Stephen Puleo, noted historian and best selling author of books dear to the hearts of North Enders, like Dark Tide, the Great Flood of 1919 and The Boston Italians gave a talk the other day sponsored by the Friends of the North End Library. Steve’s talk about his latest book, American Treasures, is the story of the creation Read More…
We’ve all heard about the sense of loss that manufacturing jobs leave in their wake as they disappear overseas. Some call it foolish nostalgia. The jobs aren’t coming back, they say. Not with automation. Not with global outsourcing. Not with our collective drive for cheaper labor and faster production. To understand this loss, we need look no further than Read More…
Whenever I think of my sixth grade class at the Eliot School, I am reminded of the 1982 movie “My Favorite Year.” It’s a story about a young writer intern who is tasked with chaperoning an alcoholic swashbuckling actor in the week before his appearance on a live TV show. Peter O’Toole is Alan Swann, Read More…
Before going on April vacation, St. John School’s middle school students spent an afternoon with Suffolk University History Professor, Bob Allison, learning about the American Revolution and the rich history of Boston’s famed Faneuil Hall. Professor Allison explained what all of the components of the Massachusetts state flag meant and represented, as well as the Read More…
The annual Patriot’s Day Parade was held on Monday morning, ending in Boston’s North End with the reenactment of Paul Revere’s midnight ride on April 18, 1775. Performing the reenactment were the Massachusetts National Lancers with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh handing orders to Paul Revere on Brown Beauty. Revere rides down Hanover Street to Charlestown and follows a Read More…
Question: where do a bunch of lounge lizards, bar flies and mid-level wise guys go when they want a night on the town with booze and showgirls? Answer: to a fancier bar room, of course. And, if it were the middle of the last century in Boston the only place to go would be Blinstrub’s Read More…
Chants of “dump the tea into the sea” echoed down the halls as Boston’s Eliot K8 Innovation School’s fifth grade students took on roles during their Freedom Trail® Foundation Scholars Program visit on Tuesday, March 7 at 11:15 a.m. at 16 Charter Street. Presented by the Freedom Trail Foundation, this interactive history program helps educate students Read More…
In preparation for the thousands who visit the Charlestown Navy Yard each year, USS Constitution crewmembers gather every Tuesday morning from January through April to learn new interpretation techniques and dive deeper into the history of “Old Ironsides.” The annual History and Interpretation Training course is taught by USS Constitution Museum staff and Margherita Desy, historian Read More…
Anthony V. Riccio is putting on the finishing touches on a new book, titled “From Italy to the North End”. This book of 236 photographs will tell the visual story of Italian immigration from the villages of Italy to the streets of the North End. There are a few last people he is looking to confirm their Read More…
It may be snow season, but digging out in the North End takes on new meaning at the underground crypt of the Old North Church. Boston archeologist Joe Bagley is overseeing a new dig this week under the walkways surrounding the colonial era tombs. It’s a guarantee that many artifacts will be found, but the big question Read More…
The North End and the West End had a lot in common. They were both part of Ward 3 and shared political representation, both were poor tenement neighborhoods and many families had relatives in both neighborhoods. My father had an aunt and uncle in the West End and one of his cousins still lives there. Read More…
St. John School’s 2nd through 5th Grade students once again enjoyed a very captivating history slam lesson yesterday from Suffolk University History Professor Bob Allison and Archer O’Reilly. The duo came to the school dressed in their period clothing from the Revolutionary War. Professor Allison was John Rowe, a Boston merchant, and Archer O’Reilly was Read More…