Newton marked Memorial Day with three days of events, beginning with a ceremony on Saturday morning, May 25, at Forte Park honoring PFC Richard J. Forte, who was killed in 1968 while serving in Vietnam. Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, City Councilors, and members of veterans groups gathered at Nonantum Post 440 and then proceeded to hang flags on bridges over the Mass Turnpike.
On a spectacular, sunny Sunday on May 26, the Nonantum Children’s Christmas Association (NCCA) and a large contingent of bands, floats, color guards, marching groups gathered at Newton North High School for the annual parade to Colletti-Magni Park on Watertown Street in Nonantum. NCCA officials Anthony Pellegrini, Jr., Anthony Clemente, Carl Pasquarosa, and Chuck Proia directed parade participants.
Parade participants included the Stow Minutemen Company 1774, horses from the National Lancers, and Uncle Sam (Evn Tomeny) on stilts. People sitting and standing along the parade route, from Walnut to Watertown Streets, moved to the music of the Hot Tamale Band, the New Liberty Jazz Band, the North End Marching Band, the Roma Band, and the Grooversity drummers.
A large contingent of Newton’s dual-high-school robotics team, the LigerBots, their prize-winning robot matched the bright sunshine in their yellow, orange, and red T-shirts. Bands and performers, including Daniel Fontaine, an Elvis impersonator, came from all over Massachusetts and New England to join the parade. Bringing up the rear, Larry Bearfield drove the “Lake” truck with a life-size photograph of the parade’s longtime organizer, Anthony “Fat” Pellegrini, who died in 2004 but is still a palpable force in making the day a success.
Mayor Fuller, several City Councilors, and Governor’s Councilor Marilyn Devaney were waiting for the marchers and joined Mr. Fontaine’s moving rendition of America, The Beautiful. And no community event would be complete without Cabot’s ice cream, dished out to anyone with an outstretched hand.
Memorial Day on Monday, May 27, was chilly and cloudy for the wreath-laying ceremony at the Veterans section of the Newton Cemetery. Seth Bai, a retired Marine Corps veteran and now Director of Newton’s Veterans Services, served as master of ceremonies. Post 440 Chaplain John Stone offered a prayer in honor of the missing and deceased service men and women. About fifty people — including members of various veterans organizations, City Councilors, representatives of the Boys and Girl Scouts — came to lay wreaths and honor Newton residents lost in war. Both Newton Police and Fire Department Honor Guards were part of the official commemoration, and Alan Manarino played Taps at all Veterans sections.
Mayor Fuller, noting that the city had been marking Memorial Day since 1868, paid tribute to its legacy of service. Among those laying wreaths at the seventy-four-year-old monument to those missing in action were the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Jewish War Veterans, American Legion Post 440, Sons of the American Legion, the American Legion Auxiliary, Acting Police Chief George McMains, and City Council President Marc Laredo. The group walked to the other two Veterans sections to pay their respects, as other family members came to place flowers at the graves of their loved ones.
Ed. Note: We revised this article to indicate that the LigerBots robotics team spans both Newton North and Newton South High Schools.
