Maintaining Italian Heritage, Sharing Love Of Sports in North End

North End Patch's weekly feature, "Meet Your Neighbors," is just that – discovering more about fellow residents or people who work in this neighborhood and make the community a nice place to live.

Who?

Dom Campochiaro

What?

Electrician, photographer, coach and civic leader

His story:

Dom Campochiaro wouldn’t live anywhere but the North End.

“I have family here, friends and I’m deeply committed to the North End Athletic Association,” he said.

Dom will celebrate 75 years of living in the neighborhood this coming June.

“It’s so convenient here,” Dom said. “It’s a family-oriented neighborhood and I’m Italian so I stuck with my heritage.”

Dom said it has been a joy to spend his whole life in the North End.

He works as an electrician, has a part-time photography/videographer business (under the name of D & S Video and Photo) and coaches sports through the North End Athletic Association.

Passion for baseball

When Don was growing up (on Foster Street, Henchman Street, Hanover Street and then Charter Street), he wanted to be a baseball player.

“My main goal in life was to be a professional baseball player,” he said. “I wanted to play center field.”

Dom, who attended Charlestown High School for its program in electrical training, was called the Dom DiMaggio.

“He was my idol,” Dom said. “I finally met him later on in my life.”

Although he played quite well in high school, it wasn’t in the cards for Dom to become a professional baseball player.

Rather, after graduation he worked for ABC Electric and Harvard Electric.

Dom became certified in 1961 with a journeyman’s license and received his master’s license a few years later.

Army and more baseball

Dom followed the Red Sox (naturally) his entire life.

He enlisted in the army and played short stop and second base for the 7^th Army Baseball from 1962-1963 – a team that was similar to the minor leagues.

When he got out of the service, Dom went back to work as an electrician - a career he follows to this day.

“I’ve been at this for 55 years,” Dom said.

He’s also been a photographer for many years.

That, too, started with baseball.

“I started taking pictures of the children playing baseball while I was coaching my own team in the North End called the Jets,” Dom said.

The power of a picture

Dom loves being a photographer.

“It creates a memory for a lifetime,” he said. “You snap a moment in time that lasts forever.”

Today, Dom takes photographs and shoots video for various events in the North End as well as all over the city.

He’s the official photographer for the Massachusetts Sons of Italy.

In addition, Dom is the president of the Sons of Italy Boston Lodge 208 as well as the president of the North End Athletic Association.

He thoroughly enjoys helping children play sports.

“I’ve been coaching kids since the 1950s for baseball and basketball,” Dom said.

So why would he go anywhere else but the North End?