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The Freedom Shrine at Haverhill High School received a new plaque Wednesday when members of the Exchange Club of Haverhill gathered to rededicate it and its mission.
Exchange Club member Ron Carpenito, who served as master of ceremonies, said the high school’s shrine was installed in June of 2011 while he was president of the service club. It contains copies of 20 important documents including Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and an early draft of the Declaration of Independence which contains handwritten edits.
“When we installed this shrine our goal was not to just hang some documents up here on the wall. Our goal was to strengthen the appreciation for our American heritage to encourage respect for those who have served, sacrificed and in many cases, their lives to protect our freedoms and to create something lasting that students, teachers, staff, families and any visitors would pass by every day,” Carpenito said.
John Craven, history coach for Haverhill Public Schools, said the shrine represents an important “teaching tool” by providing historical context and a solid physical representation of the concepts students are studying.
The original Freedom Shines, Exchange Club member Robert D. Harb noted, have their origins in the Freedom Trains which crisscrossed American for two years from 1947 to 1949. One train stopped in Haverhill on Oct. 22, 1947 and more than 11,000 people visited the shrine that one day, according to a Haverhill Gazette account of the day. The trains were the brainchild of then-U.S. Attorney General Thomas C. Clark who thought Americans were taking their freedoms for granted in the post-World War II era.
The National Exchange Club decided to bring more permanent memorials to their communities in the form of the wall shrines in public buildings across the country. In addition to the high school, the Exchange Club has installed eight others. They are at Haverhill City Hall, Haverhill Public Library, Mission Towers, Museum of Printing, Northern Essex Community College, Phoenix Row and Sacred Hearts School.
The Haverhill High School Junior ROTC Honor Guard, made up of members Milly Diaz, Brianna Gomez, Adalight Martinez and Ashley McGrath, presented the colors and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Carpenito’s daughter, Stephanie, sang the national anthem.