Category Archives for People

Activist Richard J. Walton’s Great Adventure in Life and Death

Published January 4, 2013, Pawtucket Times

Throughout his 84 years, Richard J. 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 by making sound arguments. With his last breath, he even taught us how to face death.

Walton, age 84, died on December 27 at Rhode Island Hospital. He had been treated for leukemia for about six months, says daughter, Cathy Walton Barnard, of Simsbury, Connecticut, who noted his last words, “I’m going on a great adventure.”

Walton Touched Many Lives

Even with many in Walton’s vast progressive and activist networks knowing about his illness, people were caught off guard by his sudden passing one week ago, stated Rick Wahlberg, a computer consultant and a former president of Stone Soup Coffee House, who worked closely with Walton on the nonprofit’s Board of Directors for over 20 years and developed close personal ties. “We considered him part of our family just like many others did,” he said. .

According to Wahlberg, a Cumberland resident, Walton was part of New York’s intelligentsia scene, [mingling with writers at the Lion’s Head, a bar a few steps down from Christopher Street] in Greenwich Village, where he lived making a living as a writer.

Wahlberg viewed Walton as a “great example of morality, humanity and a supporter of nonviolence,” noting that his friend led an amazing life that help shaped his progressive point of view and that of his two daughters. When his oldest daughter, Corinne, heard of Walton’s passing, she remarked, “he did more in one lifetime than most.”

Over the years, Wahlberg, 59, and his wife, Barbara, attended Walton’s birthday parties that would raise large sums of money for his favorite charities, attracting the state’s powerful political and media elite right to his family compound, located at Pawtuxet Cove in Warwick. This legendary fundraising event occurred from 1988 to 2011, bringing hundreds of people each year to celebrate his progressive causes. Due to his health in 2012, for the first time, Walton’s birthday was held at the Roots Cultural Center in Providence.

Joyce Katzberg, 59, folksinger and a founding organizer of Stone Soup Coffee House, spent decades protesting with Walton at vigils, rallies and picket lines. She remembers him as a kind, honest person. When necessary, he was not afraid of using the “F word,” she quipped, noting that this word stood for fascism. His social advocacy “has left many ripples and impacted many Rhode Island nonprofits,” she adds.

“Richard called things for what they were, said things in ways that were hard to argue with because he had the facts, knew the background stories and did his home work. He cared enough to tell the truth,” said Katzberg, stressing how he excelled at moderating views between people with differing positions.

Bruce McCrae (a.k.a. Rudy Cheeks), a co-author of Phillip and Jorge column in the weekly Providence Phoenix, who knew Walton for over 30 years as a social activist, educator and a strong advocate for traditional American Folk music, had his thoughts about his recent passing. “There is no doubt in my mind that Rhode Island would have been a much different and poorer place without his constant presence. He was a mentor to generations of students and social activists and one of the strongest voices for peace and equality that Rhode Island has ever known,” he said.

McCrae, 62, says his efforts for social change extended internationally to Africa where, in 1960, he worked on a number of documentary films on the emerging independence movements on that continent and to Latin America, where he started the Sister Cities Project between Providence and Niquinohomo, Nicaragua, helping to build a medical facility and school there.

One of the City of Pawtucket’s most visible social advocates, Maggi Burns Rogers, remembers Walton as someone who worked hard to improve the world without forgetting how to enjoy it. “He loved to laugh, eat, drink, was an avid gardener, knew his music, read literature and even traveled the world.” (In between his social activism, teaching and writing, during his long life Walton traveled to over 50 countries, making return trips to many of them.),

“Richard won’t be remembered for just one thing because he brought his talent to so many different nonprofits,” says Rogers, including Amos House, the George Wiley Center, Stone Soup Coffee House, Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, and the Pawtucket Arts Festival Executive Committee to name just a few.

With his long white beard, President Betsy Florin, of the Pawtucket-based George Wiley Center, viewed Walton as a Santa Claus-like figure. But unlike Santa, he gave every day of the year, all of his life, she said. “His real gift was not something tangible that could be wrapped in a pretty box and placed under a tree, it was, rather a gift of imagination combined with activism.”

Walton “imagined a world of decency and fairness and then sought to make that happen,” said Florin.

As to Walton’s daughter, Barnard, 52, even in her earliest childhood memories she remembers her father as being an activist, who once marched with his young daughter at a gay pride parade. While not being an activist to “his degree” the Preschool teacher is very politically active in her local community.

Today, Barnard is a diehard New York Mets fan. When Barnard and her brother visited their father in New York, he often took them to watch the team play at Shea Stadium. (As noted in an Op Ed penned by Walton in 2000, throughout his life Walton’s favorite baseball player and hero was Hank Greenberg, a Jewish baseball player who played in the major leagues in the 1930s and 1940s, primarily for the Detroit Tigers. He was considered to be one of the premier power hitters of his generation. Walton noted that Greenberg, who experienced anti Semitism, would encourage another player subject to slurs from the sidelines, that was Jackie Robinson.)

Six Lifetimes Jammed into One

Walton’s life is richly detailed in Wikipedia, a web-based free content encyclopedia.

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, serving 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 School of Journalism where he later earned a masters in journalism degree in 1955.

Walton’s training at Brown University and the School of Journalism at 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 would 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. In the late 1960s, as a freelance writer, 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. He was also the former UN Secretary-General U Thant’s personal editor for his memoir, “The View from the United Nations.”

In 1981, after 26 years of living outside of Rhode Island, he would return, ultimately becoming one of the most recognizable social activists around, fighting against hunger, homelessness and poverty. The journalist would run for political office and was active in the Citizens Party [the predecessor to the Green Party]. He ran as the political group’s vice presidential candidate in 1984 with the radical feminist Sonia Johnson. They did not win.

For over 25 years, Walton has taught writing to thousands of students at Rhode Island College (RIC). Walton fought to successfully establish a union at this university, hammering out a contract, ultimately serving as its first president until his death. With his death, RIC President Nancy Carriuolo called for lowering the flags on campus to half-staff in his memory.

Walton was married to Margaret Hilton and Mary Una Jones, both marriages ending in divorce. He is survived by his daughter Cathy Walton Barnard and son Richard Walton and three grandchildren.

Big Shoes to Fill

Walton, with his long white hair and beard, wearing his trademark blue overalls, bandana and Stone Soup baseball cap, serves as a role model to the younger generations of social activists, those who will take up his worthy causes to fight for justice, to end poverty, hunger, and homelessness. He taught us how to live life to the fullest, exploring the world while not forgetting to help those in need.

Walton’s life turned out to be a grand adventure. But even with death approaching he taught us to take that leap of faith into the unknown, recognizing that death, too, can be and even grander adventure.

The family is planning a memorial service to be held the first weekend in June.

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

Childhood Dream of Becoming a Photographer Becomes a Realty

Published December 7, 2012, Pawtucket Times

Some times an appreciation for the arts takes hold of your soul later in life and sometimes it takes place during your childhood.  For thirty nine year old Briana Gallo, she was intrigued with photography at a very young age, which began while playing with her dad’s old Nikon camera.    Today with pride and excitement, she finds herself participating in her first show, selling her photographs at the 30th Annual Foundry Artist Holiday Sale.

Looking Back

“I could ride [a horse] before I learned to walk,” remembers photographer Briana Gallo, who grew up on a 100 acre horse farm in Missouri.   Little did the five year old child know that the seeds of her desire to be a professional photographer was gently planted while taking ‘pretend’ shots of imaginary scenes.  Years later, this ultimately created and shape her photographic style as an adult.

Gallo’s imagination guided her photography.  “I want my photos to be full of emotion, with people becoming an integral part of the image.”  For those looking at her work, this Northfield, New Hampshire resident wants them to see the image as she saw through the lens, feeling that they became part of the exact moment the photograph was taken.

When Gallo turned ten years old, the pain of her parent’s divorce pushed her away from photography, taking her to Florida to live with her mother.  As a sophomore at ArmwoodHigh School in her new community of Brandon, Florida, the young student again picked up a camera joining the school’s year book staff.  “I was all over the school clicking away, capturing each and every moment”, she says.  Gallo ultimately did take on the responsibility of becoming the editor in her junior and senior years.

Snapping Pictures at College

             After high school, Gallo entered  Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where she majored in English, with two minors – teaching English as a second language, and of course, photography.  The budding photographer made a few dollars on the side by taking photos at sports events and sorority and fraternity parties. “Photography paid my bills,” she says, but noting that it took “absolutely no creativity.”

As a college senior, Gallo traveled to attend photo workshops in Santa Fe, New Mexico, mostly focusing on landscapes and slide photography, however, these trips also reignited her love for riding horses.  After graduating college, she ran a horseback riding program for boys in North Carolina.  Gallo, who grew up on a Missouri horse ranch, trained Arabians to become “kid horses” in North Carolina for four year.  This experience ultimately led her to meet her husband and marry.

Her last winter in North Carolina, Gallo found her old manual camera. After wiping the dust off, she took a photograph of a White Zinfandel wine bottle, which became an award winning photo.  The internal calling to become a professional photographer was reinforced when the wine company bought her photograph to use in an advertisement.  “This was my sign,” she says.

Relocating to New Hampshire, the couple would become Directors at Interlocken, an international summer camp. Gallo fell back on her college skills of teaching English as a second language, combining it with photography to work with the campers who came from all corners of the world.  She also ultimately served as the camp’s marketing and staffing director, too.

As a Camp Counselor, “I suddenly found myself back in the heart of photography,” she said, “…not taking pictures but teaching the craft to the youngsters.”

In time, the young couple bought a ranch in Northfield, New Hampshire to establish, Driftwood, their own camp and boarding facility.  During the summer, they offered two three-week horseback residential riding programs to children.

Gallo realized that the skills she honed while training horses would also make her a better photographer as well.  “Training young horses requires the eye, patience and steadiness needed to become a professional photographer,” she said.  Ultimately, closing her ranch allowed Gallo to bring photography back into her very hectic family life, especially with the time it takes to raise two small children under age seven.

With the purchase of a Canon 7 D and learning about the digital darkroom at  Rhode Island School of Design,  Gallo was off and running, to become a professional photographer.  She traveled to Honduras, with the nonprofit group, Shoulder to Shoulder, to create a photo essay of their work.  This allowed Gallo to provide photos for use in their fundraising, telling their story through many of her camera lenses.  She also did her photo-philanthropy for City Arts and Mount Hope Youth, Center  located in Providence.

Last year, Gallo traveled to Cuba, learning photo-taking tips from the world renowned travel photographer Lorne Resnick., where the experience propelled her into the world of fine art photography. Today, Gallo reflects on her life’s journey where she has found a way to do all that she loves – to be a mom, to work, to travel, to practice photography while at the same time, helping others.

Looking back over the years, Gallo has come to realize that “art is not what you see but what you make others feel.” With Gallo’s attempts to become a full-time photographer, she adds “I’m definitely stepping into unknown waters, it’s kind of like getting on a young horse for the first time.”

Buy Local, Support Your Local Artist Community

             Gallo becomes one of 65 seasoned artists who will show their work at the Foundry Artist Association’s thirtieth anniversary holiday sale, considered to be one of the top regional art sale, showcasing jewelry, glass, pottery, clothing, artwork, photography, and furniture.  As for the last ten years, this Christmas event is held at the historic Pawtucket Armory, located Exchange Street in Pawtucket.  Kicking off last weekend, the holiday sale reopens this Friday, December 7th, noon – 8 p.m., with jazz singer Debra Mann performing from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ; Saturday, December 8th, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., and closes on Sunday, December 9th, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The Foundry Show, for Gallo, a first-time Foundry Arts Association participant, allows her to showcase her unique photographic work (her website is www.courageispower.com) to thousands of shoppers, who want to purchase one-of-a-kind photos, with the added benefit of not having to pay sales tax on their purchase.

The show is free to the public with free parking in the adjacent parking. All major credit cards accepted.

For additional information and directions to the Foundry Artist Show visit the website, www.foundryshow.com  and or visit Facebook .

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

Pawtucket to Celebrate its Own

Published October 11, 2012, Pawtucket Times  

            Making a difference in your community can be as simple as helping a family member, neighbor or friend who are in need of a little assistance.  Those simple acts of kindness can have far reaching effects that are not always obvious  – whether it be shoveling a side walk for a neighbor, donating canned goods to feed the needy, or volunteering for a nonprofit or civic group, are some examples of giving of ones self.     

             But some Pawtucket residents (or even former one’s, too) excel in their motivation to “go the extra mile” to making a positive impact on their beloved Pawtucket community. Enhancing their home town to strengthen its social fabric becomes their life’s mission.   Founded in 1986 to commemorate the City of Pawtucket’s 100th Anniversary, today the Pawtucket Hall of Fame has recognized 98 inductees, that include 18 historical figures, who have made an extremely positive impact in the Birthplace of America’s Industrial Revolution.  In two weeks, the following five inductees will join their ranks, to be recognized by the City’s Pawtucket Hall of Committee for 2012:

 A Voice for the Voiceless

             Semi-retired businessman and philanthropist Paul Audette brings his love for the City of Pawtucket with his detailed historical knowledge of the community, combined with 50 years of work experience. “He comes to the aide of those in need”, notes Patty Zacks, who nominated this 83 year old inductee.  “He never wants or expects to be recognized for his help,” Zacks adds. 

             “His actions [to help] are led by his heart and done for the right reasons,” says Zacks,  who believes that he has oftentimes been the ‘glue” that help keeps this community working together.

             Mayor Donald R. Grebien, notes “He is a self-described ombudsman for the City and has worked in many instances to insure that a potential new business can navigate its way through the “red tape” to become a successful Pawtucket business.

             Former President of the Pawtucket Rotary Club, Colin Murray, also recognized Audette’s efforts to help others.  “Because of his determination for making Pawtucket a better place to live and work, the Pawtucket Rotary Club awarded him the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award, the highest civic recognition that the civic group bestows upon a individual,” he said.

              According to Murray, Audette has been an advocate for the “voiceless” and has served as a volunteer ombudsman for the Alliance for Better Long-Term Care, was Chair of the City’s Affirmative Action Committee, and worked for decades assisting the down and out in the community, providing financial assistance and helping them navigate the State’s regulatory process.  Audette, a Pawtucket Rotarian, exemplifies the Rotary International’s motto, “Service Above Self,” Murray says.

         Murray adds that since 2006, as co-founder of a nonprofit group, Helping Hands, Audette has continued assistance to local organizations that help at-risk Pawtucket youth, the homeless, and the helpless.  Organizations receiving assistance include Cross Roads, Pawtucket Boys and Girls Club, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Pawtucket Salvation Army and the American Cancer Society.

Bringing Winter Wonders to Pawtucket

            Janice McHale and her good friend, Jean Stipek, of Pawtucket, will also become 2012 inductees into the Pawtucket Hall of Fame.

            Pawtucket resident Dawn P. Goff, who chairs the Winter Wonderland Committee, recognizes McHale and Stipek, for creating Pawtucket’s premier winter event. After experiencing a winter festival in California, McHale and Stipek presented their idea to Mayor James E. Doyle, who gave them the “green light” to organize a “Winter Wonderland” in Pawtucket. 

            For over a decade these two Pawtucket residents directed the efforts of a dedicated group of volunteers.  Goff noted that last year, Winter Wonderland turned 13-years-old, showcasing 425 lighted Christmas trees, along with 20 Victorian Houses sponsored by local businesses along with a number of lighted displays.  The two December weekends were jam-packed with festive holiday entertainment, Goff says.

            Winter Wonderland, drawing thousands of Rhode Islanders into Slater Park each December,  began with “two people who had a vision in 1999”,  Goff adds.

            Besides her activities with Winter Wonderland, McHale has served on the Pawtucket Riverfront Commission, the City’s Parks and Recreation Commission, in addition to the Grand Marshall of the St. Patrick Day Parade in 2000.    

America’s Legendary Jockey

            John “Red” Pollard rode into American history while overcoming physical disabilities, such as partial blindness in one eye and worked with intense physical pain caused by severe riding injuries that fractured his bones.  The man who rode Seabiscuit, humbly accepted his role in racing history.   As noted by local horse trainer, Nino Calabro “Red had a way with the horses..”. And Seabiscut was considered to be one of  America’s most recognized thoroughbred racehorses in the nation’s history.

             Attorney John J. Partridge who nominated the late Pollard, says “It is not often we can honor someone who lived a relatively quiet life while as a resident of Pawtucket, but was internationally acclaimed and twice memorialized in motion pictures, and more recently in a best-selling book [on the Times bestsellers list for a total of 42 weeks].”  Pollard, who in his later years resided at 249 Vine Street in Darlington with his wife Agnes, raised their two children, Norah and John in Pawtucket and worked at the Narragansett Race Track.  Today, Red and his wife Agnes’ final resting place is in the City’s Notre DameCemetery.

             Supporting this nomination, Mayor Grebien noted, “Between August 1936 and March 1940, Pollard rode Seabiscuit 30 times, winning 18 races including his final start in March 1940, the year the horse and rider won the San Anita Handicap and Seabiscuit was the nation’s top money-winning thoroughbred.”

             According to Mayor Grebien, Pollard was “an outstanding athlete himself in a very demanding sport, and mentored countless young jockeys who rode at Narragansett Race Track.”  He often provided shelter and a hot meal to many of the young jockey’s who needed a hand as they aspired to what Pollard had achieved as one of horse racing’s all-time best jockeys.”

          A  native of Alberta, Canada, Pollard was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1982, says Tom Cosgrove, Archivist. “His name will be forever linked to the days when thoroughbred racing, boxing, and baseball were the only sports in America that truly mattered,” states Cosgrove.  

             Terence J. Meyocks, of the Nicholasville, Kentucky-based Jockeys Guild, says that Pollard “holds a special place in Jockey’s Guild history because he was one of the founding fathers of the Guild in 1940.  He joined other leading jockey’s at the time including Eddie Arcaro, John Longden and Charles Kurtsinger, to create the Guild, which represents the health and safety interests of jockeys everywhere.”

 Unsung Civil War Hero

             Finally, Pawtucket resident, Dale Rogers, nominated Lt. Colonel Henry Harrison Young, who becomes this years’ Historical Inductee.  “Young distinguished himself and his unit throughout the war by furnishing excellent intelligence on Confederate troop movements and by oftentimes even donning Confederate uniforms to either kidnap southern soldiers or gather valuable information for General Sheridan. 

             According to Roger’s,  the Civil War veteran was dispatched at the war’s end to the Texas border to round up Confederate renegades who were making raids, where he lost his life in an ambush while crossing the Rio Grande River.  A statute was dedicated to this Pawtucket resident at BurnsidePark in Providence, (across from the Biltmore, near the skating rink), for his heroics.

             The Pawtucket Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony will take place on Friday, October 26th at 7:00pm. at the LeFoyer Club on 151 Fountain Street.  To purchase tickets ($30 each)  please call Rick Goldstein, at (401) 728-0500, Ext. 348. 

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