The City of Boston Parks & Recreation Department recently unveiled plans for preserving green space in Charlestown over the course of the next five years.
In its Open Space Plan 2008-2012, the agency outlines ways of making Charlestown part of a “more livable urban development” and examines specific approaches to achieve this goal in what are identified as the neighborhood’s four distinct geographical areas: Town Hill/Breed’s Hill (the primarily residential, southern section of Charlestown), Bunker Hill/Little Mystic, the Charlestown Navy Yard and Rutherford Avenue and the Neck.
The plan proposes several ways to improve public access to the water in Bunker Hill/Little Mystic, which is described as the area containing most of the one- and two-family houses occupied by the town’s older families. These strategies include revitalizing the abandoned public boat ramp that allows access to the Little Mystic Channel; preserving existing views of the waterfront from within the neighborhood and making developers aware of this need; and supporting zoning and design guidelines incorporated in the City of Boston’s Municipal Harbor Plan, “especially the requirement for 50-percent open space designations for all projects along the waterfront.”
In addition, the plan suggests improving residential access to the Navy Yard via “planning for designated paths from the Chelsea Street edge of the Yard at Gates 4, 5 and 6.”
As for Rutherford Avenue and the Neck, described as the western side of Charlestown that borders Somerville and is “dominated” by transportation arteries, the plan proposes that the Parks & Recreation Department work closely with the Boston Transportation Department to assure that open space is provided for during the implementation of the Rutherford Avenue Corridor Study. The $14.5 million study, which is being spearheaded by the BTD, along with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the city’s Public Works Department, intends to reconfigure Rutherford Avenue to facilitate traffic flow.
The plan also suggests coordinating an effort between the Parks & Recreation Department, the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts Highway Department to create pedestrian and bicycle paths that would connect the New Charles River Reservation and Paul Revere Park with DCR-owned parklands in the North End, Back Bay and Beacon Hill.
Other neighborhood-wide opportunities that the plan suggests include funding capital improvements to Barry Park, the John Harvard Mall, Rutherford-Union Playground Winthrop Square, Cook Street and the Ryan Playground. Partnerships between the private and public sectors for park improvement projects are suggested as well.
The plan also encourages the development of the East Coast Greenway connection to Boston through Charlestown, as well as supporting the Mystic River Corridor Strategy in its effort to create more open space along the river.
Among the community priorities that the plan proposes are the expansion of programming for the Courageous Sailing Center at Pier 4 and the installation of lighting with an “historical look” at the Phipps Street and Bunker Hill cemeteries.
To view the City of Boston Parks & Recreation Department’s Open Space Plan 2008-2012 in full, visit http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/openspace2007draft.asp.

Two months after assuming the role of headmaster at Charlestown High School, Dr. Margaret “Ranny” Bledsoe appeared at last week’s Charlestown Neighborhood Council meeting to discuss the progress of the school year so far.
“We’ve had a really start to the year,” Bledsoe said. “We’ve had a very peaceful year, and things are going better.”
While Bledsoe acknowledged arrests had been made at the school for fighting and knife possession this year and that a student was the victim of a shooting in Mattapan last month, she also cited some of the school’s recent academic successes. Charlestown High was recognized as a bronze-medal winner in U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best High Schools” edition. The school also scored above the state average in math on MCAS and has the fourth highest number of advanced scores on MCAS in the Boston, behind only the city’s three exam schools.
Bledsoe credited the faculty chosen by the school’s past headmaster, Dr. Michael Fung, for these achievements.
“Michael Fung hired a wonderful staff,” she said. “We have an unusually skilled staff.”
The school year has gotten off to a strong start athletically as well, Bledsoe said, with the women’s volleyball team reaching the State Tournament and the boy’s soccer team making it to both the City Championship and the State Tournament.
Despite the accomplishments on the athletic field and in the classroom, Bledsoe said Charlestown High wasn’t a popular choice among top students in the Boston Public Schools lottery system — particularly with those from the neighborhood — and that the school was often assigned students who performed at a lower academic level instead.
“We need to strengthen Charlestown’s image in the city,” Bledsoe said. “And this community needs Charlestown High to become a stronger school.”
Bledsoe said she doesn’t expect the transformation to happen overnight, adding that a dramatic change in a school is usually described as a five-year process.
In the meantime, Bledsoe said the school has designed brochures in the hope of attracting desirable students and will likely hold a large festival to celebrate the school year this spring.
And Bledsoe emphasized that she is committed to seeing Charlestown High become an integral part of the community once more.
“It has to become reintegrated into the community,” she said.

The USS Constitution held its annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in the Navy Yard Sunday afternoon.

PHOTO 1 CAPTION: Santa is seen with Ronin O'Hara just after lighting the tree.

PHOTO 2 CAPTION: USS Constitution Cdr. William A. Bullard appears with his family, left to right, his wife Sarah (wife), 2-year- old Olivia, 3-month old Joshua, 8-year-old Liam and 4-year-old Fay.

PHOTO 3 CAPTION: Matt and Catherine McGrath appear alongside Santa and Jim Murphy.

PHOTO 4 CAPTION: Vlad Sachek shares his Christmas wish list with Santa.

Christmas lights and decorations pop up all over town and the first snow has coated the ground signifying the time of year when a group of residents start planning for a Christmas program for Charlestown’s elderly. Christmas can be a very sad and lonely time of year for the needy, elderly shut-in. While the rest of us may be gift giving, card writing and caught up in the tinsel and glitter, there are others for whom Christmas is just another lonely day. In Charlestown, however, residents remember the true meaning of the Christmas season. Through Townie Santa, elderly, needy shut-ins who might otherwise be alone or forgotten, receive a visit from Santa, who could be anyone, but represents everyone, and lets the person know, yes, we remember you.
In its 27th year, Townie Santa, through donations and the efforts of volunteers, provides many of Charlestown’s elderly shut-ins with a hot turkey dinner and gifts on Christmas Day. Townie Santa was born from a conversation between four Charlestown residents in November 1982, centering around the idea that something should be done for the shut-ins. In less than one month’s time, this group expanded, money was raised, meals cooked and 48 baskets were delivered. The four probably never anticipated that their discussion would be so contagious.
Townie Santa has a unique way of drawing residents together who may not otherwise share similar interests. One reason for the attraction, states a committee member, is the simple fact that Townie Santa is a good cause. Another reason may be that Charlestown community responsibility of taking care of one’s own. Or, more importantly, it may be the joy one receives from giving – something too personal for words. Whatever the reason, the number of volunteers grows with each passing year.
Townie Santa welcomes back a faithful contingent each year and expands with new faces from all parts of Charlestown. Some of them pack the gift baskets, others deliver them and others do the work behind the scenes. Last year, there were volunteers from as young as 6 to over 75 years of age. Almost 300 people donated either time, money, gifts or services in 2006.
Letters are sent to merchants, businesses and organizations within and affecting Charlestown, seeking contributions to the Townie Santa fun. Many individual Charlestown residents also choose to contribute monetary donations to the effort. All donations are publicly acknowledged in the Patriot-Bridge, however, as many as 10 percent of those who contribute wish to remain anonymous, donating just for the sake of Christmas. In 1982, the Townie Santa fund was approximately $1,000. In 2006, this figure rose to nearly $8,000. However, this does not truly reflect the total in donations received, since no value is placed on the gift donations. All the money received, with the exception of postage costs, goes directly to the gift baskets.
The selection of the names of recipients for a Christmas package is not an enviable or easy task. There is a screening committee who researches the names that are submitted and determines who will receive a basket. Those who are considered eligible are persons over 60 years of age who are shut-in with limited finances and family contact. Despite the screening committee’s hard work, there is always someone else who also deserves a basket.
“You never get everyone,” said a committee member. “You often hear later that we missed someone, but that’s through no fault of the screening committee. This is why we ask the cooperation of agencies and residents in submitting names – and we are asking that the names be submitted by Wednesday, Dec. 19, to allow us an opportunity to finalize the list of recipients before it gets too close to the day of delivery.”
If you know of someone who would benefit from a visit from Townie Santa, please take a moment to fill out the coupon elsewhere on this page so that the person may be considered for a visit from Santa.
This year, Townie Santa continues the tradition of bringing Christmas cheer to Charlestown’s elderly who have limited finances and family contact. This year, like last year, the deliveries will take place on Christmas Day, a day that can be one of the loneliest days of the year for those with little family contact.
One committee member stated, “We wanted to bring back the focus on the Christmas Spirit and we realized last year that part of that mission was fortified with a visit by our helpers on Christmas day – a day we can help brighten for someone who will be alone.”
This year, we will be providing our recipients with a hot meal, a festive Christmas gift basket, a live plant, fresh fruit, and a gift certificate that will allow them to purchase groceries. We will also be encouraging our volunteer elves to take the time to visit with each recipient and brighten their day. Please consider taking a few minutes out of your family’s holiday to brighten the day of someone else. A committee member concluded, “These gifts do more than supply a person some much-needed personal items and increase their access to groceries– they tell the shut-in that we, their neighbors, haven’t forgotten them.”
As the holidays near, keep your eyes open for an announcement of scheduled sessions for making gift baskets and of course, save some time on Christmas Day for the delivery of the packages and good will. For additional information, call Debbie Lang at 617-242-3878 or Tim Conway at 617-241-9266.

For the fourth consecutive year, Charlestown Against Drugs’ Christmas for Kids program aims to make the holidays a merrier time for the town’s underprivileged children.
“The goal of the program is to identify families in need during the holiday season,” said CHAD member and Boston Police Area A-1 Community Service Officer Michael Charbonnier, who is coordinating this year’s effort. “It amazes me to see how concerned parents are about making ends meet around the holidays.”
Christmas for Kids is the result of a collaboration between CHAD, the Boston Police Community Service Office, the John F. Kennedy Family Service Center and the Charlestown Boys & Girls Club, with additional funding from the Boston Police Athletic League and the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association.
Officer Steve Green of the Boston Police launched the program four years ago after he identified families in need of assistance while working in Charlestown. Green then went on to raise over $2,000, the bulk of which came from a Boston Police Athletic League grant. And with help from the aforementioned organizations, Christmas for Kids was able to successfully reach out to many disadvantaged families in the community.
“Families shouldn’t be stressed about paying their heating bill, paying their taxes and trying to provide a nice meal and gifts for their kids,” Green said.
Meanwhile, Charbonnier urges residents to assist CHAD in giving kids the best Christmas possible.
“CHAD’s Christmas for Kids program will hopefully make some families’ holiday a little or a lot more enjoyable,” he said. “We can use all the help we can get.”
If you have any questions regarding the program, call Officer Michael Charbonnier at the District Area A-1 Community Service Office at 617-343-4627 or CHAD Chairman Peter Looney at 617-699-3501. Donations can be sent to Christmas for Kids, c/o Charlestown Against Drugs, P.O. Box 35, Charlestown, MA 02129.