The Friends of Hemlock Gorge
Annual Letter to Members, 2014
December 3, 2014
Dear
Friends of Hemlock Gorge:
2014 has been a very productive year for the Friends. .
- Our cleanups of the Gorge
have discouraged visitors from leaving trash and allowed us to expand our
activities. Our pruning crew has opened new vistas to the river. (The one
from in front of the Stone Building off Route 9 is particularly spectacular!)
The crew also put a boat into the section of the river between the two dams
and retrieved a large batch of trash (including a television set!) that was
not accessible by foot. Congratulations to Even Weststrake, Jerry Reilly, Lee
Fisher, and Jeanne Dannenberg, and many others.
- Our cleanups and other
work have inspired our neighbors to the north the Waban Neighborhood Area
Council to form the Friends of Quinobequin and extend cleanup and cut back
efforts to the Parkway to the north of Route 9. We wish them luck and will
continue offer help.
- We have participated in the
Feast at the Falls organized by Jerry Reilly, Karen Osborn, and Seanna
Gaherin, who continues to be a major donor in support of our activities.
- As more people learn about
the Reservation and it gets even more beautiful, it becomes more attractive
for community activities. It's worth noting that the first performance of
the Newton Nomadic Theatre was held in the Evergreen Violins offices
overlooking the Gorge.
- The Friends, the Gorge, and
Upper Falls got a tremendous plug with a segment on Channel Five's
"Chronicle". J.C. Monahan and her crew did a terrific job. View it
at this website:
http://www.wcvb.com/chronicle/happening-hoods-newton-upper-falls/28241414
In 2015, we hope to build on the successes of
the past. We will pay most of the cost of new fences like those along the
Eastern Raceway in front of the Stone Building. Karen Osborn will continue to
upgrade the landscaping in front of the Stone Building. We hope to add an
informational kiosk there as well as well as upgrade the one near the parking in
Needham at the other end of the Reservation.
In order to maintain this progress, we need
your help, in the form of contributions, participation in our cleanups and our
picnic, and specialized work on everything from the designing, buying, and
installing the fences, installing and tending the kiosks to exploring the use of
goats to control poison ivy.
We meet the first Tuesday of every month other
than July and August at 7:30 P.M. in the Emerson Community Center. Visit
www.hemlockgorge.org for news and updates.
We hope to get your return mail, and see you at
our activities, and at our meetings. Thank you for all you've done for Hemlock
Gorge and for all you do for it in 2015.
With best wishes,
Brian Yates
John P. Mordes, M.D.
President
Membership Coordinator and Webmaster\
This page last modified December 26, 2014
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