November 27, 1999, most of the 190 attendees of the Roslindale Sowden Bowl Reunion did! Noah, with his swaybacked horse and rickety wagon, once rode through Roslindale buying old rags and whatever other junk could be found. He financed many a trip to the Rialto's Saturday matinee (admission, eleven cents).

Reminiscing was universal at the Reunion held at the Elks Hall in Norwood. Sacred Heart's Msgr. Frank Kelley welcomed everyone to the event which reunited Roslindale residents who as children had played at the Sowden Bowl, the then vacant lot on Canterbury Street that later become the site of Sacred Heart School.

In his remarks, Father stated that he also wanted to put to rest the notion that he was responsible for paving over the Sowden Bowl. He reminded everyone that the School was built in 1953, long before he took over at Sacred Heart. The Monsignor invited us to visit the schoolyard to see how kids still run and play in the 'Bowl'.

Jim Kilroy reminisced about the 'Square' (now Roslindale Village) as we once knew it, with its stores, Woolworth's, Kresege's, and Grant's where a kid could do his or her Christmas shopping for a only a dollar; Lodgen's, Claus' Deli, Kennedy's Butter and Egg store, and Rand's where Eddie Brooks made grocery deliveries on a horse-drawn wagon; and the Spa where Manny, Stella, and John kept a watchful eye on us so we wouldn't tarry too long.

He reminisced about John Keady who scored Roslindale High's first touchdown. Lastly, he spoke of Sacred Heart and its importance to our spiritual and social development, with its annual novena to St. Francis Xavier, numerous missions, CYO and its sports teams, the Drama Club, and the minstrel shows.

The hall echoed with 'Whatever happened to...' and 'Remember when we...' Midnight came and went, and everyone was reluctant to leave.

How extraordinarily lucky we were to have grown up where, when and with whom we did. When after thirteen, twenty-three, or thirty-three years, old friends can say, 'You haven't changed a bit,' and really mean it! You're right, 'Killer', there are no friends like old friends!