Coming next week: Celea... ....... 's 200th birthday 1Co mmunity Newspaper Company • allstonbrlg tontab.com FRIDAY, FEBRUARY Vol. 11, No . 27 • 40 Pages • 4 Sections 75¢ CHESTNUT HILL CHANGES Blowing up a vocabul y Reservoir ehab to begin By Karen Elowltt STAFF WRITER • he Chestnut Hill Reservoir Reservoir area IS about to get a faceUft to include: Tmuch-ne<oded facelift as • Removal of 1929 fence the Department of Conserv;tion that borders Beacon and and Recreation kicks off the first faces Waterworks condos phase of reno~ations amid con­ (this spring) . cerns that not air aspects of the • Pathway rehabilitation plan were adequatelY vetted by (September) mterested members of the public. • Vegetation management The DCR held a meeting Tues­ day rnght to present the fmal Chestnut Hill Reservation Re­ stonewall repair. source Management Plan, which ."The intent of the RMP was to mcludes measures to improve OJltigate the loss of landscape . both the look and usability of the character and deteriorating his­ park. These plans include re­ tOflc features," said Wendy Pearl moval of the 1929 fencing along r.fUject manager for the DCR' We unplemented an adaptive re~ ~J~h Lee plays with some of the 1,000 ballOO s Inflated by fourtf Beacon Street, rehabbing public one of the 1,000. yocabulary words the .tpdents haYe "'-~I• year. at the Jackson-MannI School. pathways, comprehensive vege­ use strategy which will rehab cer- tallon management, and By Karen Elowltt RESERVOIR, page 11 STAFF WRI TER We want to in.~"""'''' A little snow was not oing to stop the sec­ rAIN IN THE NEI HBORHOOD7 ond-graders at the Jackson Mann School cning *'1II1II111 from celebnlliDc .. on 1"'''4 , Wednesday. After mastering 100 vocabulary words in ",ud:>. 100 days, the stuQents were treated to a party revealed in the school's theater, which was filled with !Dto ttf theater and lary study. 1,000 brightly colored balloons. BALLOO~S , page 20 ,- The lQO..words-in- IOO-days contest was "Our goal was for them to oot only learn the second-grade teaChers' idea for a culmi­ the 100 wonb, speak each of them nating activity to cap their efforts at vocabu- ByKaren~ STAFf YiRfT!R IJuiIding a new a With conslIUction set to begin Construction begins: • on the new Emergency Depart­ April 2007 obilize against ment in just a few months, offi­ Construction ends: eSl ents cials from St. Elizabeth's Med­ December 2008 Community involvement s rges, as university eXloa11i1S ical Center are reas&uring nearby attlmdJanot'ls surges, residents that impact to their plan at the taSk force m",:tinl; F(:~ I The recent hurst I)f activity corresponds outg;ro¥'l mee,tinig space neighborhoods will be minimal. By Karen Elowltt with two recent university endeavors that Representatives from the con­ 8, describing measures that STAFF WRITER Evidence of S ~~~~:~~ninter- taken to mitig;j/e noise, yj'ibrationW, h~ve the potenti to hugely affect resi­ esl was clear the f Task slIUction company chosen to build North Allston is witnessing a surge in de ts in both the .,bort and long tenn - Force m""ting qn Feb. 12, . approxi- the ED presented a comprehen­ dust an~ po~tial , parking cOf\llIlunity involvement, as Harvard's namely, the Jan. 11 filing of the 50-year sive conslIUction management HOSPITAL, page expansion plans are causing more and M ter Plan, and the imminent start of the HAIII,VA,RD, page 20 more residents to mobilize into grassroots m seum project. action. transition to Americ INSIDE Tutors help tranUIJ.a.- By Judy w_rman y COflRESPONOEHT Tbe Literab Twenty years ago, four r ired Connection i. and nuns from the Sisters oti St. be Joseph didn't want their teac . g will always a skills to go to waste. They ct. id­ part of my life." ed to offer English classes ~ the many n w residents of Allston­ Ming Thu Cheng, Literacy Brighton who carne bere from Connection student different countries. By reaching out and enliSting the help f other nuns and teach­ three students. ers, they were able to esViblish Sister Joarme Gallagher CSJ, the Literacy Connection, ' ~hich communications ooordinator for today h~ 63 tutors and 150 stu­ the Sisters of SL Joseph, said Lit­ dents. ~ waiting list is more eracy Connection students are "glad to be here, and do than 200. = But the numbers don't II the America as a land of opportuni­ PYCCKOE whole story. Sister Patrio An­ ty." But, she adde<l. "their I1PHJ\.oJKEHHE! drews CSJ, Literacy Connection nection to their nal1\'e counll)' director, said in a recenJ inter­ real and deep. In many view it's not just about 1ii8cbing they left their homeland ~SEEPAGE18 English, rather "it's aiJ(JlIt the duress, but they beauty of people." Sister Pat, as shown integrity, she is known, said it's a ~ift just inner faith. It's ~n a amnCUIl\ journey, but they want to be their children, knowing to meet these people and =lif e how to survive day to day in !!I.5. from their perspective. We are contributing members of minutes helps them ask for directions or umlel!'\aDd­ American society, whether it's TUTORS, 8 their tutors, but we "become their here, too." 'h. t ,.,>th Not only do they Commentary y navigating the school system for mentors and their friends," said Working with f:iterac En l~lis lh , but they also learn Sister Pat, who herself tutors nection tutors on"["n-one communItY Notes 10 7 \I.\EL Crime Mortgage UIIROI'R local knowledge. 23 I.lbnIIY Notes Sports Experienced aIlS'~erS . Expert Cleaning • Shirt SeIVlce Oak Square YMCA 6 Auto 6 '5 Washington St people J Peoples AII fN ork done on premises. BriW-,on, MA 02'35 Work Injuries federal Savtnp Bank Tel. Washington Street .." 617-782 535 Allston 229 NoM HaIvard Street T.~ www.ymcoboSIO'1.org 20 Franklin Sl., Il,rigillon Brighlon 43~ Markel Street 611-254-9730 (61n 2~707'_FDIC www .pfsb.com (6 17) 737-H700 -r .. - - , .' - , TAB 2007 No By AllSTON-8RIGHTONBill M:,:~:~ I SOCIETY Here's the answer to this week's contest (we two local businessmen and real estate speculators, was populflY known as Wilson's Park, after tation of "Old Glory" and from which they also gave you the hint last week): Above we see Benjamin F: Ricker and George A. W~, mem­ influeu,ti·a1 cpnlraclor George A. WtIson, who sang such patriotic songs as the "Star Spangled Brighton Square, the park next to the Veronica bers of the caballrnown as ''The Brighton Ring" served as Brighton's state repuesentative in Banner" and "America" to the assembled throng. Smith Senior Center, as it looked about 1910, Dur­ that master:ninded tl", annexation of Brighton to lhdvears following annexation. The building in the background is the old Chest­ ing the Civil War (1861-65), when the demalld for Boston, profiting heavily in the process by the sale here in 1907 that the proceedings were nut Hill Fire Station, constructed in 1873. While cattle reached an all-time high, this half-acre parcel of property, first to the town and then to the city. ~l~~~~~~~~;th~e~c:e~nterurialoftheinco~rntion the abandoned building was extensively damaged of land was used as an annex to the Btll,lhton WtIson and Ricker owned the largest livery stable o town of · in 1807. This was likewise by fire in 1939, its SlllViving walls wereinco~rnt­ Stockyards. in Boston, located on School Street In the late site where I "Living Flag" ceremony was ed in 1943 into th Brighton Municipal building, Brighton Square was acquired by the ty of 1860s, they won the lucrative contract fo~excavat­ ooarly 400 school children, now the Veronica S!hith Senior Center. Boston shortly after Brighton's annexation t:o the ing and stmewOOc at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. and blue costumes were Bill Marchione can be reached at wpmar­ city in 1874. It had previously been the property of While officially called Brighton Square, this ",*mgtod em allla,tform to create a living represen- .chione@rcn. com Help the historical society If you have photos of old Brighton-Allston Next week's in your family photo albums, please coo,icier allowing the Brighton-Allston Historical So­ contest ciety to copy them for possible display nt lhe Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum alldlor This handsome five-story in this column. If you have photos you apartment building stands in a would like to donate, or would be wiUing to conspicuous South Allston loca­ have the Historical Society copy, please COD­ tion, adjacent to one of the neigh­ t.'lCt Bill Marchione at 617-782-8483. borhood's landmark churches. Can you fix its precise location? Please e- . ur answer to . @cnc.com, fax it Rita Riordan to 781-433-8202 or call it in to 781-433-8365. If you leave a Sanuni McGilvray messnge, please spell your name Priscilla Falter slow and clearly and include j your ftrst and last name. Also Nancy Casey leave 'OOf telepbooe Dumber in case 1: neat to contact you with Tommy Woods quesll ns about your answer. Marian Quinn A-Bmuseum grand opening! . The Brighton-Allston Bieen- :::. :, terurial . Committee and the . Brighto~ton Historical Sofi- [. ety corrlially invite you to a ~_ l.. eeption to eelebrnte the Brighton­ ~~ ."'.&J:y SPECIALS Allston Bieenterurial Year and the. grand opening of the Brightoo- 0 :: ATTORNEY Allston Heritage Museum. '. = Two exhibitions will be f€j3"' .. lured: "Brighton Transformoo" 1: and ''The Bull Market." Sa~y Feb. 24, 3 p.m.