Sunday, December 28, 2008

"The Italian Americans of Greater Boston: A Proud Tradition," by William Marchione

The ANNOTICO Report

 

William Marchione an urban historian has chronicled the Italian American experience in the Brighton area of Boston with  "Boston Miscellany: An Essential History of the Hub," his latest book, that followed

"Allston-Brighton in Transition: From Cattle Town to Streetcar Suburb"  and the book  that started it all: "The Italian Americans of Greater Boston: A Proud Tradition,"

 

ALLSTON, BRIGHTON

He's a Keen Observer of Doings Around the Neighborhood

Boston Globe

By Andreae Downs            

December 28, 2008

Walking to the Winship School in the morning, young William Marchione used to look at the old houses lining the street and wonder who used to live there."I guess I had a lively imagination," he said. "And there were few kids in the neighborhood - maybe none."

Those asking the same questions today can mostly find out, thanks to Marchione's curiosity. He can now tell how locals used to be chased through the streets by bulls on market day, or about the aqueducts and water works at Chestnut Hill.

Marchione gathered his stories by researching - he's trained as an urban historian - and by talking with residents, some of whom were also researching history, some of whom had lived it. Over the years, he's shared his findings in the local paper or in lectures.

Some of his columns are now compiled in books: "Allston-Brighton in Transition: From Cattle Town to Streetcar Suburb" (The History Press, 2007) and "Boston Miscellany: An Essential History of the Hub," his latest book.

"He is our Mr. History," said Charles Vasiliades, vice president of the Brighton-Allston Historical Society and a friend. "We are extremely lucky to have him."

It might seem that Marchione has been the repository, chronicler and researcher of the neighborhood's history forever. But the bookish historian, 67, would probably correct that impression by discussing who chronicled the area's story first (that would be John Perkins Cushing Winship, whose "History of Brighton" was published in 1899).

Marchione started gathering history around the kitchen t able."I would hear stories about the 'old country,' " he said, from parents and grandparents, who came from Italy, and formed the backbone of his 1999 book "The Italian Americans of Greater Boston: A Proud Tradition," (1999) based on a popular lecture series he still gives mostly around Columbus Day. "But I sensed there was something special about the neighborhood, and no one else knew anything."

That's now been rectified with four of his six books, essays on the historical society's website (www.bahistory.org), a series of walking tours, and oral-history interviews he collected in a collaboration with Harvard.

A more tactile display of local history is on display at the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum (20 Chestnut Hill Ave., in the basement of the Veronica Smith Senior Center), which Marchione helped open last year, just in time for Brighton's bicentennial (the town split from Cambridge in 1807 and was annexed to Boston in 1873).

"It helped to have a large family, who accumulated stuff," noted Louise Bonar, who also worked on the museum, of Marchione's resources. Among the display items are receipts from Salvucci masonry (Marchione's grandfather), and a model - constructed by another Salvucci cousin - of the rope factory that once stood at Brighton Mills on Western Avenue.

According to Bonar, she and Marchione founded the Brighton-Allston Historical Society in 1967 in response to the destruction of the original Holton Library on Academy Hill Road, then a Victorian structure, now a Brutalist building slated for renovation this year ("that roof always leaked," Bonar said).

"At the time, anything old was bad," Bonar said. "Bill has a slide show, 'Lost Boston,' that shows all we've lost."

In an attempt to slow the losses, Marchione spent 13 years on the Boston Landmarks Commission. Although he readily admits to not always winning the battles, he is most proud of the establishment of the Aberdeen Historic District, a local historic district near Cleveland Circle.

The Brighton-Allston Historical Society now has 23 board members, according to Marchione, and provides volunteer guides for the museum, which is open most weekday afternoons until 4 p.m.

Marchione is no longer the historical society's president. He stepped down following his retirement as an American history teacher in Norwood.

With so many local achievements, and several historical awards under his belt, you might think Marchione would be resting on his laurels.

Instead, he is worrying about the future. "I wish I had found a younger person to take under my wing and work with," he said.