THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, November 4, 2022 Page 7 MUSINGS | FROM PAGE 6 only sophomore who played on that team, and he had incredible speed. They had Bunky Cunningham on defense, incredible speed, and quickness. It was great team to watch.” Thank you so much, Paul. As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character “Columbo” would say “Just one more thing, sir” – in the “they don’t make men like these anymore” department I bring to you a testimonial about Silver Star winner Torbert ‘Torby’ Macdonald brought to you by Alan Frazer in his Boston Evening American column called “My Boston” dated Tuesday, January 30, 1951: “War clouds – Torby Macdonald, Harvard football captain in ’39, is in Europe with Congressman John F Kennedy who is studying conditions in all countries this side of the Iron Curtain. The pair will return in about a week…Torby’s wife is Phyllis Brooks, the former stage and screen star. In her husband’s absence, Phyllis has whipped up a promising TV show which she is launching today on WBZ with herself both as producer and emcee. She is sponsored by the kid leather people. MCAS | FROM PAGE 1 ed numbers statewide. The Malden district results bucked the statewide trend reported out in late September by Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeffrey Riley, who said that statewide there had been a “pandemic slide” in MCAS results overall. While drops in Math and Science scores were smaller than those matching the pre-pandemic, 2019 results, many districts experienced “significant” drops in scores in English reading and writing MCAS testing, Riley reported officially in September. “Overall, we’ve seen drops across the board in the Commonwealth and everyone is going to have to step forward and work on our kids’ mental health and on their academic needs going forward,” Riley said after making his presentation of MCAS results from 2022 at the DESE monthly meeting in September. On the contrary, many of the grade and subject matter breakdowns in Malden showed significant improvements in MCAS results from just a year ago in 2021 to this year, 2022. Additionally, particularly at the higher grade levels, many of the Malden MCAS results had either reached or came close to reaching the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. The DESE board found that Math scores for grades three to eight dropped on average “Before leaving for Europe Torby, although a disabled (and decorated) PT-boat skipper, reactivated his commission as a lieutenant com in the Naval Reserve. When he carried this news home to Phyllis in Malden, she became greatly upset. ‘Don’t you know you’ve got two small children upstairs?’ she asked Torby. Torby waited until Phyllis had cooled off and then said: ‘Did you ever stop to think that it’s because of my two small children upstairs?’ “Torby continued to Phyllis: ‘I see all these high school kids, fine, sturdy boys but so very young, and I think back to when I was a kid and how little I knew about fighting a war. They are all swell but as far as I am concerned, they’re too young to be plunged right into war and it seems to me it’s up to us men who’ve already learned by experience.’ “Phyllis agreed. If her husband is called out, she will raise no obstacle to his going.” “The Macdonald children will be of draft age some day and maybe that’s what Torby envisioned. Today, they’re only 5 (that’s Torby, Jr.) and 3 ½ (that’s Laurie). Little Torby says his own prayers but when his dad left for around 16 percentage points and 7 percentage points for grade 10 compared to the scores from 2019. The MCAS testing was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. In Malden, most of the grade levels’ performances were either improved from last year’s 2021 results or inching closer – or meeting – the 2019 results. “Our data is good. Our educators and administrators and most importantly – our students – should be extraordinarily proud,” said Malden Ward 5 School Committee member Adam Weldai. In Malden, Math scores stayed level in tenth grade while improving in the third through eighth grades. Fifth and eighth grades Science scores also improved. Supt. Noriega-Murphy told the School Committee that while the district was pleased by the overall MCAS results, there “is still much room for improvement in our district.” She also noted that the improvements “have also established a new baseline for our district. There will be no returning to the [lower MCAS results].” Dr. Noriega-Murphy said she and her staff are preparing another detailed, analytical presentation on MCAS results for the next Malden School Committee meeting – set for Monday, November 7 in the Malden City Hall City Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m. Europe with Jack Kennedy, Phyllis suggested: ‘Why don’t you ask God to keep Daddy safe?’ This is the prayer Torby, Jr. improvised: ‘Please take care of my Daddy in airplanes and autos and trains and everywhere, and God, I ain’t kiddin’.” Just for the record not only did Malden’s Torby Macdonald receive the Silver Star but he was also awarded a Purple Heart, a Presidential Unit Citation, an Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, an American Campaign Medal, and a World War II Victory Medal. The Italian Heritage Society dedicated a memorial stone to Torby in 1984. Originally located at 200 Pleasant St. but moved to Macdonald Stadium when “The Beast That Ate Pleasant Street” came tumbling down, it was placed alongside the memorial stone of Torbert’s late father, John G. “Jack” Macdonald, for whom Macdonald Stadium is named. Take a moment next time you enter Macdonald Stadium – it’s on the left as you enter – and reflect on the greatest generation and their heroic impact that all of us benefit from today. “Damn the torpedoes, Full speed ahead!” Torbert ‘Torby’ Macdonald, always remembered within these 1,500 words called “Malden Musings.” Postscript: I printed the following a little while back, but I feel an obligation to continue to remind Maldonians of the great men (and women) that came before us. Torby’s daughter Laurie had this to say about her famous dad: “As for the history, for the record, my father was President Kennedy’s roommate at Harvard, and life-long close friend. They both joined the navy, and both were PT Boat captains in WWII. 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