Dear Friends of Hemlock Gorge:
2012 has been a year of excellent progress for the Friends, and with your help, 2013 will be even better.
News for 2012:
Spillway Dike
The 106 year old spillway dike was replaced with a very nicely designed structure and new landscaping. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Edward Lambert, Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation expressed his knowledge of and support for Hemlock Gorge and the Friends.
Cleanups
The Friends fall cleanup and summer concert were highly successful, well attended, and well covered in local papers. The Tzu Chi Buddhist Center recruited many volunteers for the fall cleanup.
Award
Historic Newton honored Friend Jerry Reilly for publishing and selling “Makers of the Mold”.
Stone Building Windows
The windows and protective screening have at length been installed at the Stone Building. Thanks again to John and Amy Mah Sangiolo, whose Charles River Neighborhood Foundation Trust made a gift of $1,000 to help pay for the windows. In addition, the unsightly concrete blocks by the building have been removed and replaced with landscaping boulders.
Adelgid and Pest Wars
Many hemlocks remain despite the adelgids, and the Asian longhorned beetle has not appeared.
Our Benefactors
We also recognize our indebtedness to Dunn-Gaherin Restaurant and Karen Osborne-Shanley (Our “Empress of the Gorge”) who generously pay the cost of many of our activities including the clean-up luncheons, our holiday party, and the summer picnic entertainment. Friends’ Benefactor has been honored by the Newton Economic Development Commission.
The Friends’ Web site (http://www.hemlockgorge.org )
The Friends’ Web site, online since 1996, continues to generate interest and inquiries from far and wide. There have been nearly 41,000 visitors to our site and more than 8,000 visitors to Ken Newcomb’s book on the history of Newton Upper Falls, Makers of the Mold. The web site continues to be one of our major assets.
In 2013, we can build on this record.
- Renew your membership by filling in the accompanying form and support us with your dues.
- Indicate which projects on the work plan on the accompanying page that you believe deserve priority for allocating the Friends’ advocacy efforts and your dues.
- Attend one of monthly meetings. These are held in the Emerson Community Center on Pettee Street at 7:30 p.m., usually on the first Tuesday of the month. Please be part of our work.
With best wishes,
Brian Yates, President
John P. Mordes, M.D., Membership Coordinator and Webmaster