Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services is thanking everyone who supported our recent clothing drive to benefit Second Chances. Organized by SCES HR Director Ellyn Torres (right) and Administrative Assistant Deandra Ramirez, the drive collected 1,489 pounds of clothing and accessories that will be recycled and reused in our community. Established in 2003, Second Chances delivers free, empowering clothing to homeless and low-income people in Cambridge and Somerville, working in partnership with local homelessness and social service agencies.

The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) welcomed two new community leaders in October to its Board of Directors – Edna Monteiro Leith of Cambridge, and Maria da Silva Dickinson of Lowell.

Join your neighbors, friends, and larger community on Sunday, November 13 to help clean up and beautify East Somerville. Meet at the East Branch Library, 115 Broadway, at 10:00 a.m. Pickers, trash bags and gloves will be available. Feel free to bring your own gloves or tools, as well. 

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Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and Director of Veterans Services, Ted Louis-Jacques, and others, honor our veterans at The Veterans Day Ceremony at Mass General Brigham at Assembly Row.

Somerville small business owners can apply for forgivable loans worth up to $15k starting November 15, 2022

The City of Somerville and Mayor Katjana Ballantyne are thrilled to announce that new funds are available for small businesses impacted by COVID-19 via Somerville’s Small Business Recovery Program. 

City offices will be closed on Friday, November 11, for Veterans Day.

Trash, recycling, and yard waste collection will be delayed by one day.

No street sweeping on Friday.

Moving Wall – Vietnam Veterans Memorial 

Opening ceremony begins at 11:00 a.m. Friday, November 11, Great Lawn at Mass. General Brigham, Assembly Row, 399 Revolution Drive. The Moving Wall covers more than 252 feet from end to end and stands six feet tall at its highest point in the center. Its 74 separate frames display more than 58,000 names of American service members who died in the Vietnam War.

Somerville Veterans Day Remembrance Ceremony

Friday, November 11, 2:30 p.m., Milk Row Cemetary, 439 Somerville Ave.

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

This article was first published in the April 18, 2018 edition of The Somerville Times.

By William C.  Shelton

For many of my generation the Vietnam War was the defining experience of our lives. Whether we were there, or here, what we chose to do about it, and how we came to understand it, influenced who we became. And who we became, divided us.