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Page 6 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, May 13, 2022 Malden Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday – Devir Park revisited By Peter F. Levine D evir Park is once again in the news. A much-anticipated makeover is scheduled for the near future, and those who love Devir could not be happier. Thank you, Janelle Devit’s and Paul Condon, for caring. I understand the following article may belong to yesterday, but I could not resist...Devir was always a family-friendly public space. In my youth, during daylight hours, Devir Park was overrun with every child in Edgeworth – possibly the last generation where children numLaw Offices of Terrence W. Kennedy 512 Broadway, Everett • Criminal Defense • Personal Injury • Medical Malpractice Tel: (617) 387-9809 Cell: (617) 308-8178 twkennedylaw@gmail.com bered four or fi ve in each family and, in some cases (the Frenis from the other end of town), 10 or more. Every inch of the park was in use. The Bandstand was always mobbed: a respite from the hot summer sun, a place to enjoy a “Big A” Italian with everything on it, including hots – also a place to light up and get your illegal smile on – in privacy. From the basketball and tennis courts to the in-ground water sprinkler, to the children’s playground – girls and boys played. Bruce Field was constantly in use as well as a makeshift ballfield right behind the green wooden fence on the Malden Street side in front of Mr. Adorn and Mr. Roach’s houses. The bigleague diamond was always in demand (especially with Frankie Letizia and his dad), but the fi eld that got the most use was the softball diamond. The softball diamond near the Shell Gas Station was in use from early morning deep into the night – Skippy Murray, Rob’s late uncle Joey McCarthy and father Bobby, Bobby “Nipper” DiSeThe Bandstand at Devir Park, March 1976, long gone but never forgotten – Helen Levine Kodak moment. (Courtesy Photo) ~ Home of the Week ~ SAUGUS - 1st AD Welcome home to this custom built, original owner Colonial featuring 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, including front to back living room, eat in kitchen & dining area both with sliders to joining rear deck, formal dining room, comfortable great room with gas stove, 1st floor laundry, master bedroom with walkin closet & private bath, 2 car garage, hardwood floors, 3 zone gas heat, central air, updated roof, lots of natural sunlight, spectacular views from the terraced backyard, located on dead end street, PLUS 4 room, 1 bedroom au pair suite with separate entrance & separate laundry. Be the one to enjoy all this home has to offer. Offered at $899,900 335 Central Street, Saugus, MA 01906 (781) 233-7300 View the interior of this home right on your smartphone. View all our listings at: CarpenitoRealEstate.com rio, Dennis Damiano, Dom DiSario, Joe DeVincentis, George DeCandia, Paul Murphy, Joe Levine, Cliff Cioffi running the show like the park bosses they were. It was a summer wonderland for us Edgeworth kids: a place for our generation to stay active, stay local and stay out of trouble – before the next generation became obsessed with remaining in their air-conditioned homes playing early versions of mind-numbing video games. Then families became smaller. That is a story for another time. I digress... Truth be told Devir Park took on a slightly diff erent persona when the sun set. Unlike daylight hours where all were welcome, nighttime was by invite only. You had to have a connection: an older brother or a relation; you had to be from the neighborhood; or you had to be familiar with the traditional Devir Park pecking order. Sometimes you needed all three to join in on the fun. This afterhours hang was generational – handed down instinctually from one generation to the other. The young’uns knew enough to leave the Bandstand to the big kids until they said it was okay to join in or until they decided to jet for a house party, night club or up to Amerige or the Rez for more “privacy.” You waited patiently until it was your time to sit on those beerstained steps. It was all clean fun, I must point out at this time. Yes, weed was smoked. Lots of it! Beer and wine were consumed. Voices got loud. Music was played, sometimes loud. A scuffl e would occur from time to time (those damn Medford juvenile delinquents!). Muscle cars would use the Fells or Emerald Street to show off in front of all the pretty girls that called Devir Park home (Hello, Diane Wishoski! Hello, Patti McGonagle! Hello, Geraldine O’Conner! Hello, Donna Ventura Morabito! Hello, Donna Davis!). And yes, a lot of other “stuff ” went on until the wee hours. Watching the sun rise from the Bandstand steps after a night of merrymaking was not uncommon. Again, it was all good clean fun by youngsters trying to fi gure out life on their own terms – tame compared to today’s standards. After a decade like the 1960s, there was a lot of fi guring out to do. The 1970s were just as confusing and took just as much skill to navigate and get out of alive. That’s yet another story. So, with that said I present to you a look at the fl ip side of our childhood at Devir Park. Not everybody felt warm and fuzzy about the shenanigans that went on there. The Malden Evening News was our trusted source of information back when they were located on Ferry Street and David Brickman was our Walter Cronkite. No fake news. They ran a column, usually on their editorial page, called “Our Readers Write...Gripes, Groans, and Cheers.” It allowed Maldonians the opportunity (before social media reared its ugly head) to weigh in on anything their pea pickin’ hearts desired. “Mr. & Mrs. Name Withheld Upon Request” made quite a splash with the Devir Park Bandstand gang when this was originally printed in 1972. Speculation ran wild for many weeks during that summer on who the letter writer actually was (the Dempseys?). In hindsight, the letter writer was spot on. Insert great big smile face. Here for your reading pleasure is that same letter which caused such a ruckus those many years ago: “Devir Park Rowdies Draw Harsh Complaint “Whatever happened to the citizen’s right to quiet and peace in the night, or for that matter, the law that is supposed to guarantee against the breaking of the peace. “Ask the Mayor’s Offi ce, Police Dept., the Registry of Motor Vehicles, or your local political reps. I did and found a not to lovely ring of un delegated authority; no one wants to take the reality of the situation; they all seem to pretend that it doesn’t exist or else is someone’s responsibility other than themselves. “The disturbances of the peace that I speak of are the loud, obscene shouting of what I would term potential class one bums, who constantly make their headquarters about Devir Park in Malden at the Medford line at night. “I am complaining about their illegal use of horns and loud mufflers on vehicles; drinking in vehicles and in the park; breaking of bottles; racing and screeching brakes; public urinatMALDEN: TODAY| SEE PAGE 19

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