Around Town

OP-ED: Importance of Setting New Years Resolutions for Older Residents

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By Andrea Forde

A new year brings new resolutions that can lead to improvements in daily habits as well as health benefits for many older Americans.  

In fact, according to a 2020 study, older adults who engaged in healthy lifestyle choices such as physical activity, not smoking, not heavily drinking, following a healthy diet, and taking part in mentally stimulating activities, had a 60 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. For people who are already suffering from chronic conditions, setting simple and realistic goals that are manageable with their health challenges is important.  

As you consider changes and goals for 2024, here are five achievable resolutions that can help kick off the new year on the right foot.  

Pursue an active lifestyle.  

Staying active is an admirable goal to have every year.

Around Town

City: Check On Your Neighbors During Period of Cold Weather

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The City of Watertown sent out the following information:

During the period of dangerously cold weather through Sunday, January 21, 2024 we ask that you please take the time to check in on your neighbors to ensure their health and wellbeing. We invite everyone to get warm by visiting the Watertown Free Public Library at 123 Main Street. They are open Monday to Thursday from 9 AM – 9 PM, Friday from 9 AM – 7 PM, Saturday from 9 AM – 5 PM, and Sunday from 1 PM – 5 PM. Get Extreme Cold Safety Tips, such as how to prepare your home, winter pet safety tips, a car checklist, and more.

Around Town

Watertown Group Holding Standout & Commemoration for Lives Lost in Palestine

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Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment and Massachusetts Peace Action will be having a silent standout in Watertown Square and a commemoration of lives lost in the nearby Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church on Sunday. The group sent out the following announcement:

Sunday, January 21

Standout for a Permanent CEASEFIRE in Gaza and PalestineEnd the Siege of Gaza – End the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

End U.S. Military Aid to Israel

Release All Hostages and Political Prisoners

Support UN Resolution Calling for Humanitarian Aid

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM – Silent Standout in Watertown Square

(Public parking is available in lot behind CVS)

 BRING YOUR OWN SIGN or come at 12:30 PM to Make a Sign

 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM Commemoration of Lives Lost in Gaza, Palestine and Israel Speaker – Nidal Alazraq, Executive Director, 1for3.org 

Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church80 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown (Across from Starbucks) Sponsored by Peace and Common Security Working Group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment and Massachusetts Peace Action (watertowncitizens@gmail.com)

Around Town

Filling the Watertown’s Free Fridge is a Community Effort

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Volunteer Sue Twombly stocks the Watertown Community Fridge with items they picked up at the Cambridge Community Center. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Each Friday, Will and Sue Twombly drive to Cambridge and fill up their car with vegetables, fruit, bread, and other items and bring them back to Watertown. The food is bound for one of the newest resources for people struggling to afford to eat: the Watertown Community Fridge. The Fridge is a free resource, located outside the United Methodist Church at 80 Mt. Auburn St., that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Around Town

Winter Offerings From the Watertown Recreation Department

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Watertown’s Recreation Department has a variety of activities available this winter, and registration has opened. Programs include multiple sports for children, teens, and adults. Elementary students can also participate in crafts, robots, and CSI investigation programs, and middle schoolers have a robotics course. The Recreation Department will also run February Vacation programs for grades K-5 and 6-8. See the full list of programs and more details in the brochure by clicking here.

Around Town

Digital Archive of Armenian Music Accessible via Armenian Museum of America Website

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78 rpm records from the collection of the Armenian Museum of America are
being digitized, restored, and shared on its website under the Virtual Resources tab (Photo by
Jonathan Lizcano)

The following piece was provided by the Armenian Museum of America:

By Jesse Kenas Collins

Over the past year, the Armenian Museum of America’s Sound Archive program has taken a giant step forward. Each month, the Museum posts a handful of songs digitized and restored from its collection of 78 rpm records on its website along with a historical writeup about the artists. Along with more conventional musical recordings, some of the recordings touch on Armenian cultural, political, and educational history, as well as the history of recording technologies. The program is sponsored by a generous grant from the SJS Charitable Trust. The Museum hosted musicologist Ian Nagoski to its galleries to weave the story of the influential but largely forgotten soprano Zabelle Panosian, who was born in Bardizag and emigrated to Boston in 1907.