Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Mother’s Day is this Sunday. Lots of us have sweet memories of getting mom that special gift that she so richly deserved.

When I was six (1959) I walked to Ball Square and bought my mom an apron at the (Savel’s, I’m pretty sure) 5 & 10. I paid for it with a special silver dollar that I had received as a birthday gift from former Somerville politician and all around nice guy Lenny Scott. We lived downstairs and became like family with Louise and Lenny and the kids.

After my Dad found out that I had spent the rare silver dollar, he went down to Savel’s and got the silver dollar back. Can you imagine paying one dollar for an apron? I can still picture the frilly pattern in my mind and I still have the 1882 silver dollar. We also still have a pair of candlesticks that I bought for my mom at the Bargain Center (they sold fire and smoke damaged items.)

Here are a few stories from some of my Somerville friends as we recalled Mother’s Day gift buying in the simpler days of Somerville.

“I was 16 years old, working part time and put a mothers ring on layaway. A mother of seven, mom always wanted a mothers ring. She got it for Mother’s Day 1968. I’ve had it since 2015.”

“I remember my brother and I going to Mahoney’s for Easter Lilies.”

“My siblings and I walked to the Coronet Restaurant (Redbones today) for Mother’s Day dinner with my mom who was working as a server.”

“My mom was a smoker. I got her an ashtray from Kresges. I was eight. My sister reminded me.”

“Buying a rose for my mom at Murphy’s Florist when we were old enough to walk to Davis Square by ourselves. They always added baby’s breath and wrapped it up nice (I’m sure our friend Ada at Bostonian Florist will be making many beautiful arrangements).”

“I always bought my mother perfume in a beautiful blue bottle, Midnight in Paris at the 5 and 10. Years later I found out she hated the smell (the bottle was pretty though!)”

“Me, my five siblings and my five cousins next door wanted to bake our mothers a cake. We made an angel food cake, but we all put in a drop of different color food coloring. It came out BLACK! It had red, green, blue, yellow and orange frosting!! It was the most disgusting looking cake you ever saw but it tasted delicious!”

“My siblings and I lived near Porter Square. We went to Kresge’s and bought a large picture to put on the wall behind our sofa. Mom loved the view of my older sibling holding the front of the picture and me in the back. She loved it.”

Mother’s Day will be different this year. Phone calls and videos will temporarily replace hugs and kisses, but we will definitely make the most of it. Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers everywhere. Stay safe.

-Article was previously published in 2020.