“Winter is an etching,
spring, a watercolor,
summer, an oil painting,
and autumn, a mosaic of them all.”
By Stanley Horowitz

All New England experienced practically each of the four seasons during the past few weeks. At the beginning of October, even in our own yard, Hubby and I were delighted to see some new roses on our bushes, just as they had flowered in springtime. On Oct. 9th, we had that day of the Adams Corner Irish Festival when the temp reached the high 80s, a day to remind us that summer was not done with us. Since that day, we have had cool days and fairly nice overnights, perfect autumn weather. Then this past weekend, we had extremely cold daytime temps and even colder overnight temps. We had heavy rain, then sleet, and then snow, a reminder of what is to come during the next few winter months. Daughter Jeanne came down from Rockport on Friday to get the family’s warm clothing from daughter Sue’s attic. (Jeanne’s home is right next to a brook. She can’t put anything of value in the cellar in case the brook overflows and floods her cellar.) She was just in time for the freezing temps of this past weekend. She, her husband David, and the World’s Greatest Grandchildren Brendan and Erin lost their electricity for just about one-half hour. Son Paul and daughter-in-law Alex, sorry to say, lost their electricity for about 12 hours. The temp inside their home went into the 40s before the electricity came back. We fared the best here in Dorchester. Our lights didn’t even blink all weekend.

On Sun., Oct. 2, Hubby and I drove to the McKeon Post to attend the 75th birthday of our long-time friend Patricia “Pat” Foley. We have known Pat and her husband Marty since Pat served as president of the Dorchester Board of Trade. (Hubby would often meet Marty walking at Castle Island.) Since Pat and Marty moved from Dorchester to Middleborough, we have kept in touch with them through many e-mails, usually humorous ones. When we received the invitation from their son Tim to attend the party, we put the date on our calendar. We would be delighted to go. As we came into the function room at the post, we were amazed at how many were in attendance, from young kids to us senior citizens. Pat and Marty’s son Tim welcomed us to the festivities. Tim and his wife Michele were busily fixing all the wonderful food. We were delighted to see Anne Fancelli at the party. We sat near pals Charlie and Pat Gillen. Bob and Isabel McIntyre were also at the party. Another friend, Mary Truong, came in partway through the afternoon. I found Pat and Marty’s daughter Vicki in the crowd and asked her to tell me the all the family member who were at the party. Pat and Marty’s other daughter Regina Egan was there. So were the grandchildren: Jhonna, Max, and Martin Egan and Eamonn, Roisin, and Niamh Foley. Pat’s brother Dick Murphy and her sister Sheila Connors were in attendance. Marty’s sister Mary Hallet and her husband George were there as were Marty’s sister Ann Wholey and her husband Neal.

I thought the food was great so I asked who the caterer was. It was Pat’s in Lower Mills. The cake was positively beautiful. (Hubby took a lovely photo of it.) We discovered that it was made by Stop & Shop. The biggest hit of the afternoon was a vase filled with 75 long-stemmed red roses. Pat received this amazing gift from her friends at Di Bella’s Florists in Las Vegas. Because of the distance, Di Bella’s asked the Olympia Flower Store in Boston to provide the roses and to deliver the roses in a lovely vase to the party. Pat gave those attending her party a lovely remembrance. She graciously presented each person with one of her lovely long-stemmed roses. What a nice time the party was!

Just some more thoughts on the third annual Irish Festival at Adams Corner on Oct. 9: Hubby, daughter Sue, and I had a great time at the festival although we had a little glitch in getting there. We saw our neighbor Maureen’s mother Barbara Finch as we waited for the bus on Hallet St. to take us to Adams Corner. Daughter Jeanne came all the way from Rockport to be with us. Thanks to cell phones, Sue kept in touch with Jeanne so we finally able to meet her outside Gerard’s. We took care of the important business first, food! We went into Gerard’s and had lunch. The restaurant was nicely air-conditioned on that warm day, with temps in the high 80s. We had a chance to chat with Caroline Innello who was enjoying lunch. Mary Brett came into the restaurant and was looking for her brother Jim.

When we finally went outside, we saw Sean Weir, one of the organizers of the event and told him that the festival was great. We had a chance to chat with Ginny Biagiotti. I also saw Jody (Doherty) Bulman, from College Hype, and asked her about the new addition to her family. She and her husband Shawn welcomed Anna Rose on June 16. Their three-year-old daughter Addyson is delighted with her new sister. The proud grandparents are Bill and Elaine Doherty and Vera Bulman. Next, we saw our pal Cora Flood, from the Irish Pastoral Centre, and her cherubs, Orla and Killian. Our neighbors Janie and Courtney chatted with us for a few minutes. Larry Feeney waved to us. Sue and Jeanne’s friends Chrissie (Fortey) and Teresa (O’Leary) talked with us for quite a while. I loved speaking with Gerri Munroe because she is always so much fun. Her friend Ann Walsh joined us for a few minutes. I saw John McGuire, from the Mayo Association, in the crowd. (Thank goodness, he is tall so he is easily spotted.) Irene Duff greeted us. I saw my co-worker Maureen and Aaron with their cute little baby, Nate. Jack Doherty, from College Hype, introduced his boys Nolan and Evan to me. They are quite the gentlemen! Our family enjoyed the Irish Festival. It was great to meet so many neighbors. I am looking forward to next year.

A couple of additions to our trip to the Irish Village: Hubby and I were told of a gift shop called Mrs. Mitchell’s Gifts. We thought it was on the property where the old Irish Village was located. We drove there and saw that the shop had moved to 362 Main St. in Hyannis. We found the shop quite easily because there were many less tourists cars clogging the streets in Hyannis at the end of September than during the summer. The shop is quite large and has some unique tee and sweat shirts. We were happy that we went there. Also, Mikey, the bartender at the Irish Village, sang for us one evening. On that evening he treated us to his renditions of “I Wish I Was in Carrickfergus,” “Bridge over Troubled Waters,” and “You Raise Me Up.” While we were at the Irish Village, 40 members of Laboure Nursing School were also there, enjoying the 55th anniversary of their graduation from Laboure. They were a very friendly group and we enjoyed having them with us.

On Sun., Oct. 23, Hubby and I were at the 2 p.m. Mass at St. Brendan church. Fr. John McCarthy, the Irish chaplain to the Irish Pastoral Centre, was celebrating a Mass of Healing for those parents who had lost babies due to miscarriage, premature birth, stillborns, and in early infancy. Family members and friends were also invited to attend. I will write more about the Mass in next week’s paper.

I was sorry to hear, from pal Eileen, of the death of Ruth Putnam on Oct. 25. Hubby and I saw Ruth when we attended functions at Keystone. Hubby has known her son, Fr. Richard Putnam, for many years even before we met Ruth. Fr. Rick worked part-time at Supreme Market, as did Hubby. Fr. Rick then practice-taught in Hubby’s classroom and even stayed to teach at the Garrison School for several years. In the intervening years, he became a Salesian brother, then a Salesian priest. We saw Fr. Rick often because he celebrated Mass at Keystone, with his mother in attendance. Ruth died several days before her 91st birthday. We send our sympathy to Fr. Rick and to Ruth’s other son John. She was a lovely lady.
Thanks to a heads-up from Pope’s Hill’s President Phil Carver, I learned of the death of Phil’s uncle, Gerard Kenneally, on Oct. 28, at age 77. Originally from Dorchester, Gerard had lived in Canton with his wife Elaine for 39 years. He was the father of Margaret O’Neil, Timothy, Terence, Erin King, and Eileen Sharkey. He was the brother of my friend Carol Carver, Virginia Dunn, Maureen Ryan, and the late George “Gigi” Kenneally. I send my sympathy to all the family.

I was also sorry to read of the unexpected death of Joseph Anthony Beswick on Oct. 18, at age 47. I know all of the Beswicks because Joey’s sister Theresa, who is our favorite waitress at Gerard’s Restaurant, always told us about them. Joey was raised in Neponset and moved to North Quincy in 1986. We send our sympathy to Joey’s wife of 26 years, Deirdre, and to their children, Kiley Anne, Daniel, and Samuel. I also send my sympathy to Joey’s mother Dorothy, to his brothers Frederick, William, John, and Thomas and to his sisters, longtime friend Beverly Stevens, Winifred, Dorothy Silva, and our family’s good friend Theresa.

Here is a saying that I found in the book of “Irish Wit and Wisdom”: “People may doubt what you say but they will always believe what you do.”