~ Malden Musings ~ In a Malden State of Mind

By Peter Levine

I’ve been in a Malden state of mind lately. One of those moods where the past feels just a whisper away. After a few unexpected, heartfelt encounters with old friends it reminded me, yet again, how deeply fortunate my family and I were when our parents chose Malden as the place to plant roots and raise us.

First, I crossed paths with Dom Fermano, who was carrying the heavy sorrow of losing his lifelong friend, Paul DeMayo. You could feel the weight of that loss in his voice, in his eyes. Seventy-five years of friendship including boyhood adventures, high school mischief, weddings, babies, tragedy, San Rock and all the changes Malden has seen through the decades — bound together by shared memories that now live a little more inside Dom than in the world around him. Their story is Malden’s story.

Then I ran into my childhood bestie, Greg Phaneuf, who beamed with joy as he shared news of his daughter Mackenzie’s wedding. The pride in his voice echoed the legacy of his parents — Paul and Mary — two pillars of our community, both educators and champions for kids. I couldn’t help but think how their hearts would have overflowed seeing their granddaughter so radiant, grounded and kind — generations connected by values that were planted right here in this city we all share.

And finally, on a quiet Sunday morning, I saw Mary (Brown) Spadafora greeting her husband Tony as he pulled into the driveway. The aroma of her Sunday sauce already in the air — feeding not just bellies, but tradition — surrounded by her children and her ever-growing clan of grandchildren, all full of life, love and possibility. Another Malden family passing the torch, with grace and pride.

Dom’s grief, Greg’s joy, Mary and Tony’s legacy — it’s all swirling in my head and heart today. And it all leads me to the same thought: We are lucky. Lucky to be from Malden. There’s something really special here, something deep in the bones of this city that connects us, whether we’ve lived here forever or just long enough to feel its embrace. We’re all part of this patchwork — old friends, new neighbors and everyone in between — and that’s something worth holding onto. We’re lucky we are Malden.

Which leads me to something I wrote in the recent past: a point of pride for me. Ed Sheehan’s words shared once again to prove that this line of thought ain’t anything new; Malden 100 years ago isn’t much different from Malden 2025. If you are Malden, these words go straight from the late (actor/author) Ed (Sheehan’s) heart to ours. They jump off the page and grab you much like Elliot Paul and his wonderful gift to Malden, “Linden on the Saugus Branch.” Where — with only the written word — you can see, hear and smell our beloved Malden of yesteryear…

“There is a part of me that will always be Malden. Our family was wealthy in everything but money. My father was a sheet metal worker and my mother, a nurse…moved to Malden …thinking it was a nice place to raise a family. They were right. Our clothes were always clean – our stomachs full. I left high school after the first year to go to work. After that I got my education at the Malden Public Library. I went to Pearl Harbor in 1940 – where it was always summer. I have always been happy. But I need only to shut my eyes to bring back the faces and places of Malden. Its streets of brilliant autumn, moist spring, and silent snow. Summer sassafras and lilac, fresh bread, crisp apples – the slap of a screen door and my mother’s voice summoning me to supper. In my memory there is a Malden that will never change. I am grateful to it – I wish it could have happened to everybody.”

It is said in “Malden Musings”…

• Guilty pleasure of the week: Country Music Hall of Fame’s honky-tonk hero and original practitioner of the Nashville Sound “Gentleman Jim” Reeve’s — Welcome to My World.
• Happy belated 100th birthday to the reigning Queen of Edgeworth (sorry, Debbie Nice!), Esther Carducci. Mayor Christenson, Ward 2 Councillor Paul Condon and State Rep. Steve (D-Edgeworth) Ultrino were on hand to help celebrate the big day in May along with her large, loving family. Esther has been to every single San Rocco ever held. This year will be no exception. See you at the fried dough stand, Esther, and happy birthday!
• I would trust my life savings (even my vinyl record collection!) with the MPL Board of Trustees. A finer group of Maldonians has never, ever been assembled. Dora! Franny Molis! Luce! Anthony Spadafora! John T! Fuhgeddaboudit! Just saying…
• Patti Marsinelli, rest in peace and know that you will never be forgotten.
• Jerry Lynch, formerly of Green Street Park, now residing in a foreign land, far from the shores of the Malden River, called “Kentucky” — I cannot express in words how good it was to see you last week. But I will try. Here for his little brother Richie’s 35th wedding anniversary, Jerry, looking like a million bucks, strutted into the Italian American Citizen’s Club patio, where time stood still for a brief couple of hours; endless games of hoop at Green Street (most underrated hoopster in Malden at the time?), poker games on Charles Street until the wee small hours, with more endless hours sitting idly in Signor Pizza. There was softball, flag football and even a Miller High Life or two thrown into the mix also. I wouldn’t trade my Jerry Lynch memories for anything in the world! Well, maybe a case of the now extinct Ballantine Ale. I kid! Great seeing you, Jerry. Let’s get brother Danny out of hibernation soon.
• Joel Stuart Droker, 85, of Boynton Beach, Florida, formerly of Salem, Marblehead and Malden. May his memory be a blessing.

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” — we get letters… Take it away, Paul “The Pride of Oak Grove” Sieswerda: “Great to see you today, Peter! One of the great things I love about your writing style is you always bring me back to the old Malden I knew with the names of the kids I used to hang out with. I just want to share my experience with the work your brother Joe is doing for the Rec Dept. The basketball programs are second to the morals and life skills he is instilling in our youth. I have watched my boys go through Malden Rec and like we were talking this morning time goes by in a blink of an eye. I have been going to basketball with my kids and have reconnected with the Malden I know and love [—] the people that build a community! Talking with Dana (Brown), Joe (Levine), John (Furlong), and Danny (Gilligan) brings a sense of brotherhood as we go through life’s trials and tribulations. My heart goes out to the Gilligan family with the loss of Lisa, and I know too well the comfort of a community that stands behind the survivors that have to realize life still goes on. I enjoy being part of what the basketball community has brought to my family. This comes from an old rink rat that used to spend his time in Hockey Town USA. I went in there not too long ago and the smell brought me back to the days of sneaking in and turning on the lights just to get some practice time in. I hope you have a great rest of your day!”

Paul continued… “Every year at Malden Youth Basketball MHS seniors coach their last Saturday morning of the winter season, however not every year a group of seniors are as special as these kids. Most of these seniors have participated in our programs since 3rd grade. Today was a bittersweet day watching them coach one last time before college. They have all made the city of Malden a better place.”

Shout out to the next generation of Sieswerdas! Paul’s three boys Canon, Emory and Paulie, who all benefit from good Sieswerda athletic genes, or so I have been told — LOL — all outstanding ballers from Rec scouts I have spoken with. Canon (14), like Joe Levine, is a crafty left-hander who has considerable skills, while Emory (13) bangs the boards much like Charles Barkley from back in the day. “Paulie Buckets” (8) is catching up to his older siblings really quickly. Keep playing hard, guys, hustle and listen to your coach (and your pops!).

Postscript: Maldonia had a near heart attack two weeks ago. Loyal readers cracked open their trusted Malden Advocate, coffee in hand, ready for their weekly fix of “Malden Musings”… and found nothing. Nada. Not a peep from yours truly.

Now before anyone calls the FBI or files a missing person’s report, let me clarify: The column did appear online, but thanks to a gremlin in the print system (or maybe just an overworked press operator), it never made it into the physical paper.

For some, this was merely a glitch. For others — like the legendary “Big John” Marsinelli — it was an emotional earthquake. A couple weeks earlier, Marse had gently suggested I trim the column by about 300 words — a little editorial nudge — so when he opened the paper and didn’t see anything, the poor guy thought he’d snipped the whole thing out of existence.

He reportedly burst into tears, muttering something about censorship, the end of Western civilization, and life just ain’t worth living now. His sainted wife Maryalice did her best to comfort him, but you can imagine the scene. When I finally saw John in person, he put his big hand on my shoulder and said, “Good Lord Almighty, Peter, I just wanted you to shorten it, not vanish it!”

So, Marse, this is for you. My deepest apologies for the temporary panic. The world is back on its axis, “Musings” have returned and your Friday mornings are safe once again. No fake news here. Just the good stuff — served up with a side of Malden nostalgia and Maryalice-grade consistency.

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