One of Dedham’s new fiberglass bunnies may have hopped somewhere he shouldn’t have.
Many Dedham veterans, including Norfolk County Commissioner Francis O’Brien, took issue with the placement of one rabbit near the veterans’ memorial in Oakdale Square.
“I don’t want a rabbit in a veterans’ park; it’s as simple as that,” O’Brien said on Tuesday afternoon. “We [veterans] want that rabbit out of there.”
The Dedham Public Art Project, an initiative under the nonprofit Dedham Shines, has a goal of placing 15 rabbits around Dedham.
Up to now, three of them have been placed.
O’Brien became aware of the rabbit in Oakdale Square after receiving a few calls from angry veterans. He drove to Oakdale Square to see for himself and was angered by what he saw, he said.
The Dedham Public Art Project didn’t get permission from the Veterans Council, O’Brien said. The Veterans Council is comprised of the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 42 in Dedham, the American Legion Post 18 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2017.
“No commander was notified; nobody was asked,” O’Brien said.
Representatives from the Dedham Public Art Project appeared before selectmen to discuss placement of the rabbits in May. The locations discussed at that time were on the Town Hall lawn, the Endicott Estate rotary, the Dedham Square crossing, the Endicott Branch Library and the Old Avery School. Placing a rabbit in Oakdale Square was not mentioned at that selectmen meeting, but was discussed later with Parks and Recreation.
In an emailed statement, Dedham Shines co-president Monika Wilkinson said the rabbit at Oakdale Square was placed with careful consideration of the monument.
Permission was granted by the Parks and Recreation Commission, according to Wilkinson’s statement.
“Those leading the Dedham Public Art Project have acted only with positive intentions for this community,” Wilkinson wrote on Tuesday, June 12. “The temporary placement of the sculpture in Oakdale Common was done with sensitivity and respect for the monument that shares this public space and with gratitude to the men and women of the armed forces who are honored there.”
Dana McQuaid, commander of the VFW Post 2017, disagreed.
“The veterans monument is not a place for something like that,” he said of the rabbit. “That’s hallowed ground.”
McQuaid found out about the placement through O’Brien at a gathering at the American Legion Post 18 on Monday night, he said.
One of Dedham’s new fiberglass bunnies may have hopped somewhere he shouldn’t have.
Many Dedham veterans, including Norfolk County Commissioner Francis O’Brien, took issue with the placement of one rabbit near the veterans’ memorial in Oakdale Square.
“I don’t want a rabbit in a veterans’ park; it’s as simple as that,” O’Brien said on Tuesday afternoon. “We [veterans] want that rabbit out of there.”
The Dedham Public Art Project, an initiative under the nonprofit Dedham Shines, has a goal of placing 15 rabbits around Dedham.
Up to now, three of them have been placed.
O’Brien became aware of the rabbit in Oakdale Square after receiving a few calls from angry veterans. He drove to Oakdale Square to see for himself and was angered by what he saw, he said.
The Dedham Public Art Project didn’t get permission from the Veterans Council, O’Brien said. The Veterans Council is comprised of the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 42 in Dedham, the American Legion Post 18 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2017.
“No commander was notified; nobody was asked,” O’Brien said.
Representatives from the Dedham Public Art Project appeared before selectmen to discuss placement of the rabbits in May. The locations discussed at that time were on the Town Hall lawn, the Endicott Estate rotary, the Dedham Square crossing, the Endicott Branch Library and the Old Avery School. Placing a rabbit in Oakdale Square was not mentioned at that selectmen meeting, but was discussed later with Parks and Recreation.
In an emailed statement, Dedham Shines co-president Monika Wilkinson said the rabbit at Oakdale Square was placed with careful consideration of the monument.
Permission was granted by the Parks and Recreation Commission, according to Wilkinson’s statement.
“Those leading the Dedham Public Art Project have acted only with positive intentions for this community,” Wilkinson wrote on Tuesday, June 12. “The temporary placement of the sculpture in Oakdale Common was done with sensitivity and respect for the monument that shares this public space and with gratitude to the men and women of the armed forces who are honored there.”
Dana McQuaid, commander of the VFW Post 2017, disagreed.
“The veterans monument is not a place for something like that,” he said of the rabbit. “That’s hallowed ground.”
McQuaid found out about the placement through O’Brien at a gathering at the American Legion Post 18 on Monday night, he said.
“He was pretty upset,” McQuaid said of O’Brien, adding that most people at the gathering agreed with him.
In a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon, Wilkinson said she thought she had gone through the proper channels to approve the placement of the rabbits, but didn't speak to any veterans organizations.
Relocating the rabbit might be possible, but it would involve moving the 400-pound sculpture and potentially destroying the platform that was built for it.
Wilkinson said the rabbit, whose name is Leroy, was dedicated to Joe Pagliuca, a longtime Dedham resident and veteran who grew up in Oakdale. Pagliuca died in January of this year. She said Pagliuca wanted to use the area as common space.
Mike Glowacki, one of the artists who decorated the rabbit placed in Oakdale Square, is a veteran who served in Iraq and Somalia.
“We were trying to be very respectful in the space,” Wilkinson said. “We have any number of rabbits we could place there and we chose one we thought would be respectful.”
The Oakdale Square Alliance will be discussing the issue at it’s meeting tonight, Tuesday, June 12, at 7 p.m., at the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Staff writer Dave Eisenstadter can be reached at 781-433-8336 or deisenstadter@wickedlocal.com. Like The Dedham Transcript on Facebook and follow @DedhamTranscrip on Twitter.
