Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category
QUANNAPOWITT CASINO REVISITED
I am nothing if not ahead of my time. On April 1, 1999, I wrote a column about filling in the Lake and building the “Quannapowitt Casino.” In spite of the date on the newspaper, some people in town actually thought it was a serious proposal. Back then, the state’s economy was booming, cities and […]
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Tags: casino, Daily Item, gambling, Lake Quannapowitt, Massachusetts, Quannapowitt, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, Wakefield news, Wakefield newspaper, Wakefield newspapers
Wakefield Park Some locals are aware of their significance, but how many people drive through or past them every day without ever wondering why they are there? In 2007, the stone pillars at Park Avenue and Chestnut Street, next to Temple Emmanuel, are among the least talked about historical landmarks in Wakefield, Massachusetts. But at […]
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Tags: Daily Item, Park Gates, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, Wakefield news, Wakefield newspaper, Wakefield newspapers
MY UNCLE, PUCK SARDELLA
Joseph “Puck” Sardella was my uncle. He was my father’s kid brother. I was his first nephew and he was my godfather. In Italian families, especially of Puck’s generation, that meant something. As a kid, I knew him as Uncle Joe. But as I grew up and became an adult, I learned that to the […]
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Tags: Daily Item, Joe Sardella, Joseph Sardella, Puck, Puck Sardella, veterans, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, Wakefield news, Wakefield newspaper, Wakefield newspapers
THE CONSERVATIVE RECYCLER
It’s been official for many years, but now it’s truer than ever: if you’re still not recycling, you’re costing yourself and your fellow taxpayers money. At one time, recycling may have been the exclusive province of aging hippies, environmentalists and assorted other tree-huggers. But that’s ancient history. Nowadays, recycling is an exercise in fiscal conservatism. […]
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A BAD START FOR VERIZON
A major corporation comes to town and says whatever it needs to say so that local officials will let them do business here, and then waits for the town to threaten legal action before living up to its agreement. I know–it’s shocking. But that’s exactly what communications mega-giant Verizon did to the town of Wakefield, […]
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Tags: cable television, cable TV, Daily Item, Jim McGrail, PEG channels, Phyllis Hull, public access television, selectmen, verizon, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, Wakefield news, Wakefield newspaper, Wakefield newspapers, WCAT
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS 2007
Graduation season is upon us, and it’s once again time for the unqualified to dispense pearls of wisdom to the disinterested. So don your caps and gowns, take your seats and try to stay awake.
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FRED’S FRANKS MUST GO
The arrival of summer also signals the return of transient vendors to the areas around Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield, Massachusetts–most visibly, Fred’s Franks, the hot dog stand at the head of the Lake. This seems like as good a time as any to review the recent history of that part of town. When the old […]
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Tags: Fred Rex, Fred's Franks, hot dog, Lake Quannapowitt, peddlers, transient vendors, Wakefield
Mark Sardella 