PHOTO 1 CAPTION: George Ropes’ 1813 watercolor depicting the USS Constitution engaging HMS Guerriere.

PHOTO 2 CAPTION: A sea bag once owned by John Lord of the USS Constitution.

Visitors to the open house at the USS Constitution Museum on Saturday will have a chance to view the approximately 30 acquisitions made within the past year.
“What’s amazing is that a year ago, we didn’t even know about their existence,” said Sarah Watkins, the museum’s curator. “We have learned so much more about the ship and its crew, and we want to share that with the residents of Charlestown.”
Among the items on display will be a collection from John Lord, who served as the gunner on the USS Constitution from 1824 to 1828.
Besides a wooden trunk and two sea bags that Watkins said held “everything he needed for livelihood and comfort at sea,” the museum will exhibit his powder horn. This item was used to “prime” his gun and is etched with his name and that of his weapon, as well as “Old Ironsides” and the “Battle of Guerriere” in honor of the legendary 1812 conflict.
“It’s very rare to have personal belongings from a crew member from the Constitution’s past,” Watkins said. “It helps to bring [Lord] back to life.”
Another item from the Lord collection is a wooden that he gave to his daughter, Caroline, upon returning home and meeting her for the first time when she was 3. This undoubtedly had a great deal of sentimental value for the girl, since her father would die a year later, Watkins said.
Another collection is a set of four 1813 watercolors by Salem artist George Ropes depicting the USS Constitutions battle at sea with the HMS Guerriere in 1812. The sequence shows the two ships upon their first meeting through the surrender and eventual destruction of the HMS Guerriere by “Old Ironsides.”
“These are the earliest images we have in our collection from the battle,” Watkins said. “It’s the closest thing to photography, since the camera wasn’t invented until later.”
One more item of interest is guestbook from 1997 when the USS Constitution sailed for the first time in 116 years, making the voyage from Boston Harbor to Marblehead. The book includes the signatures of crewmembers, Sen. Ted Kennedy, former Secretary of the U.S. Navy John H. Dalton and TV news legend Walter Cronkite.
The USS Constitution Museum, located at Building 22 & 28 in the Navy Yard, will hold its open house on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. For more information, call 617-426-1812 or visit www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org.

CAPTION: Meredith Bryan, owner of Cold Stone Creamery at 100 City Square, and RUNmyERRAND co-founder Leah Busque.

Charlestown-based RUNmyERRAND, has formed and a partnership with Cold Stone Creamery through which the online service will now offer deliveries for the City Square ice cream parlor.
“If you want ice cream at 10 o’clock and you’re in your pajamas, RUNmyERRAND can now make it happen,” said Meredith Bryan, who has owned Cold Stone Creamery at 100 City Square since it opened in February of 2004.
RUNmyERRAND was launched Sept. 15 by husband-and-wife team Leah and Kevin Busque and fellow Charlestown resident Brian Thomas. Its Web site (RUNmyERRAND.com) allows people to post errands they need run and puts them in contact with people willing to perform the chores. For a set delivery fee of $8, residents can now get Cold Stone Creamery ice cream cakes, pies and to-go quarts sent to their homes via the online service.
“If I knew a person before, I’d [deliver] it myself,” Bryan said, “but obviously that’s not a business model. It’s a one-off.”
Bryan added, “Look at New York where you can have something delivered anywhere at any time. We need to bring that here.”
Leah Busque said other local companies could also arrange delivery service through RUNmyERRAND.
“Any business can sign up through the site,” she said. “Businesses can offer services they couldn’t before…by outsourcing deliveries.”
Lynne Levesque, co-chair of the Charlestown Business Climate Committee, applauded this partnership between local businesses.
"The collaboration is exactly the type of creative thinking we need to keep building and sustaining a vibrant retail community here in Charlestown,” Levesque said. “The committee wishes Cold Stone Creamery and RunMyErrand the very best of luck."
Meanwhile, Bryan said the partnership is particularly timely because it serves to enhance two existing companies when the neighborhood is seeking to attract new businesses.
“It’s synergy,” Bryan said. “[Delivery service] was a component of my business I couldn’t offer myself. Leah’s niche was a perfect fit, and all it took was a phone call.”
To arrange for ice cream delivery, call Cold Stone Delivery at 617-242-0100. Deliveries are available for same day service but require several hours’ notice. Gift cards are also available through the store or RUNmyERRAND.com.

CAPTION: The historic home at 47 Monument Square.

About 40 people attended a meeting sponsored by the Charlestown Neighborhood Council last week to discuss planned additions to an historic home at 47 Monument Square.
At the public hearing at the Bunker Hill Museum, homeowner Gray MacLetchie outlined a proposal to build two new sections – an L-shaped one at the rear of the home, the other on the side of the existing 3,500 square-foot building that abuts Soley Street. The additions would total 1,800 square feet and transform the structure from a one-family dwelling to include two contemporary living units.
“We are trying to make a floor plan that works inside, as well as outside,” MacLetchie said, adding that the house was originally zoned as a two-family dwelling and the addition was in compliance with regulations mandated by the city’s Inspectional Services Department.
MacLetchie said he had agreed to reduce the mass of the addition facing Soley Street following a meeting with the Charlestown Preservation Society Design Review Committee last month and that he would incorporate brick, clapboard and other materials in building both new sections to match those used in the existing structure.
One addition would create a one-car garage that would be accessible via the curb cut on Soley Street, bringing the total number of on-site parking spaces to four, MacLetchie said.
In response to abutters’ concerns regarding landscaping, MacLetchie said several trees needed to be removed but at least three would be replanted on the lot. “The trees…ultimately…had to come down for sewage construction,” he said.
Neighbors were less than optimistic about the project, however.
“It’s a beautiful building, and it’s going to be a monstrosity,” said Catherine Green of Soley Street. “Because the house is on a hill, we need to see some 3-D designs. I think from our property, we’re just going to be looking at a parking lot, so we do need to see some landscaping and design.”
Local architect Stephanie Goldberg proposed reducing the one and one-half story addition facing Soley Street and outfitting it with a Gambrel roof, consisting of two slopes with open gables at the ends. She also recommended making it primarily of glass to reduce its impact.
A consensus taken at the meeting by Bill Galvin, the Neighborhood Council representative for Precinct 3, revealed that residents objected mostly to the Soley Street addition but favored Goldberg’s proposal to reduce its mass. Those in attendance also largely opposed the construction of any deck facing Monument Square, as well as any major exterior changes to the existing structure.
Brian McLaughlin, executive secretary of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, said the proposal wasn’t in compliance with his agency’s guidelines, which prohibit construction within 100 feet of a national park (i.e. the Bunker Hill Monument).
Meanwhile, Galvin said that the Boston Redevelopment Authority must approve the final design and ISD has yet to issue a building permit for the new construction.