PHOTO CREDITS: Courtesy of the mayor’s office

PHOTO 1 CAPTION: Mayor Menino (first row, second from left) and Bill Russell (first row, fifth from left) with members of the mentoring programs at Charlestown and Lawrence high schools.

PHOTO 2 CAPTION: Mayor Menino and Bill Russell.

One day before Bill Russell appeared at Fenway Park last Thursday to honor his former Celtics coach, Red Auerbach, the 73-year-old NBA Hall of Famer told students at Charlestown High School gym how his high school basketball acted as a his mentor on and off the court.
On the day after Russell was cut from the junior varsity team during his junior year in high school, the varsity coach approached him and invited him to join his team. Following Russell’s first day of practice, his coach brought him to the Boys Club, where he paid $2 for Russell’s annual membership fee out of his own pocket. From that day on, Russell played basketball five hours a day, seven days a week, and as any sports enthusiast can tell you, his determination paid off.
“If it was not for [my coach] at that unique place and time, I would not be standing here today,” Russell told that the approximately 50 youth at the high school last Thursday.
One of the first African-American players to achieve stardom in the NBA and widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive players in the history of the game, 6-foot, 10-inch Russell was a five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 12-time All-Star who helped the Celtics win a record 11 NBA Championships in 13 years. He led the league in rebounds four times and tallied 21,620 total rebounds during his professional career. Besides his legendary rival on the court, Wilt Chamberlain, Russell is the only NBA player to make more than 50 rebounds during a single game. He also scored 14,522 points during his professional career and won a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics as captain of the U.S. national basketball team.
Russell became the first African-American coach in any major American professional sports league when he enjoyed a three-year stint as a player-coach for the Celtics between 1966 and 1969. Following Russell’s retirement in 1969, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
On April 11, Russell, who has served on the board of MENTOR/National Mentoring partnership for the past decade, joined Mayor Thomas M. Menino and David Shapiro, CEO and president and Mass mentoring Partnership, to tout the benefits of mentoring. Also on hand was Derrel Weathers, an 18-year-old Charlestown High School senior and Mattapan resident who went from failiing nearly every class to making the honor roll after becoming involved in a mentoring program. Participants from BOUNCE and Beyond Hoops, the basketball-focused mentoring programs at Charlestown High School and Lawrence High School respectively, and their coaches also turned out for the event.
Mayor Menino readily admitted that he still relies on a mentor today when faced with difficult decisions. “I look at it as a helping hand in the very complex world we live in,” he said.
And while the day clearly belonged to Russell, it was unclear whether some of the NBA hopefuls in attendance fully grasped the magnitude of his presence. For Russell, however, the occasion wasn’t about him, but rather the kids.
In closing, Russell passed along the wisdom that his high school basketball coach imparted to him.
“To be a man is to be kind,” Russell said. “Every act of kindness is an act of strength.”

CAPTION: Pat Simpson and Peggy Carolan.

The MGH Charlestown HealthCare Center is taking several new steps to help educate residents about the town’s emergency preparedness plan that it launched last summer.
In the fall, Peggy Carolan, the administrative director of the MGH Charlestown, and Pat Simpson, who serves as the administrative assistant and community outreach coordinator for the program, began contacting churches in the hope of getting the word out about the program to parishioners. Fr. Daniel Mahoney of St. Francis de Sales Church and Rev. Gareth Evans of St. John’s Episcopal Church were instrumental in reaching out to the other churches, which have all agreed to mention the plan in their bulletins. Church leaders will also send a separate letter to parishioners outlining the plan.
An effort is also underway at the Warren-Prescott School to educate students about the importance of having an emergency family plan in place. Beginning with the kindergarten class, each grade will be taught the necessary steps to take in preparation for an emergency (e.g. compiling a list of emergency contact numbers). The hope is, Carolan said, that by educating the children, it will also help to raise parents’ awareness of the program.
“We’re trying to have opportunities in the community where we can go and educate people,” Carolan said.
One aspect of this education is informing residents about is the File of Life, a magnetic booklet that can be attached to a refrigerator and contains pertinent personal information such as medical conditions and prescribed medications. (A smaller booklet is also available that can be carried in a handbag). Simpson said since EMS officially distributes the booklets, it is the first thing they look for when responding to a medical emergency. So far, the booklets were distributed to residents of the Golden Age Center and at the Anointing of the Sick Mass that took place at St. John’s Church in February.
Carolan and Simpson are also working to teach residents how to assemble their own “go-to kit” that contains emergency supplies, including two flashlights, a transistor radio and a basic first aid kit. As part of this effort, they will distribute a pamphlet with instructions for putting together a kit at MGH Charlestown’s Women’s night Out event at the Shrafft Center on May 31 and also next month at a booth at Johnnie’s Foodmater that provides residents with information about the pandemic flu.
Since Charlestown has high populations of children, seniors and individuals with special needs, Carolan also hopes to encourage residents to be watchful of their neighbors in the case of an emergency. “Charlestown is a small enough neighborhood where we want to encourage neighbors to help neighbors,” she said,
Carolan added that while the program doesn’t intend to alarm residents, she want them to be prepared for hurricanes, snowstorms, power outages and other possible scenarios.
“It’s just to educate people and keep them safe,” she said.

CAPTION: Pat Farris (center) is seen with her great-grandson Patrick Farris (at left) and son James Farris.

A slight woman in her 80s with a mane of curly white hair, Charlestown native Pat Farris might seem like an unlikely hero, but her family tells a different story.
“She’s been there for every one of us, no matter what,” said Pat’s son, James Farris, adding that Pat could always be counted on to take in a friend or relative in need. “If I didn’t know better I would say she was a saint. People bow down and genuflect when she walks by.”
Born on April 10, 1923, Farris grew up on Putnam Street and attended St. Mary’s School and Charlestown High School. She held several jobs after graduating high school, including stints working for the National Youth Association, the City of Boston’s licensing department and the Shrafft Candy Factory. Farris even worked as an electrician’s apprentice in the Navy Yard.
“All I can remember [from this time] were the hot, hot days because of the heat on the metal decks,” Farris said of this experience. “I never sweated so much in my entire life.”
In 1943, at the height of World War II, Farris enlisted in WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and was stationed at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida. Farris clearly remembers taking her first plane with a Marine pilot from Dorchester during this time. “When we landed, I knelt down and kissed the ground. I was petrified,” she said. Farris’ service ended in 1944, just as many of here colleagues were being transferred to a Hawaiian naval base.
During WWII, Pat’s future husband and hometown sweetheart. Miles E. “Buddy” Farris was a member of the 182nd Americal He served in Guadalcanal, the Fiji Islands and, under General George S. Patton, in Europe. Two weeks prior to being sent home from Europe, Buddy sustained an injury that eventually earned him the Purple Heart.
Buddy married Pat in Jacksonville on Jan. 10, 1945 and again at a small ceremony at the rectory at St. Mary’s Church in Charlestown on Feb. 18, 1946. The couple settled in a cold-water flat on Henley Street and eventually had five children — James, Buddy, Danny, Mike and Jay (now deceased).
On Christmas Eve 1960, a fire broke out in their home that Farris said “burnt everything to a crisp but the Christmas tree.” The family then relocated to the Bunker Hill housing development, which Farris fondly recalls as a place filled with friendly neighbors and where violence was practically unheard of. Her son, Jame, said Pat was something of a neighborhood matriarch who was commonly referred to as “Ma” by local children.
After Buddy injured his back while working as a longshoreman in 1964, Pat became the family’s sole breadwinner, working as a waitress at a Hayes Square diner during the day and cleaning buildings in downtown Boston at night.
Tragedy befell the family when Buddy died of tuberculosis in 1969, but, as always, Farris and her family persevered. She also survived two bouts with cancer — first with cervical cancer in the ‘60s, then lung cancer about 10 years ago. Throughout it all, Pat has maintained a positive outlook. “I never had an awfully hard time,” she said.
Despite being left with the task of raising her five sons alone, Farris always found time to volunteer with numerous organizations, including the Honor Society of Women Legioneers and the long-defunct Bunker Hill Irish Heritage. She is the past chief commander of American Legion, Bunker Hill Post 26 and, last year, was named was one of the first female board members of Green Street veterans organization Memorial Hall, along with President of the Gold Star Mothers of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Florence Johnson. Also for the past few years, Farris has served as an associate of the USS Constitution Museum.
In 1991, Farris was honored for her many contributions to the community when she was named Chief Marshall of the Battle of Bunker Hill Day Parade. Though she was honored by the distinction, Farris said the soldiers who had just returned from the Gulf War were the true heroes that day. “Everyone came to see the boys, not me,” she said.
Today, Farris lives on Main Street next door to the Golden Age Center, where she works on election days. She enjoys spending time with her children, 15 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. And in spite all that she’s accomplished, Farris remains modest.
“I was never one for an exciting life,” she said.

As a board member of the Charlestown Boys & Girls Club, Alexis Finneran wants to give something back to the institution that provided her with so much during her childhood and adolescence.
Finneranan, who first visited the Club at age 6, can barely remember a single day growing up when it wasn’t a part of her life. Besides participated in countless activities at the Club including the swim team, dance classes, talent shows, cooking classes, ski trips, beach trips and the Torch Club and its community outreach efforts, she also landed her first after-school job there as a lifeguard while still in high school. The College Club at the Club’s Teen Center also assisted her with essay preparation and in making college choices.
Next week, Finneran and her fellow board members are taking the opportunity to highlight the positive influence that the institution town continues to have on the community at the Club’s first-ever “Evening for Friends & Alumni.” While the evening’s activities include a wine testing, comedy showcase, dancing and a Las Vegas Night, the hope is that the event will not only serve to benefit the Club, but also to raise awareness of its many offerings for local youth.
“[The event] will be a fun opportunity for community members and past Club members to get together and enjoy the Club like our members do on a daily basis,” said Jenny Atkinson, the Club’s executive director. “Whether you grew up in the Club or just want to find out about our facilities and programs for neighborhood children and teens, this event will be a great opportunity for people to have a nice evening out and help support the Club at the same time.”
While Club board member Pat Sweeney said this isn’t the first time that the Club has offered events for alumni, this event is different in that it also serves to welcome its many benefactors and newcomers to the community.
“You don’t have to have come through the Club to recognize how important it is for the community,” Sweeney said.
Carla Ryan, a one-time Club member who now serves as its board chairman, is one person who can attest to the institution’s importance in the community. “I’m a single mother and couldn’t have raised my daughter without the Club as a part of our lives,” Ryan said.
Ryan’s 13-year-old daughter, Maggie Yandle, first came to the Club’s now-defunct day care shortly after her first birthday and has visited it nearly every day since then. Today, Maggie takes part in the Club’s tutoring and sports programs, among other activities, or just stops by to visit with friends or do her homework.
Meanwhile, Finneran hopes at the very least, the event will enable the Club to continue to provide the same quality programming she enjoyed as a child.
“My hope is that many other children for generations to come have the same memories and opportunities that I was fortunate enough to have,” she said.
The Charlestown Boys & Girls Club presents An Evening for Friends & Alumni at the Club on Saturday, April 28, from 6:15 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are $45 per person, and all proceeds benefit the Club. For ticket information, call the Club at 617-242-1775.