Page 4 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, March 20, 2020 “Malden: Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday…” remembering Angeline Caiazzo By Peter F. Levine T he Malden Historical Society cordially invites you to the 34th Annual Antique Show this March 14th at Anthony’s on Canal Street. It’s a fun event with a lot of cool stuff for sale. It goes from 10 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon. Free parking! Best lunch in Malden! Get there early, have Mary top your coffee off with some Booca and search for that perfect collectible to add to your already over collected aggregation of memorabilia. Old friend Deb “Debbie Nice” Esposito is a very special person. I know, you already knew that! She wrote to me after reading in a recent column – “An Ode to Mary” – that amazing tribute to Mary Hannan from Pisa Pizza. Debbie liked it! Which is a very good thing. Cause you never want Debbie Nice on your bad side! Insert smiley face. Take it away, Deb: “Hilarious!! And so true!!! I just finished reading it. O.M.G.! If only Mary was on Facebook! Peter, as you know Mary and I have been friends around 40 years and I’ve never known her to be called ‘sweet!’ LOL! Maybe sour! Ha ha! Nah, I LOVE Mary and was part of her survival of the Hannan boys and I also had the pleasure of witnessing her in action with the customers at Pisa Pizza. And I’ve seen their fright! Mostly followed with laughter of course!! Mary and Jamie are two wonderful people/ friends. How lucky is Joe to have two fine Edgeworth girls as the face of his place! Thanks for the great read!” Anybody else miss the Ramones?! It’s been 44 years since their debut album and 19 years since Joey left us! The passage of time – mind-boggling! My good-time friends and I saw them every opportunity we could whenever they came through the Greater Boston Area. The Channel, Uncle Sam’s, Spit, Metro, the Harbour House. SABATINO INSURANCE AGENCY Call for a Quote 617-387-7466 Or email Rocco@sabatino-ins.com We cover: * Auto * Home * Boat * Renter * Condo * Life * Multi-Policy Discounts * Commercial 10% Discounts * Registry Service Also Available And a few places lost in the fogbank of time. There was nothing like the adrenaline rush of Joey, Johnny, Tommy, Dee Dee, Richie, Elvis, C.J. and Marky live, loud and most of the time pretty sloppy. Which was just the way we liked them! One of the more memorable Ramone’s nights was at the Shapiro Gym at Brandeis on Saturday night, April 24 in 1982. “Jaybird” Whitney and I took a cab to Waltham to see David Johansen touring on his record “Live It Up” with the reigning “Godfather’s of Punk,” the Ramones, still touring on the 1981 release “Pleasant Dreams.” After the show we hailed a cab and hightailed it back to Malden to catch the last set at “Dino’s Restaurant” on Medford Street. The Dream with Gary Cherone and Paul Geary were kicking it up with all their rowdy friends from Malden and Medford. Gary and Paul eventually shot to stardom with “More Than Words,” then as the “Kings of Sea Cruises.” If you’ve seen the bumper sticker on the back of my car you’ve probably surmised I was a fan of the now defunct Blue Star Bar in Saugus. I spent quite a few long-forgotten nights there. Fond memories of one of the last of the old school Route 1 lounges. Loved the honky-tonk atmosphere at the Blue Star. I also watched a couple of the 1975 World Series games in the lounge with friends on the first big screen TV on Route 1. I saw the Preacher Jack Trio perform there on many Sunday nights – “Hurricane” Haven on skins and “Sweet Ray” Burnette on guitar – Steve Moran, the brothers Cherone (Mark, Michael and Gary) and Nuno Bettencourt joining in on the fun. Last year the ever lovely Joanne Settemio gifted me a splendid vintage souvenir Blue Star Lounge beer mug proudly displayed on my rollAngeline and Rocco Caiazzo’s wedding day. (Photo Courtesy of Dave Caiazzo) top desk. Last week I was gobsmacked when Public Facilities backbone Joe LaPorte surprised me with a blue plastic “Blue Star” souvenir key chain. I am not worthy! Thank you so much to both of you. The Blue Star Lounge was the oldest country music club in the greater Boston area when they closed their doors in 1994. It had been home for numerous local country acts from John Lincoln Wright to Bob Riley to Jimmy Allen – residencies by “Preacher Jack” in the early 1990’s as well as a tour stop for such national figures as George Strait, Kitty Wells, Crystal Gayle, “Boxcar Willie” and even “Tiny Tim.” “I hate to see it go, but things are changing, and you’ve got to change with them. We’ve had a good run,” Blue Star owner Ron Lane said at the time of his 21-year-old country roadhouse. “It’s the end of another era in honky-tonks around here,” said (the late) John Lincoln Wright, noting that the Blue Star and the now-defunct Hillbilly Ranch were once the region’s key honky-tonks. The club closed for good on December 17 in 1994. It reopened, for a short period of time, as a mesquite grill under a different name, with a lounge area for solo and duo acts. As for why the Blue Star is closed, Lane said it became too costly to run a club with just alcohol sales and not food; he also noted “people’s drinking habits are changing.” Picked up pieces while waiting for the much-anticipated arrival of an early spring in Malden... • Peter “The Stable Genius” Robinson correctly identified Mike DeMarco as the former owner of DeMarco’s Cafe at the corner of Charles & Pearl, now home to Pisa Pizza. I wrote Louie DeMarco just to see how many people actually read my column. Knowing that it was wrong I’d get people to contact me for a retraction. Good job, Pete! Please make sure your MALDEN: TODAY| SEE PAGE 10 http://www.sabatino-ins.com SABATINO 564 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 617-387-7466 Hours of Operation are: Mondays - Fridays 9am to 5pm Saturdays by appointment only Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma
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