THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, April 14, 2023 Page 5 Saugus resident helps Melrose seniors repair chairs By Lily Martin (Editor’s Note: Lily Martin, the media contact in the Office of Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur, submitted the following story to The Saugus Advocate.) R etired Saugus resident Carl Spencer has found success instructing local older adults in his class, the Milano Center’s 60+ Chair Caning Group, for the past four years. Under his leadership, the group repaired chairs as a service to the City of Melrose and most recently repaired chairs found in the Melrose Public Library during its process of relocating to the Beebe School in preparation for renovations. ASKS | FROM PAGE 3 Q: How many Boston Marathons have you run in? A: This will be my first. Q: What’s it like at the start of the race? Or, what do you think it will be like? A: I have no idea, but I’ll certainly report back when it’s doThe group, which is a bring-your-own-suppliesstyle course, is actively seeking new members to assist in learning how to cane chairs and aid in repairing chairs for the City of Melrose. The group is currently working on repairing a chair that belongs in the City Council Chambers located in Melrose City Hall. The Chair Caning Group spends most of their time completing chairs for friends or to donate to charity. Members of the group also spend time working on Nantucket Baskets, which can take anywhere between 20-25 hours to complete in total. ne.I’m sure my adrenalin will be pumping, and I’m excited to experience it. Q: Do you have friends or running buddies you’ll be running with in this year’s marathon? A: Yes. There are four other Saugus Police Officers running it, along with a couple of Spencer first learned about chair caning when he attended a woodworking class in Saugus with his father-in-law, upon his retirement. This was almost 20 years ago, and since then he has completed around 50 chairs that each take anywhere from 25-30 hours to complete. Carl Spencer has been teaching others about chair caning at the Milano Center since 2019. The Milano Center’s 60+ Carl Spencer with his chairs (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate by Erica Brown) my friends from outside of the department. Q: How many miles do you do in an average year? A: I actually have no idea.Before this I was doing three to four miles, two or three times a week.It’s gone up because of the marathon training, but I don’t really know what the average would be for an entire year. Q: Do you do other marathon races besides Boston? Or, is this your first marathon? And will you run in others this year? A: This is my first and last for the year. Caning Group meets every week on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Milano Center. If you are interested in joining the group or learning more, please call the center at 781-662-6886. Q: How do you prepare mentally and physically for this event? A: I’ve been working out three to four days a week: running and training at Fenix BJJ as much as I can to help prepare for this – all different ASKS | SEE PAGE 9
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