North End Boston has released the final part of “A Letter From Anna,” from a multi-part story by Jan Maguire recounting her family’s North End immigration experience. Here is how the final Part 5 begins:
In 1944, on a quiet Saturday morning, a tragedy that Anna was never to recover from, happened.
Michael Pelosi was already up and gone to work at the cobbler shop. Frances had the day off and 11 year old Anthony did what he always did on a day with no school: he wolfed down his breakfast and raced outside to the street to meet up with his gang of friends. Anna often went to church in the mornings at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, which was right on their block.
The neighborhood of East Boston was growing. Apartment buildings, stores, warehouses were going up. It was still wartime but the evil Nazi/Fascist/Japanese regime was taking a beating so there was hope in the air. Wartime despite the huge loss of human life was also a time when the economy was flying high. Factories, businesses, homebuilding, all the industries were humming.
You can also catch up with the previous parts.
Read Part 1
Read Part 2
Read Part 3
Read Part 4
Courtesy of Guild Nichols and NorthEndBoston.com.