In December 2021, a group of elderly residents in the South End traded stories about the neighborhood’s past.
They reminisced about ice trucks and old cafes, remembered poets and other artists who lived in the area, regaling each other with these and other anecdotes from spending decades in one of Boston’s most cherished neighborhoods.
Then they decided to put together a book. South Enders Remember, The Life and Times of Our Neighborhood, a compilation of stories narrated by the neighborhood’s old guard, is in the final stages of publication.
This book will only be released as a hardcover and will contain around 70 stories, accompanied by 80 pictures clicked over the decades back to the ‘50s.
“It’s a collection of memoirs of the people who were the spirit and life behind the South End all those years ago,” said Maria Schappert, who is overseeing the compilation of the book.
Schappert also acknowledged the financial struggles of self-publishing a 300-page book while keeping it affordable for the audience it is targeted towards.
“The process was harder than we thought it would be, but in the end, it’s a labor of love.”
The group behind the book, South End Seniors, also funded the entire publication process with their own money and some additional help from local Realtors; the goal was to make the book as affordable as possible, which is now $20.
South End Seniors is an informal social group of residents older than 60 who gather on Tuesdays to talk, about various things.
“We talk about everything, from politics to art to local happenings. Before COVID we would meet in person, but since then, it is more of a virtual thing,” said Paul Duffy, 84, a resident born and brought up in the neighborhood who also contributed to the book.
According to Schappert, the book was only available online for preorders until Jan 20 and will not be available at bookstores. About 300 people ordered the book in advance Arnold Zack, 91, is a group member who described the creative process of compiling these memoirs as “exercising and good fun.”
Zack reminisced about what he remembered of the neighborhood when he moved there five decades ago. He remembers, for example, the mix of condominiums and torn-down buildings, the many cultures represented in the neighborhood, and how it has been nurtured collectively into the inviting place it remains today. The point of the project has been to share these experiences and create a reference point for posterity. “You know we are all getting old, and we are going to die in a few years,” said Zack. “So, no one will have our recollections of this place if we don’t put it down on paper and save it for the next generation. That’s our contribution to a neighborhood we all love.”
