History | Mark Sardella

Archive for the ‘History’ Category

“The Remarkable Cyrus Wakefield”

24Feb13

A Talk by John Wall Many people know the story of how the town of South Reading, MA came to be renamed after industrialist Cyrus Wakefield. But most people probably don’t realize the extent to which he shaped the town of Wakefield as we know it today. In a talk on Feb. 20, 2013 to […]

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Tags: business, Capt. Henry Bancroft, Cyrus Wakefield, furniture, History, industry, John Wall, Mark Sardella, rattan, South Reading, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts

New Portrait Kicks Off Civic Center Centennial

23Aug12

On January 15, 2013, the Wakefield, Massachusetts building now known as the Americal Civic Center will turn 100 years old. Last night, it received an early birthday present. In ceremonies held last night in the Heritage Room, a new portrait of the historic building, painted by local artist Elizabeth O’Neill Lowry, was unveiled.

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Tags: Americal Civic Center, Armory, Art, artist, centennial, Elizabeth Lowry, House Proud Portraits, Massachusetts, Massachusetts State Armory, painting, State Armory, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts

Quannapowitt Players Present a Moving Diary of Anne Frank

24May12

With a cast of 15, the Quannapowitt Players‘ “The Diary of Anne Frank” captures the terror, tension and tenderness experienced by two Jewish families being hidden from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II, as told by Anne Frank in her diary of her family’s two years in hiding. The production is directed by […]

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Tags: Anne Frank, Becky Klein, community theater, Daily Item, Diary of Anne Frank, drama, Nancy Curran Willis, play, QP, Quannapowitt Players, Quannapowitt Playhouse, Reading, Reading MA, Reading Massachusetts, stage, theater, theatre, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts

As War Raged, Victory Village Was Born

10Mar12

In the spring of 1942, as World War II was being fought on two fronts, local soldiers and sailors serving overseas were much on the mind of their hometown. The Wakefield Daily Item ran a regular feature, “With Our Boys in the Service,” complete with photos and updates. Meanwhile back in Wakefield, Factory Field, where […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Feature stories, History, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Daily Item, development, Factory Field, FederalHousing Authority, FHA, Gilbert & Varker, Mark Sardella, Second World War, Victory Village, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts, World War 2, World War II

Remembering Paul Faler

22Dec11

There are certainly many who knew Paul Faler better than I, although I had the privilege of knowing him for a good long time. When we spoke on the phone two days before Thanksgiving, it did not even cross my mind that it would be our last conversation. I first met Paul Faler in 1970 […]

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Tags: Assessor, Board of Assessors, Boston, Boston Massachusetts, History, Paul Faler, Paul G. Faler, professor, property tax, tax, tax assassor, taxation, taxes, UMass, University of Massachusetts, Wakefield, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts

A Fitting World War II Monument

15Nov11

A grateful town paid tribute to its veterans on Friday, especially those who fought in World War II, as a huge crowd packed Veterans’ Memorial Common for the unveiling and dedication of the new granite World War II Monument. The Veterans’ Day crowd, which some estimated at more than 1,000, included World War II veterans […]

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Tags: ceremony, Colonel Michael Zarbo, Daily Item, dedication, Donald Wong, Fred Marshal, Gen. Gary Pappas, John Tierney, Katherine Clark, memorial, memorials, military, monument, mounuments, Patrick Glynn, Paul Brodeur, Phyllis Hull, Second World War, Sen. Scott Brown, Senator Scott Brown, soldier, soldiers, veteran, veterans, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Masachusetts, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield World War II Memorial, World War 2, World War II, World War II Memorial, World War II Monument

Columbus: the Man and the Myth

06Oct11

Another holiday, another opportunity to vilify the United States. Actually, the upcoming Columbus Day holiday is just a warm-up for the Thanksgiving main event. We know the narrative by now. Christopher Columbus was not a heroic explorer who discovered a new world. He was a villain who set in motion the centuries-long American reign of […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Opinion, Politics, Profiles | 3 Comments
Tags: America, Americans, Christopher Columbus, Columbus, Columbus Day, discovery, explorer, explorers, Genoa, holiday, holidays, Indians, Italian, Italians, Native Americans, United States

Remember How We Felt on 9/11

08Sep11

Every generation has one of those “always remember where you were” dates. For the Greatest Generation, it was Pearl Harbor. For the Baby Boomers, it was the JFK assassination. September 11, 2001 is one of those dates. The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is upon us, and even more than any of the preceding anniversaries, the […]

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Tags: 9/11, 9/11 attacks, America, Daily Item, Ground Zero, Lorne Michaels, Mark Sardella, New York, New York City, Rudy Giuliani, Saturday Night Live, September 11 2011, SNL, terrorism, terrorist attack, terrorist attacks, terrorists, Twin Towers, United States, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, World Trade Center

Catering to Apathy

22May11

Note to 89 percent of the registered voters in Wakefield, Massachusetts: There was a Town Election on April 26, 2011. Sorry you couldn’t make it. Two selectmen, two School Committee Members and an Assessor were elected. And those were just the contested races. It’s been noted that the 2011 Wakefield Town Election may have seen […]

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Tags: apathy, campaign, campaigns, candidate, candidates, Daily Item, election, elections, Item, voter, voter apathy, voter turnout, voters, voting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts

Ox Bow Pet Shop Closing Marks End of an Era

22Apr11

Will close June 1 after 65 years on Albion Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts The expression, “the end of an era,” has become a bit of a cliché. But when the Ox Bow Pet Shop, one of Wakefield’s oldest businesses and one of the few independent, family-owned pet stores in a market dominated by chain stores […]