History

‘Jamaica Plain Through Time’ Takes Readers on Historical Tour of Neighborhood

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Historian Anthony Sammarco's newest book Jamaica Plain Through Time chronicles the neighborhood from the late 19th century through to the 21st century. The following is from Sammarco's book with contemporary photographs by Peter B. Kingman. Known in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the Jamaica End of Roxbury, the neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, evolved from agrarian farmland for over 200 years into one of the more dynamic and inclusive neighborhoods of twenty-first century Boston. Jamaica Plain became one of the earliest streetcar suburbs of Boston with various forms of transportation linking it to downtown Boston. With horse drawn streetcars, the Boston & Providence Railroad as well as the Boston Elevated Railway, by the turn of the twentieth century, the ease of transportation allowed a thriving nexus of cultures to move to a community that not only saw tremendous residential and commercial development, especially with the numerous breweries along the Stony Brook, but also green space and open lands that were laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted as a part of the "Emerald Necklace" of Boston.

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Animals

MSPCA-Angell ER Doctor on Providing Care During Public Health Crisis

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There is barely an industry that hasn't been affected by the Coronavirus, and that includes animal care. Dr. Kiko Bracker, and emergency veterinarian at the MSPCA’s Angell Animal Medical Center, spoke about what it's like working these days. Q: What is your role at the Angell Animal Medical Center? 

Bracker: I am a specialist in Emergency and Critical Care. I help take care of sick patients in our ICU and see emergencies in the ER. Q: How has your job changed since the public healthy emergency?

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Business

Coronavirus Collateral Damage: Funerals, Animal Vets, Art Schools, Wake Up The Earth Festival, All Affected

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The damage wrought by COVID-19 is permeating all aspects of society. Our funerals are being affected, our woodworking classes are being cancelled, and our beloved Wake Up The Earth Festival is not happening May 2. The Forest Hills Cemetery was consecrated in 1848, and it's not clear if there's ever been restrictions placed on the number of attendees allowed at funerals. But now there are -- in accordance with Governor Charlie Baker's executive order, burials are now limited to 25 people, according to Forest Hills Cemetery's website. Along with the 25 person limit, there are other new protocols:
We are requesting that all family members remain in their cars until the casket has been placed at the gravesite and the Cemetery personnel have left the area.

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Animals

$18M Bond Issued to Fund MSPCA’s New Critical Care Unit

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The MSPCA will use proceeds from a $18,417,298.61 tax-exempt bond issued by MassDevelopment to build a new two-story addition. The MSPCA will use bond proceeds to build and equip a two-story, 9,000-square-foot addition at its Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain. The organization will then relocate its ward operations from its existing facility to the addition, creating space for a new state-of-the-art Critical Care Unit, according to a press release from MassDevelopment. MassDevelopment said that TD Bank purchased the bond, which will also be used to refinance previously issued debt. MassDevelopment and TD Bank teamed up in 2016 to help the MSPCA by issuing a $7 million tax-exempt bond, purchased by the bank to help MSPCA renovate their facility.

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From the Community

17 Chihuahuas Taken From JP Home, Up for Adoption at MSPCA-Angell in Boston and Cape Cod

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On the heels of last week’s surrender of 45 Ragdoll cats -- the MSPCA-Angell’s largest single-home cat surrender in five years -- the organization is now the temporary home of 17 Chihuahuas taken from a Jamaica Plain home after their families were forced to leave, the MSPCA announced Wednesday. The dogs, six males and 11 females, range in age from one to four. They are described as very active and in good health, but not without their challenges. “Our sense is that these dogs may never have left the apartments in which they lived and, as a result, will need time to learn how to walk on a leash, obey some basic commands and so on,” said Anna Rafferty-Arnold, associate director of the MSPCA’s Boston adoption center. “But we’re committed to working with them -- and their new owners -- to ensure they become excellent canine citizens,” she added.

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From the Community

MSPCA Drops Adoption Fees for Animals Most in Need of Homes During National ‘Clear the Shelters’ Campaign

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As visitors prepare to flood animal shelters across the country during NBC Universal’s one-day “Clear the Shelters” adoption promotion on Saturday, Aug. 17, the MSPCA-Angell announced it will drop adoption fees for its most challenging-to-place animals in a bid to find them all homes on the day. The waiving of adoption fees is made possible by generous donors such as the Catvocates, a group of donors who subsidize adoption and spay-neuter initiatives at the MSPCA. Holding Out for a Hero
The MSPCA’s three animal care and adoption centers in Boston, Methuen and Centerville will each waive adoption fees for pets described by staff as “harder to place,” such as shy cats, senior dogs and long-term horse residents. Mike Keiley, director of adoption centers and programs for the MSPCA-Angell, said the organization is eager to capitalize on the spotlight that the national “Clear the Shelter” campaign shines on pet adoption.

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Animals

MSPCA-Angell President Carter Luke Retiring After 42 Years of Service to Animals

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Forty-two years ago Carter Luke, then aged 29, was scooping cat boxes and stretching every available dime to avoid exceeding the $75,000 annual budget at the Coulee Region Humane Society in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, where his unparalleled career in animal welfare started. Luke announced on May 1 at a town hall-style meeting for employees his retirement as president of the MSPCA-Angell, an organization to which he has devoted the last 34 years of his career. Luke’s last day will be Dec. 31, 2019. A search for a new president is being led by the organization’s Board of Directors.

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Animals

MSPCA-Angell Starring in ‘Animal ER Live’, Debuting on NatGeo Wild on Saturday

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The MSPCA-Angell Animal Medical Center is one of six U.S. veterinarian emergency rooms being featured in a new NatGeo Wild show debuting on March 30. Animal ER Live is a four-week, eight-episode TV show that shows the inside of animal hospitals and mobile veterinary emergency units. The show is not staged, as the show producers captured video in real time as events occurred. Animal ER Live is debuting on NatGeo Wild on Saturday, March 30 at 9 pm.

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From the Community

Miracle Cat Survives Nine Story Plunge and a Frigid Night Outside

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A beloved pet cat is lucky to be alive after falling from a nine story balcony on Halloween and landing on a concrete patio, shattering his jaw and two of his legs and suffering a host of other serious injuries, according to Jamaica Plain's Angell Animal Medical Center. Simba, who lives with the Jardus family in Brookline, was enjoying a typical quiet Halloween evening with his family when things suddenly took a turn. “My mother was visiting and she inadvertently left him outside on the balcony where, at some point, he fell all the way down to the patio below,” said Victoria Jardus. Critically injured, Simba laid by the side of the building, enduring overnight temperatures that fell into the twenties before he was found the next afternoon. Victoria rushed him to Angell, where doctors worked feverishly to stabilize him.

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From the Community

Homeless Purebred Lab Puppy Needs Surgery at MSPCA to Fix His Broken Heart

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Life for a purebred Labrador puppy named “Hugo,” who was born with a congenital heart condition, has been anything but easy. The nearly three-month-old bundle of cuteness was surrendered last month to the MSPCA-Angell’s Boston adoption center by a local breeder because he could not eat without immediately regurgitating his food—a defect which meant young Hugo could no longer be sold. Hugo was born with a heart problem that made it nearly impossible for him to eat and, if left untreated, could be fatal. Now the MSPCA is raising funds to offset his pending surgery, which will cost upwards of $6,000, but remains the only chance to fix his heart once and for all. Hugo’s Rough Start
Hugo was less than two months old when he was diagnosed with a condition called Persistent Right Aortic Arch, or PRAA, which means part of his heart was wrapped around his esophagus, effectively squeezing his throat and making eating and drinking almost impossible.

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