Even Milltown Kids Dance
With Brylcream-slicked hair and Mom-pressed shirts, the boys stood against the auditorium wall, as if they were about to be shot by a firing squad. In a metaphorical way, they were. Soldiers each, they were about to embark on the most damnable mission of their young lives…crossing the auditorium’s wide oak floor, to ask one…
Our Mill Town Jobs Helped Make Us Who We Became
“Colleen, we’re taking you off the floor and putting you into screen-printing,” said my shift supervisor at Oresman Bros. Factory, on Pulaski St., in the Crompton section of town. He apparently had great faith in my ability. I didn’t know screen-printing was a skilled position. He introduced me to Tom, the taciturn man in charge…
A West Warwick Native Walks Back into Her Childhood
‘The Principal’s Daughter’ As Guest-Speaker, I Don’t Plan on ‘Pulling a Larry Wilmore’… You know—the alleged comedian of “The Nightly Show” fame who some say ‘bombed’ at the 2016 White house Press Conference Dinner, as he skewered several, with the result an audible groan —or worse yet for ANY comedian—no response– came up from…
To Me, Poles Are ‘Fancy People’
Walking Back into My Childhood In preparation for the PBS, “Our Town” focus on West Warwick, to be aired in the fall, West Warwick native and author, Colleen Kelly Mellor, writes of her memories of childhood, growing up in this town, in the 40’s through early 60’s… To Me, Poles Are ‘Fancy People’ From the…
My Personal Invitation to You
My stories are ones that will echo your own memories—all the more if you were raised in a milltown in Rhode Island. If you weren’t one of those fortunate ones (I say with a wink), perhaps my stories will reflect your experiences of being raised in the 40’s through early 60’s. This past Saturday,…
Father Augustine F. Burns
In the 50‘s and 60’s, parish priests held powerful sway. And none was more powerful than St. Mary’s Pastor—Father Augustine F. Burns. Rotund and rubicund, with a bulbous nose, Father took to the pulpit, each Sunday, to pound the lectern, enjoining parishioners to ‘give more’ to the church, suggesting their souls might be at risk….
