Did you know that Somerville is 172 years old this week? Monday, March 3 of 1842, we became a town. Yup, Somerville broke away from Charlestown 172 years ago. Guess you could say we were “townies” back before then and on March 3 we became Villens. The residents tried unsuccessfully to break away twice before becoming successful, losing the votes twice before becoming a town. Did you also know that in both votes that lost different names were proposed? The first one was going to be “Walford” if they had won. Then 20 years later (in 1822), they lost again and were going to call it “Warren” after Gen. Joseph Warren of Bunker Hill fame. Then, being persistent and wanting to govern the small town themselves, they became successful in 1842 and named the town “Somerville.” Thirty years later, we became a city. Our own local historian, Bob Doherty, is loaded with these facts, and we thought you’d want to know! So go out and wish yourself a happy birthday as a Villen. Although it’s 172 years ago, we look pretty good for our age, don’t we?

Eagle Feathers #47 – Somerville: For Hire

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Not too long ago, many newspapers agreed that Boston’s answer to James Bond was Spenser.  Spenser was a character born out of the brilliant and prolific mind of the late author, Robert B. Parker, who generated dozens of Spenser mystery novels and created the Jesse Stone Series (starring Tom Selleck). The Spenser stories were then developed into the well-known 1980’s television series, Spencer: For Hire.

Raise your hand (metaphorically, at least; it would look strange to do so while reading the paper in print or online with others around you) if you’ve had to do the bowlegged John Wayne walk this very long winter trying to traverse over patches of sidewalk covered with ice and snow from homeowners or businesses that either made a half-hearted (to use a polite phrase) effort at shoveling or who just hoped global warming would do the work for them.

Girls basketball

The Saint Clement High School girls basketball team had a great season, finishing with a 12-8 record and qualifying for the state tournament for the second year in a row. The Lady Anchors were led by third-year head coach Alyssa Jann and sophomore standout Katie Monestime.

Somerville resident Daniel Gewertz made a living as a Boston-based freelance journalist for 28 years, writing largely about music, theater and movies. From 1995 to 2005, he wrote a weekly Boston Herald column on folk and blues music. Over the years, Gewertz has written for periodicals ranging from Harvard Magazine, Boston Globe Magazine and  New York Times, to the Cambridge Chronicle and The Tab.

From the Poetry Foundation website: “An enduring presence in American poetry, Maxine Kumin’s career  spanned over half a century. She was the recipient of prestigious awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and an  American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award. She was the  poetry consultant for the Library of Congress in 1981-1982, and taught  at many of the country’s most prestigious universities, including MIT,  Princeton, and Columbia.”