THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 20, 2023 Page 3 ~ Malden Musings ~ “Malden, Back in the Day” By Peter F. Levine M y recent column reminiscing about Malden, back in the day, struck a nerve with many Maldonians. It was a pleasure to write, and I sincerely appreciate folks reaching out to me. I’ll let Barry, Arthur and Jonesy take it from here: Barry Crotty: “Great write up! Brought back many memories. I was a summer park instructor 1960 at Roosevelt Park. Grew up in Forestdale surrounded by immigrant families from Nova Scotia, Italy, and Ireland, interspersed with many Jewish families from all over the world. One of which took the time to teach me some Yiddish while I was learning German at MHS. The ‘Poor Farm’ (McFadden Manor) was still in operation, with cows and a bull, a two-story barn, a silo, and hundreds of chickens in a long, two-story coop. The farm had horses, and there was an underground stable in the rear of the extensive living quarters. Mr. McGuire was in charge and every spring he tilled the fields and planted vegetables. One of their fenced-in fields had several huge chestnut trees, now rarely found in the USA. Forestdale Park was originally located on Sylvan Street at the bottom of Kimball Street (replacing ‘WW-2 Victory Garden’ plots planted by Forestdale neighbors). Next to it the city grew trees for replanting around the city. The Poor Farm and the Forestdale Park property acreage was incrementally developed into elderly housing, the current Forestdale Park, and a new school. The Forestdale Cemetery still had lots of open space at the Forest St/Sylvan Street end, where us kids would roam. It’s now filled up with gravesites. Pine Banks Park had a large dump next to it, largely hidden in the woods, and when they closed it for good, they bulldozed it flat and trucked excess dump material as fill to make the current ballfields. For years afterwards lots of glass shards would work their way to the grassy surface. Maplewood, Linden, and Forestdale comprised our stomping grounds. Our schools were very old, Ayers, Maplewood, and Browne, all replaced over the years. Malden had 5 movie theaters in ‘The Square’ and candlepin bowling alleys. Automated pin setting machines existed but some alleys still used boys to reset the pins! Many of our streets were still paved with cobblestones and SNOW BLOWER SALES, SERVICE & REPAIRS Pickup/Delivery Available 1039 BROADWAY, REVERE WWW.BIKERSOUTFITTER.COM AUTOTECH Malden (way) Back in the Day...Malden Square World War II era. roads were still unpaved dirt. They city started to dig up many cobblestones and stored piles of them at the old City Yards near the Pearl St Stadium, but that was too man-intensive, so they just paved over many streets, leaving the cobblestones as a base. Malden’s main streets were crisscrossed with trolley wires about 15-20 feet high. The trackless trolley buses had two poles attached to the rear of the buses which connected to the overhead electrical wires. One pole would often detach from the wires when the bus made a tight turn around a corner. The bus would immediately stop, and the driver had to go out and swing the pole back into position. The Service Bus Line with blue buses replaced the red buses of the Warwick Line in the mid-1950’s. Ten cents a ride! I left Malden in 1961 for four years in the Air Force, returned for a year, working for Household Finance on Pleasant Street, and then off to a 40+ year career as a civilian in the Department of Defense at NSA and the Pentagon. Lived in England, Italy, Texas, Florida, Maryland, Hawaii and now Oregon but always remembered how places like the Salemwood Grille, Jessel’s, and others were not just bars, they were neighborhood gathering places, where ‘they knew your name, what you drank and what your parents drank.’ It took us YEARS to find the same feeling of ‘belonging.’ Still have family in Malden. My father and brothers worked for the city as the Inspectors of Wiring and Code Enforcement, and my nephew is a current police officer. We still return for visits and noticed that ‘The Square’ is looking much better each year. All MUSINGS| SEE PAGE 9 DRIVE IT - PUSH IT - TOW IT! Cold Hard Cash for Your Vehicle! RIVE IT - PUSH IT - TOW IT $$ CASH FOR YOUR CAR, TRUCK OR SUV! $$ Get your vehicle Winter Ready! We Offer A Complete Safety Check! • Coolant Special with Oil Change • Top Off All Fluids Gt hil Wit Rd i Wi Wi • Synthetic Blend Oil Change Only $79.95 2012 SMART CAR CABRIOLET Convertible, Excellent Condition, Deluxe Package, Heated Seats, Most Power Options, Clean Title, Only 81K Miles! TRADES WELCOME! $9,900 Easy Financing Available! (Most vehicles) 2013 KIA SOUL Loaded with Power Options, Sun Roof, Heated Seats, Remote Starter, Clean Title, Only 86K Miles! TRADES WELCOME! $7,995 (781) 321-8841 • (617) 571-9869 1236 EasternAve • Malden EddiesAutotech.com Vehicle! We Pay Cash For Your d 10% Off Senior Discount!
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