1. Litter Clean-Ups - There were a number of litter clean-ups whether by groups or individuals taking it upon themselves to grab a bag and tools and get to work. The ​Green Team made it out over the summer for socially distanced clean-ups. We really appreciated their energy and commitment to keeping our community beautiful!

2. Holiday Toy Drives - Part of keeping our community beautiful is also taking care of each other and efforts led by neighbor Michale P. Fagone and Shaw's manager and neighbor April Ricci to benefit Toys for Tots brought joy to so many children. 

3. Eagle Scout Bike Drive - When neighbor and Eagle Scout Dara Concagh posted to the Hyde Park Neighbors Facebook page about his bike drive project in the spirt of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, neighbors rallied together to donate their bikes. Bikes have been in high demand in the midst of the pandemic and the community's response was proof that we really know how to step in and fill a need! 

4. Hyde Park Little Free Libraries - With our local library branch having to change service, many neighbors came to rely on our Little Free Libraries sprinkled throughout the community. One resident, Jesse Farren-James, did a phenomenal job keeping them stocked and alerting the community when they were replenished. This was and continues to be a great way for neighbors to share their books within the community as a commitment to reuse. 

5. Hyde Park Mobile Testing Site - Keeping our neighbors healthy is important and we are grateful for neighbor Jen Gaman and others' efforts to speak up and amplify the need for a mobile testing site in our community. This will enable us to continue to stay healthy especially as we head into 2021 and stay committed to keeping Hyde Park Beautiful. 

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Alex Thomas Jr. is a lifelong resident of Hyde Park, and a local business owner of the Carroll-Thomas Funeral Home. It wasn’t until we connected for this interview that I realized we are practically neighbors! We sat down at Coffee Break Cafe earlier this year to discuss his commitment to the community. 

Interview by Quiana Agbai

Tell me about yourself and how you’re involved with keeping Hyde Park beautiful?: 

I was born in Hyde Park in 1952, on Beacon Street - the big old stone house that looks like a castle. I went to school here growing up in Hyde Park, and my dad owned a funeral home next to my school - that was difficult! I got into landscaping with my grandfather, an Irish immigrant. I used to go out with him after school, cut grass, plant gardens and do all kinds of things. One of my favorite [memories] was a house in Milton where we were cutting grass and a weeping willow tree had a branch come down. My grandfather took it into the garage, peeled the bark off the bottom, put it in a vase of water, wrapped it up with toilet paper and said, “Bring this home and in a couple weeks you’re going to see white roots, and we’re going to plant it somewhere.” At the time my dad was running the funeral home on Oak Street and [the weeping willow] is there today. I was able to get two trees out of that: one at Most Precious Blood Church and one up at my son’s house in Canton. 

I take pride in Hyde Park. I live here now, and I bought the house next to the funeral home. Every morning the first thing I do is look out my window up Maple Street all the way to Las Vegas Seafood, and I go, “Aw man! This was spotless yesterday!” I love just walking down the street and picking up everybody’s trash. If I see kids walking up the hill and all of a sudden I see them doing something and [litter] goes down to the ground, I’ll walk over and nicely say, “You want to pick that up please.” I love keeping things beautiful; I love flowers, I love trees, I love nature. I really do! 

Speaking of youth, how have you inspired them to help keep Hyde Park Beautiful?:

I’ve had numerous kids in our neighborhood help over the years. I put a lot of time, effort and money into the flowers especially over at the Church [Most Precious Blood]. I can’t water them unless I do it by hand, which I can’t do all the time. I used to see [kids] walking by, and I used to ask, “When you get out of school, do you want a summer job?,” and I’d talk to their parents to make sure they knew who I was. I had probably 4 different kids over the years do that. One boy helped for 4 years - watering the flowers, doing great - I had him plant a little garden, and I became a mentor to him. Now he’s married with 4 kids!

Historically, what have you noticed with clean up efforts over the years?

I love the little gardens put around in the different squares! Back when I was a kid I never really thought of it. Graffiti bothers me, and I don’t have tolerance for litter - I’ve filled up a barrel full of trash at times. I still have t-shirts from Mayor Menino’s Boston Clean-Up with the broom on it, I think from 2002.  

What would you say to your fellow Hyde Park residents to encourage them to get started helping to keep Hyde Park beautiful?  

If everybody just concentrated on their little block - not just their house - and thought of their neighbors. Even things like cleaning off your neighbor’s car when it snows or helping the elderly people; just walk around and pick stuff up! I love it when I see somebody pick something up. It’s amazing how many times you see that! We can do some amazing things here. I love taking a left and going up my street and seeing that there’s not even a straw or a q-tip or cigarette butt. It’s so nice! I love having my sidewalks clean, and I love when I see people out in their yards. 

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​Is there any collaboration with Blake Estates or other businesses in your corridor?
I’m closely involved with Blake Estates, but mostly with the seniors - we love and appreciate them more than you know! We’ve never discussed a cleaning plan together; maybe that’s a good idea or plan I can seek out with Robin [the manager of Blake Estates]. 

As Shaw’s manager, what are some of your goals for 2020?
To continue to keep clean, continue to meet our customers’ needs, most importantly to listen - that’s the #1 thing that keeps me going. You have to listen, whether good or bad, continue to expand our variety and continue to get better. My goal is to continue to move up and forward - not look in the past. 

As a long-time resident, what do you look forward to in Hyde Park?
I see a lot of changes coming - sometimes change is needed to get better. Something I would like to see happen, and something I’m trying to implement at Shaw's, is we need to change our store fronts. I love that Main Streets put the wreaths [during the holiday season]. We need to expose all the great things about Hyde Park!

I notice people like to comment about Shaw's on Facebook, but what’s the most constructive way for people to give feedback about Shaw's to you? Can we give feedback to Shaw's corporate?
I tell people to contact me via Facebook - I may not be able to respond in a timely manner, but I read all the messages. They can also contact the store and I’ve given local business owners my number too so we can work together. I like the direct contact so I can hear from the person - it works better. I know it sounds cliche, “Fill out the survey!” but ultimately, our surveys go directly to our corporate office in Bridgewater, and it comes right back to us. They do see it, whether good or bad! There’s also social media for Shaw's too. Corporate sees it and passes it along to me - Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Interviewed by Cathy Horn

KHPB was recently contacted by Hyde Park resident Osasenaga Idahor, a high school student hoping to get feedback on the Conscious Waste Decision project he’s working on for school. A couple of us met with him at Coffee Break Cafe and we were so impressed by his ideas, commitment, enthusiasm, and confidence that we decided on the spot to interview him for this Humans of Hyde Park feature. Osasenaga is eager to move his project forward and is looking for partners in the community. If you have feedback, ideas, or assistance you would like to share with him, please email us or comment here.   

1. Tell us about yourself and your connection to Hyde Park.
I have lived in Hyde Park near Cleary Square my entire life, and as I grow up, I continue to see myself connected to Hyde Park. Hyde Park is a special place for me because I feel more responsible as I grow up to give back to the small town in the city. I understand that I have an obligation to make my community a better place, for now, and for the future. Since my days in middle school, I always wanted to become someone whom others would respect for making a positive impact. I just did not know how, and I never realized that I could do so in Hyde Park, until now.

2. Tell us about the project you’re working on, and your goals for that project.
This past summer I visited Tokyo, Japan and I discovered that there were no public trash bins on the main streets, and yet there was not one piece of trash on any of the sidewalks or roads. In Tokyo, it is expected that anyone passing by on the street would hold on to their trash until they enter a building. When they enter the building, they could choose to recycle or throw it into the general trash bin. The discovery inspired me to begin thinking of how I could start changing people’s mindset about public waste receptacles here in Boston. I gathered my thoughts about how I could use existing trash bins to change the way people think before throwing away waste in these bins. Once I found out about Boston’s plans to be a zero-waste city by 2050, I knew how I could make my project’s ideas relevant to everyone living in Boston. Even when I told people in my school’s own environmental club about zero-waste Boston, no one knew that the initiative had been set in place. Thus, I decided to motivate people to consider the environmental consequences of throwing away their waste in public trash bins by increasing awareness about the zero-waste Boston initiative.

The only way we get to zero-waste by 2050 is if we all remember to think before we throw out our waste. There need to be more collaborative community-led projects to support our zero-waste plans as a city. The Conscious Waste Decision project is all about how together we can make Hyde Park and other neighborhoods in Boston model neighborhoods for the others by having this community-led project. The zero-waste plan is amazingly ambitious and it cannot be realized unless we help our city stay on track with its benchmarks. Most people know why they should recycle on a basic level, but it is important that we also keep in mind why it is directly relevant to us to want to recycle each time. It's not just about global consequences - there are more direct, local consequences as well for every decision we make about waste.

My goals for the Conscious Waste Decision project are to increase the amount of recycling in public trash bins while decreasing the amount of waste thrown into the landfill bins. Another goal is to increase public awareness about the relevant part everyone plays in making necessary steps for our city's zero-waste 2050 plans to become a reality. The project uses labels and signs visible on public trash bins to help achieve these goals. My vision for the project is a youth-led collaboration making these labels to demonstrate our capability as Boston residents in realizing our city's plans. 

3. How did you get the idea for your project? What inspired you?
I am a member of my school's Youth Climate Action Network (YouthCAN). This past May, YouthCAN hosted its annual summit at MIT where the focus was Facing Waste. The focus really prepared my thinking for this project. This summer, I attended the Global Citizens Initiative Summit in Japan where I developed my project and established the idea of using labels to encourage awareness about the 2050 zero-waste Boston plans. I met with 27 other fellows from around the world and mentors who gave the advice to promote this plan of action. I gained more inspiration in my visit to the BlueCross BlueShield center in Boston. While there, I found out about how they label their trash bins 'landfill' bins. It inspired me to change people's perspectives on the trash we produce and to promote a more sustainable matter.

4. How do you think we can get more teens and kids interested and involved in keeping Hyde Park clean, green, and beautiful?
The easiest way to garner youth climate action and draw people into the cause is by creating a welcoming, judgment-free event where anyone, regardless of their knowledge about climate change, can discuss their concerns about it and think of potential sustainable responses. When people become aware of the imminent threat of climate change, only informing them of the terrifying threats posed by climate change and making them feel guilty about their unsustainable lifestyle decisions is a tactic that makes people shy away from doing any action. People are drawn into advocating for sustainable cities and communities when they are given hope to try to fix our predicament and a way to advocate. Impressing despair and guilt only encourages inaction and feelings of futility. Many teens are concerned about the effects of climate change, it is a matter of galvanizing them with hope to pursue active advocacy. In Hyde Park, there needs to be a revived climate action group for youth. Pushing forward Boson's zero-waste plans of 2050 requires a youth- involved team. The Conscious Waste Decision is a project led by the youth who will have inherited the city by 2050, and as the young inheritors, we have the greatest reason to support the initiative. Hyde Park teens can utilize gathering places, like the Menino YMCA teen center or the Municipal Building, even local bus stops as places to keep our city clean. The judgment-free environment and the collaboration will foster strong ideas and the willingness to follow through with the task of promoting a zero-waste Boston.
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​4) What improvements need to happen to make Hyde Park’s business district more attractive, welcoming, and vibrant? How can you be a partner is these improvements?

​Maria Esdale Farrell:  Hyde Park has struggled for decades to have a common vision, cohesive plan and collaboration amongst all the incredible community organizations that currently exist. We need one common goal and one “team” to provide a pathway be able to support initiatives and host conversations in the community while partnering with our wonderful Mainstreets, Hyde Park Board of Trade, local business owners, landlords, and the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association so there is constant communication with local businesses and residents. This is crucial in determining what residents want from their community and in their business districts; what businesses feel would be the most helpful additions to boost business; and alteration to reduce barriers to business. Hyde Park’s major business district in both Cleary and Logan Square, is anchored by incredible cultural institutions - the Riverside Theatre, the Menino branch library and the Menino Arts Center, the YMCA, the potential of the Everett Theater. Hyde Park also has a rich legacy, particularly around Black History, that should be talked about much more, and more closely tied into Hyde Park’s social, cultural, and economic identity (which is a real possibility with one of the William Barton Rogers latest proposals). The potential opportunities here are enormous. I would also advocate for capital investments to either build or repurpose city property to have a central Community Common. As District Councilor, I intend to make this a signature effort – to attract new development and investment to highlight this incredible history and bring more visitors to Hyde Park and its businesses.

Cecily Graham:  Our town is rich with cultural diversity. As a result, our businesses reflect that diversity. As we know our city awarded less than 1% of our small business grants ($665 million) to women and minority-owned businesses. I would advocate for more equity in this area to help with signage, maybe exploring ways to make a uniform look for shopfronts and encouraging more engagement with our neighborhood mainstreets. In addition, by pushing for more equity in this area, businesses would be able to hire more employees to help them with upkeep. Last but not least, I would encourage more diversity in business options by advocating to fund our neighborhood theaters and bringing in more destination locations that would attract residents to frequent our stores rather than having to leave the district for that purpose.

Justin Murad: The business areas of Hyde Park are in desperate need of a revitalization. With broken buildings vacant spaces, businesses cannot thrive. As a City Councilor, I would advocate for better upkeep of buildings by offering programs and resources needed to make sure that they are what the business owners dreamed their store would look like. I would also make sure there are plenty trash and recycle barrels through the populated business areas so trash and debris does not build up on store fronts. I would also improve the sidewalks and roadways leading to and in front of stores because that too applies to the curb appeal of a business. 

Alkia Powell:  Currently, Hyde Park’s business district is seeing a lot of change and growth. As a City Councillor, I would advocate for more “community center” businesses, such as restaurants and coffee shops, creating a more welcoming community environment. As well, I would work towards creating more green spaces and floral adornments in the downtown area.  

Mimi Turchinetz:  You can expect my leadership on economic development to be bold. Currently, there is limited money and capital in our neighborhoods available in our retail districts. I will work to change that. I will create a Financial Opportunity Center in the District to bring access to capital and loan products for sole proprietors and entrepreneurs, job training and access to living wage and union jobs, year round financial coaching, credit building and free tax preparation. Working with key partners I will help build capacity, obtain funding and develop and implement strategies so our communities can thrive. There is no excuse for the inequity that has been the norm with Boston’s city contracts – I will make sure there’s a significant change to how Boston does business by making sure women and minority owned businesses have real access to city contracts.

Interviewed by: Cathy Horn

With the Hyde Park: Then & Now Facebook page he created in 2016, Steve Morris is helping keep Hyde Park beautiful by building a sense of community pride around its rich history. By giving everyone an opportunity to share photos, memories, and information on the forum, Steve is expanding the scope of what is known about Hyde Park’s past, and making it easily accessible to anyone who is interested. Steve is also actively working to obtain historical markers for a couple of key locations that have been forgotten to time.

What is your connection to Hyde Park?
I was born on Huntington Avenue and grew up with grandparents who were very much a part of Hyde Park in its early years. As a child they would tell me stories about early Hyde Park. My Grandmother used to talk about the first house in Hyde Park in the vicinity of Wood Avenue and River Street (Robert Stanton 1668) and how during the revolutionary war, George Washington came to that area (considered Dorchester at that time) to cut down trees and tar them to look like cannons, all to assist in fooling the British that we had more cannons than we actually did, which resulted in Evacuation Day from Boston Harbor.

My family surname was Gerry and I was told that I was related to Elbridge Gerry, who was the 9th governor of Massachusetts, a part of the XYZ Affair with John Hancock and Thomas Jefferson, and the last signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Gerrys were prevalent in Hyde Park. Charles Gerry was the first president of the Hyde Park YMCA and was also one of three who founded and established the Hyde Park Savings Bank along with Henry Grew. The Gerry Estate also sold many acres of land to Father Barry, the first pastor of Most Precious Blood, to establish land for the church and several parochial schools in Hyde Park. My family was well seeded in Hyde Park and I feel, no matter where I go in life, I will always consider Hyde Park my hometown.

How and why did you start the Hyde Park:Then & Now Facebook page?
As I got older, I became very interested in researching the Gerry family and trying to prove the relationship of  my family to that of the signer of the Declaration of Independence, Elbridge Gerry. While I was doing this research, I kept finding information on the fledgling town of Hyde Park, uncovering lots of old pictures and great stories about the town from its early beginnings in Fairmount to its development in Readville, Sunnyside, Corriganville, Stonybrook, Cleary Square and from Mattapan, Dedham, Roslindale and Dorchester. It was almost like finding gold. I began creating my own library of photos, hyperlinks, articles and resources. I also created a network of professional resources, people that I can call to confirm stories. My Dad gave me the idea of creating something on Facebook (2016) to allow people to marvel at the older pictures and articles of Hyde Park. I created the Hyde Park: Then & Now (HPTN) Facebook page as an outlet for Hyde Parkers and interested parties anywhere to view pictures, stories, and articles, and to join in discussions with other members. The site grew very fast and had thousands of members within a very short period of time, people who had similar family memories with photos and articles.

How do you think it contributes to the beauty of Hyde Park?
Hyde Park: Then & Now brings Hyde Parkers together in many ways. It provides access to all five senses and brings a level of education to the town. I spoke before the Hyde Park Historical Society on April 21st, 2018 and Weldon Hall was packed with people seeking the beauty and knowledge of Hyde Park back in the days of old as well as an opportunity to share memories of their childhood. This presentation was done in conjunction with Hyde Park 150. Everywhere I go in Hyde Park, people make it a point to tell me that they enjoy the Facebook page and will even talk about specific research that they loved. The page does not allow advertising, sales of any kind, foul language or any forms of hate or violence. I think people appreciate a place where they can just share their memories and be Hyde Parkers. I really enjoy when people meet on HPTN, especially when they haven't seen each other in many years, are from the 'old neighborhood' or a group or sports team that they may have been a part of. I feel that Hyde Park: Then & Now has filled a need in the community for education of the past and how life can be bettered in the future. It provides a safe haven where people can comment, share family photos, provide new research opportunities or just 'Like' what they see or read. I prefer to call the members of Hyde Park: Then & Now 'Curators', as they share their own memories and photos of Hyde Park.

What's the most interesting or surprising thing you've found in your research or as a result of something that was posted?
Hyde Park was a part of the lives of many famous people. For instance, Ethel Barrymore, a Hollywood actress, was married in secret to a member of the Colt family of Baltimore in the rectory of Most Precious Blood church by Monsignor James J. Chittick back at the turn of the previous century.

What are your future plans for the site and all the information/photos you've collected?
Hyde Park: Then & Now will developed over time into a repository of research that will include topics like the Grimke Sisters, the 54th Regiment, Camp Meigs, Hyde Park's industrial revolution, abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, early Hyde Park government, the temperance movement, religious and parochial development, among others.

I have been spending a lot of time researching Hyde Park (Dorchester) from c1668 to the present. One of my goals is to present that research and knowledge to the Hyde Park Historical Society, Hyde Park Library and others who are interested in getting to know the process of Hyde Park’s birth in April of 1868 and how it developed through the years (even after it became a part of Boston on January 1, 1912).

Tell us about the other projects you're working on in the community and why you think they are important?
I am working on two projects currently that I feel have gone by the wayside in Hyde Park:

1. The Robert Stanton project:  Robert Stanton had the first house in the area now known as Hyde Park in the area of Wood Avenue (Back Street as it used to be called) and River Street. There was a marker on the corner of these roads that stated:  "Near this place in 1668, Robert Stanton Built the First House in Hyde Park". This marker was donated by the Hyde Park Historical Society in 1903 and it was subsequently taken down by an auto accident in the 70's. It now sits on the ground, amidst trash, in the grassy field between the old Tileston & Holliston Plant on River Street and The Dollar Tree store. I have brought this to the attention of politicians and other prominent individuals who tell me that this project is 'not a priority' due to a lack of funds.
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2   The John Moynihan Memorial Redevelopment Play Center Project:  John Moynihan was a United States soldier who was killed in the Korean War in the early to mid 1950's. The John Moynihan Memorial was dedicated in 1958 and a bronze plaque with his likeness was put on the wall in the Play Center at Moynihan Park. The bronze plaque was eventually stolen and to this day has not been replaced. There is a blank spot where the plaque used to be and I am working with a representative of the Moynihan family to come up with funding possibilities to have the plaque replaced. This man was a soldier and a fallen veteran and no one seems to care as it has been over 35 years since this Memorial was vandalized. Moynihan Field and Play Center was a staple of activity in our lives and part of the recreational sustenance of Hyde Park. John Moynihan, the Moynihan Family and Hyde Park deserve to see that this is restored.

Do you have other ideas for preserving the rich history in our community?  If so, how can others get involved?
I would like to see Hyde Park: Then & Now expand into presenting historical topics to the Historical Society, Hyde Park schools and other interested groups. It would be great to share with kids that George Washington came to Hyde Park and helped save Boston from the British invasion by cutting down trees and tarring them to look like cannons. I would like to form a committee on how we can educate youngsters on the history of Hyde Park.

I am also organizing a photography project, taking pictures of what Hyde Park looks like today, so that in 10, 30 or 100 years from now people will be able to see what we were all about in 2019. This would include pictures of business owners, pastors, government officials, neighborhood groups - as they are today and as they change- so we can establish a virtual scrapbook that can be viewed by the public now and in the future.
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Nominate yourself or someone in the community for a Humans of Hyde Park story; nominees can remain anonymous in the story or use their first name only if they prefer: https://goo.gl/forms/qgTj1Rh8t2bSbh973