CITIZEN KANE
‘Little Common That Could’ has
been a long source of controversy
WARE – A wide angled disagreement over Ware’s most visible downtown historic marker is finally reaching its conclusion – at least for this generation. The question is what will be the final decision selectmen render March 23, and will a slight realignment of the square lay the foundation for future historic revisionist approaches elsewhere in town?
Many towns in Massachusetts do not have one town common to boast of, let alone the two Ware enjoys at Nenameseck Square and the recently completed Veterans Park. However, there are perceived problems at both properties right now. Half of Vets Park lies inside an awful-looking chain-link fence thanks to over-zealous public safety concerns and a Casino owner with no apparent renovation money to invest. Talk about a downtown eyesore.
The difficult decision selectmen face this month is a decision about adequate turning radius for large trucks heading from Main Street right onto South Street to Kanzaki Specialty Papers and Mary Lane Hospital. Unless the town wants to re-direct trucks down a residential area of Pulaski Street from Route 32, many speculate that something has to be done to realign the square.
The questions are where should the modifications occur and to what extent? Should they even happen at all?
Selectmen’s latest proposal – minus a new alternative idea I’ll get to later in this column – is to leave the grassy area intact, remove the sidewalk from the north side, and shift the historic fence to allow more space for right turning traffic.
Ware Historical Society had already suggested the removal of the sidewalks last year. But it also had proposed installation of bollards, which are bell-shaped metal devices that safely deflect truck tires back onto the road, to protect the historic wrought iron fence. Local historians have suggested more traffic sensor signalization and improved turning lanes, which were deemed too expensive.
The reality is only a few tractor-trailer drivers have been responsible for damage to the cast iron fence over the years. In fact, one skilled driver appeared in front of selectmen last year to say that the turn is not a problem if approached correctly. So one must ask if we are doing enough to educate truck drivers using signage and vendor relationships with local companies.
Just last Wednesday, a group of town officials observed the area again to analyze the merits of removing the physical sidewalk and shifting the iron fence back 6 to 8 feet on the north side to protect the fence. The problem with that solution for Ware Historical Society is the fountain in Nenameseck Square is not much farther than that from the northern edge of the park.
“We had also argued that removing one tree would destroy the symmetry of the circle of trees that now grace the park,” says Julie Bullock, president of the Society.
Several concerned citizens also have written to selectmen claiming they believe that it is best to observe what is happening at the park and try to adapt to that traffic pattern. After conducting their own site visits, these citizens found that truck drivers who cleared the square gravitated to the straight/left turn lane on Main Street. They also waited for the four vehicle length clearance on South Street before making the turn, crossing the center line but clearing the sidewalk on the northeast of the square by about a foot to two feet and straightening out or recovering from the turn before the area of the park bench.
Society members and residents ultimately suggested traffic signal mitigation as the solution on South Street by moving the stop signal back about four vehicle lengths or to the pole. They want to mark that stop with signs that say “no right turn on red,” and time the light and/or place the appropriate switch, accordingly.
On Main Street, they had also advised stopping both lanes at the same point with white lines. Finally, they advised placing impediments such as rocks, planters, bollards, and/or signs at the points where the sidewalks lead to the street where pedestrians are not to cross.
Several state officials who side with history have also written passionately about the need to preserve the property in tact.
Despite all those appeals, DPW Superintendent Gilbert St. George-Sorel believes those solutions would be too cost prohibitive, even along a state highway with state officials supporting preservation efforts – and having more influential access to potential grants.
Lenard Engineering’s conceptual cost estimate for the town’s proposal was about $46,000 to do the sidewalk and tree removal. To Gibby’s credit, a second option would cost about $16,000, if the DPW did some of the work. All said and done, the changes amount to a net loss of 30 square feet of common ground.
“The square is only a replica of the original,” St. George-Sorel wrote to selectmen in May 2008. “The fence and the fountain have all been replaced or altered many times…The only original item in the square may be the stilling basin around the fountain.”
Petitions have been mulled, official letters sent, potential lawsuits envisioned, and countless words written on the topic in this newspaper and elsewhere.
“Certain things have to be given up in order to protect public safety,” Selectman John A. Desmond said back in 2008 when the truck traffic issue was first brought up.
But what public safety risk has actually been heightened there any more than trying to cross Main Street from Friendly’s to Ware Town Hall at noon or 5 p.m.?
Perhaps we should return to the name, for a moment. The name “Nenameseck” is a Native American term used by the Micmak Indians of the Pioneer Valley, sometimes referred to as the Quaboag Indians. A Nenameseck referred to the fishing traps and basket that was used to gather and catch a large quantity of spawning salmon, which once filled the local waterways. This image is in the very town seal of Ware and hangs behind selectmen at every meeting.
Nenameseck Square is really the last vestige of the original common in Ware Village and has quite of history of disagreement. The square has been at the center of numerous controversial clashes over the course of its 166-year history, mostly in a century-long debate over property names and ownership. The original town common was renamed in 1922 to Earle F. Howe to honor the first Ware soldier killed in WWI. Then, the common’s name was changed to Louis S. Charbonneau a few years prior to 1955. Many a Ware lawyer has argued passionately in the past over who actually owns the park. A 1904 judge said the town carried the title to the land. But Ware then had to purchase the square from the Ware Lodge of Odd Fellows – oddly enough – for a whopping $350 in 1935.
This editor is no expert on whether traffic signal mitigation or tree and sidewalk removal is needed, but solutions are often found in the spirit of compromise.
Two weeks ago, Selectmen William R. Braman and Richard A. Norton, Sr. presented an alternative recommendation for Nenameseck Square. They recommended removing the sidewalk altogether, moving the curb back and resetting the fence around the circular fountain.
“We’re not going to touch a blade of grass,” assured Braman.
By removing the sidewalk, the town would create another partial turning lane giving trucks that much more room to make the right turn. The Braman-Norton braintrust suggested taking two trees down and replanting two elsewhere in the park. They also said they’d like to see the fountain repaired and operating instead of being an incubator for mosquito larvae this spring.
While a good alternative, it still means plenty of realignment in the square. Meanwhile, strict historic preservationists make a compelling case: Leave the park alone – and fix the fountain while you are at it.
I’ve been giving this issue much thought lately and have come away without any answers of my own, except for this: Perhaps the reason Ware is so controversial about Nenameseck Square over that last century; that it is attracted to this grand debate about common history and its value to the community; and that careless trucks have brought the entire issue to the forefront again, is because the common is an integral part of Ware’s fabric.
If the decision on the square is made with the above-mentioned fortitude in mind, we will all walk away with the best solution. Make no mistake: it will not be the last debate over this little common that could.
– Tim Kane is editor of the Ware River News and has visited Nenameseck Square as a quiet observer many times.
Ware Reader Forum 