ELECTRIC TROLLEYS

The primary mode of public transportation in South Boston some 81 years ago when I was born was the electric trolley. We lived at the top of West Fifth St. so the closest line to us was the one that ran along Dorchester St. My mother would often take me to visit her sister in Brighton. She would deposit her nickel in the small box located near the conductor and off we would go. I travelled free because of my age. As we travelled toward Andrew Station the conductor would clang his bell when he encountered an obstruction. At Andrew the subway would take us to Park St. and then a trolley to Brighton.

The trolleys were powered by overhead wires which were connected to the car with an electric harness. Occasionally the harness became disengaged. This was particularly true at Perkins Square where the East and West Broadway lines intersected with the Dorchester line. The conductor would set the brakes, leave the car and proceed to the rear where he would set the harness on the correct line.

As I got older I would travel all over the city just for the fun of it. I loved the trolleys and subway system. I had to be careful to get off of stations that had crossovers otherwise I had to pay another nickel to return ---as I found out one day. Since I lived close to the trolley line I became accustomed to the sound of the clanging bell. After WWII the trolleys gave way to busses and the clangs replaced with annoying horns.

Several years ago while on vacation in San Francisco I stayed in Union Square along one of the Cable Car lines. Early one morning I was awakened by the clanging bell of the Cable Car. It brought me back instantly to a simpler time of my childhood.  Only then did I realize how much I missed the sound of the clanging bell.

FREE CHINAWARE

Back in the 1940’s when I was a young lad my mother used to take me to the Broadway Theater every Tuesday evening during the summer months for the movies. Usually there would be 2 “B” movies, Pathe’ News, a Pete Smith short, a cartoon and the Coming Attractions. None of this interested her.

She took me because of the free giveaways. For the 2 tickets we received 2 pieces of a place setting-- one week it would be a bowl, the next a plate then cups and saucers etc. By the end of the summer we had enough chinaware for the entire family.

As I recall the quality was fairly good since we ate off of them for many years until my mother purchased  replacements at Jordan Marsh.

from Jordan Marsh.

TREES

I turned 81 on Mar. 6th,2016. I lived in Southie until I was 32 when I married and moved to Burlington, Ma. My ties to South Boston remained because my parents continued to live there. My family returned for all of the main holidays-St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas, Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Thanksgiving.  In the later years of my father’s life I returned to take him to his Doctor’s appointments. He lived to nearly 103 so I was back often.

The Southie of my Youth is different then what is here today. I remember standing on Dorchester St. looking down West Fifth St. where I lived and seeing the trees that lined both sides, providing shade during those blistering heat waves. It was like looking down a lane in a thickly forested woods. During the WWII years cars were no longer manufactured and no one on our street could afford one anyway, so the CO fumes couldn’t destroy the beautiful elms that provided that lovely canopy.

The warning clangs of the then electrified trolley cars that ran along Dorchester St. to Andrew Station and the other way to City Point remains locked in my memory. The Oil and Car companies found a way to convince the Government to do away with the electrified trolleys and replace them with gas burning buses. Before long the greenery we had long loved was just but a memory.

On the whole we are better off than those that lived before us. But in other ways we are not.

CHARIE BUTTON

I lost a professional colleague this week. His name was Charles Button. I first met Charlie when I was an Engineer with the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and he was the Chief Engineer of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. Our careers crossed paths later when I was made Chief Engineer for the Boston Harbor Project for EPA and he the Chief Engineer for the Mass. Water Resources Authority, the agency responsible for construction of the massive treatment plant you now see on Deer Island.

He called me one day and asked if I would like to take a train ride. “Sure, where are we going.”It turned out he was going to make an inspection of the tunnel boring machine that was currently gouging out a 24 foot diameter tunnel that would eventually discharge wastewater out into Mass. Bay. The machine was down for maintenance and he wanted to take a look at the progress in the tunnel. After getting instructions on how to use the portable oxygen tanks we would be carrying we descended by elevator 400 feet in the bowels of the earth. There we boarded a narrow gauge train normally used to transport workers to the site. We clicked and clacked our way out 8 miles to the machine. We crawled inside this massive structure and visually inspected the grinding wheels. The operator explained how he maintained alignment by focusing on a laser target always shining on crosshairs immediately in front of him. It was an experience I have never forgotten.

Later Charlie and I crossed paths again. I was and still am a volunteer for an Organization called the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC). Charlie was one of the Commissioners appointed by the Governor to serve on the Commission. Although we were acquainted primarily by our professionals careers, I like to believe we became close friends as well. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

 

 

HEAD HOUSE PIER

In the Postcard if you look to the right of the Head House you will see an elevated structure. That is the pier that led to the area we now know as the Sugar Bowl. My father used to push me in a stroller there until the Pier was destroyed in the September Hurricane of 1938. I was almost 4 at the time so I do have a vague memory of it. The pier was destroyed in the center so you could still walk to where the Pier ended. It was years before it was dismantled so I visited the location many times afterwood

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I recall sitting on the benches along the side enjoying the cool summer breezes. Many years later when they built the causeway to the Sugar Bowl and beyond to Castle Island I enjoyed basically the same stroll. The only thing different is that there are no benches along the causeway where you can occasionally rest.

South Boston is blessed to have such a lovely area to enjoy. It is still my favorite area for a walk on a hot summer day.

The Custom Tower

When I was a child in the early 1940’s I lived on West Fifth St. a far distance from Boston Harbor. In those days we had only one tall building in Boston and that was the Custom House. From my bedroom on the third floor I had a clear view of the top of the tower. At night I would look out of my window and see the sweeping light it emitted presumably to prevent aircraft from hitting it as they approached the Municipal Airport in East Boston. I got so used to seeing the light before going to sleep that I kind of needed it to help me nod off. Funny that after all these years I can still picture that scene.

Years later when I worked at the JFK building in Boston I had heard that you could get to the top of the tower. You took an elevator to nearly the top then squeezed yourself in a much smaller elevator (that could fit no more than two people) for the remainder of the trip. The view from the top was spectacular. You could see Logan and all kinds of aircraft taking off and landing. You had all of Boston Harbor at your disposal. I was late getting back to work that day because I just couldn’t leave the tower. I am glad I made the effort because soon thereafter they declared the smaller elevator too dangerous. For all I know I may have been the last person to use it.

The Custom Tower has a special place in my memory bank. Every time I pass it I think back to a much simpler time of my youth.

PEARL HARBOR

Seventy three years ago on Dec7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the military naval and airfield bases in Pearl Harbor in what was then an American Territory. I was 6 at the time and didn’t quite realize the significance of the event. What I did notice was the anguish looks of my father and mother and my uncle and aunt when we heard of it on the radio newscast. It was obvious something horrible had occurred. Where was Pearl Harbor? Why did they attack us? These were questions that first ran in my young mind. Then we learned that Germany declared war on us as well.

On West Fifth St. where I lived the reaction among the teenagers on the street was quite different. They all were excited by the news…all anxious to join in the fight. “We’ll beat those Japs…They’ll be sorry they attacked us” was the refrain heard along the street.

I was confused. Should I be anxious like my elders or excited like my older friends. Many of course joined up as soon as they were eligible. Some earlier if they got permission from their parents. Soon after, in the windows were hung banners with blue stars indicating the number of children engaged in the conflict. I did my part by learning the silhouette of all Japanese and German planes. It would be my duty to report to the authorities if I spotted any flying overhead.

I purchased 25 cent “War Stamps” which were converted to “War Bonds” when my book was full. I joined with others and we collected pots and pans..all for the war effort. We cheered at the Saturday movie news at the Strand and Broadway Theaters when the announcer showed the progress being made against the Japs and Germans. Our games involved shooting down enemy planes and enemy soldiers. As youngsters we were doing our best to support our military.

The excitement waned quickly when many of the blue stars were changed to gold. The war took its toll on our street. The faces of my friends are no longer visible in my memory. I know they died in a just cause but I really wonder if wars are the solution .Today our closest ally in Europe is Germany and we certainly have a close relationship with Japan. I don’t have the answer …maybe someone out there does.