The photo I’m sharing today comes from a postcard dated 1908 and depicts the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. I assume the date is accurate because there is a date written on the card and the New York company that printed the card was in business from 1904-1911. The picture appears to have been taken from Read More…
On my recent visit back to the North End I just had to go to I AM Books in North Square and buy a copy of Jane Healey’s book, “The Saturday Evening Girls Club.” Based on actual facts it is a fictionalized account of four young immigrant women living in the North End in the Read More…
On Saturday, the 16th, the Friends of the North End celebrated its 45th annual reunion. 166 boyhood friends from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Maryland and California assembled at the Sons of Italy Hall in Winchester to relive growing up in their cherished neighborhood. As has been their custom since the Read More…
When I was about twelve years old my mother would occasionally send me to buy fish at a fishmonger near Faneuil Hall called Sanborn’s. We got most of our fish from the Sicilian fishermen who hung in my father’s tavern but my mother liked creamed finnan haddie which wasn’t available in the North End. Angelo Read More…
Discover the Freedom Trail in a new light – after dark – on the official Freedom Trail® Lantern Tours. Freedom Trail Foundation announces the return of the unique Lantern Tours, offering visitors and residents the opportunity to experience the dark history and mystery of the Freedom Trail by lantern-light! The annual Freedom Trail Lantern Tours will be offered on Thursdays, September Read More…
Here are some local events to commemorate the 16th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks: The USS Constitution will have a commemoration aboard “Old Ironsides”. Boarding of the ship will commence at 8:30 a.m. and will remain moored. The guest speaker will be Navy Nurse Corps Captain Mary Jo Majors, USN(Ret.), and she will be followed Read More…
AUTHOR FILLS IN NORTH ENDERS ON BACK BAY By Patricia Sabbey, FONEL Anthony Sammarco, noted historian and author spoke recently at the North End Branch Library. His talk was sponsored by the Friends of the North End Library and the Citywide Friends. Mr. Sammarco gave a riveting and comprehensive account of the filling in and Read More…
Why is Robert Burns in Winthrop Square?? Boston was once the most walkable of all American cities. It was a city of low rise buildings and meandering streets filled with businesses and small shops which led a walker to a number of interesting squares, each with a character of its own. Post Office Square was Read More…
Here in Boston, we are surrounded by an abundance of history that reaches back centuries ago. The Norman B. Leventhal Walk to the Sea reminds tourists and Bostonians alike that while we live in a modern, fast-paced world, the history of Boston will forever be intertwined into our lives. The walk, stretching about a mile Read More…
I went back to my roots last week. I had to escape the heat of the desert Southwest. I had to feel an ocean breeze. I had to return to my childhood home. I needed to experience again the sights and sounds and smells of the North End. I had to replenish my spirit. I Read More…
The two most important events in the lives of early Italian immigrants were weddings and wakes. These were occasions for families and friends to gather, celebrate a happy occasion, console one another over a loss, share gossip and introduce young people to others from the same paese in the hope of engendering a wedding, a Read More…
Huzzah! The USS Constitution will float again on July 23rd after two years in dry dock for restoration. The National Parks of Boston in the Charlestown Navy Yard will celebrate Constitution’s much-anticipated return to the water on Sunday, 7/23 from 9AM to midnight. There will be free family-friendly activities throughout the Navy Yard from 4PM to 8PM as Dry Dock 1 begins to flood. Read More…