On Friday, July 12, the Somerville Museum honored Mayor Emeritus Eugene Brune, for over 30 years of service as a Trustee and for his ongoing commitment and contributions to the Museum. It was a wonderful event with a large and joyous crowd of family and friends who joined together to celebrate Gene, on his birthday, 95 years young!

The high point of the afternoon was the announcement by Trustee Regina Pisa that by vote of the Board of Trustees, the front gardens would henceforth be named the ‘’Eugene C. Brune Somerville Museum Gardens.’’ This naming was made possible by a very generous donation by an anonymous donor. A birthday citation was also presented to Gene by Mayor Ballantyne which included the signatures of the City Council as well.

The impetus for this event came from the Museum’s fundraising committee, with Gene’s permission, with an appeal to donate $95 for Gene’s 95th birthday. The moneys raised were to support the Museum’s summer programming and ongoing operations. The goal was to raise $10,000 in less than three weeks, but to everyone’s amazement, over $17,000 was raised.

Donors were also asked to send one word to describe Gene and why he should be honored. The adjectives submitted to describe Gene were inspiring and heartfelt.

Kevin Pryor, a gentleman that was a part of Gene’s team during his 10 years as mayor, wrote:

“After I made my donation for your event, I was asked to describe you in one word. I choose humility. Along with my words, I wrote you are a person who accomplished more than any man or woman for the City of Somerville and Middlesex County. Gene never bragged, never sought attention or publicity, always did things with the kindness of his heart and for the greater good, and not for the notoriety. Gene did it all with class and dignity.”

The Museum’s Trustees and members know firsthand what a gem the Museum is in our City with so much history stored within its walls and are proud of its varied programming spanning the history, art and culture of Somerville.

We hope you will help by becoming a member of the Museum and/or by sending a donation to the Somerville Museum, One Westwood Road, Somerville, MA 02143. You can also contribute online at https://www.somervillemuseum.org/donate.

With appreciation,
Evelyn M. Battinelli
Trustee and Director Emeritus