Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 2, 2022 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Here’s to a good school year Welcome back to the students, faculty, staff and administration of Saugus Public Schools. This is the second of five years of Superintendent Erin McMahon’s “shoot for the moon” academic improvement plan. When the MCAS results are released in a few years, that should give an indication of whether the school district is making good progress. Stay tuned. Fall festival hopes prevail Peter A. Rossetti Jr. of the Friends of Breakheart was optimistic this week about Breakheart Reservation hosting a fall festival on Oct. 1, as in past years – despite the fire that’s been burning for several weeks. The state Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) has tree-cutting crews set to go into the woods soon to remove the dead wood so that visitors will not be exposed to the dangers of falling trees. “With any kind of luck, they hope to have it open pretty soon so people can enjoy the place,” Rossetti said this week. “The crews were supposed to be in there yesterday (Aug. 30) doing cleanup,” he said. Rossetti noted that most of the fire damage has been on the Wakefield/Main Street side of the park. Meanwhile, Rossetti said he’s confident that the fall festival set for Oct. 1 will not be canceled. “This will be the First Annual Breakheart Family Festival,” Rossetti said. “It had been called the Fall Festival in the past and it was something we had been going to for 20 years. It’s going to be the same idea, but they will do away with pumpkin-decorating, which DCR just doesn’t have the staff to do anymore,” he said. “DCR is downplaying the handson arts and crafts decorating of pumpkins. We do expect face-painting, some music activities and games for kids to play. It will last from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 1.” Rossetti said he believes the festival will include a petting zoo and some nature exhibits featuring raptors and birds of prey. There will be a mounted unit, either from the State Police or the DCR. The festival will be cosponsored by DCR and the Friends of Breakheart. Old Glory gets some respect We received an email from U.S. Army Vietnam War Era veteran Joe Johnson stating that the tattered and torn American flags that he complained about in last week’s (Aug. 26) edition of The Saugus Advocate have been removed. “The flags have been replaced. Thanks again,” Johnson wrote in an email to the paper this week. “Funny how things happen when you put it in the paper,” he added. There were two flags at the Saugus Middle-High School, another flag at the Saugus Senior Center and another one at World Series Park that were tattered and torn, according to Johnson. He said he approached the paper last week after feeling frustrated that his concerns weren’t being addressed in a timely fashion. This is an issue that has come up before and is certain to happen again as the American flag flies on municipal flagstaffs during windy and stormy weather. It really shouldn’t take a few weeks to resolve. The municipal workers who raise and lower the flag at school and town buildings should have a pretty good idea when it’s time to replace the flag and make the request to their superiors as soon as they notice a flag is ripping or tearing and is too damaged to continue using. Another possible solution is to have the local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops monitor the condition of flags at various locations. Hopefully, it won’t have to take a veteran to make a public stink about it in the local paper. Legion breakfasts resume next week We received this announcement from Debra Dion Faust, the House Manager of Saugus American Legion Post 210: “At last night’s (Aug. 30) E-Board meeting it was decided that, when we reopen the breakfast at the American Legion for the 2022-23 season on Friday, September 9, with breakfast served from 8 - 9 a.m., we will need to raise the donation for it to $8 rather than $7 due to the great increase in the price of food. “I will be sending out an email to those of our guests who have signed onto a group emailing list laying this out, on Friday, September 2, but I thought you might want the information to include in The Advocate. (And thank you.) ...” Even with the increase, this is welcome news for the folks who look forward to the Friday morning breakfasts at Legion Hall. Bon appétit! Saugus Historical Society Notes This just in from Laura SAVE THE DATE Catered by: Henry s Catering , 1979/1980 Class BBQ Sept. 24th, 2022 1:30 – 5:30 $40 per person Elks Grove • 401 Main St• Saugus MA 01960 RSVP by Sept. 3rd, 2022 to: Pete Nicolo 978-815-8234 • PSNicolo2533@comcast.net or Mike Allan 781-953-2279 • Allan7915@gmail.com Make Checks payable to Peter Nicolo and mail to: 13 Bourbon St, Unit 55, Peabody, MA 01960 Invite your friends from other Classes!!! Rain or Shine Outdoor shelter provided GUESS WHO GOT SKETCHED? If you know the right answer, you might win the contest. In this week’s edition, we continue our weekly feature where a local artist sketches people, places and things in Saugus. Got an idea who was sketched this week? If you do, please email me at mvoge@comcast. net or leave a phone message at 978-683-7773. Anyone who between now and Tuesday at noon identifies the Saugonian sketched in this week’s paper qualifies 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 certificate, compliments of Dunkin’ in the Food Court at the Saugus Square One Mall. But you have to enter to win! Look for the winner and identification in next week’s “The Sounds of Saugus.” Please leave your mailing address in case you are a winner. (Courtesy illustration to The Saugus Advocate by a Saugonian who goes by the name of “The Sketch Artist”) —Cont est— CONTEST SKETCH OF THE WEEK Eisener of the Saugus Historical Society: “The Saugus Historical Society’s first meeting of the fall will be on Wednesday, September 14 at 7 p.m. at 30 Main Street, the home of Saugus Historical Society and Saugus Cable Television station. “As is our custom, the meeting is open to the public and you are not required to be a member to attend. Light refreshments will be served. “Members of the Parson Roby Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will present a program on their organization which has an emphasis on historical preservation. The national organization was formed in 1890 and is a lineage-based organization whose members can trace their ancestry back to the American Revolution. “The original Parson Roby Chapter was very active in Saugus in the early to mid-twentieth century and was very instrumental in preserving the Appleton Taylor Mansfield house and the Saugus Ironworks site which is now a national park, particularly due to the activism of M. Louise Hawkes who was also president of Saugus Historical Society for approximately 2 decades. “In the later Twentieth Century and the beginning of this one the Saugus chapter was inactive until just a few years ago when the current group of ladies resurrected it. Their most visible recent activity may be the Wreaths Across America project which had a large showing in our town THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 11
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