A three-decker house on Annapolis Street was the stage for a unique “Originally from Dorchester” reunion last Thursday morning thanks to the initiative of a current resident whose fascination with hometown history brought three former neighbors back to their old stomping grounds near Uphams Corner.

Isaque Rezende, who is 39, has lived at 9 Annapolis St. his entire life and has always wondered about the people who called the 100-year-old three-decker home before him. Through his research and outreach, Rezende organized a return visit for Richard Qualter, 81, and his former neighbors, siblings Kevin Nee and Beverly Nee Lyons. It was the trio’s first reconnection in about 70 years.

“I had this wild imagination as a kid in terms of the history of who used to live here, what they used to be like, what music they listened to, and what television shows they watched,” explained Rezende. “These things just filled my mind as a kid. That enchantment evolved into a hobby of actually researching the past, connecting dots, and calling and asking questions.”

Rezende used the Boston Public Library website to help him track down former residents, whom he cold-called to explain his interest.

“Sometimes they’d slam the phone down, and most of the time they’d open up and be so overjoyed that I took the time to reach out to them. They’d be generous with their time, and cool facts and details would come flowing out.”

He talked to members of the Reynolds family, who lived at 9 Annapolis in the 1950s and 1960s, the Wysocki family, residents at the address in the early 1970s, and the Buon family of Haitians who lived there in the mid-1970s and who sold the house to Rezende’s mother in 1979. Each of the home’s former residents shared a range of stories from fond memories of a close-knit neighborhood to troubling recollections of religious and racial tension.

Richard Qualter, who grew up in the three-decker in the 1940s but now lives in Rockland, was one of the people who really engaged in Isaque’s conversation, leading to last week’s visit.

“I don’t give out a hell of a lot of information over the phone. But Isaque started talking and talking and I said, ‘Jesus, he knows more about my family than I do.’ And I said, ‘With all due respect, who are you?’ My niece had talked to Isaque before, so I had an idea that he was an honest person.”

Nonetheless, Qualter was nervous. However, after talking to Rezende for some time, he opened up. He told Rezende about growing up on Annapolis Street in the 1940s with his friends Kevin Nee and Charlie Grimley, whom he hadn’t seen for about 70 years. As he spoke, Rezende recorded their names and reached out to them both. Nee lives in Connecticut and Grimley lived in Florida.

“They both remembered Richard Qualter, so I said, ‘I gotta do it,’” said Rezende. “I did a conference call with the three of them on January 10th. It was a telephone reunion between the three of them, the first time they’d spoken to each other since 1951. So, I just have fun listening to their jokes in the Dorchester style that we know and love. I’m just laughing along with them as they share their stories with one another.”

In April, Rezende and his siblings visited Richard Qualter and his wife Frances. Several months later, Frances passed away.

“I decided to call Qualter to express my condolences,” said Rezende. “And I thought: This is a perfect opportunity to lift the spirits, so I offered him an opportunity to come back.”

He also called Nee and Grimley to invite them back to Dorchester. Nee agreed, but Grimley’s phone had been disconnected. Sadly, Rezende learned that he had passed away in a bike accident several months earlier. His services were held in Dorchester.

“It was too bad that Charlie Grimley, after all these years, wasn’t able to make it,” Qualter said. Nonetheless, on Aug. 26, he was joined by Kevin Nee and his sister, Beverly Nee Lyons. The octogenarians reunited to “Welcome Back” from the Welcome Back, Kotter TV show.

“It was a complete family affair,” Rezende said. “They brought everybody. I brought my family – my mother, my brother, my father, my sister – they were there. A friend and I came up with an itinerary. We were going to start off with a welcome, and then do a Q&A session.”

Later on, the guests took a tour through the house with Rezende before capping off the day with lunch at Dublin House.

The three guests thanked Rezende for making the day possible. Said Nee Lyons: “ It was kind of nice—kind of like déjà vu—going back and talking about the neighborhood. [Isaque] did a wonderful job of coordinating the whole thing. It was quite the day.”

For her brother, the reunion represented a rare moment of continuity in a changing world.

“I went to the old BC High [in the South End],” he said. “That’s gone. I went to St. Kevin’s Parish in Dorchester. That’s gone. I flew seaplanes in the Navy, and they’re gone. I flew for TWA as a career and that’s gone. But little old Annapolis Street is still going strong. Over 100 years old, and the neighborhood is vibrant and seems like it’s quite similar to when I was a kid here.”

He surprised his old friend with a Pinky Ball – the same brand they played with as children. “I hadn’t seen him in 70 years,” he said. “It was quite exciting. We talked about what we did when we were kids. Going on rides with his father in the milk wagon drawn by horses.”

He also remembered playing stickball in between houses.

“We never did break a window, so I guess we were pretty accurate,” he said, a claim Qualter later backed up.

“It was kind of hard to believe that someone would go through all that effort to put a bunch of old people back together again, but it was really heartwarming,” Nee said. “I don’t know anybody who would be able to do that.”

He plans to stay in touch with Rezende. “There are nice people in this world, and Isaque would be one of them. We’ll probably keep in contact in one way or another. Maybe I could swing by at some point and have lunch with him. He’s a nice fellow, and his family was nice. They’re a good crew.”