North End Interloper

Third Annual NEMPAC Holiday Craft Fair and North End Tree Lighting

northendinterloper — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:46:11 +0000

The Third Annual NEMPAC Holiday Craft Fair and North End Tree Lighting will take place this Sunday, Dec 6, 2009 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at The Prado in the North End of Boston.

There will be unique handmade gifts for sale by local artisans. NEMPAC students will be performing at 1:00 and there will be a Community Carol Sing.

The Mayor’s Tree Lighting Trolley Tour arrives at 2:15 p.m.

There will be free hot chocolate. And, Santa and his Elves will be on hand to visit with children.

Third Annual Buon Natale Holiday Stroll to Take Place in Boston’s North End on Friday, December 4, 2009

northendinterloper — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:37:26 +0000

Join the holiday festivities on Friday evening, December 4,2009, from 7pm-11pm when participating North End boutiques, galleries, and studios host the Annual Buon Natale Holiday Stroll along the streets of our historic neighborhood.

For more information:

Contact: North End Retail Group – Boston, MA

Email: northendstroll@gmail.com

Check out their blog.

Get in the spirit of the shopping season with exciting sales and discounts offered by many stroll retailers during the event. This is a great opportunity to shop locally, support our neighborhood’s small businesses, and enjoy terrific savings!

Enjoy light refreshments and seasonal entertainment along the route.

Santa will make an appearance at The Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel, which is offering a special room rate for holiday strollers who want to stay in Boston for the evening.

Validated parking for the Parcel 7 Garage will be available at selected locations.

As a special bonus, strollers can enter for a chance to win an amazing gift basket, brimming with delightful treats and gift certificates from the diverse group of stroll businesses. To enter, pick up a Stroll Passport card at any of the stores listed. Visit each of the shops and have your passport stamped at each location along the route. Return your completed, stamped card to any participating shop before the end of the night. The gift basket will be on display at The North Bennet Street School Gallery on the night of the stroll. Maps and passports are available at the shops listed below leading up to and on the evening of December 4 .

The list of participating shops includes:

a matter of FACE
Acquire
Bobbles and Lace
casa di stile
Filthy Rich Celebrity Jewelry
Friendly Framer “Che Bella Vita”
High Gear Jewelry
in-jean-ius
Lettering by Liz Calligraphy
Lovely Fare
Lit Boutique
Moda
North Bennet Street School Gallery
North End Gallery
Philip’s Salon
red M studio
Shake the Tree
Sedurre
Sol Optics
The Velvet Fly
The Wine Bottega
Twilight
1-800-Flowers
Fairmont Battery Wharf

Join us in the North End for this special holiday event in the North End on Friday 12.4.09 to explore the variety of wonderful shops that offer unique products and services all year.

NEMPAC Film and Music Festival

northendinterloper — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:17:40 +0000

Last Thursday night, October 22, 2009, the North End Music and Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC), held its first Film and Music Festival at the Hard Rock Café in Boston. The event featured nine out of 50 films that were submitted, two short musical performances, a raffle, and question and answer period with the directors.

The featured films:

Viva! Saint Agrippina Di Mineo

Director – Chris DiNunzio

Witness Protection Program

Director – Kevin Anderton

I Slept with Cookie Monster

Director – Kara Nasdor Jones

Big Day of Fishing

Director – Tim Cawley

The Audition

Director – Arnon Z. Schorr

Motherly Instinct

Director – Keisha Zollar

In the Tradition of My Family

Director – Todd Davis

Jack & Jill

Director – Thomas Svenson

Mr. President

Director – Rene Dongo

I have to admit that this event far exceeded expectations. The films varied greatly in terms of content and genre; it included documentary, comedy, drama, and animation. At the conclusion of the screening, audience members voted on their favorites. Kara Nasdor Jones received the first place audience choice award for I Slept with Cookie Monster. The event was held in a private room at Hard Rock and it was packed. It was so great to see such a wonderful turnout in support of NEMPAC. Congratulations to all of the directors whose films were chosen to be featured and everyone involved with the event. I highly recommend checking it out next year!

Up on the Roof

northendinterloper — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:35:18 +0000

Up on the Roof

Unnatural Flood: North End Molasses Flood of 1919 – Named #5 in Natural Disasters That Were Caused By Human Stupidity

northendinterloper — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:14:40 +0000

Living in a small city neighborhood like the North End, sometimes it can be exceedingly difficult to do food shopping. We don’t have large grocery stores at our finger tips. Of course we have wonderful Italian specialty food stores, cheese shops, butchers, fruit markets (Haymarket on Fridays and Saturdays), and bakeries galore. There are a number of corner markets (and of course The Connah Store) that sell the basics. But, sometimes they can be a little expensive. Many of the specialty stores aren’t open on Sundays and they close at 5 p.m. during the week. This is one of the things that I love about this neighborhood. It’s all very European. However occasionally, it can present a problem when you are looking for certain, specific items.

For the last couple of days, I have been searching for a jar of molasses so that I could make gingerbread. I thought: “Of course I will be able to find molasses in this neighborhood.” But, I couldn’t! This is the ironies of all ironies, I thought, especially given the history of molasses in this neighborhood – the Molasses Flood of 1919.

In 1919, a giant tank of molasses exploded on the North End waterfront, killing more than 20 people and countless animals. I have learned bits and pieces about the 1919 North End molasses disaster, including where the small marker is that honors the victims, and some people claim that they can still smell molasses on a hot summer day, but I didn’t know very much.

I recently read the book about the 1919 North End molasses disaster, Dark Tide, by Stephen Puleo. It is a great read for anyone who is interested in the history of this horrific event and the time period. The book chronicles the events leading up to the destruction of the 2.3 million gallon tank on the waterfront and the ensuing court trial, which was one of the first class action suits in U.S. history. It nicely pulls together personal accounts of the events, Boston’s ethnic tensions, and the political climate of the time – on a local, national, and international level.

“Dark Tide uses the gripping drama of the flood to examine the sweeping changes brought about by World War I, Prohibition, the anarchist movement, immigration, and the expanding role of big business in society. It’s also a chronicle of the courage of ordinary people, from the firemen caught in an unimaginable catastrophe to the soldier-lawyer who presided over the lawsuit with heroic impartiality.” (From Stephen Puleo’s website)

Throughout American history, molasses were the main sweetener used for cooking and baking, but the availability of white, refined sugar changed all that. While at the time some molasses also were used for producing rum, in the early 20^th Century, the majority of it was used for making industrial alcohol for the manufacture of munitions during World War I.

I did eventually find a jar of molasses to make my gingerbread, but it took a bit of searching. It’s amazing that in less than 100 years, we have gone from being so dependant on this dark, sweet, sticky substance to not being able to find it anywhere – more than two million gallons of molasses reduced to a couple of 14-ounce jars. The North End Molasses Flood was just named #5 on www.cracked.com’s list “6 Natural Disasters That Were Caused by Human Stupidity.” Click here to read the full story.

Thanks for Leaving, Mr. Affleck

northendinterloper — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:53:29 +0000

Many Northenders likely were touched in one way or another by the armored car robbery, bank robbery, and extended car chase between some nuns and police that made its way through the North End over the last couple of weeks. Of course, I am referring to the filming for Ben Affleck’s latest film, The Town.

Although at first it was fun to have a little taste of Hollywood here in Boston, after a few days of no parking, street closings, and other interruptions to our daily lives, people will be happy to see the film crews pack up and leave. Just a few more days … There are a lot of neighborhood folks who have been extremely disgruntled over the disruptions caused by the filming. I found it all to be mostly entertaining, except for when a piece of a car chase was being filmed on my street for hours on end. The sounds of screeching tires and cars slamming into each other and the smell of burning rubber and smoke wafting through my windows became not so pleasant. And, I got yelled at for sticking my head out of my window. Now that I think about it, it was still kind of fun. However, I do understand why many North End business owners would be aggravated. More-limited-than-normal parking and hindrances to foot traffic are bad for business.

I did witness and hear about some funny stuff in the process of it all and I thought I would share a couple of the anecdotes.

The Cop and the Man on a Bike in the Middle of a Bank Robbery

It was on Salem St. when they were filming a scene with an armored truck and a battle between the nuns/thieves and armored truck security guards in front of the New Spin Laundromat that had been transformed into First Boston Savings Bank. Ben Affleck was actually there for this part of the filming because he was in this particular scene. (He hadn’t been around for most of the stunt takes.) Ben was one of the nun/bank robbers. So, he was in a full costume with nun mask and habit.

The part they were filming was all of two minutes, but was run over and over again. Each time they filmed, which was about every ten minutes, foot traffic was stopped and the crowd silenced. A man on a bicycle tried to continue on like there was nothing going on. The police officer stepped in front of him and asked him to stop. The man stopped short, got off his bike, and proceeded to move forward. The cop asked him to stop again and placed his hand on the guy’s arm. He started screaming at the top of his lungs for the cop to get his hands off of him. “That’s assault. Get your F***** hands off of me. You’re assaulting me. I can walk down this street if I want! Get your F***** hands off of me.”

A few of the crew ran over to help with the situation, but it continued. It got louder and more ridiculous. All eyes in the crowd were on the real-life scene in front of them rather than the one being filmed. The tourists loved it.

The cameras stopped rolling and Ben in his nun costume turned around and threw his hands up at the guy. Priceless. The woman next to me rolled her eyes and said: “They didn’t know what they were getting into when they decided to come into this neighborhood!”

Mistaken Identity

I overheard this from someone who works at a real bank on Hanover St. As I mentioned earlier, the New Spin Laundromat’s exterior was transformed into the First Boston Savings Bank, so there was new signage and posters in the windows that advertised bank products – fake bank products. This woman who works on Hanover St. said that one of her customers came to her and said: “how come that new bank on Salem St. is offering better rates than this bank.” The banker replied: “There’s no bank on Salem St.” “Yes, there is!” the woman protested. “The rates are advertised in the window.” The woman from the bank realized the confusion and explained it to her customer. Take a good look in the window. The washing machines are still there.

Truth is Stranger than Fiction

When I first moved into the North End, one of my good friends, who lives in L.A., came to stay with me. His first response upon walking into the neighborhood was: “Man, this place is like a film lot.” I guess he was right to some extent. However, in a highly ironic turn of events, there apparently was an actual bank robbery on Hanover St. on one of the days when this film about bank robbers was being filmed here. To other people, the North End may look like a movie set, but as the film crews quickly realized this is our reality. The funny thing is, after all the weeks of filming and commotion in the North End, we’ll probably only be in the film for 10 minutes or so.

Anthony! Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day!

northendinterloper — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:05:39 +0000

If you talk to people who are from here, meaning their families have lived here for the better part of the 20^th century, you will often find a sense of loss of the old neighborhood. I can understand this perspective; they have been born and raised here or came directly from Italy and have lived here ever since. Of course, most North Enders understand that it is tourism and new residents that now keep the neighborhood thriving, but for them it is a double-edged sword, because it has contributed to the gentrification of the old neighborhood.

Since I first moved to the neighborhood, I have felt like an interloper, which I will define as simply someone who is not from here. For myself, I find that it is necessary to respect and embrace – to the extent that is possible – the culture and traditions that have defined this neighborhood for 100 years. After living here for a number of years (a relatively short period of time in comparison to the locals), I too feel that sense of loss of the neighborhood.

This summer marked the 40^th anniversary of the famous Prince Spaghetti ad and the iconic Italian mother shouting, “Anthony!” as the little boy runs home through the North End to eat pasta (or macaroni) with his family. Here is a link to The Boston Globe article about the anniversary:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/24/remembrance_of_things_pasta_anthony_looks_back/

I live on a street that would be considered an alley by many people. Because of the way my building and apartment are situated, I hear all of the echoes of the street noise. I often hear people walking down the street shouting, “Anthony!” and then burst out laughing, as if no one has ever done it before. In my opinion, it’s one of those things that everyone knows, but never needs to act out.

Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?

northendinterloper — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:02:52 +0000

There are more than 100 restaurants, many shops, and a little more than 20,000 people within the square-mile that comprises the wonderful North End neighborhood of Boston. It is one of Boston’s oldest neighborhoods. It is the site of many historic events that contributed the founding of the United States and others, including the beginning of Paul Revere’s midnight ride, the birth place of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and her son, who would become President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and the molasses flood, which killed more than 20 people.

I decided to start this blog because I love my neighborhood. I appreciate its historical value, culture, events, and the people who have lived here and live here now. And, I find that the North End is an endless source of discovery. Almost every day, I find something new, whether it is a little nook, historical fact, store, person, or walkway. I do not profess to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I would like North End Interloper to serve as a forum for information, stories, and respect for the North End. Also, I hope that it can help people realize that one can find beauty and a source of fascination wherever you live – you just have to open your eyes and use your imagination.