The new fire station is becoming a reality

The new fire station

is becoming a reality

With the recent announcement that the bids are out for the new Winthrop fire station that will be built on the site of the former Winthrop Middle School (which originally was the site of the first Winthrop High School), the construction of the long-overdue fire station finally is coming into clear focus.

The construction of new public facilities in Winthrop almost always has been a long and tortuous process and the new fire station — which will replace the current fire stations that both are well over 100 years old — proved to be no exception during the decades of debate.

The stately E.B. Newton school building on Pauline St. proved to be controversial as the town entered the 20th century, and became a reality thanks to the drive of School Committeeman E.B. Newton, whose name graces the facility today.

The present Town Hall (which is approaching 100 years old) was more than 30 years in the making from the time that town officials realized that the original town hall was obsolete for the town’s exponential population growth even before the turn of the 20th century.

The site of that first town hall became the U.S. Post Office building and now serves as our police station, which replaced the former obsolete and unsafe police station that had been in the basement of Town Hall. A new police station also had been a topic of discussion for decades until the Board of Selectmen, led by the legendary Marie Turner, used funding from the MWRA to convert it into the present police facility in the early 1990s.

The former “new” Winthrop High School, the site of the current middle/high school, likewise had been a much-debated issue in our town for many years. It faced severe opposition until a group of parents led by John L. “Jack” Murphy Jr. (who would go on to become a Superior Court judge appointed by Gov. Edward King) worked tirelessly to bring about its construction in 1966.

The town’s present elementary schools similarly faced fierce opposition on a number of fronts in the late 1990s until a coalition led by former teacher and principal Arthur “Arky” Cummings (for whom the school on Hemon St. is named) pushed the projects over the finish line.

And last but not least, the present Town Garage facility also was decades in the making until the longstanding efforts of former selectman Richard “Dick” Dimes finally persuaded townspeople to provide a proper town garage facility to replace the former town garage that leaked like a sieve and was too small for modern-day equipment.

The only new building that went through smoothly was the present Winthrop Middle High School thanks to the efforts of a huge coalition of parents and town officials who made the undeniable case for replacement of the aging former middle and high schools.

So for those of us who have called Winthrop our home for many years, the arrival of the new fire station — which will replace the outdated facilities that rank among the oldest in the state — is a welcome addition to our community. It serves as a sign that Winthrop is moving forward into the middle of the 21st century.

Our Sox are on fire!

With all of the excitement of the World Cup, the Tall Ships, and the Revere Beach Sand Castle Festival in the rearview mirror, we were ready to settle in for a relatively-nonchalant second half of the summer season.

With the Red Sox hopelessly wallowing in the mire of mediocrity (if that), even the Sox’ front office seemed to have a, “Wait ‘til next year,” mindset, ready to trade away some top players by the July 31 trade deadline.

But just when everyone was ready to give up on the 2026 season, the unexpected happened — the Sox caught fire. A four-game sweep of the Yankees in late June was satisfying (because it was the Yankees), but at the time we could hardly have imagined that it would provide the spark that would jump-start the Sox into playoff contention.

Those of us who had written off the Sox in 2026 now are jumping on the bandwagon after the Sox’ historic 15-game winning streak, which included sweeps of the AL Central-leading White Sox and the AL East-leading Rays, a skein that has propelled the Red Sox into the second spot in the Wild Card race.

What has been most impressive about the Sox’ success is that they have accomplished it without the two players — ace pitcher Garrett Crochet and young slugger Roman Anthony — who were seen in the pre-season as essential to their hopes for reaching the playoffs.

The 15-game streak equals the legendary 1946 team for the longest in Red Sox history. And for those of us who are long-time Sox fans (though not quite old enough to have been around in 1946!), the recent streak recalls the 10-game streak of the 1967 Impossible Dream team and the 12-game streak that was known as “Morgan Magic” in 1988.

All three of those teams achieved great success, winning the pennants in 1946 and 1967 and the division in 1988, though they all fell short of a World Series championship.

So whether history will repeat itself in 2026 — or whether this streak was just a mid-season fluke — remains to be seen. But at least the streak has given us hope that this young Sox squad will remain in contention throughout the rest of the summer and has given us a reason to take a peek at the sports pages every day.