The View From Prospect Hill

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday for family and friends to come together, spend precious time away from the doldrums of life and work – to give thanks for what we have and be optimistic for the future. We at The Somerville News have our own personal thanks this season, and of course we have some public thanks to share with the readers of our tome.

We are thankful for the opportunity to run our businesses and reside in this very special city, which enjoys a wonderful combination of the trappings of urban life and the closeness of a tight-knit community where people know their neighbors next door as well as across the city.

We are thankful for a Mayor and a Board of Aldermen who, for the most part, have a common, solid vision of where we should be today as a city and what we need to do to remain viable for many years to come.

We are thankful for the ability of people to “see the forest for the trees” and come together to rebuild broken bridges, mend fences and give others a second chance in business, political and personal arenas.

We are thankful for the people who read our newspaper both in print and online, as well as the people who contribute to its content – we have worked very hard to grow this newspaper and clearly define the differences between news reporting and commentary.

It would be silly to look back, give thanks for things and not take a minute to look ahead and wish for continued success – so here are some items we look forward to this coming year and/or hope will be addressed in some measure:

We hope that this city will keep evolving in positive and efficient manner under this administration, working with all of the elected officials city and district wide.

We hope that the online readers of our paper will enjoy the coming changes for our current website and that we will be successful in our next venture in the first part of the year over in Cambridge.

Most of all – we hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.

Comments

[Carnivore]

Yes, it is always fun to get together and devour some slaughtered birds.

[HonestAbe]

Well now Jamie is is not time to tell all about the past just to let all of your readers the chance to see the real YOU.

[Fool on the Hill]

Obedience to the mayor has its rewards. Respect for the truth has its punishments. Lap dogs get fat. Work dogs learn new tricks.

[Closeness?]

"and the closeness of a tight-knit community where people know their neighbors next door as well as across the city."

Where have you been lately? They might as well put a revolving door at each end of my street as the transients come and go. This is not the 50's, 60's or 70's anymore, it is a city made up of the PDS carpetbaggers and original Somervillians hanging on for dear life. It is a city that is now full of selfish granaola crunchers trying to shove their views and politics down the throat to the rest of us. It is no longer a city of pick up stick ball and flooding Lincoln park to enjoy your neighbors company while skating with your kids. I could go on and on....but what is the point.

[Ron Newman]

Flooding the park for ice skating sounds like a great idea! When did the city last do this?

[Closeness]

Ron,

They haven't done it for years.

When it got cold enough the Fire Department used to flood Lincoln park. Hundreds of neighbors turned out each evening to skate with their kids or just shoot the breeze with their neighbors.

It was a wonderful time that brings back a lot of memories.

[Ron Newman]

I just sent an e-mail to the Mayor, pointing to this page and asking if he would consider reviving this tradition.

[Ron Newman]

I also googled for this combination of words:

somerville flood park ice skate

and found this essay by Noreen O'Brien, from a magazine in Maine:
Glen Park, a huge ballpark, was two doors down from where I lived. Every winter, the City of Somerville would build an ice skating rink by dumping dirt mounds around the perimeter of the park, and then flooding the center with a thick layer of water from fire hydrants. The excitement at the sound of that heavy equipment working out there in early November and knowing what was to come still sends the adrenalin up a notch when I think about it. Then, I could barely think of anything else, and I couldn’t sleep, as I waited for the first freeze of winter to solidify the flooded ball field.

[Cautious]

Great. Then somebody breaks their back and the city gets sued.

[Activities for Teens]

In those days, people didn't sue.
Those were the days when there were activities for kids. Now, it's "get out of the park", "don't hang out at the mall", etc. The lack of activities for kids with no money is much worse during the winter months.
(Please don't suggest the 'Youth Center'!).

[Election]

I know they didn't sue. But now they do. I assume the legalities have been solved by other cities who already do this. No idea.

[Naysayers]

Unbelievable. Some posters in here are so miserable with their own lives that they try to ruin a good idea.

This forum has turned into a miserable, bitching, hatefilled forum that is beyond comprehension!

Merry Christmas to all!!!!!!!!!

[Election]

Who ruined the idea?

[Ron Newman]

I got this reply yesterday from Lesley Hawkins in the Mayor's office:
------
I spoke to our Director of Open Space, Arn Franzen, who confirmed that
certain parks have been flooded to create ice in the past. However, this
was at a time when these parks were simply dirt fields. If this was done
to our parks in their current state it would cause severe damage.
Additionally, as our winters have been warmer recently, it is likely
that this would simply result in large puddles.

While this is a wonderful sentiment, it isn't worth the maintenance
costs that would result.

Thank you and please don't hesitate to contact me in the future.

Lesley Delaney Hawkins
Public Information Officer
City of Somerville