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Meet the 2023 Pawtucket Hall of Famers (part 2)
Continuing with our 2023 Hall of Famers (see bottom of article for link to part 1:
2023 Inductee – Phyllis Van Orden Nathanson
Phyllis Van Orden Nathanson and her husband, Morris were a force to be reckoned with.
For over 40 years, the couple were staunch advocates for Pawtucket, ambassadors and champions for re-purposing historical structures and visionaries for what the arts could be.
In 1986, the Nathansons purchased the old Rhode Island Cardboard complex, and over the years renovated the former manufacturing mill building (ultimately located in Pawtucket’s 307-acre Arts and Entertainment District) to become the new headquarters of Morris
Nathanson Design. It was here that artist lofts and studios were also developed, creating a flourishing arts community where artists would live and work. The artists and craft people residing in their mill would subsequently become independent contractors that Morris drew upon to support designs he created for his restaurant and hotel projects.
With the experiences Phyllis learned in redeveloping their mill, she took on the development of the adjacent properties formerly known as Lebanon Knitting Mill and Vesta Underwear which sit on the banks of the Blackstone River. The project, Riverfront Lofts, houses 59 livework condominiums for artists. Phyllis envisioned this project of artists owning their own spaces and went on to sell over 85% of the lofts in Riverfront. This was considered the single largest housing investment in Pawtucket in over 30 years.
Phyllis along with her husband, Morris, were leaders in encouraging artists to rehabilitate vacant mill buildings throughout Pawtucket and statewide. As early advocates for mill adaptive reuse, they were in the forefront of creating Pawtucket as a highly visible and respected arts and entertainment center. Today, Phyllis continues that vision that she shared with her husband.
Utilizing her visionary business acumen, Phyllis has tirelessly promoted the city of Pawtucket by sponsoring and transforming public spaces with several pieces of the art and sculpture we see today in the downtown area identifying Pawtucket as an arts community. Her accomplishments, which are many, include saving the Pawtucket Armory to become a center for the arts in Pawtucket. She brought the Gamm Theatre to the historic armory where it thrived from 2003-2018. She brought the Foundry Artists to the Pawtucket Armory for their annual Holiday sale in 2002 where it continues to be held to this day.
Retail businesses she brought to Pawtucket include Artee Fabrics on Main Street, the Mad House Café at the former Apex property, and LLB Architects, which did a historic restoration of 161 Exchange Street. She also brought Small Pleasures Florist to Blackstone Studios. Lastly, she was instrumental for saving the Fuller Manufacturing company for future building.
In addition, she is presently working to preserve her husband’s legacy by archiving his substantial artwork. Her husband, Morris, is a 2004 inductee to Pawtucket Hall of Fame and she is now honored to be given this prestigious award. She has also received awards from the Blackstone Valley Heritage & Tourism Council, and the Pawtucket Foundation. Her irrepressible belief in the potential of Pawtucket, her dedication to the revitalization of this community and her pioneering spirit in the arts are all the reasons we welcome Phyllis Nathanson as an inductee into the 2023 Pawtucket Hall of Fame.
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2023 Inductee – Beth Roberge
Perhaps one’s calling begins early in life, where putting the needs of others before yourself becomes a way of life. For Beth Roberge, a lifelong resident of Pawtucket, this has been her life’s mission. This former nun was an educator in the East Providence School system as a 6th grade teacher for over 30 years, offering educational opportunities to our youth.
In later years, her perseverance and dedication to the City of Pawtucket, its elders or anyone who needed help in Pawtucket, became quite evident as she found herself serving and volunteering on numerous boards in different capacities.
Beth started her volunteering career at the Pawtucket Falls Nursing Home and continued to volunteer there for over thirty-five years. Beth has been the Board of Commissioners (BOC) Chairperson for the Housing Authority for the City of Pawtucket (PHA) since 2019.
As a resident of Burns Manor, a senior complex owned by the Pawtucket Housing Authority, she offers guidance to the BOC regarding a resident’s experiences by engaging with other residents or attending PHA community meetings before PHA monthly board meetings.
Beth is also president of the Pawtucket Senior Citizens Council for the Leon Mathieu Senior Center and has been an extremely active member. In previous positions for the City of Pawtucket, Beth has served as a Senior Liaison. During that time, she developed the Senior to Student Snow Shoveling Program which, over the years, has assisted Seniors with clearing their property sidewalk of snow. This was one of the first snow shoveling programs of its kind in the State which paired a Pawtucket High School student with a senior from the city. She coordinated this program for 7 years.
Beth has utilized her former training as an elementary school teacher in the successful implementation of this intergenerational program that is still in existence today. For the improvement of daily living for Pawtucket senior citizens, Beth was the past president of Better Long-Term Care which advocates for individuals residing in long term care facilities. She was also involved with the Friendly Visitor Program, visiting nursing home residents on a weekly basis. Beth is the Burns Manor leader of the Intergenerational Reading Program at the Henry Winters Elementary School, in collaboration with the Pawtucket Housing Authority and the Pawtucket School Department, a program recently recognized by the local press in the New England Association for Public Housing Authorities. Beth continues to be an Elector and Eucharistic Minister at Saint Theresa ‘s Church and has continued this work for more than 40 years.
Beth has been a steadfast advocate for the Pawtucket community on many levels, selflessly giving of herself and her time, to make Pawtucket a better place to live. She has made a lasting impact on the countless lives of many people in the community, both young and old. We are pleased to welcome Beth Roberge into the Pawtucket Hall of Fame
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2023 Inductee – Rick Roth
Rick Roth is a veritable force to be reckoned with in the city of Pawtucket. A dedicated, hardworking screen printer, his immense passion for the city of Pawtucket, and the world at large, is inspirational. Rick is the owner of the cutting-edge textile printing company “Mirror Image” located at 190 Exchange Street in Pawtucket, a company he moved here from Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1999.
He has always run a Union shop, allowing dignity and respect to all his employees. Rick is known as “the godfather” of modern print screening and was named one of the top five maverick CEO’s by The Counselor magazine in 2022. He is a contributing editor for Printwear and Impressions magazines and has written a book “Screen Printing Today: The Basics”. Rick is an advocate for environmentally friendly and sustainable work and uses only water-based inks, as well as educating others on this practice. He was the printer for T-Shirts for both the Super Bowl winning Patriots and the World Series winning Red Sox. He has won national and international recognition and multiple awards in the printing industry. In 2020 (post-COVID), he launched “Here for Rhode Island”, encouraging sales of shirts, bandannas & hats to keep workers afloat.
Roth’s influence goes beyond decoration and carries into activism and charitable causes. “It’s satisfying both creatively and personally when there’s a social mission behind doing the work,” Roth says. His history proves this enthusiasm for giving back, having worked on campaigns like Students for a Free Tibet, in their struggle for freedom and independence, and as a member of Amnesty International, promoting human rights. Other groups include Farm Aid, Music Makers Foundation, New Orleans Musician’s Clinic, offering medical care and social services for performing artists, and so many more.
He has accomplished a plethora of charitable work and community involvement stating, “I don’t make clear divisions with my personal and work life, so it’s only natural that my business would also have charitable aims. It’s incredibly gratifying.”
Rick is the originator of “The Pawtucket Film Fest”, screening independent films since the inception of the Pawtucket Arts Festival. Film director Michael Corrente once said, while sitting with Robert Altman and Martin Scorsese at the Toronto Film Festival, “Sorry, I can’t hang with you any longer, I have to go to the Pawtucket Film Festival”.
A baseball player himself while at Colgate, he went on to attend Harvard Divinity School. He then worked with addicted individuals and troubled youth in Boston. A Quaker, he demonstrates the truly selfless heart and soul of social activist.
Rick Roth has truly made a lasting impact on the quality of life in Pawtucket, having left an indelible mark in both his professional and personal achievements. We are pleased to welcome him to the 2023 Pawtucket Hall of Fame.
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2023 Inductee – Patricia DeDora-St. Germain
With a background as a licensed social worker, it became evident that Patricia DeDora-St. Germain had the ability to unite diverse people into collective action and civic involvement. As the daughter of two small business owners in Pawtucket (DeDora’s Market) and a graduate of Shea High School, Patricia had a unique understanding of hard work and
struggle, and over the years made it her goal to improve, highlight and cheer for Pawtucket. Patricia became a skilled community organizer, working tirelessly to raise the quality of life in Pawtucket and her vigilant advocacy has sought to make a real impact on improving conditions in the city. In 2009, she joined “FACT” (Fairlawn Against Crime Together), and quickly took on the role as president. She has recruited volunteers to work on zoning issues to address plighted properties, held neighborhood clean-ups incorporating students from Nathaniel Greene Elementary, Slater Jr. High & Shea High Schools, and has worked with police and local leaders on neighborhood crime.
Patricia was responsible for profoundly impacting the community and inspiring others to join in and do the same, influencing other citizens to have a more positive and hopeful attitude towards the city. Her efforts include organizing food deliveries for those in need and collecting gloves and coats for the vulnerable.
On the political front, she has worked with the Pawtucket Advisory Commission on Arts & Culture to champion physical improvements at Veterans Park. In 2017, she led the fight in the “Stop the Dump” campaign, aimed at keeping the transfer station out of Fairlawn, determined to hold the city accountable.
Her efforts stretched to an international front, making sure the city included Scotland in the “Flag Raisings” at city hall, (being of partial Scottish descent herself). Patricia has dedicated many hours of time and energy to bettering the city of Pawtucket, and has done so with honesty and compassion. Patricia has proven to be a true community leader who advocates for cleanliness, beauty, and sustainable communities. She truly embodies the spirit of Pawtucket, and the city is fortunate that she has worked so hard on its behalf. She is certainly deserving of this induction into the 2023 Pawtucket Hall of Fame.