WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.639 --> 00:00:06.599 It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio. 2 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:11.759 Thank you, Emma. My name is Morgan White Junior. I'm 3 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:14.800 here for the rest of this week and Monday and 4 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:20.039 Tuesday of next week. While Dan takes a well earned vacation, 5 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:27.199 I'm gonna be speaking with at ten o'clock Boston sports 6 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.120 anchor at Channel four. Back in the day, he's went 7 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:34.759 on the bigger and better things of the cities New York. 8 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:39.600 I'm trying to think if there are another city besides 9 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:43.840 New York that Jimmy Myrius went to. Well, Jimmy Myriers 10 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:49.399 will be here and the next two hours between now 11 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.799 and ten o'clock. I've got a gentleman, believe it or not. 12 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:58.920 He's written almost ninety books, and I'm gonna mention a 13 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:02.880 book did a book on the Christmas tree shops, and 14 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:05.480 I don't know if that was number eighty nine or 15 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:11.359 number ninety, but he is an extremely knowledgeable man. When 16 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:19.120 it comes to Boston, it's neighborhoods and it's environs. So 17 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:25.000 please get comfy, scooch up next to the radio and 18 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:31.319 be prepared to welcome my friend mister Anthony San Marco. Anthony, 19 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:32.560 Happy Holidays to you. 20 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:35.680 Happy holidays to you, Morgan. How are you. 21 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:40.519 I'm doing very very well, and I was looking forward 22 00:01:40.599 --> 00:01:44.319 to this because there's some things that we didn't cover 23 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:47.640 the last time in regards to the Christmas Tree Shops 24 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:51.319 that I will cover tonight. And by the way, any 25 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:53.439 of you out there who were fans of the old 26 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:56.599 Christmas Tree Shops, how many of them were? They're in 27 00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:59.879 Massachusetts back in the day, the. 28 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:03.000 Mill Ezekans who founded the company, by two thousand and 29 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:07.400 three had twenty three, but throughout New England they were 30 00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:11.719 over forty five, but bedboth and beyond between two thousand 31 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:14.960 and three and twenty twenty would expand it to the 32 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.719 point that they were in sixteen states and they were 33 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:21.159 close to ninety. So it was really quite an expanse 34 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:24.719 of growth in the early twentieth century. 35 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:29.039 And both stores were under the same umbrella. 36 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:32.919 Correct, correct, And the thing was in that instance, the 37 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:36.520 Christmas Tree Shops in some ways was something that not 38 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:38.719 only had the name, but it was also something that 39 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:43.199 had the prototype that basically became a cookie cutter. But 40 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:47.639 these places were so intriguing. The architecture was incredible. 41 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:54.319 And one thing I noticed, as you would pass one, 42 00:02:54.479 --> 00:03:00.919 and I guess this is the same for every store circumstance. 43 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:08.919 Their look was identical, that little slay for their brand 44 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.280 no matter where you were, you down in the Cape, 45 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:17.400 you were up in the North Shore. And were they 46 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:19.599 one of the first stores to do that? 47 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:23.319 Well, well, the funny thing was when you say they 48 00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:26.800 were identical, the logo was identical. But many of these 49 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:31.000 buildings were iconic. When you think of the Sagamore Bridge Store, 50 00:03:31.479 --> 00:03:33.840 it not only was an Irish cottage, but it had 51 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:38.479 the largest fatue for the world. The store in Linfield 52 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:44.360 had a wonderful lighthouse. Orlean's Massachusetts had a sea captain's house. 53 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:47.960 So in a lot of ways they looked similar, but 54 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:51.400 they weren't. They were individual stores. And one of the 55 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:55.159 aspects was that Chuck Blazike and who with his wife 56 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:59.759 Doreen Belazikian, founded in nineteen seventy trying to make each 57 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:05.960 door unique and in that instance not only architecturally intriguing, 58 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:09.400 but in a lot of ways what the Washington Post 59 00:04:09.479 --> 00:04:17.639 called disney Esque architecture. I agree. I used to say 60 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:20.079 to myself when I read that first time, I said, Wow, 61 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:23.800 that's incredible. I mean, but it was. It was something 62 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:26.920 that was not only unique but attractive, and it was 63 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:30.639 more than just a store to shop in. It was iconic. 64 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:36.199 And you mentioned nineteen seventy, so that was the first 65 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:37.199 year they opened. 66 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:41.480 Correct, They had bought a company in Yarmouthport that was 67 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:44.879 known as the Christmas Tree Shop. They have been founded 68 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:48.879 in nineteen forty six by the Matthews family. They went 69 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:51.480 bankrupt and in nineteen sixty one a man by the 70 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:54.600 name of Dawn Winner bought it at auction and was 71 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:58.360 running it when Chuck Bilerzekean met with him on July 72 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:03.279 fourth weekend of nineteen seven. At that point, after a meeting, 73 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:05.959 he casually asked, would you like to buy a store? 74 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:09.879 And in that instance, not only did they, but they 75 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:14.199 went into debt, sold their house in Newton, went to 76 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:18.120 Yamouthorte lived above the store. And what they did was, 77 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:21.959 over the next five years, continually work in such a 78 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:26.040 way that with hard work, drive, the termination and reinvestment 79 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:28.680 of capital, they were able to make a go of 80 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:31.879 a business that was a remainder and wholesaler. 81 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:38.839 Now, if I'm mistaken, they spread out all over New 82 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:44.680 England and beyond. Correct, but they had a new England Seal. 83 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:48.319 How was that go ahead? 84 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:52.759 Well, for the first thirty years they were primarily just 85 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:58.319 New England. They had stores all over the Cape, and 86 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:02.000 then beginning in the period of the late nineteen seventies, 87 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:05.800 they opened their first off Cape store in Pembroke, Massachusetts. 88 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:10.439 But during the period between nineteen seventy and two thousand 89 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.560 they were basically expanding it in such a way by 90 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:18.240 asking people when they checked out at the cash register, 91 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:22.240 what is your zip code? And they use that information 92 00:06:22.600 --> 00:06:26.560 to actually gauge where are people coming from. You know, 93 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:30.560 they're on Cape cod By, they native Cape Corners, Are 94 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:33.639 they summer people or are they basically for the day. 95 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:38.720 And by the period of twenty two thousand, which was 96 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:42.120 the turn of the twenty first century, they were opening 97 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:47.879 in South Portland, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York. And 98 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:52.120 they weren't truly something that not only many people looked 99 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:55.000 at as a place to shop in, but it was 100 00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:57.240 something that you never knew what you were going to 101 00:06:57.319 --> 00:07:00.480 find and people loved it. I mean the type of 102 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:03.560 a thing when you arrived at the parking lot, here 103 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:08.439 was a building that was unlike any other retail establishment. 104 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:12.560 It was a gift shop wrapped up in thatch or 105 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:17.240 a lighthouse or something that was unusual, and it was 106 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:20.480 fun to not only walk through the door, but everything 107 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:23.839 seemed to hit you. Not only were they beautiful displays, 108 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:30.040 all sorts of things to purchase, but the century sensory aroma, 109 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:34.560 especially of cinnamon, seemed to be pervasive. So when you 110 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:37.959 walked into these doors, it was something that hit you 111 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:41.560 all at once. And I think people really really really 112 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:45.160 enjoyed this, and it was something that became not only popular, 113 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:47.079 but tremendously successful. 114 00:07:47.879 --> 00:07:49.759 All Right, I have to take a break. I'm going 115 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:56.720 to open up the phone line six thirty eight, eight nine, 116 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:01.800 ten thirty. This is Nightside. Dan is off. My name 117 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:05.240 is Morgan. I'll be here until midnight. And if you 118 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:07.600 want to call in to speak to Anthony San Marco, 119 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:11.240 you can, and do me a favor when you call in. 120 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:15.360 If you're calling in from Boston, don't just say Boston. 121 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:24.000 Boston is split into eighteen nineteen twenty different neighborhoods sections. 122 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:30.040 Tell Anthony what area you are, Jamaica, Plane, the North 123 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:34.559 End East. Let him know so he can give you 124 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:38.600 a little thumbnails sketch about your neighborhood. During the holidays 125 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:42.200 because he will know about it. I guarantee time and 126 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:48.320 temperature here on Night side eight, sixteen thirty degrees. 127 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:53.080 Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World, 128 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:56.360 Night six Studios on WBZ News Radio. 129 00:08:57.159 --> 00:08:59.799 I hope you're enjoying your Christmas Eve. I hope you 130 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:06.799 can got all the things done, the shopping, the food prep, 131 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:12.799 the gifts all wrapped, all of that needed to be completed, 132 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:18.200 hopefully by the day, if definitely not by this evening, 133 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:21.759 so you'll be ready for Christmas morning. And on Aka 134 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:25.879 morning they overlapped this year. You know, Anthony Sarah Marco 135 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:32.840 is here. He's my guest. And Anthony is there within Boston, 136 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:39.039 within Boston's communities. Is there a way that's traditional to 137 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:44.720 the North End for celebrating Christmas versus Jamaica Plane for 138 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:50.799 celebrating Christmas, versus Roxbury for celebrating Christmas or is it 139 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:54.240 all kind of just one unified look at the holiday. 140 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:57.440 Well, if you were going to ask me, and I 141 00:09:57.480 --> 00:10:02.840 did write a book called Christmas Traditions, you have to realize. Initially, 142 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:07.399 in the seventeenth century, Boston was settled by Puritans. Puritans 143 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:10.480 were basically englishmen and women and they came to this 144 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:15.600 country to celebrate and worship in their own manner. It 145 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:17.919 was something in a lot of ways that was very different. 146 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:22.279 But you have to realize they banned Christmas in sixteen 147 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:26.000 fifty nine, and a lot of times when I teach 148 00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:29.440 this I used to teach at Boston University, I was 149 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:32.799 always intrigued that a lot of people had no idea 150 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:37.600 that the Puritans were so strict and adhere to what 151 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:43.200 was basically the Bible Commonwealth and by not only creating 152 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:48.879 an aspect of banning Christmas, nobody could feast, nobody could 153 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:52.440 actually enjoy a day off. Everybody had to work, and 154 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:55.679 it was something and in that instance it was probably 155 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:59.720 to hold off not only throughout the seventeenth but throughout 156 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:03.919 the eighteenth century. Really wasn't until the time of the 157 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:07.399 nineteenth century when immigrants were coming from Western Europe and 158 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:11.240 they were bringing their Christmas traditions with them, and we'd 159 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:15.600 see not only people from the British Isles in Ireland 160 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:20.279 and Germany and France and eventually even Middle Europe. But 161 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:25.600 it was something that each person representing a distinct culture 162 00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:31.360 under so to speak, Christianity, might celebrate Christmas, but in 163 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:36.159 a different way than everyone else. I am half Italian, 164 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:39.440 So this evening we actually had the Feast of the 165 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:44.879 Seven Fish. It's a little bit peculiar. It was a 166 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:48.799 lot of food, but I started this afternoon and I 167 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:52.960 had not only shrimp and scallops. I had stuffed scallops. 168 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:59.720 I had a lobster pie. I made linguini with clam sauce. 169 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:04.240 There were things that just typical of what I would 170 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:06.480 have had as a child, but a little bit different. 171 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:10.039 And it was fun to do because in that instance 172 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:13.879 it was a tradition for my past. But it doesn't 173 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:17.399 matter where we come from. These are things, in some 174 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:19.960 ways that come down to us through our grandparents are 175 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:23.799 great grandparents, and it's a great and important way to 176 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:27.759 maintain that tradition. So whether one might have the Feast 177 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:30.519 of the Seven Fish, and of course my family had 178 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:32.320 lived in the North End of the turn of the 179 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:36.240 twentieth century, or they lived at Jamaica Plain or Roxbury, 180 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:40.759 we have to realize it is celebrated somewhat differently, but 181 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.879 there's a reason for celebrating. It's a birth of Jesus 182 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:49.840 Christ and many many people in Boston, and we actually 183 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:56.960 may come from different cultures, different religions, different ethnicities. But 184 00:12:57.080 --> 00:13:01.159 we've woven this thriving nexus of cultures that we call 185 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:06.360 the City of Boston, and we do things like decorate 186 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:12.039 the Boston Common Department stores with beautiful lights and decorations, 187 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:16.679 and our places of worship, whatever it might be, is 188 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:19.480 a great way to see music and singing, and of 189 00:13:19.559 --> 00:13:24.639 course the wonderful aspect of community. So yeah, sometimes it 190 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:28.240 is different, but it all represents the same thing, and 191 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:31.039 Christmas is a special time in Boston. 192 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:37.320 The Puritans had such a stranglehold on what you can 193 00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:41.639 and cannot do in Boston for decades. 194 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:45.879 Beyond exactly exactly is there. 195 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:50.440 A pinpoint moment you mentioned the different immigrants that came 196 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:54.559 to our city from places in Europe. Is there a 197 00:13:54.600 --> 00:14:00.120 pinpoint moment when that grip by the Puritans loose and 198 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:05.120 allow people to relax on Christmas or allowed people to 199 00:14:05.159 --> 00:14:07.120 give gifts on Christmas? 200 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:10.720 Well, the very first instance was when King William the 201 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:14.000 Third and Queen Mary the Second, they were joint rulers 202 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:19.440 of England, began the Glorious Revolution by accepting people for 203 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:23.759 who they were, whatever religion they were, would actually establish 204 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:26.559 a place of worship in Boston. That was the Anglican 205 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:30.279 church that was King's Chapel. It's at the corner of 206 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:34.440 Tremont and School Street. At that point, not only did 207 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:38.559 they have their own chapel, but they sent silver a Bible, 208 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:44.720 and it was the first instance of non traditional Puritan worship. 209 00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:49.840 So you began to see a slight change. And during 210 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:55.039 that period of time, there were many people, you know, 211 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:58.159 that looked at that as something that was not only horrible, 212 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:02.279 but it something in some ways that people couldn't understand. 213 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:06.600 And the Reverend Cotton Mather, who was a minister in Boston, 214 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:10.080 he had realized his father had been increased Mather or 215 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:13.759 President of Harvard, but also a well known minister, and 216 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:17.679 his grandfather was not only Reverend John Cotton, but the 217 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:22.080 Reverend Richard Mather. He would say in seventeen twelve that 218 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:27.919 the feast of Christ's Nativity is spent in revelry, dicing, carding, masking, 219 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:33.000 and all licentious liberty, by mad mirth, by long eating, 220 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:37.799 by hard drinking, by leude gaming, by rude reveling. Well, 221 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:41.879 in that instance, many people began to realize the way 222 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:46.159 Christmas had been celebrated under King Henry the eighth was 223 00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:51.279 now being in some ways reinstituted, and that would continue, 224 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:53.840 but it would really be in the period of the 225 00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:57.440 eighteen forties, with the beginning of the Irish coming to 226 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:01.919 Boston because of the Great Famine, they themselves would see 227 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:06.279 Roman Catholicism of something that not only they worshiped, but 228 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:10.759 also would create a place of worship that the whole 229 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:16.879 aspect of Christmas, with not just Christmas Eve, but Christmas Day, 230 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:21.480 in the feast of the Epiphany and Little Christmas would 231 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:24.519 all come to the point where now Boston was beginning 232 00:16:24.519 --> 00:16:28.720 to celebrate in a very different way. And in that 233 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:32.960 nineteenth century it wasn't just Roman Catholics, but people would 234 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:38.159 begin to write books. And you probably know Charles Dickens, 235 00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:41.799 and in eighteen forty two he came to Boston to 236 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:46.879 do readings from his book A Christmas Carol. Now Dickens 237 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:52.679 was Anglican, and he talked about Christmas past, present, and future. 238 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:56.120 And people had to look at that and say to themselves, Wow, 239 00:16:56.200 --> 00:17:00.559 this is something that's not only a literary class, but 240 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:02.919 it was also something a lot of ways that really 241 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:06.279 did chronicle what people were thinking in the period before 242 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:07.000 the Civil War. 243 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:12.519 And see I didn't know Dickens did that. And he 244 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:16.119 came to Boston. Obviously, I'm familiar with the Book of 245 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:20.079 Christmas cow I think we in my fifth grade had 246 00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:20.640 to read that. 247 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:24.720 Yeah, well, he came and he lived at the Parker House, 248 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:28.400 and the Parker House was one of those I know. 249 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:32.759 I'd stay there in the bar. So long as I 250 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:35.359 could have Parker House rolls and butter, I'd be happy. 251 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:37.759 But that was the thing. And I mean during that 252 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:41.359 period you also had people like Lydia Mariah Child, who 253 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:46.359 a well known writer from Medford, Massachusetts, and I'm talking 254 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:50.839 to eighteen thirty eighteen forty period. She wrote, over the 255 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:53.480 bridge and through the woods to Grandfather's house we go, 256 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:56.039 and everyone knows. 257 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:00.200 The horse knows the way to carry the slave to 258 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:06.200 the white and crispy snow. Oh Ma, thank you. I'm 259 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:09.039 going to stop here, take my bottom of the hour 260 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:12.039 news hit, and when we come back, hopefully we'll be 261 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:15.400 joined by college. But I find this fascinating, and I 262 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.079 could talk to you about this for the next three days, 263 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:21.880 but we only have ninety minutes of show to go 264 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:26.559 with Anthony. If you want to call in six, one, seven, two, five, four, ten, 265 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:31.279 thirty eight eight eight, nine to nine ten thirty. Time 266 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:37.279 here on night Side is eight thirty temperature thirty degrees. 267 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:43.640 You're on night Side with Dan Ray. I'm WBZ Boston's 268 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:45.920 news Radio. 269 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:52.599 Good evening, I should say, good Christmas Eve evening. My 270 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:56.640 name is Morgan White Junior. I'm gonna be here and 271 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:01.279 Dan instead, he'll be off and until the first of 272 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:04.640 the year twenty twenty five. I'm going to be here 273 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:09.519 on night Side until then. And my guests this evening, 274 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:14.400 mister Anthony San Marco and Anthony. How many books? Is 275 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:16.839 it eighty nine ninety? 276 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:20.920 It's Sadie nine. I think at this point I'm working 277 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:24.079 on one called The Prince Spaghetti Company. 278 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:35.039 Hey, Anthony, I heard that if I. 279 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:37.119 Could run that far, it might have been. But it 280 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.440 wasn't the four. It was Anthony Montyetti. 281 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:44.200 Yes, all right, Well you've gotten a phone call. It's 282 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:47.680 a gentleman. I know. He's been actually on the radio 283 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:49.640 with me a number of times. He and his brother 284 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:52.440 Bill Winnakers called in to speak to you. 285 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:56.960 Well, how are you, Bill, Anthony? 286 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:00.960 I'm so good. You know, when you're on Morgan's show, 287 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.799 I always learned so much. I'm Morgan, I appreciate you 288 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:09.319 having Anthony on because it's you know, Anthe you're a 289 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:12.640 Boston treasure, and. 290 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:14.119 I think that's a good way of putting it. 291 00:20:15.319 --> 00:20:18.880 Yeah, well you're a Boston treasure too, You're you're both 292 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:24.960 Boston treasures. And Morgan, your knowledge of the history of 293 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:28.079 Boston is phenomenal as well. I mean, so to hear 294 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:32.119 the two of you banter back and forth, I just 295 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:35.680 learned a lot. And I grew up twenty miles south 296 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:40.960 of Boston on a farm in Millics, but so I 297 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:44.279 didn't get to hang around in the city like you 298 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:48.640 two did. And you both know every nook and cranny 299 00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:53.480 of the city of Boston. And I came to college 300 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:57.279 here and was fascinated after living in the country. But Anthony, 301 00:20:57.359 --> 00:20:59.440 I've just learned so much from you all the time, 302 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:00.720 and from you too, Morgan. 303 00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:06.720 I love the best city of Boston, and I have 304 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:13.599 been to every every major community in America. I've been 305 00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:16.160 to Philly, I've been to New York. I've been to 306 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:21.079 a number of communities in Miami. I've been to Chicago, 307 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:29.759 San Francisco, Los Angeles, obviously, Las Vegas. And I love Boston, 308 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:33.920 always have always will Ye I was. 309 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:38.160 I'm very lucky to stay here. I was lucky to 310 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:41.640 stay here after college. I absolutely love it. And there's 311 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:43.640 not a day that goes by that I don't do 312 00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:48.240 reading about Boston. I mean, tonight probably i'll read because 313 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:51.319 some of my books just arrived this week on Boston. 314 00:21:51.480 --> 00:21:54.839 These are things that sometimes I've had copies, but I 315 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:58.200 give them away and I buy new ones. But I 316 00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:00.799 think Boston is something at some point that it's just 317 00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:03.960 a very special place and it doesn't matter who you are. 318 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:09.240 You begin to realize in some ways, each family creates traditions, 319 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:13.559 especially during the holiday season, whether it's Christmas or Kwansa 320 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:16.839 or Hnagar, And people look at this and they say 321 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:20.920 to themselves, I want my children and grandchildren to do 322 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:24.960 what I and my grandparents had once done. And those 323 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:27.960 are the traditions that we, you know, kind of pass 324 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:29.880 on from a generation to another. 325 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:35.359 Absolutely, you know, this is one of the great cities 326 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:40.480 of the world, and I love that we can walk. 327 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:44.920 I often take the tea through Park Street and walk 328 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:48.559 back to Brookline and walk in different directions. First I 329 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:53.319 might go down to the waterfront and just explore all 330 00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:58.559 the different parts of the city. It's so walkable and accessible. 331 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:02.680 It's just a thrill to liver here. There was college 332 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:05.119 that brought me here and I've never left. 333 00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:08.519 Well, it's funny you say that it is a walkable place, 334 00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:10.640 But there is a club that I belonged to on 335 00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:14.720 Beacon Hill and Vernon Street is probably one of the 336 00:23:14.839 --> 00:23:19.400 steeper hills of Boston. I have to admit I'm a 337 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:21.680 little bit winded by the time I get there for 338 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:26.960 my cocktail. I still get up a hill, believe me. 339 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:28.400 But no, that's wonderful. 340 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:32.839 And gentlemen, let me tell you this. Wait, wait, Bill, 341 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:36.000 let me tell you this. And I interviewed him on 342 00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:41.680 a number of occasions. This man loved to walk Boston 343 00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:46.599 before he was in office, while he was in office 344 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:52.440 as the mayor of Boston. And yeah, well, Kevin White, 345 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:55.519 but I'm talking about Ray Flynn. 346 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:58.279 Oh, Ray walked every way. 347 00:23:58.359 --> 00:24:01.640 Lynn loved to walk all over this city. 348 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.720 He sure did. 349 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:08.279 Yeah, I haven't had the money. I haven't had the 350 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:10.680 money in years. Maybe I'll see if I can get 351 00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:12.400 him for twenty five. 352 00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:17.480 But he loved we love him, and we used to 353 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:19.400 see him all the time. He was a close friend 354 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:22.680 of the Duncee family at the Parker House, and we 355 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:25.279 my folks lived in the Parker House for years. 356 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:30.279 There is that name again, the Parker House. So much 357 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:36.880 of bost so much of Boston's history is woven in 358 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:39.759 and through and around the Parker House. 359 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:44.599 Well yeah, well I was just going to say, it's 360 00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:47.599 the oldest continuously run hotel in America. 361 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:51.599 Yeah, and lived across the street from me in Milton, 362 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:56.480 Is that right? Yeah? I mean it was so funny 363 00:24:56.519 --> 00:24:58.880 because I used to say to myself, take who lives 364 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:01.920 in that house that I found out, and I was like, well, 365 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:04.839 I mean, introduce myself. Now. I think in a lot 366 00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:06.599 of ways, this is the fun thing. I mean, it's 367 00:25:06.599 --> 00:25:09.640 not just a hotel. It's not just a place of worship. 368 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:13.119 It's not the State House. All of these things combine 369 00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:17.160 into something that creates what we know of as Boston. 370 00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:21.039 And it's not just during the holiday season. I mean, 371 00:25:21.079 --> 00:25:25.279 we have the public Garden, we have the back Bay 372 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:32.440 mall leading from Arlington Street to Muddy River, beautiful tree shrubberies, 373 00:25:32.519 --> 00:25:36.799 green space, the Charles River. It's a place that is 374 00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:40.039 a very special one and I think when I write 375 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:44.839 about it, I try to not only reinforce to those 376 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:48.599 of us that are Bostonians, but also to those that 377 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:52.720 might not necessarily know about the city as either tourists 378 00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:57.839 or recent arrivals. How very special Boston really is. 379 00:25:58.920 --> 00:26:04.720 Anthony. You teach as you write these books, and when 380 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:08.519 you worked at BU as a teacher, you inform you 381 00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:12.880 impart knowledge and your love of the city is so 382 00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:16.799 obvious when you flip through one of your books. The 383 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:20.960 photos of the company accompany most of these books. When 384 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:22.599 I have you on the radio, when I've heard you 385 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:27.559 in the radio with other people and other circumstances, your 386 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:31.480 love of Boston shines through it. 387 00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:34.559 Sure does. Sure I appreciate it. I want to say 388 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:40.160 one thing, Morgan. We had the extreme pleasure of working 389 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:43.079 an event with Anthony, and that was really the first 390 00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:44.480 time we get to meet each other. 391 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:47.279 Let me hear about it before I let you go 392 00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:48.400 tell me about that event. 393 00:26:49.880 --> 00:26:53.240 Yeah, I rather have Anthony tell you because all my 394 00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:57.319 mind is blankization. 395 00:26:55.720 --> 00:27:01.079 Now, well, it was ironic earlier us here there was 396 00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:03.519 a wonderful group of people in Boston's North End that 397 00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:07.839 wanted to actually honor Nancy Schon, who was the sculptors. 398 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:12.160 So they make way for ducklings in the Boston Public Garden. 399 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:16.000 She was doing a new sculpture called a Noble Journey, 400 00:27:16.200 --> 00:27:20.400 which is a bronze gangplane from a ship leading from 401 00:27:20.440 --> 00:27:25.400