~ Malden Musings ~ MHS Class of 1970 REUNION

By Peter Levine

If you see any of those crazy kids from Malden High School’s Class of 1970, wish them a happy 55th HS Reunion! Trixie tells me that on Saturday, June 28, excited classmates will gather at the Moose Lodge on Broadway for the wildest class shindig/reunion you could possibly have on a Saturday afternoon at 3. Expect to do the bump and the hustle with the likes of Barbara Walsh Murphy and Trixie until the wee small hours of Saturday afternoon. For real! Cost is a mere $60 and if you plan on attending, please RSVP by June 14. Checks can be made out to MHS Class of 1970 and snail mailed to Linda Puccia at 14 Brookfield Lane in Saugus. Or you can Venmo Linda if that works for you. There’ll be a photo booth, DJ, buffet dinner (Moose Raviolis are THE best!), cash bar (say hello to Ralph Kelly) and a room set aside if you would like to take a short nap. (I kid, Class of 1970!) So, if you see Irwin Zalko, Rudy Trulli, Timmy Sullivan, Richie Silvestri (Deb, can Richie go out for a couple of hours on the 28th?), Richie “Ace” Howard, Paul “Papa” McKinnon, Joey Pontbriand, Bobby Dietz, Judi Brandano, Cheryl Buckley of the West Peabody Buckleys (West Peabody inside joke), Cliff “Stable Genius” Cioffi, Jimmy Coleman, Jimmy DiSano, Charlie Giacobbe, Mike Gilligan or Dennis Ippolito, let them know and make sure they wear their dancing shoes because y’all be doing the tighten-up until at least 7 o’clock that night!

It is said in “Malden Musings”…

• Attention! Class of 1970! If you haven’t been to Malden Square lately, it has changed just a tad. Don’t expect to find Piece O Pizza, Brigham’s, Signor Pizza, Jack Haney’s, Joe & Nemo’s, either Army & Navy, the Malden Grill, the Kernwood or even the Centre Bar & Grille. But you will definitely not be disappointed! Expect to find some of the finest dining destinations on the North Shore right here in our very own backyard. Check out All Seasons Table and let Douglas Tran know that Malden and the Class of 1970 love him!
• FYI…the Slak Shak may be long gone but you can purchase a tasty bowl of hot and sour soup just about everywhere you turn. My opinion may be biased but try All Seasons Table’s soup. Fuhgeddaboudit!!
• Ladies from the Class of 1970, just a heads up! If you hear the following slow jams being played — The Moments’ “Love on a Two-Way Street,” “Eddie Holman’s “Hey There Lonely Girl” or The Delfonics “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” — expect to see Choff lurking on the dance floor looking for a slow dance partner. You have been forewarned.

Speaking of 1970… I never knew how golden my summers were growing up in Malden until I read Jennifer Finney Boylan’s op-ed in a Sunday New York Times of a few years back (well, actually I did know but I thought that would be a cool intro)…

• Memories of the 1973 Devir Park Bandstand concert featuring “Blue Star” brought to us by Paul O’Toole, Brian Cox, Ronny Cox and the rest of the Outreach/ACID gang came back to me.
• The 1967 Impossible Dream Team
• Endless hours at King Neptune until Mrs. Bionelli would politely ask us to “finish up”: clam plates, French fries, crispy fried shrimp by the bucketload!
• The Real Paper (who didn’t love to read Ed Zuckerman’s columns?!). The Boston Phoenix (Charlie Pierce, anybody?). The Village Voice (Robert Christgau!)
• Role models/educators like Barry Fitzpatrick, Ed Lucey, Jim O’Connell, Paul Phaneuf, Frank Adorn, Brendan Duffy, Ms. Willard, Marguerite Gonsalves, Mac Singleton, Bill McCormack and Mr. Hines
• Endless sweat-soaked gray tee shirt hours on the hoop court at Amerige with the likes of the Cioffis, Danny Meyers, Mark Burns, Greg Phaneuf, George Miller, Jimmy Cahill, Dave Angelo, Paul Norton, Jackie Maltzman, Gary & Wayne Campsmith, Dave McNary and Joe Levine.
• Hot summer days at Devir Park playing whist, baseball, softball, football, hockey and basketball — all in the same day most of the time.
• The Big Bad Bruins
• Tricca’s, Brandano’s, Henry’s, The Roadside, The Highland, Anthony’s, Jessell’s, Salemwood, The Roadside. Nuff ced.
• The Central Square Theater, the Coolidge Corner Theater, the Harvard Square Theatre
• Lifelong friend Jimmy Damiano; his loyalty fierce right up till the day he passed on
• Endless hours at the Highland Café; the pizza so special, so legendary that the memory is seared into our collective minds/souls, like forever.
• Destination Malden Square: Headlines, Sizzleborg, Roli’s Music Inc., Jordan Marsh, the Malden Evening News, Jerry’s Army & Navy, Kotzen’s Furniture, First National Grocery Store, Pleasant Lanes, Kennedy Bread & Egg, Woolworths, Boston Leader, Richard’s Pub, Malden Trust, Louie Klane’s, Gold Coin, Jack in the Box, Riley’s Roast Beef, Spark’s, Liggett’s Drug Store, The Cartridge Club House at 10 Exchange St., The Horseshoe Bar & Grille, Chisholm’s Sporting Goods, Hanlon’s Shoes, and so much more.
• The original Kelly’s Roast Beef on Revere Beach
• The Delfonics, George Harrison, The Temptations, Alice Cooper, Jethro Tull, The Stones, Blue Magic, John Prine, Sly, James Brown, Dylan, Carole King, Elvis, Stylistics, The Who
• Bill Russell, Captain Carl, Hondo, Satch, Jo Jo, Orr, Rico, Derek Sanderson, Dave Cowens, Reggie Smith, Hawk Harrelson, Tony C, Lonnie
• The original Regina’s in the North End
• The original Galleria Umberto on Parmenter Street
• The “lyric little bandbox” of a hoop court at the old Y.M.C.A.!
• The Granada and Strand Theatres
• The Bandstand at Devir! The hill at Amerige, Waite’s Mount on Friday nights!
• Neighborhood role models: Ed Markey, Don Brunelli, Jim Conway, Dom Fermano, Bobby McCarthy’s big brother Joe, Paul Worth, Joe DiVincentis (Jr. & Sr.), Billy O‘Mahoney, Butch Gennetti, Billy Callahan, Stevie Saraceni.
• Cliff Cioffi and the vital role he played shaping so many young lives — being an outspoken proponent for the good and welfare for all on the courts and off at Devir and Amerige. Also being an outspoken humanist way before it became fashionable in Malden. Thank you for that, Cliff. Don’t get me wrong, he could be a real pain in the (expletive deleted) at times but that made him all the more lovable.
• The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Dirty Harry, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, The Exorcist, High Plains Drifter, Saturday Night Fever
• Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, George Foreman, Ken Norton, Roberto Duran, Malden’s Ronny Drinkwater
• ICL Hall of Famers: Dave Caiazzo, Ruffy Mugica, Dave Polcari, Eddie Larson, Harry Mehos, Eddie DiGiacomo, Joe DiSarcina, Joe O’Donnell, Eddie Rideout, Joe Armstrong.
• The Augustine Athletics and Malden Merchants
• Mom and dad — strong, young and healthy.
• Long, hot summer days at Devir Park surrounded by friends made for good — the sweetest memories of life lived during these times.

Back by popular demand with a belated Memorial Day tribute! From the gripping pages of the personal diary of “Malden’s One-Man Army,” SS Joe Lumino — an unforgettable local legend and hero. Joe served with distinction in the U.S. Army’s 45th Infantry Division during World War II, where he courageously faced the horrors of the “Battle of Bloody Ridge.” In that brutal clash, Joe singlehandedly took down over 75 enemy combatants, earning the prestigious Silver Star for valor.

Today, a proud memorial stands at the corner of Oakland Street and Highland Avenue — an enduring tribute to Joe’s bravery and sacrifice. Every year, during the Saint Rocco Procession, we pause at this sacred site to honor his memory and reflect on the courage of a true Malden hero. Here is an excerpt from his personal diary:

“As I am left behind at the rear, on August 15 the boys made the invasion of southern France. During all my time overseas, I never missed a day of action and thanks to G*d and my wife’s prayers and everyone else who prayed for me that I am in good health.

“Things I will never forget concerning combat and the boys: Gilliam and I were the best of pals, and I sure hated to say goodbye to him. We were always together, and the boys always kidded us by telling us we were married to one another.

“The boys of my squad I could never forget. The captain told me I had the best boys in the company, and I felt very proud. They were never sick or scared. They were kids full of pep. Out of the 45 boys in my platoon that came over to Sicily, there are only 7 left.”

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” — there’s a photograph, a black-and-white freeze-frame from another lifetime, that found its way back to me recently. It had been tucked away in time, forgotten like a childhood toy in the attic (aka my grandson Christian’s Sheriff Woody Pride?) until it resurfaced, almost magically, on Facebook. And the moment I saw it, I was transported — not just to a place, but to a feeling. I remember everything about that day, that dusty old gym and my unkempt moss.

It was 1972, and I was a gangly 15-year-old with a bad haircut and a head full of (day) dreams, standing proudly in the Beebe Junior High gym as a member of the “Gym Club.” Mr. Carey was our gym teacher back then — Mac Singleton moving on the year before. The picture had been taken for the yearbook, but looking at it now, it feels like it captured much more than just our mugs. It caught a whole era in a single click from the Camera Club’s lens.

There we were. My childhood goombahs, my good time pallies, froze in time. There’s curly-haired Paul “Pony” Coleman with his hand resting on the bemused head of Timmy Silva — yes, the same Timmy of Timmy’s Roast Beef fame in West Yarmouth. Just to Paul’s right is Jimmy Anagnis, and there’s Mark “Bunza” Burns, Billy “Smitty” Smith, Bobby Stelmach and Bobby “Jeep” Jones.

And there I am, too — mop-topped like the rest — glancing down just as Charlie Femino throws a casual elbow over George Grime’s shoulder, both caught in a moment of friendship as natural as breathing. To Charlie’s left stands Rocco Saraceni, sporting that unforgettable, wild and curly Ital-Fro he used to wear, which Rocco pulled off bigly!

Down front, kneeling with youthful confidence, is eighth grade up and comer Frankie Letizia — you could already see the ball player he’d become. I can make out Gary Dawson, Greg Phaneuf, Mr. Sanford, Ricky DiPietro, Paul Nazzaro and Mike “Hawk” Scibelli also. And then there’s Stratus “Chuckie” Frangulas, our dear, late friend — second row, next to Rocco, goofing around, clowning as only Chuckie did. He’s gone now, but in that photo, he lives forever — laughing, young, full of mischief and light.

What a picture. What a time. What a memory.

Postscript 1: We get letters… from Barbara Levine Scibelli: “beautiful tribute to one of the OGs of Edgeworth moms – Marie Bionelli!!! She loved and respected her kids like no one I’ve ever met and in return, they her. Welcoming, warm, inclusive… and if you watched closely, she taught you how to love your family. You would be smart and blessed if you lived your life like she did. Rest peacefully, Mrs. Bionelli and your memory will be a blessing for sure.”

Postscript 2: MHS Class of 1975! Do not forget your 50th reunion is approaching rapidly! It’s inevitable. Get over it. Save the date for September 20th at the Crowne Plaza in Woburn. Contact me for details about this life-altering event.

—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.