THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, OCTObEr 14, 2022 Page 15 The Sounds of Saugus By Mark E. Vogler Calling Saugus 4-1-1 – tomorrow! Good morning, Saugus! Here’s my bold prediction of the week. “Saugus 4-1-1” is going to be the most-attended event of the weekend and the town’s biggest indoor event of the year. With so many town officials, school officials and nonprofit organizations and groups behind the scenes organizing this special three-hour forum at the new Saugus Middle-High School, how can you not expect a large crowd? Even if it’s to get a chance to tour the new Saugus Middle-High School for the first time. A lot of town residents haven’t done that yet. So, if you don’t have anything planned from 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 15), head down to Saugus Public School’s beautiful educational complex. And don’t forget to bring a large shopping bag with you to carry out all the useful handouts that will be distributed by various town department heads, the School Department, nonprofit organizations and groups. They will be there to hand out gobs of good stuff – or “pass-outs,” as Selectman Corinne Riley, the catalyst and organizer of this event, likes to call them. “The plans for the day itself are to have a welcome/sign-in table inside the main entrance, the tables of information of each nonprofit/houses of worship, and school district and town information will be throughout the first floor,” Riley told me. “A video loop is planned showing videos as well as still pictures by Charles ‘Zap’ Zapolski, Jim Harrington and Chris Riley being presented during the event,” she said. “Art students will be creating the placards of the groups that registered, and students are being asked to volunteer to interpret for our English as a second language families to help with any questions they may have. To every new family ‘Welcome to Your New Home’ and to all who may have lived here longer, reacquaint yourselves with our town, and see what has replaced the old SHS.” This week, I asked Janice Jarosz – a civic-minded Saugus native extraordinaire and longtime writer and booster of community pride and history, and most recently the interim secretary to the Board of Selectmen – to put this event into context, as far as Saugus is concerned. “This event is a first!!” Janice wrote me in an email yesterday. “Town officials took it upon themselves to coordinate the event welcoming newcomers about services available such as recycling, trash information, lists of town officials/Town Meeting Members, precinct locations and where to vote to name a few,” she continued. “There will be over 20 tables with non-profits passing out information on what various organizations are active in the community along with tours of the new Middle/High School. All are welcome to this brand new free welcoming event.” Well, that sounds like a pretty good endorsement for a pretty special event. This event is going to be so huge, I predict, that I may run out of business cards as I make the rounds. (The 10-year supply Jim Mitchell gave me five years ago is running low anyway!) This is shaping up to be a classic mega-orientation session for Saugus newcomers as well as a refresher course for folks who are already rooted in the community but might be interested in getting reacquainted with their hometown. See you at 9 a.m., Saugus. I will be there to use up my business cards. Stay tuned. Did COVID kill Saugus’s Haunted House? As the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” And, as we’re finding out, COVID-19 has led to the demise of many of our favorite things in life – particularly restaurants and stores and various social activities. I just learned yesterday that one of the scary, great Halloween season attractions – “the Haunted House” creation of Mark Andrews and his long-time buddy Bob Catinazzo, assisted by their small, but dedicated work crew of close friends and relatives – isn’t happening this year. I remember doing an interview with Mark and Bob about this time back in 2019, the year before the outbreak of COVID-19. That was the ninth consecutive year that the MEG Building basement in Cliftondale had been converted into the town’s official haunted house. Andrews, who began dabbling in the Halloween hobby of haunted houses out of the basement of his own home 20 years ago – had been perfecting it every year until the crowds got too big and he and his friends moved into the old Cliftondale Schoolhouse, which is owned by the Town of Saugus and leased to The MEG Foundation. And then along came COVID-19 in March of 2020, and it continued to make our lives miserable even through last year. So, Saugus’s scary little Haunted House was out of commission. Andrews, a member of the Saugus High School Class of 1987, attended classes in the old schoolhouse, in grades one through four. He told me in a past interview that he believed the building may be inhabited by friendly spirits. Sometimes while alone in the building, he said, he can hear the sounds of people walking when there is nobody else around. Well, it was great Halloween entertainment while it lasted. But Andrews’ project was a much bigger asset to the community than as a seasonal attraction for people who love a frightening moment for the fun of it. All those cover charges collected at the Haunted House went to local charities or local people who needed some help. In the past, money raised from the Haunted House has been donated to Saugus We Care, Saugus Anti Drugs, Saugus Youth and Recreation, the Friends of Saugus Parks and Miles For Miracles, a charity for Boston Children’s Hospital. The MEG Foundation and the Saugus High School Drama program were the benefactors of the fund-raising efforts by Andrews, Catinazzo and friends during their final year in the basement. The kids in the drama club also got to practice their craft by acting out some of the scary roles. Also noteworthy: Andrews spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars out of his own pocket over the years in an effort to make the Haunted House of Saugus as good as it was. Hats off to Andrews, Catinazzo and friends for a scary project that also led to the betterment of Saugus. Town-Wide Fall Street Sweeping Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree and the Department of Public Works announced the Town’s Annual Fall Street Sweeping Program, which began on Oct. 11. Sweepers started in the area of north Saugus (Precincts 5 and 7) and are working their way across town, working from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The town asks that residents keep vehicles off the street when sweepers are in the area. Locals may assist the Department of Public Works by sweeping their driveways or sidewalks into the gutter area prior to the program’s start. But they should not sweep driveways and/or sidewalks once the sweepers have swept. Residents should keep in mind that street sweepers are unable to collect stones, branches, leaves or other foreign objects. In addition, residents are asked to be mindful that sweepers cannot pick up large piles of sand. Please contact the Department of Public Works at 781231-4143 with any questions. Saugus Lions Club fundraiser Oct. 22 The Saugus Lions Club is hosting a Halloween dinner/ dance on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Saugus Knights of Columbus (57 Appleton St.). There will be a full buffet, cash bar, DJ, raffles and door prizes. Costumes are optional but there will be a prize for best costume. Tickets are $50 with proceeds supporting the Lions’ efforts in funding eye research. For more information or to purchase tickets, email pattyfierro@hotmail.com or call 781-640-9176. A “Shout-Out” to Billy B. Just when I was preparing to compose a few shout-outs to publicly recognize good Saugonians for this week’s edition, Ruth Berg – the stylish hat lady with the great smile and personality to match – emailed me with this one: THE SOUNDS | SEE PAGE 17 —Cont est— CONTEST SKETCH OF THE WEEK 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 Hammersmith Family Restaurant (330 Central St. in Saugus). 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”)
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