SBOL_Jeanne

by Rick Winterson      Momentum (and excitement) for observing the 200th Anniversary of Father Francis Anthony Matignon’s death is growing.  This was increasingly obvious at the most recent Anniversary Committee meeting on April 12. To briefly review, Fr. Matignon served as the Catholic priest for Boston and all of New England from the late 1700s until his death on September 15, 1818.  Boston’s first Bishop, Jean-Louis de Cheverus, erected the St. Augustine Chapel to Matignon’s memory, breaking ground in December, 1818, and completing the Chapel in 1819.  Fr. Matignon’s remains are interred in the Chapel.  Since then, Cardinal Cushing built the Matignon High School in North Cambridge. Observances at the Chapel are already planned later this year, beginning on Friday evening, September 14; Cardinal [...]

By Richard Campbell As big box retailers fade into irrelevance blaming Amazon for their demise, LL Bean’s opening in the Boston Seaport this past week showed everyone that old fashioned customer service, genuine product, and just being friendly drives customer loyalty.  I’ve been to plenty of store openings over the years, and would have to go way back to recall any store opening with such smart style, well trained staff, and genuine great vibes. Rarely does this writer to wait outside a store in a cow line, but I showed up and hour early to be a gift card recipient and mind waiting at all because the LL Bean staff kept coming by lavishing us with freebies (water, water bottles, hats, pens).  LL Bean greeters [...]

by Rick Winterson      South Boston’s Neighborhood Advisory Council meets monthly to conduct an open, back-and-forth discussion of police matters in and around South Boston.  This meeting, called by Station C-6 Capt. Joseph Boyle on Wednesday evening, April 4, was particularly interesting locally. March’s key event, of course, was the St. Patrick’s/Evacuation Day Parade on Sunday, March 18.  Capt. Boyle reported that it was comparatively peaceful along the Parade’s abbreviated route, which terminated halfway along the usual route, at Farragut Road.  A few complaints were voiced about the length of the lines into the bars and taverns along Broadway, but nothing really serious occurred because of these.  Some 67 police actions were taken during the Parade itself – lower than last year’s total of [...]