Salute to Marlborough Veterans - November 8 and 9, 2008

More than 500 people attended this two-day event, which was created by the Historical Society in recognition of the contributions made by all Marlborough veterans.  (News articles included here; event pictures below.)

Comments left in the guest book included . . .

Wonderful tribute to our veterans . . . Great display . . . Wonderful effort . . . Makes you feel like a part of history . . . Excellent . . . Quite an impact on our 9 year old. . . . Very sentimental . . . Breathless . . . Thank you.  God bless. . . . Job well done . . . Terrific . . . Very impressive . . . Moving and heartwarming . . . Absolutely magnificent . . . Thanks for the memories . . . I appreciate all of the efforts of the group putting on this display. . . . Wonderful memorial . . . Unbelievable . . . Wonderful tribute to our veterans . . . Thanks for remembering.


Background

The centerpiece of the exhibit were reproductions from a homemade scrapbook that contained 855 WWII service announcements clipped from the Marlborough Enterprise.  Ruth W. Colena, formerly of 23 Shawmut Avenue, who served on the home front as a Gray Lady in the Red Cross, created the album, and Nancy Ahlgren Colena, Ruth’s daughter-in-law, found the album and donated it to the Society in 2008.  


After months of work by Society volunteers, more than 1,000 photos of veterans from World War II were gathered and nearly 2,300 names identified.

Our thanks to Marlborough's American Legion Akroyd Houde Post 132 and to Marlborough's Italian American Veteran's Club Post 45 for helping underwrite this event, and to all who made donations and purchases at the event in support of the society's collection and special programs such as this.

Photos from Saturday, November 8

Consulting the index compiled by the Historical Society with nearly 2,300 names of men and women who served in World War II.



The center aisle of the exhibit with enlargements from the album.





Navy veteran looking at enlargements of scrapbook pages with service announcements.





Display of uniforms, posters, and newspapers from various wars.



Society Trustee Cliff Avey (on right) talks to John Noble and his wife.



The album and other memorabilia in display case.


From left: Society volunteers Bob Kane, Pauline Smith, and Glenn Foley, trustees; event chairman, Jack Gracey, curator and past president; and, Alan Chamberlain, member.  Not pictured: Cliff Avey, Peggy Kelly, Peggy Ayers, and Lee Wright.  

Glenn Foley scanned the album, recorded the 855 names in the announcements, and created the large-scale reproductions.  Cliff Avey (not pictured) went through paper records to identify hundreds of other veterans from World War II and pulled their photos from the Society's photo archives.   Together they created the most comprehensive database of Marlborough's WWII veterans and compiled the more than 1,000 images that were on display.

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