Work in the mills may have allowed New Bedford residents to make a living, but it was never a good living for most. And it was never an easy life.
Category: COVID-19
Posted inColumn
Chris McCarthy’s harrowing COVID-19 survival tale
After suffering three strokes, a heart attack and double pneumonia, the WBSM host tells columnist Jack Spillane he does not know for sure whether he literally died.
Posted inCOVID-19
New Bedford’s social clubs feel pain of pandemic
In the past year, some social clubs in New Bedford have closed their doors, perhaps even permanently. The Young Cape Verdean Athletic Association and the Elks Lodge have listed their properties for sale.
Posted inCommunity Voices
Essay: Remembering Kevin, Megan and Hank
Kevin Harrington and Megan Tench died alone and unexpectedly. Hank Seaman spent months of his last year in isolation from his friends and loved ones.
Posted inWe remember you
ANTONE ‘TONKA TOI’ FORTES, 73, ‘LOVED THE KIDS’ HE TRAINED IN GYMNASTICS
Fortes contracted COVID-19 at the beginning of this year. He was hospitalized on Jan. 4, and never returned home.
Posted inCOVID-19 survivors
For ‘long-haulers,’ a return to normal remains out of reach
Two local families are still coping with lingering ailments and uncertainty months after initial infections.
Posted inA COVID-19 timeline
A look at some major events in New Bedford and around the world during the pandemic
A look at some major events in New Bedford and around the world during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Posted inColumn
COVID-19 has left the city deeply traumatized
Columnist Jack Spillane surveys the pandemic’s toll on New Bedford, from the Latino community to health care workers.
Posted inPandemic's toll
A COVID cluster: Retired mill workers
An analysis of New Bedford death certificates reveals a surprising cluster of deaths among elderly residents who worked for decades when the textile and apparel industry was at its peak.
Posted inData analysis
Pandemic’s death toll struck unevenly in New Bedford
Death certificates obtained by The New Bedford Light show the elderly and younger Black and Hispanic residents have borne the heaviest burden. Overall, the number of people who died in New Bedford increased 15 percent last year over averages of the last decade. Coronavirus became the leading cause of death in the city in 2020.