DEATH OF A DOWAGER: THE STAR THEATRE

Happy New Year to each and all!

In 2015 this blog will continue to tell our stories. The most exciting thing 

about the storytelling here with the naming of people and places is that we make them

live once again.  Our hearts and minds can know that there is a place to put them, 

to share them, to keep them safe and even to add to them. 

There are some lined up already but I welcome more and more....

...........

Here is another architectural story that we have just

 bid farewell .

This post is dedicated to those incredible historic architectural

structures lost to the Taunton landscape as well as those of so many other towns and cities.

Progress? Parking lots? Short term vision?

So many reasons.  Do you know that the magnificent mansions

in Newport almost met that fate as well?  Only the Newport

Preservation Society saved them....and finances, of course.

                                                 "Final Curtain Call for the Star Theatre"
                                            with permission of Frank C. Grace, photographer.
                                                                    Trig Photography

On April 12, 2014, photographer Frank C. Grace of Trig Photography was invited to have a last look at the Star Theatre on Main St. in downtown Taunton.  He took this magnificent photograph of the dying icon. There are so few photos of the Theatre making this even more precious. Thank you, Frank, for your willingness to share with us.

After years of sparring and neglect the Star Theatre has finally fallen to the wrecking ball.  In spite of those wishing otherwise, it joins other  magnificent edifices who have not found new life. This one is now gone forever, its history buried beneath the ignominious rubble now swept away.

                             History is  a whiff of eternity, delicate and quickly gone.

 Just next to Taunton Lace Store we see the edifice of the Leanard building still bearing an old ad.

Below we see the front of the theatre building.  

                                         The final demolition started on Monday, Dec. 15th.

                   In a photograph offered by David Pimental Jr. of Taunton,
            we see the top two stories that housed the Theatre going first.

The Star Theatre's descendants: the Park, The Strand, the State,  elegant in their architecture and wrapped in our memories met that wrecking ball years ago. Any of these edifices could have meant  a greater renewal for the downtown area. The other day, for no reason, up into the front of my memory came a moment, as fresh as it was then when I was a child.  I was coming out of the seating area into the lobby,  Underfoot was lovely deep red carpet. I remember feeling the elegance, the quiet. The magic as I looked up the carpeted red stairs that led majestically up to the balcony(I was too young to know yet what that magic meant to teenagers!).

                  

True, you and I never saw a performance at the Star. As part of the Taunton Art Association I once exhibited my paintings there as we tried to raise awareness of the historical theatre. What a task for our imaginations.  Our grandparents must have enjoyed performances here, live and on film. Already the structure was delicate and we were not allowed to wander around.  Maybe there were echoes of long ago...but I never researched it until now.

Pinterest:  

The Star Theatre opened in 1911and is listed as having 450 seats.  The Leonard Block building had been built in the late 1870. This photo is taken from a diaganel angle. The building with the sign Goldstein houses the Star Theatre.

 The Star did not survive the talkies, it closed in 1929.  BUT, it probably aired the first full length film ever to be shown in the U.S., Dante's Inferno in 1911. Prior to this movie producers did not think people would sit for an hour through a full feature film. Many films were shown as serials over a month or two.

 The Star was listed as having "shows" daily. Take a look at the film "Dante's Inferno "restored in 2004 and feel like your grandparents may have felt.  My grandparents were already in this country when this film appeared.  Maybe?  Keep in mind, full length then was not full length now.

                                                    YouTube:Dante's Inferno original film


There would have been concerts and vaudeville acts up there on the second and third floors of the building.  Once closed, the Star lingered like a dying ballerina, alone surrounded by memories of her glory days.  Hushed as she listened to echos of laughter, maybe even tears and surely of the tinkling piano that accompanied those silent pictures.

                                                       from dailymail.co.com

       Goodbye, Lady Star.  I do not wish to know what will be built in your place. You

      offered entertainment and escape for Tauntonians in your own era. 

For that we owe you at least our gratitude.

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

                                                                   Post Sources


                                     Frank C. Grace Photography Facebook page: 
                   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trig- Photography/349794277317

       http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2105158/As-The-Artist-tipped-Oscar-glory-Barry-      Norman-looks-magical-evocations-silent-film-era.html

a great article of early movie history.

                 For my past blog posts about the Star Theatre's offspring see the links below.

                    http://schoolstvillage.blogspot.com/2012/11/movie-theatre-pearls.html


                    http://schoolstvillage.blogspot.com/2012/11/lets-all-go-to-movies.html

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

        

Saturday Evening Post

1927 issue

  A VERY BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO ALL 

  MAY THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH 

into each and every corner in all lands.

My deep thanks and appreciation for all

who have assisted in presenting this blog

and those who keep me going with encouragement

and sharing.

Have a merry and safe Christmas.

Dream of those we enjoyed so long ago.

To share, to speak or write names of those long gone,

to remember. 

Each time we do that the angels must ring bells

to let them know they are still here

in our hearts and gratitude.

This is why this blog exists.

    

A MEDLEY OF VILLAGE CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

  A medley of Village Christmas memories....ah, they soothe the soul.  We are bombarded with ads and wants and spaced out Christmas shopping.  I hope that you can play this video as you read this. It is a long video but I am going to keep it going.

                                             ...and remember, no matter where you grew up.

I am letting the music slow me down.  My mind and spirit focused lets me reach way back into memory and feel those far off Christmas years all over again.  The silence of the Village (not many cars remember?), the snow snapping under our feet, hot cocoa for when we came in from building snow forts or sledding down Blinn's Court in a rush of colored jackets and stocking caps. Pulling your wooden sled back up the hill.  Your breath coming out all frozen with laughter warming you up.  Clusters of snow clinging to hair and woolen clothing.  But, laughter and screeching as your sled picked up steam,  My friends, my family.  Frozen in time in the Christmas card of my memory.

Nearly every Village Portuguese home had a Creche in prominent place.  My mother and my Aunt Eleanor took us out to the woods each year at the edges of the Village to gather greens and mosses for the best Creche ever.  Those women who lit up our lives, not just at Christmas but all the years of our childhood and beyond to this day.

My sister Kathy and I often sat at the piano and sang together, especially at Christmas time

I took piano lessons and plunked along.  My mother loved to hear us sing.  Our piano

looked just like this....

Christmas carols and religious decoration were part of our childhood.  The Taunton Green always had a focus of what Christmas is really about.  There seemed always to be snow, usually soft and kind.
Christmas was a time like no other.  It was everywhere: downtown, in our schools, in our Village and in our homes.  It was a lesson in love, in sacrifice as you saved your pennies for presents for your parents. If you were very young, still at Fuller School, you made your own presents and gave them with great pride.  It was about giving and worship and celebration.

                                                                   

As we grew, the festivities and religious meaning of Christmas stayed with us.  I am no longer a child, of course, far from it.  I am a silver haired senior.  But, I remember everything about my Christmases.

 As teenagers Christmas changed. We started a new tradition.  A group of teens that I and my sister Kathy hung out with joined together for Christmas caroling.

from avaxnews.net

Our wonderful mother, Angi Souza, piled us all into the back of my Dad's company pickup and off we went around the Village, singing carols all the way in the cold snowy evening.  We would go to our family homes.  I especially remember the Silvia home down around 237 School Street, Pat and Joanne's home. Mrs. Silvia always had cocoa and refreshments waiting for us.  Midnight Christmas Eve this group went to Mass and were surrounded by most of the Village. Then afterwards my Mom awaited us with a big breakfast-all of us- when we returned to 184 School Street. My Mom's cooking abilities were legendary. One member of our group was known to eat one of her pies all by himself!  

Midnight Mass was glowing and bright.  St. Anthony's in all of it's beauty shone like no other time.
The choir would make Ebenezer himself soften.  We were warm inside and outside. Friendship did that, family did that, the holy day itself did that.

Christmas in the Village

In these times of global uncertainty, of growing older and less energetic

the Christmases of yesteryear bind us once again in the liveliness and meaning of those times.

Times of simplicity and greater meaning.

I wish each and all a dear and wonderful Christmas.

May you not be lonely.  But,if you are, harken back, for somewhere there

must be a Christmas memory or two to savor.

Not everyone grew up in our Village, but I hope these

memories have cheered you.

......

  Sandra Souza Pineault

My past Christmas in the Village blogs are below if you would like to read them.

 This is the third Christmas for this blog and still

the memories come, well maybe with a repeat now and then.  

After all, I am a silver haired blogger.

                                                            ******************

12/2/13 Memories Dance Like Sugar Plums....

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5397642438846383636#editor/target=post;postID=4425266168182066041;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=33;src=postname

12/11/13 One Hundred Years of Lighting Up Christmas

                           https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5397642438846383636#editor/target=post;postID=8634065420011933293;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=32;src=postname

                                                        12/16/13  Away in a Manger

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5397642438846383636#editor/target=post;postID=4924847411764538459;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=31;src=postname

   

HAPPY U.S.A. THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving U.S.A.

It is also a thanksgiving wish to all of our readers wherever they may be,

This is a Saturday Evening Post illustration for Nov. 25, 1922.

Thanksgiving in the Village back then and Thanksgiving today in 2014

remains the same in spirit.  The times are different, more complicated and challenging.

Families may be spread around the country or even around the globe.

But, hopefully, you 

and  yours can be together, if only on Skype  

or somewhere on the Internet.

TRIBUTE TO CHARLES CROWLEY

It is my sad task to write of the passing of Charles Crowley last evening.  Recently, I wrote about

him and his incredible dedication and work in researching and sharing the history

of Taunton.  He and I had been emailing back and forth, he wrote that he liked what I wrote.

Coming from Charles that meant a great deal to me.

Here he is sharing his tales of those buried in Taunton Cemeteries, a font

of history.  I remind everyone that Charles never charged for his presentations.

Charles was keeper of the truth about the history of Taunton.

Big and small, facts of its history were a source of fascination for him, 

His joy was to share with others.

It is so good to know that all of the Olde Time Taunton television

programs are there on You Tube in perpetuity. That is his lasting gift to us.

Rest in peace, Charles, you will not be forgotten. 

This blogger will remain

in gratitude that such a man lived and gave to the city he loved and to all of us.

Photo thanks to David Pimental

DIGGING DEEPER FOR MEMORIES....

As I ponder another post topic, it occurs to me that I have never deeply explored what it means to me to have grown up in the School Street Village in Taunton, MA,  Why that little approximately one square mile is such a part of my heart. I have posted photos and stories but this one is special.
This one goes deeper.

Yes, the photos we share dip back into those days, those wonderful dear folk that peopled that place.  But, what about way down where the tiniest of memories crowd among all the others. Remembering the dress I wore when I recalled that marble game in the Fuller School playground. The feeling of exultation when I was chosen in the game of Red Rover ,Red Rover!  The whoosh of air and the sense of taking off in flight when your swing went as high as it could...and all was possible

Pinterest photo

 The camaraderie that tightly bound us. even as little children, goes on to this day even when the storms and fears and loneliness of old age roam around us.

When we gather, even just two of us, sometimes storytelling is such that we end up laughing so hard it is hard to catch one's breath.    Remember when....remember when...?

Remember Broadway in the 50's  as it looked when we were children and teens.

Mulhern's  Pharmacy, the cars we rode in...  

Photo courtesy of Charles Crowley( see his Facebook page)

This beauty below is from a time I do not recall yet it does not take much to see it in my imagination. This was the corner of Weir Street and the Green probably sometime in the 40's . Some type of Parade when parades meant something.  I do recall that in my youth there was another  pharmacy, Dunnington's, on that corner, though not so large, I do not think.

Below, Main Street in 1939.  Imagine: the ever present New York Lace Store!  That store has weathered the years and is still in Taunton at that same spot today, 2014!  It would be great to research that downtown mainstay.   I believe this photo is thanks to Steve Koska.

These photos are meant to tickle your memories or if you did not grow up in the fair city of Taunton, to try to recall the downtowns of your past.  This blogger would welcome any of your photos in this regard.

We humans have whole lifetimes of memories that we can store deep inside. Amazingly, most of us can retrieve them from our immense capacity!  No wonder they come trickling up unbidden. You know how that goes?  One must capture them,  let them flow and link on to others.  The trick is to let the joy bubble up.  When you grew up in the Village, they usually are the bubbling variety, I assure you.  Too often we let computers replace our memories and they grew hazy.

Above, late cousin Barry's first birthday in the 50's, a party loaded with cousins and aunts.

On Blinn's Court off School St. in the Village.   Barry is being

held by his Mom.

Computers can help, but not replace.  That is the sadness of dementia for so many, that they are robbed of those memories.  I pray that perhaps, though we do not know it, they still strengthen them. The first friend I knew as a child is now in that darkness.

This is a precious photo of my first friend on School St. where we both were born. 

This photo is from my archives.  Somehow my mother saved this all those years.  

It was probably taken around 1945.  It is as cloudy as the years that have passed.

But, it is clear in my heart. This was taken in the backyard victory garden of her family,

 next door to where we lived for a time.

Sometimes photos tug on your heart strings and make you sad to know you can no longer reach out.

Yet, I believe that somehow still reaching out touches somewhere with love.

I was her Maid of Honor way back when ( we bought her gown and my dress at NY Lace Store).  Now every few months I send her a card. No matter that she does not remember.  Yet her husband one day said my name to her, she thought a moment and said....."wedding"...   It gave my heart such comfort to hear that.  I have three friends total in her category.  I keep on sending my little cards reminding them and their families that I do not forget.

The treasures of growing up are locked inside of us.  The events, the history of our time help us to access what lies beneath.  What lies beneath for me is rock solid love and safety.  As a high schooler I babysat after school and did not head home til around 6 p..m.  In the winter months it was dark.  Alone I shuffled my feet through the piles of leaves along Dauphin's fence.  When I could see 184 School St. it was the golden light of the front window that welcomed me.  I knew it was warm inside, busy with children's voices, and the smell of another wonderful Mom dinner.  Home.

During those days, I promised myself I would never leave Taunton.  Well, that sure did not happen except for a brief few years.  I wandered to far off places and experienced a life far removed from that little house.  That is why now I realize that I never did leave, neither the Village or the Taunton I knew growing up. It still inspires me, it still makes me feel safe.  It still teaches me what a real community offers the people it shelters.

Photos help, stories help.  Fingering the pages of my scrapbooks or going through my iPhoto albums all takes me back.  It takes me back to see the photos Charles Crowley posts or the memories shared by Arlene Gouveia.   Precious are the leaves of our lives stored in these photos and stories.

AN INVITATION

To further enhance this post click to my earlier posts  below.  

They will reference the reasons I began this blog.

http://schoolstvillage.blogspot.com/2012/09/throughout-ones-life-memories-play-song.html

http://schoolstvillage.blogspot.com/2012/09/mmories.html

RENAISSANCE MEMORY KEEPER

Some time ago we sang the praises of Arlene Rose Gouveia, Village historian, and one of the prime movers of this Blog.

Another Taunton historian must be honored and is in a class all his own.  Charles Crowley is a mistro of Taunton historical lore and much more.  The history and life of Taunton runs in his blood. He has dug into her history, her famous sons and daughters ,and those not so famous, as well as the events that shaped her.  Through photographs and facts large and small a historian only whets his appetite on each discovered treasure.  We are the recipients and are constantly being surprised and delighted by new wonders uncovered.

A renaissance man, Charles has served his beloved Taunton in public service for at least 34 years and longer  as its memory keeper.   He has served on the Historical Commission.  An author and noted speaker,  he was elected Mayor for a four year term in 2007. For  many years he served on the City Council and in many other capacities.  He has preserved the history of Taunton keeping it alive for all of us.  We owe him a great deal of gratitude.  I can only touch on his contributions which I will further describe later in this post.

Bloggers like myself can not thank such people enough.  All of us are trying to find and study  our roots, not only those of our families but of the place we called home as children.  There is ever more to learn.  The Village did not exist in a vacuum, its greater surroundings also made it what it was. Charles reminds us that those of us who were born and grew up in the Village travelled in the footsteps of so many who came before.

 Charles also very frequently posts precious photos of the bygone times of our fair city.  You will find these on Olde Tyme Taunton  Charles ' Facebook page.  It is this Facebook Village photograph from Charles' archives appearing last week that prompted me to write this post.

Above: Dominic and Mary Gebeau and Mary Lynch

Source: Olde Tyme Taunton Facebook Page.

If you are a School St. Village kid, as I was, you are always on the look-out among Charles' goodies for School St. lore. Above is the gem that last week showed up on the Olde Tyme Taunton Facebook page which is Charles' page.

It contained no point of recognition for me even though it is a photo from a store  right on the corner of Blinn's Court and School St., specifically 187 School St. in the Village.  Our family lived at 20 Blinn's Court and then at the family homestead, 184 School Street.  This couple above, Mary ( 1860-1940) and Dominic Gebeau (1856-1933) lived at that 187 address and had a neighborhood store on the first floor. To orient those of my day (I was born in 1940) that house later became the home of John and Rosie Serras. Ironically, John and Rosie had a neighborhood store one house down from the P.A.C.C. not far from 187. I well remember them walking to their store which they operated in the 50's , and back each morning and late afternoon. It is the Serras store that I was familiar with as a child.

 The Gebeau's (not a Portuguese name) were gone by 1940. Arlene Rose Gouveia remembers them, especially Mary whom she says was a lovely, kind woman. See the gas light at the upper left of the photo?  Apparently Mary kept them even when electricity came along. The store sold canned goods, tobacco, candy and other such sundries. Arlene also remembers that Mary went to 6 a.m. Mass each day, 7 days a week.  The photo is a beautiful period peace. The young lady behind the counter is identified by Mary Lynch.

If you would like to read once more (or for the first time in many cases) the posts about the Village Economy, especially the neighborhood Mom and Pop stores of which there were many, go to my previous posts in 2012:

http://schoolstvillage.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-school-street-village-was-world.html  and http://schoolstvillage.blogspot.com/2012/10/more-mom-and-pop-markets-in-village.html

More About Charles Crowley

Left to right, Bob Jacobs, TCAM TV Board President, Dr. Mark Hanna, historian,

 and Charles Crowley, Internet News photo in 2012.

One of the greatest historical contributions made by Charles Crowley are his local television programs on Old Tyme Taunton .  Charles celebrated the 300th episode in Jan. 2012. The program began in 1998 and has become a mainstay of local television in Taunton ever since. It can be seen on Channel 15 for Comcast and Channel 22 for Verizon at 8 a.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. Sundays.


 In the wonderful technical time we live in, you can many of these programs on You Tube. This one is about the history of School Street. I invite you to sit back and enjoy it. This is perfect for me, since I now live far from Taunton.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6wZbbefrj4

I can assure you  that you will be seeing more photographs and You Tube episodes from Charles on my future posts. They are an unending source of pictorial history for all of us.  Charles often offers tours of local sites, such as historical cemeteries, etc. He often does public presentations on Taunton history and never charges for these events.  As I stated earlier...Charles is a true renaissance man.

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

Note: Charles Crowley authored A Pictorial History ofTaunton in 2004. More than 300 historical photographs "providing a snapshot of the loves of those that came before us." It can be purchased on Amazon or at Pacheco's Jewelry and Gifts, 20 Taunton Green in Taunton.

Ebola and Yesteryear: the Fight Against Disease and the Lessons we Once Knew.

Recently, my husband and I were comparing the fight against the diseases of the 50's with the current struggle against Ebola facing this country and, indeed, the world. It is he who remembered the post I had written last year about the U.S. fight to conquer Polio.   We were then reading the Wall St. Journal and the article The Last Epidemic.  (Oct-18-19, 2014).

                                                             That inspired this post.

 I am offering again an earlier post in my blog: A Tauntonian and the Fight Against Polio which I published last September.  It gives us a comparison between then and now.

We can all draw our own conclusions.  There is no question that once we were united in so many ways, and the lines were not drawn in the sand.  They could not be, the futures of our children
were at stake.

I highly recommend the article in the WSJ.   Let's put it this way. the first two sentences are "In the winter of 1947, an American tourist arrived in New York City on a bus from Mexico, feeling feverish and stiff.  He checked into a hotel and did some sightseeing before his condition worsened...He went to a local hospital....he died a few days later of smallpox." People immediately volunteered to be vaccinated. There was no panic, the article goes on.  The public had a high regard for the public health apparatus that had served them so well.

Americans lined up for smallpox vaccine in 1947

In the fight against Polio, Americans channeled their fears into a common purpose, as they did in 1947 with the Smallpox scare. Let's revisit my earlier post and once again find inspiration.


                                    A TAUNTONIAN AND THE FIGHT AGAINST POLIO
                                                    Published in this blog, Sept. 13, 2013

When I wrote the last post discussing the polio epidemic, I had no idea I would learn what the connection was between Taunton and the successful battle to fight that disease.  This is when this blog is at its best, when someone comes forward with information that just bursts at the seams to complete what has been started here.

This post was inspired by Arlene Gouveia who knew of the story of Tauntonian, Basil O'Connor and shared it with me to share with you.  It received research help from Aaron Cushman from The Reference Department at the Taunton Public Library. It is a real collaborative effort.   This information came to me from Arlene after the first post on Village Healthy was posted.  It is fascinating Taunton history ..who knew?  Not me!

Who knew that a product of the Taunton School System way back in the early 1900's was a man who was pivotal in winning the war against polio?  His name:  Basil O'Connor.

                                                          oil portrait of Basil O'Connor
                                                         archival: Taunton Public Library
                                                   

Born in Taunton in January, 1892 to parents Daniel Basil and Elizabeth Ann (O'Gorham) O'Connor who lived on Highland St. in Taunton,  Basil's himself said that " he was a generation away from servitude."  As a youngster, he was a Taunton Gazette newsboy and later an odd job painter who also worked weekends at the Colby Clothing Store in downtown Taunton where he earned $6.25 a week.

The story of this boy born and raised in Taunton and educated in Taunton Schools (he was a 1908 graduate of Taunton High School, business manager of the Taunton High Journal) is a true example of the American Dream.  By the time he passed away at age 80 he had been decorated by 19 foreign governments,  He earned numerous honorary law degrees and high awards.  When asked by someone why he did not go into politics, he replied:"Polio makes no political distinctions nor do flood fire and famine.  Why should I? " (newspaper report: 1954).  He was a sponsor and member of the General Assembly of World Brotherhood and in 1959 became a member of the United States Committee for the United Nations. He served as Chairman of the American Red Cross and chairman of the Board of trustees at the Tuskagee Institute.

To get back to our story.  Basil O'Connor went to Dartmouth College and Harvard after Taunton High and became a lawyer going to practice in New York City.  There he met another young lawyer : Franklin Delanor Roosevelt.  Do you see where this is going?  After FDR contracted polio, he made his friend Basil, second in command of the Georgia Warm Springs Rehabilitation Center where FDR rehabilitated and then put him in charge of the biggest medical fund raising in the country's history:  The March of Dimes. An interesting side note is that there is a possibility FDR had Guillian-Barre Syndrome vs Polio. G.B. is a viral complication which can have serious complications. Who knows,  it still served to mobilize a nation led by FDR and our Tauntonian,  Basil O'Connor.

The March of Dimes was the largest fundraiser for a disease in U.S. history at that time.  Radio messages urged people to send their dime to the White House to fight polio. Then the mothers of America each evening canvased neighborhoods across the nation, fighting for their children and the war against Polio. The March of Times revolutionized fundraising in America: raising $1,800, 000 the first campaign.  In 1954, they collected $66.9 million more.

                                                     Basil and FDR in 1844 (Wikopedia)
                                                     Notice the pile of dimes on the desk.

The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis  went on with Basil O'Connor as chair.
As time went on Mr. O'Connor was pivotal in noticing Dr. Jonas Salk and invited
him to work with the foundation. The rest is history. 

 In spite of the serious setback of a bad batch of the vaccine in California resulting in some deaths, Basil and his scientists continued on to succeed in vaccinating the children
of this great nation and eventually eradicating Polio here.

                                                 Basil O'Connor still at work with  JFK
                                                     Archival: Taunton Public Library
                                         

Basil O'Connor had a sister, Mary, who taught in the Taunton School system for 52 years keeping the family roots in Taunton at 159 Highland St. firmly planted. meeting  Basil O'Connor died on in March 1972, at the age of 80 while getting ready for a meeting of the Foundation's
Scientific Committee meeting the next day.

           With the help of You Tube here is an interview by Basil O'Connor himself.

              Step back in history, this was obviously recorded early in the Polio campaign for a cure.

I unfortunately do not have a date, but would hazard early 1950's.

   

Postscript:  the article quoted earlier in the post in the Wall St Journal ends on this note:

  "What seems most apparent at this early point is the yawning chasm between public health officials and the public at large....   Next week marks the 100th birthday of Jonas Salk.   Shortly after his vaccine was declared successful, he gave a nationally televised interview with Edward R. Morrow.  'Who owns the patent on this vaccine,' Morrow asked, 'Well, the people I would say,'Salk replied.  'There is no patent.  Could you patent the sun?'

"For Dr. Salk, the whole endeavor was a gift from science to humanity, nurtured by the goodness of the American people.  We must find ways to keep that spirit alive - winning back for modern medicine and public health the full confidence of the world most generous nation."
                                                                  ........

              For me, this gives the term, "Ah, the good old days" a whole new meaning.    

                                       
                                                               Sources

                                                         The Last Epidemic:
                         http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/print/WSJ_-C001-20141018.pdf


                                 The Smallpox Scare of 1947. Photo from that site.

http://www.citylimits.org/blog/blog/6058/long-before-today-s-ebola-scare-city-fended-off-smallpox#.VEVYYr5SR5g

                                                       ..........................................
                                                  My Post from September 13, 2013

FINDING OUR MARBLES ONCE AGAIN

       

 The last few articles needed much research.  I decided that now something in a lighter vein was in order.  In truth, I have long had this post in the back of my blogging mind.  The reason being that  a vivid memory was shining out among my childhood recollections.  Just a  tiny little memory yet  clear and sharp and somehow comforting.  You know how those memories can be?

Here is how it goes.  A few of us young Fuller School classmates are outside in the schoolyard at recess.  Specifically, we are on the right side of the dirt playground not far from the side and front picket fences.  Huddling together under one of those precious elms that hugged the side fence,

we each have a cloth bag of marbles.

We are on our knees.  It's good that packed dirt is beneath us, 

much kinder to little girl's knees since we wore dresses or skirts. Our knees were 

always at risk and often tattooed with scars and healing scrapes. 

 Anyway, you could not play marbles on concrete.

                                                               Pinterest- bing.com



There are three or four of us around the " bunny" hole we have dug out of the ground, thumbs and fingers ready to launch our chosen marble. Little girls with pigtails or curls hanging over our shoulders, we are in intense concentration.  Elbows ensconced in the dirt...liftoff!!

Pinterest: piccsy, com

I vaguely remember the marble terminology for each kind of marble

such as the cats eye, the aggie, the tiger, and swirly...

 Wikopedia tells us that there are many more names, and many rules.   I do not recall those.

I just remember the feel of the marbles in my fingers and my hand.

The beauty of each one. The joy when I was able to gain another in a game.

Today try to find old marbles.  There are collectors out there.  Real old marbles are expensive,

but hold so much memory of peace, of gentle gaming and the fact that no one

seemed to get ticked off after a game of marbles....  No one left mid-game in a huff.

Pinterest:integrelleaders

Just a simple little game.  You were quiet, there were no spectators or reporters.  You did not need anything electronic.  Your little drawstring bag of marbles fit nicely into a pocket.

 The game of marbles- gender and class neutral.  Non-violent.  I never saw a fight over marbles. Rich or poor could play equally.  It was race neutral.  The game could be slow or it could be fast.  Ah, the days of innocence. Marbles did involve strategy and concentration.  It involved friendly interaction, there was anticipation and time for laughter.

Then there was the sheer feel of the marble itself.  No corners.  Marbles were marvelous with  their cool roundness snuggling into your hand. This post reminded me that when I did tai chi we had a session on "meridian balls" (sometimes called boading balls).  These go all the way back to the Ming Dynasty starting in the 1300's.  Small marble-like spheres (or larger if indicated) were rolled in the hand and fingers.  The practice is still used today.  They exercise not just the fingers and hand, but the forearms and shoulders, too .  The very simple exercises invigorate and increase blood circulation, unblock energy areas, keep the brain in good health,  reinvigorates memory, relieves fatigue, drowns your worries and may prolong your life.

                                                   Not bad for a sweet little sphere!

This 1937 Life magazine cover demonstrates the concentration
of playing marbles.  This boy obviously is not worrying about other things.

Pinterest- sodahead.com

....

More Marble factoids

Marbles have a history all of their own as we read above.  Time magazine (quoted in Wikopedia) goes way back to the 1500's. The were found  in early Egyptian and Roman excavations.

Marbles as we know them were first manufactured in Germany in the early 1800's.

Ceramic marbles were first mass produced in the 1870's.  In Germany someone invented glass scissors and glass marbles were sold everywhere. Recently, a marble set owned by Anne Frank has been discovered, giving the history of marbles a poignant aspect.

Today there are only two companies who manufacture marbles in the U.S., one in Ohio and another in W. Virginia.

Below a game of marbles at a South Carolina cotton mill in 1903.
Pinterest:boys-of-the-past.tumblr.com

A thought about marbles:

Sometimes I think this present world has lost its marbles.

 It needs a quiet time to crouch down in the dirt and

pay attention to listening to the wonders and goodness around it.

It needs to gaze into

the swirling depths of a marble. It needs  to concentrate on strategy and trajectory

with another human being, both of you crouched down into the same size, neither of you

thinking of differences but of commonality.

Then we might all find our marbles...

Pinterest: imaginechildhood.com

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


More about oriental healing balls...
http://www.natashascafe.com/html/popups/chinese_balls_pop.html


.......
Note: I have been derelict in not attributing Pinterest photos.
They are now being attached as they should have been.
If you are into nostalgia and history and have not found Pinterest online,
you havea wonderful surprise coming...  The attached sites
are websites from which the Pinterestphotos originally derived.

Did you know about the The Coimbra Club?

A common goal of  the Portuguese who settled in Taunton and throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, was to keep their heritage alive. In the last post we that celebrating Festa was one way to do that.  

Today we see a resurgence of the Festa and indeed a revival.

Back in the late 50's, and even before, there was another  example  of maintaining and increasing Portuguese cultural identity.  For a certain group of Portuguese Americans the Coimbra Club of Massachusetts and Rhode Island did just that.  I acknowledge the great help of Carolyn de Sousa who was treasurer of Coimbra from 1971-1973. Carolyn supplied me
 with personal anecdotes as well as written history of the organization.

The Coimbra Club was named for Coimbra University in Portugal.   Coimbra University in Lisbon  has an illustrious history.  Considered a cultural icon, it was founded in 1290,  now the oldest continuously operating university in the world.  Interestingly, Coimbra is a public University.

The founding members of the Coimbra Club in Southeastern New England, among whom many Tauntonians were numbered,  decided that their organization would be educational in nature. It would study the Portuguese culture in depth which would define their membership criteria . They would delve into historical ancient Portuguese philosophy, writings and art.

The eliteness of the Club in no way diminished the wisdom and gracefulness of others of Portuguese descent in the area.  Although they required two years of formal post-high school education for membership,  their Board was authorized to use equivalency discretion.  One had to be of Portuguese heritage for membership, of course and had to be sponsored by two members.  

Membership was voted on by the Board. 

Like the round table dinners hosted by Father Louro at St Anthony's in the early to mid 1900's members of the Coimbra Club met to forge relationships among those with similar backgrounds.

 ( See The Art of Gracious Living, May 8, 2014  post on the Blog for more on Father Louro's dinners).

                                                      

The Coimbra Club was an extension of the Portuguese classes at Ivy League Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.  Specifically, it was an outgrowth of the University Extension Division taught by Belmira E. Tavares.  Several times a year the class would get together for dinner. Finally, at Sunderland's in Tiverton in 1957, they decided to formalize their gatherings. The name Coimbra was chosen since many members, including Ms. Tavares, attended  Coimbra.  The first President of the Coimbra Club, Dr. Correia-Branco, had graduated from there.

Belmira E. Tavares was from Fall River, MA.  She was first a school teacher, then a school principal and  created her classes at Brown University.  She was the author of Portuguese Pioneers in the U.S. published in 1974.  It is still being used today for historians and genealogists.  The book focused on 7 parishes in the Fall River area and their families.

                               The original organizers of the Coimbra Club were:

Atty. Aristides Andrade : I knew Attorney (Aris) Andrade, he was a neighbor of ours on School St.  

         He passed away too young at the age of 54 years in 1964. Married to the indomitable Emma    Andrade, he  was the City Solicitor at the time. 

        Atty. Andrade is pictured here at a Fuller School function with Principal Sophia Dupont, 

another member of the Coimbra Club.  This puts a Village touch to the Club.

Other organizers: Dr. Rose Borges, Miss Mildred Braga, Dr. Joseph C. Carvalho, Miss Alice Clemente, Dr. Raymond R. Costa, Miss May Escobar, Mr. and Mrs. Williston Hobert, Mr. John Lima, Mr. and Mrs. Fernandes Lopes, Miss Pauling Luis, Miss Estelle Machado, Miss Laura Nobrega, Miss Mary Oliveira, Mr. Louis Rocha, Miss Cecilia M. Rose, Mr. William R. Silva, Mrs. Helen Sylvia, Dr. Othilia Veira, Dr. and Mrs. Gilbert Vincent, Miss Mary Viveiros and Joseph Fernandes.

The last name in this roster, Joseph Fernandes, deserves special attention.  Born in Madeira, he lived many years in Norton, MA and is one of the luminaries of the Taunton/Norton area who highlighted the achievements of Portuguese Americans. Joseph Fernandes was a name I often heard growing up. We were so proud of this outstanding man.

Mr. Joseph Fernandes graduated from Boston University in 1947, later earning an Honorary Doctorate from Stonehill College in N. Easton, MA. He distinguished himself as a Navy Lieutenant in World War II and was awarded the ETO-Battle Stars Presidential Unit Citation.  He exemplified the quintessential Portuguese American immigrant whose talents flourished in the U.S.  

          Active in his successful business, he was at the same time deeply involved in the Portuguese American experience.  Proud of his heritage, he :

         * was President of the Portuguese Times and the Portuguese Cable Channels

which served 65 communities ,

        *received the Peter Francisco Award  in 1966 (do you know who Peter was?  

Find out in an upcoming post). \

                         *received the Order of Prince Henry Society's Man of the Year in 1995,

Joseph Fernandes  1923- 2007

Active on the International level he was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as Special Consultant for the State Department's Alliance for Progress at Puente Del Este, Uruguay.

Joseph Fernandes was awarded the Bicentennial Salute to Leadership Award by Secretary of the Treasury William Simon in 1976, The Leadership Award by President Ford and the Prime Minister's Award Medal from the State of Israel.

He was one of the original founders of the Coimbra Club, founded the Portuguese American Foundation, was chair of the Portuguese Cultural Foundation, chaired the Portuguese Cultural Foundation, was honorary President of the Portuguese Cultural Union, and President of the Association for Development of the Catholic University of Portugal.

Scholar, entrepreneur, statesmen, Portuguese American and gentleman extraordinaire. A 

wonderful example of the membership of the extraordinary Coimbra Club.

Another distinguished member of the Club was Ret. Lt. Col. Rudolph (Rudy) de Silva, once Mayor of Taunton and a former POW in the Korean War.  Rudy spent 23 years in the Army and his service also included the Vietnam War.  He was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor,

 the Army Commendation Metal and the Purple Heart. 

  

There are many other distinguished members of the Coimbra Club. I just am not aware of them...will you share if you do? The Village was well represented.  We have mentioned  Atty. Andrade and Sophia Dupont.  Also, friend and  Fuller School classmate high school teacher, 

Cecilia Mendes Rodier must be included in the list.

Coimbra Club Insignia

The Club met four times a year, members often attending with their spouses (who did not have to be of Portuguese descent).   They met at venues all over Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  They sometimes met at the Fernandes Compound in Norton, MA .Their programs included Fado artists from Portugal, for example.

School teachers and principals as well as a superintendent, lawyers, business men and more gathered to augment their Portuguese heritage. Don't you wish  that you could peek back in the past at gatherings such as this and listen and learn and be astonished? Researching this topic, as well as so many others, I am struck once more of the impact Portuguese Americans had on so many fronts.

Not only from the Village where I grew up, but as part of the Greater Taunton experience. A small Village, a small City, a plethora of strong people nourished by their cultures, excellent teachers and school system, and by their faiths.

As its members aged, the Coimbra Club membership diminished 

and finally the organization disbanded. 

**************************

  A Note 

Writing this blog is such an honor for me.  Uncovering the accomplishments of those I write about, which are so often hidden. Writing about those who went beyond their known horizons to reach distant goals is a joy.

         

Gratitude is due to those who have fed this blog, growing it with their willingness to share our heritage.  Contributors such as Carolyn de Sousa with this blog post and others.  Of course, our incredible Village and Taunton historian Arlene Rose Gouveia takes prime place.

  What would I do without you?