Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Our Small Town
As a life-long resident of Weymouth, I’m fearful that my town is slowly becoming another victim of urban sprawl, where long time residents become displaced by those with no connection to their home’s history and people. Ten years ago, Weymouth officially made the transition from a town meeting form of government to a city, complete with a mayor and town council. The change was painful for us “townies” but at least we were able to keep the name “Town” of Weymouth as our formal identity. When you’re part of a small town, everyone is connected, or feels connected, to each other and to the much larger events that have shaped our country and the world.
That small town feeling was evident recently at the rededication of the South Weymouth War Memorial. The World War II Memorial in Columbian Square, South Weymouth, Massachusetts was rededicated on October 31, 2010. The memorial, a monument made of Vermont Marble adjacent to the Fogg Library, had become almost unrecognizable in recent years. The shrubs and trees surrounding it had become overgrown, covering some of the names of the local men who perished during the Second World War. It was apparent that a cleanup of the area was in order but with money in short supply for projects like this, it would be necessary for someone to come forward with a refurbishment plan based on volunteerism.
As it turns out that person was a young man named Matt Walsh. The project would be a requirement of his achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 2 of the Boy Scouts Of America. Mr. Walsh doesn’t know me, but here in our small town, we are all connected. I was in Troop 2 a long time ago when the Scoutmaster was a man named Frank Pratt. Mr. Pratt had a small printing shop located on Pleasant Street, just off of Jackson Square that is now the location of the Franklin Pratt Library. Later on, his associate in scouting, Ron Parry would take us around town collecting old newspapers that could be cashed in to raise funds for our trips to Cliff Island in New Hampshire.
Matt Walsh with Weymouth Veteran's Agent Frank Burke at the Columbian Square Memorial
Going back a little further, the American Legion Post in South Weymouth raised almost all the funding for the construction of the memorial in Columbian Square by collecting waste newspapers in the same way. That Post was named for George R. Bean, a Weymouth man whose name is also on the monument. He was the first of many young Weymouth men to die in combat during the war. Mr. Bean is buried at the Punchbowl National Cemetery in Hawaii where he died in 1942, only a couple of months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
The opposite corner of the location of the World War II Memorial is named for William A. Connell Jr. Mr. Connell served in World War II also and probably knew the men whose names appear on the monument. For many years Mr. Connell kept watch over the monument and several other memorials located around Weymouth, ensuring their upkeep. His father, William Connell Sr. was the very first Commander of the American Legion in Weymouth, which was founded in 1919, and the rededication on October 31 was attended by William Connell III, his son.
The monument was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1947 and Frank Pratt’s Troop 2 marched in a parade alongside the American Legion, down Main Street to Pleasant Street that ended at the memorial. Every Memorial Day since then, the American Legion recognizes the sacrifice of George R. Bean and all our veterans of war with a gun salute at this memorial and our small town parade still includes the George R. Bean Post and Troop 2.
On November 11, I will be marching in Weymouth’s Veterans Day Parade. It makes me happy to know there are young men like Matt Walsh and Troop 2, and older men like those in the American Legion, and others that have gone before us, that will be marching with me and sharing a connection to our small town.
This article was posted by Keith Stanley Spain on November 10, 2010
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