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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2022 Page 15 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Happy Mother’s Day to Saugus moms If you are a big family person, Sunday (May 8) is one of those special holidays where you would be remiss to not express your love and appreciation to the important “moms” in your life: real mothers, wives, stepmothers, foster mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, aunts, mothers-in-law, daughters, cousins, close friends and the mothers and wives of close friends and relatives who are mothers. It could be something as simple as a greeting card, telephone call, email or text, letting a mother know that you’re thinking of her. My mom, grandmothers and all but one of my aunts are no longer with us. But I still like to send Mother’s Day cards to a handful of women in my life who are special and happen to be moms. One of the ladies — a close friend of a college buddy — is in her 90s and in an assisted living place now. I have a couple of cousins and the wife of a cousin who were on this year’s card list. All of them are very special in my life — and all of them are good moms. Like every town in America, Saugus is full of good moms who make sacrifi ces for their kids and who give them love and support — which makes a great diff erence in their current and future lives. Hopefully, a lot of those kids will keep their moms in their hearts this Sunday, by sharing in a special day that honors all moms. Hopefully, the kids in college and who are now adults don’t forget the love, friendship and support they got from their moms while growing up. If you haven’t dropped by your mom’s house with a box of chocolates or fl owers and also forgot to send a card, at least make an eff ort to visit your mom. And if time and distance make such a visit impossible on Sunday, at least give your mom a call. And for all those folks who have a mom living by herself, in assisted living or a nursing home, a visit or phone call would be nice. Americans have been celebrating Mother’s Day for about a century now, ever since Anna Maria Jarvis founded the fi rst Mother’s Day Service of Worship in Grafton, West Virginia, in 1908. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson wrote a proclamation declaring Mother’s Day as a national holiday to honor mothers with instructions that it be observed on the second Sunday in May. A remembrance of a loyal Florida mom Back in the mid-1980s, while interviewing for a newspaper reporter’s job at the now-defunct Miami News down in South Florida, I had the pleasure of meeting a woman who epitomized the best ideals of all moms. Kaye O’Bara gained international notoriety by the care and love she showered on her daughter, Edwarda O’Bara, who lived in a diabetic coma for 42 years before passing away in 2012. As part of my job interview, I was assigned the task of spending a couple of hours at the O’Bara home, interviewing Kaye and writing a story about how she cared for her daughter in her Miami Gardens home. The story was an exercise for each of the job applicants, as countless stories had been written about Kaye and her daughter over the years. It’s been nearly four decades since my visit. But I still remember the number of personal letters from popes, presidents and personalities and other not-so-famous people taped on the walls of the O’Bara living room where Kaye cared for her daughter for 38 years. Edwarda was a 16-year-old high school student who had big dreams in 1970 when she got ill and threw up her diabetic medicine. At the hospital Edwarda asked her mom to never leave her side, before losing consciousness and slipping into a diabetic coma from which she would never recover. A lot of families would have put Edwarda in a special hospital or institution. But Kaye kept her promise, never leaving her daughter’s side until she died. Edwarda became the center of Kaye’s life, at the cost of her own health. It was a 24-hour-seven-day-a-week painstaking task caring for a comatose child. Kaye was only able to muster 90 minutes of sleep at a time, as there is no sleep for mothers who render such loving care in their homes. She had to feed her daughter every two hours and give her an insulin shot every four hours. Kaye’s story of selfl ess love motivated Dr. Wayne Dyer to write his inspiring 2001 book — “A Promise Is A Promise: An Almost Unbelievable Story of a Mother’s Unconditional Love and What It Can Teach Us.” My article never got published, of course, since it was just a part of the job screening process — and one of thousands of stories that were written about the mother and comatose daughter. But the time I spent with Kaye O’Bara and her daughter — and her unwavering life of devotion and love to her daughter — has stayed with me nearly four decades later, as a compelling testament to what devoted mothers are all about. Calling all Saugus servicemen and women The Town of Saugus, along with the Saugus Veterans Council and the American Legion Post, extends an invitation to all local servicemen and women to join us at the Memorial Day Parade. Please contact the Selectmen’s Offi ce at 298 Central St., Saugus, MA or email the Board at jjarosz@ saugus-ma.gov for further information. Come march with town offi cials, residents, students and fellow soldiers to pay tribute to those who gave their lives for our freedom. The parade — which is scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday on May 28 (Memorial Day will be celebrated on Monday, May 30, the designated holiday) — will be “historical” this year, according to Saugus Veterans Council Commander Stephen L. Castinetti. Billie June “BJ” Farrell, the 77th Commanding Offi cer of the USS Constitution — but the first woman officer in charge during the ship’s 224year history — has accepted an invitation to be the grand marshal of this year’s Annual Memorial Day Parade and keynote speaker for the town’s Memorial Day Ceremony. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that you cannot miss!” said Castinetti, a retired U.S. Navy captain. “It’s historical because Commander Farrell became the fi rst female Commanding Offi cer of this great ship in 224 years. Come out and welcome Commander Farrell to Massachusetts and, more importantly to Saugus!! Meet the new Commanding Officer of the USS Constitution, Old Ironsides, on May 28,” he said. A spotlight on Civil War soldiers next week On Wednesday (May 11), the Saugus Historical Society meeting will have a special program, free and open to the public, at 7 p.m. at 30 Main St. Dexter Bishop, president of the General Lander Civil War Round Table, will present a program on three local Civil War soldiers and their lives before, during and after the war. Two of the featured men, John J. B. Adams and William B. Poole, were Medal of Honor recipients. All three survived the war and joined the Grand Army of the Republic post in Lynn, and their pictures are still displayed in the meeting room of the G.A.R. Hall on Andrews Street in Lynn. Bishop has been working on a series of YouTube videos depicting the lives and times of these local heroes. Attendees will also see a project on Saugus history by students in Brigitte Vaudet’s fourth grade class, in which the students created postcards based on local monuments that inspired them. Light refreshments will be served. Find out if you have any Revolutionary War relatives There could be a Patriot among us!!! Have you ever wondered if there was an ancestor who was a Patriot in your family tree? The Parson Roby Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), is hosting a Genealogy Workshop for prospective members and the public to explore your family tree and perhaps fi nd that Revolutionary War hero in your family. The event will take place on Saturday, May 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the MEG Building (54 Essex St. in Saugus). DAR members will be off ering helpful tips and assistance to you in your search for family members that may have contributed to service or aid during the American Revolution. Experienced genealogists and researchers will also be on hand to guide you with your search. Plan to drop in and let us help you fi nd that long lost Patriot relative! The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is the largest women’s service organization in our country! For further information please contact Regent Charlotte Line at linesat33@gmail. com. A yard sale to help the Ukraine people tomorrow Dmitry and Lana Sevkovich, the Saugus couple who were featured in our April 8 edition for organizing a collection and shipment of clothing and crucial provisions to Ukraine, continue to organize more projects to help people who have been forced out of their homes by the Russian invasion. Lana sent us the following email message this week: “We plan to have another drive on May 7th, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Address: 19 Baker St., Saugus. “Our humanitarian aid will be shipped to Uzhgorod, Ukraine to The Center for Assistance to the War Victims of Ukraine. These people work hard to evacuate orphan houses from Ukraine. If for some reason they can’t evacuate an orphan house, they do their best to provide food and all necessary goods to those houses. This center also helps other Ukrainian refugees who have nowhere to go. “This is the list of goods they currently need: — “Vitamins (for children and adults, especially with Omega) — new, sealed — crucial item(!) — “Ibuprofen — new, sealed — crucial item(!) — “Sleeping Bags and Pillows — new — “Towels — new, standard size — “Underwear and socks (kids and women) — new — “Diapers — new, unopened — “Baby Formula (dry) — new, sealed — “Snack bars and chicken soup cubes. — “Tea (in bags). — “Instant coff ee (only plastic/paper or metal packaging, no glass) — “Portable and head fl ashlights (solar-powered) — working condition. — “Phone charging cords (no base, for android, apple) — working condition — “Solar power banks — working condition “Also, if someone has old smartphones in working condition (android, iPhone model 3-5, for example) that they don’t need, we’ll be accepting those as well.” Lana also wanted folks to know that last weekend’s yard sale raised $613. She extends her thanks to the people who helped make it a success. Want to help make a better Library? The Saugus Board of Selectmen is accepting applications for appointments to the Saugus Library Board of Trustees. This is a volunteer/nonpaid position for Saugus residents. Those interested may submit a letter of interest/resume no THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 16

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