investigate, captured the ghost, and brought it to the crowd for inspection.  It was found to be a piece of glass .. and the sun at the right elevation ... reflected in the glass, produced the appearance of the 'baby ghost'" - from Mr. Sweester's account in Ken Newcomb's "Makers of the Mold - A History of Newton Upper Falls".