A few quotes from Volume 32
Walking to school by Phyllis Boffitto
My first day of school occurred in 1934 at the Sleeper School on the corner of Cedar and Dudley Sts. My mother took me to school that first day, which was actually a half-day. I don’t recall who might have accompanied me for the remainder of that year. I walked from my home at 45 Clifton St., over to Dudley to Cedar. I went to the Sleeper from Kindergarten through Grade 3
WMEX radio by Paul Power
We’ve known it in the past as “Color Radio,” “Home of the Good Guys,” “The Swingin’est Station in the Nation,” and a host of other names, but no matter, we pretty much grew up with WMEX 1510 Radio, which ruled the Boston Area airwaves mostly throughout the early to mid-60’s as Boston’s Top-40 music leader.
A great group of friends by Claire & Gil Albert
Lenny Russell organized the North Cambridge Pirates baseball and basketball teams in the early 1950s. (Lenny would grow up to become Mayor of Cambridge as did his future wife, Sheila Doyle.) There were members on the team that came and went in that period of time. Some got married or went into the service etc.
My first dance at I.C.” by Jack Vernon
I went to my first dance (a “mixer”) at the Immaculate Conception School auditorium, when I was still in 8th grade at the Ellis School in 1957. Locally, it was known as “I.C.” to many. I remember, the first time, my mother thought I needed a chaperone, so she sat in the balcony!
Retracing our neighborhoods by Beverly Ryan Doucette
Come along with me as we stroll around my North Cambridge of the late 1940s and early 1950s. During our adventure, we will pass by the North Avenue Congregational Church, which eventually had the word ‘Avenue’ removed from its name. I mention this only because it became North Congregational Church because the street name was changed to Massachusetts Avenue. Mass. Ave., as we called it.
Some excelled at science fairs by Al Lefebvre
I was recently reading though my old copies of The Scroll, the school newspaper at North Cambridge Catholic High School, and read about the Science Fairs that were held each spring. Science Fairs at NCCHS were always a challenge for me and maybe for other “budding” scientists at other schools; I didn’t particularly like them.
Matignon honors Sloanes & Coach Pierce by Stephen G. Surette
Matignon High School sponsored a gala celebration at the Hotel Marlowe to honor Marshall Sloane, founder of Century Bank, and his family, and Marty Pierce, legendary ice hockey coach at the school for 40 years. This first ever Tradition of Excellence Gala was a huge success, raising nearly $200,000 in financial aid for students.
I tried to fool my teacher once by Lucille Ferolito Kelley
My older brothers, Joe and Albert, took care of me when our Mom was working at the Gorden Linen Service on Aberdeen Ave. Joe would take me to school and pick me up. Because they are ten years older, they were very protective of me and loving.
Frank Bellis was the real hero by Fran Healy
As a member of the U.S. Army, one eventually befriends other soldiers that have some common interests. We came from Lynn, Swampscott, Worcester, and North Cambridge. Frank Bellis and I were stationed in South Devon, England and would spend weekend leaves in places such as Plym-
outh, Brighton and Torquay…
Two boys grew up together by Larry Willwerth
This chronicle envelops the recovery era just after WWII, from 1947 to 1952. Returning servicemen were scrambling for work and defense workers were adjusting to lower peace time wages. Heavily populated Cambridge was struggling with such a burden. There were gangs of unemployed on every corner. Rivalry, petty thefts and gifts were commonplace. This was a hostile environment for a young boy to grow up in.
A vision for revitalizing Alewife by Ellen Mass
Over a decade ago the state approved a comprehensive plan for restoration of the Alewife Reservation. With the loss of the buffering silver maple forest adjacent to the Alewife Reservation, the 2002 Master Plan needs to be fully implemented to protect it and realize the full potential of Cambridge’s last remaining wild lands.
Prof. Francis Magoun, Jr. by Richard G. Lyons
I remember when Cambridge nurtured an ambivalence and awkwardness towards Harvard, especcially its professors. The explanations were many. One was economic. Professors seemed well off and lived in the better areas. Also they sent their children to private but non-catholic schools, which further isolated their families from the diverse population of the city.
St. John’s Color Guard and Drill Team by Susan O’Neill
When I look back on the days of the St. John’s Drill Team, I am grateful that the experience developed friendships that have lasted a lifetime. Two of my dearest lifelong friends served in the Color Guard with me—JoAnn Kenney, the American flag and Mary Murphy, the CYO flag. I held the State flag.
St. John’s Drill Team remembered by Kathleen Veinot Geswell
My cousin Lenny Haley, SM asked if I could recall anything about the St. John’s Drill Team and Color Guard. I joined the unit around1960. I do not recall what years it was first formed. We marched in parades on holidays, such as the St. Patrick’s Day in South Boston, Bunker Hill Day in Charlestown, Easter Parade in Waltham and Memorial Day in Cambridge.
Three original Little Leaguers by Tom McCarthy
The year was 1952 and I played for the Boston Athletic Shoe Company’s (BASCO) entry in the very first Cambridge Little League. Tryouts were held at parks throughout the city and players for five teams were selected.
N. C. “kids” honored by Hall of Fame by Frank McCarthy
Among the newest inductees into the Cambridge Athletic Hall of Fame in May 2015 are three who hailed from North Cambridge—Lance Campbell (’87), Jesse Cody (’93) and Warren “Pete” Coté (’21). Fifty-six years separate their graduation years, but they have something very much in common. They excelled in their sports and brought great success to their school.
A few quotes from Volume 31
The Farino house paralleled the train tracks and the small train station with a signal man was right across the street from their house. Whenever we heard the gates go down we knew a train was coming. We would all run to the wood and wire fence that separated their yard from the tracks and sit on the wooden polls. We waved to the train conductor and the flag man who was standing outside of the caboose and they smiled and waved back. —PATRICIA COOK ERICKSON
As a boy growing up in Arlington and going to the Immaculate Conception School in North Cambridge during the 1960s, I knew my father, John Prior, had served in the U.S. Army during World War 2. Like most of the young soldiers of his era who fought in the war, he was reluctant to talk about his experiences, the lives lost, and the horrors he and others had seen. — LARRY PRIOR
In 1837 the Cattle Market Hotel was purchased by George Meacham, a local speculator, Ebenezer Kimball, a stagecoach operator, and Zachariah Porter, a cattle dealer in the Brighton cattle markets, who renamed it Porter’s Hotel. When the Fitchburg Railroad opened its main line behind the hotel in 1843-1845, Porter’s Hotel became the center of the North Cambridge Cattle Market. Beef could now be brought directly from central Massachusetts and prepared at Porter’s slaughterhouse nearby. The prime loin cut of beef was regularly served at the hotel and soon became known throughout Boston as “Porterhouse steak.” — CHARLIE SULLIVAN
“The names and faces of these individuals whom I never met, my grandparents, my great grand parents, and my great, great grandparents are forever etched in my soul, planted there by my mother’s love!” — JOHN TALLON
The Hollywood Spa was a drug store in the early 40’s and was sold to two brothers, who I believe, came from Revere and converted it into a store that sold sundries and
groceries much like the 7 eleven stores of today. — DOM DIRIENZO
As youngsters, many of us walked by it in the 2400 block on Mass. Ave. I remember in the 1950s walking by the New Balance Arch Support Co. at 2402 Mass Ave. in what we called the Lynch building. This spot was on the way to and from the Ellis, St. John’s or Our Lady of Pity schools for many of us kids. — NEIL HEGARTY
However many visits to my mother’s former home on Creighton St. for Sunday dinners at my grandparents’ apartment on the second floor and to play with our Allen family cousins, who lived on the first floor, made my brother, two sisters and me feel a part of this special community. — JIM NELSON
In my early teens we met on the corner of Rindge Ave. and Rice St., where several stores were located (Sheridan Sq.) During my high school years at Rindge and into our twenties, my friends and I would meet on the corner of Rindge Ave. and Pemberton St. (site of Nick’s, Bova’s Pharmacy, Pemberton Market, etc.). Sometimes we would stay on the corner or we would walk to Buttricks in Arlington where there was great girl watching, and get a sub on the way. — DAVE NADEAU
In 1925, my paternal granduncle, John William McAleer, a North Cambridge watchman, became the guardian of one of the most important U.S. Navy and Marine Civil War artifacts – the Captain’s cabin desk of the USS Kearsarge — ANDREW McALEER
Sometime during my middle-school years in the 1940s I sent away to General Mills’ Cheerios for four maps of a frontier town. They were each about 15x15 inches and when put together in the shape of a square, gave you the entire layout of the town. They also came with some cardboard cutouts of buildings, e.g. town hall, the town jail,
church, and blacksmith, etc. — MARIE SURETTE, OP
A place to “hang out” means different things for different folks. For me, little Ernie Passero from Elmwood St., Somerville, just behind the car barns in North Cambridge, it was somewhere you could see from and not be seen, talk to a close buddy but not be heard by anyone else. — ERNIE PASSERO, SJ
As far as I can remember, Verna’s donut shop was only one of the store fronts. The cake decorating part was on the other side. … I do remember Montanus K. Nash though. Also in that block was a Henry Cassidy’s tailor shop, Mary Downey’s beauty shop, a religious article store (became the Guild Shop) and Marie’s Bakery. — SHEILA DOYLE RUSSELL
I would walk across to Verna’s for my freshly made donut. John was the tall and lanky cook who normally was the only one working at that hour. I don’t know what it is/was about those donuts (plain, honey-dipped, powered, sugar, cinnamon and whatever) but they had a flavor, texture and taste that made them special, particularly at 5:45 on a cold winter’s morning. — AL LEFEBVRE