Every year, The West End Museum honors a few people who have made meaningful and lasting contributions to the neighborhood and the city of Boston. At this year’s West End Heritage Honoree Night, to be held on December 8th, we celebrate four individuals who have had a significant impact on the West End community: Richie Hartnett, Claudia and Stephen Edgell, and Cathleen Griffin.

Richard “Richie” Hartnett is a displaced West Ender whose family immigrated to the neighborhood from Ireland in the late 1800s. He is on the Board of Directors of the Old West End Housing Corporation (OWEHC), the organization which founded the Museum. Richie was the first President of The West End Museum, serving in this role from 2011 until 2014, and on the Board of the Museum from 2011 to 2022. He is currently an ex-officio member of the Board as representative of OWEHC.

During his tenure as President the Museum grew, establishing its temporary exhibitions, expanding event offerings, and reaching a visitorship of 5,000. Richie was critical in establishing the governing documents of the Museum, and was our representative for incorporation.

Claudia (Kelty) Edgell (1918-2002) and Stephen Edgell (1915-1981) of Winchester, MA, became actively involved with the West End in 1959, when they learned of the neighborhood’s impending demolition as part of an urban redevelopment project. Claudia’s father, Henry M. Kelty, had lived in the West End as a young boy with his family before moving to the suburbs. The Edgells took almost 2,000 photographs of the neighborhood, before, during, and after the demolition. From these, the Edgells created a book, The Old West End of Boston, with Claudia’s text and Stephen’s photographs. Though never published, Claudia wrote over three-hundred pages of text, including chapters on St. Joseph’s Church, Old West Church, and West End streets. The Edgells worked closely with the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, the Bostonian Society, and the Boston Athenaeum in researching their book.

Over the years, the Edgells continued their involvement in post-demolition West End activities. They were members of the West End Historical Committee, and later its successor, the West End Historical Association. Claudia, a trained and talented artist, designed what would become the original logo of the West End Museum. In March of 2023, their son, Stephen Edgell Jr., donated an extensive collection to the West End Museum, including records, art, ephemera, and, most significantly, 1,700 photographs that his parents took during the West End Project.

Cathleen Griffin is the founder of WE Tree Boston. Her organization, formed in 2021, works to protect trees in the West End, and to plant as many new trees as possible. WE Tree is a group of neighborhood volunteers focused on tree education, planting, and maintenance, which hopes to make the West End “greener” one tree at a time. In their first two years, Cathleen and others at WE Tree Boston have partnered with Speak for the Trees, Boston College, Northeastern University, the Boston Parks Department, private companies, politicians, arborists, and landowners throughout the city. They have also worked with universities to perform research projects, design watering solutions, and begin to apply for arboretum status to protect Thoreau Path. So far, they have planted 19 trees and 35 seedlings. Most recently, they have achieved non-profit status in Massachusetts.

Join us in celebrating our Honorees on December 8th. Light refreshments will be served. Tickets can be found here.