Frederick's final bell: Boston shutters its last middle school
Advertisement
The district marked the Frederick for closure at the end of the school year as part of its broader effort to address declines in enrollment in the 48,000-student district and shift students to schools that house grades 7-12.
Eighth-graders Alexis Pierre and Cyrus Dorzelma arrived for the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School promotion ceremony as they move on to high school on June 18.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Seventh-grader Anyel Pimentel played with an inflatable ball while waiting for dismissal at the Frederick on June 20. It's an early release day and with only one day of school left, the year was all but over.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
When plans were first announced in 2018 to phase out middle school over five years, more than a hundred students, teachers, and parents
Advertisement
Across the country, many districts have phased out standalone middle schools over the last couple of decades, as education experts tried to determine how best to serve young adolescents.
Related
:
Sixty years ago, education scholars believed middle schools could tailor
education to that age group. More recently,
By 2024, middle grades had been added to a half dozen Boston high schools, while other middle schools had already closed or merged with high schools. With closure on the horizon, the Frederick community made some demands about the building's future, including retaining the name of Lilla G. Frederick on the elementary school that will open there. They then sought to make the last year count.
As staff member
Andrew Brown put it last summer, 'People talk about auspicious beginnings but never inspiring endings.'
Related
:
When the Frederick opened in 2003 as New Boston Pilot Middle School, it was a hard-fought victory and rare investment for Grove Hall.
and the area had seen decades of underinvestment. Even the site of the school, a vacant lot on Columbia Road, was so infamous for drugs and crime that Mayor Thomas Menino called the National Guard to help clean it in 1996.
Advertisement
Seventh-grader Isaiyah Marquez passed the welcoming faculty and staff as he arrived for the first day of school at Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School on Sept. 5, 2024.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
@font-face {
font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular;
src: url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-regular.woff2") format('woff2'), url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-regular.woff") format('woff');
}
@font-face {
font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold;
src: url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-bold.woff2") format('woff2'), url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-bold.woff") format('woff');
}
.dipgrid {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
align-items: stretch;
margin: 25px -28px;
}
.dip__main {
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
.dip__image {
position: relative;
top: 50%;
left: 0%;
}
.dip__image.portrait {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 24px;
}
.dip__image.landscape {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 10px;
}
@media only screen and (min-width: 700px) {
.dipgrid {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
align-items: stretch;
max-width: 1200px;
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
}
.dip {
width: 48.5%;
}
.dip:not(:nth-child(2n)) {
margin-right: 3%;
}
.dip__image.portrait {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.dip__image.landscape {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 0px;
}
.dip__main {
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
}
.dip_cap_cred {
font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif;
font-size: 14px;
letter-spacing: .5px;
text-align: left;
margin: 3px 15px 0px 0px;
font-weight: 200;
}
.dip_cap_cred span{
text-transform: uppercase;
color: #6b6b6b;
}
.theme-dark .dip_cap_cred{
color: #fff;
}
.theme-dark .dip_cap_cred span {
color: #fff;
}
Seventh-grader Erntz François read "Monster," a novel by Walter Dean Myers, during English Language Arts class on May 20.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
Erntz sat for his school picture on Dec. 11.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
Project R.I.G.H.T., a community organization formed to address violence in the neighborhood, campaigned for a new middle school to serve as a community hub, said Michael Kozu, co-director of the organization and the original board chair of the school. Lilla G. Frederick, one of Project R.I.G.H.T.'s founders, led the process of getting neighbors onboard. It would be a semi-autonomous pilot school with multiple board seats for community members.
'It was a major investment that kind of reversed the legacy of disinvestment,' Kozu said. 'It's made such a big difference in terms of stability and increasing opportunities.'
It lived up to
its mission as a community, housing at various times a church, a basketball league, a polling place, and even a support group for the previously incarcerated.
When Frederick passed away in 2005, the school was renamed in her honor.
Speaking to the School Committee in 2024, board chair Emmanuel Tikili asked the district to continue to honor her commitment to the neighborhood, including by keeping her name on the building.
Members of the 4 Star Dance Studio entertained the crowd during 'Groovin' in the Grove' outside the middle school on May 30. The final, annual celebration included food and entertainment for students and their families as well as alumni and community members.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
@font-face {
font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular;
src: url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-regular.woff2") format('woff2'), url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-regular.woff") format('woff');
}
@font-face {
font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold;
src: url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-bold.woff2") format('woff2'), url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-bold.woff") format('woff');
}
.dipgrid {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
align-items: stretch;
margin: 25px -28px;
}
.dip__main {
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
.dip__image {
position: relative;
top: 50%;
left: 0%;
}
.dip__image.portrait {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 24px;
}
.dip__image.landscape {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 10px;
}
@media only screen and (min-width: 700px) {
.dipgrid {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
align-items: stretch;
max-width: 1200px;
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
}
.dip {
width: 48.5%;
}
.dip:not(:nth-child(2n)) {
margin-right: 3%;
}
.dip__image.portrait {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.dip__image.landscape {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 0px;
}
.dip__main {
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
}
.dip_cap_cred {
font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif;
font-size: 14px;
letter-spacing: .5px;
text-align: left;
margin: 3px 15px 0px 0px;
font-weight: 200;
}
.dip_cap_cred span{
text-transform: uppercase;
color: #6b6b6b;
}
.theme-dark .dip_cap_cred{
color: #fff;
}
.theme-dark .dip_cap_cred span {
color: #fff;
}
Seventh-grader Donnay Burton walked the red carpet in a dress she created for the fashion show at 'Groovin' in the Grove.'
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
Eighth-grader Cris Santiago helped to decorate for the event.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
The school's commitment to the community manifested itself in various ways throughout the years. It had a one-to-one laptop program years before it became a norm. It attracted national attention for not only sending children home with personal computers but teaching parents to use them. For years the school had many Somali refugee students, and
Related
:
Susan Lovett, a social worker at the school in its early years, said even her position was innovative at the time. The district now has social workers in every school. The Frederick was also a model for the district in bringing in partners, Lovett said,
previewing today's community hub schools that host organizations like the YMCA.
Advertisement
'We wanted the school to be as resourced as some of the schools in Boston's wealthiest suburbs are,' Lovett said.
That meant everything from a program with the Boston Ballet to a wrestling team. And opportunities like those continued into the school's final year, with partners like the Becoming a Man group counseling program, the combination tennis and tutoring club Tenacity, and
This school year, students focused not on the school's closure but on all the fun they had, culminating in a field trip to Six Flags.
'It was fun while it lasted,' said Alieshaa Felix, a graduating eighth-grade student.
Seventh-graders Jaziah Sylvert, Donnay Burton, and Arianna Lang took in the scene inside a mobile planetarium at the school gymnasium on Dec. 11, 2024.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
@font-face {
font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular;
src: url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-regular.woff2") format('woff2'), url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-regular.woff") format('woff');
}
@font-face {
font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold;
src: url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-bold.woff2") format('woff2'), url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-bold.woff") format('woff');
}
.dipgrid {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
align-items: stretch;
margin: 25px -28px;
}
.dip__main {
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
.dip__image {
position: relative;
top: 50%;
left: 0%;
}
.dip__image.portrait {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 24px;
}
.dip__image.landscape {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 10px;
}
@media only screen and (min-width: 700px) {
.dipgrid {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
align-items: stretch;
max-width: 1200px;
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
}
.dip {
width: 48.5%;
}
.dip:not(:nth-child(2n)) {
margin-right: 3%;
}
.dip__image.portrait {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.dip__image.landscape {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 0px;
}
.dip__main {
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
}
.dip_cap_cred {
font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif;
font-size: 14px;
letter-spacing: .5px;
text-align: left;
margin: 3px 15px 0px 0px;
font-weight: 200;
}
.dip_cap_cred span{
text-transform: uppercase;
color: #6b6b6b;
}
.theme-dark .dip_cap_cred{
color: #fff;
}
.theme-dark .dip_cap_cred span {
color: #fff;
}
Anyel Pimentel held onto an interception in a flag football game during the BAM (Becoming a Man) program field day.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
Students circled together at the end of the BAM program.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
Over its two-plus decades, the school has changed with the neighborhood.
The
school was never as successful academically as leaders hoped, with
trailing both the state and district across most subgroups.
Two principals were pushed out in 2012 and 2013, the first over 'questionable use of technology' and the second after being
Advertisement
But it's remained a hub of the community, said Gloria West, a former parent at the school. It's a place where staff notice when a student got caught in the rain walking to school and offer them dry socks,
where students insist as part of a 'week of joy' on helping organize their teachers' offices, and where many students and families wish they could stay longer.
Eighth-grader Bendu Sanoe joined her classmates before the Frederick's promotion ceremony at the Albert D. Holland High School of Technology in Boston on June 18.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Eighth-grader Isa Gomez posed with a mask she completed during the Craftpreneurs afterschool program at the on May 21.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
'I really wished there were more grades,' said
Sinaika François, who attended the school from 2013 to 2016. 'I didn't want to leave.'
François' younger brother Erntz was the third member of the family to attend the school but will complete eighth grade at East Boston High School next year. Their little sister can't follow in their footsteps at all, François lamented.
Instead, the Frederick will become the home for a new elementary school, a
In the new, middle school-less era, the district will have to take on the challenge of educating students in new ways.
It's a challenge that has bedeviled educators for a century, said Penny Bishop, dean of Boston University's school of education and an expert on the middle grades. Young adolescents have intense need for belonging but also demand independence, she said, which calls for more structure than traditional high schools but less than elementary schools.
Seventh-graders Honesty Graham, Aaliyah Figueroa, and Jaylani Latorre researched a social studies project with teacher Taylor Roberts (right) on June 4. The students were working on a presentation about immigration and were watching a news report regarding Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts PhD student detained by immigration authorities.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
@font-face {
font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular;
src: url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-regular.woff2") format('woff2'), url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-regular.woff") format('woff');
}
@font-face {
font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold;
src: url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-bold.woff2") format('woff2'), url("https://apps.bostonglobe.com/common/font/bentonsanscond-bold.woff") format('woff');
}
.dipgrid {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
align-items: stretch;
margin: 25px -28px;
}
.dip__main {
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
.dip__image {
position: relative;
top: 50%;
left: 0%;
}
.dip__image.portrait {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 24px;
}
.dip__image.landscape {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 10px;
}
@media only screen and (min-width: 700px) {
.dipgrid {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
align-items: stretch;
max-width: 1200px;
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
}
.dip {
width: 48.5%;
}
.dip:not(:nth-child(2n)) {
margin-right: 3%;
}
.dip__image.portrait {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.dip__image.landscape {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 0px;
}
.dip__main {
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
}
.dip_cap_cred {
font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif;
font-size: 14px;
letter-spacing: .5px;
text-align: left;
margin: 3px 15px 0px 0px;
font-weight: 200;
}
.dip_cap_cred span{
text-transform: uppercase;
color: #6b6b6b;
}
.theme-dark .dip_cap_cred{
color: #fff;
}
.theme-dark .dip_cap_cred span {
color: #fff;
}
English Language Arts teacher Kaylah Mack congratulated the seventh grade class after they finished reading "Monster," a novel by Walter Dean Myers on May 20.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
Seventh-grader Janneliz Reyes (left) joked with classmate Arianna Lang between classes on Dec. 11.
(Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
Bishop said there's nothing essential about the separate buildings, but middle grade students need supports they often miss in schools dominated by younger or older students. At the Frederick, for example, students are grouped into teams to help build community, and given agency whenever possible, even in seemingly minor matters like planning spirit weeks.
Related
:
Advertisement
For Honesty, the Frederick met all the conditions of a good school: 'A good community, teachers you can count on, good environment where you can feel safe and feel welcome and learn … and you can still have fun.'
But going into next year, Honesty is considering leaving the district entirely, for Dedham. Her classmates are scattering across the city. So are the staff, many of whom have been at the Frederick longer than Honesty has been alive.
Last Wednesday, the school community gathered at the nearby Albert D. Holland School of Technology, for the city's last middle school promotion ceremony — graduating the final Frederick eighth grade class. Families bearing balloons and flowers filled the auditorium, and students in three-piece suits, crisp white sneakers, gowns, and party dresses cheered as staff handed out awards and certificates of completion. Principal Meghan McGoldrick set the tone of celebrating the final year.
'We promised ourselves and each other that this final year will be one of our very best years ever together,' the principal said. 'We have kept that promise.'
Student Shari Martinez David, who gave a speech at the promotion ceremony, kept the focus on their shared future.
'We made it, and we're ready for whatever's coming ahead,' she said. 'This isn't the end of the story.'
Eighth-grader Gabriel Fernando De Leon Ortiz stood for a selfie with his parents, Ferleon De Leon and Lesix Ortiz, following the Frederick's promotional ceremony at the Albert D. Holland High School of Technology in Boston on June 18.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Christopher Huffaker can be reached at
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Boston Globe
10-07-2025
- Boston Globe
25 hot new paperbacks to read this summer, from page-turning thrillers to steamy romances
@font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; } .bookcat { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; text-align: center; font-size: 1.75em; line-height: 1.0; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 8px 8px; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; } .strike { display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 25px; } #twitter { font-size: 1.15em; color: #fff; border-radius: 29px; padding: 0px 1px; margin: 0 0 25 0px; animation: animate 5s linear infinite; text-shadow: 0 0 10px #0072ff, 0 0 50px #0072ff, 0 0 75px #0072ff, 0 0 120px #0072ff; } #twitter { animation-delay: 0.5s; } #twitter span{ font-size: .95em; font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #000; } .bookcat:before, .bookcat:after { background-color: #333; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 6px; width: 33%; } .bookcat:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .bookcat:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } @keyframes animate { from { filter: hue-rotate(0deg); } to { filter: hue-rotate(360deg); } } @media screen and (max-width: 550px){ .bookcat { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1.0; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 05px 8px; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; } } fiction .anchorbooks2 { } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; } .bookcat { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; text-align: center; font-size: 1.75em; line-height: 1.0; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 8px 8px; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; } .strike { display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 25px; } #twitter { font-size: 1.15em; color: #fff; border-radius: 29px; padding: 0px 1px; margin: 0 0 25 0px; animation: animate 5s linear infinite; text-shadow: 0 0 10px #0072ff, 0 0 50px #0072ff, 0 0 75px #0072ff, 0 0 120px #0072ff; } #twitter { animation-delay: 0.5s; } #twitter span{ font-size: .95em; font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #000; } .bookcat:before, .bookcat:after { background-color: #333; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 6px; width: 33%; } .bookcat:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .bookcat:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } @keyframes animate { from { filter: hue-rotate(0deg); } to { filter: hue-rotate(360deg); } } @media screen and (max-width: 550px){ .bookcat { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1.0; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 05px 8px; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; } } Mystery, Thriller, & Horror .anchorbooks3 { } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; } .bookcat { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; text-align: center; font-size: 1.75em; line-height: 1.0; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 8px 8px; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; } .strike { display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 25px; } #twitter { font-size: 1.15em; color: #fff; border-radius: 29px; padding: 0px 1px; margin: 0 0 25 0px; animation: animate 5s linear infinite; text-shadow: 0 0 10px #0072ff, 0 0 50px #0072ff, 0 0 75px #0072ff, 0 0 120px #0072ff; } #twitter { animation-delay: 0.5s; } #twitter span{ font-size: .95em; font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #000; } .bookcat:before, .bookcat:after { background-color: #333; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 6px; width: 33%; } .bookcat:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .bookcat:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } @keyframes animate { from { filter: hue-rotate(0deg); } to { filter: hue-rotate(360deg); } } @media screen and (max-width: 550px){ .bookcat { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1.0; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 05px 8px; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; } } Romance .anchorbooks4 { } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; } .bookcat { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; text-align: center; font-size: 1.75em; line-height: 1.0; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 8px 8px; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; } .strike { display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 25px; } #twitter { font-size: 1.15em; color: #fff; border-radius: 29px; padding: 0px 1px; margin: 0 0 25 0px; animation: animate 5s linear infinite; text-shadow: 0 0 10px #0072ff, 0 0 50px #0072ff, 0 0 75px #0072ff, 0 0 120px #0072ff; } #twitter { animation-delay: 0.5s; } #twitter span{ font-size: .95em; font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #000; } .bookcat:before, .bookcat:after { background-color: #333; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 6px; width: 33%; } .bookcat:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .bookcat:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } @keyframes animate { from { filter: hue-rotate(0deg); } to { filter: hue-rotate(360deg); } } @media screen and (max-width: 550px){ .bookcat { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1.0; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 05px 8px; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; } } Fantasy & Science Fiction .anchorbooks5 { } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; } .bookcat { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; text-align: center; font-size: 1.75em; line-height: 1.0; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 8px 8px; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; } .strike { display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 25px; } #twitter { font-size: 1.15em; color: #fff; border-radius: 29px; padding: 0px 1px; margin: 0 0 25 0px; animation: animate 5s linear infinite; text-shadow: 0 0 10px #0072ff, 0 0 50px #0072ff, 0 0 75px #0072ff, 0 0 120px #0072ff; } #twitter { animation-delay: 0.5s; } #twitter span{ font-size: .95em; font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #000; } .bookcat:before, .bookcat:after { background-color: #333; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 6px; width: 33%; } .bookcat:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .bookcat:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } @keyframes animate { from { filter: hue-rotate(0deg); } to { filter: hue-rotate(360deg); } } @media screen and (max-width: 550px){ .bookcat { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1.0; letter-spacing: .5px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 05px 8px; margin-top: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; } } Nonfiction Advertisement Kate Tuttle, a freelance writer and critic, can be reached at


Boston Globe
08-07-2025
- Boston Globe
Stop fighting, Market Basket. You're all we've got left.
Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up Last week, suspended executives Tom Gordon and Joe Schmidt visited two Market Basket stores in Salem, N.H., and Rochester, N.H., and were Advertisement The Globe also Please, make it stop. The infighting Advertisement Aimee D'Agata of Groveland loads her car after shopping at the Market Basket store at the Rivers Edge Plaza in Haverhill in May. She said she's also hoping for a good outcome. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff But that was 11 years ago. Artie T. returned. Calmness prevailed. Things were simpler then, and we were more resilient. I'm not sure any of us can handle the stress of more upheaval. I appeal to executives to consider the greater good and put aside any differences for the sake of humanity, because Market Basket is simply more than a 90-store supermarket chain and haven for New Age Beverages. It is a psychological salve, a deli-scented fortress of parquet and yacht rock where things remain mercifully shelf-stable no matter what unfolds beyond those automatic doors. The orange soda at Market Basket. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Consider these sanity-preserving touchstones: The tonic . In an era when hydration is religion and children carry $35 Stanley tumblers to school, Market Basket still sells store-brand soda in every sugar-slicked color of the rainbow, from neon grape to fluorescent orange. Here, it is forever 1986: high fructose corn syrup is a food group, and you're still trying to stab a straw through a Capri Sun pouch on an overheated blacktop before kickball. The doughnuts at Market Basket. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff The sweets . While stylized doughnuts have steamrolled the dessert landscape, a crumpled dollar bill will always get you a yeasty chocolate-frosted at Market Basket's café. No new-fangled flavors. No deep thinking. Just enough crystallized sugar to rocket you into the next aisle, which brings me to … The rotisserie chicken . A landmark display in every store: This plump, plastic-wrapped poultry, retailing for a mere $6 or so, is an essential weapon in any frugal parent's arsenal. They're moist. They're marinated. They're perfectly cooked. And they feed a family. Just yank off the packaging after soccer practice and feast like a king. The in-store announcements . Sometimes, it's easy to wonder if God exists. Luckily, at Market Basket, you don't have to: Every so often, a voice warbles from high above, announcing two-for-one, thin-n-trim baloney deals. Like many other-worldly pronouncements, these intonations might have little bearing on reality. Do you really need 2.5 pounds of Market Basket natural casing franks? You do now. Suddenly, if just for a moment, you have direction and purpose. The rotisserie chicken at Market Basket makes for a quick, tasty, and affordable meal. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff The mood music . Modern life is stressful. But at Market Basket, you can always slip into a The deli . New Englanders are known for curmudgeonliness, but nothing lulls us into submission like a well-sliced honey ham. The universe might lack logic, but the deli aisle at Market Basket is a great equalizer: Here, every shopper is the same. Take a number. Stand in line. Wait your turn. Point at the glistening block of Boar's Head, and, here and only here, get exactly what you want. The décor . There is solace in routine, and every single Market Basket is decorated exactly the same: beige walls; checkered floors the color of freshly sliced salmon; lighting fit for an operating room at midnight. Landscapes change; people move. But not at Market Basket. Which brings me to ... Ah, the crowds . Here, somehow, crowds are charming instead of irritating, because you'll spy someone you know in line — and you'll lock eyes in shared humanity when you discover a mutual passion for Frito-Lay variety packs. Your first boss? Your second cousin with the malfunctioning AOL email address? We're running in too many different directions, but not at Market Basket, where we're all converging at the checkout line, passing time by leafing through copies of the Examiner, whose headlines are more reassuring than anything real. Wi-Fi doesn't often work inside Market Basket. That's a refreshing thing. Take a break from doom-scrolling and peruse the apple pie recipe that cured 72 people in rural Idaho of plantar fasciitis instead. Market Basket's Italian sub. Just yum. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff The anachronistic charm . Market Basket might be the only business besides certain law firms that require employees to don a tie. There's a wistful decency in watching a besuited bagger nestle family-size Honey Nut Cheerios next to a bouquet of roses, the color of which do not occur in nature. Those reassuring prices . Food is For now, the Market Basket standoff rages on, with some workers complaining about But do we really have the stamina for another fight? Haven't we been through enough? To the Market Basket powers that be: In a world where we can count on so little, please don't put our yacht rock and rotisserie chicken at risk, too. Kara Baskin can be reached at

Boston Globe
06-07-2025
- Boston Globe
35 years old, this foul Cambridge dump has become an urban jewel
Celebrating its 35th year, Danehy Park is considered by many to be an extraordinary urban planning success story, a jewel of green space, the type of neighborhood anchor that residents couldn't now imagine living without. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Beth Folsom, a historian, sat at Danehy Park. 'It shows us how to think creatively' about city spaces, she says. Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff Advertisement 'It shows us how to think creatively' about city spaces, said Beth Folsom, a historian and program manager at History Cambridge. None of it was preordained on the 50-acre-plus swath of Cambridge land. The area had been culled for its clay deposits for decades. In the middle of the 19th century, Folsom said, the brick industry boomed as more housing was made with brick instead of wood, as the former was less flammable. At its zenith, the demand saw 2,000 bricks a day being made from Cambridge clay. The area was used into the 1940s by the New England Brick Company. Eventually the clay deposits were exhausted, and in the 1950s it became a garbage dump, an identity that stretched until at least the early 1970s. Advertisement An aerial view of the New England Brick Company clay pit on March 27, 1951. Cambridge Historical Commission Starting in the late 1970s, the space became something else: the place where the dirt ended up from the MBTA's Red Line extension project, which would transform neighborhoods in North Cambridge and Somerville, as stops were added at Porter, Davis, and Alewife. The rock and dirt from Charles Sullivan, executive director of the Cambridge Historical Commission, said the park was the end result of a bunch of people and agencies looking to solve two main problems: remediating the landfill and finding somewhere to dispose of the Red Line tunnel waste. Joe Cassone of Winthrop worked on the Red Line extension in Harvard Square in 1980. Ted Dully The landfill was a tremendous public liability that needed to be addressed. It wasn't suitable for housing, said Sullivan, because of the methane gas it would emit, as well as toxic run-off. The Red Line extension included a deep-bore tunnel that went through bedrock, and a huge quantity of rock had to be put somewhere. So the fact that that refuse could be used to reclaim the landfill for public use 'was like a gift from the gods,' said Sullivan. 'It was widely considered to be miraculous,' he said. The park increased Cambridge's open space by 20 percent, Sullivan said. Now, the only clue at that former use nowadays is the absence of a summertime staple: grilling. Barbecue pits were removed in recent years and cooking with an open flame is prohibited in the park out of an abundance of caution, according to the city. There are vents at various locations throughout the park to allow methane, created through the breakdown of materials in the old landfill, to escape the ground safely. Advertisement Methane itself does not pose a risk to people as it disperses in the air, said Jen Letourneau, a senior engineer for Cambridge. But, 'We wanted to be as risk-averse as possible,' said Letourneau, who described the park as well loved and well used. The space opened as a park in the fall of 1990, named after a former mayor and longtime local pharmacist who was known to be a conservative on the Cambridge City Council. Milki Chala played with a bucket in the splash pad while his parents and younger sister watched at Danehy Park in Cambridge on July 3. Ben Pennington for the Boston Gl Now, the park that bears Thomas Danehy's name is used by multitudes. The city says 10,000 hours worth of activities are booked each year, from soccer and ultimate Frisbee leagues to road races, a jazz festival, and other concerts. And there are other, unorganized events. It boasts the highest point in Cambridge, and features a beloved and heavily used sledding hill during winter months. One sign identifying the park doubles as a community bulletin board; there are advertisements for a 'Dungeons & Dragons' campaign, French and math tutoring, a local handyman, and a sticker protesting police use of ShotSpotter, an acoustic gunshot detection system. At more than 50 acres, it is the largest park the city owns. It's also situated near affordable housing developments, a fact that Danehy's evangelists say underscores its importance. Homes and housing complexes border Danehy Park in Cambridge. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff One development, Jefferson Park, which is managed by the Cambridge Housing Authority, is at most a 10-minute walk from the park. Elsewhere stands what have long been known as the Rindge Towers. There are more affordable housing units planned for New Street. Advertisement In tight urban quarters — where not everyone has access to a yard, spaces such as Danehy are essential, said local residents and advocates, for people's mental and physical health. The park, they said, helps curb the effect of heat islands and air pollution and simply gives residents somewhere outdoors to go. 'Open spaces are extraordinarily healthy for urban populations,' said A person walked their dog at Danehy Park on July 3. Ben Pennington for the Boston Gl Years ago, when Muchnik's mother passed, his family dedicated a tree to her memory in Danehy, he said. He currently walks through the park regularly — it's along his regular 6-mile walking route that brings him around Fresh Pond. The day-to-day of the park helps mitigate what he called the 'fraying of community fabric.' 'This is community,' said Muchnik. 'This is the antidote to To be sure, Muchnik, a former Cambridge City Council candidate, said there are areas for improvement, from better access to the park for those who live in Rindge Towers to drainage problems at one of its baseball fields. Additionally, Advertisement A capital improvement plan is slated to be completed this fiscal year, which will guide investments over the next 10 to 15 years. A cyclist rode through the Miyawaki forests in Danehy Park on July 3. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff Cambridge resident Eric Grunebaum grew up less than a mile from the park. In his youth, the space that would become Danehy Park brought the acrid smell of burning garbage and flocks of sea gulls hovering in the skies ready to pick their next meal from the refuse in the landfill. It's a far cry from the rolling and manicured green hills of Danehy today. Its transformation, he said, is a model of what is possible with derelict spaces. The reimagining of Jerry's Pond, 'It's an example of 'we can do this,'' he said. 'Take degraded, underutilized, former industrial sites and turn them into something great that really improves life for everybody.' GIF for 28danehy. Handout and Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff Danny McDonald can be reached at