Tim Flaherty, Author at

Staff Sargent Bruno James Palumbo: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier with Valor and Honor

Nov 1, 2022 [Editor’s note: Tim Flaherty wrote about Medfield’s extended Palumbo family in the July/August Portal. This addendum about Bruno Palumbo contains information about his World War II service which was not available when the original story was written.] My uncle Bruno Palumbo was the third from the youngest of the 10 children of […]

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Midcentury Medfield Memories – Fishing, etc. at Kingsbury’s Pond

1950s, Kingsbury Pond, Medfield / Tim Flaherty

Oct 1, 2022 There was fear in the 1950s – of communist infiltrators, of the H-bomb, of mutations caused by radiation and of science. On the humanistic level of how people treated others, there was sometimes the loss of dignity and sensitivity. More precisely, there was a fair amount of bullying taking place either

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Remembering and Celebrating the Iafollas

1890s, 1950s, Frairy Street, Iafolla, Medfield / Tim Flaherty

Sept 1, 2022 In the last issue of The Portal, I wrote about the Palumbo family of Frairy Street. This month the focus is the Iafolla family on that street that was known as Little Italy. In the 40 years between 1880 and 1920, some 40 million Italians emigrated to the United States. Antonio Patrizio

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The Palumbo Family of Medfield

1920s, 1930s, 1950s, 1960s, Medfield, Palumbo / Tim Flaherty

July 11, 2022 Welcome to Frairy Street, running from North Street, past Baker’s (Meetinghouse) Pond, underneath a small railroad bridge, through the first Italian-American neighborhood in the town of Medfield, and ending at Dale Street. Walking there a century ago you might well have seen men from the old country gathered on their front doorsteps

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Gone Fishing, Like You, Like Me

1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Kingsbury Pond, Medfield, Vine Lake / Tim Flaherty

Apr 1, 2022 It might be hard for some people to imagine, with all the attention on social media, that going fishing in the waters of Medfield is still a fun adventure for the young and the young at heart. So, for a while, forget about the pandemic and let your mind float downstream! Fishing

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Celebrating and Remembering Some of the Fads from 1950s and 60s — Part II

1950s, 1960s, Medfield / Tim Flaherty

Feb 1, 2022 Continuing from last month, here’s some nostalgia for some of the great fads from the 1950s and 60s. Clothes, hairstyles, toys, and television shows all have their fifteen minutes of fame. The faddish 1960s turned out to be very productive years for the clothing and fashion industry. At Medfield High School

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Celebrating and Remembering Some of the Fads From the 1950s and 60s

1950s, 1960s / Tim Flaherty

Jan 6, 2022 Here’s some nostalgia for some of the great fads from the 1950s and 60s. Clothes, hairstyles, toys, and television shows all have their fifteen minutes of fame. One of the most memorable fads in Medfield had to be the hula hoop, first sold at Lord’s Department Store in the late 50s.

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Our Drinking Water Here in Medfield

Medfield / Tim Flaherty

Oct 1, 2021 The only times most of us think about water in Medfield is either (a) when its use is restricted or, occasionally, (b) when it looks or tastes funny coming out of the tap. The rest of the time, it’s just there – thank goodness. Medfield is part of both the Charles River

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Coyotes in Medfield: If You Can’t Beat Them… Then Feed Them?

1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Medfield / Tim Flaherty

May 1, 2021 Farmers from Dedham first settled Medfield in 1949, only 29 years after the Mayflower landed. The colony had grown rapidly through immigration and reproduction after 1630, and in William S. Tilden’s History of Medfield, the population was reported as 18,000 in 1643. The influx forced settlers to look west for grazing land

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Happy Birthday! How Spanish Culture Celebrates Sweet 16 and Going Back to the Classroom in Autumn of 2020

Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medfield / Tim Flaherty

Jan 4, 2021 Who can deny the appeal and tradition of a big, beautiful Spanish piñata? They come in mostly all bright colors and sizes, the most popular being a colorful donkey. The idea behind the fun of the piñata is to fill it with chocolate and other candies and popcorn balls made with butter

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