Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MArCH 20, 2026 ~ Letter to the Editor ~ Our military men and women deserve more than our mere support Dear Editor: I was an army soldier sent to war in 1968. The American public was protesting the war before I went, while I was there PUBLIC ART | FROM PAGE 1 erected on Cap World Truck Accessories & Trailers that pays homage to Route 1. The mural shows the iconic restaurants and businesses that line the major thoroughfare. At one point, town officials wanted him to cover the mural. At another point, they pressed him to take it down, but eventually they relented. “We saw it as a mural. They saw it as a sign,” said Cap World manager Andrew Scott, who said the mural created a lot of problems in town and for the company. The town’s zoning bylaws do not make a distinction between signage and murals. At the 2022 Town Meeting, Joseph Vecchione, who was on the town’s planning board, presented an article that if passed would separate the two and therefore allow murals. When precinct members voted on the matter, it was an SAUGUS DOESN’T RECOGNIZE THIS AS ART: This mural at Cap World Truck Accessories & Trailers that pays homage to Route 1 is classified as a nonconforming sign that was “grandfathered” in. Current town zoning bylaws do not make a distinction between signage and murals. (Gabriella Galbadis photo to The Saugus Advocate) overwhelming no. “They were going to make him take it down because it was art,” Gould said about the Cap World mural. “It was crazy, so I got involved then.” The mural got to stay. Scott said the mural has finally been classified as a nonconforming sign that was “grandfathered” in. Since then, other Route 1 businesses have approached Darnell seeking artists to do murals for them, she said, but she has had to express to them that the town must approve it first before they invest their time and money. She added that she recognizes that there is an existing appetite for public art, but not enough action towards making change anymore. She said she plans to resurrect the issue of public art at the annual Town Meeting in May. She wants to talk with Town Meeting members who have shown support for public art and address the lack of responses she and others have been receiving on this issue. Residents in surrounding communities have also offered to help the public art effort in Saugus. “Art should be everywhere,” said Jason Sheridan DeMasi, a Revere artist who works at Kane’s Donuts in Saugus. Darnell is conceiving community art workshops that highlight public art, and she is seeking to create a space for dialogue so people can discover what art could do for Saugus. “People recognize the strength art has for the community,” Darnell said. “It’s just getting people to try and look at it from a different perspective. Because to me, I see art as an economic booster.” Gabriella Galbadis is a student journalist in the Boston University Newsroom program. She is a student in Meghan Irons’ Reporting in Depth class. This story is part of a partnership between The Saugus Advocate and the Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom program. and still protesting when I came home. To say it was uncomfortable for me would be an understatement and the irony was stunning! Nobody likes war, least of all those who are there. Our military men and women who are sent to unfamiliar and remote places are asked to perform under incredible stress and unimaginable situations. They are our neighbors, our friends, in some cases our family and in all cases our fellow Americans. They deserve more than our mere support, they deserve to have us cheer them on! We can protest war once they come home. Michael Mascovitz, Saugus
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