Good luck to Jessica Casey, president of the Community Alliance of Mission Hill, who will be moving to Plymouth.
The beloved Jessica was given a heartfelt farewell party at the Mission Bar and Grill last month. Thumbs up to Jim Burke, who organized the party, and Mission proprietor Michel Soltani. The locals rollicked to music played by a group of Berkley students. The mellow crowd and pleasant acoustics were conducive to dancing as the Mission Hill throng cut up the rug. Impressive on the dance floor were Carmen Pola and Tommy Todd. When Tommy worked at Ed Burkes Tavern during his college years, Downbeat Magazine referred to him as the “Dancing Doorman.” It was a nice send off for Jessica, who will attend her last Mission Hill meeting Sept.16 at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Another wonderful woman departing Mission Hill is Rebecca Manos. Rebecca has been the head librarian at Parker Hill Library for 13 years. She isn’t going far, as Rebecca will take a similar position in the Roslindale Square branch.
Condolences to the family of Kathleen McCauley, who passed away last month. Kathleen was a beautiful woman who lived on Burney Street in Mission Hill for many years, and she raised a terrific family.
Congrats to the Mission Hill 15 and under hoop team, who advanced to the finals of the Boston Neighborhood Basketball League before losing to the Lee School at the Reggie Lewis Center. Chuck Davis, who works at the Tobin Community Center, did a fine job coaching the team.
One Mission Hill player I watched closely was Jonah St.Clair. Jonah is a big kid with agility and ball-handling skills. Jonah’s dad is Jim St.Clair, who was a fine player in the Mission Hill Softball League. Jim also displayed his athleticism at the Reggie Lewis Center. I was sitting next to Jim at the championship game, and five minutes before game time, it was announced that there was complimentary Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in the lobby. Jim deftly maneuvered through the huge crowd to the ice cream stand and made it back to his seat for the opening tap-off.
Belated happy 54th birthday to “Dollar Bill” Kirchgassner. Bill is a hard-working U.S. postal worker who is a Mission High 1978 graduate.
Happy 70th birthday (Sept.19) to my brother, Dan Martin. Dan, now retired and living in Revere, keeps busy, banging the ball around the handball court. Dan was the World Handball Champion in 1994, winning the 50 and over division in County Clare, Ireland.
Congrats to the Mission Hill Pirates, who won the City of Boston Baseball Championship last month. The inner-city team is sponsored by the Red Sox and Major League Baseball. The team was coached by Hector Galarza, and several of the players were former Mission Hill Little Leaugers.
A svelte Jean Healey stopped by Mike’s Donuts to say hello last month. Jean, a former Mission Hill woman, looks terrific, as she has been visiting the swimming pool a few times a week.