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Published the first Friday of each month by the SilverStringers of Melrose, Massachusetts -- February 2, 2001
Our January issue had a crow's eye view of Melrose, but it showed the back of most buildings. This month we regress almost 100 years to depict a view from the north. This is a portion of a double-width post car loaned to us by Barbara Bragdon Bennett, a former resident. On the mailing side, it was addressed to her grandmother, with a post mark of August, 1906, alongside of a one cent stamp. The card was printed in Germany, circa 1900. Note the open-side electric trolley with a horse-drawn carriage following. With some of the foliage not completely formed, it must be spring and someone is seated on the right side, outside the building. Main Street looks to be unpaved. The spire of City Hall rises majestically above other buildings. On the left is the high school which was to become the Calvin Coolidge Grammar School in 1932 and is now an apartment complex.
Original of this picture was lost. This is scan of printed copy.
Writing on 'prejudice' no pushover, Stringers discover
Not so easy, we discovered. But this is what the SilverStringers did for an assignment two months ago, and it has taken all of those 60 days to produce the following seven pieces. The consensus is that this is one of the toughest subjects we've had to tackle.
One writer wrote from personal experience of losing a brother in war. Another used sheer irony, and drew raucous comments from the group when his piece was read. Two others (including one editor) commented inanely on the fact that prejudice is all around us, and is bad while still others provided excellent examples of how somebody else's prejudice affected their lives.
So, Mirror Readers, try these stories on for size. Perhaps you can provide us with yet another special slice of life. We'd like to hear from you.
Editors, Melrose Mirror
Prejudice
by Bernadette Mahoney
... Growing up, Fran and I thought we were pretty lucky
by Virginia Hanley
... opening my mind helped me to open my heart ...
by Jim Driscoll
...Certain types just can't change
by Hedy Kodish
... the Catholic girl and the Jewish boy ...
by Natalie Thomson
...I'm not prejudiced, but...
by O'Callaghan
... criticism is often mistaken for prejudice, perhaps vice versa
by Don Norris
... I spent seventy years polishing this prejudice, and I am proud ...
by Bill Jodrey
... and with an audible expulsion of his breath, he was gone.
Teacher, jazz pianist, track star, etc.
by Russ Priestley
... some people excel, then there's the rest of us
A new website is set up in Washington, DC
Results from White House Conference on "technologies for successful aging"
Bunching up Valentine's Day memories
by Hector French
... and dancing the starry nights away.
The sad state of professional sports
by Russ Priestley
... we are being hoodwinked
A sixpence found, and a fortune lost
by O'Callaghan
... Walking on air, I paid the penny fare for each of us
MCMXXXIV-XXXV
by Natalie Thomson
... first grade - first blunder
The years pass, but the passion remains young
by Brigid Alverson of the Melrose Free Press
... portrait of a retired pharmacist -- and a new artist
Looking back, when a whole pizza was a buck
by the SilverStringers
... Pure nostalgia: Fifty years ago when the Leaning Tower was the Prince of Pizza