Condolences to the family of Michael Prendergast, formerly of Mission Hill, who unexpectedly passed away last month. Michael, who was living in Foxborough, worked for NSTAR. Michael was a gret family man with a heart full of love. He will be dearly missed by his wife, Lauria (Defina), and his children, three of whom were adopted.
The Prendergasts have an admirable lineage. Michael’s grandfather, the late Jim “Thunder” Prendergast, was a Boston firefighter and a bartender at the Mission Hill Post. The way Michael lived his life would have pleased his grandfather. It certainly made his parents, Dick and Bonnie, proud.
Congratulations to Angela Bonds, a lovely local woman, on her new assignment as librarian at the Lower Mills Branch. Angela, who had been working at the Copley Square library, recently received her master’s degree from Simmons College.
On the topic of books, the B.B. and B Club (Beer, Books and Bull) convenes on Saturday afternoons at the Mission Hill Post. Joe Ryan, Dennis Scanlan and others discuss what’s new in the book world. As Mark Twain said, “The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.”
Fifty year ago, Father McDonough issued diplomas to the Mission High School graduating class of 1961. Lat month, the class of ’61 reunited during a heartwarming celebration at The Lantana in Randolph. Richie Curran attended the reunion, and he tells me that time has been gentle to the women, including Mary Ann Shearns, Peggy Reidy and Adrian Toledo.
In 1961, the biggest event in Mission Hill was the Mission High and St. Mary’s of Brookline football game at Town Field in Brookline. Memories of that great football rivalry were spurred at the reunion when hulking James “Butsy” Kadlick, a lineman on the ’61 team, and Richie O’Neil, a terrific running back, entered the ballroom. O’Neil later played for several seasons in the Boston Park League, including our local football team, the Killilea Club.
Last month, T.G.I. Friday’s at Brigham Circle packed the house for their Bartending Championship, which raised money for local food pantries. Paul Fitzgerald, a Friday’s regular, attended the worthy event and conversed with his favorite bartender, Marian Cella. Marian, a lovely young woman, is an avid Yankees fan who hails from Babylon, N.Y. Stop by Friday’s and give her the business.
Being a good bartender requires unique social skills. I was a bartender at the old Winnie’s Pub (currently Flann O’Brien’s), and often a bartender is a psychiatrist without the couch.
The team of Rickie Gleeson, Ed Kern Jr., Jack Gordon and Ed McMillan displayed their golf prowess last month, winning the Mission Hill Open at the Norwood Country Club. More important, the golf tournament raised more than $3,000 for our overseas U.S. military troops. John Nagle, the longtime Mission Hill Liquors clerk, won the award for the golf shot closest to the pin. Great job by Peter Flynn for organizing the event and by the folks at The Crossing (formerly Curtin’s Tavern) for cooking the fine food after the golf tournament.
I am pleased to report that Lt. Col. George Rollins is home after serving 10 months in Afghanistan. The Colonel, who grew up in the Mission Hill projects, invites his friends to a welcome home party Fri., Oct. 21 at the McKeon Post in Dorchester.