This past fall, I worked with a couple of teachers and town leaders to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the official founding of Saugus. Residents of all ages submitted works of art that showcased what Saugus meant to them. I imagined what Saugus looked like two hundred years ago, but my mind took me back even further. In 1629, the people making epic journeys had names like Obadiah and Zechariah. They came by way of Salem and even further back from England. They were different than most others in their lives because they had traveled more than 10 miles from where they were born. These settlers met natives like Montowampate, the Chief, of Saugus, and they worked hard to make things better for their families and their town. Just under 200 years later, in 1815, Saugus still hadn't changed much. Sure, our country had been established and tyranny from a British king had been expelled, but the town had just seen the opening of Route One. It was growing, and growing quickly, but most Saugonians would still not ever travel more than 10 miles from where they were born.
For those who did, the trip to their nation's capital would have taken nearly 8 days by horse. They wouldn't have seen any paved highways and interstates hadn't even been dreamed of. There would be no rest stops or food courts. It would be an epic journey for them as it has been for our kids. In my mind, the journey is only the start. The change that we go through when taking the journey is what it is all about and it makes it worth all of the struggles along the way.
This morning, we woke early. For most of the kids, it was probably too early. They were too excited to get a good night's sleep and 5:15 came way sooner than expected. They assembled in the gym and waited for their bus number to be called. They took photos with loved ones and hugged friends from other buses good bye.
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| Do you think we have enough water? |
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| Waiting for the buses. |
As they departed, they quickly said good bye to their parents, guardians, and family members. It might seem out of place to compare their 8th grade field trip to a colonial excursion settling a new world, but for many of these kids, it is the first time away from home and into the unknown. Sure, they have some friends here and some teachers, but this is their first foray into adulthood and known knows where they might end up settling.
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| A last minute hug before the day begins. |
It is weird to think that we covered more ground in 20 minutes of traveling than most early Saugonians ever experienced, but its true. Before we knew it, we were in Connecticut and then New York. We didn't really hit much traffic and we were making good time, but nature called. We stopped at a small rest stop on our way towards the Tappan Zee bridge.
The men's room was out of order, and so, our boys had to literally use an outhouse before we continued along the way. We hit the road again and zipped past one of my favorite service stations in Montvale. Our goal was to reach Delaware around 1pm. I am not making this up, we were 3/4ths of a mile away, when we hit bumper to bumper traffic...it seemingly took for ever.
We heard word that a Tractor Trailer had flipped and that the highway was temporarily shut down. It reminded us how quickly things can change. The Delaware House Welcome Center has several restaurants. It has two Starbucks, a Baja Fresh, and a Popeyes Chicken. The kids chose from all of the different options and relaxed for a bit while eating. In the same time we ate, the traffic began to clear up and we were able to make our way to DC. Of course, we'd hit more traffic again, but that was to be expected.
In the nation's capital, cars travel in all sorts of directions. It was amazing to see how many people were in the city. The traffic patterns were all out of sorts and it was a crawl to go anywhere. We found out that the Prime Minister of India was in town and wondered if his visit was impacting the confusion. As it were, a few roads were in fact shut down adding to the mess. Patiently we waited, but eventually we made it to the Ronald Reagan Building. Our goal here was to eat again...
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| A look down Penn. Ave. |
We decided to skip the White House for now and instead head off towards some of the capital's impressive monuments. We started with the World War Two memorial. This is one of the more impressive ones for me. The monument is huge. It is flanked by 56 large columns representing the states and territories of the nation. In the middle there are 4000 gold stars commemorating the soldiers who lost their lives in the war. It reminded me of other journeys that Saugonians took. Today is June 7, yesterday was the anniversary of D-Day. Thousands of young men from our nation had embarked on a journey representing freedom. Many didn't know they'd pay the ultimate sacrifice. One of the men who took upon himself this tremendous responsibility was Arthur DeFronzo. He was from Saugus. He died, in France, just a few days after the invasion. He won the Medal of Honor for his bravery and his sacrifice.
I think the kids were amazed by the monument. Quite a few stopped and asked questions about what things meant and how the war had impacted the nation. Many others, tired from the long day, took the opportunity to reconnect with their friends and pose for some pictures. I tried to grab a couple myself.
It was at the World War Two memorial that I was able to reconnect with another Saugonian on an epic journey. His name is Jonathan McTague. He graduated from Saugus High School a couple of years ago, he served as his class' president. He is attending Suffolk University and is in DC because of his acceptance into a program down here. He took time out of his day to swing by and say "Hi." Jonathan is also a Town Meeting member for Precinct 9 (I think). He missed last night's meeting and apologized publicly on Facebook for it...I mention it, not to embarrass him, but to praise him. He is taking the job so seriously that he felt the need to notify his constituents. Jonathan is no stranger to taking journeys as a student either. He traveled on more than one of SHS's European trips and had often credited those experiences for helping shape who he has become. As we walked through the rest of the memorials with the group, we reminisced a bit about past experiences.
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| A selfie |
Last night, I took a couple minutes and visited the new memorials in Saugus commemorating our Veterans.
After the World War Two memorial, we began walking towards the Vietnam Memorial...The Wall. I've been on this trip before, and so I tried to prepare myself, but I wanted to make sure that some of our kids reflected on the sacrifice of others. Just to the left of Town Hall's entrance stands a statue. It commemorates the lives of three young men who perished during the Vietnam conflict. Their names are Richard Devine, Stanley Egan, and Michael DeProfrio. I tried, in our limited time, to help the kids locate their spots along the wall.
After visiting the Wall, we went to the Lincoln Memorial. Obviously, it is one of the largest in DC and one of the favorites of the kids.
From there, we headed towards the Korean War Memorial. It was getting dark and the pathway was very crowded, but our tour guide did all that she could to explain the immense symbolism surrounding this place. It is my favorite memorial.
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| The reflections of these 19 soldiers signifies the ongoing conflict between South and North Korea |
In all of our nation's conflicts, young men and women have gone above and beyond to defend our natural rights. Visiting these grounds reminds us of their sacrifices, but remembering that history exists in our backyard and that it surrounds our every actions can be difficult. I reminded several of the kids that they should be thinking this way...that their journey was made possible by the journey of so many others. The wreaths of Memorial Day still hung alongside many of the monuments we visited. The flowers were wilting and the signs were faded, but the stone stands as a permanent reminder to all who walk along.
I am so very grateful to be along for another ride with the Belmonte Middle School. The kids have been, once again, super receptive of having a stranger hanging out with them. I've chatted with a few, found younger brothers and sisters of my students, and relatives of my high school peers...I've even spotted one of my neighbors down here. I know we have another couple long days ahead of us, but I am hopeful that these kids will look back upon this week as more than just one more hurrah...that they will remember the monuments, the memorials, and the many sacrifices that were made for them to be here. I hope that they will appreciate that they have already traveled more in their lifetime than most people in history had ever the opportunity to do. I hope that they will continue to seek us teachers out and ask us questions...that they will recognize that one must travel to learn.
I hope I didn't get too wordy and that you liked learning a little about Saugus too.
Mr. Lavoie, wrapping up before midnight is always a plus.
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