Rick Winterson

By RICK WINTERSON Are you new to South Boston? Or perhaps you’ve lived here for a while, and now you’d like to “give back” in return for the Southie experiences you’re enjoying. Possibly you’d simply like to make some very enjoyable friends, while giving your sunscreen a workout. Interested? Consider joining the Castle Island Association (the “other” CIA), an organization of 5,000 members, who are responsible for one of the most magnificent historic sites in Boston and vicinity, as well as one of the most striking harbor views in the city. Then think about volunteering. Right now, volunteers are being sought for guided tours of Fort Independence. These tours are learning experiences for both the guides and visitors to the fort. They take around 45 [...]

Community Day in South Boston is an annual activity of the South Boston Community Health Center’s Youth Ambassadors. The 11th annual Community Day took place last Saturday in the Ironworkers Hall, set aside for this event courtesy of Ironworkers Local 7. Community Day was a fun-filled event that closed with a free lunch. See you there next year. -Rick Winterson The balloon man at the Health Center’s Community Day. (Photo by Rick Winterson) Community artwork at Community Day, courtesy of Holland America Line. (Photo by Rick Winterson) The Health Center’s Teen Clinic and the Gavin Foundation at Community Day. (Photo by Rick Winterson) Brightly painted Adirondack chairs – a Community Day specialty. (Photo by Rick Winterson) [...]

Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby, the popular horse race that was the feature of the South Boston Collaborative Center’s annual Derby party. And there were many other winners as well last Saturday evening, namely the clients of the South Boston Collaborative Center, an agency in the front lines of South Boston’s war against opioids like heroin. The Collaborative’s Kentucky Derby Day raises funds for this effort. Barlow’s in Fort Point put on a superb buffet – perfectly cooked sliders, shrimp with tangy sauce, and really cheddary mac ‘n’ cheese. It was quite a party. Nyquist, after a truly expert ride by jockey Mario Gutierrez, won by 1-1/4 lengths in a respectable 2:01:31. It was Nyquist’s eighth consecutive win – on to the Triple Crown, after American [...]

Mary Joyce, a board member of Local 17’s Friends for Children Charity, and Neal Kelleher, the charity’s president, arrive at the Condon School to present a $1,500 check for much-needed supplies to the Condon School. Local 17 represents this area’s members of the Sheet Metal Workers International Union; the local is very active in community-related activities. Shown receiving the check from Mary and Neal last Thursday morning, May 5, are Condon Principal Robby Chisholm, Parents Association President Michelle Ratican and the Condon School’s Student Council. Many thanks to the generous Local 17 of the International Sheet Metal Workers Union and their Friends for Children Charity. -Rick Winterson

Last week, South Boston Online published an article on Donnie Lewis’s “Disco Ball” fundraiser, which he arranged to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and its cancer research and treatment programs. Donnie’s disco ball gala in the Boston Teachers Union Hall was enormously successful, featuring DJ Dru Errico and attracting hundreds of his friends. Donnie’s story is amazing: He’s a cancer survivor who received stem cells from a one-out-of-25-million genetically matched USN midshipman stationed on the West Coast. Since then, Donnie has been giving back by hosting fundraisers to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. -Rick Winterson It was standing room only at Donnie Lewis’s Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fundraiser in the BTU Hall Friday, May 6. (Photo by Rick Winterson) Donnie [...]

By RICK WINTERSON Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. Its early beginnings took place about 150 years ago, very likely in the village of Waterloo on the Underground Railway in upstate New York. The graves of fallen Civil War veterans were “decorated” with bright flowers on May 30, as a tribute to their bravery and sacrifice. This particular day was chosen in part because it was in the spring, but mostly because it was not the date of any famous battle. Instead, it was a day set aside to honor every one of the war dead; Memorial Day is now officially observed on the last Monday of May. Here in South Boston, you will see volunteers and members of the Thomas J. Fitzgerald VFW [...]

By RICK WINTERSON The 36th annual Marjorie M. Gibbons Memorial Lecture was a great success. The 2016 Gibbons Lecture, the latest in this endowed series, was “A Beautiful Dismissal: The Unnoticed Nature of South Boston.” Local naturalist and botanist George LoCascio III gave the lecture; its subject – befitting its poetic title – was the wildflowers of South Boston. In addition to the beauty contained in the above photographs, the numbers in connection with South Boston’s wildflowers are equally as striking. In his summer-long project in 2014 – a thorough survey of wildflowers located here – George found 75 total species, which were members of 45 different plant taxonomic families. Included in these findings were a shrub (glossy buckthorn) and three vines. Follow the scent [...]