Page 16 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Happy Father’s Day to Saugus dads! It looks like it will be a nice, mild, spring-like day for Saugus and the rest of the northeast region of Massachusetts on Sunday (June 19) as the nation celebrates Father’s Day. Traditionally held on the third Sunday in June, the country’s fi rst Father’s Day was celebrated by the State of Washington on June 19, 1910. But the day dedicated to honoring fatherhood didn’t become a national holiday until 1972 — 58 years after President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day an offi cial holiday. It was a coal mining tragedy that killed 362 men in Monongah, West Virginia, which led to a Sunday sermon on July 5, 1908, that was considered the fi rst event honoring fathers. That was a one-time observance. Then on June 19, 1910, Washington celebrated the country’s fi rst Father’s Day after some strong lobbying from Sonora Smart Dodd, a Spokane, Washington woman — and one of six children raised by a widower. Dodd was 16 when her mother died in childbirth. She helped her father raise her fi ve brothers and is widely credited with leading the campaign to create a Mother’s Day equivalent holiday for dads. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day in 1966. Then in 1972, President Richard M. Nixon created a permanent national observance of Father’s Day, designating the third Sunday of June each year as a day dedicated to dads. It’s clear that for nearly six decades, there wasn’t enough passion to celebrate Father’s Day on the same level of Mother’s Day. But Sunday will be a great time to honor dads, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, foster dads and all other men who faithfully and lovingly carry out the duties of fatherhood. So, Happy Father’s Day, Saugus dads! May your day be blessed with happy family memories. My dad passed away on Columbus Day weekend in 1991 after losing a battle to cancer — less than a month shy of his 61st birthday. I know that if he were still alive, I’d be visiting him this weekend. Instead, I’ll pay my respects by putting a flower on his grave. Strawberry Festival and Plant Sale tomorrow The Saugus Historical Society will hold its annual strawberry festival at the Legion Hall tomorrow (Saturday, June 18) in conjunction with the Saugus Garden Club Plant Sale. Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake will be served in the American Legion Hall (44 Taylor St.) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. along with hot dogs, chips and drinks. Shortcakes are $5.00 each and can be eaten on the premises or taken out. Hot dogs are $2; water or soda, $1 each. The Garden Club Plant Sale will be held on the Roby School lawn from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and there will be several craft vendors, including jewelry, hair products and many other items of interest. Authors Alison Simcox and Doug Heath will have signed copies of their books “Murder at Breakheart Hill Farm” and “Breakheart Reservation” for sale as well. The Historical Society is still looking for anyone willing to help serve shortcakes for a short time during the festival day. A few table spaces for vendors are still available also. For additional information, please contact Laura Eisener by phone (791-231-5988) or email (LDELD@shore.net). A day that changed the world of journalism Today (Friday, June 17) marks the 50th anniversary of the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. Security Guard Frank Willis called police, who arrested fi ve burglars in what initially was dubbed as “a third rate burglary.” But Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein — with the support of their editors — worked to report and write the story of how the break-in was linked directly to President Nixon’s reelection campaign. Their Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation chronicled abuse of power at the highest levels of the Nixon White House, eventually leading to indictments and prison time for top administration offi cials and the resignation of Nixon, who faced the imminent threat of impeachment and removal from offi ce if he didn’t resign. I was a journalism student preparing for my junior year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst at the time of the break-in. It was during the fall of 1972 when I landed my fi rst daily newspaper job — parttime and weekends out of the Northampton Bureau of The Springfi eld Union. The days of the Watergate scandal and its fallout was a watershed moment for newspaper people of my generation. Indeed, it changed the trajectory of my newspaper career. I went to UMass with an interest in pursuing a career as a sportswriter. But upon graduation in the spring of 1974 — several months before Nixon’s Aug. 9 resignation — my goals were oriented toward a career in investigative journalism. And in the course of a career that spans about a half century, I engaged in “watchdog’ journalism at the local level at several newspapers in Florida, Massachusetts and Texas. The core of aspiring journalists I worked with at The Massachusetts Daily Collegian during my four years at UMass were also infl uenced by The Washington Post’s Watergate reporting. They shared the same passion for their future careers: to dedicate themselves to honest and fair reporting by keeping government on any level honest — to investigate alleged transgressions and to enlighten the public through fair and honest reporting. You don’t need to work for The Washington Post, New York Times or one of the other nationally renowned newspapers to practice extraordinary journalism. It can be done on any level if there’s a commitment from the top editors and publisher of any newspaper to safeguard the public’s right to know. Unfortunately — and to the detriment of today’s American society — the local newspaper no longer plays the public service role it did when I embarked on my career 50 years ago. I have no regrets about my journalism career. Inspired by Watergate Era journalism, I had the pleasure of working one year in Albany, N.Y., for the late Albany Times Union Editor Harry Rosenfeld, the former Metropolitan Editor at The Washington Post who oversaw the paper’s Watergate investigation. And I worked at several other papers that embraced “watchdog” journalism. But I’ll be the fi rst one to admit I’m a dinosaur in a dying profession that is becoming less and less relevant in today’s society. These are challenging times for newspapers. “A special Shout Out” for Saugus Shirley Bogdan off ered this “Shout Out” to sum up a wonderful event that occurred last Friday (June 10) at the Saugus Senior Center: “A special shout Out to Senior Center Director Joanne Olsen and her staff for honoring the many volunteers with a delicious luncheon on Friday. These volunteers contribute many hours of service each week that helps to keep the center open to all seniors in town. “The Memory Laners kept the guests entertained with songs of the 50’s and 60s, and even got a few of the Octogenarians up on the dance fl oor. Thank you Joanne.” 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 a mention in the subject line of “An Extra Shout-Out.” No more than a paragraph; anything longer might lend itself to a story and/ or a photo. Juneteenth at the Saugus Public Library The Saugus Public Library is pleased to present two programs about Juneteenth this month. On June 16: Juneteenth. What is it? Should I celebrate it? Join Sharon Hinton for an informative discussion about Juneteenth at 6:30 p.m. in the Library’s Community Room. Sharon Hinton is an Adjunct Professor at Springfield College School of Professional and Continuing Studies, teaching adults in Community Development and Social Change and working with The Peoples Academy, a Technical/Vocational institute in Boston, Mass. She is also president and founder of Black Teachers Matter. Please call the library (781231-4168, ext. 3107) to register for this free program or fi ll out the form on www.sauguspubliclibrary.org. On June 20 (via Zoom): At 6:00 p.m. Annette Gordon-Reed presents “On Juneteenth,” the story of an American frontier defi ned as much by slavery as the cowboy, rancher or oilman. Annette Gordon-Reed is a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning historian, as well as a Texas native and descendant of Texas slaves. This free event is presented in the American Inspiration Author Series in partnership with the Boston Public Library, the State Library of Massachusetts and GBH Forum Network. Please register on the Saugus Public Library website (www.sauguspubliclibrary.org) to receive the Zoom link. Saugus Public Library, 295 Central St., Saugus, MA 01906; 781-231-4168; sauguspubliclibrary.org — facebook.com/ SaugusPublicLibrary/ No winners this week Nobody responded last week to our weekly “Guess Who Got Sketched” contest. At least, nobody had submitted the correct identifi cation of the person sketched by Tuesday’s (June 14) deadline. Upon further review, we concede it’s possible the readers who reviewed the sketch which appeared on page 19 in our June 10 edition were unable to benefi t because most of the clues related to the sketch were omitted because of a production error. So, we will give our readers the benefi t of the doubt. Anyone who identifies the Saugonian sketched in this week’s paper between now and Tuesday at noon qualifi es to have their name put in a green Boston Red Sox hat with a chance to be selected as the winner of a $10 gift certifi cate, compliments of Dunkin’ in the Food Court at the Saugus Square One Mall. Darren deserves a commendation The town’s Animal Control Officer, Darren McCullough, has got to feel pretty happy about the rave review he received in a letter from a Lynn man that Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano read into the record at Tuesday (June 14) night’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting. “Last September while walking in the Riverside Cemetery in Saugus (killing time while my daughter was at soccer practice), I was bitten by an off -leash dog,” Michael Celona wrote in an email to selectmen. “It was painful and I ended up having to go to the Salem Hospital ER to get checked out. I left a message for the Saugus Animal Control offi cer and received a call back within minutes. Darren McCullough had empathy for my situation and shared my frustration with off - leash dogs,” Celona said. “He tracked down the owner and got the rabies information. He was just what I needed. Luckily the dog was vaccinated and the owner ended up paying my medical bills. Animal control is a hard job. I wanted to let you know that I really appreciated the help from Mr. McCullough.” THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 17
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