PHOTOS: Charlestown Residents Help Boston Shine

More than 300 volunteers turned out last week to help clean up Charlestown through 21 different projects as part of the citywide "Boston Shines" program.

"It made such a difference in all of the parks and streets in the community, and it means a lot that the neighborhood came together to make Charlestown shine on a beautiful Saturday," said Danielle Valle Fitzgerald, Charlestown Neighborhood Coordinator with the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services.

The Friends of The Training Field had 25 volunteers cleaning up the field for Boston Shines, Charlestown resident Diane Valle reported.

Among those to pitch in on Saturday were Air Force JROTC cadets from Charlestown High School. The cadets used rakes, shovels, brooms and bags to clean up Doherty Park and help get the pool ready for openning day.

"The clean-up turned into a history lesson as we found out the park was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, designer of Boston's Emerald Necklace and New York's Central Park," Major Bri Chaisson wrote in an email about the event. "Cadets also learned the park was named for John J Doherty, a Charlestown resident and Navy pilot flying off the USS Enterprise, who died near the Mariannas Islands during World War II. He was one of the first casualties of the war and was awarded the Navy Flying Cross for gallantry and even had a ship named in his honor."

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