Merrimack Valley Magazine

Little Bits Meets Eight Great! Christmas Edition

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Through the years, mvm has published a Christmas edition of Little Bits in which we take a look back at fun and interesting bits of lore from our region’s past. Here’s some highlights. Take a moment to take a trip down memory lane and reflect on the world that was.

ONE: A Christmas Boxing Tradition
In the early 1900s, unmarried mill workers became holiday orphans when Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled around. Lodgings for single men didn’t supply holiday meals, and restaurants were closed, forcing the workers to turn to the one place they would be guaranteed a cheerful spread: the local bar. Here, Christmas loners could dine with like-minded company and escape the seclusion of their rooming houses. After their meals, men from our local mill cities attended Christmas boxing matches. A rare occurrence in fistic annals, Christmas Day boxing was popular in Lawrence, Lowell, Haverhill and Nashua, N.H.

TWO: The First Christmas Tree in Andover
We owe our traditional Christmas tree to Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of the anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Stowe may have stunned her neighbors in 1854 when she invited them to her cheerfully decorated Andover home for a gala Christmas party with a Christmas tree and humorous gifts for guests.

Christmas trees were almost unheard of in America at that time. Stowe, however, was a world traveler and an avid reader who had likely seen or read about the German Christmas tradition of lighting candles and placing them on the branches of a small tree set inside the house. 

 

THREE: Oh Christmas Stack, Oh Christmas Stack
While you might not think of mill edifices as festive, a pair of local companies prove that even smokestacks can become symbols of light and hope.

Lowell’s Wannalancit Mills is currently co-owned by UMass Lowell and Farley White Interests, the latter of which decided in 2000 to offer the city a Christmas present. That year, Boston Chimney & Tower Co. transformed a refurbished smokestack into a 256-foot Christmas tree by stretching 5,440 green lightbulbs over 32 cables anchored to a ring at the base that measures 102 feet in diameter. The “tree” is topped with a 19-foot star.

FOUR: All Sports Is Local
Before television, area football games featuring well-established rivals, such as the annual Thanksgiving matchup between Lowell and Lawrence high schools, were always sold out. 

At these games, top colleges sent scouts to our cities to recruit much needed muscle. Each city high school developed close relationships with select colleges and, for a time, the top scholar-athletes from Lawrence attended Columbia, while Lowell’s best went to Harvard.

FIVE: Ymittos Candle Company
Ymittos Candle Manufacturing Co., named after a suburb of Athens, Greece, employs a small group of Old World-style candle artisans who handcraft their waxy wares behind the brick walls of their storefront on Dutton Street in Lowell. Ymittos provided candles for nearly all of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, as well as “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.”

SIX: Christmas at Sea
The Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport is home to a rich collection of historic artifacts, including logs kept by ship captains, captains’ wives and their children. Some of the most treasured log entries describe Christmas at sea. 

In one example, Charles Brown, son of the captain of the “Agate,” was bound for Shanghai on Dec. 25, 1876, when he wrote: “Today is Christmas, to all outward appearances the same as any day to us, but we all seem to think of the past on such days as these. They are the milestones of our existence, and better thoughts and feelings animate us today than commonly. ‘Peace on Earth, good will toward men’ has the same signification to us as to others who are in a position more to be enjoyed.” 

SEVEN: Nathaniel Currier
It might be the carol “Sleigh Ride” that reminds us of the famed prints and engravings created by Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives — famously known as Currier & Ives. Their images of horses, landscapes, historic scenes and, most memorably, winter “stories,” have a special place in our hearts, especially during the holiday season. Many Currier & Ives images were inspired by Currier’s time in Amesbury, where he kept a vacation home on Lions Mouth Road. 

EIGHT: The Disappearance and Re-creation of Haverhill’s Christmas Bell
From 1949 to the early 1980s, the arrival of a huge Christmas bell was a signal to Haverhill’s citizens that the holiday season had begun. The bell hung above the plaza in Washington Square. Built by a metal fabrication instructor at Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School, it featured a horn speaker inside that produced ringing sounds. The fate of that original bell remains unknown. Various Haverhill residents who were around when it disappeared cite wildly different stories: that it fell off the truck on its way to Washington Square and shattered; that it was stored at Winnekenni Castle and was stolen from there; and even that it had been taken and buried in someone’s driveway in Pelham, N.H.

We may never know for sure what happened to the old bell, but thanks to the hard work of some dedicated community members, and with the help of his students, current Whittier metal fabrication instructor Stephen Palmer created a new bell that made its debut at the annual Lorraine Post 29 VFW Santa Parade downtown. Due to changes in building and safety codes, the bell could no longer be hung at its old location over Washington Square, so a new home was found suspended above Washington Street between Casa Blanca Mexican Restaurant and the now-defunct Haverhill Music Centre.    

Generations – It’s All in the Name

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Tradition Meets Innovation at PrideCraft

When Sebastian “Ned” DiSalvo was laid off from his aerospace job in 1969, he switched careers and went into the cabinetmaking business with his brother. Ned founded PrideCraft Fine Cabinetry & Millwork in North Andover. Starting with reproductions of early American furniture, they built custom cabinetry for locals and designed creative products for the American Express Catalog such as wooden mannequins that could be transformed into side tables and coat racks.

Ned’s sons, Paul and John DiSalvo, have since taken over PrideCraft. The brothers remember well how their father did his work because they were by his side from an early age. “They were sanding tables once they were old enough to hold a sander,” says Paul’s wife — and PrideCraft’s director of marketing — Bonnie Silveria. “He’d come in with reveille to get us up,” says John, “We wanted to go play baseball, but in hindsight, what he did for us was a blessing, because it gave us our strong work ethic.”

 

Ned’s work ethic was of the good old do-it-by-hand variety. The brothers remember the arduous nature of drilling hole after hole even as they now benefit from advanced automated techniques. Their dad was a self-sufficient, inventive craftsman and even designed his own custom tools. However, when his sons became proficient with computers and high-tech machinery, John says, “That’s when he said ‘OK, I’m done. You guys are in a different world than what I was working in.’”

In 1987, Ned relinquished his PrideCraft duties to Paul and John. The brothers agree that they couldn’t have stayed in business without evolving, but they maintain their dedication to the principles of their father’s traditional carpentry. They’ve even followed in his footsteps, inventing their own tools and jigs, and their old-fashioned hand craftsmanship remains essential to much of their custom cabinetry and millwork. 

Left is a recent kitchen designed by PrideCraft using Wellborn cabinets in a timeless transitional Shaker style featuring a simplistic door style painted with a warm oyster white paint. The island is also made with Wellborn cabinets in hickory wood and finished in a driftwood stain that enhances the rustic light and dark color variation of the wood. The countertops are white quartz with varying gray veining to bring the look together. Builder: Mark Ratte Construction. Interior Designer: David Cyr.

In the shop, Paul and John benefit from their complementary skill sets. Both have keen aesthetic eyes, says Bonnie, but John spends more time designing on the computer, while Paul focuses on crafting. “We can put our heads together,” says John, “get a little bit more creative, and figure out how to get things done more easily.” 

Outside of the shop, they find satisfaction in working with homeowners on custom projects. The pair start with a general set of questions, but adapt readily, especially if clients have specialized needs or face physical challenges. And they enjoy the rapport they build with people. “There’s definitely a bond that happens,” says John. In light of this desire to serve their clients’ varied needs, PrideCraft also offers semi-custom cabinetry by Wellborn, a budget-friendly option, from another multigenerational, family-owned company located in Alabama. 

The work isn’t all cabinets and millwork, though. The brothers had a twenty-year working relationship with Boston Symphony Orchestra percussionist Neil Grover for whom they made percussion blocks. You’ve heard his music on the soundtrack of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” And one day in 1993, the DiSalvo brothers noticed a chair on TV they had produced in the component parts side of their business — Judge Ito was sitting in it while presiding over the O.J. Simpson trial. 

In Ned’s retirement years, he would often come into the shop to see what was going on. “Sometimes he’d shake his head and walk out,” says Paul with a chuckle. But many times, the sons would consult their dad about a problem that needed teasing out. As Paul says of his late father, “He would go home and come back the next day with an idea for us.”    

PrideCraft Fine Cabinetry & Millwork
North Andover, Mass.
(978) 685-2831
PrideCraftInc.com

North Meets South

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Add A Little Southern Charm to Your New England Wedding

Weddings are all about traditions. New England is a charming region with a long history of traditions, but the South has some great customs, too. Whether you’re a New England native looking for something different, or a transplant with Southern roots, here are some subtle ways to add a little Southern charm to your Northern wedding. 

Southerners are all about hospitality, and it shows in their weddings. Welcome baskets for out-of-town guests are a must in the South. These often include items that the bride and groom are fond of, or specialties from their hometowns. “It’s the whole idea of Southern hospitality and making your guests feel welcome,” says Nicole Speake, co-owner of the Chicago-based custom invitation and event branding company, Nico and Lala. “And showing your guests something about your family,” adds Lauren Staley, the other owner. 

Have the welcome baskets waiting for your guests at the front desk of their hotel. Include an itinerary for the weekend, a list of your favorite restaurants, shops and sights so they know how to stay entertained during downtime, and be sure to add some local goodies. Guests will feel like they are a special part of your wedding before the weekend begins. 

Linens and napkins might be a small detail at a wedding, but they play a big role in the mind of a Southern bride. Chattanooga, Tenn.-based event planner Dori Thornton Waller, owner of The Social Office, says white linen hemstitch napkins are a must-have for her most traditional Southern brides. They are basic, elegant and traditional, and a beautiful addition to any reception. Many brides have monogrammed dinner and cocktail napkins, and some even use the groom’s family crest. “[One client] had their family crest embroidered on napkins for her son’s rehearsal dinner on Nantucket,” Waller says, “as a way to bring Southern tradition up north.” 

 

 

Top of pagee: Many brides have begun to lean toward the vintage, Southern feel of outdoor farm weddings. Mason jars are a Southern staple that have made their way into weddings across the country, while cowboy boots add a Southern flare to any wedding outfit, including bridesmaid and flower girl dresses and even bridal gowns. Photos by Patricia Takacs / Kivalo Wedding Photography.

Southern cuisine is making its way onto menus across the country, weddings included. Steve Beauvais of Artisan Chef Catering Co. ( formerly Two Chefs Are Better Than One Catering ), has created several Southern menu items for weddings. “We’ve done Southern stations on a multi-station menu, and for a lot of outdoor summer weddings, we’ve done barbecue stations,” Beauvais says. 

Louisiana fare, such as Cajun spiced shrimp, jambalaya and homemade beignets, is always a favorite. “We had a bride who had to have hush puppies similar to some she had just had at a restaurant down south,” Beauvais says. Whether your main dish is fried chicken, or you simply serve cornbread instead of rolls, Southern food can add a fun element to your menu. 

While most Northern brides lean toward seated dinners, Southern brides prefer buffet-style meals that can be eaten sitting, standing or someplace in between. If you’re set on a seated dinner, you can change things up with the cake. “Instead of a seated course, I love to cut the cake and pass it out Southern-style in the lounge,” says Tara Guérard, a wedding planner with offices in Charleston, S.C., and New York City who has planned weddings on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. 

Speaking of cake, another Southern tradition is the groom’s cake. Nina Fisichelli Gaffney, owner of Fisichelli’s Pastry Shop in Lawrence, says she doesn’t make as many groom’s cakes as she used to. “There was a time when everyone was asking for groom’s cakes,” Gaffney says. In the South, groom’s cakes are a given, and they are displayed almost as prominently as the main wedding cake. A groom’s cake is a great way to be creative and let the groom in on the decision making (because, let’s be honest, he doesn’t have much say about anything else). The cake is usually a flavor the groom likes, caramel cake being a favorite in the South, and often showcases a groom’s favorite hobby or sports team. One Tennessee couple’s groom’s cake was an exact replica of a Jack Daniel’s bottle, says Guérard.

If you’re a bourbon fan, there are plenty of other interesting ways to include it in the wedding festivities. One Southern bride had a bacon and bourbon bar, with a choice of top-notch bourbons, and instead of the usual stirring stick or straw, guests could grab a piece of bacon (or two) to accompany the cocktail. 

Guérard’s favorite Southern tradition is definitely worth trying. Southern folklore says that burying a bottle of bourbon at the wedding site the month before your wedding will ensure that it doesn’t rain on your big day. “I had a client make me do it,” she says, “and sure enough, it didn’t rain!”                 

Artisan Chef Catering Co.
( formerly Two Chefs Are Better Than One Catering )
Lowell, Mass.
(978) 970-0212
ArtisanCateringCo.com

Fisichelli’s Pastry Shop
Lawrence, Mass.
(978) 682-7774
Fisichellis.com

 

Waiting For Janus

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It’s been years since I celebrated New Year’s Eve. When Rob and I were younger, friends often threw elaborate parties. We’d get dressed up, drop off Madelaine at my mom’s house, and dance the night away until well after the ball dropped in Times Square. 

As our friends had kids, got married, divorced, or discovered less hangover-inducing ways to celebrate the arrival of the New Year, the parties eventually stopped, and Rob and I began spending the night at home. I’ve never really minded it. Although I sometimes miss going to parties, there’s a lot to be said for sipping Champagne in your pajamas.

Last New Year’s Eve, I spent most of the night helping Madelaine edit the essay she wrote for her graduate school application, which was due the next day. We went to bed hours before the clock struck midnight.

Although it started off pretty well, 2020 turned out to be the worst year in most people’s memory. And while there have been occasional bright spots, I count myself among them. 

In addition to being isolated from our loved ones for months on end, being furloughed from my job for more than half the year, and Madelaine having to forgo her college graduation, all three of us came down with COVID-19 in June. In August, Madelaine’s graduate program adopted an online-only format, preventing her from getting the in-person student teaching experience she needs. Then, in September, my mother died. Perhaps worst of all, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from seeing her for most of the last five months of her life.

 

Even though no one can host a party this year, I’ve already decided that I’m celebrating New Year’s Eve. Hoping to solidify my bet that 2021 will be an improvement over 2020, I did some research to find out what people from different cultures have done on New Year’s to ensure good fortune. 

In Brazil, it’s bad luck to eat chicken on New Year’s Eve because chickens scratch backward, and going backward is, of course, not what anyone wants to do in a new year, especially not now. Instead, Brazilians eat foods that move forward, like fish, hoping that doing so will help them move forward as well.

In Turkey, red is the color of health, so it’s traditional to wear red underwear on New Year’s Eve, or give red underwear as a gift to someone you care about. It’s also a good idea in Turkey to wear new clothes on New Year’s Eve, preferably items you haven’t worn before, as this will help to ensure new beginnings in the year to come.

One of the most satisfying-sounding New Year’s Eve traditions I found comes from Armenia. At the stroke of midnight, Armenians throw a pomegranate onto the floor as hard as they can to open it. The more pieces the fruit breaks into and the farther the seeds spread across the room, the better luck the new year will bring.

The Roman god Janus, for whom the month of January is named, has two faces, one looking forward into the future and the other facing backward, its eyes on the past. Janus is the god of gates and doors, the guardian of time who presides over every beginning, ending and transition. He rules the gray areas between darkness and light, life and death, good fortune and bad. Janus was especially important to the Romans at weddings, births, funerals and at times of hoped-for change, such as during war, outbreaks of disease, and on New Year’s Day.

The Romans believed the beginning of anything had the potential to be a harbinger of its future, making the first day of the first month of the year especially critical. On New Year’s Day, it was imperative to be helpful and friendly to your neighbors, especially those you might have had disagreements with in the past year. People exchanged treats made with honey to ensure sweetness in the months to come, as well as coins bearing Janus’ two faces. The latter was a reminder, I think, that no matter what we do, it’s he who will always have the last word.

I’ve got our salmon dinner planned, a new outfit (complete with red knickers) washed and ironed, and I’m ready to throw the biggest pomegranate I could find. All I need to do now is wait for Janus. I’m counting down the days.  

Living Madly – 9 Reasons I Love Thanksgiving

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Ever since my freshman year of high school, when I finally got over my Halloween obsession, Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday. I never thought about why until a friend recently asked, “What’s so great about Thanksgiving? It’s just a day when everyone eats a bunch of unhealthy food.” This point of view prompted a desire to come to Thanksgiving’s defense, because, for me, the day is so much more than an excuse to load up on carbs. So, here are nine reasons I think the fourth Thursday in November is worth getting excited about.

America — Thanksgiving is the most American of holidays. Everyone can celebrate it regardless of religion, ethnicity or race. President Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday in 1863, during the Civil War, as way to bring the country together. Today it represents some of what’s best about America, things that have historically made the United States a place where immigrants long to come and for which soldiers are willing to die. Things like being grateful for the fruits of our labors, charity toward the less fortunate, respect for tradition, and a willingness to set aside our differences and love one another.

Cooking Shows — The only thing better than watching a good cooking show on a lazy Saturday afternoon is watching a good Thanksgiving cooking show on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I’m not afraid to admit that I learned how to carve a turkey by paying close attention to Wolfgang Puck’s typically Austrian, highly detailed instructions on some show or another. And don’t even get me started about Martha Stewart or Jacques Pépin. Just thinking about them makes me want to start making piecrusts.

Decorating — I love fall decorations. As a kid, one of my favorite elementary school holiday assignments was being asked to color a Thanksgiving horn of plenty. Today, often as early as mid-October, I can be found at local farm stands hunting down various types of gourds, pumpkins and dried Indian corn to decorate my Thanksgiving table.

 

Family & Friends — Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays to spend time with people we don’t see very often, because there’s nothing to do but sit around and eat and drink and talk. I also like that I get to spend extra time with people I see often but don’t get to talk to as much as I’d like.

Movies — Each year we watch two Thanksgiving-themed movies during the week before the holiday: John Hughes’ heartwarming and hilarious 1987 film, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” starring Steve Martin and the late John Candy, and, perhaps one of my favorite movies of all time, Jodie Foster’s 1995 masterpiece, “Home For the Holidays,” starring Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr.

Music — My favorite hymn is “Old Hundredth,” named after the 100th Psalm. I love it so much, in fact, that my husband gave me the framed sheet music as a Christmas gift one year. Some historians believe this hymn was sung by the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving in 1621, so you hear it often at Thanksgiving church services. I grew up singing it, and there are few things that make me feel as thankful as having the opportunity to hear it.

November — Crisp mornings; cool, windy afternoons; swirling snow; dramatic gray skies: The drama and mystery of November is something I look forward to each year. Few things are nicer than getting up early on Thanksgiving morning — when the whole world seems enveloped in quiet — and taking an unhurried walk amid the sculpture of bare branches and the swirling of dry leaves.

Traditions — I’ve always loved learning about and participating in the Thanksgiving traditions enjoyed by other families, especially when it comes to food. I’ve eaten Cuban-style turkey in Tampa, Fla., along with Key lime pie instead of apple or pumpkin, and drunk Colonial-style hot cider with rum in Vermont. My friend Annette can’t have Thanksgiving without chocolate pudding pie, and her husband, Jason, still makes the tiny cheeseburgers called “sputniks” that his family served every year as appetizers when he was growing up. The best thing about these varied traditions is that over the years we have incorporated many of them into our own Thanksgiving spread.

Turkey — I’m always surprised when someone tells me they don’t like turkey. I mean, I know vegetarians who make a once-a-year dietary exception so they can eat turkey on Thanksgiving. The wonderful aroma of a roasting turkey, especially if we are hosting, is one of the best things about the holiday. Also: leftovers. We’ve actually been known to cook a second turkey the day after Thanksgiving just so we can have more of them.

 

What do you love about Thanksgiving? Let Emilie know at eprovost@mvmag.net

 

 

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