~ Malden Musings ~ The Malden of My Youth — Revisited & Revised

By Peter Levine

I’d like to take a moment to tip my Scally cap and send a big public thank you to a new friend, Mike Hamilton. Mike’s a dyed-in-the-wool Somerville guy who’s been calling Woburn home for years now, raising a great family with his lovely wife. These days, he finds himself spending a fair amount of time in Malden — and, lucky for us, he’s brought a really good sense of humor, Hall of Fame credentials and sharp observations along with him.

Mike recently shared some kind words about my column that genuinely made my day. He said he enjoys reading them — not quite enough to make him wish he grew up in Malden (we’ll let that slide), but enough to appreciate the deep-rooted history and the shared character between Malden and his hometown of Somerville. Coming from a guy with Somerville street cred like Hammers, I’ll take that as high praise! Thanks, Mike.

I’ve received a few compliments over the years, but this one hit differently. It’s a great honor for a hack like me to receive such praise: that my words actually moved someone like Mr. Hamilton. At first, I figured our childhoods in Malden weren’t all that different from those growing up in Medford, Somerville, Chelsea or anywhere else tucked into Greater Boston. And sure, on paper, maybe they weren’t. But the more I sat with it, the more I realized — that Malden was something special. It wasn’t just a place to grow up. It was a certain vibe, a village, a beautifully chaotic slice of Americana that stamped us/me for life: unique, unforgettable and wicked awesome.

The way Malden is geographically laid out lends to its uniqueness — how certain areas were defined by the ethnicity of their citizens; how some were defined by the park that was central to the location; how some were defined by the “Square” that happen to be in the middle of the neighborhood. Green Street Park was ground central for years. Oak Grove rocked. There was Amerige Park with the amazing number of hoopsters, card players and potheads it produced LOL. There were the Edgeworth/Pearl Street/Whitman & Highland crews with “The Bakery” for many years being a focal point, the Newland Street Projects, the Devir Park gang(s), Harvard Street Park and Lincoln Park, the Belmont Hill boys, Maplewood Square, Judson Square, Forestdale Park aka Alex Gentile Memorial Park, the Vista Street hooligans (I kid) and Linden Square (Robinson’s News)/Linden Park. Trafton Park and Ferryway Green had their memorable characters. Coytemore Lea was always bumping with great fun. Suffolk Square was mostly gone when I was growing up, but their past is alive and well even today. The “Rez” was a place for the cool kids. Waitt’s Mount was a required destination growing up. I haven’t even touched on Malden Square as a youth — the Signor Pizza crowd, the Brigham’s crowd, the Park Street crowd (where the saying was “what goes on at Park Street STAYS at Park Street”) and on and on.

I also firmly believe that the fact that we were all crunched together in five square miles made us all, for the most part, anyway, “friends.” Of course, the occasional flare up would occur but mostly we saved that for our “arch enemies” next door – Meffa. Turns out, some of THE NICEST people I have EVER met came from just over the Fells in Medford (the folly of youth)! Point being, I don’t remember much hatred going around but I DO recall a tight knit community.

Speaking of Malden’s storied past, “Where has the Malden of our youth gone” was a post on Facebook a while back. For sure this is a nebulous sort of question, maybe it was meant rhetorically – nevertheless I am going to attempt to give my spin on this age-old query and how it pertains to us longtime Maldonians in present day M Town.

First and foremost, I like Malden 2025 and those in office (well, most of them, anyway LOL). I am a firm believer that we are living in the best of times. Three successive administrations with progressive, caring and highly intelligent leaders (Eddie Lucey, Richie Howard and Gary Christenson) have transformed us into one of the more desirable locations to raise a family and to grow old in ANYWHERE. I also, obviously, enjoyed growing up in Malden. My childhood memories of running the streets and parks of Malden are just as wonderful and vivid as if they happened just yesterday. Here are my thoughts (and I will stop rambling for a few moments):

The Malden of my youth…

• Had childhoods that were immortalized in novels, like “Linden on the Saugus Branch” by the likes of an old Linden boy, Elliot Paul
• Had two movie theaters within walking distance of each other
• Had educators who cared, who thought “outside the box,” who were active members of the community
• Had Donnie Brunelli — right, Dana B.?
• Was filled with Little League, youth hockey, Babe Ruth League and Pop Warner coaches that were fully invested, fully engaged and highly knowledgeable
• Had sports coaches who pushed you to be better, who showed you the fundamentals and took a vested interest in your abilities
• Had baseball coaches like Mr. Grimes, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Cuthberg, Bobby McCarthy’s late older brother Joe (happy 77, Joe!), Mr. Patrie, Mr. Covelle and a just back from the VN War Johnny Marsinelli
• Had an Italian Feast every second weekend in August on Pearl Street since the beginning of time (and still do)
• Had Joe & Nemo’s!
• Had neighborhood restaurants and saloons where they remembered your name, what you ate, what you drank and when to shut you off
• Had a downtown area that was safe, accessible, full of life…and still quaint
• Had Peter Panama Carroll (and still do!)
• Had neighborhoods with unique characteristics and unique characters, with the local children marking their territory as the previous generation before them had done
• Had a park system that allowed and encouraged you to be young
• Had Boone’s Farm Apple Wine and Schlitz (maybe not such a good thing in the Malden of our youth — LOL)
• Had the “Brother Gilbert’s Carnival” at Brother Gilbert Stadium
• Had semi pro baseball, night softball, Sunday morning softball, Men’s Recreational Basketball, the Junior Police League, Park Instructors, a YMCA Outreach program with hip, young, caring and enlightened personnel
• Had earth shattering fireworks — hello San Rock!
• Had a YMCA that was the center of most of our lives
• Had a head shop, record stores, pool rooms, bowling alleys and ice skating in the winter
• Had large families, large extended families — all living in the same house
• Had John O’Brien
• Had Creature Double Feature on Channel 38
• Had Kappy’s Bicentennial Beer
• Had Mark Cannon, Dave Moulton, Buddy Arthur, Red Harris, Matty Marden, Billy Croken and Johnny Salmon
• Had great baseball cards! Captain Carl with sideburns. Oscar Gamble with a huge “fro,” Rollie Fingers with THE best mustache in the history of ball players
• Had neighborhood schools we would walk to
• Had the 1967 “Impossible Dream” team Boston Red Sox
• Had BRL legends Bob Rotondi, Bob Rosano, Leo Moro, Peter Gaelis, Perry & Pearl Verge and Joe Saia
• Had police officers, firefighters and educators who were your neighbors, your high school classmates and your friends
• Had some of the best police officers around walking the beat — hello, Kenny Coye!
• Had the Boston Celtics in their Red Auerbach glory years
• Had less traffic lights
• Had a young Diego “Dickie” Barricelli and now has a “more experienced” Diego “Dickie” Barricelli. Happy birthday, my friend!
• Had Stevie Wonder in the Jenkins Auditorium and The Lovin’ Spoonful in the Marshall Gym
• Had Sal “Butchie” Gennetti!
• Had a riot — in Malden Square
• Had a handful of television stations, which made us happy (as long as we had 38 & 56)
• Had Mr. Brendan Duffy, Mr. Brown, Mr. Dempsey, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Hines, Mr. Benotti, Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Barry Fitzpatrick as high school mentors
• Had a public swimming pool you could sneak into on a hot summer night
• Had the best hockey players in the state!
• Had Pearl Street Bakery, DiPietro’s Bakery, Nelson’s Bakery & Harvard Pastry
• Had David Brickman and a local paper (Malden Evening News) that was the rival of any daily on the North Shore and well beyond
• Had Beebe, Browne and Lincoln Jr. High
• Had our fair share of cafes: Mike’s, Maher’s, Stadium, Rosebud, Salemwood, DeMarco’s and The Highland.
• Had our fair share of grilles: Jessel’s, The Horseshoe Bar, Jack Haney’s and The Do Re.
• Had long hot summer days (and nights) spent at Devir Park enjoying all that Malden of a bygone era had to offer

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” — Merle Haggard once asked the age-old question “Are the Good Times Really Over?” Well, no offense to Merle, but around here in Maldonia, we think the answer is a resounding “Not a chance!” Sure, Larry Bird ain’t walking through that door anytime soon, and Elvis has most certainly left the building — but who says the party’s over?

In fact, right here in our beloved five-square-mile slice of the world, we’re living through a full-blown Malden Renaissance. And it’s not by accident. It’s thanks to some rock-solid leadership, starting with Mayor Gary Christenson — a guy who seems to run on espresso and civic pride. His dream team (shout-out to Maria Luise, Elaina Savino, Kathleen Manning-Hall and Ron Hogan!) and the city’s Directors (looking at you, Carol Ann Desiderio, Nelson MiIler and Chris Rosa!) are the kind of behind-the-scenes heroes every great city needs.

Of course, it’s only natural to get a little misty-eyed thinking about the Malden of yesteryear: Billy Callahan 4th of July parades; corner stores (Frenchie’s, Pete’s, Steve’s Conna, Lombardi’s, etc.); Italian bakeries; simpler days when your biggest worry was being home when the streetlights lit up and what kind of pizza to order at the Highland. Malden was a great place to grow up! But here’s the best part: It still is!

And while we’re busy telling our stories and swapping memories, there’s a whole new generation out there making their own (Hello, James Hyppolite! Hello, Kevin Exilhomme! Hello, Laura Perez! Hello, Rebecca Krigman! Hello, Toni & Jeri Scibelli!). Today’s bike rides, pizza shop hangs, and walk-to-school routines will become the warm, worn-in stories of tomorrow.

So don’t worry, Merle. The good times aren’t over. Around here, they’re just getting started.

Postscript: And JUST like that my sweet little Lola turns 12! First came her big brother Christian, and I was certain my heart couldn’t possibly hold more love than that. But, just three short years later, along came the love of my life in the form of an adorable, lovable little girl (then came Jack, and Lana, and Milo — but that’s a story for another time LOL). To my favorite granddaughter named Lola, happy birthday — I love you to the moon, the stars and all the way back again. Have a great day (and I am sure all will agree that I gave you the best b-day present that day!).

—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.