Man About Canton: Canton Family Businesses

Did you know …

The Pastene Company, recognized by its bright yellow and red product labeling and its popular kitchen ready canned tomatoes, is headquartered here in Canton off Route 138 in a 50,000-square-foot office and distribution center. The Pastene business was started in 1874 by Luigi Pastene and his son, Pietro Pastene, and it continues today under brothers Mark and Chris Tosi. In 1936, management of the company was handed over from the Pastene family to its cousins, the Tosi family. In 1987, Mark and Chris acquired the business from their siblings. Besides the popular kitchen ready tomatoes, its products include pasta, kitchen ready pasta sauce, peppers, and over 100 other Pastene products.

Another Canton family-run business, The E.M. Duggan Company, recently celebrated its 125th anniversary on March 29. In 1891, Ed Duggan, Sr. started a small HVAC shop. Today, it has become a $165 million company operating out of four buildings in Canton and 100,000 square feet of prefabrication shops in Boston. The top two executives in the fifth generation of the family-run company are Vincent Petroni and Len Monfred. Over the last 25 years, Petroni took the company from a $2 to $3 million business to where it is today with revenues of over $150 million.

It is interesting to note that one of E.M. Duggan’s employees, Doris L. Matthews of Braintree, recently died. Doris was the payroll supervisor at the company in Canton for many years. She was also the first American to receive a double lung transplant about 30 years ago and was the longest survivor of that procedure. Doris was also a kidney transplant recipient.

Walgreens, which has stores in Canton and Stoughton, recently acquired one of its rivals, Rite Aid, which also has stores in Canton and Stoughton, for approximately $9.41 billion in cash. It will create a drugstore giant with nearly 18,000 stores around the world. In the United States, it will give Walgreens a total of 12,801 stores, surpassing CVS, which has 7,870 locations in the United States.

It has been 22 years since Robert Kraft purchased the New England Patriots from James Orthwein on January 21, 1994. It certainly has made many Canton football and soccer fans happy.

Kevin Rooney of Canton, whose four-year career at Providence College included an NCAA championship, recently made his pro debut with the AHL’s Albany Devils as a forward after signing an Amateur Tryout Agreement. Rooney finished his collegiate career at Providence appearing in 117 consecutive games. He finished with 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists) in 144 career NCAA games.

Olivia Murphy, a former Canton High School basketball star, recently finished her career at UMass Boston by scoring over 1,500 points — a new program record — and pulling down over 1,100 rebounds. Murphy, a 6’2” athletic lefty, led her team in scoring with 15.3 points a game and in rebounds with 12.3 a game. Murphy’s coach, Kristina Baugh, said, “She is a special talent and has an amazing spirit.” Olivia was the program’s first WBCA Division 3 All-American. As a side note, Olivia’s sister, Julia Murphy, is a junior on the UMass Boston women’s volleyball team and is the reigning two-time Little East Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

Canton High School junior Sebastian Melendez was named to the Boston Globe’s and Boston Herald’s All-Scholastic Boys Swimming Team. Melendez won the Division 2 state titles in both the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. He was undefeated in individual competition during the regular season.

HarborOne Bank recently donated $1,000 to be used for the Canton High School Athletic Booster Club.

Blue Hills Regional Technical High School is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The school opened in 1966 and now has 900 students.

The estimated additional cost for the proposed full-day kindergarten program in Canton is $620,000 in the first year. The schools intend to seek a free-cash transfer of $495,000 at the annual town meeting with the balance being paid for out of revolving funds. In future years, the School Committee has agreed to absorb the cost, using additional Chapter 70 school aid. The plan is supported by both the selectmen and the Finance Committee.

Which is worse? Crying over spilt milk or keeping everything bottled up?

That is all for now folks. See you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=33293

Posted by Joe DeFelice on May 12 2016. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.