A Heroine of Salem Point -- LUCY CORCHADO On this final day of WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, it would be both auspicious and advantageous to summon up the spirits of the great Salem women who have made monumental impacts to our city in the past, and there have been many. But instead, I choose to highlight and honor a still-living Salem Legend on this final day of March’s month for women: LUCY CORCHADO. Oh, I’d heard about her and the work and her life she tirelessly commits to Salem’s Point District but knew little about her or, for that matter, the Point till I conducted the research for legends in our Military and Public Service chapter. And public service is indeed, the essence of Lucy Corchado; that I learned the day I had the pleasure to interview her. Lucy is the child of Puerto Rican parents. Her father Justino Arroyo, an uneducated farm worker, newly arrived in Salem saw the need to help other Latino immigrants get settled. “I remember our house always full of folks…just starting out,” in this new country, Lucy has said. Because of that, she was motivated and inspired by her late father to facilitate and enrich her fellow Latinos and their neighborhood known as “the Point.” Lucy has spent many years, and longer hours of sweat equity in enlivening the possibilities and aspirations of the Latino population and the environment in which they live. Though “the Point” may not be considered the most desirable place to reside in a city known for its history and fortune, it has become, in a sense a sheltered womb and place of emotional nourishment for the Latino community. When I interviewed Lucy for the book she told me, “I am a product of the Point and truly believe all that is great about it.” She fondly waxed nostalgic about this fascinating and intrinsic way of life in Salem and the lifeblood that sustains it. Lucy works at Salem State University, raises her family, and continues to advocate for the Point. She has worked unremittingly for the issues and concerns of the Point and its people; indeed so much so, that she has received numerous awards for her dogged service to the life and pursuit of happiness for these people. Some of the awards she has been awarded include, the Giving Tree Award for her many years of community service, and the Martin Luther King Leadership Award, to name just a few. Lucy was inducted into the Civic Engagement Hall of Fame for her deep commitment to her Salem community, and Salem State University has also recognized her work with the citys No Place for Hate Committee. Lucy Corchado is president of Point Neighborhood Association, was active as a City Councilor from 2003 to 2007, is a board member for the North Shore Community Development Corporation, and has quite fittingly worked as a choir director at Immaculate Conception Church, the very church her beloved father helped initiate the first Mass said in Spanish. Lucy is working for Salem’s Point district and its people to this very day. She is resolute in her mission and likewise, oh yes unabashedly,Salem loves her for it.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 00:12:53 +0000
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