Not everyone gets to say they started their career working for the newspaper they grew up reading. But I do.
When I was 5 years old, growing up in the Highlands of Lynn, the only newspaper appetite I had was for the comics, with my favorite being Garfield. By 8 years old, my palate expanded to the “Dear Abby” section, where I learned how to problem-solve. At 12 years old, I started reading the obituaries, because learning the stories of North Shore natives and what they did with their lives was how I gained a sense of my community’s roots.
By 14 years old, I was diving into The Item‘s page-one stories and trying to get a hold on what was going on in my city and its surrounding areas.
“You’re going to see my name on this front page one day,” I told my parents at least once a week.
Seven years later, I proved them right.
I remember one of the first stories I wrote was about an artist named Justin Clancy, who grew up in Peabody. I was inspired after hearing his story of substance abuse, and how he used music to heal himself. Just last month, Clancy moved to Los Angeles to continue pursuing his destined music career. It was the first full-circle moment of my writing career.
The first time I was brought to tears while writing a story was in April 2018, when I wrote about Lynn resident Miranda LeBrasseur. In a desperate search for a kidney to match with her blood type O, she and her family raised money and put up a billboard atop Wyoma Square.
It read, “Young mother needs a kidney.”
During our interview, I remember thinking she was one of the most humble people I have ever met, and her only goal was to get healthy so she could watch her two daughters grow up. The day after the article was published, she called me in tears saying 200 possible donors reached out to her, wanting to help.
The first news thrill I ever felt was last Thanksgiving, when I was the only reporter on call for the holiday. I woke up from a nap in the second floor bedroom of my mother’s Beacon Hill Avenue home and saw a house engulfed in flames about two streets over.
I called our photographer Spenser, I called our editor Berto, and I bundled up in layers, given it was the coldest day of 2018. I pulled up to the fire scene, which was frozen over from the water coming from the fire hoses, and saw the residents running away from their home, in tears while staring at the flames.
My heart broke when I saw the family, but I knew I still had a job to do. I spoke with neighbors and fire officials, and had to call my editor with every bit of information I obtained, given my gloves weren’t lined enough to keep me warm and I couldn’t feel my hands.
I remember taking a minute to watch the firefighters battle the freezing temperatures in an attempt to save this home. I remember neighbors comforting each other as they watched the flames win the battle against the home they lived next to.
I remember seeing firsthand that night how quickly the Lynn community dropped everything to do what they could for this family, which lost everything while they were simply trying to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with each other.
So many people have allowed me to tell their stories over the course of my two years here at The Item, and for that I will be forever grateful. It is going to be the one thing I miss the most about this job.
To my coworkers who taught me everything I know and kept their patience with me, thank you. To the city and town officials whose phones I filled with missed calls in an effort to get a comment for a story, thank you. And, to the readers who read any of my work and sent me emails with constructive criticism or messages of gratitude and positivity, I thank you the most.
I look forward to taking everything I learned while working in my home city and taking it with me to my new job at WHDH-Channel 7 in Boston as their Social Media Producer.
Signing off,
Bella diGrazia
