Posts Tagged ‘Daily Item’

She may be the most famous person in Wakefield, Massachusetts who never held elected office. She has probably helped more people, and has definitely helped more animals than any local politician. Twenty-five years ago, she founded the Protection of Animals in Wakefield Society (PAWS), which has rescued, provided medical care and found homes for countless […]


1983 WHS grad takes on role of ‘Mama Rose’ in Stoneham Leigh Barrett is arguably the First Lady of the Boston musical stage. The Wakefield native and 1983 Wakefield High School graduate has risen to the top of her profession performing in theaters all over the Boston area. She won the 2004 Elliot Norton Award […]


It’s not often that the town of Wakefield figures prominently in a work of art or literature. But in Israel Horovitz’s The Widow’s Blind Date, the playwright gives his hometown a strong supporting role in this taut drama about the reunion of three Wakefield High School classmates who share an unsavory past. My review of […]


Wakefield native’s play returns to Gloucester Stage Many critics consider The Widow’s Blind Date to be Israel Horovitz’s finest work. It has long been a favorite of mine (and not just because Horovitz set the play in his hometown of Wakefield, Massachusetts). The current revival at Gloucester Stage Company, where it premiered in 1983, has […]


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 […]


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 […]


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. […]


2000 WHS graduate performs in Boston July 25-28, 2007 She’s nowhere near old enough to remember the 1960s, but Wakefield’s own Kate Feerick is clearly excited to have a starring role in the current national tour of Beehive, the 60s Musical, which opens with a four-night run at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston Wednesday […]


Selectmen deny responsibility for canceling Homecoming Although Wakefield 350 has withdrawn its request to use the Common for the annual “Homecoming Festival” in September, issues related to the organization surfaced at the July 9 selectmen’s meeting, as members of the board took exception to being blamed by Wakefield 350 for causing the cancellation of this […]


Fall Festival request still on hold A request by Wakefield 350 to use the Upper and Lower Commons on September 15 for a “Homecoming Festival,” remained a serious bone of contention and sparked another heated discussion at the June 25, 2007 meeting of the Wakefield (MA) Board of Selectmen.