Rick Winterson

By any measure, reaching 25 years of constant, continuous service to a community is a real milestone, in the best sense of that metaphorical word.  Well, South Boston’s Medicine Wheel Productions, which started up in 1991, has done just that.  Medicine Wheel was always a team effort, of course, but as you know, its founder and “Chief Energizer” was (and is) Michael Dowling. Just consider a few Medicine Wheel accomplishments.  There’s an annual observance of AIDS Day on December 1, which attracts citywide attention.  The next time you walk through the national Park on Dorchester Heights, take a brief tour through the nearby, one-acre, crescent shaped mini-park known locally as No Man’s Land.  Think about emplacing an engraved brick along the path to commemorate someone [...]

South Boston is known for its celebrations.  We call them “Southie times”; they celebrate many, many notable happenings - achievements, community awards, successful fundraising, lives well spent, and so on.  On June 9, about 80 young students in Grades K, 1st, and 2nd from the Condon School on D Street joined with their counterparts from the Ellison Parks and Pappas Rehab Schools at a celebration called the “COOL Ways to Play” Festival.  This Festival was held in the Children’s Museum by South Boston’s Fort Point Channel on Congress Street.  What better place for a young peoples’ Festival?  And the weather was perfect. VSA Massachusetts was the 2016 “COOL Ways to Play” Festival sponsor.  VSA (does that stand for “Very Special Arts”?) is a Boston-based organization [...]

Dan and Dennis, officers and members of the SBAA (South Boston Arts Association), execute a 9-foot by 30-foot mural on the northwest side of the boathouse at the Harry McDonough Sailing Center on Castle Island.  This mural, a very fitting nautical scene, is a replica of Irish artist John Skelton’s “Landing the Curragh”.  Such an effort is just one chapter in the SBAA’s mission:  Creating community art for the enjoyment and inspiration South Boston’s residents as well as its many visitors.

   Last week (on page two of our June 16 issue), South Boston Online editorialized against a proposal to hold 18 performances of a ticketed, for-profit Halloween event called “Fright Island” in Fort Independence on Castle Island.  “Fright Island” would be joint effort between local entrepreneurs and a Las Vegas event staging group; it would perhaps be somewhat similar to New Hampshire’s “Spooky World”; and it would take place annually for up to 18 years. The Massachusetts DCR (Department of Conservation and Resources) is backing “Fright Island” as a way to raise what it refers to as badly needed state funds to further the DCR’s mission.  On Saturday morning, June 18, DCR Commissioner Leo Roy, who was appointed by Governor Baker, addressed South Boston residents [...]

Last Friday, June 17, South Boston’s Paraclete Center named its main hall for benefactor Paul McDevitt, a man whose spirit indeed partakes of The Paraclete (you might have heard that Paul hasn’t been well).  The Paraclete’s yard was filled with Paul’s family and friends, pipes were sounded, and the naming ceremony began. Eileen DeMichele, Executive Director of the Paraclete Center opened and capably emceed the ceremony.  She welcomed those attending.  Father Cyril blessed the occasion, as well as the newly named McDevitt Hall.  Board Chair Joseph Harney formally dedicated the hall; Albert Kaneb paid a well-deserved tribute to his friend Paul McDevitt.  Mayor Martin J. Walsh delivered a brief speech in praise of Paul and his efforts.  There is that well-known cliché about “seeing grown [...]