Mansfield Dedicates New North Common Gazebo to Resident Joseph Gonzales

Mansfield officially dedicated the new North Common Gazebo to Joseph Gonzales, owner of the Canoe River Campground, on Saturday.

“Today, we get to recognize someone who’s done a lot of special things,” selectmen chair Olivier Kozlowski said. “From donating an ambulance when the town needed it to helping out [the Mansfield Music and Arts Society]… Lately, Joe has turned his attention to the North Common here.”

Gonzales, a life-long resident of Mansfield, donated funds for the structure to help beautify the North Common, which resulted in the new tables and trash receptacles.

“You know, for almost 80 years I walked across the common here,” Gonzales said. “We just talked about it, and we decided we’d try to dress this part of town up and I think it came out good.”

Gonzales said that during his early years, when the common stretched out beyond Route 106, there was only one feature to the area.

“The only thing the common ever had was a water bubbler,” he said. “I’d like to find that, it made a lot of noise.”

Massachusetts Rep. Jay Barrows said Gonzales' efforts to help beautify and, in his words, dress up the town will be a long-lasting legacy to his dedication to Mansfield.

“You’ve made a huge difference to our community,” Barrows said of Gonzales. “This investment, this gazebo is truly a blessing.”

The special fall town meeting will have a warrant article to appropriate $30,000 for the replacement of the North Common Flagpole.