Eagle Feathers #193 – Night Lights

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Light means different things to many people. One of the descriptions in Merriam Webster’s Dictionary is “it’s the essential condition of vision, the opposite of darkness.” At this time of year when the days are shorter and the nights are approaching their darkest, Somerville’s citizens have always endured. They learned to light up the night. They lit their torches, candles, lanterns and beacons; and as time went by, they flicked on the Edison switches of today to make things bright.

How bright are they? Let’s explore!

• Paul Revere commenced his famous Lexington ride through today’s Charlestown/Somerville after observing the North Church’s signal lanterns. Moonlight saved him from British ambush on today’s Washington Street.
• Somerville’s Charles Tufts claimed he would put a light on Walnut Hill. His one-hundred-acre donation of land evolved into Tufts University.
• Winter Hill’s illumination of streetlights, stores, and theaters on Broadway in the 1920’s and 1930’s gave it the nickname, The Great White Way.
• At one time, Governor John Winthrop, while lost in what is now West Somerville, luckily kept wolves at bay by lighting and tending his all-night campfire.
• During the Civil War, street lamps first adorned Union Square and its railway station out of fear of Confederate arsonists.
• Tens of millions of houses and buildings are decorated each year with stringed holiday lights. Originally invented by a telephone worker for better switchboard visibility, the idea migrated to outdoors.
• In 1906, Somerville’s George Cove was the first to harvest the sun’s power and put it to work. His invention, a solar panel and battery called the Solar Electric Generator, brought the ability to light his Somerville Avenue home.
• Thomas Edison held over 3,000 patents. His first two were created in the electrical shop of Somerville’s Charles Williams, Jr. Edison’s most famous invention was his incandescent light bulb.
• When you are viewing a decorated house, the light is coming to you at 186,000 miles per second.

In December, when the darkest nights of the year descend upon us, take this opportunity to enjoy the lights around town. Whether you enjoy a bike ride, a family auto excursion or a trolley ride on the Somerville Arts Council’s 23rd annual Illuminations Tour on Saturday, December 15 … now is the time. Somerville’s houses, streets, and squares are sparkling!