“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another.” – Charles Dickens
By Courtney Wright
November was a busy month and as always was a good way to begin the holiday season spirit of giving. On the 11th, the MH Post led a well-attended Veteran’s Day memorial service at Hanlon Square in Brigham Circle. Councilor Durkan and State Rep. Chynah Tyler were both in attendance and spoke fondly or their own ties to the armed service and their respect for our MH local Vets as well. I love both Veterans’ and Memorial Days events held on the Hill, not just for the opportunity to honor our Veterans but also for the ability to spend an afternoon and a meal with them learning their stories and lessons of lives well lived in service to others. I hope you’ll consider attending the next ceremony in May. Thank you Veterans!
Thank you to all the individuals, organizations, businesses and institutions who volunteered at food banks, passed out donations and helped to provide hot meals to seniors and families during the week of Thanksgiving, but also at the myriads of community events that led up to it. In a particularly challenging year and on the heels of the government shutdown, these efforts were more needed and appreciated than ever. In addition to the annual events that bring community together in service to residents, I want to extend a sincere thank you to one of our institutions, Wentworth Institute of Technology and more specifically, Johanna Sena and Matt Gruber, for their support of the businesses damaged by the gun fire that occurred in September. I was meeting with Wentworth about their Institutional Master Plan and as the conversation turned to student move-in and community updates, the shooting on Labor Day Weekend came up. They immediately asked how they could support the businesses affected and further were able to donate $5,000 toward window replacements for those that had been fired through. I know that business owners have been in touch independently but on behalf of Mission Hill Main Streets, thank you so much for the investment in our businesses.
The Thursday before Thanksgiving you may have seen Eric up in his bucket truck- not Alden but the electrician with Maverick Corporation, installing new snowflake light installations on 14 of the streetlights along Tremont Street. We have an additional 6 to install when power sources become available. Earlier this week, Atlas Real Estate Consultants were out and about changing over the seasonal planters to their holiday looks in time for the Tree Lighting this weekend. Throughout the week and weekend, we will be going around placing lights and wreaths in various locations as well. If you would like to volunteer to hang wreaths or lights, please reach out to [email protected] It is a fun way to get into the spirit and would help extend our reach!
The Mission Hill Artists Collective is back with their annual Mission Hill Holiday Market beginning this Friday, December 5thth and continuing Friday, December 12th and Friday, December 19th from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. in the main plaza entrance of One Brigham Circle (1620 Tremont). There will be an assortment of original paintings, a diverse variety of hand-crafted jewelry, handmade products, seasonal products and more. Please come out and support Mission Hill’s local artists and artisans this holiday season!
With everything going on in Mission Hill this month, it is very likely I’ve missed something so please keep your eyes and ears out for all that the holiday season has to offer in the neighborhood. If you want to come out and volunteer to assist with holiday decorating- please reach out! On behalf of myself and the MH Main Streets Board, we wish you all a safe, happy and healthy holiday!