Hill Happenings

A group of wonderful Mission Hill folks gathered at the Penguin last month as owner Dermot Doyne hosted a breakfast, featuring Congressman Mike Capuano. Faces in the crowd included Laura Adams, who does terrific work with the Mission Hill elderly, Chris Dwyer from the N.E. Baptist Hospital and my long time friend from Tobin Court, Linda Farquhar. It was especially nice seeing Theresa Parks at the gathering and belated Happy Birthday (June 17) to Theresa. A cake was also cut for good guy, Jimmy Gately, at the Penguin, whose birthday was June 12.

A group of Mission Hill’s elite golfers traveled to Sebago Lake, Maine last month for a week of golf, fine food, and relaxation. Several of these golfers, including Fran Toner and John Nagle, will be playing at the Norwood Country Club July 21. That is the date of the annual fundraiser for the Boston Chapter of the Disabled American Veterans. At this noble event there will be prizes for golf teams and excellent raffle prizes. For more info, contact Col. George Rollins at [email protected].

I’m hoping for the best for Father John Lavin, a longtime priest at Mission Church, who is currently in a nursing home in Baltimore. I’ve known Father Lavin since we were Tobin Court neighbors in the Mission Hill project. I’ll miss having lunch with this wonderful priest at his favorite Mission Hill dining place, The Squealing Pig.

Thanks to John “Harpo” Foley and his brother, Wally Foley, for hosting my son Rob Martin and me for the Red Sox-White Sox game last month. I enjoyed reminiscing with Wally Foley, who was an awesome running back for Mission High School, class of 1963. I fondly recall as a 12 year old walking to White Stadium to watch Wally run through and around opponents.

Happy Birthday to Noel Gleeson (July 5). Noel is a great guy and I miss him and the boys since the Mission Hill Post closed last December.

Good Luck in retirement to Jerry Smart, who was Mission Hill’s Community Service Boston Police Officer. “Big Mike” O’Rourke is our new Neighborhood Boston Police Community Officer. Mike is a terrific guy and a dedicated officer. He is a graduate of Braintree High School and Northeastern University. Mike, incidentally, was a track star at Braintree High, having run the mile in 4:22, a school record that still stands. To put that time in perspective, years ago it was considered unreachable to break the four-minute mile barrier until Roger Bannister did it, running the mile in 3:59 in 1954.

The Mission High class of 1968 will celebrate their 50th high school reunion Nov. 4 at the Dedham Hilton. For more information contact Ellen Daley, [email protected]. The “68” Mission class is a terrific group, especially the lovely ladies and the cheerleaders were a celebrated group. The “68” cheerleaders were state champions and they competed in the New England cheerleading competition in Providence. I recall with glee during that innocent era, hitchhiking with Bill Mullin and John Killion to Providence to see our girls in their cheerleading apparel at the packed Providence gymnasium.

I’m a regular at Twin River Casino and last month after engaging in battle on the poker table, I went downstairs to listen to the music by the Glass City Rockers. Mission Hill’s Rick Singleton is in the “Rockers” band and they are terrific, particularly performing the “oldies” songs. At Twin River I enjoyed reminiscing with Rick, who is a 1971 Mission High graduate and it was nice meeting his beautiful wife, Elizabeth Singleton.

Stopping at Flann O’Brien’s for an after work beer last week, I enjoyed chatting with a group of wonderful women, Heather, Alyssa, Rose and Clare McDonald. The fine looking women, all bartenders at 4’s Sports Pub in Framingham, dropped by Flann’s after attending a Bartenders Ball in town and they livened up the place.

Happy 46th birthday to Rob Martin (July 7) and Happy birthday to Donna Antonios, who was also born on July 7. Donna is a charming woman and she fondly recalls hanging around Mission Hill’s famous Ledge with the boys and girls. Speaking of birthdays, Thomas Jefferson said, “The only birthday I ever commemorate is that of our Independence, the Fourth of July.” God Bless America.