~ Malden Musings ~ Malden 1963 – Part 2

By Peter Levine

My recollection of 1963 is scant. Six years old in 1963 when we arrived on (pre-urban renewal) Charles Street from Carney Court in Charlestown; the six bedrooms were foreboding to us youngsters coming from a cramped two-bedroom apartment off Bunker Hill Street on the mean streets of Charlestown; Charles Street looking like Edinburgh Castle in Scotland as we pulled up for the very first time.

What I remember about 1963… I remember that terrified first walk to Emerson School on Highland Avenue with my mother and brothers Joe and Frank. Before my mother walked us into the school, she took us across the street to “Gennetti’s Spa” at Emerald & Highland (Henry’s father, Kristen & Matt’s grandfather), where she bought us comfort snacks for the day. I remember Johnny Puleo and a memorable conversation we had as first-graders (ask me about it next time you see me), and later in the month I remember Principal Feeley coming into our classroom to tell us the shocking news of our beloved, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. I also remember classmate Donna McCaffrey and how upset she became upon hearing the news.

With that said, a very small glimpse into Malden 1963 – Part 2 – courtesy of the Malden Evening News and the Malden High School Maldonian:

It is said in “Malden Musings” circa 1963…

• October 3 – “Hero Officer Eyes Return To Job” – “53 year old Malden Patrolman George Hood – his upper lip swollen, his half-a-knee cap wired together, his eyes still bloodshot and sensitive to light from his hospital bed recounted for the first time his version of the A&P Supermarket holdup attempt on September 14th where he was shot three times and his partner Patrolman Eddie C. Callahan was fatally wounded.”
• Oct. 3 – “Inside Information…” “A position on the State Commission Against Discrimination, due to go to a “Negro Republican,” sees Malden Councilor Herbert L. Jackson, former State Rep supposedly having the inside track for the appointment.”
• Aug. ’63 – who remembers DeMarco’s Cafe at 137 Pearl St. (now Pisa Pizza) featuring “99 cent specials” and “delicious barbecue” – another throwback establishment we frequented back in days of yore. It was so throwback it had a sign above the side door on Charles Street that read, “Ladies Entrance.” We would sit at the bar at lunch – (owner) Mike DeMarco behind the stick – order up bowls of his homemade meatballs with a side of hot cherry peppers (really hot!) and the freshest, crispiest French Bread (Pearl Bakery?) in Malden. And of course, a cold Miller High Life. The best of times for sure!
• Aug ’63 – who remembers Tricca’s Cafe & Restaurant at 192 Pearl St. “Malden’s leading Italian American Restaurant” – later morphing into Richie Cremone’s pride and joy “Cremones.” One of my earliest memories of Tricca’s was sometime in the early 1970s. Edgeworth five tool baseball stud Dennis Damiano (1970 BRL City Champ Barons & co-MVP) took me and my bestie (his little brother) Jimmy for a feast one Saturday afternoon. I don’t remember what Jimmy ate but (I believe) Dennis consumed crab after crab after crab. Epic! My ravioli and meatball were rivaled at the time only by my mom’s!
• Aug 9 – check out a typical fabulous Wednesday morning on TV in August of 1963: at 5 a.m. the movie “Invaders from Mars” on Channel 4, Bozo on Channel 5 (in color!), Three Stooges Theatre on Channel 7 and Popeye on Channel 9.
• Aug 9 – “Inside Information…” “Whether the matter is settled or not, about naming the new Coytemore Lea MDC swimming pool in honor of some distinguished ‘Maldenite,’ there’s a growing sentiment for recognizing a Malden boy who lost his life in World War 2. And since the pool is in Ward Four, it is a coincidence that among the first, if not the first, to sacrifice his life in that war was a Ward Four young man, Ralph W. Barrett Jr, killed in action Sept. 13, 1942, fighting with the Marines at the Battle of Bloody Ridge, Guadalcanal. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph W. Barrett, still reside at 66 Greenleaf Street.”
• Meanwhile at Malden High School… “CAM Collects Over $150 for March of Dimes.” The Convenimus Ad Meditandum Society will be sponsoring an “Indian girl’s” education in Arizona. Ten-year-old Nesbah Clark will be the recipient of money earned from the sale of “tipons” for her education. Not sure what “tipons” are and I would love to know how far little Nesbah got in life.
• Both of Anthony and Michelle (Settemio) Spadafora’s parents graduated in that star-studded class of ’63. “Popular” Anthony William “Tony” Spadafora (75 Emerald St.) was a “swimming, football, and music enthusiast.” Tony works at Broadway Piano Exchange and his bio reads he “will win a prominent place in whatever profession he chooses.”
• The future Mrs. Spadafora, Lucille Claire Trevisone of 93 Suffolk St., is a typist for the Blue & Gold but after school she “waits on customers at Jordan Marsh in Boston.” “Brown-eyed Lucy” is a big sports fan, excelling as a swimmer, and plans a career as a medical secretary. I never knew Tony, but I did know Lucille, one of the nicest, one of the sweetest human beings I have ever met. She is dearly missed, taken from us too damn soon.
• Malden celebrities of note graduating in ’63… Local legend Harvey William Nadler of 269 Ferry St. (where he still resides today) “never ran short of time in serving his class as a student council member, a decorator for the sophomore dance, and as a right fielder on the baseball team.” “Dependable Nad” has a “natural” ability in French and looks forward to teaching French in the future after visiting “la belle France.” I don’t believe Nad ever pursued a career in education and not sure he ever visited France (I know he made a memorable trip to NYC as a child, read below), but Harvey did succeed in life. A gentleman and a street scholar, the affable Harvey Nadler will always be one of my favorite Malden landsmen.
• Vincent Joseph Minervini of 147 Oakland St. earned a sweater and a letter as a member of the M.H.S. football team and was also a recipient of a Gold Key and a citation for his “outstanding artistic achievements.” His high school photo shows a handsome young man with jet black hair, a cross between Victor Mature and Tony Curtis. I spotted Vinny last week at the Italian American Citizens Club; he amazingly still has jet black hair, still has Hollywood good looks although resembling an older version of Victor Mature and Tony Curtis at this point in life (insert smiley face). Vinny never stopped creating art, by the way. I’ve seen his stuff; it is really good.
• William Joseph “Billy” Furlong (995 Eastern Ave. – across the street from Adam’s Plaza) was a baseball and basketball star winning numerous basketball trophies, including the Outstanding Student Athlete Award, as well as the Citizenship Award. Billy was also a member of the baseball and hockey teams at the C.Y.O. A truly gifted athlete – I didn’t know Billy growing up but heard of his legend playing sports throughout the city as a youngster. His little brother Johnny was a chip off the old block following in his brother’s large footsteps as an outstanding athlete in his own right.
• Robert DiGiovanni (196 Adams St.) was (according to his bio) a “tall, dark, and handsome” athlete who enjoys travel with a “goal of going west someday.” Robert, did you ever make it out west?

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – in case you don’t know the legacy of one our most famously celebrated residents, Herbert L. Jackson, here is a small glimpse (check out the Herbert L. Jackson switchbox painted in tribute to the man located in front of his former home at 267 Salem St. – outstanding). Jackson was the first African American ever elected to the Malden City Council – enjoying a prolific 30-year career in public service – first elected as a Councillor for Ward 7 from 1945 to 1947, and in Ward 5 from 1947 to 1951 then as a Councillor-at-Large from 1965 to 1975. He served as president of the Malden City Council four times during his political career. Also, Jackson was the first African American elected as a State House Representative in the 20th century, serving from 1950 to 1954. The City of Malden achieved national prominence in the election of Jackson as a Massachusetts District Governor of the Lions Club and again, he was the first African American elected to such a post in the United States. And of course, Jackson is in my Malden Mount Rushmore Hall of Fame.

Postscript 1: Speaking of Harvey Nadler… back in 2017 I chronicled his 1958 trip to New York City with his dad Sam and his once in a lifetime meeting with legendary boxer Jack Dempsey at “Jack Dempsey’s Broadway Bar” at 1619 Broadway. Harvey’s dad bragged that he knew “The Manassa Mauler” and ya know what? He did! They walk into the bar and Jack greets Sam with a bear hug and a loud “hiya pal” greeting. Jack asks young pup Harvey what he would like. Little 13-year-old Harvey replies, “B.L.T. and a Coke.” True story.

Postscript 2: By the way Harvey Nadler is not just another pretty face, he also has an encyclopedic mind for useful and, at times, useless information. He loves singing karaoke, playing the ponies, socializing with any female he meets and bantering with fellow I.A.C.C. and A.O.H. members. He may have the tiniest hands I’ve ever shook for such a storied athlete, but he has the best taste in music for a 78-year-old geezer! I’ve become a Nancy Wilson fan since Harvey put her on my musical radar map. Thank you, Mr. Nadler, and zay gezunt.

Part 3 in the very near future.

—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.