By Ellen Walker
Special to the Gazette
It is that time of year when Mission Hill Main Streets spreads the word to “Shop Local!” It is important for each of us to support our small businesses as they are the cornerstone of the Mission Hill community. Small Business Saturday, November 30th is the official start date for communities to promote shopping local for the holiday season. The vibrancy of Mission Hill truly comes from the local business district, the residents, students and visitors.
We hope you join us on Saturday, December 7th as we promote MHMS’ Small Business Saturday beginning at 10:00am until 2:30pm. We will be in Brigham Circle with a welcome table and maps of participating businesses who are offering specials for the day between 10:00am-2:30pm. Mayor Walsh’s Tree Lighting is scheduled for 3:00/3:30pm on December 7th and hot refreshments will be served.
As you walk through the Mission Hill neighborhood over the next week or two, you will notice MHMS’ Holiday Posters in storefront windows, Holiday Snowflakes on the lamp-posts and Holiday Banners installed on Huntington Avenue and Tremont Street, as we ring in the holiday season.
On November 18th, at the Back of the Hill Apartments, Representative Nika Elugardo was in Mission Hill. She was here for her “Ride and Roll” campaign to help residents develop processes using 311 to provide improvements in bus and trains as well as sidewalks especially for the elderly and disabled. One of the goals of the event is to empower advocacy for this group. Councilors Essabi-George and O’Malley both support this effort as well. With several residents from the neighborhood and Back of the Hill apartments, the group split up and one group took public transit while the other walked to join up at the Dunkin Donuts near Brigham Circle who generously donated hot drinks and donuts for the very chilled advocates and volunteers! The group will continue to meet, addressing issues and monitoring resolution of the reported issues that interfere with daily transportation.
We had several new guests to the neighborhood, and we hope to see them stopping into our businesses again! Ms. Wanda McClain, Vice President of Community Health and Health Equity for Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and sponsor of the Rouse bench which was recently installed on Tremont Street, spoke warmly of both Richard and the Mission Hill during the Mayor’s recent visit to Mission Hill. For over twenty years, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital has been a corporate buddy to Mission Hill Main Streets, and we are grateful for their on-going support. We also appreciate having Shirma Pierre of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as a member of the MHMS Board.
No matter where you travel, there is no place like home. Even though that statement sounds like something Dorothy would have said to Toto, it is true. Recently I was in Las Vegas, Nevada and as I walked away from the tourist and casino areas, the neighborhoods were nice. They were sunny, well laid out but lacked that vibrancy that defines Mission Hill. We have such diversity not only in our people but in our foods and housing, with an energy from our international mix that is remarkable. Wherever you look, there is always something to wonder at. I for one am glad to be here in Mission Hill, where I can stop into a number of small restaurants on a wintry day and grab a hot bowl of chicken soup with that strong hint of lemon, or a steaming chowder with smoked fish or a delicious chicken seekh kabob to take the chill off. There is no place like this neighborhood!
On that note, it is a lovely day in the neighborhood and MHMS wishes everyone a happy and healthy holiday season!
“I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending.”
Mr. (Fred) Rogers