The Sounds of Saugus

By Mark E. Vogler

 

Good morning, Saugus

First things first. If you are a patriotic person who loves Saugus and values the personal sacrifices made by men and women who gave their lives in defense of this nation, remember those fallen heroes today and reflect on the sacrifices they made defending America.

If you have time today (Friday, May 23) at around 3 p.m., join Saugus graves officer Randy Brian in flagging all of the veterans graves at Riverside Cemetery. Plan to meet Randy and the other volunteers at the Veterans Lot at the cemetery. If you don’t know where that is, just look for the crowd of Boy Scout, Girl Scout and Little League and Softball League volunteers and High School students.

And definitely if you are in Saugus tomorrow on a weekend getaway, make a point to join a host of Saugus living veterans, families of veterans or just plain patriotic Saugus folks for the town’s Annual Memorial Day Parade, which is scheduled to begin tomorrow (Saturday, May 24) at 10 a.m., leaving the parking lot at Anna Parker Playground, on Essex Street, headed to Cliftondale Square then down on Lincoln Avenue, turning left onto Central Street and then making a right onto Winter Street and into Riverside Cemetery, following the crowd all the way to the Veterans Lot.

Saugus Veterans Council Commander Steve Castinetti wanted me to mention in this week’s column that a recent banner at the corner of Hamilton and Central Streets on the Saugus Town Hall lawn had the wrong date – May 25 (Sunday), which was in error.

If you don’t plan on walking in the parade, a good spot to watch the parade is along Central and Winter Streets. It’s a short walking distance into the cemetery.

 

The fallen heroes of Saugus

Some folks confuse the purpose of Memorial Day with Veterans Day (Nov. 11), two similar patriotic holidays. Memorial Day, which was once known as “Decoration Day” — honoring the Civil War fallen heroes — is to honor those who died serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Veterans Day, which commemorates the end of World War I, is meant to honor all living veterans, retired or still serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

This time of year, I like to mention the war dead totals I’ve compiled over the years by counting stars for each of the wars from World War I through the Iraq War. Saugus by the numbers: Based on a count of the stars on local monuments, here are the numbers of Saugus servicemen who were killed while serving their country:

• World War I – 14
• World War II – 57
• Korean War – 2
• Vietnam War – 3
• Iraq War – 1

Saugus in the Civil War: Killed in action aren’t noted. But on the large Civil War Monument inside the large rotary – a keystone-shaped roundabout – two plaques on the right and left sides of the memorial list the names of 163 Saugus residents who served in the war.

 

One-day holiday trash delay

The Town of Saugus announces that trash and recycling collection will run on a one-day delay for the Memorial Day holiday. Trash and recycling will not be collected on Monday, May 26, due to the holiday. Collection will resume on a one-day delay on Tuesday, May 27.

Residents are kindly asked to leave their trash and recycling curbside by 7 a.m. the day after their normally scheduled collection day. The Town of Saugus would like to thank everyone for their cooperation. Please contact Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator Scott A. Brazis at 781-231-4036 with any questions.

 

What Memorial Day means to me

I usually get annoyed when people wish me a “Happy Memorial Day Weekend.” I realize that it’s regarded as one of the most popular holidays of the year, where there are outdoor family outings, gatherings of friends, cookouts, parades and fun things people do to enjoy the unofficial start of summer. Passive sports fans like to tune in on their television sets for the Indy 500, baseball games, playoff basketball and hockey. Golf. You name it. For the culturally inclined, it might be a time to go to an outdoor concert or an art gallery. For people who are into physical fitness, there are marathons and road races and some walking or water sports.

Sure, I’ve got a lot of fond memories of my family relaxing on Memorial Day, while growing up in Swansea, a small town of around 14,000 people in Southeastern Massachusetts. There would be a cookout. As a Boy Scout or member on a Minor League baseball team in the town’s Little League for kids, there were parades to march in. But it was ingrained in me from an early age that besides doing something fun on the holiday (which actually became a holiday in 1971), a visit to the family cemetery was always a top priority. We’d go to a garden center to pick up geraniums for the graves of loved ones passed who served in the service.

Fortunately, I didn’t have any members in my family who died while serving in the armed forces. But at our Episcopal Church in Fall River, we said prayers for two church members – soldiers my family knew who died during World War II.

Once I began my journalism career as a newspaper reporter, I developed a deeper appreciation of Memorial Day. The Vietnam War was winding down, so I got to write stories about men my age who died in combat while serving in the U.S. Army. Every town had them.

I’m sure I will get invited to a Memorial Day cookout this week by a few friends. But my main focus will be to travel to Swansea to find some flowers to put on the graves of my Uncle Albert (U.S. Army), my dad (U.S. Navy) and my twin brother Lance (U.S. Air Force).

Lance was a Vietnam Veteran War veteran who volunteered and served with honor in the U.S. Air Force over in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia. He got killed in a motorcycle accident an eighth of a mile from our Swansea home on Memorial Day in 1978. Even before I awoke to a knock on the door by a stranger at a motel in San Angelo, Texas, with a message to call home, my work as a reporter involved covering some horrendous and heart-breaking fatal car crashes.

Besides regarding Memorial Day as a special time to remember those American Service people who gave their lives, I also consider it to be one of the most deadly holidays while traveling on the road. That never changed.

I plan to be in Saugus again for Memorial Day observances tomorrow (Saturday, May 24) morning to cover and photograph the town’s Annual Memorial Day Parade, wrapping up with a ceremony in Riverside Cemetery.

I wish all of our readers a safe and healthy holiday weekend. Be careful if you are driving. Don’t drink and drive and be on the lookout for drivers who have had too much to drink. And if you have loved ones or friends who died while serving in the Armed Forces, visit their graves and remember them in your prayers.

 

This week’s “SHOUT OUTs”

We had a busy week handling “Shout Out” nominations from readers who wished to publicly acknowledge the good deeds or efforts by a fellow Saugonian to make the town a better place to live. Here they are:

Saugus Veterans Council Commander Steve Castinetti nominated the Vietnam veteran and Saugus native Gordon Shepard, who has devoted thousands of volunteer hours over the past 17 years sprucing up Riverside Cemetery, focusing on improving the appearance and upkeep of veterans’ gravesites. People in Saugus who know Gordie say nobody knows the fallen heroes and servicemen and servicewomen of Saugus like Gordie.

As Castinetti puts it: “Gordie won’t be able to make it this year. He’s down in Florida recuperating from an accident. His dedication to make that cemetery look as good as it does will be sorely missed this year. We want to wish him a speedy recovery.”

Board of Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta offered this “Shout Out” to Alex Pappagallo “for winning an Honorable mention for his PSA poster design for the MASS Partnership for Youth. He also did an excellent job explaining his poster at our May 20th Selectmen’s meeting.”

Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member Jeanie Bartolo, who is regarded as the most prolific “shout out” nominator in town, and the one who suggested the feature be included as a regular part of this column, offered a “shout out” for “shout outs.” Here’s what she had to say: “This Memorial Day marks six years since The Saugus Advocate ‘Shout Outs’ column started, all thanks to you! The grand total is 556, so I thought a ‘Shout Out’ to all the people who nominated someone special for a ‘Shout Out’ this past year and a huge thank you to Mark Vogler, Editor of The Advocate, for printing them every week is well deserved. Many thanks to all, let’s keep Shouting Out!”

Frequent Saugus Advocate contributor and longtime town historian and writer Janice K. Jarosz offered this tribute: “Little Brook Florist and Garden Center is located at 190 Lincoln Avenue, Saugus, MA. A family-owned business for several years, they offer a large selection of fresh flowers, plants for your vegetable garden, a variety of herb plants, along with helpful advice on your planting selections. Little Brook is a delightful place to visit with convenient parking and offers everything you will need for all your gardening plans! Please support small businesses in Saugus!”

Avid Saugus reader Joyce Rodenhiser, one of the town’s most civic-minded people, offered two “shout outs” this week, one of them for “Janice Jarosz and her committees who continue to restore the MEG building in Cliftondale Square. They have been working on this for a very long time and sustain their wonderful work with new fund raisers very often.”

Joyce also offered a “shout out” for Donna Manoogian and Lorraine DiMilla, “who recently presented the town wide fund raiser for the Saugus Garden Club with great style. Donna and Lorraine have capably presided at the Garden Club for 11 years.”

“In times when joining groups has fallen on hard times, these three women continue to inject their groups with purpose and class while increasing the numbers of participants,” Joyce concluded.

 

Want to “Shout Out” a fellow Saugonian?

This is an opportunity for our paper’s readers to single out – in a brief mention – remarkable acts or achievements by Saugus residents or an act of kindness or a nice gesture. Just send an email (mv***@*****st.net) with a mention in the subject line of “An Extra Shout Out.” No more than a paragraph; anything longer might lend itself to a story and/or a photo.

 

Saugus United Parish Food Pantry

The Saugus United Parish Food Pantry welcomes all neighbors facing food insecurity on Fridays from 9:30-11 a.m. at 50 Essex St. in the basement of Cliftondale Congregational Church.

 

Legion Breakfasts today

The American Legion Post 210 at 44 Taylor St. in Saugus resumed the 2024-25 breakfast season and will continue until the final breakfast on Friday, May 30. Doors open at 7:30 a.m., with breakfast served from 8-9:00 a.m. for an $8 donation. Veterans who cannot afford the donation may be served free.

 

American Legion Blood Drive

This just in from John Macauda, Commander at the American Legion Post 210 in Saugus.

“Last year you were gracious enough to include a notice for our annual memorial blood drive under The Sounds of Saugus. We have another one coming up on Saturday, June 7th.

“If you can do it again for us, we would greatly appreciate it. If you have any questions, please contact me either by email or my cell 978-835-4566.”

Following is the information for this year’s Blood Drive:

• Organized in Memory of Cpl. Scott Procopio and Capt. William G. Shoemaker
• Place: American Legion Post 210.
• Address: 44 Taylor St., Saugus.
• Date: Saturday, June 7, 2025.
• Time: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Please call 1-800-Red Cross (1-800-733-2767) or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter Saugus community to schedule an appointment.

 

Visitor Services available at Saugus Iron Works

The Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site has begun its “visitors’ services,” marking the opening of restrooms and the museum. This is the expected schedule of tours for the summer: Wednesday–Sunday at 11 a.m., house tours, 1/2 hour; Wednesday–Sunday at 2 p.m., industrial site tours, which will include waterwheel demonstrations when staffing permits. On Fridays and Saturdays only, there will also be a 10 a.m. waterwheel demonstration. Visitors’ services will end on Oct. 31.

 

Nice and Easy Hikes at Breakheart

On May 24 and 31, from 9:30–11:30 a.m., join the Park Interpreter for the weekly guided hike at Breakheart Reservation. Each trip will highlight natural and historic features that make Breakheart unique. Hikes will be moderately paced and range from two to three miles over sometimes uneven and rocky terrain; best for ages eight years and up. Meet at the Visitors Center (177 Forest St., Saugus). Heavy rain cancels the event.

 

Saugus Sachems Summer Track Camp 2025

Coach Christopher Tarantino – also known affectionately as “Coach T” – has announced plans for his Summer Track Camp. Registration will get underway soon. “This vibrant program, now in its 20th year, is where student athletes from a wide range of ages come together to listen well, work hard, and have fun!” Coach T said in an email.

Track Camp runners will be guided by Coach Tarantino, his coaches, counselors and alumni, as well as current middle and high school track team members.

“Participants work on social and team building skills, as well as setting individual and team goals, all while learning the fundamentals and or the advanced techniques of this dynamic sport, track and field,” Coach T said.

Here’s a summary of what interested kids and their parents need to know.

Who: five to 18 years old.

Where: Belmonte Track.

When: 6-8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

June 23-27 – final registration week/returning athlete training

June 30-July 4 – first formal week

July 19 – Summer Showdown in Cranston, R.I.

July 23 – Wrap up

Cost: $300 first year ($250 if registered by June 1), $200 returning with uniform, $150 if three years or more in summer program; includes pasta dinner, t-shirt, uniform and entry into Summer Showdown.

For any questions, further information or to register, please contact Coach Christopher Tarantino (Coach T) at 781-854-6778 or ch********************@***il.com

 

Conversation Circle at the Saugus Public Library

Would you like to practice speaking English in a comfortable and supportive environment?

Intended for intermediate and advanced-level speakers of English to practice speaking in an informal setting, the Conversation Circle promotes speaking and listening in English. It improves fluency and confidence. This group will meet from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Brooks Room on the second and fourth Tuesday evenings of each month in May and June 2025: Tuesday, May 27, Tuesday, June 10, Tuesday, June 24. If there is enough interest, additional dates will be scheduled. There is no cost for this program. Walk-ins are welcome.

 

Buy-A-Brick for a veteran

The Saugus War Monument Committee, once again, is sponsoring the Buy-A-Brick Program to honor all those who have served their country. If you would like to purchase one in the name of someone who is presently serving or has served, in the memory of a loved one, or just someone from your family, school, etc., the general pricing is $100 for a 4″ x 8″ brick (three lines) or $200 for a 8″ x 8″ brick (five lines). Each line has a maximum of 15 characters. The improvement and upkeep of the monument on the corner of Winter and Central Streets rely on the generosity of donors through fundraising.

The brick application must be in by September 10 to ensure the bricks will be ready for Veterans Day. Please contact Corinne Riley at 781-231-7995 for more information and applications.

 

C.H.a.R.M. Center is open

The Town of Saugus Solid Waste/Recycling Department announced that the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (C.H.a.R.M.) has opened for the season, with normal operational hours of Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The C.H.a.R.M. Center is located at 515 Main St., Saugus, behind the Saugus Department of Public Works. Residents are welcome to use the C.H.a.R.M. Center for their recycling needs. Saugus was the first municipality in Massachusetts to open a C.H.a.R.M. Center.

The C.H.a.R.M. Center accepts the following items at no cost to residents:

• Bottles and cans
• Paper and cardboard
• Scrap metal
• Shoes, clothes and other textiles
• Fluorescent light bulbs and batteries (button and rechargeable)

Residents are also permitted the free disposal of three TVs or computers/CRT monitors per household each year at the C.H.a.R.M. Center.

Residents can obtain new stickers for this year free of charge when visiting the C.H.a.R.M. Center. By purchasing a $25 sticker that is valid for the entirety of the season, residents will be permitted to dispose of yard waste and brush at the C.H.a.R.M. Center. The $25 sticker also covers the cost to dispose of hard/rigid plastics at the facility. The C.H.a.R.M. Center accepts CHECKS ONLY, no cash or cards.

Please note that the C.H.a.R.M. Center does not accept any household trash or construction materials and debris. The Town of Saugus reserves the right to refuse any material if quantity or quality is questionable. Go to https://www.saugus-ma.gov/solid-waste-recycling-department and click on “Recycling Guide” for a comprehensive list of items that are accepted or not accepted at the C.H.a.R.M. Center, in addition to guidelines for how to prepare different items for disposal at the facility.

The C.H.a.R.M. Center will remain open on Wednesdays and Saturdays through the season until the winter. Please contact Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator Scott A. Brazis at 781-231-4036 with any questions.

 

Saugus High Class of 1980

Attention, Saugus High Class of 1980. Mark your calendars for Nov. 29 (Saturday after Thanksgiving) and reach out to your friends that you’d like to see at the 45th Class Reunion for 1980 graduates and friends. The reunion will be held that day from 1 to 6 p.m. inside the Saugus Elks.

Invite Saugus High friends from other classes that you may want to be at our 1980 Class Reunion. Our last Saugus Class BBQ event a couple of years ago had three sisters from three different classes attend and they had a blast – so many loved seeing them and appreciated them being there. So many old friends reconnecting after decades; friends from overseas and across the country came; Saugus Classmates that left in Jr. High and that went to other High Schools came. How special it was for so many people to see each other after over 40 years.

Reach out to your friends who are not on Facebook to give them some early notice in case they may want to attend and need to make travel plans. Some of our Classmates have kept in touch with some of our High School teachers, and they attended our last two Saugus High Reunion events – we hope they’ll join us again. Feel free to reach out to any of your favorite teachers that you may want there – I’m sure they would love to hear from you.

More information is forthcoming. Any questions, please feel free to reach out to Andrea or Pete:

Andrea Saunders (1980 Class President) can be reached at pa********@*ol.com or 978-482-5787.

Pete Nicolo can be reached PS**********@*****st.net or 978-815-8234.

 

About The Saugus Advocate

We welcome press releases, news announcements, freelance articles and courtesy photos from the community. Our deadline is 6 p.m. on Tuesday. If you have a story idea, an article or a photo to submit, please email me at mv***@*****st.net or leave a message at 978-683-7773. Or send your press release to me in the mail at PO Box 485, North Andover, MA 01845. Let us become your hometown newspaper. The Saugus Advocate is available in the Saugus Public Library, the Saugus Senior Center, Saugus Town Hall, local convenience stores and restaurants throughout town.