Next to the Maria Connor Center for Active Living stands Dartmouth Memorial Grove, where a shaded gazebo is surrounded by stone benches, each of which memorialize a military conflict and the Dartmouth veterans involved. 

The grove is meant to be a place for reflecting on and honoring veterans — making it the perfect location for the town’s annual Veterans Day ceremony.

“It’s a very important ceremony and it gives more, new meaning to the benches that have been put here by the Veterans Advisory Board,” said Joseph E. Toomey Jr., member of the board and Vietnam veteran. 

The Nov. 11 ceremony brought out dozens of community members, who stood in the chilly morning air and heard speeches from Veterans Advisory Board Chair Chris Pereira and Select Board Chair David Tatelbaum. Both speakers told stories honoring service members and reflecting on the importance of their work during a time of continued global conflict. 

“Every year, what we try to do, in a dignified way and respectfully, is honor our veterans,” Pereira said. 

At the same time, Pereira said they try to keep the ceremony brief and allow time for refreshments and conversation inside: “We know it's November … we try to have a good ceremony, we get in, we get out.”

Pereira said he hopes community members are able to talk to veterans after the ceremony and hear their stories. 

“They’ve served everywhere, they’ve served in all the branches … we have such a vast base of knowledge and experience [in Dartmouth],” Pereira said. 

Also assisting in the ceremony were the Dartmouth Community Band, which played intro and outro music, and the local Boy Scouts of America troop and Cub Scouts pack, who helped serve as color guard alongside Dartmouth Police. 

“It’s good for them to support the community,” said Cub Scout leader Edward Nickerson. “Most of these guys in uniform, they started as cub scouts or boy scouts.”

Nickerson also served in the Army for four years, and said it’s “nice to see that people really still stand behind” veterans. 

“I'm really proud to come here and participate in honoring people that protected our country for years,” Nickerson said. 

The Veterans Advisory Board, which hosted the event, also created the Veterans Memorial Grove and recently renovated the gazebo it surrounds. The most recent addition to the grove is a bench honoring women who have served. 

Pereira said the grove is put to good use: “I'll drive by and there won't be an event or anything, but I will see people here just looking at the names and inside the gazebo and reflecting, and that always makes me feel good.”

Both the grove and the Veterans Day ceremony wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Dartmouth Friends of the Elderly and the Maria Connor Center for Active Living — including Maria Connor herself. 

“We’ve been part of it since I can remember — That's many years,” Connor said. “And of course, it always brings tears to my eyes.”