November 29, 2013 Vol. 117 No. 48
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VOL. 117 - NO. 48 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, NOVEMBER 29, 2013 $.30 A COPY Trellis Lighting at Christopher Columbus Park by Matt Conti The Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Edgar Albert Guest, 1881-1959 It may be I am getting old and like too much to dwell Upon the days of bygone years, the days I loved so well; But thinking of them now I wish somehow that I could know A simple old Thanksgiving Day, like those of long ago, When all the family gathered round a table richly spread, With little Jamie at the foot and grandpa at the head, The youngest of us all to greet the oldest with a smile, With mother running in and out and laughing all the while. It may be I’m old-fashioned, but it seems to me today We’re too much bent on having fun to take the time to pray; Each little family grows up with fashions of its own; It lives within a world itself and wants to be alone. It has its special pleasures, its circle, too, of friends; There are no get-together days; each one his journey wends, Pursuing what he likes the best in his particular way, Letting the others do the same upon Thanksgiving Day. I like the olden way the best, when relatives were glad (Photo by Rosario Scabin, Ross Photography) To meet the way they used to do when I was but a lad; The old home was a rendezvous for all our kith and kin, The annual trellis lighting Monday night turning on the Hayes-Rines and Parks And whether living far or near they all came trooping in at Christopher Columbus thousands of blue lights to Commissioner Toni Pollak With shouts of “Hello, daddy!” as they fairly stormed the place And made a rush for mother, who would stop to wipe her face Park marked the start of the create Boston’s iconic holi- moderated the festivities Upon her gingham apron before she kissed them all, season during this Thanks- day scene. The trellis lights with a holiday program Hugging them proudly to her breast, the grownups and the small. giving week. are sponsored by the Friends headlined by NEMPAC stu- Then laughter rang throughout the home, and, Oh, the jokes they told; Mayor Tom Menino and of Christopher Columbus dents, saxophone extraordin- From Boston, Frank brought new ones, but father sprang the old; Mayor-Elect Marty Walsh Park that hosted the event. aire, Scott Boni, Magic 106.7 All afternoon we chatted, telling what we hoped to do, helped flip the switch on FOCCP President Joanne and, of course, Santa! The struggles we were making and the hardships we’d gone through; We gathered round the fi reside. How fast the hours would fl y— It seemed before we’d settled down L’Anno Bello: A Year in Italian Folklore ‘twas time to say good-bye. Those were the glad Thanksgivings, A Season of Waiting and Cheer the old-time families knew When relatives could still be friends and by Ally Di Censo Symynkywicz every heart was true. The holiday season, that a plethora of folksy traditions come. My husband’s family wonderful time of light and in both Italy and America celebrates Advent with strik- greenery and chiming bells, that comprise the tradi- ingly simple rituals that has wrapped itself around me tional, family-oriented heart are both cozy and intimate. like a warm sweater. This of the season. Every Sunday of Advent, they News Briefs morning, as I stepped out- Advent, which begins on light the appropriate candle by Sal Giarratani side into the chilly air, I December 1st this year, and read a Biblical passage. noticed how perfectly the refers to the weeks of prepa- After that, they choose a leaves scattering my front ration for the birth of Jesus small homespun ornament CNN Investigates VA Hospitals lawn were ensconced in Christ on Christmas. Falling to pin to a felt Christmas Apparently, according to a CNN report, the frost, seeming like crystal- on the four Sundays before tree tapestry. By Christmas Department of Veterans Affairs even after get- lized Christmas ornaments. Christmas, Advent used to Day, there are 25 ornaments ting additional funding from Congress still hasn’t Hanukkah begins the last be a period of fasting in adorning the tree, ranging dealt with the long waits that put our ailing vet- week of November, so house- the Middle Ages, though now from a quirky seal to more erans using the system at risk. Between 6 and holds around the country the focus has shifted to the quintessential adornments 20 veterans allegedly died as a result of either shine with soft light from anticipation and eager wait- like a Santa Claus face and long waits for treatments or just seemingly plain golden menorahs. Holiday ing that accompanies the a haloed angel. In some other substandard care. One veteran interviewed on music fills the air from car Christmas holidays. Advent families, children open little CNN on November 19th stated that he was told at radios all around me, setting also contains a strong drawers on Advent calen- Dorn VA Hospital in Columbia, SC that he didn’t a mood of cheer and good emphasis on light, linking it dars on the days preceding need an immediate colonoscopy. He was leery of spirits. Foods of the season, to all the midwinter festivi- Christmas. The prominence that statement, went to a private doctor who per- from tart cranberries to silky ties that honor the rebirth of waiting during Advent formed a colonoscopy and found several pre- eggnog, tempt me with their of the sun after the winter reminds us that stepping cancerous polyps. Had he waited as told by the delectable smells and fes- solstice. All around the away from the chaos that VA, he could have been dead and unable to speak tive flavors. Yes, the holiday world, people light candles on all too often characterizes with CNN on this report. season has come upon us, Advent wreaths, circular the holiday season provides Can I tell you something? This is government- evident in the holly wreaths like the sun in the sky, to us with invaluable oppor- run medical care. This is the future of Obamacare that line doorways and the help count down the weeks tunities to spend time in the for all Americans. shoppers that zigzag in and before Christmas. Tradition- company of loved ones. Lincoln to Obama Addresses out of bustling stores. In the ally, three of the candles are Meanwhile, the light of the Recently, America celebrated the 150th anni- midst of all this excitement, purple, except for the rose- Advent wreath tells us that versary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. however, it is important to colored candle which corre- the sun will shine again, remember that a period of sponds to the third week of even in the midst of the (Continued on Page 13) reflection and respite pre- Advent, its cheerful hue tan- dark winter nights. cedes Christmas. This time, talizing people with thoughts known as Advent, contains of the holiday joviality to (Continued on Page 7) THE POST-GAZETTE SATELLITE OFFICE IS NOW OPEN AT 35 BENNINGTON STREET, EAST BOSTON This office is open on Tuesdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PMPM, for the convenience of our East Boston and North Shore clients and contributors Call 617-227-8929 for more information Page 2 POST-GAZETTE, NOVEMBER 29, 2013 Stirpe by Prof. Edmund Res Publica Turiello Nostra by David Trumbull A weekly column highlighting some of the more interesting aspects of our Thankful for a Job ancestry...our lineage...our roots. If your household is anything like mine, military contracts as well, and, as anyone you are still eating turkey leftovers as you who knows anything about military or mili- JAMES E. CARTER, JR. read this week’s Post-Gazette. As we finish tary-style apparel can tell you, certification off the culinary remains of Thanksgiving as a Department of Defense contractor is Day, I suggest we keep alive the sentiment the “gold standard” for that sector of the ap- of the holiday by maintaining a spirit of parel market. thankfulness. For 300 employees of Ster- The peacoats made for the U.S. Navy are lingwear of Boston thanksgiving for a good made in Boston, of fabric woven in Massa- paying, unionized job may be on their lists. chusetts, of yarn spun in Massachusetts, of Sterlingwear is a Massachusetts manu- wool grown in the U.S. They have to be, be- facturing success story. So successful cause of a law, known as the Berry Amend- that, about a decade ago, the volume ment (U.S.C. Title 10, Section 2533a), which of business making coats and jackets goes back to 1941 and was first enacted exceeded the capacity of the East Boston fac- as part of America’s preparation for World tory. President and Chief Executive Officer War II which requires the Department of Frank G. Fredella could easily have relo- Defense to give preference to American cated to any number of cheap, practically made products. In the case of clothing or abandoned, factories in distressed Fall River. textiles of wool, every stage of production That city would have been so happy to see from growing the wool to sewing the coat him bring jobs that he could have negoti- must take place in America. ated substantial tax breaks. “I am an East The quality of a Made in U.S.A.