100 Green Hill neighbors kicked off the GHCA summer season at the beautiful Bravo by the Sea in Matunuck Saturday night with delicious food and lively conversion! Hope you’re all reading Mal’s GHCA newsletters to get the scoop on the exciting social events planned for the rest of the summer! Hope to see a similar turnout.
Take a look at some pictures from the event.
This event for children of all ages will be held on Sunday, July 2nd at 10am at the corner of Land and Sea and Carpenter Drive. The rain date is Wednesday, July 5th. Please bring your children or grandchildren to join the fun. See you there!
The Green Hill area has evolved significantly over the past two centuries. It was once a place where Native Americans lived, then it became a popular destination for summer beach cottages, and today it is a thriving community. Check out the Our History page for an in-depth look at the history of Green Hill, from its early days to the present. You will learn about the people who lived there, the structures that once stood, and how the shoreline has changed over time.
For those who were in the Green Hill area this past weekend, you may have heard the angelic sounds of the GHCA Carolers. Dawn and Mal organized members of the Green Hill Civic Association to go caroling through the neighborhood on Dec 17th. Dawn said going Christmas Caroling in her childhood neighborhood has been a tradition with her family for well over 50 years, but with COVID interrupting her mother’s annual party, she suggested trying it out in Green Hill. A new tradition may have been started this year! If you were not one of the lucky ones to have been visited this year, keep your lights on next year and you may be greeted by the GHCA Carolers.
Despite it being a day in late September, Friday was an unusually busy day at the Green Hill Beach. The effects of hurricane Fiona were being seen on the coast of New England and the surfers were taking full advantage. At one point, there were close to 20 people surfing at Green Hill Beach and the beach at The Hill area. For those non-surfers, it was also a chance to catch a spot of sandy beach at the GHCA beach area.
Thank you to all who joined us for movie night! We shared all the feels: from laughing and crying along with the movie to the simple joys of spending time with our Green Hill friends. It was an enjoyable and beautiful summer night under the stars!
GHCA’s third annual Porchfest was held on Saturday, July 23rd, in the O’Connor’s backyard. Almost 100 people brought lawn chairs, snacks, and beverages to enjoy the music anchored once again by Rik and Wendi Bourne. This year’s Porchfest featured performances by a number of first-timers as well as some of those who have played before. First-time performers included Dave Calabrese, Andrew and Laura Heyman, and Andy Harrell. Returning to the open mic were Rik and Wendi Bourne, Mal and Bonnie O’Connor, and Elwood Roberts. A number of people came up afterward to ask how they could sing and play at future Porchfests, and we’re looking forward to their participation next year. A good time was had by all, and we look forward to making Porchfest 2023 even better.
The Green Hill community showed up in record numbers to participate in this year’s beach and neighborhood clean-up. The cloudy skies could not dampen the enthusiasm of the motivated team of volunteers who collected debris large and small. Thanks to everyone who showed up to keep our Green Hill clean! A special thanks to Mal O’Connor who treated everyone to coffee and donuts, and to Pete Jackson for hauling away the many bags of trash. Maintaining our beautiful space requires constant upkeep, so please feel free to use the poop bags provided at the beach entrances to pick up bits of trash on your next walk! Enjoy 😊
Below are a couple of old photos of the patio that would likely be of interest to many! Yeah, it’s actually a deck, but still everyone called it the patio! I was showing some folks these photos at the picnic and it was mind blowing for those who remember it and instructive to those who never knew about it.
You occasionally hear of the “parking lot beach” (Hill Association) referred to as the “patio beach”. Old timers still call it that because there was once this wood deck in the dunes at beach. Actually it existed over what is now the beach and there were dunes beyond it and beach beyond that. The current concrete pathway existed back then and went farther out. From there the pathway turned west at an angle, then a wooden ramp went up out to the deck. As kids we’d ride our bikes up on the deck to get a visual of the beach condition to report back home!
In this photo you can see in the distance the former GH Beach Club Building. It pretty much looked like that until hurricane Sandy destroyed it. The contemporary house to the right of that in the photo, was remodeled in the last 10-15 years and is now the green colonial at the foot of Rose Briar.
My Dad, John Graf, took these pictures as slides around 1982 and what you see here are just photos I took of those slide projected images, so not the best quality. Based on what I can figure, I believe the old wood “patio” was gone by the late 80’s. But I’m sure others will remember more of that story and maybe posting these pictures will help get people talking and remembering “the rest of the story”. Perhaps even dig up some better photos of it!
-Scott Graf
Our first Sidewalk Chalk Day competition was a huge success! 17 of Green Hill’s young artists competed in this year’s competition by showing off their artistic skills with a patriotic theme and they also had lots of fun. The contestants included Adam, Bowen, Cathleen, Charlie, Dylan, Elise, Giuliana, Leila, Matilda, Murray, Odette, Peyton, Rosie, Ruby, Ryder, Will, and Will C. Because all of the drawings were so good, the judges had to select the winning artist by picking a name out of the hat. Congratulations to Giuliana, our 2021 Sidewalk Chalk Day winning artist. All of the contestants deserve our thanks and a special round of applause for sharing their creative skills with us.
For those young budding artists who could not join us, we look forward to hosting another competition next summer.
-Mary Ann and Linda
Green Hill Civic Association