Shortly after terror suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured on April 19, it was heartwarming to look out my window and see several hundred young folks engaging in a spontaneous celebration in front of Calumet Square. When a police cruiser arrived, two Boston Police officers received a standing ovation. The crowd cheered late in the night...
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Hill Happenings: Suspect’s capture cheered, fallen officer honored
Shortly after terror suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured on April 19, it was heartwarming to look out my window and see several hundred young folks engaging in a spontaneous celebration in front of Calumet Square. When a police cruiser arrived, two Boston Police officers received a standing ovation. The crowd cheered late in the night...
Hill Happenings
Several former neighborhood folks traveled from throughout the globe to attend the Mission Hill-Jamaica Plain reunion at Cedars of Lebanon Hall in JP last month. I was surprised to see my ’67 Mission High classmate Stephen Coote at the reunion. Steve, who was a brilliant student, has lived in Germany for many years. Other...
Hill Happenings
Lionel “Sky” King, a longtime Mission Hill resident, is an easy-going gentle giant who is well-known on the Hill, especially at Dunkin’ Donuts, where he has his coffee and bagel every morning. Few people, however, are cognizant of Sky’s historic past. On Nov. 21, 1952, Sky, then a 19-year-old pitching phenom from Harlem, N.Y.,...
Hill Happenings
Several former Mission Hill folks assembled at the Corrib Pub in West Roxbury on Jan. 7. The occasion was George Traylor’s 60th birthday. George is a keen observer of local politics and he was an aide to the late Mission Hill state Rep. Kevin Fitzgerald during Kevin’s early State House years. Among the birthday...
Hill Happenings
Congrats to Marion McCarthy and Col. George Rollins on their recent engagement, with a wedding date on the horizon. George is a West Point graduate who grew up in the Mission Hill projects, as did his honey, Marion. Marion’s daughter, Nicole Condon, passed the Nursing Board Exam last month, following in her mother’s footsteps,...
Hill Happenings
On Aug. 23, 1968, Mission Hill’s Joe Conlon, a Green Beret assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group, was stationed at headquarters at Marble Mountain in the Republic of Vietnam. Shortly after midnight, Conlon heard several explosions and realized the enemy was inside the compound. A first lieutenant lay on the floor, injured by...
Hill Happenings
Gleaming sunshine hovered over Mission Hill on Oct. 20 for the annual Mission Hill Road Race, which starts and finishes at Kevin Fitzgerald Park. The race, which raises funds to maintain Fitzgerald Park, attracted several hundred runners and onlookers. The highlight of the day is reuniting with former Mission Hill folks such as Tom...
Hill Happenings
On April 29, 1945, Holocaust survivor Steve Ross was rescued by American troops from the horrors of Dachau. Incredibly, Steve met one of his rescuers, World War II hero Allen Zucker, last month at Mike’s Donuts in Mission Hill The get-together was arranged by Steve’s son, Boston City Councilor Mike Ross, who is friends...
Hill Happenings
God bless Father Robert Lennon, C.Ss.R., who celebrated 60 years as a Redemptorist priest Aug. 25 after the 12:10 Mass at Mission Church. Father Lennon has been at Mission Church since 2000. To commemorate Father Lennon’s remarkable life, parishioners gathered with him at the Mission Church Parish Center. By the long arm of coincidence,...