CREDITS: Courtesy of Ken Stone

CAPTION 1: An aerial view of City Square Park.

CAPTION 2: City Square Park.

City Square Park, recognized by Boston Globe Magazine last month as an “example of what is really perfect in this town,” is undisputedly one of the neighborhood’s jewels, but this open space might not even exist if it not for the efforts of Friends of City Square Park and the community.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the Massachusetts Highway Department (DPW), along with elected and officials and residents, began the planning process for the Central Artery North Area Project, which called for the removal of an overhead highway and later the construction of the City Square Tunnel. DPW selected Boston architectural and planning firm Childs Bertram Tseckares & Casedino to help draft community-approved guidelines for land parcels in the area.
Ken Stone, then co-chairman of Charlestown North Area Task Force and now the governor of Friends of City Square Park, suggested that the one area tract of land identified as Parcel 5 be designated as open space in 1986. While the site has been occupied by open space since 1775, traffic lanes and parking lots covered much of the area by that time.
In 1987, the Charlestown North Area Task Force and former State Rep. Richard A. Volke requested that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management (now the Department of Conservation and Recreation) have jurisdiction over the project and appoint a staff person to assist the community in transforming Parcel 5 into a park. The following year, members of the North Area Task Force established the City Square Park Committee, with Stone and Peggy Bradley serving as its co-chairs. (Annette Tecce replaced Bradley in 1989).
City Square Park was designated a Boston Landmark site in 1992 at around the same time that the City Square tunnels were completed. In December of that year, DEM heeded the advice of the City Square Park Committee and the North Area Task Force and selected Boston-based architectural firm Halvorson Company, Inc. to undertake the preliminary and final designs for City Square Park.
In 1994, the City Square Park Committee became Friends of the City Square Park. With Stone serving as governor, the new organization included 20 assistants and directors. (Today, it includes more than 300 members).
A groundbreaking ceremony took place at the park on April 5, 2005, and a formal dedication ceremony took place the following year on Oct. 6, 1996. Stone credits Volke for securing much of the $4 million needed to complete the project from the state.
“City Square Park was designed as a richly-detailed oasis of green, defined by a custom-built ornamental fence on a low granite curb,” Stone said, adding that the park includes more than 70 varieties of trees, shrubs, perennial flowers, groundcovers and grasses.
Among the artwork that adorns the park are representations of the fountain crane (for the Three Cranes Tavern, originally the Great House, that occupied this site in early colonial days), of the cod (for the most important food of New England’s past – fish), of corn (for the Native American culture that planted maize) and of rope (for the sailing and mariner history of the region).
The sculpture of the allegorical figure of “Justice”, sited prominently where Main Street meets City Square, recalls the establishment of the Court of Assistants at this location, documenting Charlestown as the “Birthplace of Justice” in the American colonies. Historic personages native to Charlestown are commemorated in the portrait medallions at each of the pedestrian entrances to the park.
The outcome of City Square Park was deemed so successful that the city used it as a model for designing other open spaces during the Big Dig, Stone said.
Today, City Square Park is an attractive gateway between Charlestown and the rest of the city, thanks in large part to the determination of the community and Friends of City Square Park.
“For many people, it’s the first and last thing you see in Charlestown,” Stone said. ”It’s like the front hall of your home; it leaves a lasting impression.”
For more information on Friends of City Square Park, visit www.citysquarepark.com. Park. To request the group’s most current newsletter, e-mail Friendsofcitysquarepark@gmail.com.

CREDIT: D. Murphy

CAPTION: Rev. James Ronan is seen in the St. Catherine of Siena Church building, which will close next month.

While many parishioners are lamenting the closing of the St. Catherine of Siena Church building in Hayes Square next month, Rev. James Ronan considers it as a difficult but necessary step in the evolution of the St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena parish.
“The new parish in 2008 is stronger and more vibrant than the two parishes were in 2007, but change is hard,” Ronan said.
Ronan was named pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church in January 2005, two months after the Archdioceses of Boston announced that Charlestown, then home to three Catholic parishes, only needed a single parish. The merger between St. Mary and St. Catherine of Siena parishes began that summer as discussions began in regard to combining the two religious studies programs. Religious services were gradually scaled back to a single Mass each weekday at the St. Mary’s Parish building on Winthrop Street, which typically draws about 30 parishioners.
On April 18, 2006, St, Mary and St. Catherine of Siena parishes officially closed and St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena was legally recognized as the new parish for the first time
“We were fully conscious that we were combining two strong, beautiful parishes with long histories in Charlestown into one entity,” Ronan said.
Immediately following the merger, both churches were staffed with between eight and 12 volunteers. But even then, it was inevitable that one of the two sites would eventually close because of the high cost of keeping both churches open. As a result of this, the last Mass takes place at St. Catherine of Sienna Church on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 11 a.m. All future services will take place at St. Mary’s Church on Warren Street.
Ronan said “two undeniable facts of life” explain why Charlestown can’t support three Catholic Parishes anymore. The town’s population has dwindled to approximately 15,000 from 50,000 during its heyday when Masses at all three Catholic churches would be standing room only. Also, Charlestown is no longer almost exclusively made up of Irish Catholics, Ronan said.
While the reasons why the St. Catherine’s Church building will close are undeniable, parishioners of the church can’t help but feel a sense of sadness when remembering the countless Masses, baptisms, first communions and funerals that took place there over the years.
“It’s an extremely difficult time, but we were fortunate enough to be open for the last four years,” said Judy Burton, a St. Catherine’s parishioner for more than 50 years and longtime church volunteer who now works at the St. Mary’s Parish building. “It’s going to be a difficult day, but I can see the future and will continue participating in everything I’ve already contributed to.”
Burton is also confident that Ronan can make the parish vibrant once more, and she hopes that others come to this same realization.
“I know what he’s doing is best for all of us and make it a big, beautiful church again,” she said.
While St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Pastoral Council member Natalie Rizzo, described the decision to close the church as “difficult” and “painful,” she believes the parishioners are far more important than the building than their place of worship.
“The people in our parish are great and being together will only serve to make us stronger,” Rizzo said. ”For me, the people I worship with are much more important than the building I worship in.”
The decision is also made easier by the fact that the parish will still have a presence in Hayes Square: The rectory and other church buildings will remain open and serve as sites for the many social services that the parish sponsors, including the MissionSAFE Charlestown program for at-risk youth, Harvest on Vine food pantry and daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
“A spiritual center and a social center are developing, and they’re not separate,” said Tom MacDonald, the director of social ministries for St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Church. “Hayes Square is the location where all the needs are. These needs aren’t going away and neither is the Catholic Church.”
In response to the town’s changing demographics, Ronan, who is bilingual, delivers sermons in Spanish at St. Catherine of Siena Church each Sunday and is respectful of the Hispanic congregation’s differences in terms of music, prayer, worship and culture.
“The church has always tried to meet people where they are, so in Charlestown we have an active Hispanic ministry,” he said. “My only lament is that it’s not bigger.”
Ronan now looks forward to next month when all the parishioners – regardless of whether they speak English or Spanish - will worship under the same roof at St. Mary’s Church.
With the growing number of families with young children in the parish, the new church is also taking steps to meet their needs, including providing meeting space for a newly formed Cub Scouts troop and launching the Good Shepherd Preschool, an independent Catholic school that will be based on the lower level of St, Mary’s Church.
“Our dream is that the school will be bilingual and be one of many bridges to bring different segments of the community together,” Ronan said.
Parishioners have also launched Catholic Young Adult of Charlestown, which sponsors activities for people in their 20s, 30s and 40s ranging from the Catholic Conversations lecture series to wine tastings. Its biggest annual event, “Best of Charlestown,” is a fundraiser for Harvest on Vine and a local homeless shelter that features food and drink donated by many local restaurants and bars.
For seniors, a member of the congregation who works as an IT engineer is offering free computer tutorials every weekend at the St. Mary’s Parish building.
Ronan said the closing of the St. Catherine of Siena Church building is “a very sad and difficult reality to face,” but he realizes the parish must adapt to a changing Charlestown.
“One thing is certain,” Ronan wrote in his editorial for the parish’s weekly newsletter, “If we ask God’s loving spirit to guide us and depend that God will help us in every way to grow as a community of faith, we will not be disappointed.”
The Archdiocese of Boston was unavailable for comment.

Heather Conrad and Joe Mahone let their dogs Sadie and Oscar play in McCarthy Playground Tuesday morning.

CAPTION: Charlestown resident and founder of Red Arrow Communications, Inc. Kait Muhlfelder.

While Kait Muhlfelder only moved to Charlestown in November, she has already taken an active role in the community by volunteering her public relations and marketing expertise to the Charlestown Lacrosse & Learning Center.
Muhlfelder grew up outside and Albany before moving to Boston to attend Emerson College. After earning her undergraduate degree from Emerson, she helped launch SLAMMED, a business-to-business magazine for restaurateurs, and served as its associate publisher. Her work with SLAMMED client Absolut Vodka led Muhlfelder to a position with WinMark Concepts, the company that markets Absolut and other Jim Beam Brand spirits. In this position, she oversaw JBB promotions in the Boston area.
After Muhlfelder organized a successful promotional event for VOX vodka at the Oak Room in Copley Square that drew more than 300 employees from local beauty salons and raised money for AIDS and HIV research, she was tapped by WinMark/JBB to duplicate the campaign in seven other national markets and relocated to San Francisco in 2003.
In addition to organizing WinMark/JBB’s fundraisers and other events in the Bay Area, she also was put in charge of buying advertising spots for JBB products. She soon went to work as the marketing and events director for her clients at 7x7 magazine (which she likens to Boston magazine) and its sister publication, California Home & Design. In this role, she oversaw launch parties for each issue that spotlighted the magazines’ major advertisers, including Lamborghini, Giorgio Armani and Bang & Olufson.
In June of 2007, Muhlfelder left the position and founded Red Arrow Communications, Inc., a full-service marketing and public relations firm. Red Arrow’s biggest client to date is the James Beard Foundation, which Muhlfelder describes as “the Oscars of the food world.”
Throughout her career, Muhlfelder has used her promotional events to raise money for various charities and non-profits, and she knows all too well the challenges facing these organizations in an uncertain economic climate.
“I want to help Charlestown Lacrosse [and other local non-profits] find creative marketing opportunities and assist with strategic event planning,” she said.

For the Charlestown Lacrosse charity poker tournament, which takes place at the Ames Webster Mansion in Boston this Sunday, Muhlfelder has added her expertise to the event.
Muhlfelder has also offered to speak to girls in the lacrosse program on topics ranging from body image to her own personal experiences working at a magazine.
“Hopefully, I can give the girls some inspiration about all the incredible opportunities they have if they are confident and believe in themselves,” Muhlfelder said. “I really want to help them celebrate their talents.”
For more information about Red Arrow Communications, Inc., visit www.redarrowcomm.com.

CREDIT: Courtesy of City Mission Society of Boston

CAPTION: Volunteers with City Mission Society of Boston spend the day painting rooms at MissionSAFE in Charlestown as part of a Day of Service Event honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Saturday, Jan. 19.

More than 100 volunteers with the City Mission Society of Boston came together on Saturday to honor the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. with a Day of Service. The daylong event brought together volunteers of all ages from congregations throughout the state to volunteer with eleven different non-profit agencies in the Greater Boston Metro Area.
“Rev. King believed the way to greatness was through service to others,” said Rev. June Cooper, executive director of the City Mission Society. “We wanted to celebrate his memory with a ‘day on’ rather than a ‘day off,’ and encourage people to take some time this holiday weekend to give back to the community. The Day of Service gave us opportunities to emulate rather than commemorate what Rev. King said and did. We were able to continue his work by sharing our gifts and working for justice.”
Volunteers performed a variety of services throughout the city, from painting and cleaning at service sites to packing up books and other items to be shipped to those in need. At MissionSAFE, Charlestown, volunteers painted offices and the community room as well as cleaning and organizing the workspace. At First Church in Charlestown, volunteers painted chairs for the church’s Sunday school program and sorted and organized supplies and donations for the Boston Urban Outreach Program.
Volunteer and City Mission Society board member John Dale said he felt good about being able to spend time with people and help them with their day to day tasks.
Volunteers ended the day at the United Parish Church in Brookline with a celebration, creating a community banner reflecting on the day and the legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
This first annual event was sponsored by the City Mission Society, with the support of the Metropolitan Boston Association of the United Church of Christ