Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021 THE SOUNDS OF SAUGUS By Mark E. Vogler It was a great night anyway It was a little nippy out there on the front lawn outside Saugus Town Hall last Friday night as a large crowd gathered for the town’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Festivities. And it’s too bad that Town Hall wasn’t open to the public, so that a long line of parents and their kids could warm up in the second floor auditorium while waiting for photo ops with Santa Claus. But recent concerns about a resurgence of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Saugus over the past several weeks prompted Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree to play it safe and keep Town Hall closed. If it wasn’t safe for the 50-member Town Meeting body to assemble for its Special Town Meeting this past Monday night (Dec. 6), then there’s no way the town manager was going to allow a crowd in the auditorium for photo ops with Santa Claus. Santa did sit down to have his photo taken with children. But it was outside this year in front of the entrance of the Saugus Public Library. As the old saying goes, “Beggars can’t be choosers.” Certain adjustments had to be made to ensure public health and safety. The event was scaled down a little, but I’m sure all of the folks who turned out were grateful that the town’s beloved community event wasn’t canceled like last year. All in all, the crowd was a little smaller. But the grownups and kids seem to be having fun and getting in the holiday spirit. The petting zoo was a hit. So were the trains and the horse-drawn cart rides up Central Street. Hot chocolate, hot apple cider, cookies and popcorn satisfied people’s appetites. And WIN Waste Innovations, a sponsor of the event, sprung for the complimentary pizza from Charlie’s Pizzeria. WIN Waste also arranged for the 98.5 FM Street Team to appear and provide giveaways. It was kind of sad that the late Gregory Nickolas, the town’s longtime Saugus Youth & Recreation Department director, wasn’t there to be a part of the tree lighting ceremony and festivities, as he has in years past. But Greg Nickolas was there in spirit. And it was a nice gesture by the town manager and Interim Youth & Recreation Director and Programs Coordinator Crystal Cakounes to express a few words of appreciation for the town employee who has been the heart and soul of this event for many years. Greg was missed by many folks and he will be missed for years to come. But the show will go on, and future organizers will build on the foundation that Greg established in his efforts to make this a great event for his hometown. Hats off to the folks who stepped up and helped make this year’s Tree Lighting and Festivities a special memory for many Saugonians. Nice gesture on the tree ornaments As they say, it’s the thought that counts. And Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano had his heart in the right place by coordinating the creation of four large tree ornaments that went up on the town Christmas tree in the Saugus Center rotary on Friday. These ornaments, which were fashioned by Sachem Signworks, paid tribute to four popular Saugonians who passed away this year: Theresa Whittredge, Carmela “Cam” Cicolini, Greg Nickolas and Wendy Reed (longtime clerk to the Saugus Board of Selectmen). Not everybody liked the ornaments, apparently. Some folks felt uncomfortable seeing the faces of loved ones up on the tree. Some critics said it struck them as “political” and wasn’t authorized by the town. Some wondered why the faces of other Saugus residents who had passed weren’t up on that tree. Actually, the concept initiated by the Board of Selectmen chair has some promising potential and great merit. In future years, why not let families and friends of loved ones who passed that year hang an ornament in memory of a loved one? Include that courtesy for every Saugus resident who passes. And instead of the loved one’s face on the ornament, “This reporter was trying to figure out whether a sports car had crashed up against the side of the building. Once he got his bearings straight, he was staring down at the nose of a hefty, terrorized animal,” the story continued. It’s been 46 years since that harrowing experience. But I can still remember my first reaction was to rush into the restroom; then I ran out, my heart pounding wildly as I tried to make sense of things. “The front door wouldn’t quite open for the reporter’s escape. But doe’s destination was the front window…” I wrote. After smashing that window, the doe sprung across GUESS WHO GOT SKETCHED! 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 correctly identifies the Saugonian who was sketched 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’ at the 1204 Broadway Saugus location on Route 1 North. 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”) have their name inscribed with a date of their passing. Make them smaller. Get the leaders of the Saugus Faith Community to coordinate the event. Minimize the politics. But for what it’s worth, I think this was a nice gesture by Board of Selectmen Chair Cogliano. It’s an idea that’s worth developing for future years. A pair of “Shout-Outs” for good deeds This week, we received two shout-outs from our readers who wanted to recognize some good deeds in the community: Susan McBride: “I would like to give a shoutout to Kathy Krasowski for always picking up trash on her daily dog walks. She never fails to have a shopping bag with her to pick up other people’s trash that has been left behind.” Margie Berkowitch: “Hammersmith Quilt Guild collected food for the food bank on Wednesday, December 1st. Shout out to Michael Boudreau who volunteered to deliver the food. He was completely surprised to find the food had completely filled his SUV. Thank you Mike.” 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. The day I became a front page deer story Back in December of 1975, when I was the Williamstown bureau chief for The North Adams Transcript, I had a notorious encounter with Mother Nature. I was picking up some laundry at Drummond’s Cleaners when I got knocked down while leaning over the counter. A scared 150-pound doe came crashing through the side window, cutting itself and scaring witnesses inside the store. “Deer season opened today, but merchants on Spring Street are probably wondering who is hunting whom,” I wrote in my lead paragraph for that afternoon’s front-page story. “Three large plate glass windows were shattered within a few minutes. There were no injuries, but the doe did brush up against the back of this reporter after breaking the first window at Drummond’s.” Spring Street, right into the front window of a sporting goods store. The doe shattered the front window of Goff’s Sports Inc., but did not penetrate inside the building because of a backboard for a parka display. Witnesses said they saw a hoof kicking around. The doe was temporarily stunned and lying down in the street. A passing mailman thought the deer was dead. But, when he went to touch it, she sprang up quickly and took off down the street and into the woods. When I got back to the office, my editor told me I was all over the local radio station in North Adams – so he wanted me to write a first-person story for the front page about the opening day of deer hunting season in Massachusetts. I remember I was still shaking an hour after the incident as I began writing my story, which was headlined “Doe invades Spring Street. Deer season opens with a crash of glass.” Since that incident, I’ve had many close encounters in my car with deers, one time having to jam on my breaks on Nantucket Island to let a family of six cross the road. But, fortunately, I never hit a deer. Knock on wood. We have a winner! Congratulations to Marty Graney for making the right identification in last week’s “Guess Who got Sketched!” contest and then being the one selected from among several readers whose names were entered into the green Boston Red Sox cap. Here’s the correct answer, offered by the person who goes by the name of The Sketch Artist: “The answer to last week’s sketch is the multitalented Janice K. Jarosz! “Where does one begin with such a woman of substance and depth?… How do you spell Saugus? My answer would be Janice Jarosz that’s how! “Janice has such a beautiful spirit and as a published author it flows out to the pages of her writings. She is deeply saturated with the love of bringing alive and enriching Saugus History so that you can almost taste it! “Janice is blessed with many gifts and talents which she spreads throughout Saugus! This Proud native Saugonian’s roots fostered and enriched our Town. Janice graduated Saugus High school class of ‘61’ “Here’s a list of some of the Titles and Positions Janice holds/held in Saugus: Janice is a Saugus Business owner/Manager of Nevron Plastics. “Woman of the Year 2008, Town Meeting Member. Clerk to the Board of Selectmen. First Chair of the Recycling Committee. Weekly Columnist for The Saugus Advertiser while contributing Articles to The Saugus Advocate “Saugus Historical Society Member and Author of several books (My Home Town) with History of her family. “Janice is a Historian who oversees the M.E.G Center daily, from Arts to Annual Christmas Tree Festivals, and festivities. “Mr. Charles Bond, with his generous nature, loved and sponsored the Arts and would most likely be well pleased with her honoring his traditions of his nature. Janice is a ‘YES we can Woman’ who took an abandoned rundown building (Bond School AKA Cliftondale School) which became Maleah Graves MEG Center in 1994; and with her ‘YES we can attitude’ formed a Committee in 2007 and with her team, turned the building into what it is today.
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