Category Archives for People

RIC Fundraiser and E-Book Released to Honor the Late Richard Walton

Published in Pawtucket Times, March 14, 2014

            As my co-editor, Rhode Island College (RIC) President Nancy Carriuolo will tell you that the late Richard Walton clearly understood the power of the emerging Internet and the power social media would wield in our daily lives.  The beloved social activist and educator who put tireless energy and effort into supporting many worthy causes began emailing and connecting to his family and vast network of friends electronically in the early 1990s.

             Over 20 years, he would literally write thousands of correspondences on a vast array of topics including serious social causes, baseball and boxing, politics and even entertaining observations about Rhode Islanders and local events.

 Honoring the Late Richard Walton

             According to Carriuolo, the late activist’s and educator’s love and active involvement in social media prompted the creation of our e-book, The Selected E-Mail Correspondences of Richard Walton, which offers his sampling of correspondence.  As co-editors of this tribute to Walton, we invite you to a RIC Foundation fundraiser, where we will unveil our e-book in his memory, from 2-3 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, at the RIC Student Union Ballroom, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Providence. We will offer readings from this e-book. The suggested donation for the event is $10. Proceeds will be used to equip the English Department Conference Room, which will be named in Walton’s honor.

             Last winter, Facebook notification of a memorial event held at Roots Cafe in Walton’s honor brought Nancy Carriuolo and I together with hundreds of others shortly after Richard’s death to celebrate his extraordinary life.   We began to correspond via Facebook.  She sent me an e-essay that Richard had sent her about “the Encyclopedia Britannica going out of print and wondering what would happen to his Encyclopedia Britannica when he passed.” In return, I sent her an essay titled “The great and good Hammerin’ Hank Tears for my Boyhood Baseball Hero,” telling his love and admiration for the legendary baseball player, Hank Greenberg, and the tears he shed for a long dead baseball player.

             In our social media chats, Carriuolo admitted that she had saved some of Walton’s emails.  “Who could delete a correspondence with the subject line:  ‘Do I Really Have to Wear Long Pants?’ which was written in response to her invitation to recognize Walton as a founding adjunct union president at my opening annual meeting of faculty, administrators, and staff,” she remembers, telling me that  “I just could not bear to delete any of his emails.”  I shot back an email saying that I bet others had saved Richard’s emails, too, then asking her that maybe we should do an e-book?  That was the beginning of our editorial project.

             Walton’s 91-page e-book is comprised of electronic correspondence shared by many of his friends and colleagues.  Being a brilliant writer and an observer of life, Walton covered topics as diverse as progressive issues on the topic of homelessness (spending Christmas at Amos House), the Rhode Island Governor’s race, national politics, education and women’s rights.  He jumped into giving his two cents about the Lion’s Head, his favorite New York hangout, as well as boxing and baseball, and even his views on religion.

             In one of my favorite emails in our e-book, Walton shared his great admiration for the great first baseman, Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers.  His love for this Jewish baseball player began as a small child when he grew up in Providence listening to the game on the radio with his grandfather during an era of rampant anti-Semitism and racism.  Even at the ripe old age of 72, the seasoned journalist wrote a powerful Op Ed in The Providence Journal about Greenberg after reading a four-star review of the movie, “The Live and Times of Hank Greenberg.”  He even admitted that he shed tears over “a long-dead baseball player,” this giving me a glimpse into how Walton as a young man would not accept the bigotry of his time and who would later turn his attention and tireless energy to fighting against society’s ignorance and indifference to the less fortunate.

 As to other e correspondences…

 ·       On his career choices: Walton admitted, “I did turn down a job as an NBC News

correspondent because I refused to shave my beard.”

 ·       On the fact that at age 79 he traveled to Shanghai to teach children, he quipped,

“It might turn up in a game of Trivial Pursuit some day.”

 ·       On his losing battle with leukemia, Walton noted, “I’m going on a great adventure.”

 The Life and Times of Richard Walton

             With his prominent long white beard and his red bandana, decked out in blue jean overalls and wearing a baseball cap, Walton, who passed in 2012 at the age of 84, was a well-known figure on the Rhode Island scene. In the early ’80s, he ran as the Citizen’s Party vice presidential candidate. Later, he became an early member of the Green Party. At Rhode Island College, where he taught English for more than 25 years, he ran a successful campaign to unionize adjunct faculty, serving as the union’s first president.  With his death, RIC President Carriuolo called for lowering the flags on campus to half-staff in his memory. 

                        Born in Saratoga Springs, New York, Walton grew up in South Providence in the 1930s, graduating from Classical High School in 1945.  After taking a two-year break from his studies at Brown University to serve as a journalist mate in the U.S. Navy, he returned to receive a bachelor’s degree in 1951.  He whet his appetite for music by working as disc jockey at Providence radio station WICE before enrolling in Columbia University School of Journalism where he later earned a master’s in journalism degree in 1955.

             Walton’s training at Brown and Columbia propelled him into a writing career.  During his early years he worked as a reporter at The Providence Journal, and the New York World Telegram and Sun. At Voice of America in Washington, D.C., Walton initially put in time reporting on African issues, ultimately being assigned to cover the United Nations.

             The prolific writer would eventually publish 12 books, nine being written as critical assessments of U.S. foreign policy.  As a freelance writer in the late 1960s, he made his living by writing for The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Village Voice, Newsday, The [old] New Republic, Cosmopolitan, even Playboy.

                    A self-described “peacenik,” the journalist was known not only for his political views, but also for his charity and volunteer work with such fixtures as the Amos House homeless shelter, The George Wiley Center, grassroots agency that works to alleviate problems associated with poverty and the musical venue Stone Soup Coffeehouse. In fact, for many years he used his birthday party to host a highly regarded and well-attended annual fundraiser to support Rhode Island’s homeless community.

             I know that throughout his life, Richard Walton served as a role model for generations of activists, watching out and protecting Rhode Island’s voiceless citizens, showing all that positive societal changes could be made through sound arguments.

 E-Book Allows Us to Re-Experience Walton 

             While we can no longer see our friend, Richard Walton, in our daily travels, his essence, keen observations and thoughts about our wonderful world can be found in his e-writings.  As stated in my afterword in Walton’s e-book, “his emails will magically propel you into the distant past, when he stood among us, allowing us to easily remember our own philosophical banters and discussions with him, even giving us the opportunity to re-experiencing his sharp wit, humor and his humbleness.”

             “While so painful to admit that he is no longer here, his beautiful and thoughtful and provocative writings to his family and friends make him come alive once again to us.  Just close your eyes after you read the emails in our e-book.  I am sure you will once again feel his energy and essence.”

             For more details about RIC’s reception to honor Walton or contribute to dedicate a room in his honor, contact Paul Brooks at (401) 456-8810. Donations should be made to the RIC Foundation with the notation:  Richard Walton.

            Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket writer covering aging, health care and medical issues and is co-editor of The Selected E-Mail Correspondences of Richard Walton.  He can be contacted at hweissri@aol.com.

Rockers Hendrix and Joplin Honored with USPS Stamp

Published in Pawtucket Times, February 28, 2014

Miriam R. Plitt, like many of the baby boomer generation were  ecstatic with the announcing by the United States Postal Service (USPS) of its unveiling of a new line of commemorative stamps, including music culture icons. These stamps will be sold as forever stamps and are good for mailing first class letters at that price any time in the future even if stamps price increase, she says.

The long-time Oak Hill resident was elated that two of her 60s favorites, Jimi Hendrix, on of the most celebrated guitarists in the 20th century and legendary singer and songwriter Janis Joplin, who pushed their way into the public psyche at the Woodstock festival at Max Yasgur’s 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, made the cut.

“Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix reaches my soul, they speak to me,” notes Plitt, who chairs Pawtucket’s Advisory Commission on Arts and Culture, who grew up loving Rock and Roll when this musical style became entrenched in her generation. “Any time I hear these musicians, I just go into my own world and dance,” she says.

“Joplin and Hendrix are not artists that came onto the nation’s musical scene and left,” she observed, but they have had an impact on preceding generations even setting high standards for other musicians who came after them.

Now in her mid-sixties, Plitt notes that this is a terrific honor for her generation, having musicians that her contemporaries listened to growing up to be placed on a first class postage stamp.

Pushing the Musical Boundaries with His Guitar

According to Mark Saunders, USPS spokesman, this month, the Jimi Hendrix stamp will be released on March 13 at the South By Southwest Concert in Austin, Texas and available nationwide that day.  It’s a natural venue for Jimi Hendrix fans to purchase the stamp, he says.

 According to the USPS’s bio on Hendrix (1942‒1970), the musician was considered to be one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, this being a key factor for the honor of being selected by the USPS.

 Combining influences from rock, modern jazz, soul, and the blues with his own innovations, the legendary Hendrix created a unique style that influenced musical guitarist of his era and continues to inspire musicians well into the 21st century.

As shown at Woodstock, Hendrix pushed the boundaries of what his guitar could do, manipulating various devices to produce sounds that could be loud—the quintessential psychedelic music—or melodic and gentle. A master at the controlled use of distortion and feedback, he expanded the instrument’s vocabulary in a way that had never been heard before—or since.

While Hendrix is remembered as one of the most innovative guitar players of all time, he was also a gifted songwriter, combining visionary, sometimes haunting imagery with deft pop hooks.

Rolling Stone ranked Hendrix #1 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, and #6 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. His band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the U.K. Music Hall of Fame in 2005. The band’s first album, Are You Experienced, is considered by many critics to be one of the best rock albums of all time, and in 2005, the Library of Congress selected it for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry, a list of sound recordings that “are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.”

In 1993, Hendrix was awarded a posthumous Grammy for lifetime achievement.

Through Hendrix’s mastery of the guitar and use of controlled feedback as a melodic element, he revolutionized and redefined popular music. His music sounds as innovative and fresh today as when it was first released, winning legions of new fans who just might by commemorative stamps with his image.

Bluesy Voice Propelled Her to the Top

Joplin (1943-1970), an icon of the 1960s whose bluesy voice propelled her to the pinnacle of rock stardom, gets her image on a stamp, too. Her stamp will be issued later in 2014.

When announcing the issuance of the Joplin stamp, the USPS detailed her musical track record, too.  Joplin broke onto the national music scene with an explosive performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Known for her rebellious public persona, Joplin roared and wailed her way through uninhibited, soulful performances.

Her time at the top, however, was very brief. She recorded only two hit albums and performed at the Woodstock concert, but in October 1970, just three years after she became a star, she died at the age of 27 of a drug overdose. The album she was recording at the time of her death, Pearl, went on to cement her reputation as one of the premier white blues singers of all time. “Me and Bobby McGee,” written by Kris Kristofferson, became a number one hit.

As the years passed, Joplin’s legacy was increasingly recognized by critics. She was inducted into the Cleveland, Ohio-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. Rolling Stone included Joplin on its list of 100 Greatest Artists. Some of her most popular songs include “Piece of My Heart,” “Ball and Chain,” and “Cry Baby.”

Washington Posts Reporter Lisa Rein reported in a February 21 article that while stamp designs for both Hendrix and Joplin were scheduled for 2014, other pop and music icons were selected for 2015 and beyond. Specifically, Rein’s commemorative stamp listing also included Beatle John Lennon, NBA Basket Ball player Wilt Chamberlain, celebrity chiefs, recording artist and musician James Brown, late night talk show host, Johnny Carson.  She noted that the USPS even was considering the reissuing of Elvis Presley stamp.

However, USPS Spokesperson Saunders, stated that while Hendrix and Joplin are confirmed for release this year, the others cited by Rein are only being considered at this time, subject to change and most certainly not finalized.  “We may or may not move forward with these stamps,” he says.

 Yes, there is controversy even in the world of stamps.  When hearing that Beatles John Lennon might be honored by having his image on a stamp, collectors voiced their opposition and concerns.  Traditionally, only Americans subjects have been selected, they say.  But, Saunders explains that the USPS has the discretion to select subjects that have made a significant impact to American society and culture, citing examples of Mother Teresa and Winston Churchill. This opens the door to John Lennon’s consideration, he says.

Bringing more relevant stamps reflecting popular pop culture icons to market is a way to attract younger buyers and increase USPS revenues, notes Saunders.  “With 300 million customers across the nation, our diverse stamp program has something to offer everybody,” he adds.

Saunders notes that “We receive over 40,000 suggestions of subjects on stamps each year.” Many people suggest the inclusion of Rock stars on stamps.  Most certainly, “Joplin and Hendrix will appeal to fans of Rock music from the 60s and 70s,” he says.

 Will Joplin and Hendrix’s commemorative stamps be a big hit with the American public?  It’s a mixed bag says, Ken Martin, Executive Director of the American Philatelic Society,” a nonprofit group representing 34,000 stamp collectors, educators and postal historians in 110 countries.  “Some collectors feel that people commemorated on stamps should be without flaws,” he says, noting that some might just not agree with Hendrix or Joplin’s music style or the way they lived.  However, others might just love them.

 But Martin concedes that “a little bit of controversy adds to promotion of the released stamp and may well increases sales.”  He recognizes that the USPS is broadening the scope of the diverse stamp program to reach out to a broader section of the population.

Countering the concerns of collectors who may well frown upon the USPS issuing stamps of people with nontraditional or controversial lifestyles, like Hendrix and Joplin, Rick Bellaire, Vice Chair of the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame, has another take on it.

Bellaire says that the sudden deaths of Hendrix and Joplin, especially coming as they did [from drug overdoses], one after the other in the Fall of 1970, “were a great blow to the music world.” These musicians were “such giants that there could never be anyone to replace them nor carry on their work,” he says, noting that their “highly original styles promoted deep Rhythm & Blues to the young, white masses in the guise of psychedelic Rock ’n’ Roll while always making sure the audience knew the source material.”

“I am proud of the U.S. Postal Service for honoring these two masters, judging them not by their personal lives and lifestyles, but by their groundbreaking work as musicians and their generosity of spirit,” says Bellaire.

For more information on submitting to the USPS your suggestion for a stamp design, go to http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/leadership/stamp-advisory-committee.htm.

Duffy’s Legacy as Coach and Educator Lives On

Published in Pawtucket Times, February 7, 2014

            One of Rhode Island’s “Greatest Generation,” Pawtucket native Tom Duffy, passed away on Feb. 2, leaving behind a legacy in the Ocean State’s College sports world.  As a life-long educator, who now resides in Little Compton, he inspired and personally touched the lives of tens of thousands of Pawtucket students, as a teacher and educational administrator, when he worked in the Pawtucket school system.

            Duffy’s , (the son of the late Thomas L. Duffy and Mary (Kennedy) Duffy), educational ties to Pawtucket began early in his life. He attended St. Joseph’s School, later graduating in 1942 from St. Raphael Academy.  During high school, the young man’s leadership skills became quite visible to all when he was elected class president and became captain of the school’s 1942 Class B championship basket ball team.

            Once graduating, like many of his generation, Duffy enlisted in the United States Army (from 1942 to 1946), serving as a water purification engineer in the Philippines campaign.  As luck would have it, he fell into playing basketball for the U.S. Army basketball team.  “.  As his daughter, Barbara A. Duffy-Protentis, remembers, he would say, “I never got shot at, I got fouled a lot.”

             After his honorable discharge from military service, he would attend St. Anselm’s College in New Hampshire, receiving his Bachelors Degree.  Later on, he completed a Masters in Education degree from Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

            Duffy’s professional journey, as a teacher, basketball coach and principal in the Pawtucket School System, began in 1950, where he drew Sayles Junior High for his first teaching assignment.  Leaving the City in 1956 to teach English at Warren High School, he also served at this school as assistant basketball coach for three years and head coach for one year.

            In 1960, Duffy, returned to Pawtucket, serving as guidance counselor at Jenks Junior High for seven years.  Then, for thirteen years (two as assistant principal and 11 as principal) he was at Slater Junior High School.  At age 56. as principal he took the reins of the former Pawtucket West High School (now called Shea) for three years, where he also served as the baseball coach for two seasons.   Turning fifty nine years old, he had a cerebral aneurysm, forcing him to ultimately retire two years later from teaching the public school.   His love for teaching would bring him out of retirement to be the Assistant Principal at St. Teresa’s School in Pawtucket for the remainder of his career.

            Later, Duffy was inducted into the Bryant University Hall of Fame and the City of Pawtucket Hall of Fame. He served as chairman of the Rhode Island Interscholastic Athletic Association and Chairman of Pawtucket’s Centennial Committee.  For several years, Duffy also served as the Chairman of the Rhode Island Secondary Principal’s Association.

Inductee in Pawtucket’s Hall of Fame

             Duffy’s passion for teaching and his impact on students was captured in the 2000 Pawtucket Hall of Fame program where he was inducted into this prestigious group:

             “Tom’s thoughts and actions always had the basic theme. Is it good for the kids?”  But, words from former students and fellow educators best describe him, notes the program: “He was principal and number one cheerleader for Slater.” “He turned a school (Slater) around from a so-called tough school to one that had a positive attitude, strong academics and a wide range of extra curricular activities.”

             “Tom was known as an administrator that teachers knew they could go to for extra materials or to add a new club or to fundraise for projects.  Tom’s theory was if it’s for the students then I’m for it.  He truly lived the motto of Slater – loyalty, perseverance and cooperation.”

One of the Greatest Coaches

            From 1962 to 1969, Duffy would take on new professional challenges while teaching in Pawtucket School System.  He became head basketball coach at Bryant University.  His teaching skills would translate well to the basket ball court with his basketball players breaking all records.

             According to Bryant University’s athletic department, “Tom Duffy was one of the greatest coaches in the school’s history, serving as the men’s basketball coach from 1964-68, going 70-22 during that time period for a .760 winning percentage that still stands as the best in the school history.

            The University’s athletic department noted that among Duffy’s many sports achievements was a 1966-67 team that went undefeated in the regular season and set the school record for wins in a season with 22.  This winning streak earned the squad a place in the Bryant Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.  Duffy’s team was considered to be one of the best small university basketball ball teams nationally, even capturing the Naismith Conference Championship and advanced to the NAIA District 32 National Tournament.

            Furthermore, in addition to the induction of the team itself, four members of the unit would see themselves inducted as individuals, including all-time scoring leader Tom Smile, Don Gray, Tony DeQuattro and even Duffy himself.

            “Tom was a great coach, a great mentor to numerous Bryant basketball players, had a great sense of humor and, above all, was a great family man, stated Mike Fisher, Bryant University Chairman of the Board and a member of the Hall of Fame 1966-67 team. “He was a very important part of building the foundation for Bryant’s many years of successful men’s basketball.

            In 1967, the Rhode Island Association of Sportswriters and Sportscasters, named Duffy the “coach of the year.” This marked the first time a Bryant coach had received this prestigious honor.  One year later, he chose to step down as the University’s head basketball coach, choosing to continue to teach in Pawtucket’s public schools rather than taking on a full-time position as Athletic Director and basketball coach.

 Remembering Father

             Barbara A. Duffy-Protentis, 55,  remembers her father as being “the most godly human I knew.”  While he put his family first, he never forgot others.  “He spent his entire professional life doing things for people,” said the resident of Easton, Massachusetts.

             After Duffy’s death, Protentis noted that she found a letter in her father’s personal papers that he had saved for 36 years.  The young student, living in a bad home environment, wrote to thank him for constantly checking in every day to “see how she was doing.”  She also noted his prediction was correct, that she ultimately became the only person in her family to make it.  “You will never know the impact you had on me.  I went to College and because of you I became a teacher,” she said.

             “The best thing he instilled in his children was “we are put on this earth to help others,”  adds Protentis.  This philosophy ultimately drove her younger sister, Mary, into the teaching profession and Protentis entered a field to assist at risk 14 to 22 year olds.

            Mary Tetzner, 54, (married to Ed Tetzner, an official of the Doyle Administration) recalls how her father and mother took in young students from bad home situations, to live with them.  In one instance, Duffy bought a young girl a prom dress because her family was unable to purchase one.  No one knew except the Duffy’s and the girl, says the Greenville resident.

            Even in his final days, Duffy remained a teacher.  At the Rhode Island Veterans Home, he tutored employees, helping them get through their GED courses.  “Even though he was not in a class room he was always a teacher,” notes Tetzner.

            Duffy was married to his wife, Barbara (Molloy) Duffy, a former school nurse, for over 59 years.  After three weeks of dating, he proposed to her and later married. He leaves two daughters (Protentis and Tetzner) and grandchildren, Elizabeth (Tetzner) Shactel, Thomas Tetzner, Sam Duffy-Protentis, Alexis Duffy-Protentis, Nicole Duffy-Protentis, Jack Duffy-Protentis and his great-grandson, Benjamin Shactel.

            Duffy’s funeral is scheduled for tomorrow, Feb. 8, 2014 at 9:00 am, at the MANNING-HEFFERN FUNERAL HOME, 68 Broadway, Pawtucket. There will be a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Teresa’s Church, 358 Newport Avenue, Pawtucket at 10:00 am. His calling hours will be Friday from 4-8 pm in the funeral home.

            Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket-based writer who covers aging, medical and health care issues.  He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.