Saugus unveils Hallin plaque

SAUGUS – Nearly 80 people showed up at Saugus Town Hall Monday night for an unveiling ceremony of a new plaque dedicated to former high school teacher Isabelle Hallin.?It was successful, well-received, well-attended,” said Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian, who, along with the Town Manager?s chief administrative aide Susan Dunn, helped set the stage for Monday?s event. “What inspired me the most was having people outside of Saugus say good things about Saugus.”Residents, town officials and even family members and former students of Hallin attended the ceremony at the Town Hall auditorium.?They really appreciated that the town did this,” said Manoogian. “Town Meeting was responsible for this happening. If it wasn?t for the vote of Town Meeting this never would have happened.”As a 25-year-old teacher at Saugus High School in 1937, Hallin held a school play rehearsal in her parents? basement because the high school was too cold. Soon after, rumors spread that she was serving alcohol and cigarettes to students, and the School Committee at the time voted to request Hallin?s resignation.After the story spread nationally, Hallin headed to New York to try and make it as an actress, but she was found dead in her apartment on Christmas Eve 1941. Authorities said she died of gas asphyxiation from her oven.The School Committee voted 11 days later to exonerate Hallin of any wrongdoing.Hallin?s image along with a statement of principle adopted by Town Meeting last year are etched into the black glass plaque. The statement, known as the “Hallin Principle,” states: “May our actions within this Town Hall lead to greater wisdom and justice rather than sorrow and regret.”Manoogian said the statement is not just for town officials, but for “everybody that walks into Town Hall,” including the media.?She was a victim of the sensationalist media of the time ?” said Manoogian.With an acrimonious Board of Selectmen deeply divided over the Town Manager, Manoogian said he got a “sense of calmness” at Monday night?s event.?Things were put aside at the moment in time,” said Manoogian. “I don?t think for one minute that a slogan, a saying, a plaque, will solve the problems of Saugus that go back for decades ? But it may get one or two people to think twice and be a little more reflective. That will be a good thing.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].