Published in the May 22, 2017 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – Once again, quietly and without much fanfare, the Wakefield Center Neighborhood Association (WCNA) has stepped up.
Last Friday morning, two new bronze plaques honoring Spanish American War veterans were installed at The Rockery, thanks to the WCNA, replacing the two original plaques that mysteriously vanished more than decade ago and have never been found.
With member John Leone taking the lead, WCNA decided that it was time to replace the missing plaques associated with The Hiker monument and agreed to pay for the casting and installation of identical replacements. The original historic plaques were mounted on the two granite pillars on either side of the fountain just behind the Hiker statue. No one knows what became of the originals.
Skylight Studios of Woburn, a world-renowned sculpture design studio, was retained by WCNA recreate the plaques.
Leone determined that a plaque identical to the two missing Wakefield plaques was located at Everett’s Hiker Monument in Lt. Joseph Wehner Park in that city. With help from Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio, Leone got permission from the city of Everett allowing Skylight Studios to make a silicone mold of the Everett plaque that they would then use to cast two new bronze plaques to replace those that were missing from Wakefield’s Hiker Monument installation.
The WCNA’s goal was to have the new bronze plaques installed by Memorial Day in the spaces once occupied by the originals next to the Hiker statue. As part of next week’s Memorial Day ceremonies on Veterans Memorial Common, Leone will speak briefly on WCNA’s replacement of the plaques and invite attendees to check them out.
Leone pointed out that contributions made in the name of the late John Wall were instrumental in the making replacement of the plaques possible.
“The Wakefield Center Neighborhood Association had allocated $5,000 towards the Spanish-American War plaque restoration project,” Leone said. “Contributions to the WCNA made in memory of John J. Wall comprise a significant portion of that budget. For more than 30 years, John was an enthusiastic member of the WCNA. As a noted expert on many things Wakefield, he was also an active member of the Wakefield Historical Society.”
Leone noted that John’s wife, Ada, and daughters Jen and Maureen were pleased that the memorial contributions are being put towards the enhancement of the Rockery, a setting for which John, WCNA members, and other town volunteers have invested considerable time in its maintenance and beautification.
The Hiker is a statue created by Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson. It commemorates the American soldiers who fought in the Spanish–American War, the Boxer Rebellion and the Philippine–American War. The first version of it was made for the University of Minnesota in 1906, but at least 50 copies were made and were erected widely across the United States, including in the Massachusetts communities of Wakefield, Everett and Malden.
The Wakefield Center Neighborhood Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the beautification and improvement of the center and adjacent parks in Wakefield. The WCNA works cooperatively with Wakefield’s municipal and educational offices, other non-profit groups and local businesses. It raises operating funds from donations and from its long-running popular crafts Festival by the Lake, taking place this year on Saturday, June 10 on the Lower Common at Lake Quannapowitt.
Other major WCNA projects and activities include the children’s playground on the south shore of Lake Quannapowitt; the Lower Common’s Bandstand restoration and maintenance; irrigation, lighting, historic railing replacement and benches at Veterans Memorial Common and lakeside; winter holiday lighting and spring egg hunt.
