Domenico Marino was 22 years old and with false bravado he held the small hand of his wife, Francesca, tightly as they wound their way through the port city of Naples, Italy. It had been a long journey from their small village of Messina. Both of these young travelers knew the life they were leaving […]
As soon as you open the door, cool air sweeps across your face and you quickly enter the small room. This is a special place, and as your eyes adjust to the dim light, large stainless steel racks come into focus. Dozens of grey boxes, all neatly hand labeled, line the shelves. And inside many […]
Brothers Geoffrey and Richard Neal grew up on Spring Lane, where they played in the attic as children with a samurai sword and a Japanese flag that their father, the late Brigadier General Willis A. Neal, USMCR, brought back from his years of service in World War II. One of their father’s personal items that […]
When the new condominiums on Walpole Street were built, a plan was conceived to help beautify Viaduct Park with privately planted trees and flowers. And for a while at least, it was a charmingly planted space. Flowers bloomed and the grass was tended. The town’s capable and talented Department of Public Works cleared the river […]
The following is an excerpt from “125 Years of Promise,” the latest installment of True Tales from Canton’s Past by local historian George T. Comeau. Several years ago, this writer found himself heading for neurosurgery to correct a failed disc high up in the spine. As anyone who has been through major surgery knows, your […]
The Canton we know today was once the wilds of Dorchester. This area, largely inhabited by the Ponkapoag tribe, became an attractive settlement for a handful of pioneering men and women leaving the relative congestion of larger towns. The idea of buying and selling land was a purely English notion; the natives had no concept […]
A rich photographic history is preserved at the Canton Historical Society. With well over 4,000 catalogued images, each moment in time helps us see the fabric of the people and places of Canton. Photos 1 & 2: The Canton Catholic Club occupied the building that was once the Massapoag House. The original building was constructed in […]
The entire village of South Canton gathered to see the militia in their stunning uniforms at the house of the general. On that Friday in October 1823, the trees dripped with red and gold and an autumn sun cast long shadows across Washington Street. The force was made up of many of the sons of […]
Representatives of the Paul Revere Heritage Commission received initial positive feedback from the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night following a presentation on proposed uses for the Paul Revere Heritage Site and park, located off Revere Street at the former Plymouth Rubber property. While plans for the heritage site remain a work in progress, commission members […]
Caroline Christian never knew either of her parents, but both, she has since learned, really loved the scent of bread. For her father, Dick Cammarata, it was the smell of his mother’s homemade rolls that he could not get enough of — a scent that once wafted through the air in his downtown Canton restaurant, […]
