Updated: Super Senior Softball Registration Date Announced

Do you want to play softball?

If so, the Holliston Super Senior Softball League will be holding its registration on Sunday, August 28 from 7 to 7:30 p.m. at . The League is open to Holliston residents aged 35 and older and costs $50.

League participants are chosen for their prospective teams in a coach’s draft, so that unlike the spring season, teams change from year to year. Wooden bats are used, with all games played at Damigella Field on Sunday nights from early September through October.

Those with questions should address their inquiries to yours truly at shanjd@aol.com.

LEGION TO HOST SEPT. 11 BREAKFAST

State Rep. Carolyn Dykema will be the featured speaker at a Sept. 11 breakfast and memorial ceremony to be held at the on Woodland Street.

Nine local police officers and firefighters will be awarded American Legion medals of merit, recognizing their efforts on behalf of public safety. Other invited guests include the , Chief John Moore, Chief Michael Cassidy and Sen. Karen Spilka.

The breakfast and ceremony are open to the public, with seating limited to 125. Tickets are $5.00 each and available at the 's office. The event begins at 7:30 AM.

A TOWN REMEMBERS ITS FALLEN SON

Things were different in 1981. I received the news in a phone call from home, and seeking more information, dialed in WBZ on the radio at night, hoping that its strong signal might find my home in the Hudson River Valley.

The news was not good. Through the hiss and crackle, I heard that a officer had been shot and killed, that his alleged killer had been found following a massive search and that the town was in a state of mourning.

Thirty years can be a lifetime, and for Officer John Johnson, who was 31 when struck down, it was. I didn’t know Officer Johnson, and other than for shouting at me for speeding down Marked Tree Road, I don’t think we ever interacted.

But in the sense that everyone in a small town knows everybody else, I did know Officer Johnson. Our mothers had double-dated in high school and our sisters were and remain the best of friends. Officer Johnson’s family was and remains an integral part of our community, and is tightly woven into the fabric that is our town.

Officer Johnson was six years older than I, and the passing of time has clearly placed us in the same generation. Officer Johnson represents the best of that generation, a man who dedicated and gave his life for the protection of those dearest to him. It’s an often-used cliché, but I believe that for Holliston baby boomers, Officer Johnson’s death represented a loss of innocence and an introduction of real world issues for which we were not quite prepared.

Officer Johnson was remembered Saturday morning in a brief ceremony at the police station recognizing the 30th anniversary of his death. Holliston police officers of the past and present, as well as officers from several nearby towns, stood with family and friends in silent tribute to a son of Holliston, who went to work one night and never came home.

Sleep well, John, you are not forgotten.