You have probably been by the house on Canton Avenue a hundred times.  It is the attractive,  grey colonial building with the white sign proclaiming it the home of the Sufflolk Resolves.

On September 6, 1774, Joseph Warren introduced the Suffolk Resolves. Three days later, on this day, September 9th, they were edited and approved here in Milton, MA. The document denounced the Intolerable Acts, or Coercive Acts, that had recently been passed by the British Parliament, and specifically resolved to:

1. boycott British imports, curtail exports, and refuse to use British products;
2. pay “no obedience” to the Massachusetts Government Act or the Boston Port Bill;
3. demand resignations from those appointed to positions under the Massachusetts Government Act;
4. refuse payment of taxes until the Massachusetts Government Act was repealed;
5. support a colonial government in Massachusetts free of royal authority until the Intolerable Acts were repealed;
6. urge the colonies to raise militia of their own people.

You can learn more from the Wikipedia entry here.

Related links:

• Milton Historical Society homepage
• Website of the Milton Historical Commission

Milton native Jenny Slate joins the cast of “Saturday Night Live” this fall.

Slate was valedictorian of her Milton Academy class in 2000.

In her valedictorian address, she talked about the power and importance of memories. (Read the full story here.)

As posted previously, there will be a benefit concert on September 11th organized by the non-profit “Cops for kids with Cancer. It will feature Milton resident Pauline Wells singing an Irish repertoire. The following is from the announcement made by the Boston Police Department.

A Celtic Crossing Presents Pauline Wells in Concert At Boston’s Historic Wilbur Theatre

“A 9/11 tribute to benefit Cops for Kids with Cancer”

September 11, 2009 will mark the 8th anniversary of a day in history hopefully none of us will ever forget. The attacks of 9/11 are the Pearl Harbor of our parents and grandparents lives. The events of this horrific day took many lives way before their time, husband’s wives, parents, grandparents, flight crews, and emergency responders including over 300 firefighters and 60 police officers.

This year “A Celtic Crossing” will present a magnificent musical 9/11 concert to be held at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston’s historic theater district. The proceeds going to benefit Cops for Kids with Cancer.

See the full announcement from the Boston Police Department here.

The Artane Band from Dublin was in town last week and performed at Milton High School. You can read about their performance here.

One of the highlights of the concert was a piece by the drumline. Taking a page from the Blue Man Group, they grabbed some some lit up drumsticks and fired away.

A member of the band filmed the performance. To view the video click on the “Continue reading. . . ” link.

Read more

Artane Band

Thursday night the Artane Band from Ireland performed at Milton High School, and what a performance it was!

Band members during intermission

The Artane band dates back to 1872, founded in what then was the Artane industrial school run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers. The school was closed, but the band has lived on. Originally a boys band, girls were included in 2002. They frequently perform at Coke stadium in Dublin, one of the largest sports venues in Europe and home of the Gaelic Games. The band is directed by a spark plug named Ronan O’Reilly and managed by Tony Doherty.

O’Reilly, who functioned as MC, and consummate showman as well as conductor, led the band through a wide ranging repertoire that included traditional Irish tunes, a medley of Civil War songs, and show tunes. At times gentle, at times rousing, the pieces were all performed with energy, passion, and pride.

And there were any number of highlights to the performance. First, there was Mr. O’Reilly’s personality.  Clearly proud of his ensemble, he engaged the audience, encouraging them to clap and sing along, and he was not above expressing his opinion when he felt the audience effort lacking. It was all in good fun.

The performance also featured guest appearances from several other noteworthy groups. They included Pauline Wells, the local singer who was joined by members of Devri, the Milton High School violins, and the Boston Police Department’s Gaelic Column.

Read more

The Boston Globe’s “G” section for 09.05.09 published a chart of schools that deliver the best bang for the buck. Namely, schools that produce solid results and have afforbable homes.

They identified several criteria: MCAS scores for 4th & 10th grades, teacher-pupil ratios, diversity, and Avg assessed home values for single family homes.  The criteria were each awarded a score from 1 – 4 with exception of diversity which was either 1 (diverse) or 0 (not diverse). Milton is clearly diverse, however, in the other areas the Globe only awarded Milton a single point (MCAS grade 4 scores, avg home price and teacher: student ratio). Only on MCAS scores for grade 10 did Milton score a 3. Many of the schools in the top ten also had high average home prices but scored 3 and 4 in all other criteria. Milton was in the bottom quartile.

We would advise taking this with a grain of salt. You can find the story and the full chart here.