"I don't have any friends around here," Dannecker says. His friends, however, like to come visit him, Dannecker says. Like the many tourists who stroll West Cambridge's streets, Dannecker's friends seem to like his neighborhood.

"They look at the houses, decorations and big yards," Dannecker says.

One Firefighter's Perspective

Of course not all of the homes in West Cambridge are historic sites.

A few blocks from Dannacker's lemonade stand, on the other side of Governor Bill Weld's mansion, the homes are smaller and newer.

And close to Cochran Park, near Fresh Pond, there is a housing project for low-middle income families, according to Captain Pasquale J. DeMaio of the Engine 9 Fire Department on Lexington Ave.

DeMaio, who took his post in West Cambridge recently, says he enjoys his new post after serving at a fire department in Kendall Square.

"There's a nice bunch of people here," DeMaio says. "They treat us well, they come in with their kids and they vote here."

DaMaio says he recognized Harvard Law Professor Alan M. Derschowitz when he came to vote last time because he had seen him on television so frequently.

"Up here you're dealing with people who run the world," he says. DeMaio recalls when he was called to President Rudenstine's home because the doors of the fireplace were left shut and smoke filled the building.

DeMaio says there are some definite differences between West Cambridge and his former post.

"There are not as many false alarms; it's a different class of people and there is much less industry," DeMaio says.

Most of the homes around Lexington Ave., between Brattle and Fresh Pond, house two to three families and have about six bedrooms, DeMaio says.

"Many are turning into condos," he says. These houses are not protected by the historical commission.

A Lot to Learn

Little and the Historical Society say they are around because residents have a lot to learn about their neighborhoods.

He says his goal is to "educate Cantabrigians about their city, going back to the early days.

Some younger Cantabrigians seem to have their eyes on the future, but they may have much to learn from the wealth of historical information available in West Cambridge.

This article is fourth in an occasional series on Cambridge's neighborhoods.