Featured

Malden Memory Makers: Neal Anderson makes politics a family affair

In May 2020, Malden Reads planned to host the Malden Mass. Memories Road Show (MMRS), a statewide, event-based participatory archiving program that documents people, places, and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories stored in a digital archive at openarchives.umb.edu.  Due to the pandemic, the in-person event could not be held. This summer the MMRS team invited anyone with a connection to Malden to contribute photographs and stories online as part of the Malden Mass. Memories Stuck-at-Home Show. Till January 7, you can take part in the online version and submit your own photos via this link. This is the fourth profile in the series.  “Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society.” –John Lewis, congressman and civil rights icon  By Marielle A. Gutierrez The words of the late Rep. John Lewis aptly describe City Councilor Neal Anderson’s motivation for entering a life of public service and his dedication to serving the city of Malden. Anderson has served as Ward 7 City Councilor for  a total of 26 […]

Featured

Malden Memory Makers: Ron Cox stands up for history from a young age

In May 2020, Malden Reads planned to host the Malden Mass. Memories Road Show (MMRS), a statewide, event-based participatory archiving program that documents people, places, and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories stored in a digital archive.  Due to the pandemic, the in-person event could not be held and so, this summer, the MMRS team invited anyone with a Malden connection to contribute photographs and stories online as part of the Malden Mass. Memories Stuck-at-Home Show. Through December, you can take part in the online version and submit your own photos via this link. The following is part of a series of participant profiles for the Malden Mass. Memories Stuck-at-Home Show for Neighborhood View. This is the second profile in the series.   By Marielle A. Gutierrez If you are reading Neighborhood View, you may already know the name of Ron Cox.  Cox has been a long affiliate of UMA, formerly MATV, starting as a volunteer in 1989. In 2006, he became the organization’s Executive Director in 2006, a title he holds to this day. As […]

Featured

Malden Memory Makers: Birukti Tsige on culture, family and community

In May 2020, Malden Reads planned to host the Malden Mass. Memories Road Show (MMRS), a statewide, event-based participatory archiving program that documents people, places, and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories, which are stored in a digital archive at openarchives.umb.edu. The program is produced by University Archives and Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston in collaboration with local communities.  Due to the pandemic, the in-person event could not be held and so this summer the MMRS team invited anyone with a connection to Malden to contribute photographs and stories online as part of the Malden Mass. Memories Stuck-at-Home Show As soon as it is safe to do so, the MMRS will visit Malden to collect more materials at a live, in-person event. Through the month of December, you can also take part in the online version and submit your own photos via this link. To mark this effort, Marielle A. Gutierrez, a student at UMass Boston (currently attending remotely from California) and interning with the Mass. Memories Road Show program, has written a series of […]

Featured

From Tehran, Iran to Malden: The Life Stories of Parto Khorshidi

This article is part of an ongoing Neighborhood View series in connection with the Mass. Memories Road Show (MMRS), a statewide, event-based, participatory digital archiving program produced by the Healey Library at UMass Boston that documents people, places, and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories. When the pandemic upended plans for an in-person MMRS event in Malden (spring 2020), Neighborhood View began this series of profiles to highlight the photographs and stories that residents submitted online to the Malden Mass. Memories Stuck-at-Home Show. Learn more about the MMRS at the end of this article. By Michael Cao Through key photos, Parto Khorshidi revisits important moments from her childhood in Iran, to France where she went on vacation, and to Malden, the city where she now lives. Some were sad moments, but there were good and beautiful moments, too. For Mass. Memories, Khorshidi selected six photos that best represent her life. She believes these photos work like visual art to tell people her life story. “I put a snapshot of certain significant [moments] because your whole life is full of bits and pieces of events,” she […]

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Diversity, Service & Solutions: Ramon Norales reflects on his life in Malden

By Joy Pearson In May 2020, Malden Reads planned to host the Malden Mass. Memories Road Show (MMRS), a statewide, event-based, participatory digital archiving program that documents people, places, and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories. Due to the pandemic, the in-person event could not be held. So Neighborhood View, in collaboration with Malden Reads, is contributing photographs and stories online as part of the Malden Mass. Memories Stuck-at-Home Show. The following story continues the series of participant profiles, which focus on photographs and what they mean to that resident of Malden. It was the cultural and ethnic diversity of Malden that attracted Ramon Norales to move here in 1997.  During the past 25 years, Ramon has devoted his life to family, to work, and to his Malden community through his ethics of service and solutions. In 1971, 7 ½-year-old Ramon Norales immigrated to New York City from Spanish-speaking Honduras in Central America to be with his parents.  In New York City, he grew up in Harlem   Later, he attended NYC Technical College in […]

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Finding inspiration in Malden’s History: Inna Babitskaya

In May 2020, Malden Reads planned to host the Malden Mass. Memories Road Show (MMRS), a statewide, event-based, participatory digital archiving program that documents people, places, and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories. Due to the pandemic, the in-person event could not be held. So Neighborhood View, in collaboration with Malden Reads, is contributing photographs and stories online as part of the Malden Mass. Memories Stuck-at-Home Show. The following story continues the series of participant profiles, which focus on photographs and what they mean to that resident of Malden. By Joy Pearson  Although we all live in an historical context, our focuses differ. We are shaped by the places and cultures in which we have lived and in which we currently live. But only some of us have eyes that see history everywhere. Inna Babitskaya’s view of life is indelibly guided by historical and cultural lenses. She gravitates to and admires historic buildings. She seeks out biographical facts. When she writes, she writes from an historical point of view. This developed from Inna’s childhood […]

Featured

Linda Mazonson Zalk: Places we’ll remember all our lives

In May 2020, Malden Reads planned to host the Malden Mass. Memories Road Show (MMRS), a statewide, event-based participatory archiving program that documents people, places, and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories stored in a digital archive at openarchives.umb.edu.  Due to the pandemic, the in-person event could not be held. This summer the MMRS team invited anyone with a connection to Malden to contribute photographs and stories online as part of the Malden Mass. Memories Stuck-at-Home Show. Through January 2021, you can take part in the online version and submit your own photos via this link. This is the fourth profile in the series.  By Marielle A. Gutierrez The physical places in Malden hold so many memories to its residents. However, over time, hometowns evolve—places that Maldonians frequented as a child or as a young adult are no longer there. There is no longer a physical place to attach a memory to. It is important to remember and record what is gone, or else an important piece of history is lost. Linda Zalk (formerly Linda Mazonson) may know this […]

Education

Education Beyond classrooms:  Nekita Lamour aims to provide experiential learning for students and adults

In May 2020, Malden Reads planned to host the Malden Mass. Memories Road Show (MMRS), a statewide, event-based, participatory digital archiving program, through UMass Boston’s Healey Library, that documents people, places and events in Massachusetts through family photographs and stories. Due to the pandemic, the in-person event could not be held. Since then, Neighborhood View has been contributing photographs and stories online as part of the Malden Mass. Memories Stuck-at-Home Show. The in-person event is now scheduled for April 27, 2024. More info at the end of this article. By Joy Pearson A microcosm of the world, Malden, Mass. has an abundance of cultures, each with its own heritage.  Nekita Lamour, a Malden resident, wants students to learn more about their own heritage.  She knows this will enrich their lives.  She has long desired to help transform education for Blacks, especially Haitian Blacks.  To her, students need experiential learning and learning from professionals outside the classroom. Their perception of their world creates an internal environment, she says, and that “internal environment has to be positive.” Many of […]