Firefighters Give to Shea flagpole

Mansfield firefighters hope to see everyone in red on the day the flag is raised on the new Corey Shea memorial flagpole at the South Common.

FD local union 1820 has purchased a 100 commemorative T-shirts in a variety of sizes, and hopes to order more. Over the coming weeks, for $20 each, town residents can purchase the bright red shirts, and the money will go to the flagpole fund.

"We hope the streets are red with these shirts," firefighter Ryan Palmieri told selectmen Wednesday. In the audience was the fallen soldier's mother, Denise Anderson, who established a memorial scholarship in her son's name and has been helping to spread the word about the flagpole project. Anderson was clearly moved by the presentation, as Palmieri displayed one of the shirts and then presented it to her.

Mansfield soldier Corey Shea was killed in action in Mosul, Iraq in November of 2008, at the age of 21, and his death affected the whole town. His funeral procession saw the streets lined with hundreds of people of all ages, bearing small American flags.

"We as a local decided we had to do a lot more than write a check," Palmieri said. He added the union will match all the proceeds from the sales.

"We all wear red shirts on Fridays," he said. "There is a connection."

"They are great people," he said of Anderson and her husband Jeff Margolin, who was sitting beside her.

Selectman Jess Aptowitz, who kicked off the flagpole campaign last fall with town Veteran's Agent John Hogan and Town Manager Bill Ross, said this week the fund now stands at $14,000, and also said he expected another sizable donation very soon, enough to bring the number up to about $20,000.

The board and Ross had tried to calculate how much it would cost to either strip and repaint the peeling and rusting old pole or to replace it at a higher cost. Taking into account the environmental hazards presented by stripping old lead based paint off the original pole, the board finally agreed to put the effort into a new fiberglass or aluminum pole instead.

Adding in the cost of ripping up and replacing the surrounding brick walkway and redoing the landscaping, the cost now hovers around $30,000.

But Aptowitz commented the money is coming in, and said, "This goes to show how much the firefighters care about this community."

To purchase a shirt, residents can call either the North Main fire station at 508 261-7385, or the Plymouth Street station at 508 261-7488. Flyers will be posted at the Town Hall, and Palmieri said he will be at Town Hall in person at various times to take orders himself.

A description of the project and contact numbers are also available on the union web site, www.mansfieldfd1820.com.

Aptowitz said he hopes to get the project started during the summer.