Monday, January 31, 2011
UPDATED 1/31 - Remembering the tragic saga of the 1961 US Figure Skating Team - many were from Boston
The New York Daily News also looked back at the crash and rebirth of figure skating in the US

This morning John Powers of the Boston Globe looks back to February 15, 1961 when a plane crash outside of Brussels claimed the lives of the entire 1961 United States Figure Skating Team
Boston was devastated as 16 year old Laurence Rochon "Laurie" Owen from Winchester was being touted as a World Champion and possible gold medal winner in the Olympics that would be held in 1964. Laurie had enthralled viewers on watching her win the 1961 National Championship on CBS and the local media just couldn't get enough of her.
The Sports Illustrated on newsstands when the plane crashed had Laurie on the cover.
On Thursday February 17th, US FIGURE SKATING will host a nationwide event at over 500 movie theaters which will include a showing of the movie RISE which documents the crash and the rebirth of the US Figure Skating Team.
The tragedy hit The Skating Club of Boston hard as that is where Owen practiced. The club is located on Soldiers Field Road near WBZ. The club never recovered from the crash.
Remembering the plane crash that rocked U.S. figure skating 50 years ago
BY FILIP BONDY
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Saturday, January 29th 2011, 5:47 PM
This morning John Powers of the Boston Globe looks back to February 15, 1961 when a plane crash outside of Brussels claimed the lives of the entire 1961 United States Figure Skating Team
BOEING 707 CRASHES OUTSIDE BRUSSELS
Boston was devastated as 16 year old Laurence Rochon "Laurie" Owen from Winchester was being touted as a World Champion and possible gold medal winner in the Olympics that would be held in 1964. Laurie had enthralled viewers on watching her win the 1961 National Championship on CBS and the local media just couldn't get enough of her.
The Sports Illustrated on newsstands when the plane crashed had Laurie on the cover.
On Thursday February 17th, US FIGURE SKATING will host a nationwide event at over 500 movie theaters which will include a showing of the movie RISE which documents the crash and the rebirth of the US Figure Skating Team.
A One Night Only Event on February 17th, 2011 hosted by Matt Lauer, co-host of NBC’s TODAY.A celebration of American figure skating featuring figure skating legends Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Michelle Kwan and 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist Evan Lysacek among others.An unprecedented gathering of figure skating icons. Never seen before skating performances, the world premiere of RISE, and more….Limited seats available for this one night event – tickets on sale now!
The tragedy hit The Skating Club of Boston hard as that is where Owen practiced. The club is located on Soldiers Field Road near WBZ. The club never recovered from the crash.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Bus driver of the year!!!!
Everybody loves to complain about the T ( including me ) but you have to love this story.
Video from FOX25
Video from FOX25
The T has not had a good week dealing with the sub-zero temperatures early in the week and then the snow.
Things are still not running smoothly
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Downtown Crossing is the busiest T station?
This afternoon I stumbled across the last published system wide MBTA ridership numbers (2009)
Ridership and Service Statistics Twelfth Edition 2009
Included is a table that shows the number of average weekday boardings at each station in the system and I was a little surprised by the numbers.If you click on the above link and then go to page 18 you can access the full table.
The station in FY 2008 with the most boardings was Downtown Crossing with 22,695, followed by South Station with 22,157 and Harvard third with 20,373.
Now Downtown Crossing is a transfer point but since one doesn't tap their Charlie Card to transfer I have to assume these numbers are actual riders entering the system. Coming in dead last lime a broken down horse is Suffolk Downs with 803.
Some of the other numbers also make me scratch my head but since this table was created after the Charley Card system was introduced systemwide in 1997 I have to assume they are accurate. For example Shawmut recorded more boardings than Savin Hill - 1979 to 1,747 which given that Savin Hill is adjacent to Dorchester Ave. is a mild surprise and it has also has more boardings than Riverside which averaged 1,924.
The Bus ridership is also fascinating to read. The Silver Line between Dudley and Downtown is the busiest route with 14,709 boardings on an average weekday, followed by the #39 with 14,405 and the #1 with 12,325.
On the Commuter Rail I never would have guessed the suburban station with the most boardings each weekday would be Mansfield with 3,763. Way behind in the #2 position is Rte. 128 with 2,572 followed by Salem with 2,504.
It really is a fascinating document to look at and it tells you everything you could ever want to know about the MBTA.
I hope the T publishes a more recent version soon.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Marc Savard out indefinitely
The news about Marc Savard is not good.
Savard was injured last March in Pittsburgh and he hasn't been the same since, and watching him the past few months I feared he would be injured again as he was just too slow to be out on the ice.
I hope this is not the end for him.
Canada's TSN reported that doctors in Boston have confirmed he has another concussion which happened Saturday in a game at Denver.
Savard was injured last March in Pittsburgh and he hasn't been the same since, and watching him the past few months I feared he would be injured again as he was just too slow to be out on the ice.
I hope this is not the end for him.
TIME MACHINE - Harvard Square when it was special (and even had a Mug and Muffin)
![]() |
A wonderful book was published last year which is a picture history of Harvard Square from 1950 to the present. |
The author Mo Lotman describes the book
The well-trod patch of Cambridge turf at the corner of the nation's most renowned university has long been a crossroads where poetry, politics, retailing, architecture, performance, design, and every other cultural endeavor intersect. Harvard Square is more than a beloved space, it is a state of mind. Inside the pages of this book, one is immediately transported there.
From the Square's tweedy 1950s through the tumultuous ’60s, the colorful ’70s, and all the way up to the present, Mo Lotman gives a decade-by-decade account of Harvard Square's traditions, history, and lore. The bookstores, the billiard parlors, the barbershops, the booze and burger joints: they're all here. Compiling interviews with more than 100 of the Square's movers and shakers, a treasure-trove of archival and modern photographs, and texts by John Updike, Bill McKibben, Governor Bill Weld, and others, Harvard Square brings "the smartest urban space in America" to vivid life.
Many of these pictures are in the book and a few are others I have collected. It is a wonderful look back.
![]() |
The subway construction was brutal |
![]() |
1970's - The Tasty can be seen to the right |
![]() |
snow looked the same in the 50's |
![]() |
mid 1960's |
![]() |
This was torn down in 1962 for Holyoke Center. |
![]() |
This would be late 70's as the BayBank name has appeared but the subway construction has yet to start, |
Thank you Mo.....
His website also has a detailed list of the stores that were in the Square.....
Saturday, January 22, 2011
TIME MACHINE - More of Boston 1954-1959 - plenty of places to eat and drink back then
Taking a another look at the Boston of 50 plus years ago...
Pictures courtesy of the Rotch Visual Collections, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Steaming Kettle of Government Center in it's Scollay Square days.

Washington and Friend St - Downtown Boston

Looks like the South End had a Dairy Queen back in the day.

Cambridge had 'TOURIST PARKING'.

I rememember when Bunratty's occupied the spot that Wonder Bar does today on Harvard Ave in Allston, but apparently long before it became Bunratty's it was Wonder Bar.

Today at Boylston and Berkeley, we have a Starbucks where St Clairs' Fine Foods was located, and what is now Au Bon Pain was a Walton's.

Looking east down Boylston from Berkeley

IBM in 1955 - they would build a large office building a decade later

Boylston and Dartmouth - the baby Hancock towered over all then

Hayes Bickfords was all over the city, as was fierce rival Waldorfs



Back in the 50's, Highways inside Boston became C-1, C-9, C-28
The Copley Square newsstand didn't change for decades.

Chinatown was well -Chinatown

Long before FedEx we had Railroad Express

Boston didn't do J.P Licks in the 50's - HoJo's was king (Copley Square)

Mass Ave and Prospect St. (Cambridge) - there was a Wimpy Burger where Leader Bank is today

Checker Cab at Back Bay Station

The road signs leaving the Sumner Tunnel were impossible to read during the day.

Memorial Drive has many route numbers in the 50's

and that concludes this trip in the 'Time Machine' as we park it for the night....more to come
Pictures courtesy of the Rotch Visual Collections, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Steaming Kettle of Government Center in it's Scollay Square days.
Washington and Friend St - Downtown Boston
Looks like the South End had a Dairy Queen back in the day.
Cambridge had 'TOURIST PARKING'.
I rememember when Bunratty's occupied the spot that Wonder Bar does today on Harvard Ave in Allston, but apparently long before it became Bunratty's it was Wonder Bar.
Today at Boylston and Berkeley, we have a Starbucks where St Clairs' Fine Foods was located, and what is now Au Bon Pain was a Walton's.
Looking east down Boylston from Berkeley
IBM in 1955 - they would build a large office building a decade later
Boylston and Dartmouth - the baby Hancock towered over all then
Hayes Bickfords was all over the city, as was fierce rival Waldorfs
Back in the 50's, Highways inside Boston became C-1, C-9, C-28
The Copley Square newsstand didn't change for decades.
Chinatown was well -Chinatown
Long before FedEx we had Railroad Express
Boston didn't do J.P Licks in the 50's - HoJo's was king (Copley Square)
Mass Ave and Prospect St. (Cambridge) - there was a Wimpy Burger where Leader Bank is today
Checker Cab at Back Bay Station
The road signs leaving the Sumner Tunnel were impossible to read during the day.
Memorial Drive has many route numbers in the 50's
and that concludes this trip in the 'Time Machine' as we park it for the night....more to come
Friday, January 21, 2011
Never a good sign when Accuweather gurus are smiling in January
AccuWeather.com - Weather Video - The Really Big One... Next Week???



The weather guus in State College look WAY too happy.....
1978 can't happen again...... or can it?
BTW I have now signed up for a service that allows you to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
Information on the right sidebar
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Red Sox could really help the hotel and restaurant industry in January - Why don't they do it???
The Boston Red Sox have never been known to leave any money on the table but for some reason they refuse to sponsor a major team event like many other MLB teams.
For example in Chicago, both the Cubs and White Sox have major weekend long events in January that are huge draws.

2011 Chicago Cubs Convention

2011 Chicago White Sox SoxFest
Both of these events are wildly popular and brings thousands of fans into the Chicago Loop in the middle of winter. This should be a no-brainer for the Red Sox, but they seem to have no interest.
Does anybody doubt for a second that a Red Sox WinterFest ( an event they held in December of 1996 at the Hynes Convention Center) wouldn't be a huge attraction? January is one of the slowest months of the year for the Boston hotel and restaurant industry and a Sox sponsored event would provide a nice boost. The prefect weekend would be the last weekend of January as that is week before the Super Bowl and there is little else going on.


The Red Sox do sponsor some minor events...the invitation only Christmas at Fenway, usually the second Saturday of December, the 2011 Red Sox Road Trip and of course Truck Day (this year February 8th)
.
Again, back in December of 1996, the Red Sox DID sponsor an event.
Come on Messrs Henry, Werner and Lucchino. This is a no brainer and would be a win for everybody.
Let's do it for 2012.
For example in Chicago, both the Cubs and White Sox have major weekend long events in January that are huge draws.
2011 Chicago Cubs Convention
2011 Chicago White Sox SoxFest
Both of these events are wildly popular and brings thousands of fans into the Chicago Loop in the middle of winter. This should be a no-brainer for the Red Sox, but they seem to have no interest.
Does anybody doubt for a second that a Red Sox WinterFest ( an event they held in December of 1996 at the Hynes Convention Center) wouldn't be a huge attraction? January is one of the slowest months of the year for the Boston hotel and restaurant industry and a Sox sponsored event would provide a nice boost. The prefect weekend would be the last weekend of January as that is week before the Super Bowl and there is little else going on.
The Red Sox do sponsor some minor events...the invitation only Christmas at Fenway, usually the second Saturday of December, the 2011 Red Sox Road Trip and of course Truck Day (this year February 8th)
.
Again, back in December of 1996, the Red Sox DID sponsor an event.
Patriot Ledger Nov 30, 1996
The Red Sox will host WinterFest Saturday (9 a.m.-7 p.m.) and Sunday (9 a.m.-6 p.m.) at the Hynes Convention Center. The event is modeled after the FanFest events, which have become popular attractions at the Major League All-Star Game. It's the first time a large-scale fan event has been planned in conjunction with the Winter Meetings.
Highlights will include autograph sessions, video batting and pitching cages, baseball card trading and memorabilia as well as merchandise from major- and minor-league teams for purchase. Ballpark-style food will be available. The event will also coincide with the lighting of the Prudential Center Christmas tree Saturday evening.
Tickets, available at the door, are $6 for adults, $4 for children 5-12. Children younger than 5 will be admitted free.
Come on Messrs Henry, Werner and Lucchino. This is a no brainer and would be a win for everybody.
Let's do it for 2012.
Monday, January 17, 2011
A fascinating look at how a Sports Illustrated writer looked at Boston in 1970
Frank Deford back in July of 1970 tried to explain Boston to the rest of the country to the then vast readership of Sports Illustrated.
Who Are The Hub Men?
Now I have lived here all my life and I never knew Boston had the first major indoor arena that could hold 50,000 that was built in 1869!!!!!
The arena was located where Trinity Church and the Copley Plaza now stand. It was HUGE.

I highly recommend this article from 40 years ago.
Who Are The Hub Men?
Sports, politics and tradition all have equal status in Boston, which has again refused to build a municipal stadium. Is Boston trailing the rest of the country? Maybe it's so far ahead it just seems behind
Reading this brings me back to the Boston of my youth. Here is just a few samples of his observations.
Boston still celebrates the shot heard round the world with Patriots Day and the Boston Marathon, and it honors as Evacuation Day the date when the British army left town. The Redcoats pulled out sometime after the Battle of Bunker Hill, which was fought some distance away on Breed's Hill, and which, legend and whites of their eyes notwithstanding, the British won in a rout. Then, on Evacuation Day itself, 1,000 Bostonians—a substantial part of the 1776 population—chose, of their own volition, to depart their homes and the Cradle of Liberty and escape with the tyrants. This particular slant on Evacuation Day is not widely promulgated.
But, as Ted Williams would testify, it helps to have a good press in Boston. For instance, it was not Paul Revere who got through to Concord to alert the Minute Men. A British patrol captured Paul Revere. Dr. Samuel Prescott was the rider who warned Concord. Unfortunately, Prescott does not rhyme at all well with "you shall hear," so Revere got the ink. This would be no problem nowadays. Prescott or Revere, the papers would just headline it: HUB MAN WARNS CONCORD. If Neil Armstrong had come from Dorchester or Charlestown, it would have been: HUB MAN ON MOON. If a Pope ever comes out of Southie (South Boston), it will be: TAB HUB MAN PONTIFF
Boston is ambivalent, ironic, at odds with itself. "The place was still a cow pasture till John L. Sullivan put it on the map," says Sam Silverman, the fight promoter, offering yet another theory of Boston history. The Hub Men lionized that barroom bully, but they busted Mencken for peddling his American Mercury on the Common. Banned in Boston is still not passé. They arrested anyone who showed I Am Curious (Yellow), and the whole state supreme court went off to examine Hair. One of the most prominent black athletes in Boston recently bought a house in a white neighborhood. The man who sold him the house was immediately thrashed by a next-door neighbor. Bill Russell dismisses Boston as the hole in a sugared liberal doughnut. Yet nowhere is there a more liberal thrust. Boston is capital of the first state that passed a law challenging the President's authority to order soldiers to Vietnam.
Boston is the town that sold Babe Ruth to New York, saluted the cab driver that ran down Casey Stengel and greeted its own Celtics, the greatest basketball team ever, with ennui. It took 50 years for major league baseball to move a team, and as soon as it made up its mind it hustled a club out of Boston over a weekend. The Hub Men yawned when the Redskins went to Washington and stirred even less when the football Yanks left. Fewer than 5% of the Patriot stockholders even bother to buy season tickets. Boston locked Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston out of town long before Clay's draft troubles. Rocky Marciano came from just down the road at Brockton, but he could never get into Boston because there was always a guy with a warrant out to grab him and hang some obscure suit on him. "I've been scuffling for 40 years—since I was 16," says Bill Veeck, now the head of Suffolk Downs. "Before I got to Boston I was sued just once—and it was thrown right out of court. I've been here only 18 months and have been involved in eight suits." They threw fines and everything else at Ted Williams. Who are these Hub Men?
Now I have lived here all my life and I never knew Boston had the first major indoor arena that could hold 50,000 that was built in 1869!!!!!
Walking down the street one day in 1867, a Hub Man by the name of Patrick S. Gilmore saw a vision of "a vast structure" in his home town. Gilmore turned the dream into reality and had a gigantic Temple of Peace constructed in only three months in 1869 at a cost of $120,750.68. The monster temple measured 500 feet by 300 feet, with the ceiling 100 feet high. It had a capacity of 50,000, and as such was the last structure erected in Boston that would satisfy the seating requirements of the National Football League. Sadly for Billy Sullivan, the Temple of Peace was blown down in a storm.
The arena was located where Trinity Church and the Copley Plaza now stand. It was HUGE.
The building was 550 feet long by 350 feet wide, covering about 4-1/2 acres. The main walls were 40 feet high, resting upon a substantial foundation of piles, and the height of the central point of the roof was 120 feet.
The parquet was 235 feet long by 200 in width, surrounded upon three sides by promenades 25 feet wide under the galleries. These galleries were 75 feet deep, being 10 feet from the parquet in front and rising backwards to the wall. Entrance was had by 12 doorways, each 25 feet wide, and access to the galleries was via 12 broad stairways leading directly from the outside doors.
The Organ was built by J.H. Wilcox & Co. and was purportedly the most powerful instrument ever constructed until then. It was without a case and fills a space 30 feet wide by 20 feet deep. It contains 1786 pipes, the larges being 43 feet high. It was supplied by wind from 8 pumps worked by a gas engine. The Chorus numbered about 20,000, from all parts of the Union.
I highly recommend this article from 40 years ago.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)