By Ellen Walker
Special to the Gazette
April 22 is Earth Day – what are you doing to celebrate? MHMS has several Spring clean-up activities planned to spruce up the neighborhood with help from the fabulous volunteers that live here. If you want to join us on April 9th or 16th from 10:00am to 12:00pm, call us to register at 617.232.0182. We always appreciate and welcome the extra hands!
In these challenging times, it is unusual for new businesses to open and Mission Hill is fortunate to have growth happening right here and now. MHMS welcomes Jamille Coy and Mit Patel as the neighborhood’s newest business owners. Last month Bread & Butter, an international convenience store, opened its doors at 1562 Tremont Street. The owners are both alumni of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and live and work in Mission Hill. According to Jamille, he and Mit created the store with international students in mind and want to provide prepared foods and other products that they would find in their home countries. On Thursday, April 21st at 10:00am, please join them for the “official” ribbon-cutting event.
More outdoor gatherings are being planned as the warmer, sunnier weather approaches. Memorial Day will be a fun-packed day for Mission Hill with two great events. First, on Monday, May 30th, the Mission Hill American Legion Post 327 will hold its annual wreath-laying ceremony in Brigham Circle at 10:00am – please join us for light refreshments at 9:30am. Then the Museum of Fine Arts at 465 Huntington Avenue will be featuring three local artists at their annual May 30th Community Day from 10:00am-5:00pm. Community Day at the MFA is free to the public! Lastly, Mission Main has started planning for their ever-popular Children Family Fun Day on Saturday, July 30th. It is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
If you were walking through Fitzgerald Park recently on one of Boston’s surprisingly pleasant Spring days, you may have noticed new tags on many of the trees and bushes that adorn this beautiful park. Northeastern University (NU) co-op students are helping to designate The Kevin W. Fitzgerald Park at 145 St. Alphonsus Street, as an arboretum. The park is over five acres of greenspace that NU has had a hand in maintaining for years. To become an arboretum, the park must have 25 different species as well as documentation and a master plan. The energy and passion these young students bring to the project is impressive. Stephen Schneider, the university’s chief arborist, has helped the students identify the different species which include intentional plantings when the community park was first created to an assortment of donated plantings. Nadia Plaschke, a fourth-year student majoring in environmental studies and international affairs, says the group hopes to plant some new trees on Arbor Day on April 29 to reach 25 unique species. If you haven’t been to the park, the views are well worth the trip!
Recently, the Boston Business Journal contacted several of the main street districts including MHMS, about the recent outdoor dining process for small businesses. One of Mission Hill’s small businesses was interviewed and here is an excerpt courtesy of Grant Welker from the Journal. Konstantine Papadopoulos, owner of Papa’s Pizza Company said he’s considering going without outdoor dining because the insurance and other costs wouldn’t be worth it. “The regulations should offer more flexibility for all types and sizes of restaurants, and the city should consider the rising food costs and other burdens restaurants are already grappling with. We’re all kind of being pushed into the same category, but we’re all different. We all offer different things,” said Papadopoulos, whose small pizzeria fronts Huntington Avenue at the corner of Smith Street.
Until next month, remember to shop small, shop local!
“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.”
— Vince Lombardi, former head coach of the Green Bay Packers where he led the team to three straight and five total NFL Championships and first two Super Bowls