Not Their Kind of People

Not surprisingly this mentality does still exist especially in snobby Puritan value Beacon Hill Boston, MA.

John Walsh, the wealthy chief executive and sole owner of Elizabeth Grady Cos. planned on purchasing a condo in a co-op on Beacon St. These co-ops have been ruled by the courts as private clubs, giving boards the right to turn down anyone they want as long as no laws barring discrimination have been broken.

The board turned him down. Walsh says Winthrop, chairman of the co-op board, was cold and haughty from the beginning. In an initial 30-minute ``preliminary interview," Winthrop's questions focused on the couples' parents' backgrounds, their own educations, and that of their children. Winthrop's family came to Boston on the Arbella in 1630, and is a direct descendent of the first governor of the Mass. Poor Walsh grew up in a Somerville housing project, with parents holding at most eighth grade education and a father that drowned, leaving his wife with six kids and no life insurance. Walsh is a rags to riches story.

The rejection letter stated, ``The board, in general, has through its interview process, garnered a belief that Mr. Walsh would not reasonably coalesce as a member of this cooperative community." Walsh insists that he ``positively, absolutely" wants to live at 68 Beacon. ``What kind of example do I set if I walk away?" And now a Democratic State Representative a Republican state senator are introducing a bill that to limit such rejections to financial considerations.