14

Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021 THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS By Mark E. Vogler H ere are a few tidbits that you might want to know about this week in Saugus. Calling young artists If you are a school aged student living in Saugus and love to draw or paint or take photographs, here’s your chance to display your artistic talents — for everyone in your hometown to see. The Selectmen’s Office is seeking any original artwork and / or photographs created by any Saugus school aged child to be included in the Town of Saugus Annual Report. One will be chosen for the Annual Report cover. Artwork should include student’s name and age and may be sent to: Saugus Board of Selectmen, 298 Central Street. Art work must be received by the selectmen’s office no later than Feb. 25. This sounds like a great opportunity. We have a winner! We have a winner in last week’s “Guess Who Got Sketched” contest. Congratulations to Lauren Greene, who contacted us first and offered the correct answer. Thanks to other readers who responded by email or phone message. Try again this week. Here’s last week’s answer, offered by the person who goes by the name of The Sketch Artist: “The answer to who the sketch is ...one dedicated and steadfast Cosmetologist Lisa Barras! Lisa was a salon owner for 15 years in Stoneham but pursued her career in her hometown of Saugus to be close to her children, who were attending school at the time. . She works at The Hair Lounge on Central Street Saugus and in addition to this she serves as a Caregiver. She has been a cosmetologist for over 40 years; she is a friendly hardworking hairdresser who knows her stuff! Lisa graduated Wakefield Vocational School in 1980. She has three grown children: Adam, Alyssa and Erika; and two grandchildren, Steven and Layla. She joined the Saugus Elks To participate in their outreaches and to give back to the community. Thank you for your time Lisa keep on shining you truly are a star! Yours truly, The sketch Artist A food drive later this month This just in from Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Corinne Riley “The Town of Saugus, organized by the Board of Selectmen, has scheduled a much needed drop-off food and necessities drive to benefit the Saugus Senior Center and the Saugus Food Pantry, on Saturday, February 27th from 10 a.m. to noon at the Saugus Senior Center, 466 Central St. If inclement weather, it will be held the following Saturday, March 6th, same time. “All items are appreciated, but items that are most needed are small individual boxes of cereal as well as full size boxes of cereal, oatmeal, canned fruit, bread, canned tuna fish, soup, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes, toilet paper, sanitizer, shelf stable milk, snacks/crackers, peanut butter, jelly, canned vegetables, canned spaghetti sauce, pasta and macaroni and cheese. “This food drive will be missing Wendy Reed, who was the Director of the Saugus United Parish Food Pantry. There are many great people who volunteer their time for those in need, and although Wendy will be sorely missed, this work will continue to help those in our community who have fallen on hard times.” If you feel like doing something to honor Wendy’s memory, this is that type of event. A “Super, Super Shout Out” for Wendy Some of our readers suggested this week that we dedicate a super large “Shout Out” for the late Wendy Reed, the longtime clerk of the Saugus Board of Selectmen, who died last Friday of an apparent heart attack. As most followers of Saugus Town Hall know, Wendy was a key resource, goodwill ambassador and vastly underpaid town employee who accomplished GUESS WHO GOT SKETCHED? In this week’s edition, we continue our weekly feature where a local artist sketches people, places and things in Saugus. Got an idea who’s being sketched this week? If you do, please email me at mvoge@comcast.net or leave a phone message at 978 683-7773. The first reader to respond and identify the Saugonian being sketched correctly between now and Tuesday morning is the winner of a $10 gift certificate, compliments of Dunkin’ Donuts at the 1204 Broadway Saugus location, at Route 1 North. But you have to enter to win! Look for the winner and identification in next week’s “The Sounds of Saugus.” Please leave your mailing address in case you are a winner. (Courtesy illustration to The Saugus Advocate by a Saugonian who goes by the name of “The Sketch Artist”) After returning to Saugus as a reporter for the first time in 24 years (I had covered the town while with North Shore Sunday for five and a half years up until the spring of 1991 — when Sunday was a must-read for 11 North Shore cities and towns, including Saugus), it took Wendy and me a few month to get comfortable dealing with each other. But once we both understood where we were coming from, the working relationship was just fine. Wendy was one of the few people who could relate to the town officials I knew back in the late 80’s and early 90’s during my previous stint covering Saugus. And we shared common recollections of those days while waiting for selectmen’s meetings to start or during Wendy’s cigarette breaks outside Town Hall during weekdays. One of the things I admired a lot about Wendy, she was so organized that she knew where to draw the line between her public life and private life. She would get mad at me if I sent her an email requesting public more in a 20-hour-a-week time slot than some fulltime town employees did. In addition, she put in many hours of volunteer work as the interim director — and essentially the heart and soul of the Saugus United Parish Food Pantry. She also worked behind the scenes with the Saugus Veterans Council to help organize and promote parades and other patriotic community events. Besides being highly organized, well-versed on local government policies and procedures, knowledgeable of hundreds of town government actions taken by selectmen and the School Committee over the quarter of a century or so that she was a central fabric of Saugus town government, she was easily the most accessible and meaningful resource that town government could offer its citizens. That’s my observation of Wendy after having covered town government for nearly a half decade with The Saugus Advocate. records to her personal email address. And likewise, she expressed some dismay if I sent an email requesting information about the food pantry or some other volunteer activities to her office email address. Another impressive thing, her eyes would get big and she would flash a giant smile when I asked her about good human interest stories and colorful Saugonians who might be worth writing about. She loved to put the spotlight on positive things people were doing in her adopted hometown. We also would talk frequently about open government in Massachusetts as it related to Saugus. She encouraged me to report tenaciously about the state Open Meeting Law violations involving the Saugus School Committee and about the issues related to the privatization of custodial services which cost 21 men and women their jobs two years ago. Wendy apparently was a well-respected chair of the Saugus School Committee who prided herself on fairness and following the rules. So, we dedicate this week’s “The Advocate Asks” to Wendy Reed as I reached out personally to about 40 town officials and residents over several days this week, receiving comments from the entire Board of Selectmen among the 20 people who responded to my texts, emails and telephone calls. So it was that while driving to Swansea in the southeastern part of the state last Friday morning to take my brother Wayne to a doctor’s appointment that I received a very sad call from Bob Davis, the superintendent of World Series Park. Bob wanted me to know that Wendy had passed away. For the most part, we enjoyed a formal reporter-source relationship. We never shared a cup of coffee or lunch. So, while driving down Route 24, the news hit particularly hard, as if Wendy were a friend or acquaintance, even though she was neither. But, I am glad that I got to spend considerable time over the past five years talking to Wendy or emailing her about Saugus government or the food pantry. I know she will be missed by the people of Saugus. All 20 of the Saugus people I interviewed this week — who spanned both ends of the town’s political spectrum — agreed wholeheartedly. 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 (mvoge@ comcast.net) with the mention in the subject line, “An Extra Shout Out.” No more than a paragraph. Anything longer might lend itself to a story and/or photo. Rev. Beach begins new book discussion group If you missed the compelling book discussion group that the Rev. John Beach of St. John’s Episcopal Church led last fall on politics and religion in the midst of a divisive presidential campaign, you should check out a new book study group that begins next week. “I will be leading another book discussion group through the Saugus Library on David Brooks, The Second Mountain,” Rev. Beach wrote in a recent email. The discussion group led by Rev. Beach will be held on Tuesday Evenings, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. during the period of Feb. 17 through March 30. To register, or to receive more information, please email revjbeach@ gmail.com . The Washington Post calls the book “Deeply moving, frequently eloquent and extraordinarily incisive.” It does sound pretty interesting, based on the press release we received from Rev. Beach: How can we come together with our neighbors and discuss those things that matter to us? Come join our book discussion group! In The Second Mountain, New York Times commentator David Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. Our personal fulfillment depends on how well we choose and THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS | SEE PAGE 15

15 Publizr Home