March funeral procession an annual tradition at Taunton High School

By GERRY TUOTI

Posted Mar 15, 2011 @ 10:56 PM

Taunton —

Rather than heeding the warning to beware the Ides of March, students at Taunton High School embrace the inauspicious date each year.

Shouting “Caesar mortuus est” or “Caesar is dead,” dozens of toga-clad members of the high school’s Latin Club paraded through the halls Tuesday morning to reenact the funeral procession of Julius Caesar. The slain Roman leader was stabbed to death 2,055 years ago Tuesday.

The annual tradition, which began nearly 50 years ago at Taunton High School, is the Latin Club’s primary activity each year.

“It’s a lot of fun, and I think the other kids in the school get a kick out of it,” said student Declan Lynch, co-president of the Latin Club.

For Lynch, fellow co-president Kelsey Kerkoff and the club’s other seniors, Monday was their last Ides of March reenactment as students.

“It’s a little bittersweet,” Kerkoff said. “I’m excited, but a little sad at the same time.”

Borrowing elements from history and the Shakespearean drama “Julius Caesar,” each student portrayed a character, such as Brutus, Marc Antony, Cleopatra and Pliny.

Freshman Derek Simpson, who sported a toga stained with theatrical blood, played Caesar. His job was to lie on a stretcher as two pallbearers in centurion armor carried him through the school.

The procession made several stops, where the reenactors gave brief theatrical performances to classmates and teachers who assembled in the hallways to observe the spectacle.

As he does every year, Latin teacher Chris Scully donned a toga to partake in the procession. He remembered doing the Ides of March procession years ago when he was a student at Taunton High.

“It was much smaller then,” he said. “The students now are responsible for the growth of the event.”
Invited guests Doug and Kathy Ryan also participated in the march. The husband-and-wife duo, both retired educators, belong to Historia Antiqua and visited Taunton High School to give a presentation on the Roman army.

Elizabeth Rodrigues, curriculum supervisor for the foreign languages department, said the Ides of March event is a perfect tie-in to National Foreign Language Week, which Taunton is currently celebrating. She credits a vibrant Latin program at the school with successfully carrying on the mid-March tradition.

“Just to have a school tradition is an important thing,” she said. “This is one of the oldest at Taunton High. This is something everyone looks forward to.”

Contact Gerry Tuoti at gtuoti@tauntongazette.com.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Local Children's Author Releases Book

Children’s author, a Taunton native, paints with words

Millie Hull swaps poetry for pastels

The book is illustrated by Linda L. Tillson of Raynham.

By Frank Mulligan

Lakeville Call

Lakeville —

The beauty of Millie Hull’s paintings portrays her love of the art.

Particularly her work in her beloved pastels.

But several years ago, Hull developed an asthmatic-like reaction to the presence of pastels and oil paints. She suffered severe headaches, as well.

She continued working in pencil, watercolor and acrylics but it just didn’t provide the same feeling of fulfillment.

So, as Hull tells it, she began “painting with words.”

She added, “I just love to write. When I couldn’t paint, I decided to write.”

She joined the Lakeville Council on Aging Writers Group, which was founded by Jane Rando, “a wonderful teacher,” and compared notes - literally - with a group of “very nice,” people.

In fact, her new children’s book, “Why? Why? Why?” is dedicated in part to Rando and classmates George Orall and Rollene Krim.

The book is illustrated by Linda L. Tillson of Raynham, and poses children’s questions in verse.

The musings include,

“Why do we have mosquitos,

fleas, hornets, ticks and flies?

We could live well without these things

I’m sure you realize.”

Hull, who is a Christian writer and has taught Sunday school for 34 years, finds the answer in her faith, which is shown in her own approach to art. When she was unable to paint, she didn’t grow bitter. She found another way to express herself.

And her faith is indicated in another verse, toward the book’s close.

“So someday I will ask Him for

I know that God will know.

But the first thing that I’ll ask Him

Is why He loves us so.”

“That’s the most important question,” Hull says.

Each of the children’s light-hearted questions, like why dogs run to greet while cats tend to shy away, why fish have scales and turtles a shell, rendered in verse is illustrated by Tillson. Hull, the former painter, raves about Tillson’s skill. “She does beautiful work and is a very humble person.”

Being a Christian writer of children’s books is a perfect mix for her, Hull says.

“It’s a mixture of my love of the Lord, love of writing, and mostly my love of children,” says the mother of two daughters and grandmother of four who lives in Taunton with her husband, Paul.

Hull adds with a laugh, “It’s a three-way combo.”

Hull and Tillson have a website at forward-light-publications.com and the book is available at Readmore Books in Taunton, Maria’s Card and Gift Shop in Middleboro, Bev Loves Books in Rochester and Heritage House Christian Bookstore in Brockton.