SALEM — If you're from Salem and of a certain vintage, then you know all about Teen Town.
Located inside Ames Hall at the Salem YMCA, it was the place to be on Saturday nights in the 1950s and '60s.
Teen Town is where young girls were asked for their first dance, and where teenage boys stared at their feet while holding awkward conversations with members of the opposite sex.
Seriously, it really was an institution in this city that drew hundreds of young people for many years.
Now, it's coming back.
For one night — Saturday, Nov. 6 — the YMCA will celebrate the return of Teen Town. A DJ will play tunes from the era, and guests will enjoy refreshments and a cash bar.
Best of all, it's being held inside Ames Hall and is a fundraiser to restore the historic hall as part of a capital campaign for a Creative Arts Center at the Salem YMCA.
Event co-chairs are Nancy Harrington, the former Salem State president (and once a Teen Town president), and businessman David Ives.
Advance tickets are $25. For tickets, call 781-990-7084 or visit www.northshoreymca.org/teentown.cfm.
It should be a great time for a good cause.
Family reunion
That huge crowd you saw Sunday near Salem Common had nothing to do with Halloween. They were all members of the Porcello family, and they were headed into the Knights of Columbus for a family reunion.
The descendants of Joseph and Catherine Porcello, who emigrated from Italy in 1907 and 1920, respectively, gathered for a day of family trivia, old photos and home movies. Considering the size of the family, there was a lot to do and see.
How big is the family?
Consider this — Joseph and Catherine Porcello, who met in Salem and married in 1922, raised 12 children: Mary, Emily, Caesar, Rudolph, Joseph, William, Theresa, Anthony, Peter, Edward, Rita and Catherine. They all attended the Carlton and Phillips schools and graduated from Salem High.
Those one dozen children had 39 grandchildren — and some of those grandchildren are now grandparents.
Are you getting the picture?
In Montana, the Porcellos would be a small town.
All in all, it was a great day for one great big family.
Not fans of Christopher
Christopher Columbus was both cheered and jeered this past weekend.
Our own Avi Chomsky, a history professor at Salem State College, took part in an anti-Columbus rally outside the Suffolk County House of Correction in Roxbury, where many illegal immigrants are being held.
She was there to chide President Obama for not keeping a campaign pledge to change the country's "enforcement only" immigration policy, according to media reports.
Rescue in Chile
Imagine our excitement when we learned a Salem company played a role in the rescue of 33 miners in Chile. National Peening applied a special treatment to the drill used to get to the miners a half-mile underground.
Imagine our disappointment when we learned National Peening is in Salem, Va.
Old soldiers saluted
The Palmer's Cove Yacht Club opened its doors this month to 50 veterans from the Chelsea Soldiers' Home. They were entertained with music and a meal by chef Dan Tsoutsouris and his kitchen crew and departed with a goodie bag and photo album from the day.
"PCYC has members who are veterans, and we honor and appreciate all the veterans who have served our country and protected our freedom," club secretary Cynthia Mikula Smiszek wrote in an e-mail. "Hosting the Chelsea Soldiers put such a great feeling in our hearts; we are proud to make this contribution to our community."
The event was organized by Past Commodore Jack Maher Sr.
Nate the Great
The latest issue of Salem State College's alumni magazine has a great photo of School Committee member Nate Bryant during his basketball-playing days at the college.
Bryant, the assistant dean for student academic support at the college, is quoted in an article on former Salem State coach Tom Thibodeau, who is now head coach of the NBA Chicago Bulls.
A barking success
Salem resident Natalie Femino is on a mission to stop inhumane dog breeding facilities.
She organized the third annual Puppy Mill Awareness Day on the Salem Common last month, which generated roughly $1,600 for Animal Legal Defense Fund and Puppy Mill Rescue.
Femino, a licensed mental health counselor, organized the Salem event as part of a national awareness day.
This year, attorney Jonathan Stone Rankin spoke to the crowd about his experience with the Humane Society investigating puppy mills, and George Gikas and Joanne Caron from the Essex County Sheriff's Department provided a canine demonstration with dogs Gianni and Marco.
"This event will be held every year until there is no longer a need for it," Femino said.
Brave little Brian
One of the dogs who attended Puppy Mill Awareness Day couldn't be missed: Brian, an adorable foster dog with a hard-luck story.
Tonight at 6, the North Shore Networking Association is holding a charity event at the Knights of Columbus in Salem to benefit Brian's Fund at MassPaws, a volunteer organization whose mission includes rescuing dogs and cats.
Brian was found on the streets in Lynn and was later attacked twice by the same dog in a previous foster care situation. Now in a North Shore foster home, he underwent two surgeries and is fighting a bone infection and a potential amputation, according to Natalie Femino, a member of the business networking organization that is putting on the event to raise money for Brian's care.
"He is one of the sweetest, most gentle dogs I have ever met," Femino said.
Tonight's fundraiser will feature live music, dancing, a raffle and food. Tickets are $20.
Gaffe-o-meter
We gave Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. the benefit of the doubt in a news story this week about $2.5 million in federal grant funds for the city's wharf project, but we couldn't let it slide all together.
In a statement, Kerry said he saw firsthand this summer how the pier at the end of "Blarney Street" will increase tourism from Boston. Locals know the street as Blaney.
You're welcome, Senator, for the fix, but we wonder if the "Blarney" slip was Freudian.
Adding it up
If you noticed Salem was packed this past weekend, you were right. The information booth downtown registered some 4,496 visits, up about 27 percent over last year, according to numbers from Jennifer Bell, manager of Salem's Main Streets.
"We had a great weekend at the booth," she said by e-mail.
In 2008, the numbers were 3,170, and in 2009 the total was 3,545. So far, those manning the booths have helped 6,255 people.
Brace yourselves for a busy season.
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