Before the end of the summer, water will once again flow from the dry and decrepit C.S. Bird Fountain, courtesy of a revitalization project begun in memory of a local soldier killed in Iraq.
Army First Lt. Andrew J. Bacevich, 27, whose parents live in Walpole - and whose father, also Andrew J. Bacevich, has long been an outspoken critic of the war - was killed last May when an improvised explosive device detonated while his unit was on patrol in the Salah Ad Din Province in Iraq.
In November the Bacevich family donated $5,000 to be used toward the long-planned revitalization of the fountain, located on the Town Common across from the post office. Last week a Norwell-based construction company volunteered all the necessary materials and labor, free of charge, to complete the project.
Veterans Development Corp. has agreed to do the restoration work at no cost, said Board of Selectmen Vice Chairman Chris Timson, also an attorney for the company. President Mark Voner represented the company at last week's selectmen's meeting.
Voner is a service-disabled Marine who served in Lebanon in the early 1980s. He's a man "very invested in trying to better the cause of veterans," Timson said.
The Veterans Development Web site describes the company as a "service-disabled, veteran-owned corporation established to perform high quality general contracting and mechanical work." According to Voner, 95-percent of the employees are veterans.
The firm did some significant work on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center last year, said Timson.
After hearing of the "deplorable conditions" at the medical facility, Voner volunteered to go down to Washington, D.C., and help "bring the place up to snuff," Timson said.
He also had a chance to sit and talk with a number of veterans at the facility, Voner said. A lot of the soldiers had no one else to talk to, he said.
After hearing of Bacevich's death, Voner asked how he could help. Timson told him about the planned Bird Fountain restoration and put him in contact with Town Administrator Michael Boynton.
The town was a little taken aback at the offer, Voner said, but he explained "this is what veterans do."
The fountain has been in a state of disrepair for many years. According to Boynton, water hasn't flowed in it for a long time.
Under the plan presented last week to selectmen, the revitalization will be much more than getting water to flow again. It's a major historical renovation, Voner said. The goal will be to bring the fountain and lattice work back to its original conditions, he said.
The plan includes scraping and painting the wood trellis roof, repointing the masonry work, replacing four missing brass frogs, and making landscape improvements such as constructing concrete walkways and installing granite foot benches, all free of charge.
Voner hopes to begin in April and finish by mid-summer.
Some sort of permanent remembrance of Lt. Bacevich will be installed near the fountain, according to Boynton. No specifics have been decided, though. The Bacevich family will have the final say, he said. The family let it be known it doesn't want the fountain to be renamed, according to Voner.
It might be a plaque on a stone, Voner imagined.
Lt. Bacevich's father, Andrew, and mother, Nancy, as well as one of his sisters approved the initial proposal at the selectmen's meeting.
Donations may be dropped off or mailed to the selectmen's office at Town Hall, 135 School St.
Jeb Bobseine can be reached at jeb@walpoletimes.com or 508-668-0243, ext. 13.
