Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, OCTObEr 28, 2022 ASKS | FROM PAGE 3 whole $5,000 had to be used to buy library books. He also left $5,000 for the Methodist Episcopal Church of East Saugus, to pay the pastor’s salary. He must have really liked him. Five grand in 1932 was a lot of money. Q: Please tell me about the logistics of your cemetery project. A: I saw Mr. Johnson’s headstone again this year, and it was really, really dirty. I’m probably more concerned about it because I am a member of the town Cemetery Commission. And one of the members mentioned a Facebook group called “The Good Cemeterian,” a group of people who donate their time and are dedicated to cleaning headstones. I had the urge that I had to clean it for him. It was the biggest undertaking for my stone cleaning. I have a considerable amount of hours invested in it – at least eight hours. I had some help from Tom Raiche, a former Saugonian and Saugus High graduate. He likes to clean headstones, too, and he came down one day and gave me a hand. Q: You had to get permission to clean the stone? A: Yes. You have to get permission to clean any headstone in any cemetery, in general. You always should get permission before you start to clean it. Q: Okay, so after you got permission, how did you proceed? A: The first two days that I started cleaning, I felt discourRIBBON CUTTING | FROM PAGE 2 ing entity during the construction phase. The project enhanced an already paved trail in some communities, such as upgrading road crossings to make them better and safer locations. In other communities where the rails were still in place the project involved all aspects of trail design, permitting and construction. Additionally, the trail was designed by the team of Brown, Richardson, and Rowe, landscape architects, and Stantec Consulting engineers, who also administered project construction, and built by the R. Zoppo Corporation. “After nearly 30 years of tireless advocacy, Bike to the Sea is thrilled to celebrate the official ribbon cutting for the Northern Strand Trail,” said Jonah Chiarenza, Executive Director of Bike to the Sea. “We thank the Commonaged that I was in over my head. It was so far gone, that I felt I was way over my head on this project. But after a few times of working on it, I felt good about it and was making some progress. Q: Did you try different cleaning agents? A: No, you only use a soft brush and a wooden paint stick. You don’t want to use any harsh abrasives or a wire brush or bleach that will harm the stone. Q: Okay, what was the cleaning agent you used? A: D-2 Biological Solution. It’s actually used in Arlington National Cemetery, and it’s not sold in stores. Q: And what did you use to apply it? A: You spray it on and let it sit for 10 minutes and scrub it with a soft brush and wash all the dirt off with clean water. The way the stuff works – it is a time-released cleaning agent. It keeps cleaning the stone for a long time. It kills all the algae on the stone, which is all that junk you see on it. Q: Are you still cleaning it? A: No, it’s pretty much done – just letting Mother Nature take care of it now. Q: When did you finish it? A: Last week. Q: You mentioned that there are a few other headstones in the cemetery that you have been working on. How many? A: I’ve cleaned about 30 other stones. But this is the one I’m most proud of. I’ve done a bunch of World War II veterans, too. Then there’s Isabelle Louise Hallin. Q: Oh yes. That’s the Saugus wealth of Massachusetts for this historic investment in recreation and active transportation,” Chiarenza said. What the mayors say about the bike trail Design work for the balance of the Northern Strand Extension in Lynn, which will travel along South Common Street, Market Street and the Carroll Parkway before reaching Nahant Beach, is at the 75 percent stage. Funding for construction is programmed on MassDOT’s Transportation Improvement Program for FY24, which means that work should begin in the fall of 2023 and end in the summer of 2025. On the southern end of the Northern Strand, the City of Everett has been building the segment from West Street to the Mystic River. In addition, DCR is completing the design and permitting of the Mystic River Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge. Construction funding has been set aside for bridge Cleaning the Isabelle Louise Hallin headstone at Riverside Cemetery is Precinct 5 Town Meeting Member Ron Wallace. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) schoolteacher who was forced to resign in 1937 after unsubstantiated rumors that she served alcohol and cigarettes to her students during a practice of a high school play in the basement of her parents’ home. The School Committee voted to exonerate her in January 1942 – 11 days after her tragic Christmas Eve death in her New York City apartment. At the recommendation of Peter Manoogian, who researched the Hallin story, the Annual Town Meeting voted in 2012 to adopt “The Hallin Principle” and approve the creation of the plaque which was unveiled the following year. It reads: “May our actions within this Town Hall lead to greater wisdom and justice rather than sorrow and regret.” The plaque, which includes a photo of Isabelle Louise Hallin, is illuminated and hangs on the wall of the landing between the first and second floors of Sauwork to begin in the summer of 2023, with construction expected to take about two years. The completed project will result in a transportation and recreation corridor of about 11.5 miles from the Somerville side of the Mystic River at Assembly Row to the beach at the Nahant causeway. “We’re thrilled to see the expansion of the Northern Strand and to have Lynn added to the shared use path,” Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson said. “This initiative will contribute to our goals of increasing connectivity and accessibility to transportation and open, green space throughout the City and beyond,” he said. Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria called the completion of the Northern Strand Trail “a transformative multimodal transportation investment for the communities north of Boston that have been historically underserved by our transportation network.” “I applaud this achievement by the Baker adRon Wallace displayed the cleaning solution he used to remove decades of stains from the headstones of departed Saugonians – including the monument of Benjamin Newhall Johnson. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) gus Town Hall – for everybody to see when they enter and exit the second floor auditorium. A: Yeah, that’s the one. And I cleaned that headstone, too. Q: How many total hours have you devoted to cleaning headstones in Riverside Cemetery? A: Many, many hours; too many to tell you. It’s really hard work, but I enjoy it. I feel like I’m doing a nice thing. I like restoring things anyway. I think it’s a nice thing to do for somebody who is not around anymore. Regarding the Hallin stone, Peter Manoogian gave me contact information to get family permission to clean the stone. ministration, welcoming the Cities of Revere, Saugus and Lynn into the trail network, and look forward to the full completion of the path when the Mystic River bridge opens in the coming years,” DeMaria said. Malden Mayor Gary Christenson called the project a precedent-setting development for his community. “There isn’t anything that has transformed our city like the Northern Strand Community Trail has done,” Mayor Christenson said. “From providing a safe space to bike, run, and walk to creating a place for public art to being a place for families to come together, the trail has achieved all that we had hoped for and it has also proven that hard work is still the key to success,” Christenson said. “Thank you to Bike to the Sea for their 20 years of dedication to making this invaluable project a reality,” he said. I talked to a nephew in Alton, N.H., and he gave me permission to clean the stone. He told me he remembered going there as a little boy to put flowers on it. It was really neat that he told me that – it made my day. And I felt good after I cleaned the stone. Q: Anything else that you would like to share about this project? A: I think it would be neat if the Friends of Breakheart and maybe the DCR would come down to Riverside Cemetery and do a little ceremony. This is the 90th year since he passed, and it would be nice to acknowledge that. Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo called the Northern Strand Community Trail “a shining example of regional collaboration and the commitment of the Commonwealth to enhance the quality of life for the residents of our urban communities.” “Thanks to the hard work of our local and state partners, the residents of Revere will enjoy this trail for generations to come and have enhanced access to open space and outdoor recreation,” Mayor Arrigo said. State Senator Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) hailed the trail project as a great connector of all the communities in the region. “The Northern Strand Trail continues to bring people together both within and across communities,” Crighton said. “We are thankful for this project, which is a major investment in our region’s public health, economy, and emissions reduction efforts.”
11 Publizr Home