~ Malden Musings ~ “Steve Freker…said no one”

By Peter Levine

Who knew Steve Freker was such a big softie!? Behind that rough, tough exterior lies a heart at least as big as Pine Banks Park! Steve wears many hats within the city he loves so much, and one of them happens to be, accomplished journalist. He almost single-handedly kept the Malden Evening News alive in its later years and now toils for the paper you are currently reading. Freck was a one man show at the MEN, reporting on everything from sports to politics, even letting this old hack grace the pages on occasion. Here I present to you a condensed article he wrote under the banner “Inside Information by The Editor,” which appeared in 2015. It is brilliant, like much of his work over the decades. In this he blends his love of the holiday season with clever, observational-type humor to create a column that John O’Brien would be proud of. I present a small portion of the worst column I have ever read…said no one!

• A lot of people have really gone out of their way this holiday season to let me into parking spots, get in front of them in traffic jams and overall, show some outstanding Christmas and holiday spirit out there on the roads…said no one.
• To borrow an oft-used phrase from the old Pete Carroll (Patriots Era), I am so jacked and pumped for the Red Sox season to begin, especially with the remarkable way the Sox have rebuilt the pitching staff…said no one.
• The seats at Fenway are wicked comfortable…said no one.
• There really are not enough traffic lights in Malden. They should do a traffic study and perhaps add some lights to some more intersections around the city…said no one.
• Can they please stop showing all those Christmas specials like “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and the original animated “How the Grinch Stole Christmas?” They’re 50 years old! We’re getting sick of them…said no one.
• What did you say? You think we are perilously close to the point in human history where, instead of filling in time away from “real life” with iPhone and computer action, it’s the other way around, that “real life” is the distraction? No way. You are dead wrong…said no one.
• Jimmy Fallon didn’t have any decent guests at all on his show this week…said no one.
• They should tear down Fenway Park and build one of those 60,000-seat megaplex baseball stadiums in its stead; it’s long overdue…said no one.
• The Christmas/holiday pageant/assemblies at lots of our local schools should be discontinued, since they are too long and too old-fashioned…said no one.

That was fun, wasn’t it?! I’m gonna give it a try….

• Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas exhibits humility beyond his years and, when all is said and done, may be considered the best defensive first baseman since George “Boomer” Scott…said no one.
• The Six Twenty-One Tavern & Grille on Broadway serves bad food, and nobody ever goes there…said no one.
• Parents of teenage girls throughout New England were overjoyed that Taylor Swift decided to play multiple shows at Gillette Stadium and all agreed that tickets were moderately priced…said no one.
• Fellsmere Pond aka The Rez has the cleanest and best smelling water on the North Shore…said no one.
• The Saint Rocco Feast in Edgeworth on the second weekend of August for the past 93 years is boring with really awful food and entertainment…said no one.
• As I walk around the city, I search and search, but cannot find one (Fireball) nip bottle on the side of the road…said no one.
• Nobody misses Steve Bouley, Jimmy Palermo, Brendan Duffy, Karen Anderson, Richie Cremone, John Coughlin, Walter Mullaney, Sean Lucey, Bill Mini, Mac Singleton, Jimmy Damiano, Hank & Donna Pitts, Donny Brunelli and Phil Longo…said (absolutely) no one.
• Malden Square on a Friday night is a sea of tranquility where FedEx trucks don’t park on sidewalks, Uber drivers don’t double-park on Pleasant Street and motorists don’t make 12-point turns trying to pull into a parking space…said no one.

It is said in “Malden Musings”…

• Did you know that former Maldonian Barry Alman (Amerige Park hoopster now a San Diego transplant, whom I wrote about a couple weeks back) was an extra in the 1989 movie “K-9,” with Jim Belushi. According to Barry they filmed for three days in Barrio Logan (San Diego) and he can be seen on screen, solo, in the scene where Belushi rents a car and drives into the crack house across the street. Thanks for the Malden trivia, Barry!
• This is one of the (many) reasons I love Malden so much! Steve Wishoski – Malden Catholic, 1965 – speaks: “Peter, I just read your piece on Red Harris. It was excellent and as usual you were able to make the Edgeworth connection in a nice way. The Harris family lived on Watts Street, right in the middle of Edgeworth, before moving to Boundary Road (my sister Diane told me there were some questions about Red’s Edgeworth birthright on Facebook). So, you had it right. Other players on the 1965 team from Edgeworth were: Steve Harris (Red’s brother), Richie Cullen (Pleasant Street), Tom Denehy and Bob Ciccarelli (Malden Street), me (Emerald Street) and Frank Schifano (Whitman Street). In addition, that team produced three All Scholastics (Red, Neil Hurley and Rich Cullen) and seven Division 1 college football players. I really enjoy reading your stuff. Keep up the good work.” Thank you so much, Steve, and tell that lovely sister of yours I said hello!
• How about the late Maglione brothers (Lou and Anthony) donating their combined life savings of $6 million to WGBH-TV?! What a wonderful way of showing their appreciation for all the joy they received from GBH. Both brothers were part of the “Old Y” family and could be spotted at any given point in the day at the Y getting their workout in.
• Malden/Medford-based rock band Extreme’s latest album “Six” is blowing up all over the world. They keep adding concert dates across the globe, and it looks like you won’t be catching Gary at Starbucks anytime soon.
• Best of luck to Dunkin’ (619 Broadway) owner John Malachowski on the Grand Reopening last week of that location. John is one of the good guys and I’d like to personally wish him the best!
• The hanging plants at the corner of North Milton and Salem Streets look fabulous!
• Coincidence? I think not. The first two reaching out to me with their top hitters from the past 75 years were 1970 BRL Co-MVP’s Dave Caiazzo and Dennis Damiano. Dennis mentioned that for him Paul Murphy was the purest, the most natural hitter he ever saw in Malden. Paul was before my time BUT from what I have heard through the years, Dennis is spot on.

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – déjà vu all over again…speaking of Extreme and Gary Cherone, let’s hear from M.H.S. Class of 1964’s Aaron Mintz: “My brother (Mayer) and I read your nostalgic columns religiously online and always appreciate your writings for the wonderful memories they bring back. We grew up in Suffolk Square in the 1950’s. My brother ended up as Chief of Surgery at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital and told me an incredible story that I flagged right away as one I told him that ‘Peter Levine would want to hear and perhaps use.’ Even after I gushed about the story, my brother was reticent about contacting you, so I said I would do it and here I am. Here are the barest of details, as I remember them: while about to perform surgery at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, the 2 other attending surgeons discovered that each one had a nephew that was a singer in a rock and roll band. No big deal there but as they talked, they discovered that each nephew had been lead singers for the same band – Van Halen. One surgeon’s nephew is Gary Cherone…the other’s nephew is David Lee Roth. As you can imagine, everyone in the operating room was astounded by this coincidence.”

Postscript 1: Dr. Mayer Mintz resides in Florida these days, graduated M.H.S. in 1960 and was good friends with Norman Greenbaum. You’ll be hearing more from the Mintz brothers in the very near future.

Postscript 2: My sincerest condolences go out to the family of James Donald Mitchell, Jr. on his recent passing. I did not know Mr. Mitchell but reading his obit, I wish I had. Sixteen years of public service, including one term as Mayor of Chelsea, voted “Best Athlete” in Chelsea as a senior in 1955, and co-publisher, with his son Jim, of the Advocate Newspapers. Quite a life. Quite a legacy.

Postscript 3: Carole Gately… “Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam” – Marty, may your mom’s memory be a blessing.

—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.