Happenings

The 2007 Meeting House Hill Reunion was a grand success and a great time was had by all. On behalf of the MHHR Committee -

Stephen Webber posted in St Peter's Dorchester/Meeting House Hill.

Stephen Webber

3:53pm Jan 2

Dear Santa,

This year all I want for Christmas is for you to take me back in time about 45 years so I can once again experience the thrill of the sights, sounds, gaiety, and hustle and bustle of downtown Boston as it was in the 1950's and 1960s.

I don't need any money, I just need for you to re-wind time so I can run into S.S. Pierce to buy a few jellies or jams, walk through R.H. Stearn's or was it R.H. White's? and have a moment to stop to buy flowers from the vendor outside of the subway stop on Winter Street. I always meant to do that, but never did.

I'd also like to go to the original Windsor Button Shop on Chauncey Street to find a replacement button for my favorite coat and resist the urge to buy a new one at either Raymond's or Conrad & Chandler's instead. Also, having the opportunity to buy something at the Jordan Marsh basement store on "Dollar Day," or to once again see my aunt standing behind her counter selling Van Raalte lingerie would mean so much.

Please, Santa, if only for a moment it would be fun to return to the afternoon I met my girlfriends, where else but under the clock at Filene's on the corner of Washington and Summer Streets, and once again laugh with them as heartily as we did when we invaded I.J. Fox to try on fur coats none of us could afford to buy. At the time we barely had enough money to go to the lunch counter at Kresge's, Neisner's or Woolworth's for a hot dog, let alone to buy a mink. If we could do it again, I wonder if any one of us could or would want to purchase one of those now politically incorrect fur coats.

It would be nice, too, if before Christmas Day, instead of standing outside to meet someone, I could walk into Filene's, get on the escalator and as the scent of the perfumes on the street floor fade away, have one more chance to look down at the breathtaking view below. The twinkling white lights wrapped around shimmering garland hanging in perfect loops from the tin ceiling and the decorated Christmas trees at every counter were more beautiful than anything I'd ever seen before or since. You were there, Santa. Do you remember that sight?

I don't want to appear greedy, but most of all I'd love to relive the evening I met up with my steady boyfriend, now husband, on the corner of Temple Place and Washington Street.

On that night in December 1965, we went down to Filene's Basement and bought toys for our nieces and nephews. After we loaded up his car, which was parked on Temple Place in front of the branch of the First National Bank where he worked, we went up to Tremont Street and walked through the lighted Boston Common trying to decide where to have dinner. I'm a little fuzzy as to where we went, but I'm pretty sure it was either Dini's on Tremont Street, or Cafe Marliave on Bromfield Street.

I know for certain that we didn't go to Locke-Ober's because, as you must remember, Santa, in those days unless Harvard won a home game against Yale, women were excluded from the main dining room. However, where we had dinner doesn't matter because even though it was cold and snowy, we ended our evening at Bailey's to devour ice cream and hot fudge from not only an overflowing sundae cup, but from the silver tray underneath it as well.

If you can pull any of this off, I promise I won't leave the past without bringing home either a blueberry muffin from Jordan Marsh or a couple of the famous almond macaroon cookies baked on-site at Gilchrist's. Further, while I'm back in time I swear to you that when I drop a coin into the slot to release the latch holding the shopping bags at the entrances to most of the stores, I'll be nice and not naughty. As tempting as it still may be, this time around I'll make sure my sticky fingers take only one.

Work your magic, Santa, because although I know I can go to Jordan's Furniture to see the Enchanted Village, I'd rather take my grandchildren to its birthplace; the Jordan Marsh department store in downtown Boston.

Realistically, if I'm asking for too much, perhaps the next time I see you at a mall you could give me a wink and a nod just to confirm that you got my letter and that you too believe it was a wonderful life!

Merry Christmas and thank you

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We had the annual Christmas boys get together for the Ronan Park guys and 27 guys showed

(Entrance is located in the municipal parking lot across from the Q)uincy Courthouse)

We usually have about 25 people show up after all these years and it is a great time with

Sammy bringing all his old photo books with our 1970’s looks of our growing up at Ronan Park

1400 Soldiers Field Rd
Brighton, MA 02135
Telephone: (617)-727-4812

so he can get an estimate of numbers of people for dinner setup for the restaurant.

or days at work at Suffolk DA Child Protection Unit at his office, 617-619-4271, email

He raised $ 6500. for Children's Hospital in the Boston Marathon in 2010 and says

He and he Biggest Loser winner, Patrick House, and other Big Losers , Aia, Mark ,Jay , Elizabeth

A few miles south of Boston, along the Neponset River, the small town of Dorchester grew from an industrial center into a thriving and inclusive neighborhood. This suburban community’s booming population is supported by a network of railroads, streetcars and transit that has eased transportation in and out of Boston. The neighborhood has had many important residents, including Dr. James Baker, who supplied financial support to a local candy business that later became the Baker Chocolate Company, and Lucy Stone, an influential activist for women’s rights and abolition. Noted historian Anthony Mitchell Sammarco compiles these and other insightful selections from his column in the Dorchester Community News, chronicling the rich and ever-evolving history of Dorchester.

It is being published by The History Press and is 165 pages with eighty (80) photographs of people, places, clubs and businesses of
Dorchester.
The kick off lecture and book signing will be on Thursday, May 19th at the Healey Library, University of Massachusetts in Dorchester, MA.
It is sponsored by the Archives & Special Collections of Healey Library, from which all the images in the book came from. That evening (begins
at 5:30 PM) is free and open to the public.
For Info (617) 287-5944
Cheers,
Anthony M. Sammarco

Saint Peter’s Parish Meetinghouse Hill newly published fund raiser History Book

St. Peter's Church in Dorchester has just published a book - St. Peter's, A Church to be Treasured. It is about St. Peter's architecture, the Meeting House Hill area including some info re: First Parish. This is a picture book (coffee table hardcover) and is available at the church office - in the Ronan Bldg. 617 265-1132. The cost is $25.0 and all proceeds go to the church. J. Fahey 857 204 0885.

The book is titled St. Peter's, A Church to be Treasured. It is about the founding of the parish by Rev. Peter Ronan 1872. The book also contains some good description about the architecture of the building (it is a Patrick C. Keely church - the same architect of the Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston.) There is also some information about the Meeting House Hill area - including information about First Parish Church and the importance of First Parish relative to the history of Meeting House Hill. The photography is by Paul Garnett and there is also a good display of the area during the later 1800s (thanks to the post card collection courtesy of the Dorchester Historical Society.) This is a hardcover book. The book covers virtually all aspects of the Upper Church in color photography. John J. Fahey

The price is $25.00 and the check can be made payable to St Peter's Parish; 309 Bowdoin Street, Dorchester, MA. 02122 If you include an extra $5.00 this will take care of handling and shipping. However, books can be purchased at the church office, Ronan Bldg.

This year all I want for Christmas is for you to take me back in time about 45 years so I can once again experience the thrill of the sights, sounds, gaiety, and hustle and bustle of downtown Boston as it was in the 1950's and 1960s.

I don't need any money, I just need for you to re-wind time so I can run into S.S. Pierce to buy a few jellies or jams, walk through R.H. Stearn's or was it R.H. White's? and have a moment to stop to buy flowers from the vendor outside of the subway stop on Winter Street. I always meant to do that, but never did.

I'd also like to go to the original Windsor Button Shop on Chauncey Street to find a replacement button for my favorite coat and resist the urge to buy a new one at either Raymond's or Conrad & Chandler's instead. Also, having the opportunity to buy something at the Jordan Marsh basement store on "Dollar Day," or to once again see my aunt standing behind her counter selling Van Raalte lingerie would mean so much.

Please, Santa, if only for a moment it would be fun to return to the afternoon I met my girlfriends, where else but under the clock at Filene's on the corner of Washington and Summer Streets, and once again laugh with them as heartily as we did when we invaded I.J. Fox to try on fur coats none of us could afford to buy. At the time we barely had enough money to go to the lunch counter at Kresge's, Neisner's or Woolworth's for a hot dog, let alone to buy a mink. If we could do it again, I wonder if any one of us could or would want to purchase one of those now politically incorrect fur coats.

It wuld be nice, too, if before Christmas Day, instead of standing outside to meet someone, I could walk into Filene's, get on the escalator and as the scent of the perfumes on the street floor fade away, have one more chance to look down at the breathtaking view below. The twinkling white lights wrapped around shimmering garland hanging in perfect loops from the tin ceiling and the decorated Christmas trees at every counter were more beautiful than anything I'd ever seen before or since. You were there, Santa. Do you remember that sight?

I don't want to appear greedy, but most of all I'd love to relive the evening I met up with my steady boyfriend, now husband, on the corner of Temple Place and Washington Street .

On that night in December 1965, we went down to Filene's Basement and bought toys for our nieces and nephews. After we loaded up his car, which was parked on Temple Place in front of the branch of the First National Bank where he worked, we went up to Tremont Street and walked through the lighted Boston Common trying to decide where to have dinner. I'm a little fuzzy as to where we went, but I'm pretty sure it was either Dini's on Tremont Street , or Cafe Marliave on Bromfield Street .

I know for certain that we didn't go to Locke-Ober's because, as you must remember, Santa, in those days unless Harvard won a home game against Yale, women were excluded from the main dining room. However, where we had dinner doesn't matter because even though it was cold and snowy, we ended our evening at Bailey's to devour ice cream and hot fudge from not only an overflowing sundae cup, but from the silver tray underneath it as well.

If you can pull any of this off, I promise I won't leave the past without bringing home either a blueberry muffin from Jordan Marsh or a couple of the famous almond macaroon cookies baked on-site at Gilchrist's. Further, while I'm back in time I swear to you that when I drop a coin into the slot to release the latch holding the shopping bags at the entrances to most of the stores, I'll be nice and not naughty. As tempting as it still may be, this time around I'll make sure my sticky fingers take only one.

Work your magic, Santa, because although I know I can go to Jordan 's Furniture to see the Enchanted Village , I'd rather take my grandchildren to its birthplace; the Jordan Marsh department store in downtown Boston .

Realistically, if I'm asking for too much, perhaps the next time I see you at a mall you could give me a wink and a nod just to confirm that you got my letter and that you too believe it was a wonderful life!

Joanna Alfano is a regular columnist for the Melrose Free Press. We hope that Santa grants the wishes she has so eloquently described and requested here.

Brendan was very successful on the show and is back home in Boston continuing his new lifestyle.

Originally From Dorchester" isn't a street address, it's something you earn. So if you live here, or at some point in your life you lived here, you cannot be considered "Originally From Dorchester" unless you recognize and have participated in some of these Dorchester hallmarks:

PF flyers you bought at the “hockey shop” on your way to Mickey D’s on Gallivan

my only question is the dances in the back yards……did this involve a cow or a sheep and a leather hood?

-Ate at Linda Maes.
-Still call them what they are: Apartments, not condominiums.
--Your parents bought your Easter outfit at Bradlees.
-Y our grandparents bought your parents their Easter outfit at Orbits.
-The Fields Corner Farmers Market.
-You saw your first movie at the Neponset drive in.
-You cashed your check at the Capitol Supermarket, and paid your Edison bill at the same time.
-You'll forever consider yourself just a kid from Walsh Park, the Hemmy, Garvey, the Courts, the Murphy, the Tot Lot, the Ryan, Dot Park, Ronan Park, the Toohig, or Adams Corner.
-When the only reasons to go to Southie were:
1. Castle Island
2. St. Patty"s day parade
3. Jones's for your Girbaud's & Champion sweaters.

-You bought your Gazelles from "Deb & Georges"
-Wished you still had your Dot Rat tee shirt.
-Someone always had a friend whose brother owned a "tap."
-At some point wore the four-striped ADIDAS from "FAYVA"
-You wore your "IZOD" shirt with the collar turned in & your pants "Quincy cuffed."
-Shopped at Edwards.
-Had a coffee & doughnut at "Dippen Donuts" on Bowdon Street.
-Grammar school class outings to Castle Island or Dorchester Heights.
-The older kids had you convinced that "van full of clowns" story was true. They were just here!"
-Hoped to one day play in the Dot House Saturday men's basketball league.
-Thought wine coolers were sweet.
-You bought your clothes from the Birdman's van.
-You went to school with Ronny, Bobby, Ricky, Mike, and Ralph.
-Had someone ask you "Oh, do you know Marky Mark?"
-Took the Red Line to "Bosco."
-If you "scooped" someone over the weekend.
-Roller-skated on Friday nights at the Dot house.
-You bought your Roger Clemens rookie card from Mr. K on Belfort St reet.
-If you made up a theme song for the "park" you hung out at.
-Thought getting in trouble with Capt. Dunford was scarier than getting in trouble with your parents.
- If you had to catch the 7:15 a.m. charter bus to CM from Ashmont Station.
-You remember a time when you could leave your bike on your porch.
-You remember the time when that bike was stolen from your porch.
-You only needed one glove when hanging at the park on a Friday night.
-After the game, nothing hit the spot like a "Scary Mary" burger from the Bungalow at McConnell Park.
-You wore your "Lucky Strikes Bowling League Champions" jacket proudly.
-When the Adams Corner political rally meant something.
-You remember when C.F. Donovan's was Bulldogs.
-You stood in the rain for hours just to watch Pope John Paul II ride down Dot Ave.
-You held campaign signs for Jim Brett.
-You held campaign signs to get in the union.
-You held campaign signs to get out of a court date.
-You worked Red Shirts in the summer.
-You have amazing GPS skills when navigating Dot Park at night.
-A Thursday night double header meant so f tball games at the Hemmy & Mc Connell.
-You still think Chickatawbut is a two-way street.
-Remember when there were two gas tanks
-If you still can't bring yourself to call him Dan. He'll always be Mr. Burke to you.
- If you attended a MRM prom.
-If you sat down to read both the Reporter and the Argus.
-If you remember when there was only one Dorchester Reporter.
-The excitement when Reagan came to the Eire.
-Nike Cortez, nice.
-Rat tails, ouch.
-When going on a Friday night meant heading to Sonny's, Eire< and Laydens. Always in that order.
-When there weren't so many peace walks.
-When there was a Bingo game almost every night of the week.
-You remember when it was a hardware store, not Blasi's Cafe.
-When Mario worked at Mario's.
-You remember the Dot House was a lot smaller.
-Saturday nights you always had the "Isle Denial"
-The smell o f the Baker Chocolate Factory in Lower Mills.
-The Mather School.
-Remember when you were allowed to walk greater distances for your Halloween candy.
-The redemption center on Freeport Street.
-Being a BNBL champion meant you were pretty good.
-When there weren't so many tournaments to remember our friends.
-When you laid out linoleum to settle disputes.
-You break danced against the Electric Generation.
-You were always a little more "Four Fun" than "New Kids."
-Stickball teams were split up by "three deckers" vs. "double deckers"
-You're still mad that there are two Braintree trains to every Ashmont train.
- Marched with your little league team in the Dot Day parade.
-When Dot Day was the Super Bowl of social events.

1400 Soldiers Field Rd Brighton, MA 02135 Telephone: (617)-727-4812

1400 Soldiers Field Rd
Brighton, MA 02135
Telephone: (617)-727-4812