see my new online calendar for preservation/historic Dorchester activities & events.

You are invited to take part in revitalizing the Dorchester Historical Society (DHS) Clapp Farmstead on Boston Street. The DHS has received two grants — one from New England Grassroots Environment Fund for improving the landscaping and grounds around our historic buildings, and one from MA Cultural Facilities Fund for improving public use of the buildings themselves. These two projects will help coordinate much-needed improvements to the 19th c. William Clapp house and the 18th c. Lemuel Clap house plus an old barn and other farm buildings at the DHS headquarters on Boston Street. There will be regular meetings on Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. January through June 2008. If you have ideas for how DHS can be a better resource for Dorchester, please contact Earl Taylor at 800-663-6063 or by e-mail at ERMMWWT@aol.com, or attend a meeting [see calendar]. Funding for this project has been provided by the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, a program of the state of Massachusetts administered through a collaborative agreement between MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. www.dorchesterhistoricalsociety.org

Dorchester Bike Tour - Sunday October 28, 10 AM, 16 Hamlet St. ends 1 PM at Baker Lofts.
http://www.massbike.org/Rides/2007/dot-os.htm

Dorchester has some great beachfront - at Tenean, Savin Hill and Malibu - but not many use it. Seems there is a perception that the water is dirty. Back in July 2004, the Dorchester Reporter ran an article http://www.dotnews.com/beaches.html discussing some of the barriers to beach use. A more recent June 2007 Boston Globe editorial with some of the findings of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission, co-chaired by Senator Jack Hart  suggests better maintenance will help. I believe a group of determined activists, of which there are many in Dorchester, if they formed an active 'Dorchester Beaches Partnership' could figure out how to use programs like kayaking and kite fests to bring vibrancy back to our beaches. Anyone out there share this belief?