Around Town

Watertown’s Main Street Post Office Closing for at Least 2 Years

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The Post Office located on Main Street in Watertown will be closing for an extended period starting in January 2024. The Post Office, located across from the Library at 126 Main St., Watertown, will close while the building where it is located is torn down and replaced with a five-story mixed use building with retail on the ground floor and four stories of residential above. The project was approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals in October. During the hearing for the project, the developers said they had contacted the U.S. Postal Service about designing a new space in the development, and also said there may be a temporary location. Under current plans, there will be no temporary spot in Watertown Square.

Sports

19 Watertown Athletes from 8 Sports Named Middlesex All-Stars

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Watertown senior Molly Driscoll Molly was named the Middlesex League Field Hockey MVP, along with being an All-Star in 2023. Here she celebrates scoring against St. Mary’s State Tournament. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown High School had 19 athletes from eight sports named Middlesex League All-Stars during the Fall 2023 sports season. The Watertown field hockey team, which won its third straight state championship, led the way for the Raiders with seven All-Stars.

Around Town

Watertown Man Pilots Special Flight to “North Pole” to Bring Joy to Some Special Children

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Delta Capt. Steve Teager and the Delta North Pole Staff. (Courtesy Photo)

Watertown resident and Delta Airlines Pilot Steve Teager made a special flight recently to spread some holiday joy. Teager, who is a longtime volunteer at the Watertown Food Pantry, flew to the “North Pole” in Detroit to “bring joy to some very special kids and let them ‘just be kids’ for an afternoon!” shared Watertown Food Pantry Coordinator Kathy Cunningham. He was selected to be the Captain by Silverliners International, a charitable organization founded by retired Eastern Airlines flight attendants.

Sports

Skate with Watertown’s New Semi-Pro Hockey Team

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Watertown will be home to one of the franchises in the new Union Hockey League (UHL), and the Boston Gold Kings invite the public to join them on the ice for a special event on Dec. 27 at 7:10 p.m.

The Gold Kings are one of 16 teams in the Union Hockey League a senior “A” semi-pro hockey league with squads in the Northeast and Midwest. They will play home games at John A. Ryan Arena in Watertown, with the first game on Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. vs. the Holyoke Papermen.

Business

Freddy Farkel’s Fabric Showcase Closing After 92 Years, Holding Closeout Sale

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Freddy Farkel’s Fabrics Showcase on Walnut Street will be closing. The business started in Brighton in 1927. (Photo from Fabricshowplace.net)

A Boston-area fabric institution is holding a closeout sale after losing its lease on its space on Walnut Street. Freddy Farkel’s Fabric Showcase started in Brighton, and now has its showroom in Watertown. The store opened in 1927, and has been run by four generations.

Around Town

Long Lost Book Returned to Watertown Library After Nearly 90 Years

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This book was retuned to the to the Watertown Library after being checked out for the better part of a century. (Courtesy of the WFPL)

If you’ve been waiting for that travel guide to Italy, it’s back at the Watertown Free Public Library … after nearly 90 years! “Hill Towns of Italy,” a book by Egerton R. Williams Jr. that was first published in 1903 recently came back to the Library. It was checked out on Jan.

Around Town

Grant Will Help Seniors Stay Connected Through Ride Service Pilot Program

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Guests at the Senior Center’s Holiday Lunch check out the raffle items at the event held at the Hibernian Club. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown will be offering its seniors rides when they want them for trips to the doctor, to get groceries and more in a pilot program using a grant provided by the Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging. Currently, seniors have access to rides through a smartphone app, but that has worked for everyone, said Lydia McCoy, Watertown’s Director of Senior Services said at the Senior Center Holiday Lunch on Dec. 15. “Not everyone knows how to use a rideshare app, not everyone has a smart phone and it’s not so easy to always navigate,” McCoy said.

Around Town

Hunger Hits Home: A Watertown Teenager’s Struggle to Feed Herself

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Shivani Sharma reaches into her refrigerator, which is more full than was when she was finishing high school. (Photo by Dan Hogan)

A glass of milk and a granola bar, eaten slowly; this is breakfast for 19-year-old Shivani Sharma. On this particular day it’s noon and she actually hasn’t eaten yet. It may not seem extraordinary, but for her, these days, it’s a big improvement in her situation over how she had to live at the end of high school. Sharma shared her story with Watertown News, in conjunction with Watertown Cable Access Television, as part of the series “Watertown’s Hidden Problem: Food Insecurity Among Us.”