Archive for the ‘History’ Category
Columbus: the Man and the Myth
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
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
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
Old School
The town is preparing to accept bids from developers that will determine the future of the Franklin School, and if things go as expected, another of a generation of nine schools that the town built around the turn of the 20th century will enter a new phase in its long existence.
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Tags: Beatrice Moody, buildings, Daily Item, Dorothy Remick, Elizabeth Brawley, Elizabeth Strout, Franklin School, Greenwood, Greenwood School, Hamilton School, Hilda Hayden, Hurd School, James Bolton, Jim Bolton, John J. McCarthy Senior Center, Lincoln School, Montrose School, Nazareth Academy, schools, teacher, teachers, Thomas Allard, Tom Allard, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, Warren School, West Ward School, Woodville School
Parade of Pols
Maybe I’m the only one, but I like seeing the politicians in the Wakefield (MA) July 4th Parade. The marching bands are great, and they provide an element of entertainment relief in what would otherwise be an endless stream of pols. But the main reason I go to the parade every July 4th is to […]
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Tags: 4th of July, 4th of July Parade, Alley Oop, Anthony Guardia, Bill Hudak, candidate, candidates, clown, Craig Spadafora, Daily Item, David Lucas, Donald Wong, election, elections, Eric Estevez, Fourth of July, House of Representatives, Independence Day, Independence Day Parade, JFK, John F. Kennedy, John Tierney, July 4 2010, July 4th, July 4th Parade, July Fourth, Katherine Clark, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Senate, Michael Day, Monica Medeiros, Parade, parades, Paul Brodeur, politician, politicians, Richard Tisei, Scott Brown, Senator Scott Brown, Steve Grossman, US Senate, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Independence Day Parade, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Mark Sardella 