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 […]

Arts

Green Man puts down roots in Cedar Park: Artist Lisa Tiemann spearheads community mosaic mural

“He runs through the forest; breathing life into all that he can Whispering to the trees, he’s known as the Green Man. Passing on his vibrant energy, to all living things, green”-The Green Man, By Joanne Kavanagh By Amanda Hurley Thirty-five artists, many from the Malden-Melrose area, have come together to create a mosaic that celebrates our connection to the natural world. Spearheaded by Melrose artist Lisa Tiemann, the 5-foot by 5-foot mosaic, featuring the mythical Green Man, will be installed at Cedar Park in Melrose; the mosaic itself is a donation from the artists, while the wall and installation will be made possible through grants and private donors. “Green Man is largely taken to represent the human being as one with nature,” says Tiemann, noting that his face is often depicted as being “part plant, part animal.” So, she believes, it was the perfect choice for a nature-themed community project, which started two years ago as a 70th birthday present to herself. Green Man, whose eyes peer out among colorful vegetation, will watch over all […]

Featured

Malden Neighbors Are Helping Neighbors to Get Through the Pandemic

By Martha Bezzat Since launching in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, Malden Neighbors Helping Neighbors (MNHN) continues to make a profound impact on Malden households by connecting those in need with resources.  Formed by Malden resident Meera Krishnan — inspired by her own sister’s Newton Facebook group — her husband, AJ Kumar, and James Meickle, leader of a neighborhood mutual aid group, MNHN has blossomed from a tight knit group of “lead organizers” who interface with local and state agencies and officials to navigate larger issues. It now includes a network of “neighborhood point persons” who daily process requests through the organization’s website and Facebook page.  To date, the all-volunteer organization has helped more than 600 households with such tasks as food delivery, housing/financial assistance (through referrals to ABCD, Housing Families, CityLife, and others), and prescription pick-up. Volunteers have also managed yardwork, furniture moves, and assisting with baby equipment. Lead organizers and neighborhood point people, working from their computers, coordinate delivery volunteers (delivering weekly to now 80 households), check-in-callers, generous donors, […]

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 […]

Education

Get Ready to Mark Your Ballot: Voting options for Election 2020 in Malden

By Will Sullivan  During the past few months, service cuts at the U.S. Postal Service have raised concerns about the potential for delays in the mail-in voting process. But as the second Massachusetts election during the COVID-19 pandemic approaches, Malden City Clerk Greg Lucey wants voters to know that voting by mail is still a good option while the virus remains a public health issue. “It’s a very safe way to vote,” said Lucey. With COVID-19 cases on the rise in Massachusetts, mail-in voting “is probably the way to go,” he said.  For those concerned about their ballot reaching City Hall via mail in time to be counted, the city has two drop-off boxes for mail-in ballots. As long as voters drop off their ballots by 8 p.m. on Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 3), their votes will be counted. Both boxes can be accessed at any time. One is in front of Malden City Hall, at 215 Pleasant St. The second, which will be installed this week, is in front of the Malden Police Station, at 800 Eastern […]

Arts

Seeking a sweet escape: Reading through the pandemic

By Sandra G. Ndengue All the media  — even TV comedy shows – were focusing on the pandemic. I needed a respite from fear and panic. So I opted for a sweet escape: reading, done at convenience via select outlets. Reading has always been a place for discovery, exploration, and travel. It’s like being in a time capsule, anywhere. My usual reads are nonfiction, autobiographies and memoirs — books that  help me understand and navigate someone else’s life experiences, living in their truth and finding a deeper connection. But during the pandemic, my reads were mostly fiction, focusing on African authors around  the globe and exploring culture in their respective world and how their origins and perspective affect society and how they developed as persons. With the lockdown, lots of people have found solace in reading.  “Before the pandemic more people borrowed non fiction and  memoirs but now people seem to fall back to fiction, fantasy and classics,” said Dora St. Martin, Executive Director of the Malden Public Library. Shaneuik, a 37-year-old nurse at a Boston Hospital, mom of two and former Malden […]

Education

MaldenCORE conversation series

MaldenCORE will hold a series of 4th Wednesday Conversations beginning Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 6:45 pm with a presentation by Daniel StrongWalker Thomas, Traditional Chief of the Delaware Nation (Anadarko Okla.), Lenape People, and a descendant of the Oneida People (of Green Bay,Wisc).  The topic for discussion will be Indigenous social justice issues. Due to the pandemic, the conversation series is online. Thomas serves as the President of the Board of Directors and Chief Servant Leader of Global Initiative for Indigenous Advancement, Inc. (GIIA).  As Keeper of Fire for GIAA, he believes that the concentration on the four pillars of social, health, education, and economic status will help generate the overall wellbeing of Indigenous People worldwide.  When he attended Salem State University he was awarded the Charlotte Forten Distinguished Scholar Award and was a member of the honors society. MaldenCORE, Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity, hosts 4th Wednesday Conversations, community gatherings for community members, to learn about and confront systemic racism. Speakers introduce topics and then participants break into fall groups to share personal […]

Education

Malden Census Committee strives for a Complete Count!

By MaryLouise Torres  A volunteer census committee in Malden is rushing to beat the Sept. 30 deadline to ensure every resident is counted for the 2020 U.S. Census.  The Malden Census Complete Count Committee, composed of city officials, city employees, community leaders, and residents, has been taking actions ranging from holding meetings to distributing flyers to hanging banners. The committee, chaired by Kathleen Manning Hall, Administrative Officer with the Mayor’s Office, and Alex Pratt, Community Development Director at the Malden Redevelopment Authority, was stymied by restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the committee reconvened on Aug. 11 and is back to work.  “This is probably one of the craziest years I can remember in my entire life,” Manning Hall said. “Malden has done OK up to this point, but we need to do better.” In July, only about 59.7 percent of Malden residents had responded to the census – that rate was 5.2 points behind the 2010 rate.  But by Aug. 18, committee members excitedly reported that the response rate had jumped significantly in just the last […]

Featured

Malden Reads mulls book selection for 2021

By Heather Barry Earlier this summer, as the Malden Reads steering committee began its book selection process for 2021, it faced a season and mood in the community and country very different from its previous ten years. On top of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has been wracked with a coming to terms of 400 years of systemic racism, sparked by the murder of George Floyd, and brought to life by protestors from coast to coast.  These important and ongoing events informed the discussions of this year’s books. Once the book is selected, Malden Reads will invite the community of Malden to read the book and participate in a series of events related to the book’s themes. “At the end of the day, we want to point people toward a quality book with an important story that needs to be heard,” said Steering Committee member Martha Bezzat. “This particular year, we were open to themes about the ongoing crisis of racism, the trauma of the global pandemic, and resilience in communities.” She added, “The journey to […]