J. L. BELL is a Massachusetts writer who specializes in (among other things) the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston. He is particularly interested in the experiences of children in 1765-75. He has published scholarly papers and popular articles for both children and adults. He was consultant for an episode of History Detectives, and contributed to a display at Minute Man National Historic Park.

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Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Dorchester Heights ceremony, 17 Mar.

On Thursday, 17 March, the National Parks of Boston will observe Evacuation Day with a ceremony at the Dorchester Heights site in what is now termed South Boston.

Co-hosted by the South Boston Citizens’ Association, this year’s celebration will take place in the hilltop park where the Dorchester Heights Monument stands. On the program are:
  • Mayor Michelle Wu
  • Rep. Stephen Lynch
  • Other political figures to be named later
  • National Park Service Regional Director Gay Vietzke
  • Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola
  • Student awards of some sort
  • The Lexington Minutemen
  • The Boston University Band
Most notable might be “an announcement of a substantial multimillion-dollar federal investment to restore Dorchester Heights Monument as a local and national landmark.” Since 2012 the observation tower at that site has been closed due to “water infiltration and structural deterioration.” This building was just one item in the National Park Service’s long list of deferred maintenance projects.

With the national Sestercentennial coming up, and Congress eager to stimulate the economy as the pandemic began in an election year, the federal government found the funds for that tower. In a press release last week the park said:
a multi-million-dollar appropriation from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) [will] restore the iconic 1902 Dorchester Heights Monument tower and landscape. When the project is completed, visitors will be able to enjoy the improved public green space and spectacular 115-foot landmark on Telegraph Hill that commemorates a pivotal event of the Revolutionary War.
The 17 March ceremony is free and open to the public, but space is limited and nearby parking even more so. People who want to attend are asked to register through this webpage. There will be a heated tent in the park and refreshments after the ceremony. Attendees may wish to wear masks for safety in the crowd. A video record of the event will be streamed on Boston National Historical Park’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

5 comments:

Al Maze said...

Mr. Bell...
I find "follow it", your feed-burner, annoying with their click bait at the bottom, each day, that is, mostly, right wing BS.
The past few days that slot has a so-called "Christian" video that is an extension of the above mentioned BS.
I forward your posts to a friend and do so after I go to your blog and then forward that page.
I never signed up for "follow it"; the site just showed up, one day.

Thanks for reading my rant. I do appreciate your research and dedication to uncovering history not well known.

Al Maze

J. L. Bell said...

Thanks for telling me that. I'm going to have to sign up for the email feed myself to keep an eye on how it's working.

As I described last July, word came that Google was going to stop supporting Feedburner. I therefore switched the email feed to Follow.it, not realizing that there would be quite so much advertising. (Indeed, perhaps a lack of ads might be why Google lost interest in Feedburner.)

Now I wonder if Follow.it is inserting the same ads into everyone's Boston 1775 emails, based on some profile of the content, or tailoring those ads to individual subscribers. I don't have control over those ads, alas. Nor do I see any revenue from them.

kip carter said...

And in addition the blog is always posted a day late. I wish that there was a better feed than Follow It

J. L. Bell said...

Folks told me that Feedburner was also emailing each posting many hours after it appeared on this website, at least for some people. I’m not sure what governs that and how to change it.

J. L. Bell said...

I just looked at my own first Follow.it transmission of this blog. The layout wasn’t as terrible as I expected. The advertisement at the bottom was for dog food, which was useless (I have no dog), but not a button-pusher. The message was said to have been emailed at 10:00 P.M. on the evening after the posting appeared on this website, but I don’t think it arrived in my in-box until early the following morning.