~ Malden Musings ~ Saint Rocco Feast 2026 On My Mind

By Peter Levine

Sunshine and blue skies usually bring happy, smiling pilgrims by the thousands out of hibernation during the annual San Rock Festa (this year on August 7 through 9). Fine weather and a decades old tradition will do that. Planned — just for you, Malden — is a spectacular weekend of music and food, which is guaranteed to make Maldonians and Friends of Maldonia forget the daily grind and mishegas of life for a brief few moments anyway. The homemade Italian food served by real homemade Italians will bring back memories of family dinners of yesteryear: a simpler time in life when you’d stagger down Pearl on a Sunday morning (queue “Sunday Morning Coming Down” by Johnny Cash) and smell the fresh bread baking at Pearl Bakery; when you’d walk by any house on Malden, Thacher or Oakland Streets and inhale the Sunday sauce simmering on the stove – the meatballs, eggplant and chicken cutlets frying – and know instinctively whose mom was cooking which Sunday afternoon banquet. The friends and family lining the streets all San Rock weekend long will bring back these memories “lost to the sands of time.” Recaptured for this moment, on this special weekend — truly a spectacular weekend. As Carly Simon once sang, “Stay right here…cuz these are the good old days.” See you on Pearl in August, Maldonia!

It is said in Malden Musings…

• Separated at birth: former Malden Superintendent of Cemeteries and 25 ppg scorer in the 1981 Malden Men’s Recreation Department Men’s Hoop League Jimmy “Husband of the Fabulous Judy” Cahill and the arrogant casino mogul Moe “I buy you out, you don’t buy me out!” Greene (Alex Rocco) from the classic, “The Godfather.”
• For all you haters out there, I got the scorebook to prove the 25 ppg. Insert smiley face.
• Last week I listened to Jethro Tull’s 1971 masterpiece “Aqualung” (40th Anniversary Edition), and believe it or not, forgot how much I loved Ian Anderson and the rest of the boys in Tull! So much pleasure in each and every track. “Wond’ring Aloud” is worth the price of admission all by itself!
• On the 6^th anniversary of his passing…. Great googly moogly! People simply adored the late great Preacher Jack! The mad genius of boogie-woogie piano had many admirers! Stealers, dealers, sidewalk spielers loved him. Buskers, huskers and dawn to duskers were in awe! And at the Shipwreck in the ’70s a mobster or two may have tipped him a double saw (a well-known underworld figure who ran the Ebb Tide would request “Blueberry Hill” multiple times a night, according to Jasper Jack). Mike Girard from the legendary Boston-based band The Fools also dug what Preacher offered; he once opined: “I saw him for the first time years ago when I was busing tables at a coffee house in the late ‘60’s or early ‘70’s. He was as cool as a moose. I saw him years later and my opinion was the same. He was one of a kind.”
• Happy 82nd day of birth to that ageless wonder, Buddy “Boss Dawg of the Boneyard” Arthur! Possibly Malden’s second-best hoopster ever, Buddy married well in life (hello Louise!) which — all agree — has helped him maintain those still boyish good looks! Happy birthday, Big Guy!

You are a longtime Maldonian if you remember…

• Heart-stopping, pants-dropping, earth shocking, hard rocking, booty-shaking, earth-quaking, Viagra-taking, history making, legendary fireworks at Devir Park on the Monday night of the Saint Rocco Feast. Thank you once again to “The Boss” for allowing me to swipe from him yet again!
• When basketball enthusiasts would line up 30 deep for next at the old YMCA on a Wednesday or Friday night (Saturday afternoons, also).
• When the Centre Methodist Church stood where the John and Christina Markey Malden Senior Community Center now stands.
• Stephen Joseph Harris excelled at football, hockey, baseball and track at MC (1968). His freshman year hockey season, the team made the state tournament. In his sophomore year, the football team went undefeated (State Champs). In his senior year, he was ranked number one in Offense in the Catholic Conference. Odds bodkins! Outstanding!
• In the winter, under the direction of the D.P.W., Devir Park, Linden Park and Ferryway Green were flooded, attracting the best hockey players in the city/state who would play deep into the night — floodlights be damned.
• When Mooney Pond on Princeton Road was a “special hangout” where you could walk along the edge of the pond, inhale clean fresh air, sit on the huge boulders at the far edge of the area and hide amongst the dense trees. In winter you could ice skate, play hockey or just slide around for fun. It was a vernal pool of sorts, a natural spring that ran off onto Eric Place, which, on paper, is a “street” off Cherry Street (thank you to Malden Police Officer Noelle Bowie-Pierce’s mom Kim Bowie Sterrett for this contribution).
• When Malden had a thriving Jewish population with names such as Ruderman, Goldman, Rubin, Ross, Slavin, Berman, Robbins, Slaine and Sager to name but a few populating the Malden phone book. Suffolk Square (the West End, also) was the center of Malden’s Jewish community/heart and soul for many years until Urban Renewal came rearing its ugly head.
• Grind them out, stay on the court or go home basketball games at Little Pearl, Ferryway Green, Linden Park, Amerige, Green Street Park and Devir, in the sweltering July heat or on a frigid March afternoon.

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” — a big Malden Musings holla to Edgeworth icon, Capo di tutti capi, one bad mamma jamma and without a doubt a really swell fella, 100-year-young Nicky Angelo! This OG is a faithful Son of Edgeworth and proud American who, as part of the “greatest generation,” answered the call of duty, serving proudly when the Army came calling. Aware of his patriotic duty, Nicky, to this very day, has never missed an opportunity to cast a ballot, national or otherwise. Highlights of Nick’s life include casting his very first vote for Abraham Lincoln, booking passage on the Titanic but cancelling last minute, and advising a young upstart women pilot named Amelia Earhart that travelling alone across the Atlantic was a really crazy idea or “ubatz,” as my mother used to call me. All kidding aside, we in Malden are blessed to have Nicky Angelo in our lives. Viva San Rock, Nicky, mad respect and we’ll see you in August.

Postscript: Speaking of Kim Bowie, my heart goes out to you and your family during this time of loss. My sincerest condolences on the passing of your mother, Jeannette (Bowie), at the remarkable age of 89. From what I have read and heard, one filled with decades of much love, wisdom and (I am sure) those quiet in-between moments that gently shaped the beautiful family she built.

A proud 1955 graduate of Cheverus High School, Jeannette’s story reads of a life well lived (whoever wrote her obituary did a fine job, indeed). Even in something as simple and endearing as her love for devil dogs, I can feel the joy she carried and shared freely. That small detail alone brought a genuine smile and said so much about her spirit. It’s clear she was someone very special. Reflected so beautifully in her children and grandchildren. Wish I knew her. In my opinion, the legacy she leaves behind isn’t just in years lived, but in the lives she touched and the love she seemingly gave so effortlessly. May her memory continue to be a blessing, comfort and a quiet presence in your hearts always.

—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.