By MICHELLE VISCO
WAKEFIELD — On Saturday, May 31, the town will hold a Rededication Day to honor the 123-year-old Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Upper Common. Events will be held from 12 noon to 4 p.m. on and around the common. There will be an afternoon of interactive activities with shuttle service. From 12 noon to 2:30 p.m. people can visit the Hartshorne House on Church Street and the Wakefield History Museum on Prospect Street; they can engage with Civil War living history camps on the Lower Common; they can view student research and historical videos in the First Baptist Church; they can join the African American Heritage Walking Tour, led by resident historians, browse the Civil War collection and display at Beebe Library and much more. At 3 p.m. all will gather on the Upper Common for a formal ceremony that includes residents, students, and musical performances. The participants include the Providence Brigade Band, Wakefield Scouts, who will present a time capsule, Wakefield High School musicians, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Navy Commander Shelby Nikitin, US Navy, and many more!
Bob Vincent, former member of the Wakefield Town Council, and Town Administrator Stephen Maio, are in charge of coordinating the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial (SSM), a Re-Dedication Ceremony. The monument was erected in 1902, and in recent years, there has been some vandalism where statues were broken. Vincent spearheaded the efforts of the town to assess the damage because they wanted to find out how much it was going to cost to repair the beloved monument. Vincent noted that they got the estimate to repair the monument, which was $300,000. At the Spring 2023 Town Meeting it was voted unanimously to begin repairing the monument. The repairs started in the summer/ fall of 2024. Officials decided to hold the rededication ceremony now because the monument was dedicated in June 1902. This year is the 160th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. Vincent noted that they chose May 31 because the kids get out of school in June, and they wanted to make this event citizen-centric and not politician-centric. There are a lot of students involved, as well as a plethora of reenactors.
They are recommending that the time capsule be unearthed in 2102 because that is the bicentennial of the monument which was dedicated in 1902. Vincent mentioned that if someone attends the event at age 10, 77 years from now, when the time capsule is unearthed, they could essentially participate in the next ceremony with their children and grandchildren, and they will be able to remind them how they were there in 2025. Vincent said the children could recall that they helped the town lead the Pledge of Allegiance or helped put the time capsule together, or even sang at the event, and that is how they would pass on that living history because they would now be the focal point of five generations.
Vincent stated that they have a lot of reenactors. They will be reading the biography of Harriet Newell Flint, the woman who bequeathed the money at the actual ceremony. Between 12 and 2:30 p.m., people will be able to interact and walk around the common area where there will be tents. Cannons will be fired off at noon and then at 2:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m., the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War will lead a parade from the lakeside ceremony over to the monument. The Providence Brigade Band will be performing in the gazebo around noon, but then will move over to the monument and will start playing there to draw people’s attention. The formal rededication ceremony with begin at 3 p.m. The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War will have a rededication ceremony where Maio as the Town Administrator will turn the monument over to them. There will then be a 20-minute ceremony where they rededicate the monument and then turn it back over to Maio, where he will accept the monument on behalf of the Town of Wakefield.
The time capsule will have a lot of different artifacts included. In 2102, the Town of Wakefield will open this time capsule to see what we have buried. Vincent said that they have a coin from 1865, which marked the end of the Civil War, and then another coin from 1902, which is when their monument was dedicated. The Town Council, the School Committee, and Maio all wrote letters to the citizens of the year 2102. Maio stated in his letter that “This monument is a testament to the brave men of Wakefield who ventured far from their homes during the Civil War to preserve the idea of democracy and the American Union. By protecting it, we honor the memory of those it represents. I challenge the next generation to ensure its continued tender care.” The Wakefield Scouts are helping put together the time capsule, so they are working on other things to include. Vincent said the Wakefield Daily Item will be included as well.
Navy Commander Shelby Nikitin, a Wakefield resident, will be leading the Pledge of Alliance with the elementary school students. Maio stated that they are hoping that visitors get a real feel for what was going on at that time period, with the reenactors recreating the Civil War, as well as people singing Civil War songs and everyone around the campfire. Visitors can also expect some historical artwork done by students and High School students will be crafting trifolds of each battle, so he is very excited about that.
Vincent and Maio are very thankful for Ann Waitt, the Business Manager of the Department of Public Works, who was a point person for them. First, they had to get an evaluation of what the monument would cost to repair. The Town Council allocated $10,000 to get that repair estimate. Then, a company named Daedalus Inc. had to come out and look at the monument in order to give them an estimate. Maio stated that the biggest challenge for him was that the statues had to be taken back to their shop, and he was afraid something would happen to them, but he said they were well taken care of. They are fortunate that a company like Daedalus exists and is close by.
Maio stated that the past and history are very important, and we need to learn from them, especially during this time of division. It is something the community can do together. He thinks that the monument should be tenderly guarded as our predecessors said. Since he is retiring on July 1, this is one of the last projects he will do, so it is very heartwarming for him. The challenge will be for the next generation of leaders to continue that. Vincent stated that 44 residents died from the Civil War, and it’s important to recognize the sacrifice that those individuals made.