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March 17, St. Patrick’s Day


by Doug Robinson People all over the world


celebrate on the 17th day of March in honor of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Some cities have parades, most revelers wear green, and a few families commemorate the day with traditional Irish fare for their meal. However, not everyone may know who St. Patrick was. Born in Britain during the 4th


century, St. Patrick was kidnapped and enslaved by Irish raiders when he was a teenager. Although he was able to escape after six years and become a priest in Britain, he later chose to return to Ireland as a missionary, in order to help spread the teachings of Christianity to pagans. According to Irish folklore, he also used a shamrock to explain the Christian concept of Trinity to the Irish.


In spite of continuous opposition from pagan leaders, he continued to evangelize for 30 years while baptizing newly converted Christians and establishing monasteries, churches, and schools. He died on March 17 and was canonized by the local church. St. Patrick’s Day was first publicly


celebrated in Boston, MA, in 1737 where a large population of Irish immigrants resided. Nearly 200 years later, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the Irish Free State was held in Dublin in 1931. During the mid 1990s, the Irish government also began a campaign to promote tourism in Ireland on March 17. While many Catholics still quietly


celebrate this day of religious observance by going to Mass, St. Patrick’s Day slowly evolved to become a celebration of Irish heritage. Through the years, along with legendary shamrocks, many symbols were included in festivities that are reflective of Ireland’s folklore, culture, and national identity (think leprechauns, ethnic cuisine, and wearing green). Other places that join in on this celebration include Japan, New Zealand, Argentina, and Canada, along with many cities across the United States.


According to the Christian Science Monitor, “blue was the first color associated with St. Patrick’s Day, but that started to change in the 17th century. Green is one of the colors in Ireland’s tri-color flag, and it has been used in the flags of several Irish revolutionary groups throughout history. Ireland is the “Emerald Isle,” so named for its lush green landscape. Green is also the color of spring, the shamrock, and the Chicago River, which the Midwestern city has dyed green on St. Patrick’s Day for the past 40-odd years. This St. Patrick’s Day, millions of people will sit down to an authentic Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage. Or so they think. In fact, only half of it is really Irish. Though cabbage has historically been a staple of the Irish diet (along with potatoes), it was traditionally eaten with Irish bacon, not corned beef. Irish immigrants in America could not afford the bacon, so they substituted it with corned beef, a cheaper alternative they picked up from Jewish immigrants.


Salem Community Patriot Patriot Geoffrey Adams sings “Mack the Knife” Bidding Up Bucks, Salem BGC HoldsAnnual Charity Auction


by S. Aaron Shamshoyan Bid numbers flying in the air, a packed gymnasium, and donated


items covering the Teen Center made for a successful Charity Auction at the Salem Boys and Girls Club. A sold out crowd filled the gymnasium to celebrate the 25th auction, held to raise funds for the club. “Our twenty-fifth Anniversary auction proved to be our best ever thanks to the incredible generosity of our sponsors such as Citizens Bank, Salem Co-Op and Tuscan Kitchen as well as all the local merchants and individuals who donated items and services,” said Auction Committee Chairwoman Joanne Flynn. The evening began with a silent auction located upstairs in


the Teen Center, followed by dinner and the live auction in the gymnasium. Catering was provided by the Tuscan Kitchen whose staff generously volunteered their time for the event. New for the evening was the ‘Sparkle and Shine’ Raffle.


Participants had the option purchase one of a 100 boxes with 99 containing a gift valued at the cost of the raffle, and one contained a piece of jewelry worth about $3,000. Diane Maddox was the lucky winner, as she opened her box and discovered it contained a pair of diamond earrings, donated by Charles Rage Jewelers.


continued to page 6- BGC Auction Salem High’s Got Talent


by Samantha B. Gauvain, SHS Intern Students at Salem High School faced down “The Gong” at the annual “Salem


High’s Got Talent” competition on March 8 in the Seifert Auditorium. Attendees charged a $5 admission. Students competed for a shot at winning $100 and school- wide recognition of their talent. Ryan Buck and Crystal Napoli, treasurer and vice-president of the class of 2014, hosted this year’s event. After thanking the audience for their contribution to the sophomore class, they were pleased to introduce the judges; Chris Bujold, Laura Preston, and William Viau.


continued to page 6- SHS Talent


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View past issues and our other papers online.


Volume 5 Number 35 March 16, 2012 12 Pages


Abby Lehner and Jessica Liston give a heartfelt performance


Sue and Jim Desjardins and Elliott Fair. “I think it was a raging success,” said Jim.


Salem Chooses to Axe Second Deliberative Session; Phase II Fails Supermajority


by S. Aaron Shamshoyan A record turnout of voters made for a late


night Tuesday as candidates awaited the town’s election results. At 12 a.m. Wednesday morning, four of the five selectmen candidates sat and conversed while poll workers tallied the results. With just under 7,000 voters turning out to the polls, a shortage of ballots made for an extended evening. Town Moderator Chris Goodnow explained only 6,500 ballots were originally printed, with anticipation of an average turnout. “The town clerk orders the ballots,” said Goodnow, who mentioned an average voter turnout is right around 3,800. He said in 2010, around 4,400 residents visited the polls with phase one of the school renovations to be voted upon and with phase two being on the ballot this year, Goodnow said the town ordered 45 percent more then average, which proved to be insufficient. Polling hours were


extended an hour as a result of long lines and lack of ballots. The town had to photocopy ballots, which were later hand counted. “I’m astonished at how patient they were in general,” said Goodnow


James Keller was elected to the Board of Selectmen


about residents waiting to cast their vote. He said at 7 p.m., about 80 to 100 people still waited to cast their vote at town hall. Goodnow said no one was turned away if they were in line by 8 p.m. He added in the past he could only recall running out of ballots at the 2004 presidential candidates. At 1:45 a.m., Goodnow


announced the election results beginning by saying 6,836 or 41 percent of the voting population had participated. The heavily debated


Senate Bill Two, a revision to the town’s current charter eliminating Second Deliberative Session, passed. Other debated articles including the Elementary Phase Two renovations gained the popular vote but failed because a supermajority was necessary. Curbside pickup was also defeated by almost 4,000 votes. Among the five running for Selectman, James


Keller and Everett McBride were successful. McBride was extremely happy with the results of the election as Senate Bill Two had passed. McBride was an originator


Poll worker Michael Carney hand counts votes after the town ran out of ballots.


of the movement. Also, the school bond failed. “I voted against the schools on the budget committee,” he said, adding he felt the reason for his victory was listening to voters. Keller was also pleased with the results. “I’m


thrilled,” he said, “It proves that hard work does pay off.” Keller said the failure of trash pickup was no surprise, and added he felt SB2 passed as expected. Keller also said he expected the school bond to be back in the future. On the Budget


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Breckenridge Plaza 264 NO. Broadway, Salem, NH 603-898-1190 Everett McBride awaits election results as votes are counted.


Committee, Robert Bryant, Paul Huard, and Dane Hoover were elected to the positions; Russell Frydryck was elected to a one-year seat in an uncontested race.


St. Patrick’s Day!


Happy


Photos by Samantha B. Gauvain


Staff photos by S. Aaron Shamshoyan


Staff photos by S. Aaron Shamshoyan


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