SALEM — If you think your family has a big Christmas party, then you haven't been to the Malioneks'.
On Sunday afternoon, more than 150 members of this extended family will gather for their 37th annual party at the Knights of Columbus.
The highlight, as always, will be the performance by the Malionek Family Players, who dress up in costumes to entertain young and old.
The revelers are all descendants of Paul and Tekla Malionek, who lived on Blaney Street in the city's historic Polish neighborhood. The Malioneks had 14 children, eight of whom are still living and expected to be in attendance: Stanley, Clara, Teresa, Joe, Henry, Louie, Mary and Dick.
There are also 41 grandchildren, 75 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
"Sometimes you could bring a guest," Teresa (Malionek) Jaworski said. "We don't do that anymore because we've got too many."
Veno's valediction
Usually when someone prefaces their comments with "I probably shouldn't say this," you're about to hear something interesting.
That's how City Councilor Matt Veno started his goodbye speech during his last regular City Council meeting last Thursday.
"Let me tell you something about the rules," Veno said. "What I began to learn was that you can intimidate people with the rules just by making them believe you know them. Just say it with a certain amount of conviction. 'Oh yeah, you can't do that because of Chapter 34, Subsection 6.' ... People will believe you."
Veno also had this pretty good one-liner.
"We often disagree," he told fellow councilors. "And I often think it's because I'm right and you're wrong."
Councilors presented him with a clock as a farewell gift. Time — particularly spending more of it with his family — was one of the main reasons he opted not to run for re-election this year.
"Was it fun? I can't say honestly it was fun. ... It's really hard work," he said. "You get satisfaction out of it the way you get satisfaction out of hard work.
"It's not a thankless job. We get the satisfaction that few people feel. We can drive around the city and say, 'I had a hand in that.'"
Chief's check
We reported last week that retired police Chief Robert St. Pierre was appointed to the Licensing Board and will serve as chairman.
And while it's often a thankless task, it is not an all-volunteer one. For the record, St. Pierre will receive a $1,700 annual paycheck for the position.
The chief joins a board that already has a police presence — Rick Lee, a retired police officer from Peabody. St. Pierre follows in the footsteps of Harold Blake, the retired police captain and former chairman.
All of which prompts a question: Are the police taking over the Licensing Board the same way firefighters took over the Retirement Board?
Santa trivia
Do you know when Santa Claus started descending from the roof of the Hawthorne Hotel?
Retired Deputy fire Chief David Goggin knows the answer. It was 1967, and the jolly guy coming down the ladder tossing Hershey kisses to the crowd bore a striking resemblance to Goggin.
Hockey heaven
The Salem Children's Charity is not only a great cause, it's a great party planner.
Among the guests lined up for Tuesday night's Christmas party at Victoria Station are Bruins great Rick Middleton and Milt Schmidt, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. And don't be surprised if Terry O'Reilly walks through the door, as he has in past years.
For you Red Sox fans, former manager "Walpole" Joe Morgan will be there.
Death of a diva
Most of you are too young to remember Mary Curtis-Verna.
Born in Salem in 1921, she was one of the great opera singers of her time. She made her stage debut in Milan in 1949 as Desdemona and appeared throughout Europe, especially in Italy, for the next few years. A soprano, she first appeared in 1957 at The Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she sang for nearly 10 years.
The daughter of Dr. Charles Curtis and Josephine (Nolan) Curtis, she lived with her family at 101 Federal St. and was last listed in the city directory in 1948.
Curtis-Verna, 88, died last Friday in Seattle.
(We patched together her local background with the help of Diana Cummings, a dogged reference librarian at the Salem Public Library.)
Cat Christmas
The Northeast Animal Shelter got a surprise Christmas present from two Salem girls.
Erin Keenan, 7, and Marta Siemieniaka, 10, made cat beds and catnip toys, which they delivered to the shelter on Sunday.
Little Copenhagen
If you can't afford to fly to Copenhagen for the climate change conference, you might want to light a candle in Salem tomorrow.
A "Vigil for Climate Survival" will be held at 5 p.m. on the Custom House steps, one of many events around the world to urge strong action.
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