GIANT FLAGPOLE MAKES DEBUT! You might have noticed a huge flagpole flying Old Glory at Stoughton's Evergreen Cemetery across from the Town Spa. The new pole stands 70-feet high and sits on the American Legion Post 89 lot at the final resting place of so many Stoughton military men and women.
This 70-foot flag pole replaces the old 60-foot pole, which was showing signs of age. This new one is thicker, and more sturdy, in addition to being taller.
A spotlight will be installed this week by National Grid so that the flag will be illuminated very soon.
Rad Williams, President and Trustee of the Evergreen Cemetery Association, said many people worked on the project that culminated in the installation of the new flagpole and flag on December 1. He particularly wanted to single out Bob and Bruce Maltby at Malby and Company for "all their assistance with this special project."
"We could not have accomplished all this work in such a short time had we not had their full commitment to see it through," Williams said.
Williams tells About Town, "Until this new flag pole was installed the American Legion Post 89 had always maintained the pole and purchased flags for it as needed. This past summer several members of the Evergreen Board of Trustees including myself met with some of the A.L.P.(American Legion Post) members on site. At that time we discussed lowering the original 60 ft. steel flag pole for the A.L.P. to allow them to clean, repair and paint it so that it could again fly a flag befitting its height once repaired.
"With membership at A.L.P. not being what it used to be of years past, they have very limited funds," Williams continued. "So we, in addition to covering the cost of lowering and raising the pole, also offered to cover the cost of purchasing the larger American flag, and to continue doing so going forward for them. We left timing of repair to the A.L.P. membership and waited for them to contact us [Evergreen Cemetery Association] for the crane assistance."
He continued, "Not hearing anything in late September I reached out to those A.L.P. members again and they expressed concern over cost and man power to do the work. I assured them that the Trustees wanted to help and we would cover the cost to lower the pole and repair it. They gave us the green light to move forward and when I met with Bob Maltby on site we looked at the pole a little closer. It was showing signs of age and at that time Bob and I discussed not repairing it, but rather seeing if the E.C.A. trustees would entertain buying a new flagpole which would last and require little to no maintenance.
"Something, once installed that both Evergreen, A.L.P., and the Town would all be proud of having displayed," Williams added. "I got the consensus and approval from the E.C. A. Board of Trustees to move forward in the process and gather information on pricing and bids from flag companies and installers. After bringing all the information back to the E.C.A. Trustees, it was unanimously approved to allow me to move forward with the purchase and installation of a new flag pole."
Williams said, "Bob Maltby and Bruce Maltby of Maltby and Company did all the heavy lifting for us (which was really the majority of the required work.) Canton Fence (Richard “Richie” Schiffer Jr.) ordered and stored the new flag parts from Eagle Flag Co. for us until we required them. Stoughton Pumping Service (George “Rocky” Forger) excavated the area for us to prepare for the new ground sleeve. Boro Concrete of North Attleboro came out and poured the concrete around the new pole sleeve for us. Charlie McCarthy (subcontracting for Eagle Flag Co. of Cohasset) was on site the day of install to help guide with the set-up of the new flagpole.
"As President of the E.C.A. Trustees, I coordinated everything and participated with Bob Maltby (Vice President of Trustees) to bring this to a successful conclusion," Williams continued. "My son Matthew even joined us on this past snowy Saturday to help out with the installation of the new flagpole." In the Spring, a base will be designed and it is hoped that it can be completed by Memorial Day.
Also in the Spring, it is expected that a formal dedication ceremony will take place, hosted by the American Legion, with a plaque at the base of the flagpole.
It's nice to see what individuals, organizations and companies can do when they work together - what a beautiful flagpole!
Pictures in the gallery are by Hank Herbowy. Take a look at a video of the project, also posted in the gallery.
***
HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY: toTom and Nanette Tedesco. They celebrated two decades of bliss Wednesday.
***
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Tracy Morris, former local resident and Stoughton YMCA member, who is pursuing a career in music and dance; to Boston comedian, and former guest on Snyder's Stoughton TV Show and PMPNetwork.com, Steven Wright; to Stoughton's Holly Nickerson, who works at Bruins Fanatics; to Marilyn Rabinovitz of The Sandbox & The Petri Dish. She's also active at Shaloh House in Stoughton; and to Dahlia Kushinsky, who turns 19.
***