Veterans Day weekend was full of events centered around service to the community.
Scouts collected community donations for the Southborough Food Pantry’s biggest annual drive. Town officials honored the memory of a man known as exemplifying service. The annual parade and ceremony was held to honor those who served in the military to protect our nation. And Rotary held its annual Salute to Veterans.
Below are a few of images from social media plus, my gallery of photos from Monday’s Town parade and ceremony.
Scouting for Food
Southborough Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts pitched in to collect donations. Residents stepped up, leaving bags in their driveway or driving them directly to Pilgrim Church where volunteers gathered to sort them. The Food Pantry posted its appreciation on Facebook for the generosity and I cropped a few images from their photos:
“John Wilson Drive” Dedication
On Sunday, the Town dedicated the Golf Course access road to the late John Wilson. (To the right is an image of Wilson’s family wit the new sign that I cropped from the Town’s tweet).
Andre Fortin helped Wilson pitch a “grand compromise” to save the golf course. At the ceremony, he spoke off the cuff after misplacing his notes. Feeling his remarks fell short, he posted a comment to share how he “truly felt about John, and the tremendous contributions he made to merit this dedication.” You can read his speech here. (You can also read more about him through stories earlier this year here.)
Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony
The Town held its annual observance for Veterans Day on Monday. Veterans, officials, and scouts marched to the All Wars Memorial in honor of those who served our country.
At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, a ceremony remembered the contributions of soldiers, especially those residents who made the “Supreme Sacrifice”. (Scroll down for more of my photos from the cool, grey morning.)
The ceremony included the traditional speeches by the commanders of Southborough’s VFW and American Legion (Steve Whynot and Dan Kolenda), selectmen (represented by Lisa Braccio), and State Representative Carolyn Dykema. The ceremony included a prayer, the annual reading of “Flanders Field”, patriotic songs by the Algonquin Camerata, a gun salute, and playing taps.
This year’s remarks included remembering the late American Legion Commander John Wilson. And Braccio shared some highlights of resident veteran Arthur Butler’s service. (He’s pictured center on the veterans bench above.) Butler served in WWII and Korea, earning a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. (You can read more about his service and awards in a 2010 story here.)
Although there were signs of the Main Street Reconstruction project all around, the area had been significantly cleaned up for the service. Attendees were told we could thank the Phaneuf family, the DPW, and MassDOT for that effort. Kolenda also thanked the scouts for their annual attendance, noting that without them the crowd would be half the size at most.
Rotary Salutes Veterans
The Southborough Rotary Club posted about it’s event on Facebook. (If you can’t see the image below, click here.)
how many pounds of food did the scouts collect this year?