Committees

Jan Harrington, Chair
giftbk@aol.com

Since the organization of the Friends of Saxonville over 25 years ago, the Athenaeum has been the major initiative of our organization.  Until this past Spring, funds were not obtainable for needed restoration of this historic building.

Although funds became available this past June to undertake the first phase of the building’s renovation, work has not yet begun due to complications of certain historic requirements.

The Friends are energetically addressing solutions to this delay.

Volunteers can ask questions and/or make suggestions. We look forward to hearing from you.

Kathy Gagen, Chair

Kgagen28@hotmail.com 

For the past several years, Friends of Saxonville Board Members, along with some very enthusiastic community volunteers, have organized and participated in several gardening and village enhancement projects throughout Saxonville. The most recent areas of our focus have been the Old Danforth Bridge, McGrath Square, the Athenaeum, School/Concord St Island, Danforth Park and the CRT entrance.

Some of our Beautification efforts have included: cleaning out and weeding garden beds, planting annuals, and perennials. We also do some plant maintenance such as watering, as needed. We would also like to
continue to contribute to the seasonal and holiday decorations in the Village as well.

We encourage willing volunteers of all abilities to join in this initiative.
To volunteer or, with any questions or suggestions, please contact Kathy Gagen. We look forward to hearing from you!

Charlene Frary, Chair

charlenefrary@gmail.com 

Steve Weisman, Chair 

Saxonville’s McGrath Square is the site of Framingham’s first settlement, and it was Framingham’s economic engine for much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is the historic center of the mill village. Its iconic woolen mills, which once employed a changing parade of immigrants, are now home to a multitude of small businesses and a vibrant artist community.

However, due to changes in Saxonville’s economic fortunes and a lack of planning and public investment in infrastructure improvements and upgrades, McGrath Square has physically devolved since the 1950s
from a vital center for local community activity into a noisy and treeless crossroads with cracked and broken sidewalks. It is pedestrian unfriendly and beset by cross-city traffic that discourages local commerce and is a threat to public safety.

The focus of FOS’s Village Center Improvement initiative is to return McGrath Square to a destination where residents and visitors can come to work, shop, and play. To that end, FOS has advocated for City reinvestment in the village center and the creation and implementation of plans to remedy current problems and realize a community-centered vision for the Square for the future.

To this end, FOS has:

– Advocated for, promoted, and participated in a professionally-facilitated visioning process for residents that led to a 2015 Village Plan for Saxonville
– Collaborated with City officials to develop local wayfinding signs that create a sense of place and identify features in the village
– Facilitated creation of design plans by Department of Public Works for renewing McGrath Square’s public infrastructure (roadways, sidewalks, traffic signals, pedestrian crossings) and critiqued those plans while
offering suggestions for alternatives
– Asked for unified zoning in the Square to protect and support its assets
– Held educational programs for area residents that provide a context for these initiatives
– Kept residents informed of proposed changes to the Square which could adversely affect their quality of life

Lynne Damianos, Co-Editor lynne@DamianosPhotography.com 
Steven Weisman, Co-Editor sweisman1116@gmail.com 

Our newsletter is printed in color and distributed 3x/year: September, December and March. It is four to six pages with an insert that includes advertisements and our business member list. Articles typically include: historically themed pieces, business or individual profiles, features on upcoming or recent events, and information about FOS initiatives. FOS also welcomes articles of general interest
from community members. 

We distribute hard copies at businesses across Saxonville, as well as in City Hall to reach a broader audience and City officials. We also distribute it electronically to our email list (members and nonmembers). Current issues and past issues since 1998 are posted to our online archive here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1h0BHHgQKiY_iAXr_OvKT5nJ5_vRA2CB9

Related volunteer opportunities include:
 Writers for articles
 Photographs or graphics to support articles
 Newsletter distribution to local retail locations 3x/year
 Ad sales

David F. Anderson PE, Chair
DavidAndersonPE@gmail.com