HANOVER – The day after Whitman-Hanson families depended on golf umbrellas to make shade while the sun seared the school grounds, SST parents depended on the umbrellas to keep them dry – and winter coats to keep warm even as they basked in the knowledge that the weather was no harbinger of things to come.
Thanks to their hard work and the skills they had gained in the last four years, it won’t be raining on their parade as 153 members of the Class of 2023 accepted diplomas that represented a ticket to the workforce, college, further trade education or military service.
As Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey noted in his speech:
“The bottom line is that the Class of 2023 possesses what employers want: They want individuals with current technical skills and a desire to expand their skill set. They need young adults who can problem solve/troubleshoot, work on teams, demonstrate a strong work ethic, and communicate with different audiences. Does the Class of 2023 pass the test?
Absolutely—with flying colors.”
Hickey said after the ceremony that, while the temperature hovered in the 50s, with a steady breeze blowing around the school grounds, people were “in very good spirits.”
While the weather resembled that of a November football game day than a typical June graduation, families seemed to take it in stride, Hickey observed. And making good use of tents purchased for the COVID-effected graduations of the last three years, the shelters offered just that for anyone who wanted to retreat there under the precipitation.
“They made use of them. … They came dressed like New Englanders … for a rain event.” he said. “A couple of times the umbrellas popped up just for a little bit.”
There was a little concern that all those umbrellas would raise complaints about obstructed views, but those fears were unfounded.
That preparation not only workplace skills, industry recognized credentials and familiarity with workplace culture including dress codes, safety regulations and behavior, but also teamwork and troubleshooting.
“Class of 2023, you are the complete package,” he said. “Employers will be lining up to hire you! You have what it takes to be successful in the workplace and to make an impact in our communities.”
Salutatorian Ethan Mayo told his classmates they are redefining what it means to be a Viking, as well. He noted that reference books call Vikings not much more than seafaring pirates, but he sees more meaning in the word.
“At South Shore it’s a little bit different,” he said. “Through our four years we learned to persevere, problem solve, and most importantly support each other.”
Echoing Hickey’s remarks, he added, “We will definitely encounter new challenges and setbacks as we move forward. However, I believe that we have the abilities, knowledge, and fortitude to prevail. Not only have we been set up for success, but also prepared with the strength to overcome the difficulties that lie ahead.”
Valedictorian Brandon LaFleur put it another way, chalking his academic success to a fear of failing.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m your typical valedictorian,” he said. “I didn’t have the usual motivation that one would have—the pursuit of higher education and impressing colleges. … “I was afraid of failing—but for me, “failure” meant not giving my best work to something, and I couldn’t accept mediocrity. I just wanted to know that I succeeded to the extent I knew I could.”
He encouraged his classmates to reject the temptation to become comfortable with subpar work, because it can be a reflection of yourself.
“This, sadly, did not mean that I did everything right and was perfect in my ways,” he reflected. “I dropped several bulbs, scrapped many pipes after failed bends, knocked down a ceiling grid, and crashed a scissor lift into an innocent shelf. But that is the thing with trying to become good at something, as all of us here have done. We all have failed.”
Failure can, instead, be an excellent teacher.
“Mistakes are guaranteed,” LaFleur said. “Show up for yourself every day, do the best that you can, and know that each misstep is one step closer to fulfilling your potential. If you can do that, you will be fine.
Another adjustment to life’s changes had senior Ben DuFour’s step-father Jaime Pearce receiving his diploma posthumously.
“We were able to work out what I think was a well-received, but brief acknowledgement,” Hickey said, calling students up alphabetically by shop. Ben was an automotive student who died in a car-train crash and his diploma was awarded to spontaneous applause and a standing ovation at the end of Automotive before the next shop was called.
State Rep. David DeCoste, R-Hanover, attended the graduation ceremony, as did School Committee members.

In the last four years, their lives have been turned upside down by a global COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges of remote and hybrid classes and becoming accustomed to the “new normals” that went along with all that.
So, why wouldn’t the commencement ceremony for the Class of 2023 be turned on its head by threatening weather?
“Like many of you, we’ve been watching the weather very closely today,” said WHRHS Principal Dr. Christopher Jones in his welcoming remarks. “So we’re going to do something a little different, and we’re going to have our dessert before our dinner. Out of an abuncance of caution, we are going to flip the ceremony, thereby offering the graduates what they really came here for.”
The graduating class loudly cheered as Jones announced that diplomas would be awarded first, in hopes that the weather would hold out for the remainder of the program.
It did – but, just in case, there was a plan for that.
“If it rains, we will stay for the ceremony,” he said. “If it thunders, we will not.”
The plan for a dangerous storm involved having the graduates – and their parents, Jones emphasized – report to the Performing Arts Center in the high school for the ceremony’s conclusion.
New School Committee Chair Beth Stafford, a former Whitman Middle School teacher, congratulated the class on behalf of the School Committee, addressing that fact.
“I have one word that I will use tonight to describe this class, that word is adapt,” she said, noting the changes the Class of 2023 have had to face. “You adapted from elementary school to middle school, and then to the high school, but the biggest issue was what you had to do in high school. … This ability to adapt will be very important in your future endeavors.”
Whether in the workforce, higher education or the military, they will have to adapt to new situations, leaving home, following orders, bosses and more, Stafford said.
“With your past experiences, you will be able to adapt to any changes that you will face in your future,” she said.
It certainly came in handy on graduation day, as uncertainty about thuderstorms forecast for about the time the ceremony would be hitting its stride, motivated school officials to not only pushed the commencement ahead an hour, but handed the diploimas out first.
With rain holding off until well after the commencement, seniors not only enjoyed an uninterupted, if unusual, ceremony, there was more time after it for them and their families and friends to mill about the football field for photos after its conclusion and before darkness decended.
Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak, who admitted to anxiety when having to speak before large groups, spoke to the class about his expectations, challenges and hopes for them.
“I expect you to be a good citizen, take part in your community – use your voice – remember to vote and to be a good neighbor,” he said. Manners, humility, kindness and passionate about living life to the fullest rounded out his expectations.
“I challenge you to take care of your mind and your body,” he said. “This gets really hard the older you get and the less time you have when life gets in the way.” Grace, stepping out of one’s comfort zones, thinking outside the box and listen to others regardless of viewpoint, with civility. Finally, he hopes for their success, according to each student’s definition of what that is, joy and that they believe in themselves.
Student speakers also touched on these themes [for complete texts of student speeches, see our graduation section].
For Valedictorian Noah Roberts, the journey to graduation came down to being able to answer the question: “Who are you?”
He candidly discussed the challenges and effects of mental illness and addiction on his family [see related story, page one] and the importance of caring for yourself.
“Trust me, I know that there is no such thing as a “normal” family situation, but make sure to give the ones that you see as family, whether by blood or by bond, an extra-long hug today,” Roberts said, thanking his grandmother and younger brother for their love and support.
“Nana, my entire being will be eternally grateful for the numerous sacrifices you have made for us,” he said, eliciting some tears from the woman who raised him when his mother could not. “you have always been there for me, and I genuinely don’t know where I would be without you, I love you nana. As for Cody, thank you for being my rock; through thick and thin you have stuck with me.”
He also thanked teachers and school staff who have helped him through his school years, for everything from extra help with physics to an extra chocolate pudding in the cafeteria.
He also spoke of the stress students like himself also self-impose.
“Even in high school, I felt that I was under so much pressure to be the best, because if I failed to do that, then what good was I?” he said. “I’m not sure if this mindset is true for all high school students, but what I realize now is how that mindset is not only unhealthy but is also dangerous.”
He closed by encouraging his classmates to remember to be themselves in all they do as the best way to answer is initial question: Who Are You?
Salutatarian Leah Cataldo spoke briefly about the need to relish life as it goes by in the blink of any eye, with all the changes it confronts you with, and while reminiscing is enjoyable, “our pasts are nothing compared to our futures,”
ON Hope
Classmate Brian Bouffard, winner of the annual student speech competition, advised a healthy dose of hope, while echoing Stafford’s advice on being adaptable.
“During the pandemic, so many popular activities were forced to close. Restaurants, movie theaters, and family get-togethers grinded to a halt in the face of an omnipresent, insidious disease. But we endured,” he said. “I noticed this same trend in our school, too. … We were able to recognize the necessity of these conditions, and got through it together.”
It’s been a difficult four years, but Bouffard pointed to his recollection of a “Got Hope?” poster in a middle school guidance office that still carries an important message.
“We have all learned what hope looks like: hope is perseverance. Hope is endurance. Hope is togetherness,” he said. “I have hope for all of you, class of 2023. I have hope for your futures, for your dreams. I’ve seen firsthand what all of you can do, and it’s nothing short of awe-inspiring. There’s no challenge we can’t work through. It is for this reason that I have hope. We have to have hope… because where would we be without it?”
In addition to the school’s traditional moment of silence in respect to those who have served their country in uniform, members of the graduating class who will serve and those who have given their lives in uniform, Dr. Jones also asked for a moment of silence in respect for the family of student Ava Patete, who had been killed in an incident involving an MBTA train earlier in the week.

Heart-felt personal tributes by Select Board members to late family members and town residents who served in harm’s way during America’s wars, parades and ceremonies marked Memorial Day in Whitman and Hanson on Monday, May 29.
“As a community we tell their stories and we visit their gave sites
Whitman Select Board member Shawn Kain recalled the service of his grandfather, Robert Hughes, who was born in Boston in 1922. Hughes had lived in Whitman for a long time and had left at age 16 to join the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Depression.
The CCC was a New Deal program giving urban youths work and an opportunity to live in camps in rural or wilderness areas to get away from the unhealthy living environment of the cities.
After he became old enough, Hughes joined the Army and, during World War II, parachuted into the Normandy, France countryside on June 6, 1944 with the advance wave of paratroops as part of the D-Day invasion of Europe.
“I think of that moment and how powerful it was … and the sacrifice that he made,” Kain said. “I just can’t get over how unfathomable that is. My grandfather is my hero and, today, Memorial Day, as a community we remember our heroes. We tell their stories, we visit their gravesites.”
For those who didn’t come back, Kain said, the community holds a special place in their collective hearts for them and thank them for their service.
Select Board member Justin Evans paid tribute to WWII Medal of Honor posthumous recipient. 1st Lt. John Fox, who lies in Colebrook Cemetery. The Board had attended memorial ceremonies at Colebrook before the parade.
Evans recalled how Fox, an African-American soldier had radioed artillery fire on his position while being overrun by German forces in Italy. He had been found after the battle, along with more than 100 dead Axis soldiers surrounding his location.
“Part of the job at Memorial Day is recognizing some of these sacrifices,” Evans said, noting it took some 50 years before Fox’s family to gain the recognition of Fox’s all-Black unit. … [Another part] of that effort is continuing to fight for freedom and equality.”
Select Vice Chair Dan Salvucci saluted his father, who had enlisted uring World War II, and re-enlisted for transfer to the Pacific after the war in Europe had ended.
“I asked him why he did that, and he said, ‘My job wasn’t over.’ That’s the type of people who sacrificed of themselves,” he said “We can’t thank [our veterans] enough,”
Select Board member Laura Howe thanked residents for turning out to remember the sacrifices of the fallen.
State Rep. Alyson Sullivan R-Abington, told Whitman parade-goers about a conversation he had with a Gold Star wife in that town earlier in the day.
“There are so many mothers and fathers that we are thinking about today,” she said. “Today isn’t about a cookout or a barbecue or even the parade in an of itself. To all our Gold Star families and friends of Gold Star families, today we are thinking of you all.”
A shortened parade route then wound around Whitman Park to the Civil War Monument at the crest of the park’s highest hill where the combined Whitman middle and high school band s played the national anthem and “Taps” – the latter also performed at Town Halls before memorial wreaths were placed at Town Hall’s honor roll monument and monuments to Civil War fallen and service in al wars.
Hanson’s parade, however, had to work around band music because of what Veterans Officer Joe Gumbakis described as misunderstanding about an agreement to alternate the WHRHS band between the two towns, due to music faculty changeovers.
“The band kind of fell through this year, for us,” he reported to the Hanson Select Board on Tuesday, May 23. After discussions with the district, he said the issue has been resolved and the rotation schedule would return next year.
Conservation Agent Phil Clemons said the Congregational Church in Hanson, where he is a co-leader of a group “willing, able and preparing to lead in the national anthem and ‘God Bless America’ at the appropriate times.”
“There’s a plan in place for that, and it will not be missed,” Clemons said. “And we will not fail to do it.”
The parade, with an adjusted format, began with an abbreviated ceremony at Indian Head School and wreath-laying at Town Hall, with the remainder of the program, including the participation of the re-enactors of the 22nd Mass. Vol. Infantry, honoring the original Union regiment that served in clashes such as the Seven Days, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and the Wilderness. A family-oriented living history group. The 22nd Mass., also includes female members portraying the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which promoted healthy living conditions in Union camps.
Some of the women in the group also portray the widows and other mourning female family members of the Union’s fallen.
The American Legion Post held a cleanup Saturday, May 27 in preparation for a post-parade gathering.
“It was s a great success, we had many volunteers that helped out, Veterans from the Legion, Sons of the Legion, Ladies Auxiliary, Select Board Members, our Veterans Agent, and many others,” Legion member Selectman David George said.  “A special thanks goes out to Michael Guest from MW Guest Property Services in Hanson, as they showed up in full force with a working crew to include Michaels Wife Shannon and their five children.”
George termed the day’s efforts a job well done as horseshoe area, pavilion, and the whole yard was cleaned up front and back, New flags were installed on all flag poles, mulch donated by MW Guest was spread and flowers donated by the Ladies Auxiliary were planted.