FAITH OF OUR VILLAGE: PART III

There was an excerpt from American Interest online by Walter Russell Meade

in the Wall Street Journal this week that seems appropriate to quote 

as I write these St. Anthony posts.

" The Catholic Church in America suffers from an

acute problem as the descendants of the 19th and early 20th century mass migrations

of Catholics from other countries......move farther away from their roots,

they are also moving away from a sense of their

inherited Catholic identity...... The ethnic neighborhoods

with their ...organizations in and centered on parish churches have

been fading away since World War II....."

As I revisit our own neighborhood roots, I am struck by that quote and

how it pertains to the Village.  As we look at these photos, especially the early ones,

we feel the strength, the numbers, the closeness of

this Parish which was truly an anchor.  I am still able to remember and enjoy the end of

those days so can imagine what came before,  It is another reason that this

blog is important as I try to record as much as possible.  Like the saying

I gather these lilies while I may.

We must hold to the treasure that is our history, for as Mr. Meade says,

it is fading fast.

Again, I urge you to share old photos, if you are lucky enough to still

have them.  Simple to scan and email them to me, 

or send them to me and I will scan them and carefully send them back to you.

Let's make those memories shine again!

My own first memory of St. Anthony's was that I was dressed as a little angel in procession with a gaggle of other boys and girls, feathered wings and long silky gowns for the girls afflutter in the breeze.  There were always processions, even all the way up School Street to Braga Square where traffic was halted.  Sonny Mador remembers that well.  Men hoisted on their shoulders a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or Our Lady, or perhaps the silken canopy for the priest who was holding the Cibborium.  

                                                      My First Communion photo:1948
                                                         I had lost my two front teeth
                                                         so kept my lips pressed shut.

The hardest thing for little kids

was when the Host got stuck on the roof of your mouth and you thought 

you were in real trouble!

  I just about remember

the Minstral Shows (no longer a tradition for obvious reasons) as the one below in 1949.

"I (Arlene) am right behind the interlocator (the M.C.), Chris Soares,
dressed in a white suit.  Tony Pimental, music director, is next to him
in a tuxedo.... we rehearsed in the little parish hall
on Washington St.....many romances blossomed into
long lasting marriages."
Arlene Gouveia

.............

All through the years the basement church was our central core: baptizing our children to
consigning our departed.  It wound about is, offering shelter, absolution,

 friendship and understanding. The parish was so active that often
three priests were assigned to it.

The parish of St. Anthony's was a major link to our Portuguese roots.
I can still hear the shushing whispered prayers of the black clad grandmothers
 kneeling in the pews, and the Mass often 

said in Portuguese, as it still is today.  Portuguese culture centers on religious activities 

for both faith and social needs, and it did so in a much greater way

when we were growing up than today.  What a gift that even though at the

tail end, I could be part of it all.

........

next post: The New St. Anthony's Church.

   NOTE: please check back on earlier St. Anthony posts as many names 

have been added to the photos!

FAITH OF OUR VILLAGE: PART II

 

After my grandfather died in 1927, my Grandmother in her grief threw herself
into church activities namely laundering and ironing

 all the Church altar linens as well as often doing flower arrangements. I can still see her with patience and care ironing each piece and then, linens folded over her arms, walking them down to the Church, with her signature hat on, to finally smoothing the linens in place. She continued that task until her very

 old age, giving it up only when she could do it no longer.

My grandmother : Tender of the High Altar

                                                              Delphina Viera Souza,
                                                             my paternal grandmother

St. Anthony's was a faith focus for the Village, but it was more than that.  It was a social

hub as well.  Long before the days of solo video and computer watching, people gathered. The little subterranean basement Church pulled together her children, young and old.  Sodality, Holy Name Society and more. These photos tell a wonderful tale of those days around the 1920's and 30's and onward.  In spite of a deep depression, war and the pain of newly minted immigrants St. Anthony's provided a zone of safety.  Within walking distance of most homes in the Village,

it was a simple thing to walk to the Church and join in the many activities there.

       Our first photo is from a Church picnic in 1914......wonder if anyone can identity these folk.

  Yes!!  Someone can and did identify some of these parishioners!  The late Henrietta Carvalho through  Arlene G.  What a precious, precious memory.

Front row: 3rd from left: sally Rebello

Second row: 3rd from left: Elsie Menice Jones

5th from left: Mary Rebello (Sally's sister).

Of the six little girls in white:

2nd from left Margaret Marie Moitoza

3rd from left:Victoria Moniz Carew(who later became beloved third grade teacher

at St. Anthony's School),

6th from left: Barbara Christie with big white bow in her hair.

Father Lauro with hat, curate unknown.

Of the four boys anchoring the corners three of them are Menice boys brothers

of Victoria and Elsie who grew up on Lane's Avenue.  

                                               This is the Holy Name Society in 1929
                                                    ( sorry cannot magnify it more)
                                            photo from Janet Viera Custer niece to Mae Parker.
                                                 names: the late Henrietta Carvalho.

 Of the six men sitting in front row: 2nd from left the then Mayor Andrew McGraw, 5th left is

Rev. Manuel Coute: pastor, next to him Dr. Joseph Nunes: local physician, two down in white (as we always knew her) Mae Perry Parker, wife of future Mayor and State Senator John Parker.

Second row: 6th and 7th from left: Frank and Phoebe Rose,

8th from right Cecile Medieros Foster,

3rd row 6th from left: John Carvalho

last row: 7th from left: Tony Pimental (our neighbor for years on School St.),

next to him Tony Marshall, local undertaker, two down from him:

Manuel Costa (husband of Irene).

         There is a possibility that the above photo was taken at the second Taunton Inn (the first burned

        down in 1926...did not know that.

Attention movie buffs:  One of the priests, Rev. Manuel Vicente who had been

assigned to St. Anthony's 

was in a 1932 movie Tiger Shark starring 

Edward G. Robinson and performed the ceremony in the wedding scene.

In 1939, not on the silver screen and much more quietly, my parents, Frank and Angi were married in St. Anthony's Church.  In lieu of a full wedding (things were tough for the Souza family and my mother was a virtual orphan), they were married after the 11 a.m. Mass.  They always said that it was a full Church for their ceremony.  

No matter, they were always a stunning couple.

Frank Souza and Angelina Motta

on their wedding day.

1939

note: please see a few new additions to the previous St. Anthony's post.

 Thanks and please do share your on memories either

in the comments or directly by email to me at

spinoart@comcast.net

FAITH OF OUR VILLAGE : Part I

The Village has a beating heart center.  For us in the School Street Village
 it was St. Anthony's Church.

It is a part of our heritage as it was that of our parents and grandparents.
 For a great part of our lives that Church marked our coming into the world,
our coming of age,
our weddings and finally,
our funerals.

That means it takes up a whole lot of space in our memory repertoires.

In 2002, St. Anthony's celebrated its' 100th birthday.  For a total history of the parish you can write or call the Church in Taunton (aren't we lucky, ours is still there!) and they will send you the booklet composed for that event.  Of course, Arlene Gouveia our Village historian played a big part in that booklet.   I am using my own photos as well as that of Arlenes' and the booklet in these posts.  I am also fortunate enough to mine my own genealogical research.

The Souza family were there when it all began in the person of my grandfather. My grandfather, Joseph Nunes Souza, arrived most likely in 1905 from Madeira and without a doubt gathered with those pushing for a Church belonging to the Village.  It is known that he was one of
the founders of the St. Peter's Society at St. Anthony's.

The contracts for the  first church building at St. Anthony's were signed in 1905 and thus began that beloved dark, nearly subterranean building, that initiated us into lives of faith.  I remember those deep stairs that descended into the church proper. You could not see the altar until you arrived mid-stairwell.

St. Anthony's Basement Church
inset photo: Fr. Louro first assigned priest
it looked like a cave grotto

The smell of beeswax candles permeated the air. If the lights were not yet lit, it was dark and
added to the air of mystery.  All the woodwork was dark as well.  Once, when I was perhaps
12 or 13 years of age, our catechism class was misbehaving.  Fr. Oliveira who was
teaching the class, decided the best option was to shut down the lights, lock the door
and let us stew in our misdeeds.  It worked.  We shut right up and he returned to commence
his teaching.  So we knew how dark that church could be.  Incidently, we did like
Fr. Oliveira in spite of that experience.

Exterior: St. Anthony's Old Basement Church : date of photo unknown

Below is a photo of the first Choir at St. Anthony's.  This is from the booklet and was too precious not to include here.  I would say that this is very early in the history of our Church.
Incredibly, Arlene Gouveia has their names which were
shared with her by the later Henrietta Carvalho.

First row left to right: Frank Cayton,Mary Lawrence, Anna Lawrence, Barbara Cayton.  Middle row: Manuel Carvalho, Marion Lina Lawrence, Clara Carvalho, Alda Furtardo Mitchell, Father Alexandro Louro, Mary Netto, Anna Castro.  Last row: Sylvina Carvalho, George Carvalho, Annie Thomas Viera and Manuel Costa,  It is interesting to note that two brothers, the Carvalho boys, married two sisters, one of which was Clara.

Clara Carvalho third row, second from the left was the first organist and continued her work there for 51 years!  I sang in the choir in the 50's and knew her. The family lived around the corner from us.

The earliest family photo at the Church is that of my Uncle Edward Souza, youngest of Joseph and Delphina's children.  Here is a photo of his First Communion at St. Anthonys'. It may have been the same year my Grandfather died so tragically: 1927.  If so, the Church marked this joyful occasion and the other which such a loss for our family.

 photo was taken at Boutin Studio

6 E. Brittania St.

Taunton,MA

(I would love to pick through
those archives!)

There are more posts to come regarding the history of St. Anthony's so stay in touch.....