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Tony Mosa: Green is Not Just for Lawns

Tony Mosa will be going shopping, and he knows what color he will be looking for: green. That’s because Tony is the grand marshall of Essex Go Bragh, the Essex St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 25. The parade will step off from Essex Town Hall at 11 a.m., proceed down Main Street, turn onto Ferry Street, and go up Pratt Street back to Town Hall.

Some 19 groups will be marching, including two bands, the Sailing Masters of 1812 and the Middletown Police Benevolent Association Pipes and Drums; three schools of Irish dance; and local participants, from Little League and Scouts to both the Essex fire and ambulance corps.

According to Essex Park and Recreation Department head Maryellen Barnes, Tony was selected as grand marshall in recognition of his 14-year membership on the Park and Recreation Commission.

“It was a group decision to choose Tony, but it was an easy decision,” added Tim LaChance of the Park and Recreation Department.

For Tony, working on the commission reflects his approach to civic participation.

“It’s important to the community to contribute and volunteer and not to lean on government to do everything,” he says.

Tony says that one of the projects the commission is dealing with now involves a sport that has grown exponentially in popularity, pickleball. “Lots of citizens and senior citizens play, so we are trying to build a court. The issue is where to build it,” he says.

Sports have always been part of Tony’s life. He played, he lettered, he coached, and he still competes. As a high school and prep school athlete, he earned letters in swimming, football, and track. He coached those sports at the high school level and added a stint as a basketball coach. In college, he played football and swam.

Recently, before an appointment with a reporter, Tony had been exercising, as he does four or five times a week, at the Valley Shore YMCA. He says he doesn’t lift weights anymore, but still runs on the treadmill and even competes in master’s races in both track and swimming through the National Senior Games Association.

“That’s for the old guys,” he explains.

At one point, Tony was president of the YMCA in Plainville. Now among his other community activities, he serves as the grand knight of the Knights of Columbus Council 12113 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church.

Tony, who grew up in Massachusetts, started college at Holy Cross but transferred after a year to Kansas State because of its program in kinesiology and from which he graduated.

Subsequently, he got two master’s degrees in education from the University of Hartford as well as a leadership certificate from Harvard.

He came to Connecticut to teach in Bristol, both high school physical education and biology, as well as to coach. He is delighted that he still occasionally hears from the former students.

“Coaching and teaching bring you close to young adults. You can influence them in wholesome ways, help them through some problems, give them direction. That’s great,” he says.

Tony’s career, however, led him out of the classroom into administration. He served as principal of Plainville High School for some 18 years. When he retired from Plainville in 1994, Tony became director of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), which governs high school sports for participating schools and annually runs some 27 interscholastic tournaments.

“I like working with the coaches and the principals, the athletic directors and the teachers,” he says, adding, “Teachers [get a] bad rap. They do a terrific job,” he says.

Tony and his late wife Lillian moved to Essex 24 years ago. Previously, they had lived in Bristol and had a summer cottage in Old Saybrook. Then they bought property in Essex and began building what was supposed to be a small weekend home.

“It got bigger and bigger, so finally, we decided to sell Bristol and move here,” he says.

Tony has a grown daughter, Mary Ann, a technology and human relations consultant who lives in Norwalk, and a son, Tony Jr., in California, who makes television commercials, including one for Jeep that was shown during Super Bowl this year.

An avid reader, Tony likes biography and military history, particularly focusing on World War II.

Tony himself is an army veteran, having served with the 386th Combat Engineers.

As a youngster of 10, Tony started clarinet lessons.

“I wasn’t very good,” he recalls.

Still, his teacher, who had once played with Glen Miller, instilled in him a lifelong love of jazz. When he is at home, he says there is always jazz on, and he goes to concerts and clubs regularly. In fact, he says his ambition is to go to every jazz club in every state. At concerts, when he can, he tries to meet the performing musicians.

He recalls talking to legendary clarinetist Artie Shaw, who grew up in New Haven. Shaw was no longer playing but was conducting the band.

Tony asked him where his clarinet was.

“He told me he made a lamp out of it,” Tony says.

Once in Los Angeles, he introduced himself to Dizzy Gillespie before a performance.

Gillespie asked what he did, and Tony, at that point principal in Plainville, told him he was a high school principal. Upon hearing that, Gillespie called his musicians over.

“He told them even high school principals like jazz,” Tony remembers.

As he looks forward to the St. Patrick’s Day parade, Tony already has some wearable green gear, and it indicates an existing Irish affinity: a Boston Celtics hat and gloves.

The Essex St. Patrick’s Day parade is on Saturday, March 25, and steps off from Town Hall, 29 West Avenue, Essex, at 11 a.m.