By Nancy O’Malley
Six months ago I sold my family home and moved to Alachua Florida, a country town close by Gainesville , Florida.. It was a good move prompted by my son, daughter-in-law, grandsons and daughter all being and thriving in the Florida sun..
They had come to this green and piney part of north central Florida years ago to pursue PHDs at The University of Florida and my daughter followed soon after, lured by the warm winters and university job that brought her to the Levin Law Library there. Visting them over the years I had grown to love the gentle rolling hills the big live oak trees canopying so much of the area and the abundance of opportunities for me as a retired teacher. Happily I was able to get involved with a farm for rescued horses and a wonderful no kill dog shelter . Uprooting yourself at the age of 74 is hard, but I was going to a life full of promise , family and passions of mine that could now fully devote my energy to my passions..
This move of course meant that the roots I was pulling up had over fifty years to grow and flourish in the town that I had chosen. I moved to Winthrop when I was beginning my teaching career in Boston Public Schools. I was a young very green English teacher at The Joseph Barnes Middle School in East Boston . A colleague shared her Winthrop apartment with me when I realized it was time to move out of Cambridge- my grad school days were over- and to be closer to my school. Winthrop was a wonderful place an easy commute. And the lure of the ocean on three sides of the small peninsula was a daily treat..
Not long afterwards, as a newlywed with a fragile new baby fresh from the NICU, I came knocking on the door of a stranger who had an apartment for rent . I was hoping that the salt air form the ocean would help our son breathe better.
It did magically and mercifully. That tiny fragile baby boy grew healthy with those salt breezes through his window. I came to relish the sight and smells every morning when I brought him out side to watch the sunrise over outer Boston Harbor Snake island and all of the Boston Harbor Islands that are seen from Winthrop.
Those sunrise moments and the growing love and support from our landlord’s family helped beyond measure when my young marriage was over and my son and I were a family of two. The landlords, Carol and Gerry Demio, and their children Doug and Diane had already embraced us as family – not just tenant. The same love and support was a gift again when I decided to increase our little family by adopting a toddler from El Salvador in 1980 when Matt was five years old. Bringing a child from an orphanage with some health issues could have been very daunting, but with the help of the DeMios ,Elisa Carmen was soon running in the big backyard with our dog and cats racing to catch a seagull before her brother chased them away. We enjoyed our extended family for years and even after I was able to buy a house of our own near the beach , we were part of a caring extended family that is very much alive for us today.
And the blessings in Winthrop continued. For five years when the children were eight and five, my sister Beth who also had fallen in love with Winthrop, came to live with us. That meant more Halloween costumes created for Elisa by her Auntie Beth and many Sunday afternoons playing at the marsh lands or our back yard when the tide was low with the kids and our dog Buffie and her little Georgia Brown. We loved our favorite restaurant, Arigato for all kinds of family celebrations including our most favored – Matt’s birthday and Elisa’s arrival day. Having a live- in aunt is not unique to Winthrop but during that crucial time for me and the kids it made life especially good.
The fact that Winthrop is such a small peninsula means that you can walk to both the marsh lands and the beach then to the center of Town for a good meal in less than an hour . That is a huge bonus for all families. No need for a car ride or a bus ride if you are able. And when the destination is a public beach or public park with a view of the Boston skyline all the more motivation to get there. In Winthrop , the ocean on one side and outer Boston Harbor on the other means that the gift of salt water is ever present.
The strong sense of community means that many are looking out for each other and for the children especially. I remember so many times when as a high school teacher in Boston, I would need to stay late for a department meeting or parent conference. When the kids were young, they were picked up after school by a caring after school provider. Sometimes, I admit I was the last one picking them up due to Boston traffic on Storrow Drive. But they were always well cared for by the teachers and staff. Later as they were older, it was easy and safe for them to simply walk home together or with friends. And always there were teachers and coaches who took the time to reach out with an extra kindness. They made an impact that is their legacy in so many like my children- grown and proud of their hometown legacy of care and commitment.
Both Elisa and Matt have gone on to work in higher education here in Florida. He is a professor and Director of the Taylor Institute for Leadership at the University of North Florida and she is a supervisor of students at the Levin Law Library at the University of Florida. When they reminisce about their days growing up in Winthrop these days, there is always the sense that it was safe , comfortable and caring as a community.
By the time Elisa was in high school and Matt had gone on to college , I felt supported enough as a community member –having served on the Winthrop Housing Authority for some years – to run for School Committee. That rare opportunity to face parents’ questions and concerns as well stand by my beliefs publicly was filled with tough moments but ultimately worth it . I gained the satisfaction of working to strengthen the learning opportunities for all of Winthrop students. For those twelve years of service on the , I shall always be grateful.
From this vantage point 1,400 miles away , I am often awash in images of me , my children , my sister and her family and now my grandkids enjoying the spectacular sometimes gentle beauty that surrounds all in Winthrop. The dirt paths at Kilmartin Park always welcomed my trio of dogs and me to keep on looking for another vantage point where the shore line opened up to views of Boston in the distance. At sunset, Coughlin Park offers a breathtaking view of the Boston skyline often etched in flaming glory .And the feeling of awe when you summit the hill at Deer lsland makes the short hike worth it every time. The island is connected to Winthrop and run by the Mass Water Resources Authority It is at once a beautiful and tragic place , now made into a public area for walking and fishing. It is fraught with the tragic history of Native Americans who died there and two hundred years later, refugees from the Irish Famine. There is solemn recognition of that history in the stone markers and memorial sites that that Winthrop residents helped to create . I recall with pride bringing my students from a graduate class for teachers I taught some years ago to Deer Island to walk to the summit and see the memorials. They were all struck by the beauty and the sight of those hills seeming to stand out in the outer harbor as proud sentinels of some bold dream-however flawed by man…I am so proud of those town members who worked to help create this rare public place to walk to fish and to be witness to history and hold onto to a Promise Not to Forget …
The sign of a good life I believe is having a reserve of rich memories to draw inspiration from…The 53 years I was blessed to live in Winthrop have given me that in abundance. To my friends… enjoy every day in our town. Keep having the wonderful porch parties and backyard festivities that we enjoyed on our beloved Forrest St.. It is so close to the ocean that its gentle undulations were the backdrop to all of our celebrations and was the soundtrack for joyous times of friendship over many good meals for many years..…To my sister Beth, brother in law Doug and niece Polina…keep walking Deer Island and Pico Beach –and please throw out a rock for me during one of the wild ocean storms we love so well.
To all Winthrop residents … Continue to work as so many dedicated folks ,have to keep the open green spaces alive and flourishing .Walk out to see the ocean roaring during storms and calm as silverlight on other days ….The Atlantic never disappoints and since she is so near –deserves your awe every day,, Cherish each sunrise and spectacular sunset…Winthrop by the Sea ,we are grateful. Nancy O’Malley is a former longtime Winthrop resident