~ Malden Musings ~ Mayor Gary Christenson’s Irish American Labor Day Road Race

By Peter Levine

It is said in “Malden Musings”…

• Congratulations to Mayor Gary Christenson for his stellar performance at the 2024 Irish American Annual Labor Day Road Race! Mayor “G Force” crushed it, once again channeling his inner Bill Rodgers, Dave McGillivray and Rosie Ruiz (oops, scratch Rosie!) – breezing through the competition with 9:43 minute miles to place 8th in the 50-59 category. The ever-present cell in his right hand, his still great looking moss flowing in the breeze, all the while enthusiastically acknowledging his ever expanding and adoring fan base as he effortlessly glided by; barely perspiring, mind you. Paul “The Hammer” Hammersley, Mike “Hawk” Scibelli and his two daughters Toni & Jeri, Malden boy Jimmy (Pat’s and B’s beat reporter for The Boston Globe) McBride, Dom Fermano’s bestie Jim Brescia, Steve Nolan’s big brother Billy and Mark’s big brother Mikey “Mr. 02148” Cherone ate the bosses’ dust this sun splashed morning as G Force barely broke sweat crossing the finish line. Immediately making a beeline to the Kayem Hot Dog stand for a quick complimentary red hot. Good job, Mayor! On a more serious note, “Malden Musings” pays homage to all who ran and for supporting such a worthy cause! Also, thank you bigly to organizer Brian Killion and the Irish American Club for once again leading from the heart when it comes to giving back to the community.
• Say it ain’t so! We survived the closing of El Torito, the Vogue, Augustine’s, the Hilltop and the Blue Star, but will we survive the closing of the iconic Continental Restaurant? I think not – our pursuit of happiness sadly taking another hit. Insert sad face.
• Facebook may not be perfect but the ability to connect with so many people in an instant, fuhgeddaboudit! My “1963 Part 1” article mentioning Jerry Lewis’ appearance at the Granada Theatre struck a nostalgic chord with many. Check out which Maldonians were there on that historic afternoon 61 years go: Alendre Brooks, Jean Morando, Vinnie (aka Jimmy) Della Gatta, Donna Dugas-Morton, Hal and Phyllis Mambuca Landwehr, Sheila Burchell-McGowan, Vinnie “The Ageless Wonder” Disano and Steve Funicella.
• Kathleen Walsh Murphy via Facebook with another side of Jerry Lewis: “I don’t remember the Granada visit at all. I thought Jerry Lewis was so funny, watched all his movies. Then MDA telethons – glued to my seat. So appreciated what he had done helping those with this dreadful disease. In October of 1974 we were living in Las Vegas. My mother and sister-in-law had come to visit. They were staying at the Sahara. We were at the back elevators when we heard his voice. I was so happy to see him walking towards us. Then I listened to what he was saying. He berated and belittled the young person who was helping him to the car that was waiting for him. My husband and I were shocked by this display. I never watched another Telethon. I think this was the real Jerry Lewis, not the one you see on the screen.”
• Special Malden Musings Shout Out once again for the front yard at 892-894 Salem St. and to the gentleman with a green thumb who cares for it so lovingly. This tiny piece of paradise is nestled comfortably between Steve’s Corner and Moreno’s Barber Shop and always looks wicked nice. I watch this man tend to this beautifully landscaped patch as I sit at that interminably long light at the intersection of Salem and Broadway and admire his pride making his itty-bitty piece of the earth a feast for the eyes; a pledge of love right there at Broadway and Salem! Keep up the great work, friend.
• Great conversation last week with two of the finest hockey players to ever call Malden home, Robbie Buckley and Johnny Lavasseur. Both were outstanding skaters at Malden Catholic with all those fabulous MC hockey teams of the mid 1970s and are a wealth of valuable Malden hockey history info. We came up with a list of 25 hockey greats from the past 50 or so years, which I will share with readers soon. Malden hockey aficionados will be surprised to discover one particular name left off the Top 25 list. Or maybe you won’t be. LOL. Stay tuned.
• Apropos of nothing, I remember when Robbie met his beautiful wife Denise (Girls Catholic girl) 45 years ago. I will get the inside dope on that also soon.

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – in memorial…My father, Solomon Z. Levine, grew up hard on the streets of the old West End of Boston. A self-taught O.G., pops was born with what many today call “street smarts.” He may have literally written the book on said street smarts. Employing these lessons learned in the school of hard knocks when his five children came of age, his wisdom was a yardstick that each of us have successfully employed through life. Thank you, Sol, for the courage of foresight and more importantly for not necessarily telling us what to think, but how to think.

With that said, my dad proudly wore his Star of David right up until that day three years ago (Oct. 23, 2021) when he passed (hopefully, his much-anticipated reunion with his father, Herschel, was realized). A voracious reader, he had a saying after scanning the “Irish Sports Page,” noticing the passing of yet another “landsman,” he’d say, to nobody in particular, “we lost another friend today…”

With that said, Zalick, we lost another friend today; “Lithuania’s Jews and Yiddishists around the world are mourning the passing of Fania Brantsovsky, the last surviving member of the Jewish underground in the Vilna ghetto and a keeper of the flame of the city’s once glorious Yiddish past, died at the age of 102 in Vilnius.”

Postscript 1: An Empty Bottle, A Broken Heart, & You’re Still on My Mind … Lawdy, lawdy! Been six years this October 23rd since we mourned a Malden original, my pally and yours, Steve Bouley. I wrote this on his passing back in 2018: “I’ve known Steve Bouley since he was a wee small pup. His brothers Joey and Dave as well. All part of the Edgeworth community/landscape growing up. So many great memories of basically just killing time at the ‘Conna’ (Highland & Whitman) with no particular place to be. So many memories of rock clubs like Jaspers, Jumbos, Cantones, the Channel and the Rat seeing the ’Hoods, Outlets, Atlantics, Boy’s Life, Willie Loco, Rick Berlin, the Dream/Extreme. Road tripping to Hampton Beach to see the Ramones or Salisbury Beach to see the Stompers opening for the Jim Carroll Band. So many memories of hours spent behind Star Market drinking Miller High Life before and after clubland. Memories of late nights at Anthony’s on Canal Street with Schlitz, piles of Neal’s sausages, and the best of company. Steve loved his muscle cars! When he was younger, we’d watch him race up and down Highland Ave. in his ’69 Chevy late into the night. Stopping to join us at China Garden and feast on the steps in front of Gabby’s. Difficult to process that we will no longer sit at the I.A.C.C., partake in libations, and talk politics. Man, did he LOVE his local politics. Steve was opinionated and not shy sharing said opinions. As a mail carrier he knew more than most regarding many things transpiring in these here 5 square miles! He was a big fan of M.A.T.V. and Ronny Cox. After I appeared one night on Ronny’s ‘Live on Tape’ show he good naturedly busted beans about a garish hippy type of sweater I wore. We laughed out loud about that sweater for years. He was extremely proud of his time spent in the service. We would sit for hours and talk of his ‘adventures’ in the Philippines. And when he brought home all that gaudy bamboo furniture from the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ all we could do was shrug our shoulders and say, ‘really cool, Bouls!’ LOL! Steve also knew what was important in life. His wife Jackie, his children Jacqueline and Jesse, and his hometown of Malden were at the top of the list. A proud veteran Bouls unabashedly flew the American flag in his front yard. A tribute to his time spent in the service and for those who sacrificed all. But, without question, he was most appreciative (and proudest) of his family not hesitating to express his love for them; for as long as we would listen. Our last time together was no different. Steve had a special soul. Define soul any which way you’d like. I’d match his up against anybody’s. Just want ya to know Bouls, you ain’t forgotten.”

Postscript 2: Lawdy, I miss this kid. As the saying goes, the comfort of having a friend may be taken away, but not that of having had one.

Postscript 3: Good day sunshine! This just in… congratulations to City of Malden Human Resource Director straight out of Edgeworth Anthony Chiccuarelli and his family on the arrival of their first bundle of joy, granddaughter Emilia Bennett Troiani! Weighing in at a healthy 8 lbs. 10 oz., little Emilia is also the great-niece of these two wicked good guys, Chris and Kevin Bennett. Welcome to the world, little one.

—Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to The Malden Advocate and can be reached at PeteL39@aol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms.