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Boston Globe
11-08-2025
- Boston Globe
From trash to treasure, one Harbor Island's glorious evolution
The sun rises to the right of the Graves Light. Stan Grossfeld After a half-hour boat ride, the 21st century melts away. Here there are no residential houses, no cars, no electricity (except for the welcome center), no TVs, and no public WiFi. After the last boat departs, there are no people here except for the caretaker. Everything carried in must be carried out. The camp sites offer stunning sunrises over the ocean, magnificent sunsets over the skyline, and miles of unspoiled trails. 'All I see is happy birds and chill coyotes. It's my happy place,' Enkelhart said. 'That's the cheesiest thing I think I've ever said in my life, but I mean it.' Advertisement Spectacle Island was named because it resembles a pair of eyeglasses, two drumlins separated by a narrow spit. Campers arrive at Spectacle Island for the first overnight camping trip. The island is a carry in, carry out experience. Stan Grossfeld It used to be a dump, literally. It had a horse rendering plant, and grease reclamation facility. There was a smallpox quarantine hospital here and ships with known cases were required to stop and quarantine there. It had two hotels in the 19th century until the cops busted them for illegal gambling. Advertisement In the 1920s, 100 people resided here, and they even had a little red schoolhouse. In the '30s, the final factory closed, and it became Boston's garbage dump from 1935 to 1959. In 1992, the Big Dig sediment was used to fill in and cap off the landfill. The highest part of the island is now 255 feet and affords amazing views in all directions. After the planting of thousands of trees and shrubs, the park opened to the public in 2006. The National Parks Service calls it 'trash turned into treasure.' Camping was allowed in the spit of land between the two drumlins on Spectacle Island. Stan Grossfeld This event quickly sold out. One hundred campers paid $39.19 to have the 114-acre island all to themselves after hours. That included a park ranger guided sunset nature walk, musical bingo, and art activities, Subway sandwiches for dinner, and a continental breakfast on Sunday. After Saturday night's sunset, there were s'mores by the fire on the beach. Everyone seemed to channel their inner 10-year-olds. It's a nature lover's delight. Rangers reported a white-tailed deer was spotted on the island this season and the list of birds seen here looks like an Audubon Who's Who. Each direction offers amazing views. A swinging hammock in the shade is the place to be on a summer's day at Spectacle Island. Stan Grossfeld Neighboring Long Island Hospital looks haunted. The airport runway is like clockwork with planes at peak times landing two minutes apart. The boat traffic on President Roads, Boston's main shipping lane, is hustle and bustle with everything from cruise ships to giant tankers. The Port of Boston's Conley Terminal in South Boston looks bigger and more formidable from the sea. Star gazing isn't great, as it's too close to the city lights, which gives full moon intensity light to the island. Advertisement Rebecca Smerling, director of programs for Boston Harbor Now, calls Spectacle 'the jewel of the harbor cleanup.' Campers with headlamps look for sea glass and other artifacts. Stan Grossfeld 'I was talking to some people who don't even have a car,' Smerling said, 'and they just love the idea that they could take the subway [and ferry] to a camping site.' There's a small beach with a designated swimming area and a shower and changing areas. But there's also a posted sign warning visitors that pieces of asbestos have been found on the beaches at Spectacle Island Sometimes weird things happen here. Campers of all ages toast marshmallows for s'mores on the beach at night. Stan Grossfeld 'A full horse jaw will come up occasionally (from) when it was a horse-rendering plant,' Smerling said. The overnight is quiet except for a bunch of coyote pups who kick up a ruckus and some boaters who anchor in the harbor and party into the night. Sunday morning predawn, one camper sits with his back to the city and the ocean comes to life out toward the Graves Light. Next to him is the Krystle Campbell Gazebo, dedicated to the former Spectacle Island catering manager who died in the Boston Marathon bombings. Her smiling photo brings a tinge of sadness. Rook Zheng of Stoneham climbs to the top of the southern drumlin of Spectacle Island to view the sunrise. Stan Grossfeld Rook Zheng of Stoneham thought about sleeping in but instead hiked to the top of the South Drumlin for the views. She got treated to a sunrise that looked like a living Grateful Dead logo. Sunshine Daydream, indeed. 'Oh my ... that was amazing. Glad I woke up. That was definitely worth it,' said Zheng, a biotech researcher. She thinks that to make Spectacle camping accessible on a regular basis like Peddocks Island is a tough call. 'It's debatable. It's a really nice trail,' she said. 'If you start doing campsites, then you inevitably change the landscape of this island.' Advertisement On the ride back, most campers raved about the experience. A camper watches boat traffic on President Roads at dawn. Stan Grossfeld John Harris of Topsfield had visited there a half century ago when he was 14, accompanying his mother, who lived there with her family in the early 1930s. Her photo is even in the historical video in the welcome center. 'There were no structures left,' Harris said. 'We went up the island just trying to see where she lived. She found a rock. It was round like a bowling ball and she remembers as a child rolling that across the floor. They would use that to weigh down a plate atop the sauerkraut to keep the cabbage submerged in vinegar. And we brought it home.' A happy camper takes a joyous shower after swimming at Spectacle Island. Stan Grossfeld He said the Spectacle Island rebirth would have pleased his mother, who passed away in 2015. 'Now, it looks great. When the Big Dig came, the soil out there was barren, and I never thought anything would flourish,' Harris said. 'But now, looking at it, it's amazing what they've done.' At dawn, tents surround the Krystle Campbell Gazebo, dedicated to the former Spectacle Island catering manager who died in the Boston Marathon bombings. Stan Grossfeld @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } .dipupnext_hed { font-family: "MillerHeadline-Bold", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: .75px; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1; margin-top: 3px; color: #000; width: 100%; font-weight: 600; } .dipupnext_cap_cred { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: .5px; text-align: left; margin: 3px 0px 5px 0px; font-weight: 200; color: #000; text-decoration: none; text-align: center; } .dipupnext_photo { max-width: 100%; height: auto; padding-top: 15px; opacity: 1; } .dipupnext__form:hover { opacity: .5; text-decoration: underline .5px; } .dipupnext__form{ opacity: 1; } .picupnext__container { width: 100%; position: relative; margin: 0 auto; } .dipupnext__content { width: 100%; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 3fr; } .cdipupnextcontainer { display: block; width:100%; height: auto; margin:0 auto; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; } .upnext { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.15; margin-top: .5rem; letter-spacing: 0px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 4px 8px; margin-top: 5px; letter-spacing: .5px; } .upnext:before, .upnext:after { background-color: #000; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 4px; width: 32%; } .upnext:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .upnext:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } .theme-dark .upnext:before { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext:after { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_cap_cred { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_hed { color: #fff; } @media screen and (min-width: 800px){ .dipupnext__content { grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr; grid-column-gap: 40px; } } UP NEXT Stan Grossfeld can be reached at
Boston Globe
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
At the Maine Lobster Festival, the claws come out
A banner behind declares 'No One Wants To Be Scalded Alive! Go Vegan.' The rubber bands are off in the battle of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against the festival celebrating the state's world-famous cultural delicacy. Advertisement 'Damn,' says one passerby. 'He just ruined my lunch.' A PETA demonstration on the opening day of the Maine Lobster Festival called the steaming of lobsters as torture. Stan Grossfeld PETA calls the steaming of lobsters here in the world's largest lobster cooker 'torture.' They filed a lawsuit on July 24 in Knox County Superior Court against the City of Rockland and the festival to stop the 'systematic torture of approximately 16,000 live, sentient animals on public land (Harbor Park).' PETA contends the lobsters are 'painfully scalded to death through prolonged exposure to superheated steam,' without any effort to spare them pain, such as by 'stunning' them, an electrical process that would render them insensible to pain. A spokesperson for the festival says it is breaking no laws and called the PETA action a 'press stunt.' Early morning at the festival, where tens of thousands of guests visit each year. Stan Grossfeld The festival 'has celebrated Maine's iconic lobster industry for 78 years using traditional, lawful, and widely accepted cooking methods. We greet thousands of guests from all over the world each year and showcase our industry and our beautiful area, and offer a fantastic experience,' Shannon Kinney, marketing director for the Maine Lobster Festival and the Rockland Festival Corporation, said in a statement. Advertisement 'We are proud ambassadors of the beautiful state of Maine . . . and we respect everyone's right to choose what's right for them. While we respect differing viewpoints, there is no conclusive scientific consensus that lobsters experience pain.' Stunning lobsters is not 'common industry practice,' and would 'not be feasible' when serving tens of thousands who attend the festival, the statement said. A lobster loving boy posed for a photo op. Stan Grossfeld PETA says Switzerland, Norway, and the Italian city of Reggio Emilia have all made it illegal to boil lobsters alive without stunning them first. Boiling is also banned in New Zealand, and there are bans across parts of Australia, according to PETA. Amanda Brody, PETA campaigns manager, says these crustaceans are more like humans than most people realize. 'Mother lobsters are pregnant for nine months. Baby lobsters have prolonged childhood. Some of them can live to be 100 years old.' Scientists differ on how much pain a lobster experiences when they hit a big pot of boiling water. The American Veterinary Medical Association says lobsters 'struggle violently for about 2 minutes . . . thrash and try to escape . . . another indicator of stress.' A lobster that a volunteer hypnotized rested on the world's largest lobster cooker. Stan Grossfeld The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine notes the creatures have 'nerves that allow the processing of noxious stimuli,' (read: ouch!). Advertisement But, 'this does not necessarily mean lobsters feel pain the way that we understand it, as pain is a subjective experience.' In an unscientific poll, most people here said they believe lobsters can feel pain. 'I would say lobster do get brutally murdered,' says Jacob Ecker, 13, of Cushing, adding he won't eat them at all. Rebecca Spearing, the newly crowned 2025 Maine Lobster Festival delegate, is the proud daughter of a lobsterman. 'I think they're bugs,' she says with a teasing smile. US Navy Quartermaster Devine Perry in port with the USS Arlington enjoyed a steamed lobster and all the trimmings. 'I love seafood,' she said. 'I think animals and people suffer. But you can enjoy each other while we in the midst of enjoying this animal.' Stan Grossfeld 'I think they're crustaceans, and they don't have that kind of nervous system to feel (pain),' she says. " And I think they taste really good.' Glen Dwyer, selling jewelry in the arts and crafts tent, says he has worked in lobster shacks. 'I know that they suffer,' he says. 'I cooked them for three years.' But he's not a PETA fan, either 'People in this area have been harvesting lobsters since prehistoric times. It's been supporting life here, and a lot of people derive a lot of joy out of it.' Rebecca Spearing is the 2025 Maine Lobster Festival delegate. Her father is a lobsterman, and she's honored to celebrate the city's lobster heritage. Stan Grossfeld Vern Mossman, 65, the festival's cooking director, has been helping out since he was seven. He started cooking at 17. Can lobsters feel pain? He shakes his head. 'I can't get into details of that. I can't.' He oversees the gigantic lobster cooker which contains eight individual cooking units, each able to hold 200 pounds of lobster. People donated bricks engraved with their names to help build it in — the self-proclaimed 'Lobster Capital of the World.' He says no one complains to him about the treatment of the lobsters. Advertisement 'No, they just come up and thank us,' he says. 'I'm not getting paid, we're all volunteers.' This blue lobster got spared because of its color and was on exhibition in a tank as part of the festival's marine tent experience. Stan Grossfeld Donations collected from visitors go toward the community's needs, like food banks. 'We're helping out people as much as we can,' he says. He's not a lobster lover. 'I won't eat them.' he says. Donna Stobbs of Kittery, doesn't feel sorry for the lobsters at all. She thinks they are yummy. 'I feel bad for the cooking people, baking their buns off,' she says of the intense heat they face from boiling water and steam. 'But you know, the lobsters, that's their plight in life . . . to be cooked.' @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } .dipupnext_hed { font-family: "MillerHeadline-Bold", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: .75px; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1; margin-top: 3px; color: #000; width: 100%; font-weight: 600; } .dipupnext_cap_cred { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: .5px; text-align: left; margin: 3px 0px 5px 0px; font-weight: 200; color: #000; text-decoration: none; text-align: center; } .dipupnext_photo { max-width: 100%; height: auto; padding-top: 15px; opacity: 1; } .dipupnext__form:hover { opacity: .5; text-decoration: underline .5px; } .dipupnext__form{ opacity: 1; } .picupnext__container { width: 100%; position: relative; margin: 0 auto; } .dipupnext__content { width: 100%; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 3fr; } .cdipupnextcontainer { display: block; width:100%; height: auto; margin:0 auto; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; } .upnext { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.15; margin-top: .5rem; letter-spacing: 0px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 4px 8px; margin-top: 5px; letter-spacing: .5px; } .upnext:before, .upnext:after { background-color: #000; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 4px; width: 32%; } .upnext:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .upnext:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } .theme-dark .upnext:before { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext:after { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_cap_cred { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_hed { color: #fff; } @media screen and (min-width: 800px){ .dipupnext__content { grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr; grid-column-gap: 40px; } } UP NEXT Stan Grossfeld can be reached at
Boston Globe
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
The pizazz, perils, and pratfalls of life under the Big Top
He's setting up the Circus Smirkus 2025 Big Top tent at the Cracker Barrel fairgrounds on a Monday morning, bright and early. The tent crew arrived late the night before after breaking down the last show, 100 miles away in Greenfield. Circus Smirkus, based in Vermont, is the only traveling youth circus performing under the Big Top in the USA. There are 18 'troupers,' as performers are called, ages 12 to 18. A staff of 30-40 grownups complete their 'circus bubble' that travels around New England in 25 vehicles. Advertisement Nelson Wilson, 18 of Providence and Sekora Berge, 15, of Plymouth, Wis., do a warmup before going in for the 7 p.m. show. Stan Grossfeld The kids stay with host families at each stop. The grownups live in trailers at the tent site. They have a mobile kitchen, aka the 'Pie Car,' and a trailer was converted into six tiny showers. They'll do 65 shows in seven weeks, clowning around before some 35,000 people. It's not all jesting and jokes, and risks are present. That became clear the day after the circus was set up when an aerialist fell 15 feet while performing, suffering serious injuries. He is now recovering, his mother posted on social media. Salix Wraith, a senior Tent Crew member, puts up supporting beams in the tent. Stan Grossfeld In many ways, Circus Smirkus is a throwback to a simpler time. 'It's called a mud show, because it's set up in fields as opposed to stadiums,' he says. 'We're carrying on the history of doing circus tours like this.' Advertisement Story Gemmati, 14, of Huntington Beach, Calif., puts on her makeup before the show. Stan Grossfeld Ringling Brothers is taking 2025 off to regroup but Smirkus Circus keeps on trucking in its 38th year. This year's high-energy show is called 'Game On.' It's guaranteed to make you smile. ' Yeah, I love them,' Wraith says of the troupers. 'They inspire me. They're incredibly talented and athletic and sweet and creative. It's why we're here. We do it for the kids.' On a travel day, the performers go to their host families for rest and relaxation. A comfy bed, breakfast, and dinner. They are an eclectic group of athletes, twisting and turning in the summer air. Each January, 45 kids are invited to audition in person at the circus headquarters in Greensboro. Those that don't look people in the eye never make the cut. Nelson Wilson, 18, of Providence, warms up with a Hula Hoop before a show. He will attend Boston University in the fall. Stan Grossfeld The performers then meet on Zoom until they spend three weeks in June to finalize the show with their director and coaches. They also don't make any money, as Circus Smirkus is a nonprofit cultural organization. Tuition this year is $9,000, which covers training, housing, food, costumes, coaching, and touring costs. No one is turned down because of financial need, according to marketing director Genevieve Martineau. They typically work a 12-hour day. In between their noon and the 7 p.m. shows some troupers take cat naps. At rehearsal, Oscar Benninga 15, practices with aerial silks in the main tent. Stan Grossfeld Oscar Benninga, 15, of Lexington, practices flying through the air on a long swath of silk, which he twirls like a matador. Is it like being Peter Pan? 'You do get that sense of detachment,' he says. 'It's a different world . . . It's really fun. I get to train all day and perform for new people and make them smile.' Advertisement Lev Eisner, 18, a juggler from Baltimore, says circus life is a bit of a balancing act. Performers, top from left: Sylvie Merryman-Lotze,15, of Glenside, Pa., Adi Natof, 14, of Lexington, Ky., and Azaria Passini,12, of Plymouth, Wis.; with Miranda Myer,15, of Bellevue, Wash., at bottom left. Stan Grossfeld 'We know how to stay up all night and swing off the roof, and we also know how to get to bed on time the night before a show and wake up at 6:00 a.m. to start warming up our bodies.' The performers also do a multitude of other tasks. Last summer in Hanover, N.H., they were assigned to clean the tarps and mats. 'There's decomposing slugs all over the tarps,' says Eisner. Four teenagers lugged them down to the river, a half mile away. 'It turns out the current is really strong. They're in, they're unfurling, they're billowing away. We're pulling on them for our lives because we can't lose the tarp,' he says. We're going to be in so much trouble.' Somehow they managed to get back on land but the wet tarps were too heavy to carry. A fisherman who was a Circus Smirkus fan took them back in his pickup truck. 'I don't think they quite dried before the show, but at least we were on time,' he says. Sylvie Merryman-Lotze, 15, of Glenside, Pa., has been doing circus training since she was 5. She says her sister was taking piano lessons in Philadelphia and a circus school was right down the street. 'It was just something to kill time,' she says. She discovered her calling to be a contortionist. It has gotten her into a lot of tight spots. 'I love working with my body, and I love working with other people.' Advertisement So many things can go wrong. Charlotte, 11, and Daley Murphy, 4, of Mansfield enjoy the show. Stan Grossfeld 'A few shows ago, there were four nosebleeds during the show. Some people had to run off stage. We just had people sub in. We were behind the curtain, whispering, 'All right, who's going to do this trick'? It was crazy having to improv on stage to make up for it,' Sylvie says. The accident involving the aerialist brought an outpouring of love and support. The show was immediately stopped and refunds were given. Some patrons returned them with messages of love and hope. 'I returned to the tent on Wednesday and dropped off a cake to try in some small way to show that you are thought of by so many. It is a helpless feeling but I continue to keep all of you in my thoughts,' one woman wrote. Azy Berge (top), 18, of Plymouth, Wis., and Jaycee Roethel, 18, of Sheboygan, Wis., nap between shows. Stan Grossfeld 'I support and care about sustaining all of your hard work and all of the emotional work you are doing right now.' The accident devastated the Circus Smirkus family, especially troupers, says Rachel Schiffer, executive and artistic director. " They're sad. They're curious and concerned. They're frustrated because they want answers, understandably so.' Two shows were canceled, but troupers bounced back. They spent a day off performing a show in the gym at Staff member Nora Kempner does the laundry behind the troupers' backstage tent and the shower trailer. Stan Grossfeld 'They've been amazing in a really tough time,' Schiffer says of the troupers. For now there will be no aerial acts until the investigation is complete. 'When we do circus, we come into a world of calculated risk,' despite rigorous training, education, safety checks, and balances, she says in an interview after the accident. 'With all of those things, things can still go wrong.' Advertisement Sylvie Merryman-Lotze, 15 of Glenside, Pa., does chores between shows. Stan Grossfeld Schiffer says a safety net is not feasible because the circus tent isn't tall enough. A few days later, there's good news. The performer's mother posted a photo of him at home smiling and giving the peace sign with two of his circus besties. Tawnya Sauer, assistant general manager, displays an old circus saying on her arm. Stan Grossfeld @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } .dipupnext_hed { font-family: "MillerHeadline-Bold", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: .75px; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1; margin-top: 3px; color: #000; width: 100%; font-weight: 600; } .dipupnext_cap_cred { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: .5px; text-align: left; margin: 3px 0px 5px 0px; font-weight: 200; color: #000; text-decoration: none; text-align: center; } .dipupnext_photo { max-width: 100%; height: auto; padding-top: 15px; opacity: 1; } .dipupnext__form:hover { opacity: .5; text-decoration: underline .5px; } .dipupnext__form{ opacity: 1; } .picupnext__container { width: 100%; position: relative; margin: 0 auto; } .dipupnext__content { width: 100%; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 3fr; } .cdipupnextcontainer { display: block; width:100%; height: auto; margin:0 auto; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; } .upnext { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.15; margin-top: .5rem; letter-spacing: 0px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 4px 8px; margin-top: 5px; letter-spacing: .5px; } .upnext:before, .upnext:after { background-color: #000; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 4px; width: 32%; } .upnext:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .upnext:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } .theme-dark .upnext:before { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext:after { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_cap_cred { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_hed { color: #fff; } @media screen and (min-width: 800px){ .dipupnext__content { grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr; grid-column-gap: 40px; } } UP NEXT Stan Grossfeld can be reached at
Boston Globe
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Photos: How to savor every second of summer
'No Kings' protesters and the Boston Pride Parade brought joyous smiles to participants. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Boston Harborfest fireworks over the Seaport. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Reds first baseman Spencer Steer watched his home run fly over the Green Monster in Fenway Park. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Few hustled more than Layana Marie Rivera, 7, who has just completed the first grade. When those bells went ding, ding, ding, she made the first turn out the door, clutching her artwork, looking as if she just received the checkered flag. Her journey is just beginning but it is already filled with joy. The lesson here is to savor every second of summer. Somehow it defies any logic of time. It goes by quicker than an Aroldis Chapman fastball and feels shorter than a flash from a firefly. Stop and smell the roses, they are in perfect bloom right now on Nantucket. Advertisement Seek out the coolness of fog and let it cloak you from the 'Age of Meanness' that is enveloping the world. With Boston Light on Little Brewster Island as a backdrop, a sailboat headed toward Boston. Stan Grossfeld/ Globe Staff Roses bloomed in the Sconset section of Nantucket. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Marchers in the Boston Pride Parade. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Smile. Forget the negatives. Stop whining. Yes, traffic sucks, even after the college kids have left town. The Expressway is a misnomer and that one digit salute that the fellow motorist just flashed is not a 'We're number one sign.' Championship sports parades will not come in droves this year, but the 'No Kings' parade held last month showed as much passion as any of them. There's a reason that this is the Cradle of Liberty. There is hope. Advertisement Look for happiness and you will find it. It's in the salty breezes wafting off the ocean. The fiery sunsets with even more brilliant afterglows. No season offers less darkness, the opportunity to wear barely any clothes, drink ice cold beer, go barefoot, and have fun. People 'ooh and ahh' watching fireworks paint the sky, but sparks of beauty are everywhere. Enjoy them. Layana Marie Rivera, 7, who just finished first grade, left the Squantum School on the final day of the school year. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Madequecham Beach on Nantucket. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Evening at Brant Point on Nantucket. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } .dipupnext_hed { font-family: "MillerHeadline-Bold", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: .75px; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1; margin-top: 3px; color: #000; width: 100%; font-weight: 600; } .dipupnext_cap_cred { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: .5px; text-align: left; margin: 3px 0px 5px 0px; font-weight: 200; color: #000; text-decoration: none; text-align: center; } .dipupnext_photo { max-width: 100%; height: auto; padding-top: 15px; opacity: 1; } .dipupnext__form:hover { opacity: .5; text-decoration: underline .5px; } .dipupnext__form{ opacity: 1; } .picupnext__container { width: 100%; position: relative; margin: 0 auto; } .dipupnext__content { width: 100%; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 3fr; } .cdipupnextcontainer { display: block; width:100%; height: auto; margin:0 auto; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; } .upnext { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.15; margin-top: .5rem; letter-spacing: 0px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 4px 8px; margin-top: 5px; letter-spacing: .5px; } .upnext:before, .upnext:after { background-color: #000; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 4px; width: 32%; } .upnext:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .upnext:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } .theme-dark .upnext:before { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext:after { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_cap_cred { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_hed { color: #fff; } @media screen and (min-width: 800px){ .dipupnext__content { grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr; grid-column-gap: 40px; } } UP NEXT Stan Grossfeld can be reached at
Boston Globe
30-06-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
In the oppressive heat, fear, food, and hope collide on Broadway in Chelsea
People are patient but not happy, because it's hot as hell. The numbers on their wrists to hold their place in line start to smear. The heart of Chelsea's main street is torn up by construction. In some respects, their lives have been torn apart by the one-two punch of hunger and fear of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Inside the storefront church, a fan whirs as a dozen volunteers scurry about packing up food. The church chairs have all been removed and boxes filled with food cover much of the floor. Volunteer Marilea Mendonca helps prepare 400 boxes of groceries for those in line. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Advertisement The need is great, the mood intense, despite the sign on the wall. 'Worry about nothing. Pray about everything.' Philippians 4:6 Elian Mora, 1, naps in line with her mom, who came from El Salvador. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff 'This is a social pandemic,' says Pastor Elaine Mendes, director of Revival Chelsea. She waits until the last moment to add refrigerated items like milk and eggs to the 30-pound boxes. 'It's poor people. It's needy people.' Most are people of color. The diversity is evident in the line, which is now so long, the end is not visible. There's a Moroccan woman with a child, an Asian woman wearing a mask, a senior citizen holding extra plastic bags, and a Hispanic woman stoically standing. Advertisement 'This is a social pandemic,' says Pastor Elaine Mendes, director of Revival Chelsea, who adds milk to the boxes of food ready to be distributed. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Many hide their faces or turn around when a camera is pointed at them. One man flicked his hand like he was shooing a fly. They are in no mood to talk. 'They think you are ICE,' says Mendes, who has been operating the food pantry for 10 years. Mendes worries that proposed federal budget cuts will make the situation worse. 'Everything that I can see since January, it's for the wealthy people, for the rich people.' A United Nations of diversity is found on Broadway in Chelsea as people line up for the weekly food pantry distribution. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff She refuses to mention the president's name. 'It's the administration,' she says. 'I don't think this administration is looking out for the low-income people right now.' The food is donated mainly from 'Food For Free,' a nonprofit in Somerville. It's the good stuff from Trader Joe's, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods. Not the canned beef and vegetable government surplus variety, or the cheap ramen, or starchy mac and cheese. Revival Chelsea sometimes supplements the groceries by buying milk when it can afford the expense. There are three major food banks in Chelsea. 'It is not enough,' Mendes says. Residents jam the streets for the weekly food pantry at the Revival International Center, a community church that distributes food boxes to those in need in the Chelsea area. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff According to a new report by Mass General Brigham and t 'Very low food insecurity — the most severe form, occurring when an individual must skip meals or not eat for the entire day because they don't have enough money for food — has nearly quadrupled to 24 percent in 2024 from 6 percent in 2019, pointing to widening socioeconomic gaps,' the report says. Mendes's worst nightmare is that ICE will just pull up and start grabbing people. Advertisement She says that ICE collaborators have intimidated those waiting in line here on two different occasions. (They also tried to attend an English as a second language class held here, Mendes says.) Hundreds of people line up in the hopes of receiving one of the 400 food boxes distributed by the Revival International Center. Stan Grossfeld 'They didn't come to talk. They didn't say nothing. They came to scare the population and make people afraid. It worked. We had a lot of food left over because people were afraid.' Here, Mendes offers anonymity. 'We don't take their name. We don't take nothing.' The center also hosts numerous social and educational activities, like community gatherings for men and for the homeless, and yoga classes. There's even a climate change seminar. Once people have received their groceries, some mix and match, sharing what they've received with each other on Broadway in Chelsea. Stan Grossfeld 'Food pantry is my main program but then through the week, I can offer all the programs to make them feel comfortable and feel happy,' says Mendes. 'I think the presence of ICE on the street breaks this peaceful way that we have. ... I mean, they are messing up our job.' At 3 p.m., volunteers push the boxes on a roller conveyor and open the door. They distribute the boxes one by one. They keep pastries up at the front to reward kids who have waited patiently in line. Volunteers unload two truckloads and a van full of food to feed the poor in Chelsea. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff On this Monday, 465 people (not counting children) show up and make sure they don't block the other merchants' doorways. Once they get their groceries, some linger on the sidewalk and make trades. A vegetarian will trade hamburger meat for fruit and vegetables. Others leave disappointed, because the food runs out. 'It's horrible that we couldn't feed everybody,' Mendes says. Mendes scrambles inside to the multiple refrigerators and finds a dozen eggs for each of the last 65 people. Advertisement She scoffs at the racial trope that unfairly portrays immigrants as dangerous. A woman leaves Revival Chelsea with a boxful of fresh food after waiting three hours in the summer heat. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff 'We have mothers, we have children. We don't have any criminals in the line. I don't think a criminal would wait three hours in the heat or in the snow.' 'No, it's poor people,' she continues. 'I'm going to help these people. And I think everyone should do the same thing. We should help each other. 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