"The first day I took the ropes out was last year at the Ripley Road cookout. It was amazing. I had a 49-year-old lady jumping rope. She had a head full of grey hair. She jumped longer than everybody."

"It was a very demanding, tough job, having to wake up at 4 in the morning.You could work up to 18 hour days, right before a holiday. But I would not have the work ethic that I have today if not for this place."

"In the old days, we had a sofa in the lobby that we actually got rid of, because people would just come in with their coffee and sit on that sofa. And I’d say, ‘Can I help you?’ ‘Nope, we’re good.’"

"I thank God because I have two sisters here- and let me tell you, if it wasn’t for them, we don’t know how we would have made out, because they make me laugh, they make me smile, they make me cry, you know."

"I’ve had many mentors, and continue to have many mentors along the way. Whatever I find I’m interested in, I usually go find an old timer who can show me, and I’ll start there."

"She’s not really going to miss him now. She’s really gone. And he’s alive and living. And he said, ‘I just cannot sit here and wait to die. I just can’t.’"

"When I was at camp for final show, at the end, I danced, right? At the end, I lifted my leg all the way and then I did a split. Just at the end. For like, just a solo part. It felt good, because everybody was watching me, and they saw what I can do."

The birthday tradition started a few years ago, when members of the Mission Hill Senior Legacy Project noticed older people in the neighborhood were often spending their birthdays alone. (VIDEO)

"Even after I graduated, I kept coming back. I used to work at a bridal shoe store out in Natick, and when I got out of work, I used to come here and help out however I could. After a while, people realized I wasn’t going anywhere."

"Of course there are some days you feel upset, but I remind myself: get on your good foot. I love life, I think- that is what it is all about."

"The older people who lived on the street, many of them owned their houses, so they would also try to give words of encouragement, give words of insight, give visions to where you could go in life, instead of just being limited to one way of life."

"I've got the best food in Boston."

"Even though he’s living the American dream, he’s always humble. He’s always here, Monday through Saturday, at that register, just standing there, ringing people up. "