Charlestown, 1935: A cold-water flat, a 7-year-old boy, and a bully called âShoveâ At 93, the author recalls a city gone by, the fear he felt there, and the satisfaction of getting revenge on his childhood tormentor. By Tom SheehanUpdated April 24, 2021, 3:00 a.m. Email to a Friend A bird's-eye view of Charlestown in the early 20th century.Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons I awakened slowly, and the first reality that hit me was not the chill in the small bedroom of the cold-water flat, not the dingy surroundings, not the fact that there was no school for the day. I shivered. Reality was my arch tormentor, the boy we called âShove,â standing