THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, May 17, 2019 Page 11 ASK | from page 10 see the date they died. Q: So, basically, the site has been restored to its original state, other than the plaques being raised and black engraving used for the names. Is that right? A: Yes. The original plaques were down on the ground because they didn’t have lawnmowers back then. They had sickles. We raised the plaques up so it’s maintenance-friendly. We use a lawnmower now. And the black engraving makes it easier for people to read the names. We talked about doing the engraving by hand, but at $28 a letter, it would have cost a lot. Q: You mentioned earlier that you couldn’t read a lot of the plaques and some of them had all the wording obliterated. So, how did you reconstruct the original wording for those plaques? A: Through research: looking at documents to help identify their burial spots. We went to the Cemetery Department. They had some stuff that the GAR people gave me, and I went through all their records. Nick Milo helped me out quite a bit on what this burial plot once looked like. Q: Please tell me a little bit about Nick and the role he played in the project. A: Being an engineer, he was really an asset to this project. He wanted to make sure he got the posts right to hold in the plaques, and the measurements right for those cannonballs. He’s the one who figured out how big the cannonballs were going to be. He came down with all of his protractors and measuring equipment, because he’s an engineer. And they fit perfect, and then of course, he was involved with the measurements for the new posts that replaced the ones coming up out of the ground. And Nick is the one who came up with all of the measurements on the plaques and where the drill holes should be, so Nick was huge – getting this done for me right. Nick also knew David DeFilippo. He introduced me ASKS | SEE PAGE 15 J& MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Vietnam War veteran and Saugus native Gordon Shepard stands at the entrance of the Civil War burial plot at Riverside Cemetery, where he recently complete a three-year volunteer project to restore and improve the burial site. S LANDSCAPE & MASONRY CO. MULCH SALE! Discount Spring Special PICK-UP or DELIVERY AVAILABLE 617-389-1490 Premium Hemlock or Pitch Black BELOW WHOLESALE COSTS LANDSCAPERS WELCOME $43 yd. $38 yd. WE WORK FOR YOU! * Have your car repaired by Real Manufacturer Certiified Technicians * An I-CAR GOLD CLASS SHOP Highest Certificate in the Repair Industry * Premier Insurance Co. Collision Repair Shop for Geico, Liberty Mutual, Metlife, Progressive and more! * Over 30 Years of putting families back on the Road Safe & Fast! * ATLAS Stands Behind All Repairs with a Limited Lifetime Warranty 1605 North Shore Road, Revere * 781-284-1200 Visit us at: www.AtlasAutobody.com or call (781) 284-1200 to schedule your appointment today!
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