Happenings

By Ginger DeShaney We all know Santa Claus delivers gifts on Christmas Eve. But in the Boston area, Santa has expanded his job description to include delivering trees.  Santa Trees Boston, run by Robert Harrington and Dan Brett, 2018 Boston College graduates, allows you to order a tree online for delivery to your house.  They’ve been thinking about this venture since college and made it a reality this year. Robert and Dan, both 24, were off-campus roommates at BC. “We carried the tree to the house and thought, ‘There has to be a better way,’ ” said Robert, a native of Virginia. “We thought this would be a fun thing, and the Santa suits are an added bonus.”  They did their research and found that [...]

The MOMS Club of South Boston hosted the Happy Haunting South Boston Car Parade on Halloween day. Families gathered at the Boston Athletic Club parking lot to put the finishing touches on their cars before traveling through Southie for a socially distanced Halloween celebration. Led by a Boston Police Department vehicle and a Boston Fire Department fire truck and accompanied by several BPD officers, the parade featured costumed kids, decked-out cars, and tons of fun! (PHOTOS BY GINGER DeSHANEY)

Join us for a safe and festive Halloween celebration. Dress up your cars and yourselves and roll into this socially distant car parade.  This parade is being hosted by The MOMS Club of South Boston. EVERYONE is welcome to participate! Please feel free to RSVP even if you don't belong to the club. Southie, this is for you! Awards for costumed cars!   Categories to be announced. Time/Schedule: 9:50am- Vehicles line up for the parade at the Boston Athletic Club Parking Lot (Pappas Way Entrance) 10:30am- The parade begins (parade will conclude at the end of the route) Parade Route: A parade map through South Boston will be made available online, via email and on the day of the parade. Participating vehicles will be asked to place [...]

Taking advantage of the last official weekend of summer, young adults and college kids hit Carson Beach to play volleyball and celebrate the end of the season on Saturday.    

by Rick Winterson   On Saturday, August 15, at 10 a.m.,  Jackie O’Brien will be honored.  As part of the First Dangle Fest Street Hockey Tournament (which will be an annual event in years to come), the brand new street hockey court in Moakley Park will be named the John “Jackie” O’Brien Street Hockey Court, in recognition of his extraordinary efforts in support of South Boston’s youth clubs, sports, programs, and activities. And Jackie’s honor is not only well-deserved, it is highly fitting.  He and Joe Moakley were close friends; Jackie also played center at Saunders Field, in front of Ray Flynn, during his South Boston High School football years.  Over the years, he has supported our Boys & Girls Club, South Boston Little League, South [...]

by Rick Winterson It’s commonly called “the Walsh Gym” or the “Walsh McDonough Gym”, but this facility’s full name is “The McDonough Gym/John ‘Stretch’ Walsh Community Center”.   Just a few words about what it offers:  upstairs is the fully professional quality basketball court, sometimes split in two so football drills can also be run in parallel.  Downstairs is the Game Room:  pool, ping-pong, tables for lunch, and a TV area.  But the Walsh Gym has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic struck us in the middle of March.  And now, the Walsh Gym announces it will reopen today, at 12 noon. The Walsh Gym is more than just a gym.  It offers a full slate of activities to young boys and girls, especially teenagers.  We [...]

By: Tara Kerrigan Hayes I'm one of those people who tussles with the temptation of quitting Facebook. I struggle with intentions behind certain posts; the transparent boasting and silent competitions under the guise of something else. But I stick around for the positives, like the steady stream of comic relief we so desperately need lately, and for keeping up to date with family and friends from afar. Having lived in multiple cities and with family overseas, I have the gift of seeing photos of loved ones I might otherwise lose track of. More than anything, I remain to see the faces of their kids brighten my screen, as I witness their growth and triumphs over the years. One such kid appeared on my newsfeed a [...]

Brianne Fitzgerald RN, NP, MPH A mother never has a day off, whether you are a front line worker in a grocery store, EMT or emergency room doctor.  A mother never has a day off, whether you are managing a Zoom meeting from home trying to homeschool two children under the age of 12, and carving out extra time to trek to the grocery store.  A mother never has a day off, even if she sits alone and knits her anxieties away, worrying about her grown children and her grandchildren.  Add the vicissitudes of COVID- 19 to the mix, and many of us are left breathless. Today is a special Mother's Day.  There will be no Lilac tours at the Arboretum,  The 24th Annual Mother’s [...]

All of us realize these are unsettled times, and you know the reason why – the COVID-19 pandemic. One resulting problem is a “budget gap” encountered by South Boston’s Laboure Center at D and Broadway. Due to the pandemic, Laboure deferred its 38th Annual Spring Reception, which was originally planned for April 30, until Thursday evening, September 17 – over four full months from now. The Spring Reception is Laboure’s biggest single fundraiser, and their fiscal year begins in July, so there is an urgent need for funds to cover this “budget gap”.  The ingenious folks at Laboure have come up with a great idea to do this. They’ve arranged an auction, all of which will be held completely online for pandemic safety purposes, that [...]

   It was a memorable event Sunday morning.  Ottavio “Ott” Cerullo, 99 years of age, viewed a motorcade assembled to mark his birthday properly.  You may ask – also quite properly – “What about Social Distancing?”  Well, the South Boston friends of Ott fully recognized the need for Social Distancing.  They assembled in the unused parking lot by the Boston Teachers Union, proceeded along Day Boulevard, made a U-turn onto Columbia Road, and then drove by Compass on the Bay where Ott now lives.  All participants in the motorcade stayed in their cars as they drove by, honking and cheering Ott.    All of the Compass staff were arrayed at safe distances from Ott and his sister Yolanda, and of course they all wore masks.  [...]