By Sal Giarratania REMEMBERING THE VENDOME FIRE I still remember quite clearly what happened on Saturday afternoon, June 17, 1972 when nine firefighters perished when a wall collapsed after a fire at the Hotel Vendome was extinguished. Firefighters had spent three hours fighting the four-hour blaze and all the victimes were trapped under the debris...
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Letters to the Editor
ON QUINN SCHOLARS Dear Editor: Commencing with Robert Irgens in 1970, we have a stellar group of Quinn Scholars. As the first woman recipient in 1977 Ann Marie Duffy has brought an abundance of pride to her community and most importantly her family. The 1976 winner was Arthur Crotty, followed by his brother David...
Enjoy A Safe and Sane Fourth
The summer season’s big holiday, the Fourth of July, is upon us. Millions of Americans will be celebrating the holiday — which will be a long and extended four-day weekend for many of us — with friends and family in a multitude of ways. Boating, beaching, mountain hiking, and summer getaways of all kinds...
Sports 06-29-2017
Townie Sports By Kevin Kelly WHAT A GAME!!! In the 23rd annual Harry Agganis Baseball Game, the North All stars defeated the South All Stars by a score of 6-5 in an exciting back-and-forth affair. South third baseman Patrick Kelly turned in some sensational defensive plays. GIRLS 14U SOFTBALL CLAIM CHAMPIONSHIP The Charlestown 14U...
Fun Time for YMCA
YMCA of Greater Boston CEO James Morton, board chair Gina Koprowski, executive director of the Charlestown Y Andrea Wilk, State Rep. Dan Ryan, and Karson Tager, who not only serves as the house DJ, but also serves the board as well.
Impossible Dream Returns to Charlestown Marina, Spaulding for Sail Boston
By Seth Daniel There might have been more picturesque ships with old time riggings that spoke of yesteryear in the Sail Boston contingent last weekend, but there was no boat more inspirational and packing more healing power than that of the fully-accessible Impossible Dream – which returned to the Charlestown Marina as part of...
Make Way for Wynn:Steel Goes Up on the Tower, Gas Station to Go
By Seth Daniel As the steel bones of the new Lower Broadway in Everett – just over the Charlestown line – begin to climb to the sky at the Wynn Boston Harbor, old stalwarts on the roadway are about to disappear. Wynn Boston Harbor announced this week that it will begin the demolition of...
USS Constitution to go Back Afloat
By Seth Daniel The oldest sailing warship still afloat will once again be afloat this July 23 and 24 as work crews wind down the two-year restoration project and prepare to put Old Ironsides back afloat around midnight on July 23 and into July 24. Navy officials on the USS Constitution’s Facebook page confirmed...
Gardens of Charlestown Set for June 29
At certain times of day, everyone notices the traffic as they travel through Charlestown toward Sullivan Square. While you’re sitting in your car, inching up to the rotary, have you ever noticed the beautiful community garden between Main and Bunker Hill Streets? Maybe you notice the daffodils in March, which give way to large...
Friend of Charlestown Navy Yard,Chamber Host First Council Forum
By Seth Daniel The first public forum with all three District 1 City Council candidates has been negotiated, and this time it will be in Charlestown. All three candidates have been confirmed for the forum on Thursday, June 29, at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in the Navy Yard, 7:30 p.m. Candidates Lydia Edwards, Margaret Farmer...
Trial Underway for Killing of Charlestown’s Brian Hingston
A jury has been seated and the trial is underway for the killing of Charlestown native Brian Hingston, who was assaulted allegedly by a Dorchester man as he tried to prevent a fight – an assault that caused Hingston’s tragic death. In Suffolk Superior Court in Boston on Tuesday, prosecution testimony continued in the...
Police Briefs 06-22-2017
Warrant 06/13/17 – Officers on Samuel Morse Way placed an individual under arrest for an outstanding Newton Court warrant. Warrant 06/14/17 – Officers on North Mead Street placed an individual under arrest for an outstanding Medford Court warrant. Attempted Burglary 06/15/17 – A victim on Salem Street reported while at home, she saw her...
Townie Tidbits
By Sal Giarratani GALS AT NAVY YARD, 1942-1945 Historian Polly Kienle, a ranger from the Boston National Historical Park gave a riveting story about how women changed the Boston Navy Yard during World War II AND what it all means for us today. My mom always recalled with pride her time working at the...
Chief Marshall Grateful for Community Excitement of Bunker Hill
By Chief Marshal Robert Beckwith I would like to thank the Charlestown community for a fantastic and memorable experience serving as Grand Marshal for this year’s Battle of Bunker Hill Day Parade. With the help of John Taglilatela, Kim Mahoney, Noreen Manning and Lisa McGoff-Collins, along with my good friends from the 520 Club,...
Housing Boston, One Person at a Time
By Mayor Martin J. Walsh Last Thursday morning, I walked down West Broadway in Southie, into a bustling Labouré Center. Although it was 7:30 a.m., the energy was high — the room filled was with city and state officials, caseworkers, advocates and volunteers who had arrived at 5 a.m. that day. Together, they were...
Townie Sports
TOWNIES IN BABE RUTH TOURNEY Charlestown hosts Somerville at Ryan Playground (the “Neck”) in the opening round of the District 3 Babe Ruth Tournament on Friday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m. The game features some of Charlestown’s best 13-15 year-old baseball players in what is their inaugural season in Babe Ruth. The double-elimination tourney...
Bunker Hill Parade
Terry Cornellier of the Lincoln Minutemen loads his musket at the annual Bunker Hill Day Parade in re-enacting one of the Colonial militias present at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Graduation Day
Little Charlotte Sutton contemplates her future in kindergarten last Thursday morning as she and her classmates graduated from the Good Shepherd School at St. Mary’s Church. Scores of students, family members, teachers and Father Jim Ronan joined in the celebration – with some grandparents coming from as far away as Florida to mark the...
Navy Yard,National Parks Ready for Sail Boston 2017
By Seth Daniel In 2014, when the Sail Boston return was announced for 2017, the National Park Service stood side by side with the organizers and have been “all-in” every since. This weekend, the Navy Yard will be a featured location for the Parade of Sail on Saturday morning and the overall Family Festival...
Wynn Money Part of Larger Plan at Kennedy Center Relocation
By Seth Daniel When the recipients of the new Charlestown Community Mitigation Fund – money from the Wynn Boston Harbor development – became public last week, one of the top recipients was The Kennedy Center in Hayes Square, but the $10,000 received from that was just one piece of a larger story that involves...
Renovations to Start at Engine 50
By Seth Daniel After a few delays in starting the historic renovation of the Engine 50 Fire House off the Training Field, this time the Boston Fire Department is ready to get things moving on the project – saying that on Aug. 1 they would move everyone out and get started. “It’s going to...
Michael’s Mission: Cain Remembers His Son Through Dedication to Recovery
By Seth Daniel Michael Cain never touched a drug in his life, but pain medications after breaking his back while playing football introduced him to a life of drugs that would eventually take his life. The statistics are plain, said his father, well-known Town DJ Michael ‘Smokey’ Cain, in that his son, Michael, was...
Water Main Work on Medford Street to Continue Next Summer as Well
By Seth Daniel The Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) said this week that major water line work on Medford Street would likely stretch through all of this summer and into next summer as well. The major project is one of several throughout the City to replace major water lines, and the Medford Street...
Students Earn Degress from UNH
The following students participated in the University of New Hampshire Commencement Ceremony held Saturday, May 20, 2017, in Durham, N.H. Students who received the honor of summa cum laude graduated with a GPA of 3.85-4.0; students who received the honor of magna cum laude graduated with a GPA of 3.65-3.84; and students who received...